NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 58
Chapter 58: The Samurai Explores the Town
“Here are fifteen gold coins as your reward, and two gold coins with eight silver coins to cover the expenses. Please confirm the amount.”
The day after returning to Angila, Kurosu visited the Mercenary Guild to report the successful completion of the commission.
Due to the ongoing war, there were far fewer people than usual. The usually loud and boisterous crowd was nowhere to be seen, and the building was eerily silent like a graveyard.
“Are you really sure about just accepting our stated amount without question?”
Frowning and giving a suspicious look to the new-looking male receptionist, Kurosu asked.
Our deal had been that the Guild would cover our dining expenses in Navar, but there was no real way to verify the actual amount spent. Yet, surprisingly, the exact amount we had declared was handed over without hesitation.
Since Kurosu didn’t trust the Mercenary Guild much, he started to overly scrutinize things, thinking it seemed too perfectly arranged, as if there were some hidden catch.
“Uh, yes. We have instructions from the Guild Master to do just that, so please don’t worry. Thanks for your hard work.”
The receptionist said this while bowing politely.
“…Alright. Then I’ll accept it without further hesitation.”
A faint hint of fear could be detected deep in his eyes, but no ill intent was sensed. Storing the received coins into the leather bag he uses as a wallet, Kurosu left the Guild behind.
“Man, the Mercenary Guild in the city is huge! There’s an insane number of commissions here!”
“That’s still considered fewer than usual due to the northern troubles. Alright, let’s go shopping next.”
Tyumen, who wished to explore the city of Angila, and Barth, who needed to shop for dungeon-diving supplies, were along as well. Tyumen’s questions about the city were well complemented by Barth’s knowledgeable responses.
“Our shopping is just for water potions. Is it at the magic equipment shop?”
“Nah, there’s a specialized store for water potions. Last time, we arrived just as their stock of healing potions had run out. I hope they have some today.”
Since Franz and the others had gone off on their own to look for a waterproof tent, our purchase today was limited to water potions alone. Since there was no particular urgency, we were taking our time to stroll around the city streets while Tyumen enjoyed his sightseeing.
“Phew… Lord Renald lives in that castle, huh? You sure the nobles of the frontier are wealthy.”
Looking up at the tower that pierced the cloudless blue sky in the center of the town, Tyumen sighed in admiration. Its imposing presence was enough to leave anyone in awe upon their first sight.
Initially upon visiting the town, Kurosu had spent his time thinking about how to lay siege to that very castle, should they ever clash. While it might be possible to infiltrate and breach the walls with a team skilled in stealth, getting to the castle itself would be a monumental challenge if anti-siege measures like pits and stakes were scattered throughout the city. Kurosu’s cherished notebook, used under the pretense of practicing his writing, was filled to the brim with siege strategies he had thought of so far.
“Angila is one of the largest territories in the kingdom, a vast land embracing three labyrinths all by itself.”
“Huh—Is that impressive?”
“… You’re technically an adopted child from a noble house, right? Don’t you even know that much?”
“Quit talking like my dad. I’ve only met the frontier lord at a launch party for a new large ship. Even as a kid, I didn’t get to talk to him directly.”
Amusedly gaping at Tyumen, Barth seemed exasperated, but Kurosu was unfazed. It reminded him of servants in military households—often very similar.
Though subject to military commands during wartime, soldiers in peacetime aren’t usually under direct lord-vassal control. Even among those allowed to carry a sword, upper-level servants were exceptions, while others like prostitutes, barbers, cooks, and carpenters—town-dwelling servants who frequently changed jobs—often wouldn’t even know the face of their nominal lord.
“Hey, there’s some stalls in that plaza over there. Let’s have lunch soon.”
They bought grilled pork-demon skewers and wine from the stalls and sat down on some empty long benches.
“Looks like stalls everywhere focus on meat. Surely fish from Navar must be sold in Angila as well, though.”
“Fish rot during transport, you see. Most of it ends up in food shops as dried goods. Although, occasionally, some are transported while still alive inside seawater, they are high-end products far out of our reach.”
