Part 3 – Chapter 007 (Chapter 344)
Title: Honeymoon 1
T/L: IonMan
Editor: Zioming
Editor Notes:
Sorry for the delay, I ran out of translated chapters, and with everything going on with family coming for Christmas, I had no free time to prepare more. Here’s a full chapter, and the next one should be back on schedule. Enjoy, and merry Christmas and a happy new year 🙂
Raw Chapter: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n9511bs/398
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Year 7448, Month 6, Day 4
There were three shrines in the city of Baldukk. A small one, located at the northeastern outskirts of the city, with only one priest, and two additional caretakers. The second one, no larger than the first, located near a small lake to the east of the city. And then the last one, located about 1 km southwest of the city center, a splendid shrine, serviced by as many as four priests.
It was the first Thursday morning of the sixth month. A group of people were visiting the shrine, as the rainclouds, that pattered the city since the previous day, finally started to thin out.
Among the multiple figures, there was one of Tolkeris (Toris) Kalstalan, a once unknown person in the city of Baldukk, now, a well-recognized elf adventurer. Another one was Bernadett (Bel) Koloil, a fellow famous adventurer of the bunny-kin tribe.
There were about twenty other figures surrounding the pair, most of whom belonged to their newly purchased slaves. Only two of them belonged to other free people, a man and a woman of the wolf-kin tribe, Jared (Jeru) Ramirez and Micah (Misu) Ransen, both fellow adventurers, and soon to be retainers of the pair.
“Then, master, please go on ahead.”
A man stepped in front of the group of slaves and bowed to the elf and the bunny-kin. He was a combat slave purchased by Toris this past winter, and was assigned as the temporary head slave. The final head slave’s role was to be assigned to a combat slave, who was a former knight, that would be delivered in the middle of next month.
“Ok, we’re going. Jeru, Misu, thank you for coming on your rest day.”
“Yep. For coming to our ceremony … thank you very much.”
Toris and Bel both gave their thanks to Jeru and Misu. To celebrate their marriage, Alan Greed, their adventurer party leader, gifted each of the two a sum of 200,000 Z, and all other members also gifted 50,000 Z each.
“Please, don’t mention it. As your retainers, how could we not celebrate our new Lord’s marriage.”
“Aah, that’s right. It’s a small gift of our appreciation… we’ll be in your care from now on, so please accept it.”
In addition to the congratulatory money, Jeru and Misu also presented the couple with a set of matching glass cups. With a wry smile from Jeru’s awkward talk, Toris placed his hands on Bel’s shoulders, to stop her from tearing up, as they stepped into the shrine’s premises.
“… but I’ve never heard before, that getting married in June is supposed to bring good luck for the couple.”
“Yeah. It’s probably more of Japanese tradition.”
Jeru and Misu spoke quietly, as they saw Toris and Bel off.
“Ramirez-sama, Ransen-sama, are you going to wait for them here?”
Prompted by the head slave’s call, Jeru and Misu followed the group to a nearby restaurant. One of the services offered by the shrine, was the name changing ceremony performed for newborn children, married couple, like in this case, and some other people, who for one reason or another had to change their name (it was seen as a simple ceremony, nothing too out of the ordinary). Obviously there were also people who visited, to simply pray for good luck in their work and love life (and for the associated thanksgiving ceremony). Furthermore, there were people who visited for other minor services provided by the shrine, like, to use the security lockers. Since there were only three shrines in the city of Baldukk, which had a population of over 30,000, there was always a reasonable number of people waiting in line. As such, only the people who had actual business with the shrine were allowed to enter, and all the attendants and guests were required to stay outside, or had to wait somewhere else.
Meanwhile, the marriage ceremony was being held for Toris and Bel, after they’ve spent their time waiting in line inside the shrine.
