Chapter 415: Don’t Say We’re Lazy
「Wahahaha, that form! That color! My Bough is one of a kind! 」
「Indeed, it is also my first time to encounter a Bough whose presence I can sense. 」
Gramps and X-stick were engaged in a passionate discussion, and their conversation seemed to have taken a strange turn.
「 『King’s Bough』…I can’t even comment on Heinz-sama… 」
Orlando-kun was clutching his head. You don’t have to bear with it and just say what’s on your mind, you know?
「 By the way, Orlando-kun. 」
「Yes? 」
「 Do the magic circles on the『 Fae’s Bough』stairs and the stone pavement beside the citadel make sound the same? 」
I asked, beating around the bush.
「Unfortunately, I have never set foot on those magic circles. 」
Oy.
「You should’ve tried! 」
You should test first if it’s effective or not!
「Kiel-sama, Heinz-sama and people that do not have anything to do with spirits assess their function. Although I am not involved in the process, I witnessed from the window how the patrols stepped on them with great gusto, their effectiveness is guaranteed.」
Orlando-kun, that’s not what I wanted to know….!!
「…Will it still work if the malicious person didn’t step on it? 」
Can they make a dash for it despite the ‘ahng’?
「Ill-intended businessmen came for a tour, apparently. I am not privy to the details, but it wouldn’t be good if a tour isn’t allowed provided that a few other people are also summoned…」
Seems like they settled with installing the same magic circles in the entrance and exit of the settlements near the wharf, the city near the citadel, and the town place.
「Can you hear that ‘ahng’? 」– it feels like a hurdle asking that question. Majority of people who have the Sight see Chris’s jaw spirit, Dean’s sniffing spirit and others as balls of light after all. Something similar might also happen with sound.
For example, Orlando-kun hears it as the sound of a bell, so it’d be a problem if he asked me back if I were to tell him 「Do you hear that ‘ahng’? 」. Well, he can hear Haniwa’s shout as it is, but I’m more inclined to believe that it’s because Haniwa is weird, not because there’s something special about Orlando-kun.
And so, the topic ended without me asking about it. Since the fields came up while we were talking, I decided to check that area.
『It’s bustling now! 』
『Yup. Folks don’t pass through the alleys yet, but the main street seems packed. 』
I strolled with X-Stick.
The plaza was also quite crowded, with folks dashing towards the market, workers carrying stones and people ーprobably tourists ー looking around. Only a handful would stop and take a rest because of the heat. There’s more people compared to when I was last here.
We found more magic circles on the mainstreet and its borders after leaving the plaza where the『Fae’s Bough』is. Of course I didn’t step on them, although I ended up doing weird strides while trying to avoid the circles.
It’s also crowded here now ~ I thought while strolling down the street. We stepped into an alley halfway through, and it led to an area where you can enjoy the view of the sea. The seascape revealed after the narrow lane was fantastic.
We climbed over the walls that they built to prevent anyone from rolling down. The lemon trees’ shade covered the ground, adding to the allure of the place.
『Hey, hey, lunch time! 』
『Ou! Here you go. 』
We had X-Stick’s favorite hamburger for lunch.
Buns, hamburger patties, round slices of onion, lettuce, tomato, pickles, sunny-side up egg. It was quite bulky, but X-Stick still made an almost perfect semi-circle bite mark, kinda like a hole punched on paper, even though he had canine teeth. He took a huge bite, but the marks left were definitely anything but teeth marks.
Well, it’d be my lost if I let it get to me, so I also dug in. The sourness of ketchup and pickles and saltiness of the grilled meat’s juice are slightly eased by the sweetness of the lettuce, leaving a pleasant aftertaste in the palate.
We also munched on french fries and drank iced coffee ー water for X-Stick since he didn’t like coffee. Although some spirits are interested in black tea and lemonade, all of them prefer water. It’s actually the supreme choice of drink for X-Stick since he’s a type-plant spirit.
After eating his fill, X-Stick took a nap and I went to the fields.
ー Oy. Doesn’t it seem like the fences have gotten taller in the short time I’ve been away? There’s something nasty sticking out on top of the fences, what the heck are those…? Oh, well, I do have an idea why they did that, okay? I’m gonna pretend that I don’t see anything.
「Hi, I dropped by to check on how things are here. How are the vegetables doing? 」
The pointed iron grills were also deathly sharp…
So weird, what happened to the peaceful garden? I’d like it if the Changelings tone down their battles for the fields so that it’ll look like they’re against a bunch of animals. The only animals here are livestock, though!
I mulled over these thoughts as I walked to the shed that was both a rest area as well as a storage area for the farming tools. The shed was immediately right after the gate, and a guy that looked like a military policeman emerged when I called out.
「It’ll be troublesome if you come here as you please. If you wanna look around then go get a permit first from the castle. Hey, you have the guts to come waltzing in this heavily guarded place, huh. 」
Military policeman-san seemed so done with it all. Uh, he’s a military policeman….right?
「I have a permit. 」
Actually, I guess I’m the person who’s supposed to issue permits, but well, Soleil and the others are doing the officework in my stead.
Only those who spoke to me face to face acknowledge that. It’s a small island, but many residents don’t even know that I’m the fief lord.
「Whoa! Your permit says you can go anywhere you want without a guide, huh! That’s cool, man! 」
And since there are times I have to deal with folks whose faces I won’t be able to remember, I’ve been carrying a permit that allows me to go and enter anywhere I want to. It’s actually a card tied with a string.
As for this ‘guide’ he mentioned, that’s just a loose description; their actual jobs is to monitor whether the guests would do something fishy or not. And so, my permit allows me to go anywhere on my own.
Anyway, what’s going on with the island’s farms, huh?
NEXT CHAPTER
RELEASE RATE
I Got Transferred in the Middle of a Mountain
Speed up schedule by 10 hours
Current schedule: Every 80 hours
Thanks for the treat.