ED: …and part 2 (or the entire chapter, in case you missed part 1, which I posted yesterday). I’ll redo Chapter 73 next, since it’s a bit of a mess.
Translator: Rihn
Editor: Zioming
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Chapter 91: War Preparations and Udon
Author’s Note: I mean, I do feel bad about it.
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The day after the annihilation of the Eludian Army, Maria and I were participating in a meeting held in Kastal Royal Castle concerning the war with Eludia, at Sakuya’s request. In order to hide our true identities, we were wearing the ‘Disguise Masks’ I got from Sakuya. For whatever reason no one made any comments about the presence of two suspicious masked individuals standing behind the queen. At first they looked startled, but most of them looked convinced of something immediately afterwards.
Honestly, I don’t think there’s much point in me taking part in this meeting. It’s already been going on for over an hour and I haven’t spoken once so far. Oh, and by the way, the summary of what they’ve been talking about for the past hour goes something like this:
Sakuya: We have received an official declaration of war from the Kingdom of Eludia (the actual documents have yet to arrive).
Sakuya: The army that attacked us, before they even made the declaration, has been completely destroyed, heroes included.
Sakuya: Given how the City of Liraluka has been considerably damaged, and that they have broken all the laws and treaties imaginable, we see no reason not to invade them back.
Participants: This story is too outlandish for us to believe without any evidence.
Sakuya: It was all done by Masked Queen’s Knights.
Participants: We are convinced.
Participant: Your Majesty is talking about invading them, but is there any chance for us to win against heroes?
Sakuya: Masked Queen’s Knights will take care of it.
Minister: We are convinced. ← This is where we’re currently at.
I don’t know why, but for some reason the phrase ‘Masked Queen’s Knights did it’ was enough to instantly silence any complaints. I would like to have a word with all the participants who were convinced by it. …Are you sure this is okay? And on a state management level, no less?
A: Most of the participants understand that ‘Masked Queen’s Knights’ refers to Master. Master has lent Sakuya a considerable amount of support during the rebuilding of Kastal, and given that they were able to witness Master’s unreasonableness first hand, Master’s name came to carry a considerable amount of persuasive power among them.
I don’t get it. We’re even wearing masks to hide our true identities…
A: Anyone who pays any attention to the exchange of sensitive information within the Royal Castle knows that Sakuya has recently been searching for the ‘Disguise Masks’. Other than Master, there is no one they could think of that Sakuya would go out of her way to give a magic item to.
So it can hide my identity, but it can’t hide what they already know. Seems like Sakuya acted pretty naive this time. Should I punish her with a spanking later? No, better yet, let’s say it’s punishment for her being so open about me being active in Kastal. Yeah, I’ll give her a good spanking for that.
“Hiii!?”
“What’s the matter, Queen Sakuya?”
“N-nothing…”
When she saw my face, Sakuya let out a weird scream. Screaming when you see someone else’s face, isn’t that quite rude? Alright, let’s change that ‘spanking’ to a ‘strong spanking’ instead.
“I see… Then, given how Jean-dono will be helping us, it will suffice to have just Queen’s Knights participate, meaning that we will not be recruiting any adventurers this time, is that correct?”
One of the ministers participating in the meeting said as if to summarise the conversation so far.
“Mhm, exactly. Rather than adventurers, who might betray us, Knight Jean is far more suitable for attacking them. In all honesty, it might not even be necessary for the remaining Queen’s Knights to participate.”
“Isn’t that looking down on us knights too much?”
In response to Sakuya’s comment, Gordon, the Commander of the Queen’s Knights, frowned. Sakuya’s statement just now could very well be interpreted as her saying that the Queen’s Knights are a liability. By the way, his level has increased by 5 since we last met, so he’s now at level 90. I’m probably not the one to say this, but he has very much quit the realm of being human. (ED: Previously ‘Gorudo’)
“However, you do understand just how strong Knight Jean actually is, do you not? For example, we do not believe that the Queen’s Knights alone would have been able to defend against the Eludian Army that was further accompanied by heroes.”
