When the fog lifted, we moved to the shore.
There were fishermen repairing their nets on the beach. Seth hailed the fishermen and asked if there was a place we could dock our ship and headed to a harbor with a wharf.
At the harbor, there were fishmongers busily cleaning up after the morning market.
Docking the ship at the wharf, I lifted the middle-aged man’s corpse and the small boat to my shoulders and disembarked.
It has to be a bizarre sight. We attracted the attention of the harbor.
When I explained the situation to a fishmonger-like ojisan staring dumbfounded nearby, he told a young boy to go call the guards.
“Where did you pick him up?”
The fishmonger-like ojisan asked.
“At a place a bit west of here. In the sea south of where the fishermen are.”
“Then, ain’t it just right there?”
People gathered as we had that sort of conversation.
The people gathered at the harbor were about 50-50 beastkin and humans. Among them were dwarves, although they were few in number.
When I asked the name of the town,
“The port town East End of the Rocksalteast Kingdom.”
“Is this city east of the Ruginia continent?”
“That’s right. The southeast border.”
The fishmonger-like ojisan responded while wiping sweat from his forehead.
After spending some time asking about the weather and atmospheric temperature, a guard carrying a spear came.
The guard, wearing slightly worn armor, pushed through the people, coming up to us. His age is about the same as my age?
“So it’s you guys? The ones who came carrying a corpse?”
“That’s right. I was thinking it would be better to notify his family if there are any.”
“I see. Thank you for your efforts. Are you merchants?”
“Yes, we’re in cleaning and exterminating trade.”
So saying, I showed him my Merchant’s Guild card.
“Is this the corpse?”
“That’s right. It was collapsed in this small boat, and we found it and picked it up as it was tossed about at sea.”
“Got it.”
The guard turned over the corpse wrapped in cloth, checking the face and body, and gasped. I could also here the shrieks from the curious onlookers gathered around.
“So it’s a noble … I got it. This might become something troublesome, but can I hear your story?”
“Even if you want a story, it’s just that this morning we found it in the sea a little west of here. Over there, south of where the fishermen are repairing their nets on the beach.”
“This morning? You took your time.”
“Since there was fog out.”
When I looked around me, the fishmonger-like ojisan nodded in agreement.
‘I see. I got it. Thanks. Is there anyone here who recognizes this noble?”
No one spoke up when the guard asked the onlookers in the area.
Seeing the reaction of the crowd, the guard checked whether the corpse had anything on him.
“Did he not have any personal belongings?”
“There was nothing in the small boat. We pretty much didn’t touch it except to raise the corpse to the deck and wrap it in cloth.”
“There’s no oar either? There’s signs of a struggle, but there’s also no weapon. There’s also no wallet … There is this, although it’s covered in blood.”
And the guard took out a blood covered handkerchief from the corpse’s chest pocket.
“Was he done in by pirates…?”
The guard said, as if talking to himself.
“Do pirates put corpses on small boats and set them adrift?”
Ayl asked. The guard made a bitter face.
Pushing their way through the people, different guards arrived. A young guard among them saw the corpse’s face, and in a voice like it would disappear, he said,
“That gentleman is a gentleman of the Ernest House.”
Aside from us, everyone else at that place looked at the corpse speechlessly. He seems to be quite the high-ranking noble.
After that, leaving 4 guards at the site, they left carrying the small boat and corpse with men from the onlookers helping.
“Sorry, but is it alright if we search your ship?”
The first guard asked.
“I don’t mind, but will it take some time?”
“It depends on you.”
They’re probably suspicious of us.
“Even if you say so, we don’t have any reason to kill that noble person.”
“Also, there’s no one in our company that would slash a person in such a half-assed way.”
I and Ayl responded. Ayl seems to be saying that if one of our employees slashed someone, they’d properly bissect him.
“And there’s no criminal who would purposefully come to reveal his crime, right? There’s no reason for it.”
Velsa responded.
“However we still have things we need to ask. Please don’t depart for a while.”
“Understood. So I’d like to get the necessary permissions to dock, is that okay? And also, we’d like to contact the Merchant’s Guild and Adventurer’s Guild as well.”
