Chapter 3-1 : Invitation From The Southern Land (part 1)
A lot had happened since I arrived in this city. I was adopted into the Kushaq Family and cooperated to capture the Keemariq Bandits and the man behind them, Oglan.
Now that everything was over, Father was less busy than usual and had been spending his time with me lately. He said he wanted to deepen our bonds.
Currently, Father, Mother, Maitena onee-sama, and I are having a tea party on the balcony after having breakfast. We’re talking about various things while enjoying the tea and snacks, and looking at the beautiful scenery of the city from up here.
「So, Kako, have you decided on your next adventure?」(Elvent)
「I’ve discussed with Nyat, but I haven’t decided yet.」(Kako)
Speaking of Nyat, he’s sleeping in my room after eating his breakfast as usual.
Cat sure sleeps a lot.
「Do you have any recommendations?」(Kako)
「How about the royal capital? Various goods from all over the country gather in that city. As a merchant, you may find something that interests you there.」(Elvent)
The royal capital, huh? It’s certainly the most prosperous place in this kingdom.
I’m imagining a big city like Tokyo. There must be a lot of people there.
「Kako-chan, if you want to find something interesting, then I think you should go to the northern capital~ It’s cold in the winter, but it’s a perfect place to cool yourself in the summer. The city is not as big as the royal capital, but there are many goods that can only be obtained there. I think you will like it there~」(Folia)
Oh? The northern capital doesn’t sound bad either.
Since Mother said it was a cold place, I’m guessing it’s similar to Hokkaido. I wonder if I can see snow there.
「If I were you, I would go to the south. You will be able to see the sea there, after all, the southern region is the only part in this country that is connected to the sea. It has a large port city which is a gathering place for traders from the neighboring countries.」(Maitena)
A port city that was open to foreign traders. It reminds me of Yokohama.
I might be able to find many interesting goods I’ve never seen before there.
「Hmmmm……」(Kako)
I folded my arms and thought.
Where should I go?
Tokyo, Hokkaido, or Yokohama… Hmm… This is tough…
Wait… Why am I thinking like a student who would go on a school trip? I’m in a different world now.
Aa-ahh… I guess I just miss Japan…
「My lord, my ladies, forgive me for interrupting.」(Marqise)
While I was wondering, Marqise came to the balcony and bowed to us.
「What’s the matter?」(Elvent)
「Sir, we have a guest.」(Marqise)
「A guest? I thought I didn’t have a plan to meet anyone today. Who are they?」(Elvent)
「He said he was Duke Balvin’s son.」(Marqise)
「Duke Balvin’s son, you say!?」(Elvent)
Father’s expression changed when he heard that name.
「Hahh… I want to enjoy my time with my family today, but… can’t be helped. I’ll go see him.」(Elvent)
「Sir, he said he wanted to speak with Kako ojou-sama.」(Marqise)
「Kako?」(Elvent)
「Eh? Me?」(Kako)
I don’t know who Duke Balvin is, but judging from Father’s reaction when he heard his name, I can tell he’s not an ordinary nobleman.
I wonder why the son of a powerful man like him wants to see me.
「Did he say why he wanted to see me?」(Kako)
「Yes. He wanted to talk about the Quicksand Magic Sword you put up for auction a while ago.」(Marqise)
「Ah, about my magic sword. I see.」(Kako)
「Kako, if you don’t want to see him, you can refuse. I will tell him you’re not feeling well.」(Elvent)
Father looked concerned about me, but since that person wants to talk about my sword, I don’t think refusing to see him is a good idea.
「No, I’ll go see him. I want to confirm his purpose.」(Kako)
「I see.」(Elvent)
Seeing my determined eyes, Father smiled.
「Let’s go together then. Folia, Maitena, you two stay here. We’ll be right back.」(Elvent)
「Okay~」(Folia)
「Good luck.」(Maitena)
Leaving Mother and Maitena onee-sama behind, Father, Marqise, and I left the balcony.