“Certainly, it is as Your Majesty says. We obviously understand his true strength, and it is also true that if we were to fight a war with heroes as our opponents, the Queen’s Knights alone would likely have no way of winning. However, we knights exist to protect this country and its people. We simply can’t not take part in a battle that will decide its fate.”
“We understand that, of course, but to be honest, we simply don’t need so many people. Not to mention, the knights who will go, will only act as escorts for Knight Jean, to begin with. The battle itself will be left to Knight Jean alone. And in turn, the management of the territory after the war, will be taken care of by the Queen’s Knights, given how Knight Jean is inexperienced in handling that.”
The way Sakuya said it, it almost sounds like I’m a muscle-brain who can do nothing but run wild… Well, It’s true that I don’t know much about postwar processing and such. If it were me, I would probably just leave it all to the Chamber of Advanced Commerce to take care of. …In retrospect, it does feel like all I ever do is run wild.
“I see. I suppose that putting someone like him, who is not trained in those matters, in charge would only serve to cause confusion. And so, Your Majesty is saying that we should completely separate our roles. Then, there would certainly be no need to go in with the entire knight order.”
“Mhm, the rest of the knights are to focus on the defence while Knight Jean goes on the offence. Even a single hero can be a major threat. In the unlikely scenario that a guerilla force including heroes attacked us, that alone could result in the destruction of the entire Royal Capital.”
“That is true. We will have to be especially careful when it comes to the deployment of our personnel.”
Eh? Commander Gordon nodded gravely, but are heroes really that strong?
A: They are viewed as such by the general public.
Is that so? But looking at his status, Commander Gordon is much stronger than any hero. Well, my mansion is also located in Kastal’s Royal Capital, and there are quite a few combatants guarding it, so we should be covered when it comes to defence.
“So then, when does Your Majesty plan to deploy the troops?”
“Right. There are still many things that need to be prepared, but if we begin now, we should be able to enter Eludia a week from now at the earliest.”
With that settled, the next topic of discussion was the departure schedule.
“They will depart as soon as everything is ready. Ah, and you needn’t worry about the long travel time. We have asked Knight Jean for help with that as well.”
“So, it’s Jean-dono again…”
In response to Sakuya’s statement, one of the ministers muttered. I have completely lost my patience with Eludia after this recent incident, so, sorry, but I’m going to go all out from now on. Also, it might not make much sense any more while we’re in this country, but I still want to hide my true identity from the outside world, so I’m going to dial down on my nonconformist approach from now on. …Well, just a little bit.
“We have received 100 tamed wyverns on loan from Knight Jean. The knights who will accompany him will be trained to ride them during this time.”
“W-what the…”
On that topic, said wyverns have actually been created by me using Elle’s ‘Ancestral Dragon Arts’ skill. As it turns out, it not only lets me control dragons, but even gives me the ability to resurrect them from their magic stones. And since we just so happened to slaughter close to 10,000 wyverns the other day, I resurrected a 100 of them at random, and put them under my control. With this, I will make the knights accompanying me this time into wyvern knights.
At first, I actually considered asking Sakura to create a new magic spell that would let me teleport a large group of knights in one go, but it would be problematic if her special power were to be discovered, and so, in the end, I decided to do the next best thing and use the aforementioned 100 wyverns to transport them instead. It might seem a bit excessive, but it’s much better than risking Sakura’s original spells being exposed.
“With the wyverns, we will be able to cross the Galan Mountains, shortening the travel time considerably. And then, if we target the Royal Capital directly, the civilian casualties (caused by Onii-chan) will be reduced to the minimum, as well.”
Now, let me briefly explain the geography of the Kastal Queendom and its neighbouring Eludia Kingdom.
