I land on the bridge . There were many people here, and it was very lively . That alone made it seem quite different from Nicora .

Wooden boxes flooded the place, and numerous laborers carried them . However, this was not slave labor, like at the mines, they all looked cheerful and determined as they worked . Their clothes were not in tatters and they were clean . It was clearly an adequate environment for the workers .

I continued to walk while taking in my surroundings, when a cart pa.s.sed in front of me . It was stacked with bags full of something .

“Hey, do you know what is inside of those bags?”

I tried calling to the old man who was pulling it .

“Hm? Ah, they are full of spices . ”

“Oh, spices! That’s a lot!”

I could enhance my repertoire if I bought these . Though, I didn’t really know how to use them .

“Well, this is the trading town of Usk . You should take a look . There is a great variety of things!”

The man said as he pointed in the opposite direction as the river . Then he pushed his cart and continued on his way . I thanked him and he waved his hand without turning back .

I see… I had heard that it was a trading town, but it seemed like it was doing very well . I was looking forward to seeing more .

“…Oh, wait . We have to get an inn first . ”

A town near a river should have a lot of inns . People who traded needed places to stay . And so I decided to go and look for an inn .

…But then…

“Hey, you . ”

“Huh?”

Someone tapped me on the shoulder . I turned around to see a guard standing there .

“I was watching you . You came over the river, didn’t you?”

“Ah, yes . ”

“You do know that there is a proper procedure to entering the town?”

I had forgotten, as there was no gate . You probably needed to get permission after getting off of the boat .  

The guard point behind him with his thumb . There were people showing their means of identification .

“Uh, yes, of course . ”

“Well, at least you know how to listen . Come with me to the guard house then . ”

“Understood . ”

“You can tell us everything when we get there . ”

“…”

I shrugged as if I had no idea what he could mean by that . But I had heard that the Usk guards were enemies of Nicora, so it must be related to that . And this was no place to discuss such things .

And perhaps he felt the same, because he began to walk without saying anything . I tightened my grip on Daniela and followed after him until a white building came into view . It was nice and very different from the warehouses in the area . On close inspection, it was made of white bricks .

“Huh…”

It was quite nice indeed…

“And here we are . ”

“Oh? So this is the guard house?”

“Eh? What did you think it was?”

“Well, I was wondering what rich person might live here…”

Yes, it looked like a mansion you might find in a city . Not that I’d know anything about them . The guard looked puzzled for a moment and then burst into great laughter .

“Ahahaha! You must have seen some horrible houses! But in this town, this is just about average!”

“Hey, could you not laugh so loudly…!”

Daniela will wake up! I pointed at her and he quickly closed his mouth . But it was too late, and Daniela was awake .

“Mmm…shut up…”

She was sleep deprived and sounded very irritated as her eyes opened .

“Uh…? Who the…”

“Ah, I am Yacon, captain of the port division of guards for the trade town of Usk!

The man said with a proper salute .

“Yacon…well…it is good to meet you…I do like bacon…”

“Ha! Thank you! I too am fond of bacon!”

What the h.e.l.l were they talking about…

“Another time…bacon…ggg…”

“Ha!”

And so Daniela returned to her world of dreams . She looked truly happy when she slept . Perhaps she was dreaming about being wrapped up in bacon .

“…Phew . I don’t know about you, but I felt overwhelming power that I couldn’t resist…”

“Sorry about that…”

Bacon was wiping sweat from his forehead now .

“No, it is my fault for speaking so loud… I was not thinking straight . So, what is your name?”

“I am Asagi . And this is Daniela . ”

“It’s nice to meet you . And there’s no need to act so formal with me . ”

“I see…thanks, Bacon . ”

“It’s Yacon . ”

A vein popped on B…Yacon’s forehead as he corrected me . That helped me remember his name .

“Now, I’ll have to check your status cards before you can go in . ”

“Yes, thanks . ”

I took out the two status cards and handed them to Bacon . Bacon took them and quickly scanned the information before returning them .

“…Ah . Both of you have aliases…”

“I didn’t tell you about that?’

“You didn’t . You must pardon my insolence a moment ago . ”

Bacon said apologetically .

“Haha . Please stop that, Bacon . ”

“I told you, it’s Yacon!”

Bacon slammed his fist onto the desk .