Kurosu remembered seeing dried fish in Toto’s store, and it was priced at more than five times what it was in Navar. If there were a magic bag that could stop time, the situation might have been different, though it’s a two-day carriage ride through a monster-infested wilderness. Hence, the high prices aren’t really surprising.
“The grilled meat stalls in Navar are good. I’d love to eat there again if I ever get the chance.”
“How enviable. The food last night was delicious, but it’s been ages since I’ve had fresh seafood.”
“Visit sometime with everyone! I’ll show you around!”
After finishing their lively meal, they resumed their exploration. This area was new to Kurosu as well.
“Barth, what’s that place? There’s some bodyguards.”
The shop Tyumen pointed at looked like any other from the outside, but two large men armed with spears stood guard at its entrance, imposingly watching their surroundings. Irritated by their haughty looks, Kurosu glared back aggressively, causing them to hastily look away.
“That’s the Avelle Trading Company’s slave shop. It’s a major establishment operated by the noble house’s official merchants.”
“Huh, so that’s a slave shop, huh? Is there one in Nihon where Cross is from as well?”
Last night, Tyumen had already heard Kurosu’s backstory. Though Tyumen wasn’t overly fazed upon learning that Kurosu was the son of a noble, he showed great interest in the realities of Nihon and had bombarded Kurosu with questions all through the night.
“In my country, the open trade of people is officially banned. After the Great War, black markets occasionally held illegal auctions, but… nothing like this openly standing shop exists.”
“The Pharas Kingdom doesn’t ban slave trading, so it’s not exactly an illicit business. Of course, common people can only buy debt slaves who’ve sold themselves out of desperation.”
Barth continued, explaining there’s another category called criminal slaves, made up of convicts or prisoners of war. These dangerous slaves aren’t sold to civilians; rather, nobles and local aristocrats buy them to handle labor-intensive or unclean tasks.
“My family is noble, so we can purchase even criminal slaves, but even the cheapest imp slave goes for more than ten gold coins. My father once planned to buy some for transporting goods but gave up.”
“It’s hard to judge if that’s cheap or expensive when we’re talking about the price of a human.”
“Adventure of higher rank sometimes buy them for porter work, but for us lowly folk, it’s a distant luxury.”
While chatting about this, something on the opposite side of the street caught Kurosu’s attention.
“What’s that big shop across the street? It doesn’t have a sign.”
“That’s not a shop. It’s a Luktstra Church. To its left is an orphanage, and to the right is a treatment clinic.”
“—Orphans living next to a slave shop. How distasteful.”
“Holy crap, it’s an old church—don’t they value poverty in the Luktstra religion?”
The building clearly stood out as the most dilapidated one in the area. The blackened walls, deeply cracked, were covered with vine tendrils that looked like writhing fingers, giving it an eerie and unsettling aura.
“I follow the fire deity Jigarvalt, so I don’t know much about the teachings of harmony… But thinking about Franz’s carefulness with money, it might not be far off?”
Now that Kurosu thought about it…
The team had borrowed a dilapidated ruin to repair as their base, Franz had gotten deeply upset when a shield broke, and would tirelessly search the town for the cheapest items. Maybe all that stinginess originated not from Franz’s nature, but from his devout faith?
“In Navar, many follow the sea god Theo, so there aren’t any churches there. They just pray to the sea or sprinkle wine, that’s all.”
“—”
Not being particularly religious himself, Kurosu simply listened quietly to the conversation.
Though his family wasn’t particularly fervent except for his deeply devoted mother, there was once an occasion when his elder brother casually remarked to her, “It’s impressive that you can pray so earnestly to something you’ve never seen.” This enraged her so much that she fiercely scolded him until their father intervened. Even Kurosu and his older brother, known for their bravery in battle, could do nothing but look on dumbfounded at her fury.
Lost in nostalgic thoughts, a sudden, familiar loud voice cut through them.
“Ah! Isn’t that Cross?!!”
Dashing towards them at incredible speed from in front of the church was none other than Nenet, the leopard beast-person Kurosu had previously dueled at the Guild.