Translator: Silver  Editor: Namorax

「Traveling is More Enjoyable with Company」

Two days later.

Since I didn’t have any urgent business, I collected more hot spring water to regain my body and spent my days sparring with Ariane, familiarizing myself with the village and learning how to control my emotions while fighting.

I would train with Ariane till noon, then practice a bit of swordsmanship with my elven body and end the day by exploring the village.

I never realized just how long a day could last or how productive I was without T.V., games or the internet.

Actually, I just got really bored if I didn’t do something to pa.s.s the time.

That night, after I’d finished bathing in mansion’s private tub and had sat down for dinner, Glenys told me about the matter concerning the travel permission.

“Landfria village has granted permission.”

I rocketed out of my seat and forcefully approached Glenys when I heard the news.

“Ohh, is that true!? When does the ship set sail?”

“Calm down. There are a few conditions we need to discuss first.”

Glenys held up her hand when she saw my exuberance.

“Conditions?”

Since I was boarding an elven trade ship to a beastman kingdom, it was important to hear any stipulations lest I cause a commotion, so I calmed down to her hear out.

“Apparently the two of you have a connection with the village elder and he would like to meet with you.”

This time it was Ariane who reacted to Glenys’ statement.

“Both of us?”

Glenys nodded at her question and continued to speak with a dubious look in her eyes.

“Apparently, the two of you have helped the elder’s older brother.”

Ariane and I shared a confused look when Glenys told us that bit of information.

If I was understanding this correctly, then both of us were somehow acquainted with the older brother of Landfria’s elder… However, neither Ariane or I could seem to figure out who that person was.

I haven’t talked to all that many elves outside of those in Raratoia, so I waited to see what Ariane had to say.

“I’ve never spoken to Landfria’s elder, nor someone who could be his older brother……”

I tried to remember all of the elves I’ve met outside of the village but only one person came to mind.

Ariane’s golden eyes bulged as she realized the only person it could have been, and the two of us shouted at the same time:

“Casey!?” “Casey-dono!?”

Casey Held.

He was an odd monster researcher who lived and worked out of Rhoden Kingdom’s Buranbeina territory.

Glenys had a satisfied smile on her face when she heard our answer and urged us to continue.

“Hmm, I don’t see any problem with me meeting with him, do you?”

After I voiced my willingness to meet with the elder, I looked back at Ariane to see her shaking her head.

Glenys smile widened as if something about this seemed to be amusing her.

“That’s good. Ariane, I already received permission from the capital, you’ll be accompanying Arc-kun on this trip.”

Ariane looked dumbfounded as she listened to her mother’s blunt explanation.

“W-wait a minute, I have to go to Fabuna’ha too?”

“That’s right. Unfortunately, Arc-kun isn’t officially a part of the village yet. I had to use some of your grandfather’s connections and call in a favor from another great elder to set this all up, so……”

Glenys had been walking towards her dau
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ghter as she spoke and when she reached Ariane, she whispered something into her ear that stained her cheeks crimson red and caused her to push her smiling mother away.

Even though I hadn’t expected Glenys to make her accompany me for my selfish request, but I was too preoccupied with Ariane’s strange reaction to argue against it.

“…? Something wrong Ariane-dono?”

“Kyun?”

When I asked her about it I only received a silent stare from her and Glenys only looked away from me when I turned to her.

Ponta looked worried as she stared up at Ariane’s silent expression.

“I-I’m alright! I’ll go with you……”

Ariane signed seemingly in defeat while Glenys continued to smile and offered a suggestion.

“Since you’re going to the Southern Continent, why don’t invite that child along? Chiome-chan would love to go!”

She was very casual about it, as if she were telling us to bring along a friend to hang out with us.

However, considering the race of people that ruled the country we were visiting, offering Chiome an invitation wasn’t that strange.

Chiome was the name of the cat tribe member from the People of The Plains and Mountains that lived on this continent.

The clan she belonged to was founded by someone from my world who had dedicated himself to protecting her entire race centuries ago, a mission that has been pa.s.sed down through the clan ever since.

Among the Blade Heart Clan was a group of six ninjas capable of extraordinary abilities, and I got to knew a couple of them when I helped them emanc.i.p.ate a group of slaves from the capital.

“But, would the trade ship be willing to accommodate Chiome-dono if she were to come along? And while it may not seem like it, Chiome-dono has a lot of responsibilities to handle, would she even be willing to go?”

In order to even get the negotiations about joining the trade ship on the voyage, I had to join an elven village. So I looked to Glenys to explain how someone like Chiome could come along.

No to mention how bad I feel about taking a member of the hidden village’s most pivotal fighting force on what is essentially an extended ingredient hunting trip.

However, Glenys didn’t seem all that worried those issues as she maintained her usual smile.

“You know that the ship is heading towards the country ruled by Chiome’s people? There are going to be People of the Fields and Mountains aboard the ship.Even if Chiome-chan’s clan is familiar with the ins and outs of this continent, they’ve yet to travel beyond the sea. I’d say that exploring the Fabuna’ha Kingdom would be beneficial for her and her clan.”

