The Rising of Tanaka – 52 Part 1
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Pasifista
You Have Good Eyes
The one who had reigned over the debauched metropolis of Ketavanagh-O, General Red. This evil and inhumane ruler was overthrown thanks to the endeavors of the strong and cool Tanaka-san. However, there was still no end to the evil that had infested the world. In order to fight against the unreasonableness that had brought about such evil, Tanaka-san, who had converged with Suke-san and Kaku-san, was also in the middle of his journey today.
–With such a thought preoccupying his mind, today as well, Tanaka was on the road. The highway stretched eastward across the tranquil plains. Team Tanaka was traveling at a leisurely pace as usual. Along the way, at a small farming village they stopped by, he encountered an unusual scene.
「Mmmm? That’s….」
As usual, Tanaka was moving in the human settlement by his lonesome. The place he’d arrived at was a square in the center of the village. A largish tent was set up there, with various goods displayed on a rug that was spread out in front of it. It seemed that he had stumbled upon a merchant who happened to visit the village.
As far as Tanaka was concerned, this was a stroke of luck. While it might be for the sake of a promising young man, he had given up the cursed sword that was akin to half of his body. This magnanimous action could be said to be typical of Tanaka-san, who was so big-hearted to the point he could no longer act as a vessel to contain it. However, the cost was simply too great. As he ended up being unarmed as of right now.
It was true that Tanaka-san was the legitimate heir of the strongest unarmed martial arts, karate. However, there were monsters in the world that were incompatible with shock-type attacks. Not to mention, fighting with empty hands meant that he had to touch any disgusting enemies directly. It was too risky to continue this torment. Even for Tanaka-san, who had once accomplished a half-day fast, it wasn’t impossible for him to be forced into a mental breakdown. That was how dangerous this action was.
Originally, the chance of procuring a weapon in such a small village was not something one could encounter so often. Praising himself in his heart for ceaselessly striving to perform good deeds, Tanaka went on rummaging through the displayed goods.
「Oh? Customer, you’re not a resident of this village, are you? Are you a traveler? If that’s the case, why don’t you take a look at the goods here? We have arranged an array of selection.」
The seemingly kindhearted merchant recommended consumable goods that were indispensable for travelers. However, Tanaka was a man with a seemingly inexhaustible item box. He always had a large amount of items, even those that might or might not be necessary, stored inside. What was recommended by the merchant could be said to be unnecessary for Tanaka.
「No, I have enough of those things, so I’m good with it. What I’m currently looking for is a weapon. Do you have any good ones?」
「Weapons, huh… I haven’t really stocked up much since the end of the civil war in the west. Hey! Take over this place for a while.」
Maybe he was sorting out the luggage inside. A young man, who seemed like a young merchant apprentice, appeared from the tent. The fact that a beautiful girl didn’t appear here might be a testament of the cursed fate Tanaka bore. Handing over his shopkeeping role, the merchant led Tanaka into the tent. There were a number of wooden crates with their lids open, seemingly still in the process of being sorted out, inside.
The merchant walked over to the pile of crates and started looking for the one he was looking for while keeping up with the idle chat. According to what he said, the merchant appeared to originate from the Haru Empire. Also, he seemed to have traveled back and forth on the area between the Empire and the western countries numerous times to do trades up until now.
「There they are, there they are. Though, there are not that many of them.」
Tanaka began to check on the crate that seemed to contain weapons. It was true that the number was pretty limited, just as the merchant had said. The lineup consisted of short swords, small axes, knives, and smallish clubs. The quality seemed to be fine, but the choices were simply too few to begin with, and even among those few choices, none had managed to satisfy Tanaka-san, who was of the orthodox practical school.
「Hmm… Indeed, none of them is impactful enough.」
Maybe it was because he was a team leader. That way he cared about appearance above anything else, he was a man who radiated more and more air of someone who stood above others.
