Probing

Several days passed.

I'd been watching for a letter bird to return to the sisters, but it seems the letter arrived through the guild like normal.

And the letter said this:

"Please show this letter to the Village Chief."

… So they don't intend to hide it.

And so, Nayuta was now bringing the letter to me. I had Niku stay by my side as I met with her in the parlor with a table between us. Setsuna wasn't here since she was on shift.

"Village Chief-san, a letter has arrived for you from my client."

"Hm? Nayuta's client… who is that? Not Rokuko, I take it."

"That's right, this is from my long-term quest. A daimyo of Wakoku… Ah, a daimyo is like a lord in the empire."

Wakoku. So Wakoku is coming up now, huh.

"Are you two from Wakoku?"

"Me? No, my name is certainly in the Wakoku style, but I'm from somewhere else. I'm just employed by them."

"Hm… So, what does this daimyo of Wakoku want with me?"

"Probably to scout you? I did report that you were strong after all."

Oh, so she's not hiding that either. Is she actually pretty open about things? She might even tell me things if I ask directly.

"… Oh, right right. Before that, could you take a look at this for a moment? I picked it up in this dungeon, but I don't know what it is."

Click. Nayuta suddenly pointed a "gun" at me. A revolver-type pistol.

With the muzzle pointed at me, she said she didn't know what it was, yet her finger was on the trigger. My body stiffened with a start.

… Niku reacted to my subtle reaction and stood in front of me as if to block the way. God, this girl is so cool…

"Oh, you reacted? As I thought—"

"Of course I'd react if you casually point killing intent at me. Besides, don't you actually know how to use that thing? You seem quite accustomed to it."

"Mu, now that you mention it…"

Nayuta took her finger off the trigger and pointed the gun downward.

… By the way, I have no memory of putting a gun into the dungeon's treasures. It's not even in the DP Catalog, and I haven't made one either. This is definitely something Nayuta brought in.

Looking at this pistol closely, something seems off? It's a revolver, but there's no hammer. And the revolver's cylinder is made of copper… wait, there aren't any holes for loading bullets? Is it capped?

Since I've never seen a real gun in person and I'm not a gun enthusiast, I couldn't tell if someone told me this was just that type of gun.

"So, would you explain what you meant by pointing killing intent at your employer?"

"… Worry about the small stuff and you'll go bald—I'm sorry Kuroinu-senpai please don't press the knife against my neck I'm sorry Village Chief-san I'm sorry for being cheeky!"

Yep, Niku closed the distance in an instant and pressed a knife against her throat. Having her standing on the table is a bit improper, but let's overlook it. Nayuta was in a hold-up position with both hands raised. She'd even dropped the pistol to the floor.

"Ah, yeah. I'm not going bald. I'm still young. Well, whatever… Kuro, let her go. For now, let me read this letter from this daimyo person."

I opened the letter.

… Part of it is strange, but I can read it normally. Wait, isn't this written in Japanese? This world's writing at least flashes as Japanese in my head when I read it, but this looks like nothing but Japanese to me. If I had to point something out, the handwriting is quite skilled, with "shi" looking like "J" and hiragana being oddly prominent.

Is this deliberately done to test my reaction, or is it natural? … I can't tell.

By the way, the letter's contents read: "Dear Village Chief of Goleenu Village, how are you faring in this vividly green season? If you would like, won't you come to Wakoku? I believe Nayuta must have been rude to you, but it was under my instructions, so I apologize. If you are Japanese, I would very much like to speak with you. Should you visit, all transportation and lodging costs will be covered by us. We have sashimi, soy sauce, and miso soup."

But really, talking about Japanese people and all… what is this.

This is definitely a troublesome one. Super troublesome.

Alright, I've decided. I'll pretend I didn't see it!

First, I'll pretend I can't read it.

I held the letter open, turned it sideways, flipped it upside down, squinted at it, held it up to the light, then handed it to Niku.

"Hmm, Kuro. Can you read this?"

"Oh? Village Chief-san, you can't read the characters?"

"… I'm not good at reading and writing. So, how about it, Kuro?"

"Um, Goshujin-sama. This appears to be written in characters I cannot read."

Thanks to her education, Niku can read the letters commonly used in this world. In other words, this is probably written in Japanese after all. Wakoku is full of mysteries.

Come to think of it, did Wataru end up going to Wakoku? Let me ask him about it next time.

"I see. If these aren't letters from around here, then it's only natural I couldn't read them either."

I made an appeal that I couldn't read it not because I'm stupid… Was that a bit too forced?

"So, what does it say? You can read it, right Nayuta?"

"Yes… Hmm, it's about scouting after all. It lists the employment conditions, apparently an annual salary of a thousand gold coins? That's like an A-Rank adventurer's income."

There's nothing about a thousand gold coins annual salary written anywhere though? Did they arrange that beforehand? Oops, I didn't notice. I didn't see anything. I couldn't read it.

"Unfortunately, I'm this village's Village Chief, so I have responsibilities. I'll have to decline… I'm not hurting for money either, and above all, it sounds fishy."

"Oh, that's too bad. I thought it'd be fun if you became a coworker. Ah, Kuroinu-senpai got an invitation too?"

"If Goshujin-sama declines, then I will decline as well."

"Right. I figured. Well then, I'll send a reply saying you refused."

Nayuta answered lightly while waving her hand.

Looks like pretending I didn't see it was the right answer. Nice.

"That aside, could you let me take a closer look at that item? You said it came from this dungeon, but this is the first time I've seen it. I'd like to check it as Village Chief, and if possible, buy it."

I probed regarding the gun.

At the word "buy," Nayuta's tail twitched.

"Ahh, sorry. Actually, this is something I made myself. So the part about it coming from the dungeon was a lie."

"Heeh, handmade? I thought it was a weapon, but is it perhaps a magic tool?"

"… As you've guessed, it's a magic tool weapon. It's an attempt to reproduce a weapon from the Hero's world. Its power, currently… well, it's basically a toy."

Saying that, she fired the gun at the wall. There was an anticlimactic "pfft" sound, followed by a "clink" like a lightly tossed pebble hitting the wall.

… When I went to look, there was a cone-shaped bullet rolling around, like a blowdart. Bullets aren't shaped like this, right? They should be more streamlined. And judging by the feel, the material is iron. Not lead, huh.

"The real thing supposedly works on the principle of using an explosion to propel the bullet. But when I try to reproduce it with magic tools, it doesn't fly on target and only has enough power to not even stick into a wooden wall. It'd be dangerous if it hit your eye though… Honestly, just throwing the bullet would be more powerful. Haah… Maybe I should reconsider my approach."

It seems this is entirely a product of Nayuta's trial and error.

She probably wasn't given much knowledge about guns and gunpowder. The appearance surprised me though.

"… Reproducing magic tools from the Hero's world, huh. If that originally has enough power to be a weapon, the Hero's world must have quite advanced magic."

"Hm? It's the opposite. That world apparently has no magic at all."

"Really? Then how are they making it explode?"

"I don't have the materials for that. I just have the appearance… Hmm, I want to talk to a Hero about it. Village Chief-san, do you know any Heroes?"

"Ah, I do."

When I said that, Nayuta leaned forward onto the table with a clatter.

"… Um, would you introduce me? I'll pay an introduction fee!"

"I'll introduce you next time he comes."

It's about time for Hero Wataru to come make a payment on his debt.

Apparently Haku-san forced some outrageous job on him to coincide with the Dungeon Battle, so the last time he came was before the Dungeon Battle. By the way, he paid the missed payments in advance.

She'd meet him anyway while working reception or waiting tables, so I don't really need an introduction fee.