Volume 4 Chapter 9 It's Misunderstood That My Family Home Is Too Big, Right？
Led by Aaron, the two of them visited Aaron's house, which was very close to the Guild. Even though it was called a mansion, it was about the same size as the house that Randy and the others rented in the capital.
Still, according to Aaron, it was close to work, and for a single guy like him, it was more than enough space.
In one room of that house, there was a collection room that had what Randy and the others were looking for.
"I have all sorts of things I've collected over my life here... The ancient documents are over there."
Aaron pointed to a corner of the room. Following his finger, they looked over and saw a large bookshelf shaped like a magazine rack.
Several books with beautiful covers were displayed prominently.
The covers had familiar letters for Randy.
Just as he thought, the ancient language in [Tower of Time] was written in Japanese, so the ancient documents were also in Japanese. This meant Randy could read them easily, but...
He could read them, but the content made him mutter, "Ancient documents?"
For example:
──"Never get lost again. This one book has 365 meal ideas for the whole year."
──"How to date an elf."
──"Living with the seasons."
──"How to properly scold your subordinates."
──"Perfect for conversation skills."
All of these seemed like useless ancient documents. Of course, there were some practical ones like "Flower Dictionary," but most were like the ones listed above.
Meanwhile, Aaron was holding a book called "Introduction! Survival" and had a blissful expression on his face.
(Sure, it is about camping, but...)
Randy, smiling wryly, looked away from Aaron and focused on the other books that weren't displayed. He followed the spines of the books on the shelf below the displayed ones.
Even though it was just a corner of the room, tracking over a hundred book spines was quite a task. Some didn't even have spines, looking more like diaries.
When Randy picked up what looked like a diary and opened it, he was hit with the content:
──"I won't forgive you. I will definitely get compensation."
The words were filled with so much resentment that they could be mistaken for blood writing. As Randy quietly closed the diary, he caught sight of a nearby book titled "Cheating Investigation Report," which made him chuckle again.
(Don't link this weirdly to the world of the Creator God (modern Japan))
Randy couldn't stop his wry smile and sighs, but he kept patiently looking at the spines until he finally found one book...
──"Annotated. Rune Language Dictionary."
...a perfect dictionary.
When Randy picked up the dictionary, Aaron nodded and said, "That one..."
"It has the rune language that was passed down by dwarves... I get that, but the explanations are in ancient language."
Aaron sighed, explaining how complicated the ancient language was. It was no wonder. It had not just kanji, hiragana, and katakana, but also unique expressions and homophones. Randy wanted to shout that no one could learn such a language unless they were originally from Japan. Well, for example,
──"The word for 'heat'."
...written in rune letters. The two of them turned to Aaron excitedly.
"Can we borrow this ancient document?"
Aaron clearly showed he was hesitant about the sudden request. After all, it was a precious collection he had spent his life gathering.
"I did say I would show it to you, but..."
Seeing Aaron's hesitation, Randy quickly said, "Then how about this?"
"Can we take a copy?"
"A copy? A manuscript, huh... Well, if it's just that much..."
Aaron reluctantly nodded, and Randy said, "Alright!" He then asked Liz to hold the dictionary open.
"What are you...?"
While Aaron tilted his head in confusion, Randy pulled out a camera and a lot of film from his magic bag. He had made his own camera and film with leftover materials from development.
He even improved it to hold multiple rolls of film.
"That's definitely a camera or something, huh..."
"Yes. It's a magic tool we developed."
Randy nodded as he copied the contents of the dictionary.
While the camera shutter clicked, Aaron asked Randy, "I can't believe it, but can you actually read it?"
Still holding the camera, Randy nodded and showed him a few book spines. He picked ones that looked serious, like 'Easy. Magic Theory.'
"Sure enough, it had magic circles and stuff drawn on it... Can you really read it?"
With wide eyes, Aaron looked at Randy, who nodded again and took another picture.
After thinking for a moment, Aaron whispered, "...What if?" He was suggesting that if Randy could make a decoding chart, he would be willing to give up the dictionary.
"I might be able to, but it's pretty hard and will take a lot of time," Randy said as he lowered the camera.
Aaron nodded big and said, "That's fine." If there was a chance to understand something that had been a mystery, it made sense to want to reach for it.
"Okay, I understand. I'll help as much as I can."
Randy put away the camera, and Aaron's face lit up with happiness.
To start with the basics, Randy wrote down the hiragana and katakana alphabets and handed it to Aaron.
"This is the very basic stuff. Ancient languages use a mix of different characters, both ideograms and phonetic characters. There are over a thousand ideograms, so it's better to learn the phonetic characters first and then remember what they mean."
Just because he could read the kana didn't mean he understood the meaning. But first, he had to be able to read to make sense of it.
"I'll pick some words we use in daily conversation and send them to you in a letter later."
"Got it. I'll also pick out some words I want to know."
Aaron nodded, but his eyes were glued to the alphabet chart.
"Make sure to take the dictionary with you, like we promised."
Aaron said that, but then he looked up as if he remembered something.
"I just want to ask one thing, what do you plan to use it for?"
