Chapter 31 (1/2)
Chapter 31: The smell of a high-performance suspension from the other world’s carriage
Acting as if nothing had happened, I group up with Marina after that and took a light breakfast. It appeared that she really was sleeping when I was playing a prank on her this morning so there shouldn’t be any problem. However, the incident last night has made it even more awkward or rather, embarra.s.sing for me. I wasn’t sure if my thoughts were evidenced through my conduct but, I had a feeling that Marina was behaving slightly strange too.
There were times when she looked as if she wanted to ask something from me but as soon as our eyes met, she suddenly turned bashful.
We ended up having an awkward moment of conversation as we finished our breakfast and went to the guild after.
The guild (to be more precise, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry) seemed to be crowded even though it was still morning. Taking into consideration that Erishe is the 2nd free city, it was not surprising to find a high number of people taking advantage of the flouris.h.i.+ng trading markets here. A merchant-like man, an apprentice boy and a slave-like male escort could be seen wandering around the small lobby as well, making the entire place looks rowdy. Although, I think it wasn’t that crowded the last time I came…….There must be a reason behind this.
That aside, I should finish my errand as soon as I can.
When I tried explaining my circ.u.mstances to one of the receptionist who appeared to be free, she requested me to wait for a while so I sank back into the crowds……That’s the same pattern again, isn’t it? The Toby summoning pattern.
My prediction was right on track as she really did go to Toby-s.h.i.+ in the end to explain it to him. After a short while, they returned together.
On seeing me, Toby-s.h.i.+ started scrutinizing me suspiciously again.
Well, I guess I couldn’t blame him….. The first time I met him, I was trying to register as a merchant despite having memory loss. The second time I met him, I was requesting for the proof of owners.h.i.+p for a non-existent house. The third time I met him (now), he was told that I was waiting for a representative from the Imperial Trader…….Now that I think about it, all my actions did seem suspicious.
“It’s been a long time, Jirou-kun. Despite registering yourself as a merchant in this guild for not even 3 rings (weeks), you are already acquainted with someone from Imperial Traders? Is the child behind you…….a slave? A Turk tribe slave might be relatively cheap but…..you are pretty influential, aren’t you?” [Toby]
One ring appears to be the same as Earth’s version of one week but they have 6 days in a week. So 3 rings are equivalent to 18 days. This is bean knowledge.
(Rinkage: (これ豆な) Bean knowledge = bits of knowledge / trivia)
“Iya, how should I put it. It just ended up this way somehow.” [Jirou]
“It just ended up this way, is it?……. Well, I will just leave it at that but, you have told us earlier that you were waiting for Jephthah-s.h.i.+’s representative from the house of Solo…..that is not a mistake, am I right?” [Toby]
“Yes. We have not decided on the date and time in detail so I wasn’t sure when he’ll be coming.” [Jirou]
“No, actually the person did show up once in the middle of last night. She said she will be returning again today so, before long…..ah it looks like she just came.” [Toby]
Saying so, Toby-s.h.i.+ signalled it with his eyes.
Let’s see….. Looking up towards the entrance, I saw a woman among the merchant-like group of people, entering in a stately manner.
Rather than a woman…..should I say a maid?……or rather, wasn’t she the silver haired woman whom I’ve met in the lounge last night?!
She was clad in the same black coloured one piece dress like yesterday but there were two points that were different. The first was the pure white ap.r.o.n and the second was the head dress. No matter how I look at it, this is definitely the maid look. I had initially thought that she was a young lady from some rich family but…….she’s actually a maid……No, I like it. There are no men in existence who dislike maids.
However, the house of Solo……..or rather, what was Jephthah thinking?! What’s the idea of sending a maid as his subst.i.tute?!
No, hold on. I should first calm down. I shouldn’t casually determine someone to be a maid basing on my common sense just because she’s dressed in ‘maid clothing’. She might have forgotten to remove her ap.r.o.n after making breakfast this morning or, I couldn’t deny the possibility that this could just be a type of fas.h.i.+on in this world too. That’s right, that’s right. That must be it. It wouldn’t be possible for a maid to be a merchant’s representative. This isn’t some kind of moe manga!