“Status Open. I hereby grant this person a name from the heavens, as a proxy of the god, his name shall be Tolkeris Kalstalan … Please verify.”[1]
Upon marriage, Toris’s family status changed, from the third son of the Kalstalan family, to the head of the Kalstalan family. From a member of a Vested Knight’s family, he now became the head of his own commoner branch family. Of course, being a commoner, he now had to pay 10% of his family’s income as tax, however, since Bel, as a foreign noble, was also treated as a commoner, and was already being taxed with the same amount, nothing really changed from her perspective. Moreover, since Al was planning to bestow him with the title of a Vested Knight in the fall, they would only have to pay the tax until then. Ultimately, they just felt, that getting married in June, was much more important to them, than the couple months’ worth of tax, that they would end up having to pay because of it.
“Status Open. I hereby grant this person a name from the heavens, as a proxy of the god, her name shall be Kalstalan … Please verify.”
Once Bel’s name was set to Bernadett Kalstalan, her family status changed to the first wife of the Kalstalan family.
“The gods ruling over the eight million, all over the world, have recognized you, for Bernadett, was the first, to marry Tolkeris, the head of the Kalstalan family, from this day forward, becoming a married couple.”
The priest, watching the two, as they confirmed each other’s status with a smiling face, solemnly declared the statuses from their changed titles.
When Toris and Bel heard it, they gazed at each other and locked their lips.
“That took you a while …”
Bel said with her arms still wrapped around Toris’s neck.
“Oh? “
Toris replied with mixed emotions on his face.
“I’m already over forty.”
Several sparkling drops collected in the corner of Bel’s eyes.
“Sorry.”
Toris took out the handkerchief and gently wiped her tears with joy.
“Forgive me because I’m feeling much younger than before.”
As he watched them in confusion “Shouldn’t you be feeling 20 years old …?” the priers reminded the pair, that there were more couples waiting in line.
The two were quickly ushered out of the shrine, but, as there was a waiting line for the naming ceremony, they decided it wasn’t worth getting angry, over being disturbed during such an emotional scene.
Toris took Bel’s arm and escorted his new wife as they left the shrine.
・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・
It rained in the afternoon.
“Then, please give my best regards to Al-san”
Toris and Bel mounted onto their horses, outfitted with the magical Breeze Horseshoes, and called out to Miduchi from their saddles. The two were about to head off to their honeymoon, after they had finished their lunch and completed the wedding ceremony earlier in the morning.
A large group of the Slaughters gathered in front of the Boil Manor to see them off, though Al was missing, as he was currently taking care of things at the royal castle.
“He wanted a “can” after all.”
“Well, you have to pull a ‘can’ when you go to your honeymoon.”[2]
Ralpha and Gwine were saying things without restrain, but no one was arguing with them as usual.
“Please be careful.”
Miduchi asked of them, but Toris laughed it off while making the promise.
“Even if you don’t rush it, you’ll arrive at Doran by tomorrow evening, so take your time.”
Doran was a fairly large city about 200 km west-southwest of Baldukk. It was also the capital of Duke Rondol’s territory, located in the southwestern part of the royal territory, and was said to have more than 60,000 people, over twice as much as Baldukk. The area was known for its scenic scenery, such as the steep cliffs and the sandy beaches beside the characteristically shaped rocks, as well as for Mt. Mismotch[3]. It also had different flowers depending on the season, so the scenery kept changing throughout the year. It was a tourist city, that people who live a comfortable life want to visit at least once. A few years ago, when Al met up with Zenom and Ralpha, they also stayed there for several days, on their way to Baldukk.
ED Reminder: The title of Duke Rondol was one of the multiple titles owned by the King of Rombert, hence the territory was considered a part of the royal territory. The title was currently being held by the 2nd Prince of Rombert.
“Well, probably so …”
Both Miduchi and Toris had witnessed the power of the Breeze Horseshoes earlier this year. The horses would not get tired at all from the considerable long traveling distance when these magical tools were used.
“Then, we’ll be back next Friday.”
Bel happily grasped the reins of her horse.
・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・
Year 7448, Month 6, Day 5
Toris and Bel were drinking tea while taking a break.
