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TL: ALT
Chapter 13 – Searching for the Small Shrine Part 1
By the time the duel with Cloche ended and the slave registration process was complete, it was already lunchtime.
Despite starting early, they had lost more time than expected.
Fortunately, the slave trading house was near the town center, so they could return to the square without traveling far.
They weren’t bound by time, but if they returned to Japan, people who wanted to buy potions would have to wait a long time.
Wataru wanted to finish purchasing goods and securing sales destinations, if possible.
However, if there is a gate connected to Southern Ship Town,
That would save a tremendous amount of time. Even if it didn’t connect to Southern Ship Town, being able to instantly travel to another town was appealing.
“By the way, why was Cloche in the royal capital?”
“I thought the royal capital would be the best place to look for Onee-sama.”
“So you came here alone?”
“Yes, my family is still working as mercenaries.”
That means Cloche traveled across the country alone.
That’s different from Aire, who was probably traveling with a group of gladiators.
It’ll be expensive and the journey will be difficult.
The risk of being attacked by monsters or bandits will also increase.
Wataru exchanged glances with Mariel.
“Your parents must have been pretty lenient to let you travel alone.”
“I begged them repeatedly, telling them I was going on a journey to save Onee-sama. They opposed it at first, but eventually they gave their permission.”
“Those uncle and aunt were pretty lenient, weren’t they?”
“It was quite a struggle.”
Cloche replied proudly to Mariel’s remark.
Her feelings for Aire must be genuine.
“You said you’ve been on the move for about six months. How did you get the money?”
“I registered with the Adventurers’ Guild and earned money working as a bodyguard and teaching at a dojo.”
“You’ve been through a lot more than I thought.”
Even if one desires to help someone they admire, it’s another matter entirely to take action.
There are likely many people who want to help but can’t act on their feelings.
In this regard, Cloche possesses a valuable practical skill.
As Wataru reevaluated her, realizing that she was not just a troublesome girl, Cloche hesitantly spoke to him.
“I have a favor to ask…”
“I’ll listen, depending on what it is.”
“I want you to keep it a secret from my parents. If they find out that I challenged you to a fight, lost, and became your slave, they’ll kill you.”
“Oh, that old man would probably do that…”
“Is he really that scary?”
As Cloche said this with a pale face, Aire nodded in agreement.
Wataru felt uneasy about her attitude, which was accompanied by a wry smile.
“It’s not that he’s scary. It’s just that he dotes on Cloche so much that, if he found out she became a slave, he’d probably go berserk. He might even attack you.”
“Th-that’s way too dangerous. By the way, how strong is he?”
“I think I could beat him if I trained properly. But, to be honest, I don’t want to fight him. If he comes with two or more people, we should run away as fast as we can.”
“Is he really that kind of guy?”
He’s the kind of guy Aire would tell us to run away from.
He’s also the leader of a mercenary group and has the authority to give orders to his subordinates.
He’s definitely the kind of guy no one wants to cross.
“It’s fine if you say it’s fine, but it’s not something that can be kept secret forever. What if we meet someone from your clan, Cloche?”
“My clan doesn’t usually come to this country. I think they’ll be reassured if I send them regular letters.”
“I’m not just going to stand by and do nothing when that happens. Well, there’s no particular reason for us to go to the Western countries at the moment, so it’s unlikely that we’ll meet. But if someone from your clan comes to the royal capital, you’ll take responsibility, right?”
“Y-yes, I will. I’ll be prepared.”
I had a feeling this would lead to trouble, but I didn’t want to let go of Cloche now that I had her.
With her high physical abilities, fighting skills, and beautiful appearance, she had many attractive qualities.
〇〇〇
They resumed their activities before lunch.
They had no choice but to interrupt their search, but their original goal for the day was to find the gate.
“There was a sudden commotion, so we had to stop, but let’s get back to our original goal and look for the gate.”
“The gate?”
“Yeah, we were looking for a gate that could be used for teleportation magic from the royal capital. Based on preliminary research and predictions, it should be somewhere around the large plaza where we met Cloche.”
They had already explored some of the area since meeting Cloche that morning.
There were about seven remaining candidates.
If they were lucky, they might find it today. If not, they would have to continue searching tomorrow.
If they were completely off track, it could take even longer.
Cloche perked up and stood up straight.
“I understand. I’ll get right on it! I’m very good at finding lost items!”
“…Can you really be trusted? To be honest, I’m not very confident.”
“How rude! I’m really good at this!”
“It’s a shame, but she has genius-level intuition, so I think she’ll be fine.”
“Really? She has good intuition, but she suddenly started a duel.”
“…Yeah. That’s why it’s such a shame. We’ll have to guide her carefully. But she’s amazing at finding hidden treasures on the battlefield.”
That’s impressive, but it must be difficult too.
After hearing Aire’s story, Wataru had a bad feeling.
A Joker-like presence that can cause problems if used incorrectly is difficult to handle in Wataru’s line of work.
He couldn’t afford to let her accidentally learn any secrets.
“Aire seems to have been like an older sister to her, so please make sure to educate her properly. Mariel, I’m counting on you to support her, too.”
“Yes, I was also confused at first, so I’ll do my best to help.”
“Eh… I understand.”
“Please do.”
It was time to continue searching for the gate and have lunch.
Mariel called out to Wataru.
“Well, I’ll be going now.
“Okay, enjoy your meal with Fina.”
“Thank you for giving me some time. I hope Master returns safely.”
“See you later.”
“Yes, I’m sorry to leave you, Aire, but please take good care of Master. There are probably many things that are still unfamiliar to Cloche, so please teach her well.”
“Be careful on your way.”
“Please give my regards to Fina-san as well. I may ask her for a business meeting someday.”
Mariel bowed her head and ran off into the crowd.
Wataru couldn’t help but smile as he watched her hurry along, trying to enjoy her long-awaited reunion with her friend for as long as possible.
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