Chapter 167 Oops, The Hostage Is Missing (Read Aloud)
"Oh no, this is bad. The hostage is gone."
Maya-chan blurts out, half-jokingly. Even Maya-chan, who's more of a cat person, doesn't dislike people. It's kind of like her way of ribbing me with a 'tsukkomi'.
The people from Geneus-san's family, including three attendants, are resting in another room. We've asked them to stay put here because of various reasons. In fact, they'd rather have a pain-free bath or a good night's sleep after who knows how many years, or decades, of not leaving this mansion.
"Well, for 'our family', this is where things really start."
By 'our family', I mean the Duke Zedanzork family of Ensgard Kingdom. Mother (Privia) wouldn't mind if Wareels ceased to exist. As long as they kept to the rules of using the Lake Edna, there wouldn't have been any fuss.
Maya-chan and I explained it to them in simple terms. For the Tigerman (Kojinzoku) and Cat-people men, that Great Trout has been a staple and a delicacy for ages. It was such a big deal that they even had a fishing ban period.
Just like us, Maya-chan and I love salmon and trout. Sprinkled with salt and seared, it's the ultimate delicacy. Salt-cured fish eggs are pure luxury. They don't make them around here, so we can't taste them, but imagine piling them on top of vinegar rice; that's like a dream come true talk right there.
Okay, so basically, it's not good to overhunt. We'll find out why they're doing this, and we'll destroy that cause. That's what Mother's all about.
"――Um, yeah, it's kinda like that."
So there's this girl with Geneus-san, who Maya-chan said would be super cute if she had cat ears instead of dog ears. She's only ten years old.
Yeah, I guess Oso's (Dreadful element) poison wasn't that bad, but it hurt enough to make her cry. Adults learn to tough it out, but kids cry because they're honest like that.
"Of course, I'll keep helping out in the future. Even though I'm nobility, I'm just a lowly bureaucrat. I'm not sure how much help I can be, but..."
"Where do they even manage those magic stones?"
Maya-chan is coming in straight with this one.
"Well, as you know, we're supposed to be managing border control. That night was an exception, where it became our duty to capture and escort your scouts. Even if you were caught, you were told to find your own way back."
"Whoa."
"That's rough."
"What does 'rough' mean?"
"It means tough, you know."
"Oh, I see. Even for us officials, we're at the bottom of the ladder..."
Ah, I get it now. Nobility equals officials. So, they're like the lowest-ranking officials.
"'Lowest-ranking officials'?"
"Maya-chan?"
"Yes, I may have exaggerated..."
You don't really mean that, huh? You're smiling, though.
"I apologize for the interruption. Let me continue explaining. Viscount's family is supposed to be responsible for capturing, dismantling, extracting magic stones, and disposing of the Great Trout, as Tatsuma-sama mentioned."
It's a waste. Disposal and stuff. Why always on Ensgard's side—oh well. It's illegal poaching, so it's a no-go.
"Could it be that collecting magic stones is above Count?"
"Yes. As Maya-sama said. Magic stones have value equal to or greater than currency. It seems that storage and management are handled by higher-ranking nobles."
"Wow."
"Just bureaucratic work."
"Yeah."
"Mhm."
In a way, yeah. Lower-ranking nobles probably feel that way.
Even though I asked Geneus-san about it, he doesn't know much about managing magic stones.
"If they just incinerate them, won't we find out on our side?"
"Yes. But they can't just dump them in Lake Edna, and apparently there have been cases where leaving them to rot caused a terrible stench, so they had no choice but to incinerate them and turn them into fertilizer."
"I see."
"Hmm... hey big brother."
"Yeah?"
"Come to think of it, do they have a shrine-like place over there?"
"Oh, right. Geneus-san."
"Yes, what is it?"
"Do you have shrine priests or shrine maiden with the Healing Attribute in this country?"
"We Dog-Human folk are born with fewer magic attributes. Of course, even the higher-ranking Wolf-Human nobles are not exceptions."
"Wow."
"So it seems."
Maya-chan, this is so old-fashioned, isn't it?
"But there's a shrine. Of course, there's also a shrine maiden from the Wolf-Human tribe. But even for us, if we don't make some decent donations, they won't even treat our injuries. I mean, things like Oso poison, who knows if it'll even work? It's too risky..."
"Oh, hey, big brother."
"Yeah. Feels like I've heard this somewhere before."
"It's just a flow."
"...Ah."
"...Ah."
We both recalled something.
"On three..."
"On three..."
''Daioraden!''
We harmonized. It was definitely a reference to that not-so-great time in that country.
"So, you say you people are drinking water straight from Lake Edna?"
Maya-chan, straight to the point again.
"No, we actually filter it once before buying it from the Count's estate."
"Huh? You buy water?"
"No way!"
"Well, ever since they broke the agreement and started fishing even in the winter, we've had to buy drinking water."
"Even the nobles?"
"Yeah, even us."
That Count's house stinks.
"Count's house smells, huh?"
"Yeah, totally."
"That's right. Hey, big brother."
"Hmm?"
"I wonder how many people who aren't nobles there are?"
"Well, roughly about a thousand or so."
"Huh? I heard it was three thousand."
"...Maya-sama, Tatsuma-sama, because of the poison, including my parents' generation. They've passed away."
"Whoa, really?"
"Yeah, for real."
Just like Tigerman, without exception, once they reach a certain age, they pass away.
"So, Geneus-san."
"Yes, I'm here to answer anything you need."
What a change of heart. I wonder if Maya-chan knew because she's a noble too?
"Where's that Count who sells water?"
"Well, it's right here at this mansion..."
He carefully draw a map for us. It's a nice location by Lake Edna. And it seems like quite a big mansion too.
"Thanks. Um, Berberi-san."
"――Yes, I'm here. Goshujin-sama."
"Wow. Seriously, Goshujin-sama?"
Berberiguru-san stands behind Maya-chan as she speaks.
"Just a moment ago, I confirmed Maya-sama's proposal with Jamlabel-sama, and I was granted some free time..."
"Wow, really?"
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