Volume 1 - Chapter 5 – CONTRACT (1/2)

The next morning.

「Jin, are you there?」

After breakfast, the village chief came to Martha’s house.

「Yes?」

「Oh, Jin, do you have a moment?」

「Yes, what do you need?」

The village chief wryly smiled.

「Haha, it’s nothing much. Roland, the pedlar staying here wanted to have a little talk with you」

「Oh, so that’s it. It’s fine with me」

「I see, then is alright if we go immediately?」

Thus Jin headed to the village chief’s house.

「Nice to meet you, I’m the pedlar Roland. Thank you for accepting my invitation」

「I’m his son Eric, it is an honour to meet you」

Roland and Eric who were waiting at the village chief’s house politely greeted Jin when he came. They were definitely merchants.

「Yes, nice to meet you. I’m called Jin Nidoh」

The three men then sat around the table. The village chief was also there. Right after that, a young girl came along carrying tea.

「Here you go」

「Oh, thank you Barbara」

Jin remembered in the corner of his mind that she was the village chief’s niece, but then immediately shifted his attention back to the others.

「So, what was it you wanted to talk about?」

Jin was the first to talk. Then Roland answered him.

「Well it’s nothing much… the things that weren’t here two months ago when I last visited have me curious」

「Ahhh, the hot spring you mean」

「Yes. There’s also the pump, that water drawing tool. Are you really the one who made those?」

「That’s right, is there something about it?」

With a face that held some suspicion, he asked Jin.

「Uhh no, umm, Jin-san was it? You’re quite a young lad. Where did such a young 《Magic Craftsman》 learn from?」

「《Magic Craftsman》?」

It was the first time he heard of that term. He knew of the title 《Magi Craft Meister》 that he succeeded, but he had not heard of the title 《Magic Craftsman》.

「Oh? Have you not heard of it? That is unexpected. 《Magic Craftsman》 is the general term for people who make tools using magic」

「I see…」

Indifferent to his reply, Roland changes the topic.

「Come to think of it, where did you come from?」

Jin used this opportunity to confirm his thoughts.

「Umm, well you see… I found a 《Warp Gate》 by chance, and as a result I was transferred here. Because of that, I do not know where I was sent and neither do I know where my home is exactly」

「《Warp Gate》? I feel like I may have heard of it before… Eric, do you know about it?」

「If I remember correctly, I think that was a name of an 《Artifact》 I learnt about. It allows you to transfer between two points」

That was the first time Eric opened his mouth since his greeting.

「This guy attended Cecilio Magic School until just last year so he knows a little bit about magic.」

The father, Roland seem to be proud of it.

「Well, putting aside the 《Artifact》, it malfunctioned and before I knew it, I lost consciousness near the village. Since then, I’ve been indebted to Martha-san who picked me up, and this village for taking care of me」

One part was a lie but it was not completely a lie. Eric then spoke,