episode_0065

“Ah… um… I didn’t know that.”

He said with a slightly flustered expression, but in reality, he was extremely confused.

What on earth is he talking about?

Giving a hairbrush is a delicate issue in itself?

Unless you’re a married couple, you don’t exchange hairbrushes?

This is the first time I’ve heard such a thing…!

My knowledge of elves is mostly from Misty.

Since the elf herself was right next to me, I didn’t need to read books to find information about elves.

Although elves occasionally came and went in the Labyrinth City, there was no need to make a sound like giving a hairbrush.

“Looks like you didn’t know either. Anyway, are you not going to buy it then?”

“Ah, um. No, I’ll buy it. I’ve come this far, so as a souvenir…”

“Then I’m glad. How much do you need?”

“About one.”

It should be about the size of a palm.

“…Did you hear what I said earlier? You’re not trying to cut the hairbrush, are you?”

Ravani furrowed his brow as he looked at the amount of sandalwood I requested.

He can recognize a professional.

“That’s not it. It really is just a souvenir.”

“Well, it’s none of my business. Anyway, wait a moment. Since there’s no small one like that, I’ll have to cut it with a saw.”

“Yes…”

“Just make sure you don’t change your mind and not buy it later.”

Ravani joked as he went into another room.

“…Elves can’t give hairbrushes?”

Kona asked.

“…Maybe? Or maybe that man just got it wrong.”

I was quite flustered, but thinking calmly, it’s more reasonable to think that Ravani got it wrong.

After all, it was an anecdote I heard only once from a client whose negotiation with the elf had failed, and I had heard it directly from the elf herself, even undergoing seven years of training under that elf to cut hairbrushes.

Yes, that’s probably it.

Moreover, I forgot one important thing. Considering Misty’s circumstances, Ravani’s story about the hairbrush makes even less sense.

Because Misty already has a ‘fiancé’.

I’ve known Misty for quite a while, and I know she has some interest or affection for me.

So I subtly asked her once, and the answer was that she already had a fiancé in her hometown.

I was quite relieved, but also a little anxious.

Since then, I haven’t thought or been conscious of Misty in that way.

She has always acted as a close friend, a mentor, and a receptionist for the adventurer guild, and I found that comfortable.

Leaning against the wall for a moment, I looked around Ravani’s house.

Various certificates and trophies displaying his father’s reputation were exhibited on the wall.

It was clear how proud he was of those.

To him, a sibling who tarnished the family’s reputation would be an unforgivable existence.

Yet, as a fellow father, does he understand…?

A poorly crafted finger-sized statue on the desk catches my eye.

It was probably made by Ravani’s child.

“…”

A child…

…Although many years have passed, I still don’t have a child.

Our race believed that quietly fading away was the best option.

When I first touched Lende, it was out of drunkenness, but what I wanted to discard was probably the same Eboni tribe.

I thought that if I gave them enough money to not be lacking and sent them back, everything would be fine…

“Kona.”

“Yes?”

“Do you… ever think it would be nice to have a sibling?”

“A sibling…?”

“Yeah. If you end up living in our house, you might have a sibling in the future. I hope you’ll help as an older sister then.”

“Ah.”

Kona’s expression turned surprised, as memories of the conversation with Oneroi resurfaced.

I, too, must soon create a child like Sangcheol.

In our tribe, only Roderick and I can sow the seed.

But Roderick is homosexual, and I cannot force him to copulate with a woman.

Of course, I don’t know if his sexual preferences have changed by now, but it’s not optimistic to think so.

And there’s also the issue with the women.

Steria will probably refuse, and Linde is out of the question.

There are three left… no, Steria might surprisingly accept.

Or rather, tolerate would be more accurate.

Anyway, that makes four… four women must each bear at least ten children.

If we subtract twins from the calculation, that’s two and a half per person…

Damn it.

What am I even calculating right now?

What kind of animal am I?

Are they just sperm donors?

What has changed in our situation since Batori?

“…Sir.”

“Hm?”

Kona called me cautiously.

Did she just call me ‘sir’?

“Are you okay…?”

“Ah…”

Did it show on my face?

I shouldn’t worry a child like this.

“I’m fine. Just… have a lot on my mind.”

“Okay.”

Yeah.

The women probably have more worries than me.

I just need to sow the seed, but they are the ones who will carry and give birth.

Of course, I will do my best to consider them, but I can’t directly help with pregnancy and childbirth.

“Oh, you waited?”

A while later, Rabani came back with a bundle.

“Check it out. It’s a piece of sandalwood and what seems to be sap of the right size.”

I opened the bundle he handed me.

A piece of sandalwood of the size I requested, and a vial that seemed to contain sap.

“Could you also give me a pipette?”

