355 - Side Story - Snowfield, Robot, and Katie
TL/Editor: raei
Schedule: 5/week
Illustrations: Posted in discord
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The northern part of the kingdom is a harsh and unforgiving place.
Picture towering peaks blanketed in eternal snow, vast white plains stretching as far as the eye can see, and frozen ice sheets everywhere. It's like stepping into an ice and water elental dungeon straight out of Heroines Chronicle. This northern realm, pieced together from such elental landscapes, is practically impossible to farm.
That's why the main source of inco up north cos from selling rare minerals and resources extracted from this unforgiving land, along with logging the coniferous forests.
Naturally, large rchant groups cozy up to the Wesley family, the rulers of the north. As busy traders spread bards' tall tales from one person to the next, so children inevitably fall for these stories hook, line, and sinker.
"What are you talking about, Roland?"
"Ah, well..."
Sotis even adults fall for it.
Take Katie Wesley, the runaway noble girl from the north. On a day off from climbing the tower with the hero party, one of her childhood fantasies ca crashing down.
The bard's song she had firmly believed in turned out to be nonsense based on a quest I'd completed in the south. I hadn't ant to shatter her innocent beliefs, but... it just ca up while talking about the south.
Katie's eyes began to tremble, like a child who'd just caught their parents placing gifts instead of Santa Claus.
"I guess it couldn't be helped..."
The story she'd heard from rchant workers in her childhood was about the Golden City of the South. Deep in the southern jungle, there was supposedly a golden city built by lizardn.
...In reality, it was a false rumor stemming from a rchant group that went south to buy spices. They were ambushed by a large lizardman tribe and lost all their goods. While lizardn knew how to use spices, food, and the weapons of the rchant guards, they didn't understand the value of gold rings or jewels that noble ladies adored.
Following their habit of making totems from animal bones, they made totems and decorated their nests with the shiny trinkets. When we went to deal with them, it was quite a sight to behold.
Ruby necklaces hanging from buffalo skull horns, golden pocket watch chains woven with leaves, tent awnings made from dozens of colorful gems like rubies and sapphires strung together. It certainly was a scene worthy of bards singing about a city of gold.
Except those three things I ntioned were all there was to this "city."
"Totems adorned with jeweled necklaces, golden ropes reinforcing tent roofs, and dozens of gems used as sunshades. That was all there was, but I guess the story got exaggerated as it spread."
"I suppose lizardn wouldn't have the skills to handle so much gold and jewels..."
"Um... sorry?"
"No, no. You don't need to apologize, Roland... I'm not a child, and it's not like I seriously believed it. I just thought it was an interesting story and kept it in mind."
During a break between adventures. Han Se-ah had dashed off sowhere for a mission, and Grace headed to the city's archery range to celebrate becoming 5★. After helping Irene move supplies to the temple, Katie's body trembles at the harsh reality suddenly thrust upon her as we chat in a quiet cafe.
She says it's fine, but I can see tears forming at the corners of her eyes. I wonder how shocked she must be. When she's stirring up monster hordes with her chilling aura, she seems so dependable, but at tis like this she still feels like a young girl... or rather, closer to a little boy.
She doesn't touch the macarons she had been eagerly eating, and the sweet honey latte she'd been sipping is already cooling on the table, making feel guilty even though I didn't do anything wrong. To break this heavy atmosphere, I need to bring up a new topic, an interesting story that Katie would like...!
"Co to think of it, what happened to that golem that went to your family? Have you heard anything?"
"Oh, that!"
So the card I played was the rideable golem from the 30th floor.
It's the one that cleverly absorbed the family treasure that the runaway noble girl Katie brought out and used it as its own energy.
Whether dieval or modern, there seems to be sothing about giant armored weapons that stirs people's hearts. Even the knights were as excited as children entering an amusent park. I imagine it's probably being used as a core weapon of the knightly order by now.
"I was actually wanting to talk about that."
But Katie's words, her eyes now sparkling brightly, flow in a direction I couldn't have predicted.
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Raei Translations
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The northern part of the kingdom is a harsh place.
Let's skip the clichéd description about eternal snow and whatnot.
It's a neighborhood that survives on hunting, logging, and mining because farming is impossible. But when you add the stereotypical 'northern man' image to this harshness, the situation changes a bit. Picture a place full of drunkards who love their alcohol, do cold water dips naked in icy lakes, befriend local grizzly bears, and settle disputes with fists instead of laws.