First of all, Eludia is located to the west of Kastal. If we look at the map, the capitals of the two countries are actually not that far apart. However, there is a huge mountain range called ‘the Galan Mountains’ in between the two. The monsters that inhabit the area are considerably strong, and the mountain trails are steep and not very accessible to humans, making it nigh impossible to travel between the two cities in a straight line. The City of Liraluka is located on the border, north-west of Kastal’s Royal Capital, and the road passing through it is the fastest way to bypass the Galan Mountains, which is why the Eludian Army, accompanied by heroes, chose it for their attack.
However, if we use wyverns, there will be no need to take the roundabout way through Liraluka, which will significantly shorten the time required for us to reach Eludia’s Royal Capital. Naturally, it also works as a surprise attack, and, just as Sakuya said, the fact that it will allow us to avoid any unnecessary casualties is also a big plus. As far as I’m concerned, as long as I can crush the people standing at the top of Eludia, and the heroes, I don’t really care about what happens to the civilians.
“I-is Your Majesty planning to destroy the Kingdom of Eludia…?”
One of the ministers mutters as such. …What is he even saying at this point? But then again, all the other participants looked equally puzzled.
“Mhm, it is only right that we do. The other side even went as far as to employ heroes in their unjust war. It is clear that they have no intention of stopping whatsoever. Not to mention, if they actually were to send out heroes, but then be defeated, and eventually capitulate, they would lose much more than just the war. Simply put, they no longer have an option of backing down.”
“I-I see…”
You’re saying that with confidence now, Sakuya, but weren’t you also reluctant to destroy Eludia just yesterday? Ah, you probably can’t be seen acting that way in front of your subjects, now can you?
“But if we harm the heroes, it will affect their fight against the demons…”
“Rest assured. The actual number of heroes currently cooperating with Eludia is only around 200, which, while not insignificant, is also not major by any means. What is more, we should also consider the fact that if said heroes’ characters are such that they would willingly join a war against a neighbouring country, then it does not make much difference whether they remain in the fight or not.”
“W-where did Your Majesty even get such information?”
The ministers did not seem aware of the current situation of the heroes still remaining in Eludia, as it was all investigated by Alta.
“It’s related to Knight Jean.”
“So, it’s Jean-dono again… Haah, It seems like nothing is impossible for him…”
Numerous participants sighed deeply. I mean, while it’s technically not wrong to describe Alta’s work as something ‘related to Jean’, the way they put it still made it sound like I pretty much single-handedly made all the arrangements for this upcoming attack…
“I have several drafts for the future of the Kingdom of Eludia. I would like to talk about them now.”
Sakuya then proceeded to explain the plans for after the destruction of Eludia. Honestly, I wasn’t really interested, so I didn’t pay much attention past this point. Plus, I was wearing a mask, so it’s not like anyone would notice I was spacing out.
In the end, the meeting only ended past noon. It went on for quite a long time, now that I think about it. Not that I would know why, since I stopped listening halfway through.
After the meeting ended, all the participants left the conference hall in a hurry. They must have had a lot of things to prepare. The one who seemed the most busy was Commander Gordon, who not only had to select the people who would accompany Jean, but also train them to ride the wyverns. Ah, I should point out that I’ve ordered all the wyverns I’ve prepared to follow the instructions of the knights riding them, so there shouldn’t be any problems as long as they don’t give them any strange orders or something.
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“We are free for the next three days, and then we will attack Eludia in earnest after that.”
“Then, we have some free time to kill again, right, Master?” (Mio)
When we returned to my Kastal Mansion, I summarised what had been decided during the meeting to the rest of the group, who were waiting for us in the entrance hall. These three days will be used to prepare for the war (and for the clean-up afterwards), as well as to train the wyverns knights. By my calculations, even with the three days spent on training, we will still be able to reach Eludia’s Royal Capital many times faster than if we were to go by land.
“It can’t be helped, since they need some time to be able to learn how to ride the wyverns. And so, it became a question of where we should go sightseeing for the next three days.”
