Chapter 297: [Story of the Red-Haired Hero]The Troubles of Port Town Jabba-Jabba
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"Welcome, welcome! We've got some lively squids! Come on, buy them, buy them!"
"Grilled Sheetopopolock, how about some grilled Sheetopopolock?"
"Dried fish! Anyone want dried fish? We've got the specialty dried fish from the neighboring village of Panemo!"
Looking left and right, there were many food stalls lined up in front of colorful buildings!
The delicious scent of seafood wafting from those stalls!
The lively voices of people, loud enough to be noisy!
This is the market in Jabba-Jabba, the largest port town in Ashgo, the westernmost country of the Golden Continent.
There was a woman walking through this crowded market with sparkling eyes.
"Wow...!"
The name of the small woman in the holy robes of the Church of the Holy Goddess, who was walking unsteadily while drooling uncontrollably, was Chiron.
"Wait, wait, Chiron! Don't go ahead on your own!"
Pushing through the crowd and hurriedly following her was the red-haired, red-eyed boy hero, Torch.
Behind him, the wandering mage Nenesane was also following.
"Torch-kun, I'm sorry, but that's a request I can't listen to. Delicious food never waits for me. If I let my guard down even a little, it will instantly end up in someone else's stomach. The things that should be in my stomach! That can never be allowed! Yes, this world is essentially a gourmet survival of the fittest! I will never lose to anyone!"
"Hey, calm down a bit? What are you saying?"
Torch grabbed Chiron's shoulders as she lost herself and shook her, lightly slapping her cheeks.
"Thanks to the recent reward money, our wallet has quite a bit of leeway, but... there's a limit. And you've already eaten quite a lot, so eating more will upset your stomach, right? Chiron, you're an older sister, so you can endure it, right?"
"...Ah! Y-Yes, of course, I can endure it! I am an older sister!"
Chiron, who had regained her senses, blushed and took a simple prayer pose with her hands clasped together, apologizing to the holy goddess for her own greed.
After all, even like this, she was a proper clergyman.
Even like this.
Probably.
"Alright, the destination is just a little further. Chiron, don't make any more detours and just walk straight, okay?"
"Yes..."
While being pulled and walked by Torch, who was holding her hand tightly, Chiron's appearance was undoubtedly that of a troublesome younger sister.
However, in reality, Chiron only looked young, and even like this, she was a proper adult woman.
Even like this.
Probably.
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Now, why did this hero's party come to Jabba-Jabba? It was to board a ship.
Jabba-Jabba was one of the largest port towns even in the Hamejika Golden Continent, and regular ships to all other continents except Sardisann and Forast departed from this port.
And Torch and the others were planning to set sail for the Fantasy Continent of Nijial.
Why were they crossing the continent?
The reason was to prevent the terrifying plan of the Demon Lord's army that had come to light due to an incident a few weeks ago.
A few weeks ago, Torch and the others defeated Dodecabombo, the giant mid-ranked commander of the Demon Lord's army who had attacked the royal capital of Ashgo.
This Dodecabombo, while having overwhelming attacking power from his giant body, also possessed the cunningness to ingratiate himself with some of the nobles who were at the core of Ashgo and manipulate them from behind, making him a formidable enemy... but he had left information that could never be ignored on the verge of death.
That was none other than the Demon Lord's army's plan to occupy the eastern part of the Fantasy Continent, triggered by the attack on the city-state of Arundatte in the east of the Fantasy Continent!
As a hero, Torch naturally couldn't allow such tyranny by the Demon Lord's army.
Torch, who had decided to go to the Fantasy Continent without any hesitation, had come to this port town with his companions... and that was the situation.
"Well, this is the regular ship boarding area."
Torch and the others, after passing through the lively market, had arrived in front of a particularly magnificent brick building.
This was the gateway to this Golden Continent.
It was a place overflowing with adventurers, merchants, and travelers from various countries, rivaling the liveliness of the market.
...Or at least it should have been.
However.
"...Isn't it kind of deserted?"
Yes, as Chiron said, this regular ship boarding area... when they went inside, for some reason, there were hardly any people at all.
Not a single person was sitting on the waiting chairs placed in the room, and only the sound of waves washing up on the nearby quay echoed in the vast, empty space.
The light reflected from the sea surface coming in through the windows on the walls flickered and wavered.
It was very beautiful, but in any case, it was eerily quiet.
"What in the world... happened here?"
Torch tilted his head.
Behind him, the wandering mage Nenesane was also pondering with her hand on her chin.
"Anyway, the ship! Let's buy tickets for the ship!"
Saying that, Chiron was about to run towards the ticket counter in the room.
But.
"...There are no ships departing now!"
A gruff voice stopped her, saying that.
When Torch looked back, there was a muscular middle-aged man.
The man, who had a rich black beard, had his sun-tanned cheeks flushed red, as if he were drunk despite it being daytime.
"Who are you?"
"Oh... my apologies. I am Uminotoko, the captain of the regular ship 'Blue Togoat' bound for the Fantasy Continent."
Uminotoko bowed slightly to Torch and the others, swaying a little.
"What do you mean by no ships are running?"
Chiron asked in a troubled voice, furrowing her eyebrows.
Uminotoko scratched his head and bent down to meet Chiron's eyes, saying apologetically.
"I'm sorry, little miss. Actually, there's a bit of a problem... Right now, this boarding area is not in use. If you want to go to the Fantasy Continent, there's another port town about a three-day carriage ride away, and it's currently operating as an alternative port, so you should go there."
Uminotoko patted Chiron's head while sighing with the smell of alcohol.
...If Torch and the others were ordinary adventurers, they would have followed Uminotoko's advice and set off for the alternative port.
However, Torch was a hero.
If there were people in trouble... if there was a problem, he couldn't just abandon them!
"Uminotoko-san, what exactly is this problem?"
"Ah..."
Uminotoko, realizing that he had let his mouth slip due to the alcohol, scratched his cheek, made sure no one was around, and whispered to Torch.
"I can't say it out loud because it will cause confusion... Right now, in these nearby waters..."
"In these nearby waters?"
"...It appears."
"It appears? What does?"
After saying this much, Uminotoko let out another big sigh, glanced around once more, and said in an even smaller voice.
"...A monster."
"A monster, you say!?"
Torch's loud voice echoed throughout the empty regular ship boarding area!
Uminotoko was startled for a moment.
However, when he saw people being troubled by powerful beings like monsters or strong magical beasts, he couldn't remain calm!
"Uminotoko-san! Please tell me more about that story!"
The flames of justice were burning in the hero Torch's bright red eyes...!