Chapter 259: Encounter

Chapter 259 - Encounter

The main harbor, where fishermen's boats fill the sea and ships come and go frequently.

A short distance away, on the shore of the forest facing the sea where I was standing, a small boat came toward us.

"That's the one."

『Hmm.』

"Since it's a smuggler's boat, I figured they were moving it on a larger vessel..."

『That may have been the case until halfway through. Usually, however, large ships are allowed to dock in ports and their cargo is inspected when being unloaded. In order to hide and secretly transport illegal goods, they must have transshipped their cargo to a smaller ship at sea on the way.』

"Eh, they do that?"

『Hmm. Tis referred to as 'offshore transfer'. Tis an orthodox method of smuggling illegal drugs and arms that has been used since ancient times.』

"Heh~......"

There were a few people on the boat who were staring at us. Their entire bodies were draped in cloak-like robes and their faces were obscured by deep hoods.

There were two large wooden crates as the ship's cargo.

"......... mumbling mumbling..."

Then, one of the robed figures on the boat holds something in his palm and points it at us.

It's a magic crystal. He muttered to it, and then from the magic crystal...

[Hihahaha, go ahead~♪]

I heard that extremely unpleasant voice.

Then, the person holding the magic crystal grabbed the cloth bag at his feet and threw it at me.

『Hmph, apparently Paripi has verified your identity. That is the package. Secure it.』

"Eh, uh, sure."

I caught the bag that was thrown at me. Then the one who threw it just walked away, and without saying a word to me, they just turned the boat around and sailed away.

"Hey, they're gone, aren't they?"

『They are just couriers. Merely hired for money. They do not wish to get involved, so instead of revealing their identities, they know nothing about the cargo, and they do not want to hear anything about the people they are delivering to.』

"Heh, heh... I can see that ... I mean, even though they're all outlaws, they follow the rules of the outlaws..."

Somehow, the guys who do bad things think about a lot of things. If you're going to use your brain to think about things like that, you should just get a serious job... there's no way I would say that.

Because, in a way, I'm stepping onto the "other side" from today.

And......

"Oh, here it is ~......"

I put my hand into the cloth bag I had received and felt a square inside.

When I took it out, it was a box wrapped with a ribbon.

When I unwrapped the ribbon and looked inside...

"Uh... inside... first, a piece of paper..."

『Hmm... stamped... undoubtedly issued according to official procedure... the identity card of a 'fictitious person'.』

"Th, this is... no... I don't want to use it~......"

『To utter such clemency. Without it, you would be unable to earn funds for the trip. And anything else...』

"Oh... one more item... some kind of small 'card'..."

Inside the box, in addition to the fake ID, was a small palm-sized card.

The feel and elasticity of the card was unlike anything I'd ever seen before, and the surface of the card was engraved with a pattern I'd never seen before.

"What the heck is this? What is written on it...?"

『...... Master Key......』

"Huh?"

『Hmph... I never believed he actually had it... where the hell did he get it...』

The word "Master Key" slipped out of Tre'ainar's mouth. So, is this the key? You mean this card is the key?

Looking at Tre'ainar, who has a slightly excited smile on his lips, there seems to be no doubt.

In other words, this is what Tre'ainar has been after all his life.

"...... what do we do? After all..."

『No... tis fine.』

Tre'ainar suggested that we go slowly for my training, but seeing this Master Key, I thought he'd want to go as soon as possible, I was going to ask him just to be sure, but Tre'ainar shook his head.

『It matters not if we take a little more time. In fact, it would be more of a burden if we were to rush, encounter troublesome people, and stray from our goal. Let us proceed slowly.』

"Oh... if you say so, that's fine."

For the time being, I properly stored the stuff I got from Paripi, and now my growth comes first, so I nodded.

[Heyyo~, Boss, did you get my present~?]

And then, without reading the mood again, that bastard... no, I've received the goods as agreed, so I guess there's nothing wrong in the sense of confirming that, but ...

"Yeah, I got it."

[Hihahaha, good to hear~. Ah~Oh, I also wanted to see the rejoicing face of 'someone' upon seeing this gift with my own eyes~]

"...... bastard..."

He wanted to see the look of joy on Tre'ainar's face. Tre'ainar also looked a bit irritated and sullen.

"Well... I'll use it as long as I have it... where did you get this?"

I interrupted him for the time being, so that he wouldn't take over the conversation.

The question was the one that Tre'ainar had been muttering about.

And then......