“Oh, Master… Even during wartime, you are still going sightseeing as usual…”
“It is very like Master to be so unbothered.”
Mio and Sera chuckled at my statement. I mean, I already asked Alta to keep watch over the area around the Capital, so even if heroes or the Eludian Army were to attack, I will still be able to instantly deal with them.
But then, that does not mean that I have to be stuck in Kastal for the next three days, waiting for them. It might not be that long, but I would still much prefer to spend that time doing some sightseeing instead. I mean, relaxing while fishing is also an option, but still…
“Jin-kun, since it’s a good opportunity, why don’t we go to Izumo…? Since the war has interrupted our plans to go there to begin with…”
“Ah, that’s a great idea, Sakura-sama! Master, now that we have some free time, why don’t we go relax in Izumo? And then, we can enjoy some Japanese culture while we’re there?”
“That would also be nice…”
Sakura and Mio seemed to want to go to Izumo pretty badly. And so did I, of course. We didn’t have a lot of time to spare, but with three days (it’s past noon right now, so it’s actually two and a half days) we should still be able to do some sightseeing.
“Japanese culture? That’s the culture of Jin-sama’s home world, right? I’m really looking forward to it.”
“Will Dora get to eat delicious food~?”
“Ah, I would also like to know about that.”
Maria was looking forward to Izumo because of its culture being related to me, while Dora and Sera were mostly interested in its food, it would seem.
“We’ve already set up a ‘Portal’ in Izumo, a short distance away from the capital, so if we take a carriage from there, we should be able to reach the city in about 10 minutes’ travel. It’s already lunchtime now, but let’s hold off on that and have lunch in Izumo instead.”
As a short reminder, the reason why we were planning to go to Izumo in the first place, was because one of the Dragons’ Gates, the transfer devices leading to and from the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area, connected to it. The problem however, was that the Dragons’ Gate in question, was, to everyone’s surprise, located right in the country’s capital. Fortunately, it wasn’t in a particularly busy area, and we took the precaution of using the ‘Non-elemental Magic’ spell, ‘Invisibility’, beforehand, but still, I have to say I did not see that one coming.
As you might expect, we couldn’t just place a ‘Portal’ in the middle of a city, and so we had no choice but to leave the capital and set it up in a slightly more remote location. Still, if we ride a carriage from there, we will look like your average travellers at a quick glance.
“Yay! I can finally eat some Japanese food again! Now I can expand my repertoire.” (Mio)
“Please leave the taste-tasting to me!” (Sera)
“Dora will eat it too~!”
I’m not the one to say this, but these three sure are dedicated to their desires… Yeah, I really am the last person to say this.
“Jin-sama, since you’ll be travelling by carriage, will you be taking Aisha along as your driver?”
“Yep. As Maria says, we’ll leave the driving to Aisha. She is the best at handling horses after all.”
I was very careful not to say that she is ‘good at riding things’.
“So, she’s really good at riding things, eh!?”
“Even though I intentionally avoided making that joke, you still went and said it…”
“Eh? Seriously?”
But it was ruined by Mio who said it anyway. Our thoughts align in the silliest of ways sometimes…
“Then, we can finally get back to sightseeing…” (Sakura)
“Master, the carriage is ready.”
Just as I was about to start preparing, the head maid, Lucia, came into the hall and announced so. I mean, we literally just finished talking…
“That was quick…”
“We simply cannot keep Master waiting.”
It’s honestly troubling to be told as such with her eyes full of pride… I mean, won’t the maids let me do anything at all by myself? Whenever I try to help out in the mansion in any way, some maids instantly come over and carry out the task on their own. And naturally, they’re much better at it than I ever would…
A: It is their consideration so that Master can devote himself only to his own interests and desires.
I’m at a loss on whether I should still call that being overprotective or not… If I were to fully accept that, wouldn’t I just become a totally no-good person? Even now, I think it’s already getting a little dangerous…
A: If Master explicitly rejects it, the maids will have no right to refuse.
