Slave Harem in the Labyrinth of the Other World (LN)

Volume 5 - Ch 4.5

Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist Editor: Weasalopes

Suppose for a second that we would run into an Escape Goat or something similar on the higher floors. If the next time we met such an opponent the number of spells required in order to take it down would increase from six to seven, it would mean that such an enemy would start to escape after being hit by four consecutive shots of magic, so I could technically kill them with three more shots, but what is going to happen if eight or more spells are going to be needed? *Sigh* Looks like Escape Goats are shaping up to be one of the monsters that I am going to have to be especially careful about, and that is worrying me more than a little bit, if I am to be honest.

For the time being I deemed that dealing with the Escape Goats all the time is going to be too troublesome to be actually worth it, so instead I ordered a change of scenery, and so we moved on to the Labyrinth of Vale, where we explored and killed monsters until the sunrise. We then returned back to our home in Quratar, where I asked Sherry and Roxanne to start preparing dinner and do the laundry respectively, and while they were keeping themselves busy with their assigned, I decided to go to the city of Bode, the capital of Hartz Duchy, alone. Since that place is literally an elven pretty boy paradise crawling with Elven ikemen who are looking so perfectly that I cannot help but to die a little bit inside whenever I am looking at them, I definitely do not want Roxanne and Sherry to be anywhere near such a place.

When I arrived in Bode, I went to the same room where I was resting while I was doing the supplied distribution mission as part of the disaster relief taskforce. This place is a perfect room for travelling in and out of Bode, because it is the one whereField Walkercan be used without any major restrictions on it.

I would like to request an audience with Gozer, the captain of the Knight Order.

I said as I passed the Hartz Duchy emblem that I have received from Gozer the other day to a knight-looking person, who was either a member of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy himself or he was simply clad in the armor of the knight. Whatever the case might be, the took the emblem from my hands and examined it carefully from both sides.

May I ask you for your name?

My name is Kaga Michio. If you tell him that an Adventurer who was helping with the delivery of the supplies during the flood relief wishes to speak to him, he is going to know who I am.

I see. In that case, please wait here for a moment.

The knight says as he enters the depths of the castles interior. It is exactly like Gozer said. I showed the emblem to the knights, and everything immediately started to go smoothly.

For the time being, I was simply standing in the lobby-like room, waiting for Gozer to arrive. For a lobby of a castle, this room is a really bright one.

The side window is widely opened, and light is coming in through it in generous amounts, which contrasts with how things looked here when I was here before when everything was tightly closed up, but then again, that was in the time of the flood and intense rain, so maybe that is why everything was kept under lock and key to avoid the scenario in which the entire castle gets flooded because of the water that would pour in from the opened windows, which was probably the least that they could do to minimize the damage done to the city and its surroundings by the flood and intense rainfall.

When I was leaving the house, the sun was still high in Quratar, but here, it is not that high yet. I heard that this city was to the north, but maybe it is actually to the east?

Oh, so it was the excellent Adventurer after all!

I heard a familiar voice as I was looking through the window.

This voice. It is not the one belonging to Gozer! That one is definitely..!

When I turned around, the person who was standing there. Was the Duke of Hartz himself! He has a smile on hi face that makes it look as if it is shining brightly. Ugh, now even a minute of our meeting in and he is already flexing his ikemen charms on me?! Damn you, you Elven pretty boy! Why can you not just die of a curse or something other along those lines?! I knew that leaving Roxanne and Sherry behind in order to come here alone was a good choice to make after all!

Uhm What about Knight Captain Gozer, your lordship? Is he not going to come?

Unfortunately, Gozer is currently at the training school for the new Knight Order recruits, so I will be the one who is going to hear you out instead. Follow me.

The Duke turned around quickly, and left the lobby almost as fast as he appeared in it.

He seems to be exactly as impatient as he was last time. If he is a noble and the head of an entire Duchy, then you would think that he should act more refined, but with him, it was not the case at all.

Well, he probably can get away with all sorts of increasingly odd behaviors since he is so good-looking that all it takes for him to win peoples faith over is a smile. That damn smile of his!

I thought it would be a good time to come after the sun had risen, but was I mistaken?

There is no problem with that at all. In this season, we tend to be awake as soon as there light of the sun graces us with its brilliant presence(TL Note: PRAISE THE SUN!).

Ahhh.

I see. So it is like that, huh? The season is different here in the north. The sunrise is earlier than in the south, so they are going from spring to summer. If this was the arctic, they would still have sun shining even at midnight. Since this is north of Quratar, does the sun rise earlier here?

Thankfully, we have already made it through the period of the biggest hardships. The rain has stopped for now, and the water levels have decreased, so we do not have to worry about the Duchy getting flooded anytime soon anymore.

I see. That is most definitely good to hear.

The Duke opened a door, and entered a room. It is the same small office which I was in before.

Go ahead and have a sit. So, may I ask what business brings you here today?

The other day I met lord Gozer in Quratars merchants guild.

Ah, so it is about that time, huh?

The Duke sits in his chair behind his ornate office desk. I sat myself on the edge of the sofa that was still in the corner of the room and then turned towards him. This position is actually convenient for me, because while I am sitting in such a way and so far away from him, it works as a method of showing to the Duke that my intentions for him are not ill-begotten ones and that I do not, for example, am planning to assassinate him while he is not looking my way.

I hear that a mirrors from Palmasque are being used as Gift Items given as a present between the nobles and royalty.

A mirror from Palmasque, you say? Well, certainly, here in this Duchy such an item would definitely be considered a gift of the highest quality by whoever would end up receiving it.

So this basically confirms that mirrors cab be given as an expensive but good gift between the nobles and other members of high society. But if it is like that, then maybe it would actually be better for it to have those intricate, fancy-pantsy decorations? Well, whatever. There is no helping it now, and most certainly no undoing what has already been done.

When I went to Palmasque the other day in search of a mirror at Gozers. I mean Lord Gozers request, the only ones they had were the decorated, expensive ones. However, I learned that it would be possible for them to make the mirror with a plain frame without any decorations which would have toned the price down significantly, but only if it was a commission made by a noble or an aristocrat.