Chapter 283

Translator: Kell | Editor: Weasalopes

Night Summons

To cut it short, some animals had dragon stones while others didn’t . It seemed to be at random, not based on the species or sexes .

Hikaru returned to town early that day and reported the boar kill to the expedition squad standing by at the gate . Shouldn’t you guys be out there? Hikaru thought . The soldiers left to collect the carcass in high spirits .

Hikaru asked them about the dragon stone, and they said sometimes animals had it and sometimes they didn’t . Sometimes, even humans had them .

「Hmm… maybe it’s some sort of a parasite?」

『No . That’s a dragon stone, for sure . 』

「Some kind of a disease? Like a kidney stone where a literal stone forms inside the body . 」

『I don’t know what you’re talking about . It’s too complicated for me . Anyway, I’m sleepy so I’m gonna take a nap . 』

「Wait…」

『Zzz…』

Hikaru could hear the creature’s breathing around his neck .

「He’s too carefree, all right . 」

「Ah, Hika— Lord Silver Face!」

Paula came running towards Hikaru from across the street, waving her hand . She’s like a dog that spotted its owner, Hikaru thought .

「You’re back early . 」she said .

「Yeah . There are things I need to think about . How’d things go on your end?」

「Lavia and I went to check some houses!」

「Find anything good?」

Paula giggled . 「Just wait till you see it!」

「Okay… I’m just glad you like it . Where’s Lavia anyway?」

「Shopping for the house . 」

「I see . 」

Paula was in a good mood the whole time . Hikaru felt just a bit worried about how they liked the new house so much . Being a dangerous continent, they wouldn’t be staying here long, perhaps one or two years at maximum . Getting too attached would only make it harder to leave .

Then again, it’s better than living here reluctantly .

Later that night, Hikaru also found Lavia in high spirits . It was only natural for Hikaru to get curious given their reactions .

「Not now . 」

「You can see it once it’s ready . 」

But they didn’t want him to see the house just yet . Hikaru asked about the price, which was apparently too much for the economy if paid in cash . Instead, while they were in Dream Maker, Silver Face would hunt animals to contribute to the citizens’ diet—a rather vague condition .

Drake had been sleeping since noon, so Hikaru just left him around his neck and headed to Zagin . Tonight was a boar feast—almost all the food on the menu used boar meat .

「Boars smell gamy, but it feels like you’re eating good meat . 」Lavia said .

「I never took you for someone who loves meat . 」

Meat fried with ginger was brought to their table . It was made using soy sauce—or something similar to it—as seasoning . Eiichi clearly introduced this food to the people .

「It’s tough, and smells a bit . But it’s delicious . 」

Instead of cabbage for the garnish, they used some unknown yet still tasty vegetable . The tendons were tough, drenched in fat, but it still tasted like the dish that Hikaru had always known .

「Now I’m craving for rice…」Hikaru muttered .

Wyza the waitress came to their table and casually took a seat . 『I heard you guys are looking into the animal contaminations?』

「What’s she saying?」Hikaru asked . 「And why is she acting like our friend, sitting down at our table?」

「She’s saying something about animals… but I’m not sure what exactly . 」

Gin wasn’t around today, and if he was, it wasn’t like he could translate for them .

『Someone I know studies those . Interested?』

「She says she’ll introduce you to someone studying the contamination in the animals . 」Deena cut in . 「I think she’s referring to Zahadu the Sage . 」

「You need something?」Hikaru asked with such suspicion that Deena shrank back .

「Lord Grucel wants to see you . I’m here to be your guide . 」

「I refuse . 」

「I will not be joining you . Please come with me . 」

Deena bowed deeply . The noisy tavern went quiet . Even Wyza looked puzzled .

Hikaru sighed . 「I see what you’re doing . A woman bowing to me would make me look like the bad guy . 」

「Ah, no! That’s not what I meant to do! I’m just apologizing—」

「Fine . Lead the way . 」Hikaru said . 「Can you look after this guy for me?」

「Okay . Take care . 」Lavia said .

Hikaru left Drake with Lavia and rose from his seat . He left reluctantly, his meal only half-finished .

「………」

「………」

「………」

「………」

Only the faint light coming from the paper lanterns lit up their path as they walked through the streets at night . Glass wasn’t popular here, so they couldn’t make lamps .

After walking silently for a few minutes, Deena suddenly stopped .

「Lord Silver Face . I understand that you don’t trust me, but Lord Grucel genuinely cares about this country’s future . So, please…」

「You don’t care if I don’t trust you, but you want me to at least trust Grucel?」

「Yes . I deeply apologize for my selfish requests . 」

「Hell no . 」

Deena was astonished at Hikaru’s straight refusal .