There’s that option too. Alright, I’ll refuse their help if they even go too far.
“I had the carriage sent to Izumo ahead of you, and Aisha is currently awaiting Master’s arrival by the ‘Portal’. Everything is ready for Master’s departure.”
“R-right…”
Their level of attention to detail is already unheard-of. This feeling of them already going too far, …must be just my imagination, right?
Guided by Lucia, we transferred to Izumo through ‘Portal’.
“Now then, Aisha, I’ll leave the driving to you.”
“Got ya. We’re headed to the capital, right?”
“Yep, that’s right.”
“Understood.”
After confirming that we all got on, Aisha, the driver, started the carriage. By the way, don’t the words: ‘Aisha’, ‘driver’ (gyosha), and ‘carriage’ (basha); all sound alike?
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In less than 10 minutes from when Aisha started the carriage, we arrived at the capital city of Izumo.
By the way, she seems to be steadily increasing the number of her monster followers. As expected of an A-rank adventurer who specialises in ‘Monster Taming’. Even now, there’s a slime that she must have tamed on the driver’s seat, next to her. …Why a slime though?
A: Following a mock battle she had with Tamo-san, Aisha came to think of it as her ideal monster. Therefore, she decided to tame and raise one right away.
Tamo-san’s influence is growing by the day… Well, Tamo-san itself is also riding in this carriage. Look, it’s stuck to the ceiling right now. Oh? It’s trying its best to keep out of sight.
Now, let’s return to the conversation about Izumo. The name of the capital city is Endo. Was it taken from Edo, or was it from the word ‘End’? Either way, it’s pretty stylish, and it’s totally the work of a Japanese person. As far as I can see on the map, there are plenty of interesting spots to visit here.
Endo is a picture example of a ‘castle town’. It’s surrounded by a huge moat filled with water, with several bridges for traffic. The centre of the town is located on a hill, at the top of which stands a magnificent Japanese-style castle.
There are a number of small villages outside the moat, and they do seem quite busy, though, obviously, there are nowhere near as many people living there as there are inside the city. These villages are mostly surrounded by rice fields. Perhaps, they are the main food source for the capital, as I don’t see any fields inside the moat.
Although there is no gate, there is a checkpoint at the bridge, and it seems that one must go through a security check before they are allowed to enter the capital.
“Yo, are you guys from abroad?”
As Aisha brought our carriage by the checkpoint, a man standing guard at it spoke to her.
He was of a solid build, and was dressed in Japanese clothes. He had blonde hair and blue eyes. That’s right, almost everything about Izumo is Japanese-esque, except for the racial features of its people. In fact, you can hardly see anyone with black hair or black eyes around these parts.
Another thing that caught my eye was the single small horn on the man’s forehead. That’s right, this man is an Oni. It’s a race of ogres with horns on their foreheads and other parts of their head, so they don’t look too different from your average human beings at a first glance. Although their physical abilities surpass those of humans, they are a muscle-brained race that’s not very good at handling magic. Consequently, Izumo is also a pretty muscle-brained country, given how about half of its population is made up of Onis.
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Oh? That’s a long way to travel. Even the nearest country is a few months’ journey by sea, right? You must be pretty dedicated.”
Actually, Izumo is an island country… No, I mean, …I guess you would have guessed that by now. It’s not an isolated country like the Japan of old, but there aren’t many ships heading to Izumo, so it’s pretty inconvenient to get to, and as such, not many foreigners visit it. And so, in a country full of people wearing Japanese clothing, wearing distinctly Western clothes only served to instantly make us stand out. (ED: Japan was entirely closed off to any foreigners starting from 1603, partially in order to protect themselves from Spain and Portugal’s colonial influence, all the way until 1853, when the Americans visited with some battleships, showed off the firepower of their brand new guns, and then politely asked them not to be closed for trade any more, or else…)
“Well, you could say that. So, I’d like you to issue us tags for seven people if that’s all right.”