“It’s less than 10 km to the coast from that that huge rock …”
Toris said while studying the map made by Gwine.
“… Look! Over there! That’s a good view! The scenery will change soon.”
About three minutes away, in the direction Bel was pointing at, spread a grassy wetland, evoking the image of a school playground, filled with cute little flowers in full bloom, swaying in the wind. It was quite a fantastic view, in combination with the light of the sun, setting on the horizon.
“Oh, it’s beautiful …”
Toris snuggled up to Bel, who was pointing at the swamp.
The two enjoyed the beautiful scenery, while drinking their tea for five more minutes.
“Let’s get going. Well, one last breather, and it’ll just be a 15 minutes dash.”
Toris turned around and walked toward the horses.
“It doesn’t take more than an hour traveling normally if it’s just another 10km, so let’s go slowly.”
Bel placed the glass cups back into her rucksack and followed after him.
“Nah, I want to drink cold beer after drinking the hot tea.”
“I don’t think there is cold beer …”
“It’s okay if it’s lukewarm. I want to gulp it down.”
“Won’t you get drunk really fast? I just hope you’ll still be able to…”
“What’s that?”
“Nothing, don’t worry about it!”
“I see…”
“Ufufu.”
Back on their horses, the two continued their exchange, as they slowly headed toward the city of Doran, while enjoying the beautiful scenery.
“… I’m just glad we didn’t encounter any monsters or anything else too insane.”
Bel mentioned as she passed by him, while gazing at the blooming wetlands.
“Yea, but didn’t Gwine and Farne already tell us, that there weren’t any monsters on this Zaridol Road[4] between Doran and the royal capital.”
Gwine had been a peddler since she was a child, and Farne had traveled to and from Baldukk many times. They both argued that monsters would rarely attack, until you went past Doran.
ED Reminder: Farne was Al’s older brother, the current Vested Knight Greed. He would visit Baldukk several times a year, on his way to deliver rubber and other products from Bakkudo Village to Greed Company’s Headquarters in the Capital City of Rombertia.
The pair didn’t wear their armor, (something usually worn only by the knights and squires, or by adventurers who have undertaken caravan escorts at best) as they decided to travel light, and only take what they needed for the trip.
Understandably, there were some, who opposed the idea, of them, going on such a trip with just two people, including their head slave, two veteran members of the leading adventurer party, the Slaughters, and a powerful magician, while at the same time preaching about the threat of monsters appearing around the royal capital, even if the chances of that happening were slim. (T/N: holy crap, what a run-on sentence)
But since they really didn’t want their honeymoon to be disturbed by their companions, they settled on Doran, which was deemed to be quite safe in general. It was unlikely for any rare crisis to occur.
They both expected to arrive in Doran without any problems.
The two kept the mood in mind as they approached the mountain.
・・・・・・・・・
“Oi, two people are coming …”
“Aah, I can see them.”
“They’re riding horses. Are they knights?”
“Hmm, I can’t see if they‘re wearing any armor.”
“… that’s right. A man and a woman?”
“With my face, I need to rake in some serious cash, if I want to become Toru’s wife. If they’re not knights, they’re probably peddlers. They’re just two people, so, will you do it?”
Five men and women were hiding in the bushes at the edge of the wetland. Toris and Bel allowed the horses to walk free as they were enjoying their talk. The distance was still about 200 meters away. Looking from the hidden group’s side, shrubs filled the 200 meter long section along the left side of the road, separating it from the beach with a natural sound barrier. On the right side, there was the wetland that Toris and Bell were looking at, about 20 m away from the road, with more shrubs in between.
The two on horsebacks slowly approached on the well-maintained road, occasionally pointing at parts of the wetland.
“You guys, if we want to take advantage of this location, we have to jump them before they notice us. The woman looks weaker, take her out first.”
“Oooh!”
“Aiyo!”
Commanded by a tiger-kin woman, who appeared to be the group’s leader, a female gnome and a male man quickly crossed the road, keeping themselves low, as they hid among the bushes on the opposite side, at a distance of several meters.
