Rising from the Slum City of Reincarnation in Another World ~ Gathering, Hunting, and Living a Slow Life by Eating - Chapter 63

Rising from the Slum City of Reincarnation in Another World ~ Gathering, Hunting, and Living a Slow Life by Eating

Chapter 63   Ed’s Return

After bidding farewell to everyone, we embarked on our journey back home.

Among the knights, one of them was assigned to deliver a report, and we were asked to accompany them.

Well, I should clarify that only one knight actually expressed a desire for more soup along the way.

“More soup, please.”

“Sure, here you go.”

We have disguised our item box as a magic bag and equipped it, allowing us to carry a decent amount of provisions. However, we’ve had to be clever in concealing its large capacity, as it would raise suspicions. A magic bag with such a spacious interior is a luxury item that can’t be bought with just a few coins, so our approach seems appropriate.

“It’s not tomato soup, but it has a flavorful broth made from salt and vegetables. And there’s a delicious hint of mushrooms, albeit in small amounts.”

On our way back, we decided to economize on mushrooms. Just a quarter of a stalk added a significant boost of umami flavor.

The knight was being showered with attention from a group of adorable young girls. It seemed that being surrounded by females, even if they were still young, had its perks.

Everyone seems to think that they’re head over heels for me, but their attitude towards the knight isn’t bad either.

Thanks to that, we maintained a pleasant and amicable conversation throughout the journey.

We exchanged stories about a colossal earthworm carriage that was twice the normal size, a rare breed of dragon-like running-dragon carriage used by a unique merchant, a massive merchant who must have weighed around 200 kilograms, tales of an entire party composed of diminutive dwarf-like races, a close encounter with a wyvern in the mountains that resulted in a miraculous escape from near-death, and even stories about a giant-sized adventurer party of giants.

Indeed, this job taught me that there are all sorts of people involved in security work.

His storytelling skills were impressive, and despite being human, he had blonde hair and a handsome, charming appearance.

“Wow!”

“So cool!”

“Hehe, heheh.”

Even though he’s the kind of guy who could easily make men fall for him, it seems he’s not accustomed to receiving compliments from girls. Whenever our girls say something like that to him, his face turns awkward. Is he the male version of a ditz? I hope he doesn’t attract any strange women.

And then, something important happened during our break time—he gave us sword training. I had only learned a little bit of swordsmanship from Old Dridon, so I had been mostly self-taught up until now.

Beast-san possesses a sword technique called Explorer’s Sword Style, and he taught us its forms. He even showed us some impressive demonstrations.

I need to engrave them firmly in my mind. If this were a cheat protagonist story, I could reproduce it just from seeing it once! But that seems impossible for me. After watching it several times, I managed to grasp the basic idea at least.

“Teiya!”

“Oryaa!”

“Urya!”

We swung our swords. While I was practicing my swings, the girls next to me were training in staff combat. Beast-san mentioned that he knows some basic self-defense staff techniques, so Minya and Lania joined in.

Oh, I almost forgot about Ciel-chan. I thought she would be a martial artist because she’s a beast person, but it turns out she’s more of an Enchanter and can use several supportive spells. Of course, she can also throw a punch or two for repelling perverts, so she was practicing that.

Oh, by the way, Ciel-chan also has a last name.

Apparently, her family is like the village chief’s family, and they’ve been appointed as an honorary baron.

Honorary nobility is known as a one-generation nobility title that isn’t inherited.

This is the lowest rank of nobility given to officials like village chiefs. While it’s just a formality, they are still considered nobles, so they come from a prestigious family, so to speak.

Beast-san, of course, is a Knight Baron. However, the title of a knight is technically not nobility but an independent entity called a Knight, so some people can also hold the title of Baron simultaneously.

It seems that Beast-san’s family is a Baron’s family, and since he’s the eldest son, he holds the equivalent position of an honorary baron.

After enjoying three wonderful days, we returned the carriage and came back home.

Strangely, Beast-san is still here.

He was surprised by Eggbird and was looking inside.

“I apologize, but I’d like you to come to the Lord’s Manor.”

“Huh? Us?”

“Yes, the Lord would like to present you with a letter of gratitude.”

“Did you already inform them about it?”

“I just did through the gatekeeper a little while ago.”

Oh, now that he mentions it, he wasn’t here for a short while when we left the carriage.

“What’s it about?”

“It’s about serving tomato soup to the villagers and soldiers.”

“Ah…”

Ah, I can think of something related to that.

Wait, that’s exactly it.

Beast-san flashed a confident and charming smile.

After a while, we heard a voice from outside.

“Beast, are you there, Beast?”

“Yes, I’m here.”

We were about to leave.

It was just around dusk, right before dinner time.

“The carriage to pick us up has arrived.”

“Understood. Let’s go then. Everyone, let’s go.”

We were somewhat forcibly accommodated into the carriage and entered the town.

The carriage was large and adorned with various decorations, a style known as a noble carriage.

Instead of a canopy, it had a sturdy, solid roof.

The windows were fitted with transparent glass.

Glass production has been industrialized by some Dwarves, and it is imported and used by nobles and the like.

“Lord is relatively mild-mannered. It’ll be fine. As long as you don’t make any rude remarks, you can enjoy yourself.”

“But what if I make a slip of the tongue?”

“Well, I think it’s within the realm of common sense, and everyone here is quite intelligent for their age, so it should be okay.”

“Well…”

According to Beast-san evaluation, we are considered intelligent.

Indeed, even among peers, there are some immature individuals.

“Kozō” and “bōzu” are terms in Japanese referring to children, but they are also used in a Buddhist context. In this world, there are priests of the Raffalier religion who shave their heads, so conceptually, it’s quite similar even without Buddhism.

However, unless one is an extremely devout follower, they won’t shave their heads. Handsome priests who want to be popular, of course, keep their hair full and voluminous.

Other than that, there are quite a few older devotees who shave their heads as proof of refraining from impure relations with the opposite sex as they age.