“Oh? For seven people, is it? Hold on a sec.”
With that, the man went inside the checkpoint building to prepare seven pairs of wooden tags. These are the entry visas for this country and town.
“That’s 2,000 yen a set, so it’ll be 14,000 yen in total. You’re a foreigner, so you can pay in gold. The exchange rate is 1:1.” (ED: In case you forgot, this world does have its own common currency, but it’s just called ‘gold’)
“If their value is the same, why not just use gold instead?”
Aisha asks the obvious question. What’s the point of going out of your way, just to be able to call it ‘yen’. …Also, it’s not like ‘yen’ was the common currency in Japan during its Edo Period. No, I get that adapting the actual currency from that period would have been even more of a hassle, but still… (ED: They did have gold, silver, and brass coins, but rather than having a unified currency with a set exchange rate like 1 gold coin = 100 silver coins, each local lord minted their own coins, and so their actual worth was based on their weight and the current price for each metal, making the exchange rates fluctuate all the time)
“Ah, that’s what we all think. But it was the first lord who founded this country, who pushed for it. I hear he was a great man, but he’s also known for having introduced some pretty ridiculous things.”
Probably because they tried to forcefully incorporate elements of Japanese culture into this world. Just how bad did you want to create a Japanese-esque country…?
“Is that so? Anyway, here’s the payment. Also, I’d like to exchange some gold for yen, so could you tell me where I can do that?”
“Oh, there’s a currency exchange place just across the bridge, so you can get it done over there. Ah, and they do charge a small fee.”
“Understood. Thanks.”
After completing the security check with those words, we finally entered the capital of Izumo, Endo. …No, I mean, we’ve already been inside when we first transferred, but that doesn’t really count, now does it?
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After crossing the bridge, changing some of our gold into yen at a nearby currency exchange, and then leaving the carriage in a designated area (hidden Tamo-san stayed behind to guard it), we finally embarked on a full-scale sightseeing tour.
“Oooh, it really feels like Edo Japan!”
“It’s a scenery that I’ve only seen in period dramas… I wonder what those tools are used for…”
Mio and Sakura’s tension was rising rapidly, in response to the familiar setting. They were looking around excitedly, like a tourist from the countryside on their first visit to a big city.
As it was the capital, it was reasonably crowded with people, and as a result, it goes without saying that our clothes, which were distinctly foreign, made us really stand out.
“We should probably buy some new clothes somewhere.”
“I agree. It’s not safe to stand out so carelessly.”
Maria, who always goes on high alert whenever there are unfamiliar people around me, responded to my comment. Ah, I see. If there are a lot of people crowding around me, it’s harder for her to stay vigilant of all of them. …She’s being way too cautious, as usual.
“Come to think of it, didn’t Sakura and Mio get some kimonos before…?”
I recall they were given some second-hand ones by Yukari (a different person than my first love) in a village in Kastal Queendom. Although rarely, I do see them wearing them at the mansion from time to time. (ED: See Chapter 32)
“I do have one, but it’s a pretty nice one, so I don’t really want to wear it when I’m wandering around town.” (Mio)
“Yes, so if we’re going to buy clothes, I’d like to buy some as well…” (Sakura)
“Understood. So, what do you want to take care of first: lunch or clothes?”
“””Lunch (please)!”””
Dora, Mio, and Sera all said in unison. As expected. Incidentally, Maria was about to say “clothes”, no doubt with my safety in mind, but she was drowned out by the other voices. Oh, and this only happened a while later, but Maria, Lucia, and about 100 maids, all ended up doing a dogeza in front of me as an apology for having forgotten to prepare the Japanese clothes for us.
“Look, look, Master! It’s udon, udon!” (ED: Thick wheat-based noodles commonly used in Japanese cuisine)
“Come to think of it, there is no udon in Mio’s repertoire…”
While we were looking for a place to eat, Mio spotted a shop serving udon. As Sakura said, there were no noodles other than pasta in Mio’s repertoire at the moment.
