Chapter 539 Leading One Guest ②
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Hmm, the way things look when walking like this is indeed different…”
”I suppose so,” my companion responded, her eyes scanning the stonework. “Isn’t the cobblestone difficult to walk on?”
”Ah, it’s fine. But how do you maintain this?”
”The house owners¹ facing the road have a management obligation-er, responsibility-for it,” she explained, gesturing vaguely at the structures. “Therefore, only rich people can live in areas with high pedestrian traffic. For the time being, there are also mutual aid associations for each district… ah, neighbors, companions? No, er…”
”Haha, it’s fine, I understand the general meaning. In short, it’s personal responsibility, but there’s also mutual help.”
”Ah, yes. Exactly that.”
After enjoying the view from the top of the castle walls surrounding the town with my guest Nada-san from the Southern Continent, we somehow ended up heading toward my house. Along the way, we continued to talk as Nada-san’s interests dictated.
I chose my words carefully, trying to avoid relying on the help of Ms. Schueri, a diplomat who also served as our interpreter, but it seemed Nada-san didn’t really need much consideration. She was especially sharp regarding these kinds of administrative topics.
Nada-san’s gaze was basically that of a person in power. It wasn’t that she herself was that person, but it was a perspective she had clearly acquired to support that “Certain Individual.” I got the feeling her preparation was thorough.
Occasionally, her eyes were caught by cultural things-the flowers in windows or the clothing of women passing by-but all she brought up were matters related to administrative systems. She was a competent adjutant, for sure. It made sense; she had been dispatched across the sea, so she possessed proper insight and negotiation skills.
(If I have the chance, I wonder if I should give her flowers or accessories. It might turn into a conversation about vegetation or distribution, but she might be unexpectedly pleased.)
While I was thinking about such things, we arrived in the back-alley town. The atmosphere was different from the main street; it was a district where the administrative hand didn’t reach much. Nada-san looked around, seemingly interested.
”…For a slum town, there are quite sturdy buildings lined up.”
”It seems to have some history to it, after all,” I replied. “It might simply be that you cannot survive the winter otherwise.”
”Hmm…”
”The Southern Continent is warm… is it hot enough to be called that? If so, such buildings would be unnecessary. …No, if there is a lot of sand, are they necessary? There must also be the threat of monsters, so is it not much different? Are castle walls… also necessary? Or perhaps people are crammed in, thinking it is enough to get inside the castle walls…”
”…! You speak as if you can even use magic of distant vision,” Nada-san noted, her voice steady. “It depends on the town, but that is correct; sand, monsters, and the poor are things that easily become problems in the Southern Continent. Besides… roofs and walls are also necessary to avoid the sunlight.”
”Haha, I’ve just heard a few things here and there, and am just piling up some deductions.”
Oops, I might have talked a little too much. Since it really was just things I’d heard-though with the caveat that it was in the previous world-it wasn’t something I should be talking about so pompously. It would be fine if it led to sales, but selling adult goods for population control was unreasonable.
From what I heard on top of the castle walls, I thought about fragrance products or aphrodisiac baths for the public bathhouse, but that might actually make things worse. No, wait; if women gathered, selling products at the public bathhouse might be a viable option. It also matched our shop’s traditional word-of-mouth business method.
Above all, the sight of women in their disheveled states at the bathhouse, choosing their partners for the night while chatting excitedly, was quite compelling. …It really was a shame that I couldn’t use magic of distant vision.
(Oh, I won’t say “arousal” at the bathhouse? I still have enough rationality to endure “dad jokes.”) While I was making excuses to myself in my heart-not knowing who they were for-we arrived at my magic circuit shop, “Harvest.”
”Well, here it is.”
”Oh… How should I put it, it has an atmosphere.”
”Yes, it is a small and shabby shop, isn’t it?”
”No,” she countered, “it is a store layout that gets me excited. Even in towns in the Southern Continent, there are times when you encounter unexpected shops at the end of small paths… this reminds me of that.”
(Ho, so there are enthusiasts of suspicious shops at the end of small paths everywhere, after all. Since they exist even on a different continent in another world, it is no exaggeration to say that this is already engraved in the DNA of humanity.)
”Haha, I wonder if I can live up to your expectations… Regardless, welcome to Magic Circuitry Harvest!”
”Ah, pardon the intrusion,” she said.
I rang the bell at the entrance and stepped inside. As always, it was a suspicious shop interior with magic circuits whose uses weren’t well understood lined up on the shelves. Sitting in the back was my younger sister-in-law, Flearis.
”Welcome-oh? Brother-in-law. Do you have a customer?” Flearis asked.
”Ah, I ended up guiding her a little,” I replied.
Flearis had a blank look on her face. Lately, I’d been having her watch the shop so much that her appearance sitting at the workbench had become natural. Well, it was the result of her saying things like, “If I don’t work, I have nothing to do but take care of the children… or ‘do it’ with brother-in-law…” Of course, I “did it” with her plenty that day.
”Um, …! Are these people from the Southern Continent and Sylvaol?”
”Ah, this is Nada-san. Behind her are Schueri-san and General Mamache.”
I introduced the three of them to Flearis, who looked a bit surprised, perhaps because her concealment magic had been dispelled. Since we had been talking lately, she understood that they were important customers. Flearis’s back straightened up.
”I am Nada,” the guest stated. “I am in the care of Lord Harvest.”
