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Chapter 4, Part 7 Yuuji, First Contact with Peddler[1]
Chapter 4, Part 7 Yuuji, First Contact with Peddler[1]
Chapter 4, Part 7 Yuuji, First Contact with Peddler[1]
?Alice-chan, are you there, Alice-chan.??(Peddler)
Because Yuuji thought that perhaps the voice belonged to the peddler, he headed towards the entryway.
He held tightly the ?Even Yuuji can Understand! Negotiation Manuals with the Peddler? in his right hand.
When he arrived at the entryway, he picked up the shovel that was leaning in the wall with his left hand.
Then Alice and Kotarou came out from the living room and joined him.
?Alice, it’s the peddler ojiisan, but you can’t pass the gate and head to the outside, since we need to have a proper talk. Kotarou I’ll be depending on you to took guard.?(Yuuji)
?Un! Since it’s probably dangerous, Alice will greet from the garden, right?!?(Alice)
Alice also took caution to not run off outside.
Woof! Kotaru made a powerful bark and replied.
“Leave it to me.” (Kotarou)
Alright. Yuuji made a single nod to rouse himself up, before walking towards the decisive battle grounds.
????
?Oh, Alice-chan, Alice-chan! So you are safe!?(Peddler)
His age maybe in the middle 30’s. His appearance was a man with light fatty tissue on his chin and abdomen, quite a build. He called to Alice while weeping.
He only stood in front of the gate and didn’t try to enter the house plot. It appears that he had heard the story from the adventurers.
Maybe because he had been carrying it until this place, near his feet was a large wooden rack placed on the ground.
The three adventurers who brought along the peddler were preparing the camp at a place some distance from the gate.
?It’s the peddler ojiichan! Yuuji-nii, it’s really the peddler ojiichan who came to the village!?(Alice)
It looks like the adventurers precisely found Alice’s acquaintance peddler and brought him here.
Fuh, Yuuji murmur “First step is OK.”, as his eyes follow the flowchart in his hand.
It seems that the first step on that chart was confirming whether the peddler was really someone that Alice knew.
?I found Alice who ran into the forest by chance, so I took care of her in my house. Now she has become my imouto. Alice, can you be a good girl and wait inside the house for a bit? Since, I have some business talk with the ojiisan for a while.?(Yuuji)
?Alice understand! Ojiichan, Alice will talk with you later!?(Alice)
Alice left these words before entering the house without any complaints. She was an obedient child. Kotarou stood beside Yuuji. But, different from the time with the adventurers, she didn’t show too much wariness. She didn’t let her eyes separated from the peddler, but she didn’t make any growling noises or show her fangs.
?I’m sorry for sending her away. But, since first, I wanted to know more about Alice’s family, for the time being, I sent her away.?(Yuuji)
?Is that so?.... But first, I wanted to give you my gratitude to you for saving Alice. Since she wasn’t a stranger to me, when Anfore village became like that....... I couldn’t help but to worry. Thank you very much.?(Peddler)
?There is no need for it as I only saved Alice for my own reason. Then, about Alice’s family, do you know their whereabouts? In the worst case, are they alive or already dead??(Yuuji)
Yuuji timidly questioned the peddler. If they were dead, then he would personally tell this to Alice. Until he had prepared, Alice was made to wait inside the house.
?Since it was a village that I regularly visited to peddle, I was concerned about it. I gathered information from the stories I heard. However, the whereabouts of Alice’s family is still unknown......?(Peddler)
?Is that so......?(Yuuji)
It was something that Yuuji partly expected.
When they were attacked by bandits, her family used every possible means to let her escape by herself. Were they captured? Were they killed? Either way, it seems that they couldn’t escape from the bandits.
Yuuji cast down his head in grief. However, he caught sight the figure of Kotarou under the bundle of papers in his hand.
Kotarou also made a sad whimper, before she rubbed her nose against Yuuji’s hand as if to say.
“Hey, there’s still more you need to talk about, right?” (Kotarou)
That’s right, I need to get hold of myself and so Yuuji took a deep breath before raised his head.
?I’m sorry for the late introduction. I am the Magician of the Forest, Yuuji. Not only about Alice’s family, but I also have many things to request from you.?(Yuuji)
?I also am the same, even when I’m a merchant I lost my composure and forgot about it...... I am Kevin the merchant who peddling in Anfore Village. When I heard the story from the adventurers, I saw the mirror. I’m not only coming here to confirm Alice’s safety, I also have things to ask of Yuuji-san.?(Kevin)
As expected from a peddler, he understood the mirror’s value, and so he was planning to use this chance for trading. After all, if he didn’t, the mirror that had been handed over to him wouldn’t have any meaning.
Maybe on the wooden rack that was placed near Kevin’s foot, contained goods that he guessed could be bartered with things Yuuji wanted to sell.
Until now, the course of event was as predicted by the manual in Yuuji’s hand.
However, the peddler Kevin next question was,
A subject that if pointed out then, ?In that case, don’t tell him anything, in any case return to the bulletin board.?
?As expected, after personally seeing it, I’m convinced. Yuuji-san....... You are a Visitor2 that come from another world right??(Kevin)
Note:
1 Thanks for the kind anonymous...... That pointed out that I made mistake on reading the kana....
2 Marebito (?? or ???) is an ancient Japanese word referring to a supernatural being who comes from afar bringing gifts of wisdom, spiritual knowledge and happiness.The word mare means "rare," while -bito (from the word hito) means both "person" and "spirit." The term refers to any one of a number of divine beings who were believed to visit villages in Japan, either from beyond the horizon or from beyond distant mountain ranges, bringing gifts. Villagers usually welcomed a marebito with rituals or festivals. To keep the sense of a perso come visiting, I use the term “Visitor”