CH 125

Chapter 125 – To the Imperial Capital

“There’s no need to be alarmed.” (Hakumen)

“Huh? Who the heck are you?” (Ze’ev)

My appearance didn’t seem to ring a bell, or maybe they couldn’t immediately make the connection between my appearance and a silver fox. As such, I had a feeling they were only getting more and more wary of me.

“My name is—Hakumen.”

“Hakumen…? That name kind of rings a bell… Ah! Come to think of it, didn’t those cat beastmen say that he was some kinda an amazing guy?” (Ze’ev)

It was true that I had a contract with the cat beastmen. They might have met him while they were clearing a dungeon or something.

“You’re a merchant, right? I heard that you were one of those legendary silver foxes.” (Ze’ev)

Even knowing that, he didn’t seem to relax his guard at all. It seemed that he didn’t revere legends nearly as much.

“What do you want? I’d like to get into this city as soon as possible.” (Ze’ev)

“I’d like to speak to you regarding some intercessions.” (Hakumen)

“Intercessions?” (Ze’ev)

“This is Elrond, isn’t it?” (Hakumen)

“Yeah, without a doubt.” (Ze’ev)

“I was originally from the same world as you. I was aware of the fact that Elrond was at war. But from the looks of it… the Empire seems to have fallen.” (Hakumen)

“Well, those are our guys standing on the outer wall after all. I’d suppose that was the case.” (Ze’ev)

“…You were transported to this world in the middle of the war, weren’t you?” (Hakumen)

“…! How’d you know that?” (Ze’ev)

His wariness towards me seemed to grow even stronger as he leveled a glare at me.

“You met a woman in a hakama before, didn’t you?” (Hakumen)

“Hakama… You’re talkin’ about that beautiful onee-chan who I met in this world and could understand what I was saying?” (Ze’ev)

Beautiful onee-chan, huh?

“Wasn’t her name Torakado Shiina?” (Ze’ev)

“Yes. The connection between her and me is a rather widely known fact. I heard about you from her.” (Hakumen)

“So that’s what it was. My bad for being so wary of ya.” (Ze’ev)

“I don’t mind.” (Hakumen)

“Anyway, why’d you wanna get in contact with my people? If you wanted, couldn’t you just have gone over and talked to them normally?” (Ze’ev)

“If it was that simple, I would have done so already. But they were in the middle of a war. They won’t easily welcome a stranger with open arms. Even more so if I, an unfamiliar presence, were to suddenly appear before them. Since that was the case, I came to discuss with you about what kind of place this is and what kind of measures we should take from here on.” (Hakumen)

“I see. I’ve been in this world for a while now, but I still don’t really understand much ‘cuz I can’t really talk to the residents of this place. But the cat beastmen said you could talk to the people living here, right? If that’s the case, I think it might be worth discussing with you.” (Ze’ev)

“Then you would be willing to oblige?” (Hakumen)

“Sure! You know that saying, ‘a meeting by chance is preordained’.” (Ze’ev)

So that saying exists in the other world too, huh…?

(TL: 袖擦り合うのも他生の縁 – sode furiau mo tasho no en – a Japanese idiom that means that even a chance encounter between two people may have been brought about by a karmic connection from their past lives. The English translation of it, ‘a meeting by chance is preordained’, is a bit vague, but it has something to do with the quaint nature of fate.)

“Well, I’ll explain it to ‘em, so come along now.” (Ze’ev)

I stowed the [Jet Book] in the <Box> and followed after Ze’ev.

After cresting the mountain, we arrived in front of the main gate of Elrond. It was already in a state of partial destruction, telling of the fierce battle that had taken place here.

There were garbels standing in front of the gate with spears at the ready. Naturally, they didn’t seem very welcoming of our visit.

“Halt! Entering and exiting this city has been forbidden right now! Leave immediately!”

The garbels pointed the tips of their spears at us.

But then—

“Hey, hey, Tana. Isn’t that going a bit too far between us?” (Ze’ev)

“H-Huh? Why do you know my name… Wait, are you Ze’ev?!” (Tana)

“Hm, you’ve forgotten my face already? We were fellow adventurers though!” (Ze’ev)

“I-It’s… really you, Ze’ev…! Where in the world have you been?! You suddenly disappeared, and everyone was so worried!” (Tana)

“Well, you guys could probably guess why now, right?” (Ze’ev)

“…! Don’t tell me, you were transported to this land before us?” (Tana)

“Yeah. I’ve been in this world for over a month now.” (Ze’ev)

“…….” (Tana)

Everyone, including the one he called Tana, stood there dumbfounded.

