Kays Translations

Chapter 168

The next morning, I finished preparing to leave Lindblum in my guise as Same.
I had already filed my departure notice with the guild — all that was left was to exit through the western gate.

“Same, you’re not really going to become her mate, right? You’re just pretending, right?”

“Of course not, don’t worry. I’m pretty sure Lady Shuris just wants to use me as a deterrent to keep other men away.”

Melt was still looking anxious, asking the same question again and again.
To her, I was family — and she was clearly worried that I might be taken away from her.

“Well, okay then… but you mustn’t go to a ‘mating inn’ together, got it? You can’t do the child-making ritual!”

“W–What are you even saying!?”

Wait—Melt actually knows about that sort of thing!?
No, come to think of it, she could! She reads every kind of book and remembers everything—so it’s not impossible that she’s picked up some knowledge like that…

“I’m personally curious what kind of spell or ritual it is,” 

Melt continued, frowning thoughtfully.

“I heard when I was little that it’s a secret art only performed at the mating inns. But… once you have a child, you become a father and mother, right? Then I wouldn’t be family anymore. So you mustn’t do it, okay?”

Ah. So it’s a half-baked kind of knowledge. I wonder where she even heard that story…

“Don’t worry, nothing like that’s going to happen. Trust me, okay?”

“Alright. I trust you.”

“And Melt — don’t go off with strange men, alright? There are lots of new people coming through the port and the islands right now.”

“Got it. I’ll be careful.”

And with Melt finally convinced, I was at last able to depart through the west gate.

This time, I wasn’t tagging along on a caravan or a guard mission.
Actually, someone had visited my house the night before—after I had already changed into Same’s form.

“We’re supposed to meet at the fork near the marshlands, right?”

“Yeah. The carriage should arrive around noon, so if we leave now, we’ll get there just in time.”

The visitor was none other than Araza, the leader of Killcrawler—and one of the Thirteen Knights.

“So, Silent-dono has already left, I see. I had hoped to greet this Shizuma fellow in person,”

Araza had said.

“We just missed each other, I’m afraid. Shizuma left for the port a little earlier.”

I replied.

“I see… I feel bad about this, but it seems our group will be delayed in departing for Yasha Island. I had hoped to inform him directly.”

“I can tell him for you. We’re heading to the port as well, so I’m sure he’ll hear it from me. Knowing Shizuma, he’ll probably be doing some independent research before the real expedition begins.”

“You have my gratitude. We truly didn’t expect the Lindblum Nest to return as a massive dungeon. We accepted the Queen’s request to investigate immediately — we couldn’t allow other explorers to be harmed. Please apologize to Shizuma for us.”

“Understood. I’ll be heading to the port tomorrow anyway. Don’t worry about me — focus on your investigation, Arasa.”

“In that case, allow us to provide you with a carriage. There’s a road leading from the Explorer’s Guild camp toward the western marshlands — we’ll send it there to take you to the port.”

“You’d do that? That would really help.”

“Think nothing of it. It’s the least we can do, considering the trouble we’ve caused.”

And that was how I came to be traveling to the port in a carriage arranged by Killcrawler.
It was said to take seven days by carriage — quite a distance indeed.

Come to think of it, back when I was active as Seira, I’d heard that seafood was only delivered to Lindblum a few times per month.
A round trip taking two weeks… yeah, no wonder fresh ocean produce was so rare inland.
To improve trade like that, they’ll definitely need better transport methods.

“I’m so excited for the port!” 

Melt said, grinning. 

“I’ve only ever seen the sea from far away!”

“Same here. I’ve never seen this world’s ocean up close either. I’m looking forward to it.”

There might even be rare goods from other countries.
Maybe—just maybe—I’d find rice or something close to Japanese seasonings.

With that faint hope in my chest, we set off toward the marshland crossroads to meet the carriage.

After joining up, we began traveling west—toward the port town in a region I’d never visited before.
Unlike the eastern routes, this road branched off many times, connecting to various towns and villages.
For me, this was probably the first long-distance journey I’d made within the Kingdom of Lendia.

By the sixth day of travel, we must have already left the heart of the country far behind.
This region, not yet deeply affected by the dungeon core’s influence, felt noticeably colder than the central lands.

The skies were mostly clear, a beautiful blue stretching overhead—but even so, the chill in the air reminded me that this was the nation’s true climate.

“Sorry for making you handle the reins all this way. That should’ve been my job.”

“Not at all. The leader arranged it this way, and after all, it’s us who inconvenienced you this time.”

Bhasker who was driving the carriage replied.

It was my first time meeting Bhasker in Same’s form.
He already knew—from Araza—that I was a former member of the brigade and a dungeon conqueror, so he had been rather stiff at first.
But after days on the road, he’d finally started to relax around me.

“It feels a bit chillier here than in Lindblum. Is it usually like this?”

I asked.

“I think it’s partly because of the wind coming from the sea.” 

Bhasker explained. 

“But yes, this region’s always had harsher weather than the center—cold mountain winds, rough storms. Even so, this year’s actually warmer than usual.”

“I see… so climate changes are already happening across the entire continent, huh…”

Honestly, it’s strange. I can understand that the fertility of the land might improve crop growth and plant development, but temperature is a different matter. Even if the earth’s blessing grows stronger, that alone shouldn’t make the air warmer.

Which means… there really must be some kind of mechanism that governs this world’s land and regions — even controlling their climate entirely.

It’s eerie. The idea that someone — or something — might be operating this world like a game or simulation feels deeply unsettling.

