Gramps was our ferryman as usual as we headed toward the island.
「Wash in seawater then hang ‘em up. Don’t fall off, alright 」
Gramps handed a hide canteen to Soleil.
Maybe it’s wine and he’s telling her to disinfect. Soleil thanked him and obediently sat down on the boat side and washed her feet. I moved towards the other side for balance.
「Wrap your feet with this. 」
I pretentiously put my hands in my pocket and grabbed a hand towel from 【Storage】, tore it in half before handing it to her.
Handkerchief-sized napkins are nice for wiping hands and keeping in pocket, but hand towels have more uses than them.
「Thanks. 」
Her feet didn’t have cuts from walking on stone pavement in the city, but then, there’s waaaay too many germs in this world, so just a tiny scratch can end up getting infected.
I heard it’s far more embarrassing for women from the west and central plains to show their feet than have their chests revealed. Doesn’t seem to be the case in Canum and Nalluahdid, huh. Ah, but aren’t you revealing too much of both…?
If it’s Dean and the other guys, they won’t be able to tear their eyes off you at this rate! And here I am, awkwardly staring at the approaching island!!
「Where should I moor this? 」
「It’ll be in the way if we moor it by the fortress, I guess? To the wharf, then. 」
「’Kay. 」
The dock by the fortress is busy with the incoming and outgoing boats transporting the materials. Large ships can’t go near, so they had to make do with transshipping the goods in small boats and going on round trips.
The fortress is perched on the eastern side of a cliff. It’s the highest point on the entire island, maybe so they could watch the incoming enemy fleet and fire attacks at them as they disembark.
There’s a valley between the fortress and the ruins of a town, with a stone bridge for crossing over. Both sides had long been abandoned, but I had the people work on it too.
The fortress isn’t a city but a plain citadel so it felt quite detached from the towns. Moreover, the villages are situated near the shore nowadays since it’s more convenient after all.
We reached the wharf. The kids were playing by the shore — actually, they’re picking seashells and guarding their snacks — and when they saw us, they ran up to a certain distance and asked me if there’s something I wanted. Running errands for me has been something they’ve done everytime I come here.
「Yeah, can you call Gold and Silver and tell them to go down? 」
「Gotcha! 」
「And bring some sandals for her. 」
「Gotcha! 」
Heh, I already won over the island kids, ah, but it’s mostly because of the tips and the snacks.
The town ruins’ restoration were ongoing, so Gold and Silver are frequenting that area more, but we can’t let a woman with injured feet walk all the way to that place, right?
‘Down’ refers to the shed by the shore, our first ever base on this island.
「Young ‘un, isn’t now the time to carry her there? 」
Gramps teased me. Hey, please don’t demand such a thing from a Japanese person, alright.
「Oh my, if you want a solution, then go for manpower or do something with money, okay? It’ll be a pain if you drop me halfway. 」
Hey, Soleil-san. What’s up with that follow up, are you looking down on me? Then want me to carry you with the boat, huh?
Ugh, I really should develop muscles like Dean and Dinosso… I always drank milk, but I only grew taller by a bit.
「We bought sandals from the shoemaker! Here’s the change! 」
「Divide the change with everyone. 」
The first batch of kids returned after a while.
I took the sandals and gave them a bag of candies in return. Broken shoes are common on construction sites, so the shoemaker must’ve been peddling his goods there. Come to think of it, some people also set up food stalls, and there were also many quick-witted, hawker-like merchants riding on the trend, so it was like we’re in a festival.
We made our way to the shed. Gold and Silver were already waiting for us there, and they were with a maid.
「Well, well. 」
「Auro, Kiel. I’m here to collect your debt. 」
Auro was looking at me, questioning what’s with this outcome with his eyes.
「How did you know each other? 」
I wanted to know that first. And what’s up with the maid behind you?
「Soleil’s family took care of us after we escaped from an attack. 」
「Actually, it was her father who made various arrangements for us, but it was Soleil who asked him to do that. 」
Silver and Gold said.
Silver and Gold’s house had been attacked, and only the two of them survived. They used the fairy path to flee at that time. Gold had to snatch a little bit of humanity from Silver so that they’ll be able to enter the fairy path.
The attackers were not some sort of bandits, but fully armored knights. The duo already exacted their revenge, apparently. It must’ve been hard for these two to live out of sync with humans, but maybe that’s why they’ve remained in underworld society.
「So, what will be the outcome of this matter? 」
「What happened to the company? 」
「Shutting down. 」
Silver raised his brow and asked; Soleil curtly replied.
Perhaps for Soleil, business is an integral part of who she is. It may be somebody else’s company, but it is still amazing that she can cut off ties just like that.
「I don’t think you can be a maid or a lady-in-waiting… 」
「You won’t know unless you try, right? 」
Soleil provocatively replied to Silver’s doubt.
「Ah. Okay, you’ll be the deputy fief lord, and I’ll leave the management to you. If there’s no problems with your work then I’ll entrust the trade to you too, so I’m in your care. 」
「… You threw the bait then pushed everything to her!! 」
「That was quick… 」
Silver and Gold were muttering something, but I don’t care!