"To make our territory stronger and bigger."
Randy laughed and started talking about the heating system he was working on. Aaron was only half-listening, but he realized that if they had runic infusion with embedded runes, it could definitely work.
"You have some interesting ideas. That's fine. Go ahead and use it."
When Aaron nodded, Randy and Liz high-5d. Now they had everything they needed. They just had to make it.
Facing Liz, who was happy, Aaron turned to her.
"By the way, Lady Elizabeth von Braubelg."
Suddenly called by her full name, Liz shook her head and said, "Just Liz." Even though she still had ties to the Marquis family, now that her nationality was with the Dukedom, she was just Elizabeth.
"Sorry. ...Miss Elizabeth. What do you think of this town?"
Liz tilted her head a bit but then answered.
"It's a nice port city, I guess."
As she looked out the window at the waterway, Aaron nodded and said, "Yeah, it really is nice."
"It is nice, for sure."
While resting his hand on the window, Aaron looked outside and muttered, "Is it really nice?" then turned back to Liz.
"By the way, which is nicer, this town or the capital of the Marquis territory, Eisenfels?"
Aaron's eyes seemed to say he already knew the answer.
"Um... that's──."
Liz hesitated, and her silence spoke volumes. Even though this Dukedom town was the biggest, it couldn't compare to Eisenfels, where Liz's family lived.
Liz looked at Aaron with a puzzled expression, as if wondering why he asked such an obvious question.
"Sorry. That was a silly question."
Shaking his head, Aaron simply said, "So, please work on that decoding chart," and sent the two of them off.
As he watched them leave, Aaron let out a small sigh.
The question he asked earlier and Liz's answer showed the difference in power between the Dukedom and the kingdom. Or it could simply show the difference in strength between the Grand Duke and the Marquis Braubelg family.
Braubelg had the power to cross the ocean currents between continents. The Dukedom, on the other hand, couldn't do that and only traded with the kingdom and the empire.
No matter how hard the Grand Duke tries, he can't beat the Marquis Braubelg family. That's why the Grand Duke sees Victor, who is connected to Braubelg, as a threat.
...After all, Victor has a child named Luke from a duke.
In other words, the Dukedom is scared of the huge shadow that is the Marquis Braubelg family.
A good example of this is Port City, which is growing thanks to Victor. But through the recent events, Aaron understood something.
The real threat isn't Braubelg, but rather Randy and Liz.
"This time, they will probably come out on top..."
Aaron quietly muttered as he looked at the disappearing figure. Still, he didn't think the Dukedom, trapped in Braubelg's shadow, could accept the truth properly.
The new trouble that could spark more issues is not something the Adventurers' Guild welcomes. However, there was a reason they didn't say, "Be careful where you land."
If they knew about the trouble with Alan and Goldis, and Victor and Shadler, they wouldn't be able to say such things.
"This might be the result of Shadler misjudging the situation."
Aaron left the room, trying to push down his uneasy thoughts about the consequences of taking away their pride.
* * *
At the same time, in an abandoned house on the outskirts of Rivernant...
"'Wait,' you say?"
Cain, grinding his teeth, kicked an old chair nearby. The fragile chair broke apart, sending dust flying everywhere.
"I'm already fired up here."
In front of the angry Cain, a man who looked like a civil servant glanced at the broken chair and sighed as he looked at Cain.
"Mr. Cain, I understand your anger, but if you attack in the dark like this, it won't restore your honor, will it?"
The civil servant sighed again and explained the situation to Cain, who frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"
Even though it was unofficial and no weapons were used, the Guild's management was present, and a temporary resolution was reached in front of many people. If Cain were to kill Viscount Victor's son in a sneak attack, it would be Cain who would be blamed by the citizens.
──He couldn't win one-on-one, so he killed his opponent in a cowardly sneak attack.
There was no way to argue against that. In the worst case, it could be said that all his party members attacked together.
So, how about challenging him to a duel openly in front of everyone?
But that wouldn't work either. The opponent wouldn't have any reason to accept a duel. Besides, the situation had already grown too big and attracted too much attention from the citizens.
Unnecessary brawls would only make people suspect that the government was trying to hide something inconvenient.
"Then what should I do?"
Cain frowned, and the civil servant sighed again, saying,
"That's why I'm telling you to wait. I'll make sure you get a chance for a rematch in the right setting."
"Is that for real?"
"Of course."
The civil servant nodded and continued, trying to hide his annoyance.
"I've been lenient because you're protecting the border, but..."
The civil servant, grinding his teeth, simply told Cain to wait a little longer and left the scene.
Once the civil servant was gone, Cain let out a loud click of his tongue in the quiet abandoned house.
"...Cain?"
Seeing the unusually quiet Cain, one of his friends tilted his head.
"I can't help it. The country is preparing a grand stage for us."
Taking a deep breath, Cain kicked another chair. The broken chair sent more dust flying.
"...I'll hold back for now. Enjoy your life as much as you can until that day, Randolph Victor!"
Cain's roar shook the abandoned house. This is how the country's, Shadler's, and Victor's plans moved toward a direct confrontation──what they called a discussion.
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