For several days after the sumo tournament, I holed up in the inn, absorbed in crafting the 'Bandit King's Armor' that Hana had commissioned. Until the day after the sumo tournament ended, I'd been going out to enjoy the festival, but after the martial arts tournament and sumo, my face was completely known to the southern residents, and I was surrounded wherever I went. Because of that, it became difficult to move freely, and for reasons of personal security and mental hygiene, I decided to refrain from going out.
Understanding my situation, Amur and Hana were kind enough to send in rare and popular foods from the stalls, so I had no complaints. I enjoyed a sort of blissful life, eating delicious things between tasks and soaking in the hot springs to change the mood.
"Yes, it's quite good. In actual combat, the durability might be a little low, but for everyday use, it's more than sufficient. The color... well, that can't be helped."
When I handed the finished armor to Hana, she seemed pleased with the outcome. The color was the brown of Spear Elk, but to compensate, I'd shaped it with a tiger motif, which apparently fell within the acceptable range. However, the size was slightly off, so she said she'd have Sana make adjustments next time.
"Oh, and this is just a bonus."
What I handed her then was a suit of clothes that looked like a onesie. It could be worn as everyday clothing or over pajamas. I had a huge surplus of Spear Elk hide, so I'd made it to pass the time. The completed onesies numbered three, and I'd given one to Amur as well. Since I didn't have to worry much about size with these ones, making two or three didn't make much difference. Besides, I had a few more in a half-finished state. I figured someone would definitely want them, so I intended to make them as souvenirs.
"So, what are your plans going forward, Tenma?"
"I'll be looking for souvenirs for acquaintances, and once I find them, I'll start preparing for the return journey, I suppose?"
I mentioned that I was planning to stay for about another week, and Hana pondered for a moment. Then,
"I hate to ask, but could you give me one of those days? There's somewhere I'd like to show you."
Her unusually serious expression and tone made me agree immediately. I couldn't tell where she intended to take me, but I judged there must be something she felt I needed to know beforehand.
I told her I was free even starting today, but it turned out she needed to make preparations on her end, and we decided to go out early the morning after next. Since she also wanted Grandpa to come along, I would be the one to pass this information to him.
"If you're looking for unique souvenirs from the south, consulting Sana is your best bet. That girl handles folk crafts and the like in Nanao, so she should be more reliable than anyone."
Following that advice, I decided to visit Sana right away. The only worry was whether she and Branca had created that pink-colored space again after the sumo tournament, but I was told that since Amur had gone to play, there was no need for concern.
"The city seems to have calmed down quite a bit, huh?"
Leaving the Baron's residence, I headed for Sana's house while observing the town's state. The festival had only just ended, so some noise remained, but I wasn't surrounded like I had been right after the sumo tournament. Well, it was also possible that the townspeople simply hadn't noticed me since I was wearing my hood pulled down low.
"Hello~! Is Sana here?"
"I'm coming~!"
With quick, patter-patter footsteps, Sana hurried over. Behind her came Branca, worried about Sana's haste, and Amur, who apparently reacted to my voice.
When I told Sana I'd like her to explain why she'd come here and asked for her advice, she nodded right away and guided me to a room where goods were displayed. Apparently, that room contained many items with higher rarity value than what was normally sold, and Amur had gotten scolded by Sana for handling them carelessly.
"If you're giving something to a woman, gold-based hair accessories or necklaces are popular, and for men, things using silver like bracelets tend to do well. But while men are easy enough, a lot of women are picky about their tastes, so something like these handkerchiefs or other small accessories might be the safer bet?"
Sana gave me all sorts of product explanations, but none of them really clicked with me. So I decided to start by roughly categorizing the people I'd be giving souvenirs to.
First up were Seigen's acquaintances, like Jin. For them, food would probably be more appreciated than accessories or decorations. In particular, I was certain Master Gants would be happiest to receive alcohol.
Then there were my acquaintances in the Royal Capital. Among them, the people of Kukuri Village came first. Since there were quite a few of them, food was the way to go—specifically, food or seasonings that would be useful as reference for the dishes served at the inn run by Uncle Mark and Aunt Martha. Kelly and the others, much like Master Gants, would surely appreciate alcohol.
Next were Jeanne, Aura, and Amie. For these three, I thought something bearing the Ootori family crest would be ideal. Since all three counted as my family, the crested items could serve as identification in an emergency and might even provide some deterrent against anyone causing trouble. Just in case, I asked Sana if she could make handkerchiefs with the family crest on them, and she said it would take a little time but was possible. Still, handkerchiefs alone might feel a bit plain, so I decided to also pick out some accessories. Oh! The same things might work for Aina, too. After all, Aina should still be registered with "Orasion"—she might resist the idea, but having a matching handkerchief with
Aura
didn't seem like a bad thing. And then there was Kurif. For him, a simple plain handkerchief would be best.
