Chapter 294: Uniform
I had my misgivings regarding the island, but I decided to let it go in the end. Exploring alleys is fun, after all.
The long avenue stretched from the pier to the highest point of the citadel, and the town ran parallel along it.
The town can be considered quite long overall, with both ends of the town — the pier’s vicinity and the citadel’s neighborhood respectively — being more expanded than the rest of the town thanks to some sections where only waterways and stone walls remained.
On the citadel’s side of the town, the incline turns steep, almost as precipitous as a cliff once you enter the narrow alleys on the south side. Although many gentle slopes and stairs had been constructed to address this, it’s quite nice how the narrow view suddenly opens up into the scenic panorama of the sea.
Although the town on the cliff was also built because of its spectacular scenery, the main purpose was to preserve the region that could be turned into fertile land.
「Hmm. Should I also have my own house in this town? 」
「Why not, MiLord?」
Hm, but increasing the number of my potential hideouts more than this might not be such a good idea, if I say so myself.
The main street is readily accessible, folks searching for it might find themselves coming out to the pier or even to dead ends after following the branching, winding alleys. However, it’s a piece of cake if you know the road.
Even now, there’s a building blocking our path and a grapevine covered wall with a short staircase stood in front of us. The structure was built on a slope so those who enter from the ground floor through the back door would encounter the staircase.
A small, deep coffee, almost black door stood on top of the staircase, and it had a small crest of a dog, the guard office’s insignia, on it.
「Good work today~ 」
When I called out while making my way, the guy behind the counter checked me out with a glance, but he immediately stood in attention when he caught sight of Auro.
— Is Auro in charge of the guards too? Such a delicate-looking guy commanding a macho man…
It’s hot on the island, so the guards are usually exempted from wearing their armor. Spare weapons lined the wall and the armor was also prepared in case of emergency.
I considered making the regular uniforms patterned after knight uniforms, but it seemed swelteringly hot to wear that so we opted for Ao Dai style*. The upper part of the gradient clothes were deep navy, gradually transitioning to lighter blue towards the bottom until it’s pure white at the hem.
‘You guys, change your clothes!!’ — that’s what I had in mind, so I provided the uniforms, naturally. Besides, they have this custom here that once a year, employers provide uniforms or fabric to make them.
The thought of ‘the clothes are quite tight fitting, so they probably should maintain their physique’ crossed my mind as I passed through the narrow counter and into the facade. The frontage of the guardhouse faced the main street, and the stately doors have a bigger insignia of the dog, adding to the stern impression that the building gave off compared to the other structures surrounding it. The stones of the stone wall were one size bigger than usual and the joints are also darker than others.
The dog insignia wasn’t like the “Beware of the dogs” warning signs in Japan; it’s a cool-looking relief. Folks can freely pass through the guard houses’ counter to go outside, and it’s one of the shortcuts that bad guys won’t be able to use.
I learned about the situation of the town from children we met on the road after winning them over with candy. The original residents who were fishermen before have thankfully adapted quite well, apparently. They also tipped me off about a rude craftsman, so I glanced at Auro. He nodded slightly; he’ll probably deal and educate that guy later.
Not sure if it’s because I always give them some candy or treats whenever we meet, or maybe it’s because I treat their words seriously, but the kids recalled various things about the town and they earnestly told them to me. They even include gossip about some couple fighting three days ago!
I didn’t encounter any familiar adults this time. Well, it’s still their work hours so it can’t be helped.
We returned to the tower to rest and have some coffee. I just demonstrated a bit to Auro, but he already mastered all the steps from grinding the beans to using the siphon. Changelings are especially good at imitation, although they self-proclaim that they have trouble with temperature regulation and things like that. I still think he’s clever.
We had pickled white radish and rösti made with thinly sliced potatoes fried on a pan with plenty of butter. Plus cold tomato soup too.
The meal might not be nutritionally balanced, but given that Auro and Charles, who joined us after meeting him at the square, were with me, if I were to make meat as the main dish, they might have a problem tasting it…
They could taste the dairy products made with the milk from the cows in my house, so I want to increase the number of cattle in the island as soon as possible. Ah, but maybe the taste will still be dependent on the influence of the spirits, much like the vegetables. My cattle would munch on tiny spirits along with the grass, after all.
Ahh, wait —
『Come on, Fire Lizard-kun. 』
The flames danced as if it’s alive when I summoned the fire spirit while poking the fireplace with the stoker to add air.
Fire Lizard-kun is the underling of the Blue Lizard, master of this tower. Although their attributes are different, Fire Lizard-kun is a spirit that has lived in this tower’s fireplace for a very long time. It had become so small that it looked like it was about to dissipate into thin air, but ever since I started using fire in the tower, he has recovered enough to become as big as my palm.
The fire-attribute lizard that frequently sniffed Dean’s armpits was speckled with dark spots all over its body, but this fire lizard was a beautiful shade of pure orange, reminiscent of glowing coals. Plus it didn’t have the habit of sniffing odors.
The fire lizard gently strokes the bottom of the frying pan with its long tail, instantly heating it up. I take out the sausages purchased in the fortress city and throw them in.
「Alright, experiment time, try these. You don’t have to finish it if you can’t taste it. 」
I placed the plate of slightly burnt sausages in front of Auro and Charles.
「Yes, MiLord. 」
「MiLord, I will now partake. 」
Really, how blindly obedient these two guys are. It’s a secret that I feel a bit disgusted.
「Arghhh!!!! You’re eating!!!! 」
Kiel knocked and opened the door at the same time. There’s no sense in knocking then!!
This guy, on the other hand, treats me so slovenly, even though he acts like a remarkable steward in front of others.
Notes
T/N: Ao Dai – Vietnamese traditional clothes, with a gradient pattern like this shirt.
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I Got Transferred in the Middle of a Mountain
Speed up schedule by 10 hours
Current schedule: Every 80 hours
Thanks for the treat.