「I see. Let’s see… I wonder if there’s anything else….」
The merchant turned toward the pile of crates once again. –And then, at that moment a tremor ran through Tanaka’s body.
「Th, that’s!」
At the end of Tanaka’s gaze. Next to the pile of crates, there was a sword leaning against them.
It was a huge sword that might be as tall as Tanaka. The thick and sturdy blade seemingly would remain undaunted even if it were used to cut down a dragon. The guard was lavishly adorned with ornaments that would surely charm anyone who saw it. The part where a jewel-like something – which would convince everyone to think ‘it contained power that could bring about calamity to the world’ – was embedded into it was also a huge plus in his book. As it strongly stimulated Tanaka’s chuunibyou soul. And then, just like the guard, the pommel was also adorned with lavish ornaments – which seemed as though spelled ‘it’d be nothing but hindrance’ – that would surely be a feast to the eyes.
「… This is it. The reason I was given the fate of losing my cursed sword was in order to meet this guy….」
Tanaka grasped the grip of the great sword. With a click, he felt as though he’d just equipped his lost part.
–He was convinced. This was a fated encounter. Right here, right now, he’d obtained a partner that would accompany him through the myriads of battles to come from here on.
「Old man…, I’ll take this one.」
「Hmm? That’s… Are you sure? To wish for something that valuable, are you by any chance not a traveler, but a weapon merchant?」
Tanaka did not look at the merchant at all and simply continued to stare at the great sword as though being bewitched by it.
「How disgraceful of me, I didn’t know what possessed me there even though we’re in the middle of a trade, though you sure buy something unusual. Of course, it’s an old item, which has remained unsold, that I’ve been carrying around for a long time now.」
The merchant explained the circumstances as to why the item was located in such an inappropriate place. However, for Tanaka, such a thing didn’t matter anymore. The great sword had seized Tanaka’s heart and refused to let go. The way it bewitched its wielder was truly an ability worthy of being a cursed sword.
「This is an item whose sturdiness alone is what I can advertise with pride. Well, it’s remained unsold for so long, after all… How about 30,000 gold?」
Hearing the price, Tanaka’s face clouded.
「Not good, huh? Hmm…, it can’t be helped. Then, 27,000! As expected I can’t go any lower than that.」
It could be said to be an extraordinary discount, but Tanaka’s face remained clouded. The merchant was about to give up, thinking that as expected this time was also hopeless. However, in contrast to the merchant’s thoughts, Tanaka took out a bag with a large amount of money inside from the item box and threw it to him.
「I don’t need the change.」
Muttering so grumpily, Tanaka carried the great sword on his back and walked out of the tent. Suddenly, he stopped and addressed the merchant.
「You’re a good merchant. I do appreciate your generous discounts, but you should remember this one thing.」
The merchant listened to Tanaka’s words, holding the profoundly heavy bag of money in his hands.
「A really good item is one that makes you think, ‘I don’t care how much I have to pay for it’. And yet, for you to excessively cut its price, it’s the same as hurting the feelings of those who are willing to spend a lot of money to buy it.」
Yes, Tanaka was not unhappy because the price was too expensive. There was no way the strong, cool, and big-hearted Tanaka-san would ever do something like that. It was just that the price was so low that it seemed to undermine the value of the great sword, and that made him unhappy.
「You have a good eye.」
Thanks to this merchant, Tanaka had found a partner that could be said to be his lifelong friend. As a token of his gratitude, he wished the merchant success.
「I’m looking forward to seeing your stores open in numerous cities as you become a great merchant.」
Leaving these words behind, Tanaka departed. The merchant muttered to himself as he stared at the back of such a Tanaka.
「No, I do get what he was trying to say, alright… It’s just, paying this much money for a signboard of a weapon shop is as expected scary….」
With a bag of 300,000 gold in his hand, the merchant saw off the disappearing figure of the eccentric customer for what seemed like an eternity.
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