06 The Merchant
The fortress that stood quietly nestled in the mountains was built on the face of a steep cliff. Though its outer walls were covered with moss and ivy, showing the passage of time, its sturdiness remained intact—it was not a place that could be easily infiltrated.
—At least not by ordinary humans—
Inside that fortress, Emma was cleaning the bandits’ rooms as usual.
Claude’s room was where Emma had first been laid to rest, but inside were luxurious items that appeared to have been stolen. As a result, it was garishly luxurious like a nouveau riche merchant’s quarters, requiring careful attention during cleaning.
Murakumo’s room was orderly. The only thing that caught the eye was a small basket placed on the floor, with soft cloth spread inside. It was probably a cat’s bed. Since that was about all there was, cleaning required hardly any effort.
Yuri’s room had magic books and tools piled up in disarray. Emma knew that the room’s master disliked having those things touched, so she limited herself to the bare minimum of sweeping.
After finishing the cleaning, Emma stretched greatly in the courtyard and looked up at the sky.
Something caught her eye in the distant sky. It looked like a bird, but it gradually grew larger.
“What is that?”
Emma gazed in bewilderment, but when its form became clear, she couldn’t believe her eyes.
It had large wings, but it wasn’t a bird. If forced to describe it, it was like a giant lizard, but it was about the size of a noble’s mansion. Its head bore two large horns, its limbs had sharp claws, and its body was covered in blue scales.
It was a dragon itself—called the strongest of magical creatures.
Emma had only seen one in pictures in books; this was her first time seeing the real thing.
“A dragon!? Why is it in a place like this?”
Her surprise was brief, as the blue dragon came swooping down toward the fortress.
Its eyes caught Emma and its mouth twisted into what looked almost like a smile.
Looking closely, there appeared to be a large amount of baggage loaded on its back. However, Emma didn’t notice this and hurriedly fled into Claude’s room, slamming the door shut with great force.
“Claude-san! A dragon! A dragon has come!”
“Ah, so it’s arrived.”
Claude’s reaction was nonchalant.
“Eh? It’s a dragon, you know? It’s incredibly huge, you know? We’ll be eaten!”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. You’ll understand if you go outside.”
Claude gently pushed aside Emma, who was blocking his way, opened the door, and went outside.
Emma timidly peered at the outside situation from behind the door.
In the courtyard, there was no longer any sign of the dragon, but a large amount of baggage and one woman stood there.
She had long blue hair flowing in the wind and wore what looked like ethnic clothing that showed her shoulders and midriff. Her large blue eyes that seemed to bewitch people mysteriously were particularly striking.
Even from Emma’s perspective as a fellow woman, she had a good figure and was a bewitchingly beautiful woman.
Before she knew it, Yuri had also come out of his room and was sending passionate glances toward that woman. Though Yuri seemed to have little interest in anything other than magic, perhaps he was a man after all.
“Claude, is that girl the one you seized from the Empire?”
The beauty was looking at Emma with a sticky gaze—like a carnivorous beast eyeing its prey.
Feeling a chill, Emma hurriedly hid behind the door.
“Your ears are quick, Laksh. Where’d you hear that from?”
Claude called out familiarly to the woman named Laksh. They seemed to be acquaintances.
“The Empire is in an uproar like a stirred-up hornet’s nest, you know? They’re saying that the company they had as escorts was annihilated by mere bandits. Don’t you think you went a bit too far?”
“That’s what happens when they try to pass through our territory with such arrogance, right? It’ll serve as good medicine for them.”
“The Empire is serious, you know? Even if this place is hidden by Yuri’s barrier, won’t it be dangerous if they start a full-scale mountain hunt?”
Laksh said with concern.
“When that time comes, we’ll deal with it then. For now, let’s talk business, shall we? The spoils from the other day are in that carriage over there.”
Claude pointed with his chin toward the black carriage where Emma had been captured.
“It’s a pretty sturdy and nice-looking carriage, right? Plus it comes with two big horses. Give me a good price for it.”
“A carriage?”
Laksh’s expression clouded.
“You’re telling me to take a carriage back from here? That would cost more in labor than it’s worth. The cargo bed also has the Empire’s crest prominently displayed, so it can’t be used as is. I can’t take it off your hands.”
“Tch, that carriage was all we got from that raid…”
Claude clicked his tongue and scratched his head in frustration.
“Oh, but I could take the girl hiding behind the door off your hands. From my assessment, I think the Empire would put quite a price on her.”
Looking at the door where Emma was hiding, Laksh showed a malicious smile.
“…Her name is Emma. She’s not for sale. By the way, who in the Empire is after her?”
“The company Claude attacked seems to have been a unit directly under the Prime Minister. He’s the most powerful person in the Empire right now, you know? I don’t think this will end quietly.”
“The Prime Minister… that bastard Garnets.”
Claude muttered the name with obvious distaste.
Prime Minister Garnets was a person who had ingratiated himself with the current Emperor and rapidly risen in position by promoting ancient civilization technology he had discovered. However, his background was completely unknown and mysterious. His power was now said to be second only to the Emperor.
“I think you should quietly hand her over, don’t you? Or have you taken a liking to her?”
Laksh said teasingly.
“It’s not like that. I just want to give the Empire some grief.”
Claude let out a big sigh.
“So, how much stuff did you bring today?”
“As you can see.”