After that came the nobility. Albert and the other two would be fine with anything, but since I wasn't sure whether Duke Sanga and Marquis Samons would even be in the Royal Capital, and I didn't want to send anything too outlandish, a set of several types of liquor—including the ones I'd scored from Grandpa—would do the trick.
As for the royal family… I figured most of them probably knew about goods from the southern regions, so something a bit unusual might be better. However, no matter what I picked, the condition of "high quality" was non-negotiable, so I decided to have something custom-made.
For the men, I placed an order with Sana for work-style garments similar to samue. Since men's clothing didn't need sizing as precise as women's, I gave Sana the general sizes (though for Tida, I requested something slightly larger to account for future growth) and asked for durable, high-quality materials.
The biggest problem, though, was the women of the royal family. Frankly speaking, even I couldn't have much faith in my own taste, so I had no idea what to give them. Princess Maria was by far the toughest. For reference, Luna seemed like the easiest—unless you picked something truly terrible, anything would probably make her happy.
"So, what would make a good souvenir?"
I asked Sana, figuring that if I didn't know, I should just ask a professional. But even Sana admitted she had no idea, as she'd never given gifts to anyone of royal standing before.
Just as Sana was at her wit's end, an unexpected person came forward with an interesting proposal.
"There's no need to overthink it. Why not try approaching it with the same feeling you'd have when giving a gift to a relative? From where I'm standing, the Queen clearly dotes on Tenma quite a bit—anything short of something truly awful should make her happy."
"What Branca says is right. That Queen will absolutely be soft on Tenma, so even something handmade would probably delight her!"
After hearing the two of them speak with such conviction, Sana seemed to have a flash of inspiration and walked off toward the workshop in the back. As always, Branca trailed along behind her.
When Sana and Branca returned a short while later, each carried several pieces of cloth in varying sizes and shapes.
"These are samples for shawls. They're just simple ones since they're samples, but you can create original pieces by combining different colors and patterns."
What I had thought was just a piece of cloth turned out to be a sample of a woman's
shoulder bag.
There were square ones and rectangular ones, and they came in three sizes: small, medium, and large.
"Even if I said it's possible to do it by hand, it's not like I can weave it in just a day or two, so if you give me the colors and patterns you want, I'll have the professional weavers make them for you," Sana said.
According to Sana, even complex patterns could be produced in a few days depending on their difficulty, so
I decided to order five.
There were only four royal women, but I ordered one extra because I remembered Primera. After all, I intended to bring souvenirs for Duke Sanga and Albert too, and it would be wrong to leave just one person out—so I thought while counting the number to order.
"Five, got it. What about the pattern and weave?"
There were apparently various weaving styles as well, and she gave me a rundown of each, but after thinking it over, I settled on a standard weave.
"A larger size with a slightly thicker weave. Five of those, please… As for colors and patterns…"
Sana jotted down the conditions I'd specified on the order sheet. When it came to colors and patterns, my sense of design wasn't nearly good enough, so I chose from the sample swatches with colors and patterns already printed on them.
"Oh, and could you embroider each of their names using this?"
However, that would just be combining pre-existing options, and I couldn't very well call it original, so I handed over the yarn balls of Gor and Jil (the ones Slarin had set aside separately from the gift for Sana).
"What is this yarn?!"
The moment Sana laid eyes on the yarn balls of Gor and Jil, she raised her voice in excitement and began examining the two types of yarn balls from every angle. I hadn't even told her what kind of yarn it was yet, but it seemed she could see their value at a single glance. As an added gesture for the pregnancy congratulation, I also gave her the two types of yarn balls Slarin had prepared, and she was so overcome with emotion that she threw her arms around me, then hugged Slarin and nuzzled her cheek against her. I doubt it was my imagination that Branca's gaze sharpened for an instant when Sana hugged me. Incidentally, these yarn balls were apparently something special even among the threads Gor and Jil produced—making a palm-sized ball of yarn reportedly required a considerable amount of stamina and time.
"I've accepted the order. The price is three thousand G per piece, so fifteen thousand G total. I'll set the delivery date five days from now to give myself a little buffer."
Sana had offered to do it for free as thanks for the yarn balls, but I figured that would defeat the purpose of the congratulatory gift, so I had her make them at the regular price. While I was at it, I also ordered souvenirs for the royal men at Sana's shop (with Gor and company's yarn used for the names here too), bought handkerchieves and accessories for Jeanne and the others, arranged to pick them all up together with the shawls, and then took my leave to go purchase other souvenirs.
"Well then, next let's swing by the liquor store."