“Hm? Oh, right. Here, take one. It’s not free though.”

“It’s okay.”

He also included a pipette for the sap.

The price was slightly higher than I had thought, but it was my fault for being dissatisfied with the goods, and he had his reasons.

The money I had looted from Brigal’s soldiers had long been spent, so I had to take out my own.

“Is this a gold coin from the Labyrinth City?”

Rabani carefully examined the gold coin.

“The weight is the same as the gold coins we use, but it’s finely made.”

“I heard they pay a lot of attention to currency since money keeps flowing there.”

Anyone, regardless of their background, can come and legally earn and spend money.

In my hometown on modern Earth, it’s common, but here, it’s different.

The vast majority of people inherit their parents’ professions and grow up and die where they were born.

Leaving your hometown without distant relatives or acquaintances is no different from going into the wilderness.

If a person without connections can find a job, it’s either sailing or working in dangerous places like mines.

Of course, adventurers risk their lives too, but they don’t have someone pressing down on them.

In other words, there is overwhelming freedom.

In a world like this, that kind of freedom is precious.

Once you get a taste of it, it’s hard to break free, and that drug-like environment has created the Labyrinth City as it is now.

“The Labyrinth City… but doesn’t monsters come out of the labyrinth? It’s really dangerous. What if you get seriously injured?”

“If you lose a finger or two… no, even if you lose an arm, it’s not that dangerous, so you can keep working in a relatively safe place.”

“I’m fine. I have kids, so what’s the point of risking… but do you have any children?”

“No. I’m not married.”

“As I thought. You give off that vibe. Oh, don’t get me wrong. I’m not teasing you for being a bachelor. Just…”

“It’s okay. I’m not alone, and if there’s something difficult, I can ask my elf friend for help.”

Rabani is worried about Kona.

Kona is still a young child, so it would be more reassuring to entrust her to someone who has experience raising children.

“Well… Did I mention having an elf friend? Anyway, it doesn’t matter. There’s nothing more for me to say.”

With that, I took Kona and left Rabbani’s house.

“Take care on your way back. I entrust Kona to you.”

He bid us farewell.

“Yes.”

I just nodded slightly in response.

“G-Grandfather…!”

Kona turned completely around to look at Rabbani.

And for the first time, she addressed him directly.

“T-Thank you!”

Rabbani did not respond.

In reality, he had done nothing for Kona.

He resented his brother for ruining the family, and Kona probably knew that from the beginning.

Yet Kona sought out Rabbani.

There must be something between them that I don’t know about.

I have no need to know or interfere.

Kona glanced back for a moment before turning away again.

And we walked away.

But not long after, she hesitated.

“Keep going.”

I held Kona’s hand.

“When you leave, you must leave decisively. That way, the people behind you can rest assured.”

“…Yes.”

And until we were out of the alley, we did not hear the sound of the door closing at Rabbani’s house.

In the quiet alley, the bustling sounds of the market could be heard in the distance.

Many people must have come to see the wedding of King Slon of this country and Lady Steria of Loreldia.

But in the end, they would all leave without seeing anything.

And we must leave too.

“There’s nothing more to see in this country now. Let’s go straight to the Labyrinth City.”

“We’re leaving…”

“Yes. With an elf among my friends, we can get some help there.”

“Will we be able to come back to this country?”

“Do you want to come back?”

“Not really, but… I still want to thank Grandfather for something. When my mother and father left this country a long time ago, he helped us a lot.”

So that’s what happened.

“Write a letter later.”

“A letter?”

“What are you going to give as thanks anyway? Money?”

“Oh, no. I don’t have any money.”

“When things calm down a bit, go and write a letter. Thank him for his help in the past. He’ll probably grumble about why you sent such a thing while making a face, but he’ll keep that letter until he dies.”

With a slightly playful tone, Kona seemed to relax a bit.

“Anyway, think about that later, for now, we need to sneak out of this country quietly…”

We must avoid encountering the Changkut Vanguard or disguised Brigal soldiers.

“Do you remember how you escaped from this country in the past?”

“Yes.”

Kona’s memory is abnormal.

Is it a trait of artificial creatures?

I’ve never heard of such an ability before.

“Where did you go?”

“I… I took a boat…”

“A boat?”

“I went out on a river at night.”

“Oh, there’s a river where you can take a boat?”

“Not anymore.”

At that moment, a voice interrupted our conversation.

“What’s going on now?”

Onelloi emerged from the shadowy alley.

“Did you forget to bring a souvenir or something?”

Although he said it like that, the atmosphere was not very pleasant.

“I… I sent an urgent message to the elders of the elves and dark elves.”

“And?”

“And after the meeting… they decided to reject your proposal. Steria will marry Slon here.”