Kuromaku

Narikin's group had arrived in Kuromaku.

I possessed a small birdTran and perched on Narikin's shoulder to observe the town. Kuromaku was lined with buildings decorated like black square structures covered with black cloth. The decorations didn't sway in the wind, so they were probably sculptures or something, but they were quite frilly. On the other hand, the clothes of the people in the streets were typical of the Holy Kingdom, with many people wearing white garments resembling curtains.

It felt as if I had wandered into a monochrome world.

[Kuromaku… Black curtain, yes, a town that lives up to its name.]

"Yes, it seems to mean 'black curtain.' Apparently, cloth dye is their specialty."

[I see. So, it's an appeal of their specialty products.]

[Rokufa, what's that over there?]

"Uh, I'm not sure. A stall, perhaps? Nana, do you know?"

By the way, Rokuko was also possessing a small birdSceiver and perched on Rokufa's shoulder. She had already learned telepathy. Somehow, it turned out that possessing a bird and perching on the shoulders of Narikin's group was more comfortable than possessing them directly…

In their line of sight was a tent with fluttering cloth that wouldn't seem out of place if called a fortune-telling hut, and inside it looked like some kind of shop.

"Yes, it seems to be a miscellaneous store selling accessories, my lady."

"Oh! That's what it is, Rokuko-sama."

[Accessories! Decorations are an important aspect of culture. Rokufa, I'll borrow your body later to go with Kehma.]

"Yes, understood."

Rokufa nodded in response to Rokuko's telepathic message.

It seemed that a possession date was decided without considering my plans. I didn't have any particular plans to sleep at the Beddhist Church anyway… Rokuko knew my schedule perfectly.

"Master, what about you? Shall we look for a gift for the Mistress now?"

[Let's do it when we come for the date later. Go find a place to stay for now, an inn—-got it? An inn.]

"Ah, yes, I wouldn't want my wife to sleep outdoors after all."

"Well, if it's with you, I don't think I would mind sleeping outside."

"We're not on the road, we're in a town. Not using an inn when one is available would be unthinkable. As followers of Beddhism, it's only logical to seek a comfortable bed."

Narikin and Rokufa leaned close together, their relationship as husband and wife well-established.

Seeing Rokufa's face, which resembled Rokuko's, made me feel a little conflicted.

Then, Rokuko hopped over to Narikin's shoulder, right next to me.

[You two get along so well. We can't lose, okay Kehma?]

[It's not a competition though?]

As she spoke, SceiverRokuko rubbed her body against me. Her feathers were soft, fluffy, and adorable. She had no sex appeal as a bird, but she was still cute. Hey, Rokuko—Rokufa's smiling at us and NaanaToy looks exasperated.

Anyway, we managed to secure a place to stay. It was an inn for wealthy patrons, so they tolerated pets so long as they were small animals. Anything somewhat large would be sent to the stables, but small birds were no issue.

[But man, even the inn has the whole black cloth everywhere thing going on…]

"Ah, Master. Actually, it's made by hardening the cloth itself."

[Wait, really?]

I tried pecking at it with my beak while perched on Narikin's hand and it made a hard, high-pitched sound. I wonder if it would feel like this if it was hardened by soaking it in adhesive?

"It's one of the specialty products here, a dye that hardens in response to magic. There is even a sort of cloth armor made using this. It's light and durable."

[Hoooh—]

"Though, well, it only comes in black as the raw material for the dye is black."

[That's a bit of a shame. But still, it's impressive even if it's just black.]

Durable cloth, huh? It might be worth incorporating it into our Clothes Golems.

…

If we made black knee socks or black tights with this dye, could we take a mold of people's legs?

No, it would be difficult to take them off. Let's forget about it.

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

So, we switched bodies in the inn room and went to the accessory shop.

"Alright, let's look at the merchandise, Ke-… dear!"

"Sure. It'd be better to not mess up our names… What do you usually use for her?"

[I've been calling her my beloved wife these days.]

"My beloved…"

Hearing the way she was called from the small birdNarikin on my shoulder, I couldn't help but be impressed.

"C-come on, call me that. D~e~a~r~?"

"… Alright, my beloved wife. Shall we go?"

"Yes!"

RokufaRokuko linked arms with me, causing me to feel various soft sensations as we entered the accessory shop's tent.

"Welcome!"

It was like a normal accessory stall inside the tent, with several fabric-covered wooden boxes on a simple countertop, each displaying accessories such as rings, necklaces, and earrings inside.

There were boxes lined with silver-colored metal accessories and boxes with gemstones attached… Hmm, the ones without gemstones were priced at one silver coin, and the ones with gemstones were five silver coins.

"Shall we take a look at the items? Excuse me… is there anything suitable for my beloved wife?"

"Something that feels like a married couple would be nice."

As RokufaRokuko began to look at the merchandise, the male shopkeeper tried to gauge our situation.

"Sir, is this a present for your wife?"

"Yes, do you have any recommendations?"

"Well, I do recommend them all, but… how many other wives do you have?"

Oh, right. The Holy Kingdom practiced polygamy.

"I don't have any other wives for now."

"Is that so? In that case, maybe this one… Oh, and it might be a good idea to buy a few more in case you get other wives in the future."

"Is that how it works?"

"Yes, that's how it is. Even if women say they don't care about the difference, they actually do, so it's less trouble if you buy them in advance. How about this one? The magic stone has a nice color, doesn't it?"

Magic stone. Apparently, the gemstones were actually magic stones. Does that mean they were magic tools?

"Does this have any effect?"

"Ah, my apologies! Are you travelers? Your clothes suit you so well that I thought you were from the Holy Kingdom!"

Was there anything in our conversation that confirmed we were travelers?

"… What gave us away?"

"Ahaha, well, there are no accessories with magic stones that don't have an effect. Ah, you can exchange magic stones in any town."

"I see. So instead of asking if there's any effect, I should have asked what the effect is?"

"Having just two people in a marriage is quite rare, except for travelers. In our country, even commoners often have four or more spouses."

Is that so? I knew about polygamy, but I didn't know it was that common.

"I'm often amazed at how well people from other countries can take care of their children with just two partners. When I tell travelers about it, they're surprised. In our village, for example, all the adults are married. There are particularly close combinations as well, of course."

"Is that so? It was more widespread than I imagined…"

As we engaged in such small talk, I eventually purchased the accessory Rokuko wanted.

… It was a red, fire-element magic stone earring that would explode if thrown, apparently serving as an offensive magic tool. Although it was disposable, its ease of use in emergencies made it popular.