After leaving Sana's place (Amour had tagged along with me as well), we went to a liquor shop and purchased large quantities of alcohol (though they didn't carry the top-shelf stuff I'd wrung out of the old man), and from there we browsed through a general goods store and a grocery store.
At the general goods store, I bought several kitchen knives made using the same techniques as Japanese swords, and at the grocery store I focused on spices. But the biggest haul turned out to be neither the knives nor the spices.
"But I never thought I'd find spice seeds and seedlings that would also grow in the Royal Capital or Seigen's climate."
What I was able to purchase were chili pepper seeds, turmeric seedlings, and black pepper seedlings. They were all said to be weak against the cold, but as long as you took proper measures to protect the turmeric from frost—or dug it up and stored it in a Magic Bag or similar—you could expect a harvest just about every year without any major incidents. The chili peppers and black pepper were said to grow quickly, so if you saved the seeds from what you harvested, you could apparently count on a yearly crop there as well. On top of that, the chili peppers were apparently possible to grow even in pots, meaning you could cultivate them indoors.
"They were a bit pricey, but if things go well, I should be able to make my money back in a year."
The black pepper and turmeric weren't available in large quantities, but I managed to get quite a few chili pepper seeds, so if I had Uncle Mark and the others grow some as well, it shouldn't be easy for them all to die out at once.
"Still, I'm wondering—pepper and turmeric aside, if chili peppers are that easy to grow, wouldn't it make sense for someone to be selling seedlings down here in the Royal Capital or Seigen?"
"Hmm… I think it's simply because growing enough to sell is difficult. You'd be better off just buying from the south—it's faster and easier."
"Good point."
It was true, just as Amour said. Growing peppers on a commercial scale would require a considerable amount of land, and there was always the risk of total loss if a severe cold wave struck. If you were only growing enough for yourself, like me, some people might manage it at home, but even they wouldn't be cultivating enough to put seedlings or seeds up for sale.
"Well, I think that's more than enough for souvenirs."
I'd also bought several kinds of food souvenirs, so that should do it. I was thinking of heading back to the inn and taking it easy, but then…
"Tenma, what about souvenirs for Albert and the others?"
"Oh right!"
Thanks to Amour, I remembered the Three Idiots. I ducked into a nearby blacksmith shop and picked up a few decent knives—they were actually better quality than I expected, so I grabbed extras for myself, Kelly, and Master Ganz. I'd give them those along with some southern food, and that should cover it.
"Alright! Now it's really done!"
"You're awful to those three."
Amour was scolding me, though she didn't seem entirely serious. If anything, the way she casually called them the Three Idiots seemed even worse.
"But listen, Amour, when it comes to gifts for women, you have to put real thought into it, or you'll pay for it later. For guys, you don't need to go that far. Besides, I haven't been hanging out with those guys as long as I have with everyone else, so something like this should be fine… probably."
With guys, you could get away with "I didn't know if you'd like it, but it looked good, so I picked it up for you." With women, that wouldn't fly at all. "Even if they seem happy when you hand it over, who knows what they're saying behind your back! You need to at least show that you seriously thought about it and picked it out with care… otherwise, no matter how many years pass, you'll keep hearing backhanded complaints." …That was what my grandfather from my previous life and my grandfather in this life had both told me.
"I see, understood… In that case, I won't complain—so buy me a shawl too!"
She said this, but apparently the royals or
I refused, explaining it wouldn't be suitable as a gift for nobles. But when she said a handkerchief like the ones I'd gotten for Jeanne and the others would be fine, I ended up going back to Sana's place to place an additional order. It would technically be in the custody of the Otōri family (more precisely, under Sage Merlin), which I figured could double as proof of identity... Though if I'm being honest, the real reason I agreed was that Amour wouldn't stop pestering me.
I'd finished picking out the gifts faster than expected and had been planning to relax at the inn until I heard from Hana. But that evening, one of Hana's messengers arrived at the inn and relayed Sana's message—everything was on schedule, and we'd be heading out two days later that morning.
Two days later, when I arrived at the viscount's estate early in the morning, Hana and the others were already prepared. They told me we could leave the moment my grandfather and I were ready.
For the trip, we'd be using Ryden and my carriage. The companions from the viscount's side were Hana, Amour, and Branca.
Honorary Viscount Robo (since Hana was officially becoming a viscount, everyone in Nanao had started adding "Honorary" to his title to clearly distinguish him from her) stayed behind to watch the place.
This wasn't because Honorary Viscount Robo was useless—at least one member of the viscount's family had to remain in Nanao, and Sana was excluded on account of her pregnancy.
The destination was supposedly doable as a day trip, but it was quite far. Hana and Branca, who knew where we were going, took turns handling the reins.