「I’m the one who decides whether to trust someone or not . You don’t have a say in it . I take it Grucel is here?」

「Yes, this way . 」

Crestfallen, Deena opened the door to a building which appeared to be a military facility . There was a reception desk inside, although the whole place was cloaked in darkness, except for a room down the long corridor where light spilled outside through the door . Hikaru moved towards the room with quick steps . His Mana Detection sensed Deena standing at the entrance, not stepping inside the building, and a lone person in the room .

「I’m coming in . 」

「Thank you for coming . 」Grucel still wore the same almost-emotionless expression . 「Sorry for taking some of your time, Silver Face . 」

「I don’t mind, but please notify me beforehand . I drew looks at Zagin ’cause Deena bowed to me . It’s annoying . 」

「I see . Making you angry still weighs heavy on her mind . I apologize on her behalf as well . 」

The room was barren, with two chairs and a side table where an already cold teapot sat . Hikaru already missed the warm food at Zagin .

「Don’t bother . I will not forgive you for kidnapping Paula, and I’m sure there are people on your side who’re pissed that I sunk one of your ships . There’s no need for us to get along . 」

「But now you’re working with Duinkler . I heard you bought the garden mansion at the twelfth ward . 」

「You know that already, huh… Actually, I don’t even know anything about the house . 」

「There’s only 31 garden mansions in Dream Maker . Green symbolizes the expanse of woodland outside the city . Incorporating that into your residence serves as proof of your power . 」

「You’re kidding…」

Damn that man… Out of all the properties he could show us, he chose an outrageous one . He probably didn’t even explain its background to the girls .

Ultimately, providing a mansion to Hikaru wouldn’t hurt Duinkler’s pockets as long as he worked for it . If they left, he’d gain it back as well . The man didn’t even specify how much work Hikaru had to do before the property was his .

That cunning devil… Hikaru sighed .

「I’m guessing you studied the language in a hurry once you realized I was working with Duinkler . You’ve gotten better . I admire that attitude . 」

「I didn’t study just for you . We’ll be interacting more with the other continent in the future . The commander of the army must know the language . 」

「For the record, I’m not working with Duinkler . 」

「Really?」

「Of course . Who would even trust that cunning old man?」

「Cunning old man, huh?」Grucel chuckled .

Oh, so he can laugh .

「Apparently, King Eychi used the word sometimes . I heard you’re from the same world as him . 」

「Yeah . I’m guessing you got that from Deena . I knew I couldn’t trust that woman . 」

Deena was the only one present during Hikaru’s meeting with Doriachi . Only the king and Deena heard him speak Japanese . He didn’t mind if people found out he was from Japan, but he didn’t want to spread the word too . Besides, knowing Japanese seemed to be a prerequisite to become king here in this country .

「She told no one else about it, only me . 」Grucel said .

「See, that’s the problem . Everything she knows goes to you . I can’t have a translator like that . 」

「Silver Face . I know you like to keep things secret, which is why I learned the language . She won’t be around when we talk . 」

Deena was an excellent translator, but Hikaru despised her . So Grucel planned to leave her out instead .

「I don’t think we have much to talk about anyway . 」Hikaru said .

「I heard about the possibility of enemies coming down south . Dealing with that is the army’s job . 」

He must be referring to what Wakamaru and I talked about .

「You can talk to me via Duinkler if you want . 」

「Come now . Please don’t say that . Besides, you yourself said you’re not working with Duinkler . 」

「The most important thing is trust, and I don’t trust you . To be honest, I don’t really care about what happens to this continent, and I’m not interested in your little turf war . If you worked with Duinkler, you can solve this problem instantly . 」

Grucel went silent . Working with Duinkler was not an option . That just showed how deep-rooted the rivalry was in this country .

They say if three people gather, two factions are formed . A long, long time ago, a settlement was built here and merged with the newcomers that arrived 500 years ago . The only other turning point was Eiichi becoming king, and the rest was history—a history of the personal relationships between the citizens of the country .

Those who opposed each other wouldn’t just agree to shake hands with their enemy with a big smile on their face just because an outsider told them to do so . Hikaru felt a little sorry for Grucel .

「You can earn someone’s trust little by little . 」Hikaru said . 「Don’t try to get it in one go . I don’t trust Duinkler, nor do I have any faith in him . We do, however, share the same interests, so we sometimes worked together . 」

「I see… You’re right . I never expected a youngster like you to lecture me . 」

And with that, tonight’s meeting ended . While Hikaru was gone, Gin arrived at Zagin and finished his meal . Irritated, Hikaru made him pay for everything .