Volume 3, Chapter 19 – A Day Off in Yianshui (1)

“Well then, Fiene-san. Please take care.”

“You too, Marco-san. May God’s blessings be with you.”

“As God wills.”

And so, Marco-san departed for the Imperial Capital.

“Now then, everyone, please take it easy today.”

That’s right; today was a rest day. I intended to recharge my energy in preparation for crossing the mountains starting tomorrow.

“Free time, is it? In that case, I shall go shopping.”

With that, Shizuku-san walked off toward somewhere.

“I’m going to go eat my way through the food stalls!”

Lu-chan is as energetic as always.

“Then please take Riche along with you.”

I let Riche go with Lu-chan without summoning her.

Normally, Riche flies around wherever she pleases, but unless I summon her, she is only visible to me, her contractor, and to Elves like Lu-chan, who can naturally see spirits.

Since Lu-chan, being an Elf, runs the risk of being kidnapped, I make sure to have someone keep an eye on her just in case.

Lu-chan happily led Riche away toward the stall district.

“I saw a bookstore yesterday, so I’ll buy some books there and read in the park. I’ll set up a proper Barrier, so Chris-san, you don’t need to escort me.”

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I stopped her before she could say anything. If I didn’t say it this way, she’d likely insist on guarding me and follow me along.

“I-I see. In that case, I would also like to do a bit of shopping and some research.”

Having said that, Chris-san also headed out.

I made my way to the bookstore alone.

Come to think of it, this was the first bookstore I’d seen since coming to this world. I hoped there would be some interesting books.

Clink-clink

I opened the door and stepped inside. I was enveloped by that scent unique to bookstores.

“Welcome. What kind of book are you looking for today?”

“I’ve come to see what kind of books you have.”

“Which genre?”

“A bit of everything. Magic, medicines specific to this region, Classes, legends, folklore, and I’d also be happy if you have maps useful for traveling.”

“I see. Please wait a moment.”

The middle-aged shopkeeper brought over several books.

“The magic books we carry are basic introductory texts for the Four Attributes and the Holy Attribute. For medicine, we have a basic introductory guide to becoming an Apothecary. For Classes, we have the quite detailed Complete Guide to Classes. As for myths and legendary tales, I recommend the Legend of the Four Dragon Kings, the Founding History of the Red Sky Empire, the heroic tale of the Demon Lord Subjugation by the Hero and the Saint 200 years ago, and the Legend of the Great Saint. I’m sorry, but we don’t carry maps.”

“Are the magic introductory books for study purposes, so that people who haven’t obtained a Class yet can learn magic at Level 1 once they are granted one?”

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“That’s right.”

I see. In that case, I might not need them.

“Could I see the contents of the Complete Guide to Classes for a moment?”

“Be my guest.”

I was surprised when I looked at the scroll spread open. It was written in far more detail than I had imagined.

“Um, I’ll take this. And I’ll also take the introductory book for the Holy Attribute.”

“Oh? Is the young lady not a user of Holy Magic?”

“I’m not the one reading it. It’s a gift for someone else.”

“Hah.”

He looked at me with a dubious expression.

He looked as if he wanted to say, “Why don’t you just teach them yourself?” but I can’t, so it can’t be helped. I’ve never even thought about how one actually uses magic.

“Also, I’ll buy all the other legend books.”

“Thank you for your patronage. The Holy Magic book is one silver coin, the Complete Guide to Classes is two silver coins, and the four books on legends are one silver coin in total.”

As expected, they cost a fair amount. I paid with one gold coin.

“Thank you. Oh, young lady, are you from White Moon?”

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“Yes. How did you know—oh, it’s a White Moon Kingdom gold coin, isn’t it?”

“It won’t be recognized if you go to the countryside, so you’d better exchange it.”

“Thank you very much.”

I took my one silver coin in change and the books, then left the shop.

◇ ◇ ◇

Arriving at the park nearest to the inn, I spread out a cloth and sat down.

The winter air was a bit chilly, but the soft sunlight filtering through the trees wrapped around me warmly.

And the sound of the brook flowing through the park brought peace to my heart.

I cast a small Barrier around myself and took the books I had just bought out of Storage.

The Legend of the Four Dragon Kings. I felt like I had some involvement with this a while ago, so I decided to read this book first.

In the ancient past, this world was ruled by the kings of dragons. Dragons were creatures that evolved into a higher form after living for a long time, and people called those with particularly powerful strength “Dragon Kings” with respect and awe. There were four Dragon Kings in the world: the Flame Dragon King, the Storm Dragon King, the Water Dragon King, and the Earth Dragon King, collectively known as the Four Dragon Kings.

Huh? What about the Dark Dragon King?

Despite the question, I continued reading for now.

The Dragon Kings settled in various regions and protected all the creatures living there from monsters. This peace brought by the Dragon Kings lasted for thousands of years, and people continued to live peacefully by receiving their blessings.

I see. Apparently, they were like guardian deities of the land.

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However, the peaceful life that seemed as if it would last forever was threatened as the number of monsters increased. As the years passed, the number of monsters continued to grow, and eventually, the Dragon Kings found themselves in a constant state of war with the monsters. And at the end of this long conflict, a ruler who would command the monsters appeared—namely, the Demon Lord.

The Dragon Kings cooperated to defeat the Demon Lord time and time again. However, there came a time when an exceptionally powerful Demon Lord appeared: the Great Demon Lord. The battle between the Dragon Kings and the Great Demon Lord reached a fever pitch, a fierce struggle that lasted three days and nights, changing the very shape of the land.

And in the end, the one who survived that battle was none other than the Great Demon Lord.

The Dragon Kings defeated by the Great Demon Lord lost their noble hearts and were reduced to monsters that moved according to the Great Demon Lord’s will. Thus, the world, having lost its guardians, was shrouded in despair.

It seemed the world would be destroyed by the hands of the monsters, but Heaven did not abandon the world.

A single youth rose, granted a heavenly mandate as the Hero, and together with the Saint guided by the Holy Sword, they joined forces to defeat the Dragon Kings who had become monsters. Then, the Heroes challenged the Great Demon Lord. The Heroes paid a great price, and finally, by the Hero taking the Great Demon Lord down with them in a mutual strike, they succeeded in defeating the Great Demon Lord.

Thus, peace returned to the world.

The Dragon Kings were mourned in the lands they once protected, and prayers are offered at their graves by people who remember the guardians of days gone by.

Hmm, in the end, it’s the Hero and the Saint.

For a random Hero to defeat such a powerful Great Demon Lord… I wonder if Heroes just have some kind of “protagonist correction” or something?

Noticing a presence, I looked up to see Lu-chan and Riche, clutching a pile of food.

Translator Note

I just realized this volume has a lot of Chinese-character names, so I’ll try to preserve these Chinese-character names.

Oh, and this chapter has a lot of foreshadowing, right~?