Chapter 62: Your Name (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 62: Your Name (3)
In a medieval fantasy world, traveling long distances was bound to take a significant amount of time.
Given the era, well-maintained roads were few and far between, and the primary means of transportation was usually on horseback.
Of course, if one used the teleportation facilities I’d used during the summer break, travel would be so fast it would make the airplanes of my previous life look like a joke. However, teleporting thousands of Academy students would incur a cost that would make even the Empire stagger.
So, what method did the Academy choose?
"An airship in a medieval fantasy world? Really?"
"This is the Empire for you, you Leon bumpkin."
It was an airship powered by magical engineering.
"You're basically half a Leon bumpkin yourself now, you know."
"To think I'm being dragged to a backwater village that doesn't even have airships..."
Violet let out a deep sigh and lamented her fate, but she was originally from a rural estate in the Empire anyway. She was probably riding an airship for the first time too, yet here she was, acting all high and mighty.
"But isn't it a bit much to have airships suddenly pop up in a world where everyone usually takes carriages?"
"The author of this novel wrote whatever they wanted. The internal consistency was already trashed in plenty of places, so we should just let an airship slide."
"...You said it was a long-running series."
"The author had a nasty habit of picking fights with the readers, but at the same time, they knew exactly what the readers wanted. Whenever things were about to go up in flames, they’d drop an incredible romance development..."
Shit.
I shook my head at the curse that naturally slipped from Violet’s lips. The person whose brain had turned to mush for that story—becoming a devoted reader right up until the Demon King appeared—was none other than Lee Yeeun.
Or, as she was known here, Violet.
"If there’s something you don't understand, it’s easiest to just think, 'The original author is a son of a bitch.'"
It seemed she felt the same way about the author as I did whenever I thought of Violet as the root of all evil.
"No other weird stuff is going to pop up later, right?"
"Mana-powered guns show up in Dale eventually, but that’s only after the Demon Territory opens up."
"So guns do exist..."
They say the invention of the gun marks the end of the knight. Was my motherland destined for a pathetic defeat at the hands of those Magic Spammers?
"Leon is going to be ruined at this rate..."
"It’s not like guns solve everything in this world. How are you going to take down a Sword Master with a gun?"
That was true, but guns would inevitably raise the floor for mages.
"Anyway, even if guns exist, Leon won't use them. They’ll stick to swords."
"Really?"
I had been wondering if I should somehow send Daisy to Dale during the break to sabotage them, but if I didn't have to resort to summoning dark mages, that was a relief.
"We’ll arrive tomorrow."
The airship. The more I looked at it, the more I wanted one, but it was a shame that only the Empire and Dale possessed them due to the level of technology required.
"Is there any way to get my hands on one?"
If I had this, I could drag Prince Ellen around without having to use expensive teleports.
"You're talking about the airship, right? In the original story, after the world goes to hell, the Empire lends one to Leon for fast travel."
Violet offered a little spoiler in response to my muttering.
"Oh."
As expected of the Empire. I knew I could count on them.
"But they crashed it into the ground three days after borrowing it because they didn't know how to fly it."
"Goddammit."
Those primitive sword-swinging idiots. They couldn't even use it when it was handed to them...
"If you don't plan on training mages, don't even dream about airships."
"But we have the Royal Magic Tower..."
"Who do you think were the ones who crashed it?"
"...This is why you can't trust Magic Spammers."
Should I advocate for cutting their budget as soon as I return to the Kingdom? Or was it because they received that much budget that they could even manage that much? Since I had no interest in mages, it was hard to know how to deal with them.
"When you officially get a job in the Leon Kingdom later, you should just become the Tower Master."
I tested the waters by subtly suggesting it to Violet.
"How could I be a Tower Master?"
What a relief. It seemed she wasn't at that level.
"...Though, for the Leon Kingdom's Magic Tower, it might actually be possible."
"...The fact that it sounds plausible is actually terrifying."
Wait, is our Magic Tower really that hopeless?
I was dumbfounded by the sight of Violet seriously contemplating the possibility.
"The Dog-kin have arrived."
"A group of individualists?"
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
"...?"
"..."
The next day, as soon as we arrived at the Rias Territory, I could only blink in confusion at Uncle Aeryun's words.
The moment I met the "individualists"—no, the Dog-kin—in person, I understood.
"I am Arang, the Warrior of the Dog-kin."
Two ears standing tall on his head and thick forearms covered in fluffy fur. He looked more human than animal, but there was no mistaking which animal his appearance was derived from.
A dog.
In other words, they were dog beastkin, so they were the "Dog-kin."
The moment I realized that, it all clicked. This was why Violet had cursed the original author so much!
"...I am Adam Smith of the Leon Kingdom."
"I received word. I heard you rescued Bell from the hands of those dark mages?"
"They were bastards who didn't deserve to be treated as human, but it was still a human affair. I simply handled it as a human should."
As I shook his hand with an awkward smile, a boisterous laugh erupted.
"As expected of a man from Leon, the Land of Warriors!"
It was usually called the Land of Knights, but it seemed the beastkin knew it as the Land of Warriors. Well, it was basically the same thing.
"......"
I should have known when they mentioned the Wolfkin. But still, "Dog-kin" was crossing the line.
"What is the matter?"
"...It's just my first time seeing the Dog-kin."
Even with my considerable experience in fantasy, this was a term I had truly never encountered.
"I suppose so. Even the people of the Rias Territory rarely encounter us."