「By the way, Father, do you know what kind of person Duke Balvin is?」(Kako)
I started a conversation with Father to kill time while we were walking down the corridor, heading for the drawing room.
「Duke Balvin is a powerful nobleman and a member of the royal family.」(Elvent)
「The royal family!?」(Kako)
「Well, former royalty, to be exact. Anyway, he’s a noble who governs the southern region of this kingdom.」(Elvent)
So, he’s the government of Yokohamaー No, the southern region, huh?
「Southern region… Maitena onee-sama recommended that place earlier.」(Kako)
「Yeah. As she said, the southern region has a big port city. That place is connected to the sea. You’ve never seen the sea before, have you? I bet you will be surprised when you see it.」(Elvent)
「Sea? Of course I’ve seen it before.」(Kako)
「…What?」(Elvent)
Suddenly, Father turned his head to me and looked at me with a surprised face.
Did I say something weird?
「So, you’ve been to the southern region before? But it’s really far away from here. When did you…」(Elvent)
Oh, shoot! I completely forgot!
I’ve seen the sea, but that was in my previous life!
「Ah, I mean… I… saw it in a book! That’s right! I saw a picture of the sea in a book. It’s like… umm… an extremely huge lake, right?」(Kako)
「Hahaha! I see. You’re right. I’ve been to the port city before, and the sea indeed looked like a huge lake. It was so huge that I couldn’t see the end of it.」(Elvent)
「W, wow~… I hope I can see it one day…」(Kako)
「If you want to see it, you should go to the south then.」(Elvent)
It seems like seeing the sea is a thing you can brag about here…
「Can you tell me more about the southern region?」(Kako)
「Well, other than being the only gateway to the neighboring countries across the sea, the southern region has also become the place connecting the people in this country with the sea tribe.」(Elvent)
「Sea tribe?」(Kako)
「Yeah. The race that lives in the sea. The mermaids.」(Elvent)
「Me… Mermaids!?」(Kako)
Mermaids, he says!? There are mermaids in this world!?
So, if I go to the south, I will be able to see a real mermaid!?
That’s awesome!
I wonder what they look like. Do they wear bikinis made of shells like in storybooks? If so, that would be kind of erotic… Or, they look totally different from what I imagined. Well, that’s possible.
「Because of that, the Balvin Family became the most influential nobles in this country. They’re also rich thanks to the productive port city that keeps making money for them. However, for that reason, they also have many enemies that are trying to seize that city from them.」(Elvent)
「That sounds troublesome.」(Kako)
「Yeah, but they don’t worry. After all, they have excellent military power for self-defense. Because their region is connected to the sea, the Balvin Family is the only noble family that has naval power in this country, and their navy is one of the strongest forces this country has.」(Elvent)
「I see.」(Kako)
「Oh, right. Speaking of the navy, Duke Balvin’s second son is the navy commander there. His name is Raykard. Marqise, the person we’re going to see is him, right?」(Elvent)
「He didn’t mention his name, but I think he is the second son, Raykard-sama. After all, he looked quite young.」(Marqise)
「I have a strong feeling it is him.」(Elvent)
「Father, do you know him?」(Kako)
「Yeah, he is a well-known soldier in the Balvin Family. His skills as a commander and as a swordsman are excellent. However, I heard a weird rumor about him.」(Elvent)
「Weird rumor?」(Kako)
「People call him ‘The Sword Breaker’ because he always breaks his swords in battles.」(Elvent)
「Sword Breaker…」(Kako)
Honestly, that sounds like a cool title, but… I wonder why he always breaks his swords.
「In any case, he’s not a bad person. Let’s see what he wants from you.」(Elvent)
「Un.」(Kako)
I nodded to Father and kept following him to the drawing room.
When we got there, I could see a young man sitting on a sofa. He must be that Raykard-sama.
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