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Chapter 17: Talas Village (Part 1)

 

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Translator: SFBaka

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The side road which leads toward the village was a narrow one with a width of about 2 to 3 meters and continued to a fairly steep uphill slope.

After walking on it for a while, my scanning magic managed to detect something. It doesn’t seem to be human.

“Cleria, there’s a reaction in that direction, about 500 meters out. It may not be human.”

“Understood.”

We carefully scaled the slope. After climbing for about a hundred meters, something which looked like a Big Boar suddenly jumped out from the side of the road.

I zoomed in on it to check it out. It’s huge! It’s the largest Big Boar I’ve ever encountered. It should be at least a hundred kilos. Can animals really grow to this large a size?

It seems it’s noticed us. It started pawing the ground with its front hoof and bared its aggression towards us. Honestly, why the heck are these things so aggressive? Well, I guess it’s convenient for us anyway.

“I’ll finish it with magic.”

“Got it.” Cleria responded as she drew her sword. Uh, did you really catch what I said, Ms. Cleria?

As we inched closer to it, it also slowly drew itself towards our direction. When we came within 50 meters of each other, the Big Boar broke into a full charge. But I’ve already anticipated that.

My magicle reserves are already prepared. Let’s cast Flame Arrow then. Can I make it so it fires off just one arrow instead of three? Let me try it then.

Flame Arrow, fire!

The Flame Arrow struck the Big Boar’s head dead-center when it came within 15 meters. However, its momentum was too strong so it kept heading straight for us. That looks nasty! We’ll definitely die if we get run over. We hurriedly moved to the side to avoid it.

The single-shot concentrated Flame Arrow experiment was a success. The rate of magicle consumption was about the same as a single Fireball spell. This looks nice! I’ll use it more often from now on.

“Alan, that magic just now was…?”

“I tried condensing all three flame arrows into a single shot.”

“May I try to learn it…? Is it easy to use?”

“It just needs a little practice Cleria. The magic consumption is about the same as a Fireball spell.”

When Cleria heard me, she immediately lost herself in thought. Oh, right! Let’s use this Big Boar as a souvenir when we arrive at the village.

“Let’s head to the village first.”

Cleria nodded in agreement. After walking for a little bit more, I got a response from a magic scan once again. This time, it looks like its human! There are quite a lot of them – about two hundred or so, give or take. There are also some smaller signals. Should be children or domesticated animals.

As we walked further, we finally saw a village surrounded by a fence made out of logs. The height of the fence is about 3 meters, and several wooden houses could be seen beyond it. There were two people manning a wooden gate, which seemed to be the entrance to the village.

As we came nearer, the people finally noticed us.

“Stop right there! Who’re ya people!?”

It was a middle-aged male villager.

“We’re just some travelers. We were hoping to get some rest in your village for a while.”

He was eyeing me in suspicion. I’m wearing my black jumpsuit right now, so I must look weird to them. He faltered a bit when he got a look at Cleria, who was standing behind me.

“We just killed a ridiculously large Big Boar back there! I’d like you guys to help me carry it back.”

“Ya serious!? A really large Big Boar?”

“I’m telling the truth. We can go together if you want.”

The middle-aged man talked to the youth beside him. The young man started running back inside the village.

“I jus told im ta call fer more guys. Jus wait there fer a bit.”

Got it. I raised my hand in answer. But the way this guy talks is a bit different. Did he have an accent or something?

After a short while, it seems some villagers finally arrived. The gate opened slightly, and the ones who came out were just the middle-aged uncle and the young man. Both of them carried things that resembled spears.

“Let’s go. Over here.”

We went back the way we came and guided the two villagers. We reach the place where the Big Boar fell dead soon after.

“There’s no mistakin it. This guy’s Black Speckles!”

This thing has a name? It’s not some pet, is it? Well, it did look to have a lot of black spots on its hide.

“Are you familiar with this guy?”

“Yea. This guy did in quite a few of my mates.”

Whew. That’s a relief. It looks like it’s not a pet after all.

“Hey Beck, go call out ten men and a cart” the uncle instructed the young man, who then promptly ran back again.

“Are ye really sharin this with us?”

“Yeah. I’ll just get enough for tonight’s dinner and tomorrow’s breakfast. The rest are yours.”