The silver haired maid walked straight towards us. This person is indeed the representative without a doubt. Either Toby-s.h.i.+ has signalled it to her indirectly or that she was able to guess it immediately from the situation, she gave me an elegant bow.
“Nice meeting you for the first time…though it’s not really our first time, isn’t it? My name’s Hetty and I’m here as Jephthah’s representative. As you can see, I’m a maid. I might be unreliable as young master’s representative but please treat me kindly.” [Hetty]
This person has declared it herself that she’s a maid!
Did Jephthah vaguely leave this task to just anyone around him? I don’t think people normally send a maid on their behalf, do they? No, I might have been applying too much common sense in my thoughts again……….. If I were to give this a deep thought, we’re seriously defeated by this other world……..By the way, it was unexpected to hear Jephthah referred to as young master.
“…..Thank you for your help last night. I’m Ayase Jirou. Please treat me well from now on.” [Jirou]
“The same with me, Jirou-sama.” [Hetty]
Hetty flashed me an elegant smile as she replied. I guess she’s slightly older than me. A maid with a refined beauty.
If I were to think about it carefully, rather than a proud spirited young merchant, or a pretentious womanizing man from the house of Solo, or a seriously h.o.m.os.e.xual guy, she might have been the best candidate in comparison. In fact, I was actually expecting someone like Jephthah number 2 to be sent over instead….
Jephthah, you a.s.shole. You’ve done quite well this time, haven’t you? You’re someone who can really do it if you want to!
“By the way, where is Diana-sama today? Are you all not carrying this out together?” [Hetty]
“Aa, today seems to be….that day.” [Jirou]
“I see. It is the proof that the guidance is progressing but……..Jirou-sama, have you done something?” [Hetty]
Eh? W-W-What do you mean by that? I have not done anything.
Although, I can’t deny that I tried to do something. Is the something somehow related tothat day?
“Come to think of it, you did say that you were troubled by your relations.h.i.+p with the slaves as well last night……. In other words, you were refused after you tried violating her by force so you were troubled by your relations.h.i.+p with your slaves…….something like that? This might be bad……This could develop into a critical racial issue. I’m not sure if Jirou-sama will be able to get out of this in one piece.” [Hetty]
“Eeeeeee, it was a misunderstanding! It was seriously a misunderstanding so please stop a.s.sociating those together!” [Jirou]
“I was just joking.” [Hetty]
The silver haired maid declared it with a straight face. Don’t make such a serious face when you’re telling a joke!
We left the guild after the short greeting.
Since I have met up with Jephthah’s representative, I would like to confirm the state of my house and begin the repairs as soon as I can. I’m fine with living at the inn but as I thought, it still feels uncomfortable. The foundation of my business was to trade between the two worlds so it wouldn’t be too good to stay too far from the place.
“……so anyway, can I take a look at the mansion for now? It is a little far though.” [Jirou]
“Yes. I have heard of the details from young master. I have already prepared a carriage so let us depart.” [Hetty]
After saying so, Hetty-san guided us all the way to the place where the carriage is. I wasn’t sure how fast the carriage could go but it will definitely be more comfortable than travelling by foot. Aa, I would like to ask if she could buy me a horse but…….it might be better to ask this only when Diana is around.
The carriage that was prepared is pulled by a pair of dapple-grey horses. It was actually quite…….no it looked really luxurious. The carriage even comes with two coachmen. It wasn’t the open-air carriage kind that I saw in the parade but rather, a wooden private room type…..in short, it was the so-called ‘box-shaped horse-drawn carriage’.
(Rinkage: Something like this)
Upon closer observation, the wheel seemed to be made out of metal and elegant looking ornaments could be seen used in moderation as decorations for the black base. To be honest, this didn’t seem likely to be the maid’s taste but, I wonder if Diana might possibly be the one affecting this.
From my perspective, it was something that is really fortunate to me since I could use it freely without reservations.
“Please get on. Judging from the average speed of this transportation, I think we should be able to reach there in roughly half yuruka.” [Hetty]