But… if it brings happiness to people, if the locals have learned to live and thrive within this mysterious system, then maybe it’s not my place — as an outsider — to criticize it.

“Tomorrow we’ll finally reach the port town. I’ll be waiting on Yasha Island until the main team finishes their investigation, but what about you two? Will you head over right away?”

Bhasker asked.

“No, we’ll explore the port town a bit before heading there. Right, Melt?”

“Mm… I’d like to rest for a while…”

Bad news — Melt got motion sickness.

Perhaps it was the drastic change in climate, or maybe the long journey by carriage, but she looked genuinely pale and queasy. I gave her a potion for status ailments, but it didn’t completely fix the problem.

…If only the anti-hangover medicine I know worked on motion sickness too.

“I’ll lie down a bit… this carriage shakes too much…”

“Yeah… comfort wasn’t exactly a design priority here, huh?”

“It should’ve been a priority…”

Ah, so this is what they call the ‘practical efficiency’ of an adventurer’s clan. Since they’re used to harsh conditions, there’s no reason to waste resources on unnecessary comforts.

…Maybe I should teach Kokuri the concept of leaf springs or rubber tires someday.

The next day. I could faintly smell salt in the air — we were close. After seven long days of travel, we finally arrived at the port town.

The weather was clear, thankfully. But being right by the sea, the air was cool, and Melt wore her brand-new seasonal coat, hood up.

…Oh, the hood even has little slits for her fox ears, just like she wanted. Cute. Seeing those ears poke out like that — it’s honestly too adorable for words.

“Well then, once I’ve handed off the carriage, I’ll take the regular ship to the island. We might meet again there, but for now, I’ll take my leave.”

Bhasker said.

“Sure thing. Thanks for everything, Bhasker — really. You made the long trip much easier.”

“See you again, Bhasker! I’ll be joining the Killcrawler team’s work too, so we’ll probably meet on the island!”

We waved goodbye to Bhasker, who’d been our driver for the past week, and then I turned to Melt to decide what to do next.

Alright, what now? We could check the market for interesting ingredients, or browse for rare goods from abroad…

“The sea! Look, the sea! It smells different…! Come on, let’s go see it already!!”

“Haha, okay, okay — sea first it is.”

Looks like there’s no time for discussion.

Melt, brimming with excitement, took off running, and I followed her toward the wharf, the salty breeze brushing against my face. It had been a long time since I’d smelled the ocean. I couldn’t wait to see what the sea looked like in this world.

“Waaaaaaah!!! Amazing, amazing, amazing! It’s all water! The whole view — just water! It’s nothing like a pond or a swamp! The waves are huge! How is it this big!? How deep do you think it goes!?”

The moment we reached the pier, Melt was shouting in pure wonder, her arms spread wide as if to embrace the vast ocean itself.

Her childlike joy was contagious — not just to me, but to the nearby townsfolk too, who smiled softly at her excitement.

Sorry, everyone! It’s her first time seeing the sea! Please be patient with her!

“Say, Same! How deep do you think it is here!?”

“Well, not too deep right around here, but see those big ships docked farther out? I bet it’s quite deep near them.”

“You’re right! Oh, look — you can even see the bottom here!”

I leaned over to check and was amazed myself. Despite being so close to the port, I could clearly see the seabed through the gaps between the waves.

The water’s clarity… it’s unlike anything back on Earth.

“Alright, let’s check out the market next. Maybe we’ll find something interesting — or some sea shrimp for that matter.”

“Shrimp! I want to see shrimp! Big ones! Ahh, this is so exciting!”

“Haha, maybe they’ve even got grilled skewers too. Let’s go find out.”

Looks like our little portside adventure is going to continue for a while.

Better start looking for an inn with a kitchen, too.

As expected, the market was spread out near where the ships were docked.

From the looks of it, there were both locals running restaurants and merchants who had likely come from overseas, all busily purchasing large quantities of seafood.

Fresh fish swam energetically in big barrels, and—just as Melt had been hoping—the shrimp were swimming in large tub-like containers, leaping around in the water as they tried to escape from the shopkeepers’ nets.

“Whoa!!! They’re huge! Thicker than my finger! A-amazing! How do you even eat these!? They look way too big for frying— the shells must be so hard!”

“Yeah, that’s why you peel them first. Sea shrimp are big enough that you can peel the shells by hand.”

“Wow! So you peel them first, then fry them!”

Her eyes sparkling, Melt leaned over the container, completely entranced by the shrimp.

Seeing her excitement, the shopkeeper—a friendly older man—chuckled and called out to her.

“Missy, instead of frying them, these ones are best grilled with salt! If you cook them slowly over low heat, you can crunch right through the shells. There’s a stall nearby selling them—try it!”

“Grilled with salt! They’re so big, they really can be cooked like fish! I’ll definitely buy one if I see it!”

“Haha, good! You two enjoy yourselves. Hey, young man—buying some for your girl?”

“Sure. I’ll take ten shrimp, please. I want to cook for her myself.”

“Nice! Treat her well, kid. Tell you what—twelve shrimp for nine silver coins.”

“Oh, that’s a bargain! Thanks, sir.”

“Heh, don’t mention it.”

Alright, with a bucket full of live shrimp, the next step was to find a place where we could cook.

“Alright, Melt… grilled shrimp sound good, but I’ll make you something special—my secret shrimp dish!”

“Yay! Then let’s hurry and find somewhere we can use fire!!”

And thus… it’s fried shrimp time!

I’ll improvise something for the sauce if I have to!

Time to experience the true power of sea shrimp!

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