[Onya~? Are you curious, or did 'someone' tell you to ask~? You wouldn't care about that, would you~?]

"Nuh, mu..."

[Well, but there's no big reason, right? It's really just picked it up...... by accident.]

"...... What?"

[I picked it up. No, seriously. Really no lie 100%. I just happened to pick it up after it was dropped.]

No, no, you just happened to pick up a card that looks like it's made of that special stuff... something Tre'ainar has wanted all his life? How can such a joke be...

『This man... does not seem to be lying...』

"...... Huh?"

『Well, certainly there were other circumstances, but I suppose tis true that he 'picked it up by accident'... I cannot even imagine the circumstances under which he acquired it.』

Surprisingly, Tre'ainar seemed to believe Paripi's words. Well, if Tre'ainar, who has been watching Paripi for many years, says so, is it true?

[Hihahaha, well, I went through a lot of trouble for the sake of a good time. There are some pretty interesting things in the deepest part of these ruins. However...]

"Hmm? However? What is it?"

[Even in the deepest part, there are several branching paths... and some of them are too old, or maybe some idiots made them artificially... anyway, there are paths that are catastrophically destroyed and impassable... there are paths that even I don't know what's going on with them, so be aware of that.]

"...... What?"

[I thought about paving the road to get through, but it would be quite a large task, and although I'm good at breaking things, I'm not so good at fixing them, and I didn't want to blow up the rubble and collapse the whole ruin, so I left it alone.]

Saying that, he added the possibility that there was something lying dormant that even Paripi didn't know about yet.

[Hihaha, well, if you find a way to get through with the wisdom of someone, please let me know sometime. Well then, I'll leave you to it then, Boss! Have fun~♪]

And with those last words, the communication from Paripi was cut off.

In the forest which had become quiet again, Tre'ainar spoke after a moment of silence...

『Hmph, I see... there are routes where even Paripi yielded and turned on his heel...』

"Tre'ainar?"

『Truth be told, child. I was very curious about what lay in the deepest part of the ruins, but... if Paripi and others had already reached there and solved the mystery... I was a little skeptical. Because it means that I have fallen behind Paripi. But...』

Oh, Tre'ainar's grinning again.

More than ever, he seemed to be excited about the adventures ahead.

"So you mean we're the first?"

『Mm-hmm. Except for those from the distant past... I imagine so.』

If that's the case, I'm excited too. And most of all, the radar I'm about to master is a magic that will help me with those ruins and dungeon conquests.

『All right, child. After dinner, tis time to train!』

"Osu!"

Even though I'm not in a hurry, I kind of wanted to leave as soon as possible.

For that, I have to master "Magical Radar" properly――――

"Oh, there you are."

『"Eh!?" 』

"You were in a place like this. I've been looking for you. Young man?"

We were deep in the forest outside the city, and a man came up to us... and in his hands...

"You are..."

"We got lucky. A peddler came into town and had the coffee... see!"

Saying that, the man held out the bottle of coffee in his hand to me...

"Come, young man, let's make some curry."

"Huh!? Eh, ah, no, no, eh!?"

And then, as if it was natural, he suggested that we make a curry... no no no no?!

The man is the manager of the equipment shop.

His name is Slayer.

『This man... what...』

No way, he showed up all of a sudden, even brought the coffee I mentioned as an element of curry-making, and now he wants to make curry with me?

What in the world is going on?

And that's not all...

"Oh~, I found you~"

『"Huh? What now?"』

"The worst kind of brother, one who makes his little sister cry ♪."

While neither I nor Tre'ainar could fully comprehend what was happening, a third party's voice was heard.

When I turned around, I saw a young woman who I had never seen before floating over the sea.

Who the heck? No, seriously, who?

"Hmm? Oh? Oh-oh? Somehow... is there a man who cannot read the air getting in my way?"

"............ this is also...... bad timing... to interrupt me... such an annoying woman."

And that woman looked at me for a moment and smiled, and then immediately looked at Slayer, who was standing next to me, and said some sharp words, and Slayer also said some grumpy words to the mysterious woman with a blank expression on his face...

『Ah...』

And Tre'ainar was also somewhat surprised. What's going on?

Author's Note

Golden Week will be in full swing starting tomorrow. I don't feel like I'm resting even though I'm not working, so I want a real break, but the author is also hiding in the house in a naked mask. By the way, the long-awaited second chapter of the manga will be updated on the 7th after the holiday. No~, the second chapter is the best. You get to see the joy and sorrow of the emotionally rich Great Demon King. Please look forward to it.