“I understand. You can get the docking permissions here. Our guard here will head to the Merchant’s Guild and Adventurer’s Guild. Is that okay?”
“It’s fine.”
The guard gave a young guard next to him instructions.
“Please tell them the Komuro Company has arrived. That should tell them what they need to know. Please and thank you.”
The young guard nodded and ran off.
“Who is the captain?”
“I am.”
Seth replied.
“I’m going to search the ship, so please be present.”
“Yessir.”
Seth and the guard board the ship.
With two of the guards observing us, we waited on site.
“Ah~ as expected, it became something troublesome.”(Ayl)
‘It would have been fine to just let it be.” (Velsa)
“Kindness can cause a big ordeal, ne.” (Merumo)
The women complain.
“It can’t be helped, we’re the ones who found it after all.”
We’ve nothing to do while waiting, so I asked the two guards keeping watch what East End’s specialties are.
It seems the seafood soup is delicious. Aside from that, they said there are a lot of blacksmith and carpenter artisans. Since there are a lot of pirates in the islands to the east, there is a bounty of swords for swordsmen, spears, staves for magic users, and bows and all sorts of weaponscrafts, they said.
“Out of the Ruginia Alliance, Rocksalteast Kingdom is the only one that has the Mercenary’s Guild in addition to the Adventurer’s Guild.”
The young guard told us proudly. Regarding mercenaries, they can make a living by just taking escort jobs, it seems.
“Which is stronger, guards are mercenaries?”
Ayl asked the young guard.
“That’s … … guards of course!”
I guess mercenaries are stronger.
“There isn’t a big difference between them. There are also people who switch from a guard to a mercenary, and people who switch from a mercenary to a guard. It’s just that people who like danger are more likely to become mercenaries. Those who face danger are guards. Please don’t tease our youngsters too much.”
The older guard listening next to us said.
Coincidentally, I wonder what kind of people the adventurers in this city are.
When I was going to ask, Seth returned with the guard.
“What do you guys eat? You’re voyaging without a single bit of food?”
All of the food is in the item bag.
“How suspicious. Can you accompany me to the guard station?”
It became troublesome.
When the fog lifted, we moved to the shore.
There were fishermen repairing their nets on the beach. Seth hailed the fishermen and asked if there was a place we could dock our ship and headed to a harbor with a wharf.
At the harbor, there were fishmongers busily cleaning up after the morning market.
Docking the ship at the wharf, I lifted the middle-aged man’s corpse and the small boat to my shoulders and disembarked.
It has to be a bizarre sight. We attracted the attention of the harbor.
When I explained the situation to a fishmonger-like ojisan staring dumbfounded nearby, he told a young boy to go call the guards.
“Where did you pick him up?”
The fishmonger-like ojisan asked.
“At a place a bit west of here. In the sea south of where the fishermen are.”
“Then, ain’t it just right there?”
People gathered as we had that sort of conversation.
The people gathered at the harbor were about 50-50 beastkin and humans. Among them were dwarves, although they were few in number.
When I asked the name of the town,
“The port town East End of the Rocksalteast Kingdom.”
“Is this city east of the Ruginia continent?”
“That’s right. The southeast border.”
The fishmonger-like ojisan responded while wiping sweat from his forehead.
After spending some time asking about the weather and atmospheric temperature, a guard carrying a spear came.
The guard, wearing slightly worn armor, pushed through the people, coming up to us. His age is about the same as my age?
“So it’s you guys? The ones who came carrying a corpse?”
“That’s right. I was thinking it would be better to notify his family if there are any.”
“I see. Thank you for your efforts. Are you merchants?”
“Yes, we’re in cleaning and exterminating trade.”
So saying, I showed him my Merchant’s Guild card.
“Is this the corpse?”
“That’s right. It was collapsed in this small boat, and we found it and picked it up as it was tossed about at sea.”
“Got it.”
The guard turned over the corpse wrapped in cloth, checking the face and body, and gasped. I could also here the shrieks from the curious onlookers gathered around.
“So it’s a noble … I got it. This might become something troublesome, but can I hear your story?”
“Even if you want a story, it’s just that this morning we found it in the sea a little west of here. Over there, south of where the fishermen are repairing their nets on the beach.”
