MTLNOVEL Chapter 203
Chapter 203. The Bumpy Family And The Last Festival
Eutis, a marathon runner by nature and a member of the Garment Guild, hurriedly stood up.
Why does she want to come along?
“Actually, the guild has some business in Lake Lel, and we’re currently selecting someone to send there.”
“Huh? Wait, didn’t Eutis originally have business in the west?”
I’m pretty sure we saved her from goblins while she was on her way west.
“That matter has been assigned to someone else.”
“Ah, I see.”
“I still haven’t been able to repay Akira and the others! At the very least, I want to accompany you all to repay even a small part of my debt!”
“I’ve said it before, but I don’t expect anything in return.”
Yaralai nodded in agreement with my words.
“That’s right… If you could accompany us to Lake Lel, it would be very safe. With such strong individuals like yourselves, it would be a great help.”
Eutis glanced at each of us in turn: me, Yaralai, Hagg, and the griffin, Kukkle.
I see. If you think about it as an escort, this is the strongest team.
Honestly, just Hagg or Yaralai alone would be more than enough.
“And with this mysterious carriage, the journey to Lake Lel will surely be over in no time.”
“That’s true.”
“Of course! I’ll pay for the fare, and I’ll do whatever I can to help!”
Eutis pleaded with us.
There’s really no reason to refuse…
“I’m fine with it, but what about the rest of you?”
Yaralai nodded slightly, indicating no problem, and Hagg said, “Do as you please,” with little interest.
Lalaila thought for a moment before replying, “I think it’ll be fun to have Eutis with us.”
“I feel like I’m not in a position to give my opinion…”
“What are you talking about? We’re all traveling together, right? Don’t hold back.”
“Then I’ll leave it to Akira-sama.”
“Leaving it all to me, huh…”
Well, we just joined forces, so I guess it can’t be helped.
“What about Faf?”
“Kukuku… I don’t mind…”
Faf leaned in close to my ear.
“Kukuku… You haven’t told them about that ability, have you? What are you going to do about that?”
“I’ll figure something out. Worst case, I’ll tell them.”
“Kukuku… Then it’s fine.”
Faf, for some reason, sat down on my lap.
…You’re heavy, you know.
“Um, Akira-san. What about the people who were vessels?”
“About that…”
“Ah, in that case, our Adele Trading Company has agreed to take care of it.”
“Huh? Since when?”
“Akira-sama consulted with us privately. Their important memories are intact, and we’ll take them home in one of the company’s carriages.”
“I see. That’s good.”
Lalaila smiled brightly.
She’s really a kind-hearted girl.
“Is that everything we need to discuss?”
“When are we planning to leave?”
“We still need to prepare for the journey, right? How about three days from now?”
“No problem.”
“Alright, let’s go with that. If anything comes up, we can always adjust. Oh, and let’s give everyone some spending money.”
“Spending money…?”
Cherina looked puzzled as she asked.
“Yeah, for some reason, I ended up managing everyone’s money.”
“That’s because we’re family!”
“!?”
“Kukuku… We entrusted all our money to Akira.”
“Then! I’ll give you my share too!”
“Hey, hey…”
“Or what!? You can take their money but not mine!?”
“N-no… Alright. I’ll take it…”
Her overwhelming pressure left me no choice but to nod.
The leather bag I received was heavy, and when I pretended to store it away, I found it contained 1,392,101 yen.
Remaining balance: 3,087,025 yen.
“For now, I’ll give everyone 50,000 each. If you need more, let me know.”
I handed 50,000 to Yaralai, Hagg, Lalaila, Faf, and Cherina. For some reason, giving it to Cherina felt a bit off.
Remaining balance: 2,837,025 yen.
“Alright, everyone, get your stuff ready and load it onto the carriage. Cherina and Eutis, work with Lalaila to figure out sleeping arrangements.”
“Understood.”
And so, we began preparing to leave this country.
◆
“Well, this is disappointing. I really wanted Akira to stay in this country.”
Standing before me was Felicia Molred, the head of the Garment Guild, a stunningly beautiful woman with an even more voluptuous figure than Cherina.
Today, Cherina was also with us.
The reason was simple: to finalize the special agreement with the Verriero Trading Company, which was one of the conditions for creating the sewing machine.
Of course, that contract had already been settled, and we were just about to leave.
“It’s flattering to be valued, but I have my own business to attend to.”
“Still, I never thought I’d get to meet the famous Cherina.”
“Fufufu. Likewise. My mother has told me about you, Felicia-sama.”
“Hahaha. I’m sure it wasn’t anything good!”
“I’ve heard you’re a capable merchant.”
“Let’s go with that.”
“Fufufu.”
“Hahaha.”
…This feels a bit awkward.
I didn’t look too closely, but Cherina and Felicia exchanged various contracts. Cherina would send them to her home country through the Verriero Trading Company and other affiliated companies.
