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Chapter 162: Drop

「… This reminds me of the time when Ash-sama made a hideout in the garden. 」
「Mm…? 」
Butler has a distant look in his eyes. Ash was about to scoop the pudding, but she stopped when she heard her name.

「So Ash also did that? 」
I did hear about Ash being stuffed with swordsmanship training and lessons on battle tactics from a young age since they wanted her to become a knight when she grew up, but I didn’t expect that even the way she played was so boyish.

「Sorry, don’t remember. 」
「You were just seven. 」

……

「Yeah, our En and Vak are also like that. 」
「So it’s a ‘not-so-secret’ secret base, huh. 」

Oy! Stop that ‘lukewarm’ gaze of yours while staring at me!!

「Kids usually set those secret hideouts in the wrong place, so they get torn down by the adults, right? 」
「But I helped them, you know? 」
Dinosso rebutted when Retze said that with his chin propped on his hand.

Come to think of it, there’s a treehouse in the forest near Dinosso’s house.
It’s a ‘totally-not-a-secret’ playground for the kids, and also a place to run away from home in case of emergency.

「Got it. This conversation is null! It won’t be a secret, so that won’t do. 」
「You’re saying that this late in the game!? 」
「Being able to keep secrets is what adults do. 」

Eh, then by Retze’s words, does that mean I was already an adult back when I was in Japan? Why doesn’t that make me happy at all?

「Setting that aside, I’ll teach you what you want to know, Jean. I’m glad that I can help you. 」
Ash turned to me.

「Then, can you give me a bit of your time after our weekly dinner? 」
「Yeah. 」
Can I chase Butler out during our study sessions? Butler had his usual smile on when I glanced at him.

「If it has to be a secret then just keep it a secret, but if something happens, don’t hesitate to tell us, alright? 」
「I don’t know what you’re doing in who knows where, but you have to make sure you have an escape plan. 」
Dinosso and Retze were both concerned about me in their own way, huh.

「Anyway, this place has turned into a dining hall, hasn’t it? 」Butler.
「Isn’t it too much renovation? 」Dinosso.
「It’s previously a guest room, but I don’t have any friends that live too far away that they have to stay the night over. 」
I made that room before, vaguely thinking it’s for when I made friends, but didn’t expect that the entire bunch would be gathered here.

The table and chairs are simple. I wanted to do yakiniku and okonomiyaki, so there’s a removable cover in the middle of the table, and you can put a charcoal stove in it for grilling stuff.

Daifuku was currently sitting smack in the middle of the table. Can I pet you? No? Okay.
He was snappily swishing his tail, so I retracted my outstretched hand.

「The cat’s here again? 」
「Yup. 」
Retze asked, so I nodded.

「Not being able to ‘see’ is a drawback, huh. 」
「Nah, this is normal. Maybe I’d think the same if I was younger, but now there’s nothing to complain about. 」
Retze refuted Dinosso’s comment.

「Somebody’s here. 」
「Is that Chris’s voice? 」
Dinosso’s right, somebody’s calling in front of the house.

「Whoa, Ash and Noth-dono are here, what good timing. There’s something I want to ask. 」
Yeah, he’s right, it’s Chris.

I invited him to the second floor, then took out the mead. Chris likes it sweet with a slight taste of herbs.

「Is something the matter? 」
Noth asked when things settled down.

「For starters, I met my younger brother earlier at the Guild. He just returned. 」
「Oh, so you have a sibling? 」
Come to think of it, being an only child is quite rare in this world. Maybe the reason for that is because they don’t know how many of the children can safely make it to adulthood, given that the sanitary conditions here aren’t that good.

「Hmm, that’s right. So, about this brother of mine, he’s a very capable guy, but too capable so he’s the skeptical type. When he gets involved in something, he won’t rest until he gets to the bottom of things, or until he’s satisfied. 」

「Uwa, so troublesome! 」
「Thanks to his personality, he helped a lot of people, but I don’t want him anywhere near Jean. 」

「So you want to consult us regarding your younger brother… 」
「He wanted to rent a room for one month. He will definitely get suspicious if I reject him, so I wish Noth-dono to come-up with a way to refuse him. Maybe say you don’t do short-term rent? 」

「Really, what a pain in the neck. 」
「Is it sure that he’ll go back after one month? Why did he return in the first place? 」
Retze quipped.

「Are you familiar with the Temple of Nassos? 」
「Yeah, that’s the temple that used to be in the northern swamps, right? I heard it was for worshiping the Fire God, but was abandoned just before the era of the Wind God . 」
Dinosso answered.

「Is that the peat bog? 」
Wait, I got a feeling that I went there on a ‘field trip’ shortly after we got back from our investigation trip to the tunnels.

I remember wondering why there’s a Fire God temple in a swamp, so I went there to check it out of curiosity. Found the answer when I got there. Peat may be weaker than coal in terms of combustibility, but they do burn well when dried.

「Right. So, my brother went to the ruins of the temple when he heard that the Spirit is still in good health. However, that Spirit told him that he already gave the Drop to somebody else, and it would take 2 years to make one again. 」
「So that means your brother is free for two years, huh. 」
Dinosso shot bluntly.

「That’s right. 」

…

「Is that ‘drop’ thing special? 」
「Just carrying a Spirit’s Drop from a God-tier spirit is already amazing in itself. 」
A spirit’s drop is basically similar to manastones in that they’re stones produced from the power of spirits.

Unlike manastones’ appearances, which can be hit or miss, spirit drops are highly transparent and gorgeous. Another difference is that spirit drops are treated as talismans and also used in jewelry because they don’t harbor evil intent towards humans unlike manastones.

Manastones are also highly valuable and expensive. They can also be used as amulets, but they’re more suited for sorcery, since they exude more power if used for that purpose. If they look beautiful, they’re called gems just like ordinary jewels, and if not, they’re used as a source of mana to activate magic circles.

「It’s not something you can get by force, and for a knight looking for a master, it’s something that increases his value if he has that. 」
Oh, right, Chris is also a knight looking for his own master…

「I see, so your younger brother wishes to become a knight. Indeed, he’ll be able to choose a good place if he can have a spirit’s drop along with a relatively huge manastone. 」

The knights of this world are divided into two categories: those who serve their kingdom by heredity, and those who go on a quest of 3000 Leagues in search of a Master* — ehem I mean, knights who look for worthy masters they want to dedicate their service to. The latter would be busy subjugating monsters and joining military competitions in order to elevate their name.

Only battlefields employ and pay no-name knights, so if they want to earn well with good conditions, they have to make a name for themselves.

…And yep, that’s right, the spirit drop is needed for that ‘making a name’ business..

「He’s going to stay in different places for a month at a time to observe things here and there before returning to the swamp, so it’s definitely one month. 」

He had to traverse through the conflict-ridden Central Plains when he returned, so it’ll already take at least a year for the journey back.

「Even if I do refuse his short-term stay, it will be inevitable that he will visit Chris-sama, isn’t it? 」
Butler looked troubled.
「Sorry. I already took him to an inn that resembles my room and claimed that the set-up is all the rage nowadays, so I don’t think he’ll be suspicious if sees my room, though. 」
Chris’s shoulders drooped.

「Why don’t you just rent the room? It’s just a month, and Ash won’t have any problems on her end, will she? 」
「…Are you sure? 」
「Yup. It’s just a month, I’ll be elsewhere. 」

Can’t help it, I’m the one who took that drop, after all.