“But more importantly, we’re looking for an inn . Can you introduce us to one? I’ll tell you everything you want to know . ”

Bacon’s temples were twitching as he pulled out a sheet of paper . So he was going to write it down .

“…d.a.m.n it . So? I know that something happened in Nicora . Give me the details . ”

“Alright . Well, first we…”

We stayed the night in the shed and found the magic ore . And then I gave him a detailed account of the intense action that followed . When I was finished talking, it was past midday .

“…I see . Hmm . ”

“It was horrible . Who would have ever thought she’d bring out a dragon?”

“I would not have expected you to be able to kill it…”

Bacon said with a tired expression . But I didn’t see how I had any choice in the matter . It would have destroyed the town had I run away . And then it would have surely turned towards Usk . I didn’t exactly expect people to shower me with praise, but I didn’t know if I deserved exasperation either .

“Well, sometimes people are unable to process things in time when they’re in danger . ”

“I suppose so…”

So we are clearly not in the wrong! We should just leave it at that and put an end to this whole thing .

“…And do you have Eve’s body? Even her head would do . ”

“No… I didn’t see it . Daniela killed her, so you’d have to ask her…”

I slowly turned to look at Daniela . She was using four chairs as a bed .

“I would like to wake her up, but I don’t want to…”

“Sorry…she’s always like that…”

And so it was decided that we would come back the next day to make a report . But I really hadn’t seen Eve’s body myself… It was possible that it was lying around somewhere in Nicora . Unless the bandits went off with it .

I didn’t know what that would mean for us . But I hoped it would not be significant .

Bacon’s interrogation was finished and he sent us off with a map and a letter of recommendation . This inn was called The Babbling Brook . A simple name, but my expectations were high as it was endorsed by Bacon himself .

I had to pull Daniela up after she nearly slid off of my back while I went down the streets as the map indicated . It was almost as lively as Replant . Very nice . Voices rang from the various shops and the sounds of steel being beaten echoed around us . There were many people pa.s.sing by as well, from old merchant men to female Adventurers . There were old gentlemen and children from the slums . People of every type you could imagine .

“This is crazy…”

It wasn’t often that you could see so many people… This place seemed like it would be very loud regardless of it being night or day .

We reached the inn after crossing the main street and walking down several back streets . It was much quieter here and I saw that there were several inns in the area . Yes, it made sense to have them here where it was quiet . I was impressed at the amount of thought put into it .

“The Babbling Brook…eh? …Hmm?”

I stood in front of the inn . And then I realized that I could actually hear the babbling of a brook . But this was on the opposite side of that great river… I looked around and found a small pathway . I followed it out of curiosity and reached the back of the inn . There was a small river .

“So here is the source of the babbling . ”

It was a small, yet clear and beautiful river . I squatted down to touch it and it was refres.h.i.+ngly cool .

“Hehe . You can drink it as well . ”

“Huh?”

Someone was suddenly behind me . I turned around to see a beautiful woman standing there .

“I received a message from Yacon saying that a dark-haired man would come with a woman on his back . You are Mister Asagi, are you not?”

“Yacon…? Oh, yes . Yes, I am Asagi . Here . ”

I took out the letter of recommendation and handed it to the woman . She opened it with a smile and chuckled after reading it .

“Ah, please forgive me . Mister Yacon’s letter turned into a love letter part way through . It is very amusing . ”

“Yacon…Yacon…ah, you mean Bacon!”

“Bacon?”

“Uh, nevermind . ”

d.a.m.n it, this was all Daniela’s fault . s.h.i.+t… That being said, d.a.m.n that Bacon guy . He said he was going to introduce us, but he just took the opportunity to romance some woman… Unforgivable!

“So, what’s your reply? I can quickly go back and tell him that it was a ‘no’ from you . ”

“Hehe . It is alright . I believe it is best to ignore such things . ”

Well, she was shockingly s.a.d.i.s.tic . What a terrifying woman . Poor Bacon .

“Ah, allow me to introduce myself . I am the owner of the Babbling Brook . My name is Karamus . It is a pleasure to meet you . ”

“The pleasure is mine . I am Asagi Kamiyas.h.i.+ro . And this is Daniela Villesilf . We will be glad to receive your hospitality . ”

Karamus smiled after this .

“Well then, allow me to welcome you to the Babbling Brooke . I hope you enjoy your stay . ”