”I am called Flearis,” she said, nodding politely. “Um, with brother-in-law…”
”She is one of my wives,” I clarified.
”B-brother-in-law…!” Flearis gasped.
”Hm, is that so,” Nada-san said, looking thoughtful. “However, just now you said ‘brother-in-law’…”
”Her sister is also my wife,” I added.
”I-I see…”
I briefly explained my relationship with Flearis, and this time Nada-san was surprised. I wondered what kind of surprise this is. Come to think of it, was polygamy generally accepted in the Southern Continent? Various questions came to mind, but Schueri-san reacted before that.
”That hair color… could it be the ‘pink’ of Coalmine…” Schueri-san asked.
”Yes, that’s right,” I said. “Come to think of it, last year she visited Sylvaol along with Lord Ierse…”
”Yes, I saw her once at the royal palace,” Schueri-san continued. “Her Highness also seems to be relying on her…”
(I see, so this connects with that. It is not a coincidence, but it is a little interesting. No, perhaps this is not the time to be amused.) As I mentioned earlier, Flearis had completely become a shopkeeper, but her original job was as a liaison with the Coalmine Kingdom, or more accurately, with Her Highness the Crown Princess Ierse.
The fact that I visited the shop with Nada-san today would likely be conveyed to her, and conversely, the fact that a subordinate of Lord Ierse was in my shop would likely be conveyed to Sylvaol.
…Well, we weren’t hostile, and if the subordinate of Lord Ierse was in close contact with her parents’ home, it was a story that would be conveyed eventually anyway, so I didn’t think it would be a big problem.
However, that was Lord Ierse, after all. The faster the information, the more I had a premonition that she would act actively. …Could it be, if a child was born, would she display her tomboyish nature again? No, that couldn’t be.
”Um, so, Nada-san,” I said, turning back to my guest. “It’s a shop like this, but is there anything worth seeing?”
”Ah, let’s see… I was curious about how you sell things, but it is smaller than I imagined. Can enough customers to build that house enter this shop…?”
”Ah, I built that house recently because-“
Regardless, for now, it was Nada-san. In the end, she inspected the inside of the shop from corner to corner. Or rather, she also watched me serve a customer who happened to arrive.
As expected, she seemed speechless at the shop’s traditional sexual-harassment-style customer service, but she seemed strangely convinced, saying, “I see, so this is how you set hurdles for purchases…”, so it seemed I was able to maintain the goodwill I had built up to this point. That was close…
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Summary:
The protagonist guides Nada-san, a diplomat from the Southern Continent, through his local town and to his magic circuit shop, Harvest. Tensions emerge as Flearis’s role as a liaison is revealed in front of the visitors, connecting regional powers. Nada-san inspects the shop, leaving the scene unresolved as to how these connections will impact future trade and diplomacy.
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Trivia:
- Administrative details of town maintenance and mutual aid associations.
- The political complexity of Flearis’s dual identity as a shopkeeper and a liaison
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Character Insight:
Nada-san shows a pivot from curiosity about administrative life to a more focused, political assessment upon arriving at the shop. Flearis’s behavior shifts from comfortable shopkeeper to formal liaison once the identity of her guests is confirmed.
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Glossary:
Notes:
• Nada – A tall, slender Southern Continent envoy, adjutant, and guest visiting the kingdom with a royal delegation. She has dark skin, glossy black hair, sharp almond eyes, and a powerful perspective. Deeply devoted to her master, she balances a blank diplomatic façade with a curious, expressive nature, vulgar northern slang, and a penchant for fist-bumping. She is highly knowledgeable about trade, administration, monsters, and sand-based geography, and is currently exploring Canarias.
• Schueri – An elegant, slender Sylvaol diplomat with white skin and shoulder-length hair, she serves as Nada’s lead retainer. Formerly a royal instructor with deep knowledge of the palace and Coalmine Kingdom, she brings an intelligent demeanor to her role as a mediator, interpreter, and logistics manager. Fluent in continental and Southern languages, she hides a secret curiosity for adult merchandise.
• Harvest – Kento Harvest, a gaunt, titled Viscount and former Canarias forest adventurer, is a calculating merchant who runs an adult magic-circuit shop and serves as a kingdom informant/guide for guests. Wearing a tattered academic coat, he wields low-mana circuits to command Academy systems. He maintains a reputation for brand trust and has a complex personal life with multiple lovers, slaves, and children.
• Flearis – A pale, pink-haired woman serving as a diplomatic envoy, guard, shopkeeper, and liaison with the Coalmine Kingdom. She belongs to a covert unit and is the protagonist’s relative—specifically Lily’s sister or Martin’s younger foster sister. She displays a cold, almost vengeful pragmatism, particularly when reporting her sister’s words to Martin.
• Mamache – A large-framed, bronze-skinned general from the Kingdom of Sylvaol, he accompanies a guest from the Southern Continent. A stern tactician and Nada-dono’s guard, his formal military uniform is laden with medals. Though capable, he is easily bewildered by modern trends. Currently, he is desperately seeking a solution to his marital issues, deeply troubled by his wife’s relationship with a succubus.
• Ierse – Lively, brilliant, and heavily pregnant, this mastermind is the Crown Princess and high-ranking Lord of the Coalmine Kingdom, formerly of Sylvaol. Radiating unique charm with her long hair, she maintains a healthy, powerhouse presence while tirelessly working to support and cheer up her husband, Gilliam, as they await the birth of their heir.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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