Chapter 101: Morning Run
ㅤThe next morning after talking with the siblings, Ishuta-san and Jit-san, I woke up in a fairly nice inn located in the central district of Celesta.
ㅤ
ㅤI have money, but even so, I feel hesitant about staying at the most luxurious inn in town.
ㅤOn the other hand, I can’t sleep peacefully in a cheap inn.
ㅤAs a result, I stayed in a chic brick hotel, somewhere between first-class and second-class.
ㅤ
ㅤI washed my face in the reasonably clean room, changed my clothes, and had breakfast in the hotel restaurant.
ㅤ
ㅤAs I finished my breakfast and was having my after-meal tea, a waiter approached me as if he had been waiting for me to finish eating.
ㅤ
ㅤ”Excuse me for interrupting your meal. Are you Minato-sama?”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Yes, I am.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”You have a visitor.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Uh, is it the adventurer siblings?”
ㅤ
ㅤ”No, it’s someone from the Celesta Council. They said they want to talk to you urgently.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Hmm?”
ㅤ
ㅤI have an idea about what it’s about.
ㅤ
ㅤ（It happened just as Jit-san said.）
ㅤ
ㅤ”Okay. I’ll go now. Or should I have them come here?”
ㅤ
ㅤ”We’ll clear the table, so please wait here.”
ㅤ
ㅤAs the waiter told me, I waited, and the waiter brought an elegant middle-aged woman.
ㅤA slender madam with dark brown hair and blue eyes, wearing a casual-looking purple dress.
ㅤ
ㅤ”I apologize for coming so early.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Oh, please, have a seat.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Thank you.”
ㅤ
ㅤSaying that, the madam sat down on the chair with a truly graceful movement.
ㅤ
ㅤAfter waiting for the waiter to serve tea, the madam spoke.
ㅤ
ㅤ”First, let me introduce myself. I am Harriet・Chaldane. I am the president of the Chaldane Trading Company and a representative of the Celesta Council.”
ㅤ
ㅤI was surprised by the madam’s words.
ㅤ
ㅤ”Ahaha… Are you perhaps the top person in this city?”
ㅤ
ㅤThe waiter said “someone from the Council,” so I thought she would be a low-ranking official!
ㅤ
ㅤ”Nominally, yes. However, there is no hierarchy among the council members in the Celesta Council. It’s hard for outsiders to understand.”
ㅤ
ㅤHarriet-san said so while resting her hand on her cheek.
ㅤ
ㅤ（It’s more like the Speaker of the House of Representatives than the Prime Minister.）
ㅤ
ㅤLet’s just understand it that way for now.
ㅤ
ㅤ”As you seem to know, I am Minato.
ㅤSo, what is your business? You’re in a hurry, right?”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Yes, I am. It’s troublesome.”
ㅤ
ㅤHarriet-san said that, not looking troubled at all.
ㅤ
ㅤ”Minato-san, you defeated a Sandworm on your way here, right?”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Yes, well…”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Amazing. To be so strong at your age. I’ve only seen a Sandworm once in person, but they’re very large, aren’t they?”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Y-yes… They’re very large.”
ㅤ
ㅤI ended up giving a somewhat vague reply.
ㅤ
ㅤ（This person is throwing me off.）
ㅤ
ㅤJudging from her title, I think she’s a capable person, but she doesn’t seem like it at all.
ㅤ
ㅤSince the conversation didn’t seem to be progressing, I asked a question.
ㅤ
ㅤ”So, did you come to see me to request that I exterminate the Sandworms?”
ㅤ
ㅤHowever, Harriet-san shook her head.
ㅤ
ㅤ”We considered that, but we think we can manage that with the strength of Celesta and the Guild.
ㅤWhat’s really troublesome is the sea.”
ㅤ
ㅤAh, I see.
ㅤ
ㅤ”What do you mean by ‘the sea’?”
ㅤ
ㅤ”You’ve heard about it, haven’t you? There’s a rumor of an unidentified monster around the Kielhen Islands, and our warships can’t even get close. It’s troublesome.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”… Uh, why do you think I know about it?”
ㅤ
ㅤ”The restaurant where you had lunch yesterday is directly managed by my trading company.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”I’m sure you made sure there were no people around.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Ufufu… That’s a se・cre・t.”
ㅤ
ㅤThe madam winked as she said that.
ㅤShe should be quite old, but because of her somewhat innocent impression, it was strangely charming.
ㅤHowever, what she was saying was not charming at all.
ㅤ
ㅤ”I apologize. The Council is in quite a state of confusion.
ㅤ━━ After all, it was discovered that several council members were possessed by demons and were conspiring in secret.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”H-huh!?”
ㅤ
ㅤI couldn’t help but raise my voice.
ㅤ
ㅤHarriet-san smiled at me and said,
ㅤ
ㅤ”By the way, I have many friends due to my line of work. They are all good people and I am grateful for them…”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Um…?”
ㅤ
ㅤI tilted my head at the sudden change of topic.
ㅤ
ㅤ”A friend of mine in the Mistradia Tree Country sent me a carrier pigeon the other day with something that concerned them. They said that people calling themselves 『Demonkin』 appeared in the Mist Forest. Fortunately, thanks to the efforts of a passing adventurer, things seem to have been settled without incident.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”A-ahaha…”
ㅤ
ㅤIgnoring me as I broke out in a cold sweat, Harriet-san continued.
ㅤ
ㅤ”It seems that someone suspected of being a Demonkin associate also infiltrated near the heart of the Tree Country, and they are now desperately trying to hunt them down.