“Any noodles other than pasta would have to be made with flour, right? As expected, even in my previous life, I didn’t go as far as to make my own noodles. I did make bread though… Still, I think it’s a good opportunity to learn how to make them.” (ED: Not sure what the author meant here. It literally says ‘pasta’ in Japanese, but as far as I know, Asian noodles are made out of all kinds of wheat, including: rye, rice, buckwheat, or even potato starch. It’s Italian pasta that’s traditionally made specifically out of durum semolina, a coarser kind of wheat flour. Also, the term ‘pasta’ refers to a wide variety of different shapes of macaroni, including penne, farfalle, and even lasagna; and not just the noodle-like spaghetti)
“If you’re serious about noodle-making, I hope you’ll eventually get to making ramen, as well.” (ED: Thin Chinese-style wheat-based noodles served in a broth with different toppings)
“Sure, I’ll give it a go someday.”
Well, it wouldn’t be that surprising for ramen to already exist somewhere in this world. There have been numerous Japanese people spreading their culture throughout it in the past, and given how uncompromising they are when it comes to their food, it would be pretty weird for not one of them to ever try to recreate it. No, it must already exist somewhere, now that I think about it.
“Then, for now, let’s have some udon for lunch.”
“Agreed!” (Mio)
“I cannot say that I understand what you are talking about, but if Mio-san says so, then there surely must be no mistake.” (Sera)
“Dora wants to eat udon too~!”
Since there seemed to be no opposition, udon for lunch it was.
“Oh! Are you going to eat udon, Onii-chan and Onee-sans? Then why don’t you come to my place? It’s a delicious udon restaurant.”
A beautiful girl who looked about 12 years old approached us while saying so. The girl was wearing a flower-patterned kimono and had red hair tied up into a ponytail. I was suddenly curious about her status, so I went ahead and checked it. Let’s see…
Name: Hattori Hannah
LV49
Gender: Female
Age: 24
Race: Human
Skills: <Assassination LV4> <Concealed Weapon Mastery LV5> <Ninjutsu LV7> <Cooking LV3> <Compounding LV4> <Bedroom Arts LV1> <Sneaking LV5> <Stealth LV5>
Title: Hattori Shinobi Army Jounin
(ED: Hattori Hanzō – famous historical Japanese ninja; Shinobi – ninja; Jounin – highest-level ninja)
What to do… It’s been a while since I’ve last seen a status with so many things to comment on. …Alright!
“Then, let’s go there. Can you show us the way, young miss?”
“Yes. For seven people, right? Ah, my name is Atri. Nice to meet you.” (ED: It’s actually ‘Atori’ in Japanese (from Hattori, no doubt), but ‘Atri’ sounds more feminine)
I’ll just completely ignore it for now. No, I mean, when I looked at the colour of her marker on the mini-map, it was green, indicating indifference, so it doesn’t look like anything is going to happen right away. Besides, I’m not so uncouth as to cross someone out just because they are slightly suspicious. It looks like she’s using an alias, which would mean she’s either currently undercover, or otherwise forced to do so.
Then again, I have been meeting plenty of ninjas as of late… (ED: See Chapter 90)
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Guided by Atri (Hannah), we headed to an udon restaurant located a little off the main street. That’s right. A hidden gem of a restaurant has to be hidden (random theory).
“Uncle, seven customers incoming~!”
“Oh, Han-”
*cough*
“…I mean, Atri-chan, good work!”
When Atri opened the sliding door and entered the restaurant, she called out to the middle-aged man, who seemed to be the owner, in a clear voice. She then coughed to interrupt him when he almost let her real name slip. It seems that the old man is also related to ninjas.
The restaurant was a traditional one, with wooden tables and stools. There were only a few customers, so it did not seem too prosperous.
“Do you have any recommendations?”
“The base dish is kake-udon (udon served in a broth), and you can choose different toppings for it, so I don’t really have any. However, I think the most popular ones are kitsune (deep-fried tofu) and ebi-ten (shrimp tempura).”