If the People of the Plains and Mountains were allowed on the ship then there shouldn’t be any problems.

The way Glenys had phrased it made it seem like inviting Chiome along would be for the just cause of information gathering. Since humans wielded the majority of power on this continent, she would benefit from a broadened worldview.

Reflecting on it for a bit, I turned to Ariane to see what she had to say.

“With Arc’s transfer magic, there’s no problem with asking a friend from outside the village to join us.”

Ariane was in agreement with Glenys’ suggestion.

“Hmm, then we’ll go the hidden village tomorrow and invite her.”

“Kyun! Kyun!”

With our plans for tomorrow set, Ponta cried out in protest for the delayed meal, so dinner was quickly brought out.

The next day, after sword lessons and breakfast, Ariane and I left the village.

While I say ‘left the village’ we didn’t actually leave through the gate. Instead, I invoke my long distance transfer magic 【Transfer Gate】 and the village around us just disappeared.

We now stood on a hill that overlooked a village built in Rhoden Kingdom’s Calcutta Mountain Range.

The village that had been built in this monster-infested area belonged to the People of the Plains and Mountains and was the current base of the Blade Heart Clan.

The outer wall was made of wooden logs, with an inner stone wall surrounding the village, and the sharpened points atop the walls made it appear more like a fortress instead of a village.

The drawbridge that acted as the main entrance was currently sealed tight to keep out intruders, and there were guards placed at the nearby watchtower.

Because I remembered this location from our last trip here, 【Transfer Gate】 allowed us to instantly get here from Raratoia. Since Ariane and I were outsiders and this was a rather unexpected visit, it was better to come through the front entrance.

The People of the Plains and Mountains had physical abilities that were superior to humans’, including hearing and eyesight.

It didn’t hurt that I stood out in this mountainous region with my luxurious silver armor and jet-black mantle.

As we slowly got closer to the village gate, the guards immediately caught sight of us and sent word to the others inside the village.

“That was faster than expected.”

Ariane looked between me and the gate when I muttered that.

In any case, the outfit I wore to maintain my secret was rather memorable.

When we reached the entrance, one of the guards waved his hand that wasn’t holding his weapon and asked:

“What’s your propose?”

“We would like to offer an invitation to Chiome-dono.”

After my brief reply, the gate was opened and we were prompted to enter.

The villagers had already begun their work and the laughter of children could be heard in the distance. All in all, it was a lot livelier then it had been the last time we were here.

Currently, this village was overpopulated considering the amount of people it could actually support, but the news of the upcoming migration must have already been pa.s.sed along, because there were bright smiles on the faces of those we pa.s.sed.

A sole cat-person with a distinct appearance soon came to greet us.

He was around a hundred and eighty centimeters tall, had straight white hair that reached his lower back and had a long beard and eyebrows reminiscent of a hermit.

“Arc-dono, Ariane-dono, apologies for having you make a visit to this far-off village. Is there anything I can help you with?”

This calmly smiling man was called Hanzo the 22nd, and he was the current head of the Blade Heart Clan.

I bowed my head and offered him my own greeting before explaining the reason for our visit to Hanzo.

“Actually, we had a bit of business with Chiome-dono……”

At my comment, a small cat girl silently appeared beside Hanzo and politely greeted Ariane and me.

“Arc-dono, Ariane-dono, what can I help you with?”

The girl with short raven black hair trained her blue eyes on me as she waited for our response.

She was dressed in her usual black ninja garb, with her arm-protectors, leg-guards and the dagger that was attached to her waist.

“Oh, Chiome-dono.”

Chiome slightly nodded her head at me when I called her name.

“You see, we’re we’re about to travel to the Southern Continent on an elven trade ship, and Glenys-dono suggested that we invite you to join us. Since there’s a large country run by the People of the Plains and Mountains, she figured that you would benefit from a visit over there, what do you think?”

“Oh? The Southern Continent.”

A flash of hesitation pa.s.sed through Chiome’s blue eyes but she turned to Hanzo to see how he respond before I could see anything else.

Hanzo appeared as a kind old man when she smiled and nodded back at me.

“We’ve already dispatched Sasuke to Tsubone, so there no need to worry about that. But this is a good opportunity enlighten the next generation and bring back some souvenirs for the children. The more roads a child crosses, the less likely they are to trip up. Tehee.”

Chiome nodded at Hanzo then offered me a deep bow.

“I will gladly accept your invitation.”

“I’m happy to hear that, Chiome-chan.”

Ariane was smiled when she heard Chiome’s answer.

Apparently, the two of them hand struck an instant friendship at the hot spring, back when I’d been in a seven-day coma. The usually expressionless Chiome even smiled a bit and her tail began to happily sway back and forth.

Despite the slight feeling of isolation I felt, I breathed a relieved sigh as everyone had been gathered.

“The three of us will be traveling together again.”

Ponta must have taken some offense to what I said because whacked the top of my helmet in protest.

Maybe she was mad for not being included in the count.

“Oh, sorry sorry. Can’t forget about Ponta either.”

“Kyun!”

Ponta started wagging her puffy tail when I started stroking her chin and I began to imagine what awaited us on the Southern Continent.