Chapter 424: Grasping the Trends
I went down the stairs and took the spear of one of the guards. Lemme borrow it for a bit.
「You dare to stand in front of me without any support from spirits!? Fief Lord, are you a Changeling too!? 」
The pain-in-the-neck swordmaster smirked.
Well, if we consider how I’m involved with spirits, or how I was summoned from another world, or how this body was made, then I guess yes, I’m a splendid changeling.
I already introduced myself before I started the inspection, so everyone recognized who I am, from Sir Pain-in-the-Neck down to the people in the plaza.
I’ve been exploring not only the castle but the entire island so I thought it’d be better for the folks here, particularly the guards, to remember my face, so I took this chance to greet them.
This plaza is right beside the castle, so I thought I didn’t have to include the ordinary citizens and the construction workers, but it didn’t work with this Pain-in-the-Neck.
「I’m already fed up fighting while relying on spirits…! You guys are much better! I’d rather be defeated by you guys! 」
Swordmaster cackled.
Hey, rather than say that he’s fed up with relying on spirits, isn’t he just being a sore loser now that his spirit sword was snatched from him? And don’t you think his way of dealing with this loss is kinda becoming odd?
「Go ahead! Charge at me all at once… 」
I took a step forward and with the butt of the spear, I striked him seven ー eight ー nine ー ten times in total. Right shoulder, left shoulder, right hip, left hip, above the right knee, above the left knee, forehead, navel ーand lastly, a smack right in the middle of his chest. The spear butt barely touched him, it was almost hovering.
Swordmaster was blown away.
「Gahack… 」
Guards-san, you two did a good job catching him without letting him escape.
「Wha…t? 」
Swordmaster’s jaw dropped and his eyes were wide with shock.
「I don’t need an instructor whose sword skills are weaker than mine. 」
So whiny, so irritating!
I threw those words at Swordmaster, who was now lying down with the support of the guards, and turned on my heel.
「Oh, thanks. 」
I stretched the spear towards the guard below the stairs, but he seemed too dumbstruck so I gently made him grip it.
「Ny-sama, you were that strong!? 」
Orlando’s shrill shriek of shock resounded as he watched me ascend the stairs.
「E-Eh? Ah, come to think of it, you’re connected to some Gold ranks… Are you an adventurer too? 」
Soleil was blinking like crazy.
「…Powerful and being able to deal with it so easily… 」
Faramir was also frozen stiff, what a suprise to see an expression on her face.
「MiLord… 」
「You… 」
Auro and Kiel.
「…Eh? Isn’t this bad? Isn’t it bad? 」
Marlou’s increasingly getting anxious as she muttered the same words over and over again.
「… 」
Gramps Heinz was speechless, his head slightly bowed.
「It doesn’t have to be someone stronger than me, just being a good teacher is enough. If it’s a position just for show, that’s fine too, just look for someone who can get along well with the islanders. 」
I already know that there aren’t that many folks who can surpass me in terms of physical ability given that I’m heavily influenced by spirits, but I’m sure that there should be quite many people who are better in strategizing and fighting techniques than me.
I requested Soleil to find me someone like that, then I went down the stairs to return to the tower.
「MiLord… 」
Auro, you kept on muttering that since earlier. Stop staring at me with those glittering eyes, will you.
Without turning back, I leisurely waved my hand beside my face and left the boisterous place behind me and made my way towards the tower storage rooms.
The storage room in the first floor was packed with the stuff that I requested Soleil to sell, like the lace made by the spider spirit, the materials from the monsters that I hunted in the depths of the Magic Woods, manastones that I don’t use anymore, and things that I bought too much of during my shopping sprees. Plus, some stuff that I made myself.
I used to buy firewood in Canum and stored them here, but I reconsidered and decided that it would be better to maintain regular supply routes when it comes to basic necessities and daily essentials, even if that meant it would be more expensive.
By the way, Nalluahdid’s outskirts specialize in selling peat, probably because items that become light after being dried are transported by boat.
I 【Teleport】from the storage room to the port city beside Shrum’s. It’s basically me just being lazy; the entrance hall is on the second floor. I hadn’t gathered news related to the heroes in a while, so I’m working hard on it now.
「I plan to go to Shrum for business. How’s the situation over there? 」
I added some bonus when I paid the innkeeper for the wine.
It’s a port city bordering Shrum, so there’s plenty of rumors swarming around here. It’s currently noon, but seems like many of the folks go straight to pubs right after they go down the ships. Well, can’t blame them since food and drinks must be limited when you’re aboard.
「Business, huh. The current hot items in Shrum right now are the bathtub from Pasteur, the jewels, cloth and leather from Nalluahdid and Canum’s lavatory! The Heroes-sama are pretty pleased with these, so it’s trending among the nobles too! 」
「The toilets be good, I’m tellin’ ye! Wahahaha! 」
「Folks with spirit swords an’ 【Storage】got ’em snatched, aye, so keep yer eye out! Oh well, you an’ me don’t got nothin’ t’ do with ‘at, tho! Guffahaha! 」
「Hey hey, don’t forget about ‘em ships with no rats aboard! 」
「Do those even exist, huh!? Bwahahaha! 」
I was talking to the innkeeper, but the drunkards left and right kept butting in. A ship with no rats, huh? That sounds nice that it’s making me want one.
「Was there someone who got theirs snatched away? 」
I passed the drink that I just received to the guy beside me and requested another one.
There’s a Japanese idiom that literally says ‘direct the water’, which in context means you attract the other party’s interest, or handle the conversation well so the opponent starts spilling information first. Well, it’s easier to get them talking with wine in this case.
「Oh! They be hankerin’ to lay their hands on someone with 【Storage】, but they’ve come up short! Ah, but mark ye, they be on their third one already!」
「They got the broad sword because that guy was flaunting it all over the place. 」
「What about the sword they snatched from Bartolone? 」
「That genteel hero guy is carrying it, apparently. 」
「Aye, ‘e got em hands on it even though ‘e had to smash the castle to pulp just to claim it!」
「Hey, the castle wasn’t demolished, but you could even see the burst of light above the sea. Atta show. Wonder if he’d do it again. 」
「I heard they annexed two more countries. 」
「But those two countries were smidgens; can even pass as villages. 」
「That’s because they’ve been adding and removing countries year after year. 」
「Ahh, I also wanna become rich, grab me some blue cloth and gift it to Maria-chan~」
「Oh my, I won’t expect anything, but I’ll wait. 」
「Noontime is great for business, folks are out and about during that time. 」
「Corpses roll around by nightfall, ye know? 」
「Well, it’s true that many merchants close shop when the sun sets. Can’t drink then. 」
Oh well. After picking bits of related information and piecing them together, I saw the situation perfectly reflects Sis’s character.
Sis’s male friend is using the broadsword ーthat sword that they snatched from Amadeo in the fortress city ー and my imposter-kun must be using the sword he robbed from Swordmaster?
Not only that, a bright light shone above the sea, so that meant it must’ve been an intense battle with nonstop use of the power of spirits? Ah, didn’t he choose 【Complete Swordsmanship】? Seems like he completely skipped the basics and used flashy moves like in games.
Ahh. I should’ve asked that twisted Swordmaster what sort of spirit sword it was. I wonder how and where those heroes got the other spirit sword.
For now, I want to check my opponents’ equipment so that I won’t be taken by surprise if we end up fighting.
NEXT CHAPTER
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I Got Transferred in the Middle of a Mountain
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