ㅤSo, I also investigated whether something similar had happened in Celesta, and ━━”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Demonkin had infiltrated the Council.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”It’s truly troublesome. We have the Sandworm and Kielhen Islands issues as well.
ㅤOr could these two incidents also be connected to the Demonkin?
ㅤI thought Minato-san might know something.”
ㅤ
ㅤHarriet-san said, her eyes momentarily becoming sharp.
ㅤ
ㅤ（This person is scary! She’s almost grasped the whole truth!）
ㅤ
ㅤI took a sip of my tea to hide my agitation and answered after calming down.
ㅤ
ㅤ”Well, I don’t know. It seems possible.”
ㅤ
ㅤImusoda seemed to have called himself a “Four Heavenly Demon Generals,” or something like that, a rather dangerous title.
ㅤ
ㅤ（That means there are three more Demonkin as powerful as Imusoda left, right?）
ㅤ
ㅤAccording to my keen reading, Imusoda is probably the weakest of the Four Heavenly Kings, the kind of character who disgraces the name of the Four Heavenly Kings. The remaining three are likely to be stronger.
ㅤ
ㅤ”But I wonder if it’s possible to make monsters appear in a place that’s not a dungeon. The place where the Sandworms appeared and the Kielhen Islands are too far apart.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”That’s right. However, it seemed as if they were trying to surround Celesta, so it bothered me. There might be a reason for the Demonkin to target Celesta, but there shouldn’t be a reason to specifically attack it, right?”
ㅤ
ㅤ”That’s certainly true.”
ㅤ
ㅤCelesta is said to be a prominent trading city among the Oceanic City-States, but it’s not the most important city.
ㅤAs far as I could see from the map, its location isn’t particularly advantageous compared to other city-states.
ㅤ
ㅤ”So, I’m getting worried. The captured Demonkin died shouting 『Glory to His Majesty the Demon King!』”
ㅤ
ㅤ”D-Demon King?”
ㅤ
ㅤWell, since there’s something called the Four Heavenly Demon Generals, I had a hunch that there would be a 『King』 above them.
ㅤ
ㅤ（I can’t believe there’s actually a Demon King.）
ㅤ
ㅤ”As for the Sandworms, as far as we’ve investigated, it seems to have been an isolated incident. The survey results suggest that there doesn’t seem to be a large-scale breeding of Sandworms or a dungeon entrance opening. Of course, we can’t say for sure yet.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”That’s good to hear.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Yes. But, if you hear about Demonkin and Demon King, you’d be worried, wouldn’t you?”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Of course I would be.”
ㅤ
ㅤIt’s more than just worrying.
ㅤ
ㅤ”We haven’t found any clues suggesting Demonkin activity related to the Sandworms. So…”
ㅤ
ㅤ”It’s the Kielhen Islands, then?”
ㅤ
ㅤ”It might be a miss there too, but we have no other leads.”
ㅤ
ㅤHarriet-san nodded.
ㅤ
ㅤ（I see…）
ㅤ
ㅤI understood the story.
ㅤ
ㅤ”Of course, I’m asking you to do something very dangerous. I’ll prepare the best reward possible. For example, you can write any amount you want on this check.”
ㅤ
ㅤHarriet-san suddenly took out a check from her pouch and placed it on the table.
ㅤ
ㅤ（I never thought I’d see this kind of scene in real life…）
ㅤ
ㅤBut I don’t need money.
ㅤ
ㅤ”Ahaha… I’m not willing to risk my life for money.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Oh my. Then, what would you like?”
ㅤ
ㅤHarriet-san tilted her head.
ㅤ
ㅤ”In the first place, I haven’t decided to accept the request yet.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Is that so? I heard you saved a sick girl in Zamzaria. And that you fought a Demonkin named Imusoda in the Mist Forest.”
ㅤ
ㅤ（Wow, she knows that much.）
ㅤ
ㅤThis person is too scary.
ㅤ
ㅤ”I’m not particularly a good person. I just couldn’t ignore it.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Hmm… That’s troublesome.
ㅤAre you in a hurry now, Minato-san? Where were you planning to go from Celesta?”
ㅤ
ㅤ”I’m not in that much of a hurry. Since I’ve come this far, I thought I’d go to the sea.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Then, you’ll be passing near the Kielhen Islands anyway.
ㅤSo, how about this? Minato-san, you just observe the situation in Kielhen as part of your journey. If there’s nothing there, you’re free to leave Celesta as you please. Of course, I’ll still pay you a reward. It won’t be unlimited, but…”
ㅤ
ㅤ”What if there is something?”
ㅤ
ㅤ”If there is something ━━ no, if there is something that Minato-san feels you can’t ignore, then you can deal with that 『something』 based on your own judgment.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Hmm…”
ㅤ
ㅤI’ll be using the sea route either way.
ㅤAccording to the hotel staff, due to the trade winds this season, I can only use the westward route that passes near the Kielhen Islands.
ㅤSo, all I have to do is deviate slightly from my original travel plan and check if there are any problems. Moreover, the judgment of whether there is a problem or not is left to my common sense and conscience.
ㅤ
ㅤ”What’s the reward?”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Anything you want. Within Celesta’s capabilities, of course.”
ㅤ
ㅤHarriet-san said with a slightly relieved expression.
ㅤ
ㅤTo that Harriet-san, I said,
ㅤ
ㅤ”━━ Then, give me the island.”