A large net, made of strong rope, was spread across the road, from the main group’s side, to where the two were hiding at. The ropes extending from the corners of the net on the main group’s side were firmly tied to the trunk of a tree, while on the other side, they were hung on some low branches, to allow the net to lie flat on the ground, and be covered with some dirt. When the hidden pair pulls the lines, the shallowly buried net will be lifted above the road, where, with the gap size of about 80cm, it will easily entangle the legs of the horses passing over it. The trap is completed by inserting the metal stake attached to the end of the ropes into the hole in a trunk of another tree.
If one could insert the stake within the few seconds when the horses start to rampage, they could definitely get an opportunity, with tens of seconds before the net could be cut. The net was not taut, so it was difficult to cut, unless with a sharp blade, however most cast iron swords and spears were usually pretty dull.
“… Very nice clothes. Are these nobles with such good looking horses?”
“You surely get nice stuff from nobles”
“Ain’t that right. Must be pretty nice, living in the royal capital.”
“Is there anyone behind them?”
“… N-no sorry.”
Everyone was barefoot with poor clothing. Several people were wearing tattered leather armor. Their equipment was three spears and two bows. It seemed that the two trappers and the leading woman were all using spears. Also, everyone wielded knives.
“Hey, the woman will be completely off guard, I’ll take care of her. “
“Don’t rush. Make sure there’s no one behind them.”
“Ooh.”
“Make sure you don’t hit the horses with an arrow. They’ll sell for quite a lot.”
“I know.”
Toris and Bell were getting closer and closer as the group decided on their attack plan. They couldn’t see any escorts behind the two. The tiger-kin woman, who confirmed it, smiled with satisfaction.
They held their breath, and hid by lowering their bodies. It was difficult to spot them, unless a person expected them and observed closely.
“It’s been 30 minutes. There is no escort …. OK, let’s do it.”
The leader sent a signal to the pair lurking on the other side of the road.
・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・
“That’s the end of the wetlands.”
“That’s right. But there may still be some more. Should we go slowly a little longer until nightfall?”
“Yep.”
Toris and Bel slowly advanced on their horses with kappo kappo (T/N: SFX for horse shoes clacking on the ground). Their horses were walking leisurely with their heads drooping.
Then, they passed through the place where the net was buried.
“Now!”
The sudden signal for the net to be lifted from the ground was given, and it wrapped around the horses’ legs reaching their bellies.
“U Oh !?”
“What the !?”
Toris and Bel both let out surprised voices, while they instantly reached for the swords on their hips.
“Emeron!”
“Gabbad!”
ED Reminder: “Emeron” and “Gabbad” (I’m gonna use “Gabbad”, DarkSilencer just left it as “gabubado”) were keywords used to activate the magic effects of Toris and Bell’s magic swords. “Emeron” made Toris’s [Sword of Flames: Flame Tongue] become engulfed by flames, while “Gabbud” made Bell’s [Short-Sword of Sturdy] activate it’s effect of casting a [Bark Skin] spell of lvl 100 on her up to 3 times a day.
The surprised horses neighed and tried to stand up on their hind legs to escape from the net, but, with it raised as high as their bellies, chances of that happening were pretty slim.
“Alrighty!”
“Just like that!”
A signal was issued to inserted the stake firmly.
“That’s it!”
At the same instance the leader gave a signal, the bowstring twang and two arrows were fired at Bel.
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Footnotes:
[1] I kept the original wording from volume 1.
[2] There’s a double idiom to this. Pulling a “wedding jar/can” means a wedding fund for a blessed honeymoon, or attending to your new wife with a “jar for the honeymoon” which can mean a very virile and blessed stud horse. Take it any way you want.
[3] Mt. Mismotch (ミスモッチ山 – Misumotchi yama) – a mountain close to Doran
[4] Zaridol Road (ザリドール街道 – Zaridōru kaidō) – a major road, connecting Baldukk and Doran, among others