Atri answered my question right away. I wonder if there were udon restaurants during the Edo period where you could choose your own toppings? No, there couldn’t have been… Looking at the list of all the toppings available in this place, there sure is quite a variety to choose from.
“I’ll have one with all the toppings for now.”
When you see so many different toppings, you just can’t help but want to try stacking them all on top of each other. …I realise I’m being childish.
“You can do that!? Then, I will have that too, please!”
“Dora too~!”
“Umm, I will have one udon with all the toppings… And then, one udon with kitsune, ebi-ten, and wakame (dried seaweed) on top… Oh, but with half the noodles, please…”
Sera and Dora naturally went with all the toppings as well. Dora can’t speak, so Sakura ordered for her.
“I’ll have kitsune and ebi-ten, but please give me the toppings on a separate plate. I want to get a good taste of the base udon first.”
Mio’s order was totally like a cook’s. Maria and Aisha also chose their toppings, and so we finished ordering.
“Sure, it will be ready in about 10 minutes!”
With that, the old man started cooking. When we took our seats, Atri, who was wearing an apron… No, a kappogi (Japanese cooking apron), brought us all cups of cold water.
“Here, some water for you. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone dressed like you before. Are you foreigners? What are you doing here in Endo?”
Atri asked me with a curious look on her face, but I could see the hidden seriousness behind her eyes. I see, so that’s her role. Whenever a suspicious-looking group like ours enters the capital, she casually approaches them and gathers information about them. But then again, it would be pretty biassed, not to mention, short-sighted, to think that all the tourists would want to instantly visit an udon restaurant. She’s probably in a position to introduce us to a bunch of different stores, depending on our needs and wants.
A: There are a number of ninja-owned stores around the area.
Several of the buildings on the map became marked following Alta’s statement. Let’s see… Oh, there are over 10 of them. Or rather, aren’t most eating places near the city entrance run by ninjas? So their cover is that they are cooks, is it? No wonder Atri also has the ‘Cooking’ skill.
“Oh, we’re here for sightseeing. I’ve heard that this country’s culture is pretty interesting.”
“Hmm? You must have spent quite a lot of money to come here, just for sightseeing. How curious.”
“Yeah, travelling and sightseeing are kind of my hobbies.”
Ever since I came to this world, my two main activities have been travelling and sightseeing. Although I do have a house of my own, as well…
“You’re a strange one, Onii-san. Sightseeing in this day and age.”
“I get that a lot.”
Ten minutes passed in the blink of an eye as Atri and I chatted (or, she investigated me, you could say).
“Atri-chan, seven udons, ready!”
“Ah, coming! I’ll go get your food for you.”
The old man called Atri to the kitchen, and she came back out carrying a tray of udon bowls. Even with her carrying 7 large bowls on it, it wasn’t shaking at all. Her sense of balance was on full display (as expected of a ninja).
“Itadakimasu!” x6 (ED: Thanks for the meal (before))
“Masu~!”
After the bowls of udon were laid out by Atri, we quickly got to eating them all, …because they would get soggy otherwise.
“Gochisousamadeshita!” x6 (ED: Thanks for the meal (after))
“Shita~!”
Yep, it was as good as the udon I had back in Japan. Even Mio nodded her head in satisfaction.
If there’s one thing that I’d like to complain about, it’s that Atri kept watching us all the while…
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Author’s note: I originally named Part 6 as ‘War with Eludia’, but it was actually a lie. I calculated the dates of posting the chapters in advance and changed the title of Part 6 as I posted this chapter on April the 2nd. I think it turned out to be a rather large-scale lie. I realise it’s not how April Fool’s Day usually goes.
The conclusion of the war with Eludia will be carried over to Part 7. I am really sorry about this, as it was just getting exciting, but I also think that Jin would totally do some sightseeing (even during wartime) when given the chance.
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