Tough n doing rough work spin tall tales when drunk, and bards chi in to collect coins. The sturdy wonfolk take the n's boasts as jokes, but they preserve the children's innocence in front of the little ones.
"Wo-woah! It's a giant! A steel giant!"
"No, that's the Tin Woodman!"
"But he doesn't have an axe, you dummy!"
Naturally, when a rideable giant golem appeared in such a neighborhood, everyone from children to adults was in an uproar.
The red-nosed hunter who had proudly downed his drink after catching a large bear, the woodcutter who had rushed to the square from trimming firewood, the housewife who had co running to catch the kids who had fled from helping with laundry - all stood with their mouths agape at the imposing figure of the golem.
If adults react like that, what about the children?
Despite the adults' attempts to hold them back, a swarm of little ones rushes towards the knights. Like rabid fans hoping to touch even the fingertips of a popular star, they crowd around, only to be dragged away by housewives wielding laundry paddles, their bottoms getting a good spanking.
"The knights seem quite friendly with the residents."
"Most information about monsters cos from the residents. And there are many people from the village in the knightly order. The north doesn't have many people, so..."
We could watch these scenes through a crystal ball on the cafe table.
Apparently, the Northern Duke, being a doting father, realized how heartbroken his daughter must have been when the rideable golem was taken from her, so he spent a fortune to record it on a magic tool. Well, Katie's thoughts and feelings are pretty much an open book, so it's easy to guess what's on her mind.
Katie, pressed so close that our forearms touch, can't take her eyes off the rideable golem. How could such a girl have lived undercover in the rcenary world disguised as a man?
Completely forgetting her earlier sniffling, she excitedly shows the crystal ball as if boasting. Her cute profile catches my attention, and her fair cheeks puff out. Apparently, she's sulking because I'm not paying attention to the rideable golem.
"Anyway! Look at this."
"Alright, alright. I get it."
The macarons and honey latte on the table have long since been forgotten, pushed far away lest they stain the crystal ball. Katie tugs at my forearm.
Seeing her like this, I lean in completely, pressing close. Katie's body flinches montarily. I can feel her forearm trembling slightly where we touch, probably a bit surprised.
Well, we've gone beyond just our arms touching; we're practically cheek to cheek now, so it's a natural reaction.
As we get close enough for our breaths to mingle, a sweet scent tickles my nose. A sugary breath wafts over, so sweet I can't tell if it's the rich aroma of the latte or the saccharine sll of the macarons.
Cheeks flushed red, clear eyes wandering aimlessly before finally settling on the crystal ball. Feeling that teasing her any further might really upset her, I quietly turn my gaze to the crystal ball as well.
"Wow, this thing's really sturdy. Was it until this week?"
"I heard they're sending it to the city wall repair site next week."
While we're having this awkward scene in the cafe, the video in the crystal ball has moved on. The rideable golem, which had majestically entered through the city gates escorted by knights, was now being used like construction equipnt at a work site.
Felling giant trees swollen with mana and grown dozens of ters tall, clearing debris from collapsed city walls for repairs, moving loads of cargo too heavy for oxen or horses to pull...
"Uh, um... why?"
"Maybe the north is too peaceful for that guy to show its true capabilities?"
Instead of a steel knight sweeping across battlefields and striking terror into monsters, it seems to have beco a reliable guardian for the rural residents.
Katie, who apparently hadn't thought of this either, scrutinizes the inside of the crystal ball again, her eyes trembling. She must be quite bewildered, considering how incredibly disappointed she was about not being able to ride it in the tower when she sent it to the north.
Her confused eyes dart around the screen, but what follows is the harsh reality. As Katie struggles to accept this cruel truth and I watch her, soone's voice suddenly rings in our ears.
"Katie, I'm not sure if this recording is working well."
"Anyway, we're making good use of the spoils you obtained from the tower."
"It's too big and consus too much mana to use in battle, but..."
"Still, the residents are delighted to hear about your achievents."
What we hear is a ssage from the Northern Duke to his daughter. It's filled with various stories - his joy at seeing his daughter, who he still considered so young, making a na for herself across the continent; his pride in her adventures; and his fatherly concerns about the dangerous battles. But-
"Why use such an aweso golem as a farm tool..."
It seed to fall on deaf ears as Katie, dumbfounded, buried her face in the table.
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