Laksh indicated with her thumb the pile of baggage behind her. Among it were foodstuffs and other necessities for daily life. Laksh was actually a merchant. Claude’s group, holed up in a fortress deep in the mountains far from human habitation, purchased goods from this female merchant.
“But if you guys don’t have any haul, there can’t be any trade, you know?”
“Can’t be helped. I have some treasured gems, so I’ll put those up this time.”
Claude shook his head in resignation.
“Gems! Claude’s!”
Laksh’s eyes gleamed brilliantly, showing interest to the point where she looked ready to drool.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT gadgetizedpanda.net
“Wait a moment. I’ll go get them.”
When Claude returned to his room, he said to Emma, who was inside:
“You go outside too. Laksh isn’t really a bad person. Except for being a money-grubber who’s obsessed with gems.”
Having heard the conversation, Emma obediently left the room. She had deduced that Claude didn’t want to be seen retrieving the gems he had hidden in the room.
However, outside the room, Laksh was waiting for her.
“Hello there, Princess.”
Laksh smiled sweetly.
(Something’s suspicious…)
Though Emma had quickly come to trust the three bandits, she was on guard against Laksh.
“Hello, Laksh-san.”
“You should leave this fortress full of these grimy men, shouldn’t you? If you’d like, I could arrange a beautiful home for you.”
Though Laksh’s tone was gentle, Emma felt like she was being tested.
“I’m fine, thank you. I’ve come to like the life here.”
“You like it? These people are bandits, you know? They’re bad people who steal from others, you know?”
Laksh tilted her head.
“Of course, being a bandit is wrong. But Claude-san and the others aren’t bad people.”
Emma looked into Laksh’s eyes and answered clearly.
“Is that so? You know about Murakumo’s sword skills and Yuri’s amazing magic, don’t you?”
“I do, but…”
“Those are for killing people, you know?”
Laksh peered into Emma’s eyes.
“That’s…”
Emma was overwhelmed by that question and the force of her gaze.
Indeed, Laksh was right. Emma had never actually seen Claude’s group conducting raids or killing people. Though she understood intellectually that bandits did such things, she couldn’t say for certain that she wouldn’t have a change of heart if she actually witnessed it with her own eyes.
Laksh was about to continue further.
“Even Claude…”
“Don’t say unnecessary things, Laksh.”
Just then, Claude emerged from the room. In his hand was a large blue gem.
“This should be worth more than enough, right? You brought money too, didn’t you?”
“Of course! Of course I brought it, Claude!”
Laksh snatched the gem from Claude and held it up to the sunlight, studying it intently.
“…It’s a magnificent gem. What I have on hand today won’t be enough. Put it on my tab. I’ll pay you back eventually.”
Laksh took out a small leather pouch from her pocket and tossed it to Claude.
“Got it.”
Claude took out gold coins from the leather pouch to check them. There were probably dozens inside.
If Laksh’s goods and gold coins combined weren’t enough, that blue gem must have considerable value.
“Well then, I’ll come again. You’re probably still hiding lots of gems anyway, aren’t you?”
Laksh smiled alluringly at Claude, waved lightly at Emma, and left the fortress.
In the end, Yuri didn’t say a single word and remained entranced by Laksh’s figure until the very end.
“…How did that person get here?”
Emma gazed vacantly at her retreating figure.
“How? Under her own power, of course.”
The moment Claude said that, a blue dragon took flight from just near the fortress.
When its neck turned toward Claude’s group, it closed one eye and did something like a wink.
“Eh?”
Emma’s eyes went wide.
“That person was a dragon-person? One of those legendary ones?”
Humans who could take dragon form were called dragon-people, but with hardly any sighting reports, they were considered legendary beings. On the other hand, humans who could take wolf form were called werewolves, and these were fairly common. However, they were despised by people, and there was a history of the church leading werewolf hunts that had wiped them out.
“Moreover, she’s not just any dragon-person. Laksh is an Azure Dragon.”
“An Azure Dragon!?”
Long ago, four magical creatures said to have existed since the age of ancient civilization were called the Four Divine Beasts, and people had revered them. The Azure Dragon was one of them. Though its whereabouts had been unknown, Emma had never imagined it was working as a merchant.
“How did you meet such a person?”
“Well, I stole a gem she was supposed to acquire in a deal, so she came chasing after me in a rage. She was pursuing me in a carriage at first, but before I knew it, she was flying through the sky, and finally she was breathing flames with thunderous roars. I was scared out of my wits. In the end, I returned the gem, apologized profusely, and even gave her an apology gem to get her forgiveness. I made a promise to sell stolen gems to her with priority. That’s how our relationship started.”
“Does Laksh-san like gems that much?”
Come to think of it, she had shown an abnormal level of interest in gems, Emma recalled.
“There’s an old tale that ‘dragons like gems’ to begin with. She’s typical of that. She’s not a bad person as long as you don’t anger her.”
“I see…”
Emma watched the rapidly shrinking figure of the azure dragon with mixed feelings.
TLNOTE
While waiting for the next chapter, I encourage you, dear readers, to explore other masterpieces written by Daken-sensei :
- Monster Meat Led Me to the Throne
- Who killed the Hero?
- The Wicked Princess and 12 Eyes – The Strongest Squires and the Legendary Evil Woman, the Second Time in Her Life
- The Suspects of Necromancy
- The Exiled Merchant Saves the World with the Power of Gold (translated by my friend meerkat)
- The Last Magic (translated by my friend narwhal)
Also check out my friend Localizermeerkat for more LN translations!
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