“This morning? You took your time.”
“Since there was fog out.”
When I looked around me, the fishmonger-like ojisan nodded in agreement.
‘I see. I got it. Thanks. Is there anyone here who recognizes this noble?”
No one spoke up when the guard asked the onlookers in the area.
Seeing the reaction of the crowd, the guard checked whether the corpse had anything on him.
“Did he not have any personal belongings?”
“There was nothing in the small boat. We pretty much didn’t touch it except to raise the corpse to the deck and wrap it in cloth.”
“There’s no oar either? There’s signs of a struggle, but there’s also no weapon. There’s also no wallet … There is this, although it’s covered in blood.”
And the guard took out a blood covered handkerchief from the corpse’s chest pocket.
“Was he done in by pirates…?”
The guard said, as if talking to himself.
“Do pirates put corpses on small boats and set them adrift?”
Ayl asked. The guard made a bitter face.
Pushing their way through the people, different guards arrived. A young guard among them saw the corpse’s face, and in a voice like it would disappear, he said,
“That gentleman is a gentleman of the Ernest House.”
Aside from us, everyone else at that place looked at the corpse speechlessly. He seems to be quite the high-ranking noble.
After that, leaving 4 guards at the site, they left carrying the small boat and corpse with men from the onlookers helping.
“Sorry, but is it alright if we search your ship?”
The first guard asked.
“I don’t mind, but will it take some time?”
“It depends on you.”
They’re probably suspicious of us.
“Even if you say so, we don’t have any reason to kill that noble person.”
“Also, there’s no one in our company that would slash a person in such a half-assed way.”
I and Ayl responded. Ayl seems to be saying that if one of our employees slashed someone, they’d properly bissect him.
“And there’s no criminal who would purposefully come to reveal his crime, right? There’s no reason for it.”
Velsa responded.
“However we still have things we need to ask. Please don’t depart for a while.”
“Understood. So I’d like to get the necessary permissions to dock, is that okay? And also, we’d like to contact the Merchant’s Guild and Adventurer’s Guild as well.”
“I understand. You can get the docking permissions here. Our guard here will head to the Merchant’s Guild and Adventurer’s Guild. Is that okay?”
“It’s fine.”
The guard gave a young guard next to him instructions.
“Please tell them the Komuro Company has arrived. That should tell them what they need to know. Please and thank you.”
The young guard nodded and ran off.
“Who is the captain?”
“I am.”
Seth replied.
“I’m going to search the ship, so please be present.”
“Yessir.”
Seth and the guard board the ship.
With two of the guards observing us, we waited on site.
“Ah~ as expected, it became something troublesome.”(Ayl)
‘It would have been fine to just let it be.” (Velsa)
“Kindness can cause a big ordeal, ne.” (Merumo)
The women complain.
“It can’t be helped, we’re the ones who found it after all.”
We’ve nothing to do while waiting, so I asked the two guards keeping watch what East End’s specialties are.
It seems the seafood soup is delicious. Aside from that, they said there are a lot of blacksmith and carpenter artisans. Since there are a lot of pirates in the islands to the east, there is a bounty of swords for swordsmen, spears, staves for magic users, and bows and all sorts of weaponscrafts, they said.
“Out of the Ruginia Alliance, Rocksalteast Kingdom is the only one that has the Mercenary’s Guild in addition to the Adventurer’s Guild.”
The young guard told us proudly. Regarding mercenaries, they can make a living by just taking escort jobs, it seems.
“Which is stronger, guards are mercenaries?”
Ayl asked the young guard.
“That’s … … guards of course!”
I guess mercenaries are stronger.
“There isn’t a big difference between them. There are also people who switch from a guard to a mercenary, and people who switch from a mercenary to a guard. It’s just that people who like danger are more likely to become mercenaries. Those who face danger are guards. Please don’t tease our youngsters too much.”
The older guard listening next to us said.
Coincidentally, I wonder what kind of people the adventurers in this city are.
When I was going to ask, Seth returned with the guard.
“What do you guys eat? You’re voyaging without a single bit of food?”
All of the food is in the item bag.
“How suspicious. Can you accompany me to the guard station?”
It became troublesome.
