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Chapter 467: Meyr

I’ve been trekking along for four days, so today I’m gonna take a break. I’ll probably hit the port town on the map soon, so I’m gonna relax a bit and gather intel while I’m at it.

I wanna get a sense of what people here are like ー their preferences, likes and dislikes, as well as taboos or anything that shouldn’t be done. I figured it’d be easier to understand if I ask someone who’s actually been here rather than dig through the books, so I went to a tavern in Nalluahdid.

「Ahh, you talkin’ ‘bout those big dark-eyed folks? Ain’t much I can say ー Can’t get words through ‘em at all!」

I talked to the scruffy bearded guy who immediately rushed to the tavern the moment his ship docked a while ago.

The trip must be over since the sailors are already drinking even though it’s still daytime. They’re really boisterous, as if they’re celebrating the end of a long voyage and being free from their cramped cabins. I pick out someone who’s still coherent enough even though he’s buzzed out.

「So you’re trading with them even though you don’t understand each other? 」
「Aye, that’s the way of it. We haul over ‘em green gems and they trade us wheat. Some old deal struck way back when or so they say. 」
Uncle sipped the drink I bought him as he talked.

「They’re a weird bunch alright. But if we’re talkin’ manastones, just give ‘em one that’s bigger than yer thumb and they’re gonna fill ten ship holds to the brim! Though ye don’t see ‘em big green, clear stones often, yer regular gems or pouches o’ smaller manastones fetch a pretty penny too. Best part is, we load other goods on the way, so we makin’ a tidy profit off ‘em mid-voyage! 」
Uncle guffawed and chortled, his mood seemingly becoming better with each word.

「Wahahaha, ye guys talkin’ ‘bout the Meyr folks, huh? Hey, those bunch ain’t humans like us, that’s fer sure! Glad we don’t have to look ‘em in the eye too much! 」
「Bwahahah! Aye, all we gotta do is hand o’er ‘em green gems! 」
His fellow sailors also chimed in, probably infected by the laughter, then the topics shifted to women and booze in a blink of an eye.

This Meyr that the sailors are talking about ー I’m not sure if it’s the name of a land or a town, and they only mentioned how the trade goes. At any rate, it’d probably work out as long as I put some green manastones in my pocket?

Nalluahdid sits in a huge gulf sandwiched between the Central Plains’ continent where Canum is and the Dragon continent where Es is. If you head east past the River Es, there’s a narrow strait that runs south before bending east.

However, if you head into the strait, it gets real narrow before opening up a bit, and then it gets shallow with all the sand piling up, so huge ships bound for trading in the north can’t really use it.

The ships that sail around here aren’t tiny like the ones that traverse the inland sea, but they’re still on the smaller side for the distance that they cover. Usually, these ships load up in Nalluahdid, sell their stuff in Es, then they head toward the strait.

By the way, the straight is technically just barely outside the Dragon’s territory, so monsters frequently appear over there, apparently. Because of the risk, the pay is quite decent. Yep, sounds like the same sea where I had that batting practice with the dolphins!

And so, here I am, in Meyr.

The people here have pitch-black eyes that take up about a third of their faces, and they have long heads. Both men and women wear long robes. I don’t know how they manage it, but their bodies remain completely motionless when they move, as if they’re gliding. Their skin is blue.

Eh, wait a sec.

I didn’t take that ‘they’re not humans’ seriously. I mean, sure, we’ve got dwarves here, and maybe elves too, but I thought that’s it. Seems like I should’ve known better about this world.

Well, I guess it’s all good, considering how me and the folks around me don’t look exactly like the humans from my original world either. The hair and eye colors are different, but so are the features. Some have chiseled faces, while others are baby-faced like Japanese people.

The further north you go, the more rugged the folks are, and they have towering heights, mostly 2 meters and above, all buff and sometimes half-naked. I mean, why go half-naked while wearing fur, though? I don’t get why they do that.

Oh, come to think of it, I remember hearing something about how the north has the Black Mountain, the east has the Magic Forest ー only the central area is fit for humans to live in, something like that, or not… Does that mean there are also other towns and nonhumans live in them?

The houses and streets here have a warm, yellowish ivory color. Sun-dried bricks, I guess? The colors are a bit muted compared to the buildings in Canum and Nalluahdid, but the stonework and the clay walls with carvings add beauty to the structures.

They grow wheat, so they must have some sort of irrigation system. There’s a lot of greenery here and pomegranate trees are planted everywhere. Bougainvillea-like flowers were blooming and there were also purple flowers on the tall trees.

Erm, what should I do now? I’m not sure if they noticed my presence or not, but the Meyr folks are completely ignoring me despite passing right in front of me. I should be able to understand them thanks to【Language】-san, but they’re really hard to approach.

No way, maybe they don’t recognize and won’t trade with folks that don’t come in from the port? Or maybe they’re totally against interaction? I brought some green manastones with me just in case ー should I head to the port now and maybe show it to someone there?

I even picked out a variety of sizes with deep color and high transparancy, you know.

「WHOAH!!!! 」
Feeling a bit lost, I took out a green manastone and looked at it for a moment.

When I glanced up, I was completely surrounded by the Meyr folks! I totally didn’t sense them! It’s terrifying!!

Their eyes are jet-black, with no visible line between the iris and pupil. Maybe there’s no pupil, or maybe it’s all just pupil? Those black eyes stared at me ー no, at the manastone I was holding, without blinking at all.

I’ll repeat it again.

They’re so scary!!!!!!!!!!!!!