To cut it short, some animals had dragon stones while others didn't. It seemed to be at random, not based on the species or s.e.xes.

Hikaru returned to town early that day and reported the boar kill to the expedition squad standing by at the gate. Shouldn't you guys be out there? Hikaru thought. The soldiers left to collect the carca.s.s in high spirits.

Hikaru asked them about the dragon stone, and they said sometimes animals had it and sometimes they didn't. Sometimes, even humans had them.

「Hmm… maybe it's some sort of a parasite?」

『No. That's a dragon stone, for sure.』

「Some kind of a disease? Like a kidney stone where a literal stone forms inside the body.」

『I don't know what you're talking about. It's too complicated for me. Anyway, I'm sleepy so I'm gonna take a nap.』

「Wait…」

『Zzz…』

Hikaru could hear the creature's breathing around his neck.

「He's too carefree, all right.」

「Ah, Hika— Lord Silver Face!」

Paula came running towards Hikaru from across the street, waving her hand. She's like a dog that spotted its owner, Hikaru thought.

「You're back early.」she said.

「Yeah. There are things I need to think about. How'd things go on your end?」

「Lavia and I went to check some houses!」

「Find anything good?」

Paula giggled.「Just wait till you see it!」

「Okay… I'm just glad you like it. Where's Lavia anyway?」

「Shopping for the house.」

「I see.」

Paula was in a good mood the whole time. Hikaru felt just a bit worried about how they liked the new house so much. Being a dangerous continent, they wouldn't be staying here long, perhaps one or two years at maximum. Getting too attached would only make it harder to leave.

Then again, it's better than living here reluctantly.

Later that night, Hikaru also found Lavia in high spirits. It was only natural for Hikaru to get curious given their reactions.

「Not now.」

「You can see it once it's ready.」

But they didn't want him to see the house just yet. Hikaru asked about the price, which was apparently too much for the economy if paid in cash. Instead, while they were in Dream Maker, Silver Face would hunt animals to contribute to the citizens' diet—a rather vague condition.

Drake had been sleeping since noon, so Hikaru just left him around his neck and headed to Zagin. Tonight was a boar feast—almost all the food on the menu used boar meat.

「Boars smell gamy, but it feels like you're eating good meat.」Lavia said.

「I never took you for someone who loves meat.」

Meat fried with ginger was brought to their table. It was made using soy sauce—or something similar to it—as seasoning. Eiichi clearly introduced this food to the people.

「It's tough, and smells a bit. But it's delicious.」

Instead of cabbage for the garnish, they used some unknown yet still tasty vegetable. The tendons were tough, drenched in fat, but it still tasted like the dish that Hikaru had always known.

「Now I'm craving for rice…」Hikaru muttered.

Wyza the waitress came to their table and casually took a seat.『I heard you guys are looking into the animal contaminations?』

「What's she saying?」Hikaru asked.「And why is she acting like our friend, sitting down at our table?」

「She's saying something about animals… but I'm not sure what exactly.」

Gin wasn't around today, and if he was, it wasn't like he could translate for them.

『Someone I know studies those. Interested?』

「She says she'll introduce you to someone studying the contamination in the animals.」Deena cut in.「I think she's referring to Zahadu the Sage.」

「You need something?」Hikaru asked with such suspicion that Deena shrank back.

「Lord Grucel wants to see you. I'm here to be your guide.」

「I refuse.」

「I will not be joining you. Please come with me.」

Deena bowed deeply. The noisy tavern went quiet. Even Wyza looked puzzled.

Hikaru sighed.「I see what you're doing. A woman bowing to me would make me look like the bad guy.」

「Ah, no! That's not what I meant to do! I'm just apologizing—」

「Fine. Lead the way.」Hikaru said.「Can you look after this guy for me?」

「Okay. Take care.」Lavia said.

Hikaru left Drake with Lavia and rose from his seat. He left reluctantly, his meal only half-finished.

Only the faint light coming from the paper lanterns lit up their path as they walked through the streets at night. Gla.s.s wasn't popular here, so they couldn't make lamps.

After walking silently for a few minutes, Deena suddenly stopped.

「Lord Silver Face. I understand that you don't trust me, but Lord Grucel genuinely cares about this country's future. So, please…」

「You don't care if I don't trust you, but you want me to at least trust Grucel?」

「Yes. I deeply apologize for my selfish requests.」

「h.e.l.l no.」

Deena was astonished at Hikaru's straight refusal.

