The Neighborhood High School Girl, Miss Isezaki, Is the Great Saintess Returned from Another World~ And I, Suddenly Awakened as Her Exclusive Mana Supply Uncle, Travel Between Earth and Another World with Time-Space Magic~ - 229. Issue of the Capital City

229. 229. 229. 229. Issue of the Capital City 

Leader took a gulp of beer. And wiping his mouth with satisfaction, he began to speak. 

“Anyway… the hottest topic in the capital city right now is definitely the talk about the magic stone mine reopening. Rumor has it that it was Lady Levia who got it going again.” 

“Yes, that’s right. So the story’s spreading among adventurers too, huh?” 

“Of course. That mine’s been fought over ever since I was a kid. So when I heard that Lady Levia drove out the Digram guys and was reopening the mine, I seriously couldn’t believe my ears. I’ve hardly ever seen her in person. But she must be one amazing princess.” 

Leader spoke with admiration. He was stroking his chin thoughtfully. 

Then, Isezaki-san interrupted. 

“Um, Leader-san? It’s true that Lady Levia gave the order. But my husband also helped out with the magic stone mine. Actually, it’s no exaggeration to say he solved it all by himself. And he’s even more amazing! So please don’t get that part wrong!” 

With a sharp gesture, raising her index finger, Isezaki-san insisted strongly. 

No, I mean, I do think I did my part. But saying I did it all by myself is kind of an exaggeration, right? 

Of course, Leader didn’t seem to believe Isezaki-san’s words. He gave a wry smile. 

“O-oh, is that so? So Matsunaga-san was involved too, huh.” 

“Yeah, well, just a little bit…” 

Hearing that, Isezaki-san looked at me with a face that clearly said, “Huh?” She was not satisfied at all. But I ignored it and kept the conversation going. Since I didn’t want it to get more complicated. 

“So, I’ve been hearing all sorts of good things because the mine’s reopening. But Leader-san, you’re not going to the magic stone mine? Is there some kind of decree not to go there?” 

“A decree? You mean from the nobles? Nothing like that’s been issued.” 

Apparently, unlike the merchant associations, there’s no pressure from Delixir. 

It’s true that adventurers, being drifters, are hard to control with power. 

For a moment, Leader looked sadly at his now-empty paper cup. He then spoke. 

“I heard a new town is being built at the foot of the magic stone mine. Actually, we found new party members too. So we were thinking of heading there soon. …But you know, all the skilled folks rushed ahead to the mine. That left the capital city’s adventurer guild flooded with leftover requests. And the guild staff begged us for help. So, we’ve been taking care of those requests. Well, it’s good money, so it’s not too bad.” 

Apparently, Leader’s party missed their chance to head to the mine because they lost members in the last escort mission. 

He didn’t seem too bothered by it, though. 

“Oh, right. Since you’re involved with the mine, Matsunaga-san, there’s something I want to give you a heads-up about.” 

“Huh? What is it?” 

“Among adventurers, there are scumbags who do nothing but shady stuff. Or trash who live easy lives by screwing over others. There’s talk that the merchant association in this town hired a bunch of those types and sent them to the magic stone mine. No telling what they’ll pull. So, if you’re planning to do business over there, you better be careful.” 

“…The capital’s merchant association sent people to the magic stone mine? Is that true?” 

“Yeah. One of those guys was bragging that he got hired by a big merchant association. So it’s probably legit. Something bugging you?” 

“From what I heard, there’s supposed to be a decree banning capital merchants from doing business at the magic stone mine…” 

“A decree? That’s weird. If I recall—” 

Leader suddenly leaned toward me and, looking around cautiously, whispered. 

“That merchant association… it’s called the Elgoa Association. It was Lady Levia’s older sister’s official merchant.” 

So that means only that merchant association gets special treatment. 

And what they’re doing is sending ill-behaved adventurers? 

That gives me nothing but a bad feeling. 

I should probably report this to Lady Levia or Holly, just in case. 

Even so… the fact that Leader lowered his voice and looked around suggests that Delixir has become an untouchable name even among adventurers. 

Well, considering the outrageous scene at that restaurant before, I guess that makes sense. 

“I see. I’ll keep that warning in mind. Leader-san, want a refill?”

“Oh, really? I can have more? I’ll drink, I’ll drink! Man, today’s the best day ever! Oh, Matsunaga-san, you guys should eat lots of grilled skewers too!” 

Like that, I treated Leader to plenty of beer as payment for the information. And while drawing out more stories, I left the capital city. 

◇◇◇ 

After teleporting from the capital city with [Dimensional Teleport], we arrived at Lady Levia’s castle. We then shared with Holly, who welcomed us, the information we had gathered in the capital. 

According to Holly, it was indeed true that the Elgoa Merchant Association in question was on friendly terms with Delixir. They often used her influence to push business deals and negotiations through forceful methods. 

Because of that, they had a terrible reputation among those involved. Even so, it remained one of the top merchant associations in the capital. 

That shows just how much influence backing from a noble carries. 

Of course, in return, the Elgoa Association follows Delixir’s orders completely. And Holly believes that Delixir is most likely pulling the strings from behind in this matter as well. 

But then, you might think—why not just have Lady Levia revoke the Elgoa Association’s commercial rights in the magic stone mine and nip the trouble in the bud? 

However, it seems it’s not that simple. 

Let’s say a noble uses their authority to exclude a merchant association. If that action is seen as tyranny, other merchants may become wary, pull back, or slow down their involvement. That in turn could cause major delays in business progress. 

And they can’t afford to negatively impact the mine development, which they want to advance as soon as possible. 

Because of that, the conclusion was that—for now—they had no choice but to keep an eye on the Elgoa Association.

◇◇◇ 

After returning to Japan, we immediately handed over the souvenir, Shadow Bat meat, to the landlady. 

Of course, the landlady was overjoyed at the long-awaited bat meat. 

I tried to gently refuse. But the high-spirited landlady pushed through. And in the end, I ended up eating the Shadow Bat with them. 

The landlady and Colin bit into the whole deep-fried Shadow Bat from the head with gusto. They were munching happily and saying how delicious it was. 

Meanwhile, Isezaki-san and I barely managed to eat only the br3ast meat—the part that looked possibly edible—after having it made into karaage (fried chicken style). We somehow got it down. 

I’d finally gotten used to eating rats. But eating bats was still too much. 

What’s worse, there was a whole grilled bat sitting proudly on the plate in front of us. It was giving off the vibe that some dark ritual was about to begin. 

Even Isezaki-san, who was raised in another world, seemed to struggle with this one. 

With vacant eyes, she just moved her mouth mechanically. Her expression alone spoke volumes about how she felt. 

I’m sure I had the same look on my face too. 

By the way, the meat was crunchy. It was like chewing on cartilage…..

(Note: After this chapter, there’s one Short Story that you can buy with coins.)