“Ye really sure we can have most of the meat?”

“Uhuh. Also, I’d appreciate it if you could give us some preserved foods. And I don’t suppose you can spare us a place to stay for the night as well?”

“That’ll be easy. The name’s Zack, by the way.”

Cleria stepped forward at this moment.

“My name is Ria. This man is Alan. We’ll be in your care, good sir.”

Oh, it’s a good idea to use a pseudonym. That’s good thinking, Cleria. Zack was a bit taken aback when he heard her speak.

“Likewise, Milady.”

Zack’s tone became all formal. At that moment, the young man from earlier brought back ten able-bodied men and a cart with him. The villagers surrounded the Big Boar and started making a fuss.

“Alright, mates! Let’s take this thing back ta the village! Heave!”

It looks like Zack is a leader figure here. The villagers proceeded to tie up the Big Boar with rope and began to work on it with an experienced air. I also helped out until we finally managed to get it loaded onto the cart.

Everyone then headed back to the village while pushing the cart forward. It was hard labor since the way back was steep.

The wooden gate was already open when we got back and a crowd has formed. We went straight into the gate and entered the village. We parked the cart in the middle of a clearing at the center of the village. Everyone’s gazes gathered toward Zack.

“Alright ya lot! These people here’re this village’s benefactors! They killed Black Speckles an gave almost all the meat ta us! It’s a banquet, tonight folks!”

The villager’s cheers rang out of the square. Some were running to other parts of the village to share the news.

“Go ahead an have a seat, you two. Here, lemme make ya some tea.”

Several sets of tables and chairs have been moved to the village square. I immediately took a seat along with Cleria and proceeded to relax.

On the other side of the square, some villagers have begun butchering the Big Boar. They looked like they were really familiar with the job.

“Are you the head of this village, Zack?”

“Oh? Uh, yeah, that’s right. Uh, pardon me fer askin but, just how’d ye kill that pesky Boar anyway?”

“I killed it with magic. It charged straight for us, so I hit it with magic right on the head.”

“Yer a mage?”

Hm? He seems quite surprised. Are there people who can’t use magic, perhaps?

“Are there people capable of using magic in this village?”

“There are two or three who can, but none of em are capable enough ta get rid of Black Speckles with a spell.”

So that’s the case. I didn’t think some people are unable to use magic. As I watched the dismantling work being performed, I noticed that the knives they were using were quite dull so the work wasn’t progressing all that fast. The sun’s going to set soon. Dinner’s gonna be late at this rate.

“I’ll lend this to you guys, Zack. Try dismantling it with that.”

I handed my electromagnetic bladeknife to Zack.

“It’s a magic tool, so it’s really sharp. It can even cut through bone. Be careful while using it.”

“Magic tool, ye say!?”

“Uhuh. Be careful so you won’t injure yourself. Oh, and wash it properly before returning it, alright?”

Soon after, cheers could be heard coming from the people dismantling the Boar. It seems the work’s proceeding smoothly.

After a while, the tea was served. This is my first time trying a local drink on this planet!

Mmm. Delicious! It kinda tastes like the green tea of Earth.

“It’s delicious. Can you share some of the tea leaves with me, Zack?”

It seems Zack’s wife was pleased when I praised her tea.

“Of course mate. I also love the taste of this tea. Ye think this’ll sell in the city?”

‘I think it definitely would. I’ll buy some at least.”

I don’t know anything about the city, but delicious things are delicious. How about Cleria? I sent an inquiring gaze at her.

“Yes. It’s quite delicious.”

Looks like that confirms it. Milady Cleria says it’ll sell.

“But ya know Alan, I’ve been meaning to ask about that outfit of yers. What exactly is that?”

Ah, so they really were conscious about it huh? It’s not like I had any other outfits to wear anyway.

“Uh, well, due to some certain circumstances, these are the only clothes I have right now.”

“Is that so. Well, the specialty product of this village is **. We also make clothes as well. We can probably whip out a decent set fer ya tomorrow.”

“Really? Thank you, I appreciate it. I’ll be paying, of course. I’ll leave it to you.”

There was an unfamiliar word there, but they offered to make me clothes. I hope they won’t be too expensive.

“Alright, we’ll fix ye a set tomorrow.”

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