The dog—no, the man—chuckled heartily, and then something suddenly pounced on top of him.
"Uncle."
"Ah, yes. My weak little Bell."
"You want to die?"
Thump, thump. Bell’s short front paws drummed against Arang’s cheeks.
...Thinking about it now, it's even more annoying.
Setting aside why the Dog-kin Warrior's name is Arang, the character 'Rang' was right there. That means there could have been a timeline where the Wolfkin were called the Lupine-folk, and the Dog-kin were called the Canine-folk!
"Haha! You're so weak, that's why the humans caught you!"
The thump-thumps started turning into thwack-thwacks, but the Dog-kin Warrior seemed as sturdy as his physique suggested.
"My niece, you've grown even weaker than before."
"I heard she had a lot of her strength drained by the dark mages."
"Hmm. To think she's truly become this weak. However, even if what you had is gone, the experience of building that power remains. As time flows, you will naturally fill what was emptied, and eventually, you will surpass it and build even more."
Arang stroked the head of Bell, who was still delivering "meong-meong punches"—no, "woof-woof punches"—and expressed his gratitude to me.
"Once again, I thank you on behalf of the Wolfkin. I heard Marang, the Warrior of the Wolfkin, intends to thank you personally... but before that, the Elder of our tribe wishes to meet you."
"Me?"
"I heard you intend to stay in Rias for quite some time. If you're willing, would you come with me now?"
A beastkin village. This was an unexpected event. I should probably ask Violet about this first.
"I am a student, so..."
"Then it can't be helped. Go ask your teacher and then come."
Thanks to that invincible excuse, I was able to buy some time.
Before asking about going to the Dog-kin village, I asked Violet something I couldn't ask the Dog-kin themselves, just in case.
And her answer was devastating.
"Yeah, that's right. The cats are the Cat-kin."
When I heard "Dog-kin," I wondered if the cats would be "Cat-kin," but why did it have to be true?
"Sounds like a tribe of dead people."
"For the record, the birds are the Bird-kin."
Violet’s nonchalant addition made my head spin.
"I want to kill that author."
"Right?"
I kicked Violet right in the shin as she nodded in agreement.
"Ow!"
"It's your fault for reading that garbage!"
"I wasn't the only one!"
It wasn't a very hard kick, but there's a difference in weight classes between a knight and a mage. Even a playful tap from a knight was enough to make a frail Magic Spammer tear up.
"No to violence!"
"Ugh..."
I was about to hit her again, but I stopped myself when I saw the tears welling in Violet’s eyes. Right. What did Violet do wrong? It was all the fault of the original author who wrote the novel however they pleased.
It wasn't like Violet had added a "playing the field" trait to the RoFan heroine by making her read romance novels as part of her early education.
Or that I ended up in a fake relationship with the RoFan heroine because of it.
...Or that the RoFan heroine awakened the talent of a Fist King through early martial arts training and conquered the Holy Kingdom, causing the Villainess to declare an early defeat.
And because of that, I ended up in a fake relationship with the RoFan Villainess, officially two-timing them both.
"......"
"Gyah!"
I lightly kicked the shin of Violet, who was trying to stand up with a tearful face, once more. Like author, like reader—the more I thought about it, the more this brat seemed no different from the original author.
"Aren't you getting up?"
"If I get up, you're just gonna kick my shins again."
She mumbled with a lisp, her face pressed against the floor. That annoyed me too, so I muttered a resurrection spell.
"Three."
"......"
"Two."
"......"
"One."
"......!"
Violet sprang up, looking like the most wronged person in the world.
"Seriously, what did I do wrong?! Is it my fault the Wolfkin are the Wolf-kin, the Canine-folk are the Dog-kin, and the Feline-folk are the Cat-kin?!"
"Yes."
"...I swear, I'm gonna quit this job or something."
If only she weren't my boss.
Watching Violet grumble so openly, I threw her a carrot.
"The Dog—no, the Dog-kin invited me. They said I could bring up to three people."
"...Really?"
"Is there something there?"
"There's something important. Are you taking Prince Ellen?"
"Why?"
"It's a sealed artifact, so we need Daisy."
"The Sword Emperor gave me permission to go, but you want me to take two girls from the Magic Department?"
I was already two-timing; this would just add fuel to the rumors.
"Does it really matter if it's two or three?"
"......"
"Otherwise, it's in a super hidden space. You can try to find it just based on what I've heard."
Try finding it if you can.
Seeing her confident expression, I realized I had no other choice.
"Asking for a date in a Dog-kin village?"
"Daisy? I'm going too, you know?"
"It's not a date; I told you we need the Saintess's power for something there."
"Excuse me? I said I'm going too!"
"Hmm. If you put it that way."
"You filthy couple! This is why they say if you're miserable, you should just date!"
Daisy burst into laughter as Violet screamed in frustration.
"Are you sulking because we left you out?"
"Yeah, I'm sulking! Hey! Let go of my arm! Now that you have a boyfriend, I'm just an afterthought... Hey! I said let go! If you want to do this, do it with your man... Wait. Daisy? It's starting to hurt, so can you really let go? The blood isn't flowing to my arm anymore!"
I quickly walked behind Bell, ignoring Violet as she whipped her head around with a look that screamed for help.
Was it just my imagination? Violet’s face looked exceptionally pale today.
"I said I won't run away! Ack! You're even using Holy Magic?!"
Watching Violet’s magic fizzle out with a crackle, I did my absolute best not to look back until we reached the Dog-kin village.