We stopped for breaks along the way, and there were stretches where the carriage couldn't pass, so we walked on foot. All told, it took about four hours before we arrived at a spot within sight of our destination.
But when I looked around, there was nothing resembling a village landmark in sight. It just looked like an ordinary clearing in the forest.
"We're supposed to meet up with the welcoming party around here..."
The moment Hana said this and stepped down from the carriage, three hooded figures emerged from a nearby thicket.
"Oh, there they are."
Hana walked over to the three who had appeared from the thicket and exchanged a few words with them, after which they all headed toward the carriage together.
I was keeping my guard up, but I knew these were the people Hana had been looking for, so I stepped forward to offer a greeting.
When I'd gotten within a few meters of the three, the one at the front slowly pulled back their hood. The moment I saw their face, I leapt backward in a flash. Because—
"...A tiger..."
The face of the person at the front was nearly identical to that of an actual tiger. And the two behind this tiger-faced figure also had animal-like features under their hoods—one resembling a dog (or perhaps a wolf), the other a cat.
"So this is what it was all about."
My grandfather, who had also been about to greet the three, was equally startled, but he seemed to have realized something and murmured under his breath.
"Tenma, it's only natural to be shocked, but there's no need to be on guard. They're beast-kin, just like me."
Branca climbed down from behind Grandpa and called out to me. Amur, who was standing beside him, seemed surprised, but not nearly as much as I was.
"Well, if it's your first time seeing one, it's only natural to be startled. Rather, I'm grateful that you don't seem hostile or inclined to do us any harm."
The tiger-faced man at the front seemed used to reactions like mine and spoke in a calm voice, but the two behind him wore unpleasant expressions.
"You two, cut it out. Inviting adventurers with ties to the Viscount's family to the village — that was decided by the lord and the village chief. Even if you agreed reluctantly, at least remember that you did agree."
When the tiger-faced man spoke to the two behind him like that, they averted their gaze from me with discontented expressions.
"I apologize. But I want you to understand that in the village, there are others like these two who harbor resentment toward outsiders — especially humans."
"No, I should apologize too."
The fact that I apologized so sincerely seemed to ease their frustration a little. The atmosphere felt slightly softer than before.
"You might have gotten a rough idea from seeing these three, but the village we're heading to is home to beast-kin with strong tribal blood. The village chief will explain the details, but please don't look at them with discriminatory eyes or say anything offensive. If you're not careful, it could escalate into a fight to the death... and I'm not joking."
I nodded at Hana's warning and followed behind the three of them. I later learned that in order to keep the village's location secret from others — especially those from outside the South — they deliberately hadn't built any easy-to-find roads near the village. Incidentally, this forest was managed by the Viscount's family, so Southerners basically couldn't enter without permission. However, there were rare cases of Southern adventurers trespassing in search of abundant resources, but most of them were eliminated or captured by the village's residents before they could get close. The villagers, of course, disguised themselves with hoods and full-body armor so their identities wouldn't be exposed.
"Still, Branca aside, Grandpa and Amur weren't all that surprised, were they?"
"Well, I traveled to all sorts of places in my younger days. I'd never seen one directly, but I had heard stories from those who had."
"It's my first time meeting one in person, too. But my mother had told me about them."
So Grandpa knew from his years of experience, and Amur knew because she was a member of one of the South's most prominent families.
Still, I was glad I hadn't reflexively drawn my weapons back then. The tiger-faced man might have forgiven me, but I certainly wouldn't have had a pleasant experience, and the two behind him definitely wouldn't have let it slide. So, before we reached the village, I should either entrust the Magic Bag with my weapons inside to Slarin, or bundle everything together so it would be difficult to draw individual weapons out. That seemed like the safest option.
So I decided to get started right away. Of course, pulling weapons out in front of the three guides didn't seem like a good idea, so I did it discreetly without being noticed. In the end, I decided to entrust the Magic Bag containing my weapons to Slarin, who was better at managing things than I was. At the same time, I instructed Shiromaru and Solomon not to attack or do anything equivalent unless someone was actually being harmed. Slarin was watching over the two of them, so it should be fine. As for Goru and Jiru, I wasn't worried at all about them causing harm. Those two were naturally shy around strangers, so it was almost impossible for them to appear in front of people they didn't know. And if anything happened, Slarin and the others would protect them immediately, so they were arguably in the safest spot of all.
Those two, perhaps because they were happy about the candy treats given as a reward for the thread balls, were reportedly hard at work mass-producing silk now.
The beast-faced beast-kin mentioned in this chapter appeared in the book version but not in the web version, so I haven't gone into further detail about them.
Also, the beast-faced beast-kin that appeared in the book version was one of the minor characters who showed up as an enemy and does not become a recurring presence in Tenma's story going forward.