「I'm the one who decides whether to trust someone or not. You don't have a say in it. I take it Grucel is here?」

「Yes, this way.」

Crestfallen, Deena opened the door to a building which appeared to be a military facility. There was a reception desk inside, although the whole place was cloaked in darkness, except for a room down the long corridor where light spilled outside through the door. Hikaru moved towards the room with quick steps. His Mana Detection sensed Deena standing at the entrance, not stepping inside the building, and a lone person in the room.

「I'm coming in.」

「Thank you for coming.」Grucel still wore the same almost-emotionless expression.「Sorry for taking some of your time, Silver Face.」

「I don't mind, but please notify me beforehand. I drew looks at Zagin 'cause Deena bowed to me. It's annoying.」

「I see. Making you angry still weighs heavy on her mind. I apologize on her behalf as well.」

The room was barren, with two chairs and a side table where an already cold teapot sat. Hikaru already missed the warm food at Zagin.

「Don't bother. I will not forgive you for kidnapping Paula, and I'm sure there are people on your side who're p.i.s.sed that I sunk one of your s.h.i.+ps. There's no need for us to get along.」

「But now you're working with Duinkler. I heard you bought the garden mansion at the twelfth ward.」

「You know that already, huh… Actually, I don't even know anything about the house.」

「There's only 31 garden mansions in Dream Maker. Green symbolizes the expanse of woodland outside the city. Incorporating that into your residence serves as proof of your power.」

「You're kidding…」

d.a.m.n that man… Out of all the properties he could show us, he chose an outrageous one. He probably didn't even explain its background to the girls.

Ultimately, providing a mansion to Hikaru wouldn't hurt Duinkler's pockets as long as he worked for it. If they left, he'd gain it back as well. The man didn't even specify how much work Hikaru had to do before the property was his.

That cunning devil… Hikaru sighed.

「I'm guessing you studied the language in a hurry once you realized I was working with Duinkler. You've gotten better. I admire that att.i.tude.」

「I didn't study just for you. We'll be interacting more with the other continent in the future. The commander of the army must know the language.」

「For the record, I'm not working with Duinkler.」

「Really?」

「Of course. Who would even trust that cunning old man?」

「Cunning old man, huh?」Grucel chuckled.

Oh, so he can laugh.

「Apparently, King Eychi used the word sometimes. I heard you're from the same world as him.」

「Yeah. I'm guessing you got that from Deena. I knew I couldn't trust that woman.」

Deena was the only one present during Hikaru's meeting with Doriachi. Only the king and Deena heard him speak j.a.panese. He didn't mind if people found out he was from j.a.pan, but he didn't want to spread the word too. Besides, knowing j.a.panese seemed to be a prerequisite to become king here in this country.

「She told no one else about it, only me.」Grucel said.

「See, that's the problem. Everything she knows goes to you. I can't have a translator like that.」

「Silver Face. I know you like to keep things secret, which is why I learned the language. She won't be around when we talk.」

Deena was an excellent translator, but Hikaru despised her. So Grucel planned to leave her out instead.

「I don't think we have much to talk about anyway.」Hikaru said.

「I heard about the possibility of enemies coming down south. Dealing with that is the army's job.」

He must be referring to what Wakamaru and I talked about.

「You can talk to me via Duinkler if you want.」

「Come now. Please don't say that. Besides, you yourself said you're not working with Duinkler.」

「The most important thing is trust, and I don't trust you. To be honest, I don't really care about what happens to this continent, and I'm not interested in your little turf war. If you worked with Duinkler, you can solve this problem instantly.」

Grucel went silent. Working with Duinkler was not an option. That just showed how deep-rooted the rivalry was in this country.

They say if three people gather, two factions are formed. A long, long time ago, a settlement was built here and merged with the newcomers that arrived 500 years ago. The only other turning point was Eiichi becoming king, and the rest was history—a history of the personal relations.h.i.+ps between the citizens of the country.

Those who opposed each other wouldn't just agree to shake hands with their enemy with a big smile on their face just because an outsider told them to do so. Hikaru felt a little sorry for Grucel.

「You can earn someone's trust little by little.」Hikaru said.「Don't try to get it in one go. I don't trust Duinkler, nor do I have any faith in him. We do, however, share the same interests, so we sometimes worked together.」

「I see… You're right. I never expected a youngster like you to lecture me.」

And with that, tonight's meeting ended. While Hikaru was gone, Gin arrived at Zagin and finished his meal. Irritated, Hikaru made him pay for everything.