New chapter of Plant Magic Lord is out! (2/2 chapters)

 

 

At the Tavern

(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)

The tavern of Healberry Village.

After the cleanup was done, Naru, Brown, and the adventurer in his thirties were relaxing in a private room, enjoying their meal. These three could be called the village’s core members, the ones who handled practical matters with agility and versatility. They were also, one might say, companions on the lake.

“Nyan. Still, I was surprised, nyan. Once again, Lord Elt made a snap decision. It seems he intends to build a magical trolley, nyan.” (Brown)

As expected, the topic was the underground plaza discovered earlier that day and the magical trolley.

This tavern was one that Naru and the others often used, a slightly upscale place.  Several private rooms equipped with soundproofing were available for business meetings. Here, they could speak without fear of being overheard.

While eating grilled fish with spicy sauce, Naru spoke.

“Nom, nom… But Iskamina said it was possible, nya. I’ve ridden a magical trolley before too. It’s not some unknown technology, nya.” (Naru)

In the northern part of the kingdom lay a mountain range close to the Dwarven kingdoms. Because of that, many Dwarves lived in the north, and a few magical trolleys operated there.

“Well, to be honest, Marcis-sama’s red zooming light spell is way more mysterious?” (Adventurer)

The adventurer in his thirties gulped down his mead and reached for the honey mustard–dressed aromatic vegetables. That glittering spell shooting off into the sky was said to depend entirely on Stella’s power for landing.

Wasn’t that basically suicidal? No, it was Hero Stella, so it was surely safe and flawless. But still, wasn’t it fundamentally suicidal?

At times, such thoughts crossed the mind of the adventurer in his thirties.

“Nyan. In Zanzas, there aren’t any magical trolleys, right, nyan? Was there ever a plan to build them, nyan?” (Brown)

“In my grandfather’s grandfather’s time, yeah, there was talk of it.” (Adventurer)

“So there really was a plan, nya.” (Naru)

“Well sure, faster transport means profit. We live off trade, after all? So, people considered a lot of ideas, but…” (Adventurer)

Adventurers weren’t just a rowdy bunch. There were strict exams, and for a commoner, it was one of the most prestigious professions. In modern times, when wars between nations had ceased, it was one of the few remaining paths that could still lead to knighthood.

Veteran adventurers were respected in every country, and even nobles couldn’t ignore their words. They monitored the territories where monsters and mana overflowed, acting as guardians of humanity’s living domain. And the adventurers of Zanzas were said to be among the best in the world. Though he seemed easygoing and loved his mud baths, the adventurer in his thirties had gathered plenty of knowledge.

“It seems the mana on Zanzas’s surface is too thin? It looked like they could’ve built one in the surrounding regions where mana’s stronger, but…” (Adventurer)

“Nya. But those places have monsters, nya.” (Naru)

Where there was mana, there were monsters. Once the mana density rose beyond a certain point, monsters multiplied, making the land uninhabitable for humans.

“That’s right. So, the plan was apparently abandoned halfway. When they ran the numbers for digging underground, it turned out to be a loss.” (Adventurer)

“Nya. Even in the north, the magical trolleys only exist around mining regions, nya.” (Naru)

Naru picked up a bean soaked in spicy sauce. The sharp heat ran across her tongue.

It was delicious, but one had to watch the quantity. As the Cockatrices would say, eating too much would increase one’s “tap”.

“Even if there are underground tunnels, I wonder if they’d really be profitable…” (Adventurer)

“That part shouldn’t be a problem, nyan. Once the magical trolley starts running, the profits will be huge, nyan.” (Brown)

“When transporting goods, we always need more wagons, nya. And when the weather’s bad, the efficiency drops a lot, nya.” (Naru)

When it rained, roads became muddy and hard to traverse. Naturally, for horse-drawn wagons, that was only a disadvantage, and the horses were more likely to catch colds.

“Nyan. Most of our trade’s with Zanzas, nyan. Even just a magical trolley that connects that far would have a big impact, nyan.” (Brown)

“Mm, that makes sense.” (Adventurer)

The adventurer in his thirties downed his mead in one gulp.

“Another round, nyan?” (Brown)

“Nah, I’ll pass tonight. I’m more in the mood for food than drink.” (Adventurer)

Saying so, the adventurer reached for the platter of assorted ham.

“Still… things are starting to get interesting.” (Adventurer)

“Nya? The blood of an adventurer’s stirring, nya?” (Naru)

“Of course, nyan. Underground tunnels connecting, new plazas being found, how could I not get excited, nyan?” (Brown)

Brown also began to chew his ham, softly.

“Nyan. I can’t wait, nyan…!” (Brown)

“Nya. Really, nya.” (Naru)

Naru too chewed on the ham. It was part of the stock Elt had bought in bulk, reasonably priced yet of excellent flavor.

“Nya. Then, let’s end the work talk here, nya. When shall we go boating next, nya?” (Naru)

“Now that I’ve got the knack for exploring tunnels, next day off should be fine, y’know?” (Adventurer)

“Nyan. Let’s gather volunteers and go fishing on the lake, nyan.” (Brown)

“Nya. I’ll take a nap on the boat, nya.” (Naru)

Since they’d gone through the trouble of buying a boat, it would be a waste not to use it.

“Nyan. Oh, right, Lalatoma said the Cockatrice wants to come too, nyan.” (Brown)

“Oh? The Cockatrice? For a bath, maybe?” (Adventurer)

On the first floor of the Zanzas dungeon, one could often see Cockatrices bathing in water. In fact, during the day, there was always at least one bathing wherever there was water.

“According to Lalatoma, it’s apparently a ‘date,’ nya.” (Naru)

“Nya. That’s nice, nya.” (Naru)

“Nyan-nyan, truly, nyan.” (Brown)

“I see. So, even Cockatrices have that kind of thing going on, huh.” (Adventurer)

Muttering, the adventurer bit into another slice of ham. He didn’t have the temperament to comment on the love affairs, or rather, the affectionate bonds, of Cockatrices. It was too sad. For a moment, the faces of two certain adventurers flashed across his mind. But that, too, was beyond his reach.

“Spring’s close, huh.” (Adventurer)

With that, the adventurer scooped up another piece of ham with his fork.

 

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