“Where’s Juraf? Don’t tell me he ain’t here either?” (Ze’ev)

“N-No, Juraf’s been here with us the whole time. He should be in the palace at the moment.” (Tana)

“I see. By the looks of it… we won, didn’t we?” (Ze’ev)

“…..Yeah. We beat the Empire. But…” (Tana)

“Did the Chancellor manage to escape?” (Ze’ev)

“We searched, but we couldn’t find him in the end. We didn’t think that he really joined hands with the Curseweaver…!” (Tana)

Apparently, they weren’t able to kill the Chancellor in the end.

“How long has it been since the fall of the Empire?” (Ze’ev)

“About a month, I suppose.” (Tana)

In other words, there wasn’t a big time difference between Earth and the other world.

“Anyway, who is that silver-haired person over there…?” (Tana)

“Ah, that guy’s a merchant. His name is Hakumen. Well, he’s an acquaintance of mine, so he ain’t dangerous.” (Ze’ev)

“If you say it’s so, I’d believe it. Right, so it seems we weren’t the only ones who were transported to this land. Where exactly is this place? I’ve never seen this terrain before. Even the scholars are stumped.” (Tana)

“That’s what this guy is here to talk to you about. I brought him here for that purpose.” (Ze’ev)

“I-Is that so?” (Tana)

“Yeah. That’s why I wanted to speak to Juraf and King Dragia.” (Ze’ev)

“Alright. I’ll get a soldier to guide you there, then.” (Tana)

Tana briefed a soldier on the situation and instructed them to take us to the palace. The city was vast, and as it would take us quite a while to get to the palace on foot, they prepared a carriage for us.

Ooh, I’ve never ridden in a carriage before.

It wasn’t a splendid carriage like the ones that aristocrats might use, being more like a wagon pulled by a merchant. Still, I hadn’t been on a horse-drawn carriage before, so I was mildly impressed.

Moreover, although there were signs of destruction, the city had a sense of antiquity to it that was rarely seen in Japan.

“You seem to be having a pretty good time. Is this your first time in the Empire?” (Ze’ev)

“Ah, no. Excuse me, it seems that I’d retreated to a sense of childlike wonder there. I’m a bit ashamed to say that I’d always been a merchant since coming to this world. In my original world, I’d been living in seclusion away from the mundane world since I was a child..” (Hakumen)

There we go again with the lies. I could really be a good scammer, huh?

“Hoh. So why did you become a merchant after coming to this world?” (Ze’ev)

“And by the looks of it, you must have a lotta children, huh? Man, it must be nice being popular with the ladies! Why am I not popular with the ladies?! My face…? It must be my face! I’m not ugly, am I?!” (Ze’ev)

He suddenly starting spouting stupid nonsense with a teary look in his eyes.

“Don’t mind him. Ze’ev-san always goes off the deep end like this,” the soldier sitting by me told me discreetly, seeing my baffled expression.

“Aaagggghhh! Someday, I’ll have me a harem of beautiful wives tooooo!” (Ze’ev)

Rather than dreaming of a harem, maybe it’d be better to try and find a single woman to love first, you know…

As Ze’ev continued to pout and make a fuss over absolutely nothing, I eventually saw the entrance to the palace come into view.

The palace was surrounded by an inner stronghold wall, which was then encased by the outermost wall that we had seen earlier. The walls around the palace were surrounded by a moat-like canal. There was a main gate with a drawbridge further past it, which could be raised so invaders couldn’t easily pass. As expected of a castle, which had to protect the emperor, it seemed to have a high level of defense. However, the drawbridge had already been lowered, and the gate was destroyed because the allied forces had already taken control of it.

The carriage drove right through, and we were able to make our way in without any obstacles.

The garbels patrolling the palace grounds were astonished to see us… no, Ze’ev. After all, it seemed that the man had been known for his bravery among the allied forces.

We stepped off of the carriage, and the soldier led us further into the palace.

It seemed that our destination was the council room. There, they were apparently discussing the city’s transfer to this world and the political affairs related to the future management of this nation.

Ze’ev and I were made to stand in front of the large door. The soldier asked us to wait for a moment, and he first entered alone.

However, a moment later, the door was suddenly flung wide open, and there stood a single person.
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