It wasn’t urgent, but it seemed the priority was shipping the sewing machine samples.
Cherina truly is impressive. She recognized the usefulness of the sewing machine after just a brief look.
It won’t be long before affordable clothing becomes widely available.
Anyway, I’m glad we managed to finalize the contract with the Verriero Trading Company, even though it was supposed to be postponed.
After that, we visited the sewing machine workshop, the Adele Trading Company, and the cafeteria to wrap things up. Hagg had also been making the rounds at the workshops.
And just like that, two days flew by in an instant.
◆
Now, on the morning of our departure, Giro and Clara arrived with big smiles on their faces.
I thought they had come to mooch breakfast as usual, but it was the opposite.
“Akira-niichan! Everyone! Come to the cafeteria!”
“The cafeteria? The restaurant?”
“Yeah! Hurry up!”
With preparations still underway, we all headed to the cafeteria, where a large crowd had gathered.
“What’s all this?”
“Akira-san is here!”
“The hero has arrived!”
“We’ve prepared a feast! Please, everyone, eat to your heart’s content!”
It seemed the former slum residents had gathered to throw us a farewell party. I was genuinely surprised.
“Well, well. Is there any alcohol?”
“Of course! Here you go, Hagg-san!”
“Hey, hey, drinking this early in the morning?”
“Hmph. For dwarves, alcohol is like water!”
Hagg immediately started chugging from a barrel.
It seemed the sewing machine workshop folks had also gathered, and cheers erupted.
And just like that, the party began.
“This is…”
Cherina looked puzzled as she accepted a glass of fruit wine.
“I didn’t mean to make them feel indebted…”
“Akira-sama, you’re as unpredictable as ever.”
“Well, it just happened.”
As I glanced around, I spotted a familiar face at the entrance.
“Hey, isn’t that Kudou and Stod?”
“Oh! You!”
“H-hello.”
It was the two low-ranking zebra boys.
But the zebra gang had already collapsed.
“What are you doing here?”
“N-none of your business!”
“We… we were hungry… and we smelled something good…”
“Why are you being so honest!?”
I see…
“Just come in. Eat whatever you want.”
“R-really!?”
“Is it okay?”
“You’re hungry, right? Help yourself. Here, there’s even croquettes.”
Croquettes.
They had become a specialty dish in Sevites, made from potatoes.
“Croquettes!? That high-class dish!?”
“It’s not that high-class… but I guess so.”
They must be really struggling if they consider this a luxury.
“Anyway, eat up!”
“Ugh…”
“T-thank you… This is delicious! It’s amazing, bro!”
“Ugh… damn it! I’ll eat it all!”
They started devouring the food like crazy.
“Is it good?”
“Y-yeah… it’s alright…”
“I’ve never eaten anything this good…”
“Alright, from today, you’re joining the self-governing committee.”
“Huh?”
“What?”
“Hey! Depas-san! Take care of these two from now on.”
“…You always dump the craziest things on me.”
“The west slum is gone, right? Take care of the east slum too.”
“That one’s…”
“It’s fine. Most of the mafia organizations there are already crushed.”
“Sigh. I’m afraid to ask how.”
“You don’t need to know, do you?”
“Alright, alright. I’ll handle it.”
“Thanks.”
With this, the east slum should gradually improve.
“Hey! Wait! We never agreed to join some weird organization!”
“Membership benefits include a shared sleeping room, but also a house and a job.”
“Wha!?”
“Hey, Depas-san, you’re still short on people, right?”
“Yeah, I can’t introduce anyone to the garment industry anymore, but there’s plenty of work helping out at stalls.”
“See? There’s work available.”
“R-really?”
“If you join the committee.”
“Bro…”
“G-got it! I’ll join! But don’t expect any gratitude!”
“I don’t need it. Just work hard!”
“Shut up!”
I waved them off and left the scene.
“What was that about?”
“Some low-ranking members from the zebra gang we took down. There are probably more like them out there.”
“Eradicating slums is a major issue in every country. I never thought there was a solution like this…”
“Well, this time we had the sewing machine as a big incentive.”
“I never realized how effective providing jobs could be.”
“Public works, like building bridges, can give those people jobs.”
“I see. That’s good to know.”
“I hope things improve a bit from this.”
“I think they will. This area used to be a slum, but you’d never know it now.”
“That’s good.”
I drank the alcohol the residents kept offering me.
“You drink like a dwarf, lad.”
“I’ve been forced to chug drinks at company parties.”
“Hmph. That’s not a good way to drink.”
“I’m just glad I didn’t die from acute alcohol poisoning.”
“Sounds like your life has been hanging by a thread. It wasn’t a peaceful world, was it?”
“Not for me.”
I shrugged with a sigh.
And so.
We set off from Sevites, escorted by a large crowd.
…Come to think of it, did I tell Eutis we were heading to Lake Lel?