I've Inherited the Summoning Skill, So I'm Going to Try to Master It! - Episode 81: In Other Words, It Smells Like Trouble

Episode 81: In Other Words, It Smells Like Trouble 

Since taking everyone through the town would be too conspicuous, I’ve sent them back for now. It feels a bit lonely. But with Brother Leonard, who has the Sword Saint Skill, by my side, I should be fine. Right now, I’m just a weakling who can’t even use magic. Sigh… I should’ve practiced swordsmanship more. But I just don’t have the talent for it. 

“I see it now, Rufus. This is the main street of this post town, the busiest one.” 

“It’s lively and bustling with activity.” 

Brother Leonard must have noticed I was feeling down. As he spoke to me cheerfully. 

No, no. I can’t look gloomy. Besides, I’ve already done something that’ll likely get me scolded by the guards when we get back to the inn. If that’s the case, I should at least enjoy the moment to the fullest. 

“It might not compare to the main street in the royal capital, but streets of this scale are pretty rare.” 

“Is that so? I’ve never been to the main street in the royal capital. If I get the chance, I’d like to visit it someday.” 

I’ve been to the royal capital before, but never to its main street. As you can see, I’m still a child. So they probably thought I’d get lost there. After all, a crowded street is also the perfect place for people with bad intentions to hide. If you want to hide a tree, hide it in the forest. 

“Oh, is that so? Well then, when we return to the royal capital, I’ll take you to the main street.” 

“I’m looking forward to it.” 

I can’t wait to see the royal capital’s main street. We walked down the busy street of the post town, hand in hand. It was a bit embarrassing. But I followed Brother Leonard since he’s my guardian. I promised to follow his guidance. 

This post town connects the royal capital with the Flute Duke’s territory. So it seems to be bustling with people and goods. As a result, the shops are lined with all sorts of items. 

“They sell fruit like that, huh?” 

“You pay for one whole basket at a time.” 

“So the type doesn’t matter? That’s pretty carefree.” 

“It’d be too much trouble to check each type and calculate the price. If they did that, it’d be sunset before they were done.” 

Brother Leonard said it like it was the most natural thing. I suppose that’s true. There’s no such thing as a calculator yet. Doing it all by hand would be too much work, and there’d probably be a lot of mistakes. It would lead to more disputes with customers. They must have settled on this sales method after considering all of that. 

As I was walking along, thinking how educational this was, Brother Leonard suddenly stopped. What’s wrong? 

He was looking at a small tavern. Surely, he isn’t thinking of going in there, right? Is it really okay? 

“Rufus, do you mind if we go into that place?” 

“Of course, I don’t mind. But is it really okay?” 

“It’s fine. They have juice in places like that too.” 

He’s definitely been to a tavern somewhere before. Brother Leonard walked straight in and sat at the counter without hesitation. It’s the perfect spot to chat with the owner. 

Could it be that Brother Leonard came here just to gather information? 

“Skewers and ale. And for him…” 

“I’ll have orange juice, please.” 

“Got it.” 

The owner looked a bit puzzled for a moment. But he quickly put on a friendly face. Quite the shrewd businessman. He must’ve noticed how well-dressed we are, yet he handled it perfectly. Truly, “let sleeping gods lie.” 

Brother Leonard savored his skewers slowly. I matched his pace and ate mine too. 

Then, with a sly grin, Brother Leonard leaned in and asked me quietly: 

“Seems like you’ve figured out why I came here, haven’t you, Rufus?” 

“Uh, did you come to gather some information?” 

“Correct. While we were walking down the main street, I overheard something interesting. Apparently, there’s an unfamiliar monster appearing nearby.” 

“No way.” 

That “no way” had two meanings: one for the fact that an unfamiliar monster was nearby, and another for how Brother Leonard managed to pick up that information so quickly. 

I didn’t hear anything about that. 

“You think so too, huh, Rufus? There shouldn’t be any strange monsters around here. Besides, where would it have come from in the first place?” 

“Y-Yes, that’s right.” 

It seems that Brother Leonard has completely misunderstood the situation. I mean, I just heard about this now. How did things end up like this? 

I wonder what kind of little brother image Brother Leonard has of me. I’m really curious. 

“From what I overheard from the people drinking around us, opinions seem to be divided. Some say they’ve heard about it, and others claim to have actually seen it.” 

That’s what you call eavesdropping. And it appears that Brother Leonard has incredible hearing. I’d better avoid saying anything bad about him. 

Since the opinions are all over the place, it’s probably just a rumor. At least, that’s what I thought until… 

“Hey, boss, I’ve got a question. I heard there’s an unfamiliar monster showing up around here?” 

“Oh yeah, I’ve been hearing about that lately. I heard a merchant was attacked and lost his cargo. Apparently, it was as big as a bear. And they say it even had some young ones with it.” 

“That sounds like something we need to be cautious about.” 

Brother Leonard’s face looked somewhat excited as he said that. Could it be that he’s thrilled at the thought of encountering an unknown monster? Personally, I’d rather not encounter any monsters at all…….