“…”
“…”
As we moved along behind Tsukikage, Lady Muu kept staring straight at me.
For the record, she was currently being carried on Tsukikage’s back, which meant she was deliberately twisting around just to look at me.
“…”
“…”
“Um. Is there… something wrong?”
“…”
Oh no. She’s the type you can’t hold a conversation with.
Well, according to what Tsukikage and Yaiba had said, Lady Muu had sealed her heart along with her power. If that was the case, it wasn’t surprising she couldn’t really communicate properly.
Still, why was she staring at me?
Wait.
Huh?! Don’t tell me… Do I smell?!
“H-Hey, Al,” I whispered. “Do I stink?”
“Where the hell did that come from?” she shot back.
“I’m suddenly feeling insecure about my body odor…”
I mean, I had once killed a higher-ranked monster with my stench, after all.
Al leaned in slightly, sniffed once or twice, then shook her head. “No, you don’t stink. I-I actually like the way you smell.”
“Huh?”
“Yeah! Seiichi smells nice,” Saria chimed in brightly.
“N-Nice?”
That was a first.
Though, to be fair, aside from Al, Saria’s opinion was questionable.
Back in the dungeon where Zora lived, when even Anakongda had tried to force me into marriage, I’d genuinely started wondering if my body was emitting some kind of gorilla-attracting pheromone.
Given everything that’d happened to me so far, the only reason I could come up with for being stared at this hard was my smell.
“Why is she looking at me like that?” I muttered. “She’s staring so hard it feels like she’s going to burn a hole through me…”
“I do not quite understand why you suddenly became concerned about your scent, Seiichi-dono,” Yaiba said carefully, “but for Muu-sama, there must be something about you that caught her attention.”
“Something that caught her attention…?”
“I am just as surprised,” Yaiba said. “As far as I know, Muu-sama has never shown interest in anything since the moment she sealed her heart. I believe this is the first time it has happened. And yet, for some reason, she reacted to you, Seiichi-dono. She must have sensed something within you, something beyond my understanding. Even with her power sealed, the mystery that surrounds her has not faded in the slightest.”
“So that’s how it is…”
What could someone who’s basically a god possibly sense in an ordinary human like me? Maybe it was my overwhelming small-citizen aura or something equally unimpressive.
Just then, Saria spoke up with a bright smile.
“Seiichi’s fun just to be around, you know? Maybe Muu-sama thinks so too.”
“Huh?”
“They say Muu-sama’s heart is sealed, but maybe Seiichi’s weird behavior is so strange that even that seal can’t fully suppress the impulse to react to it.”
“Hold on… am I really that weird?”
“Yeah.”
“An instant answer?!”
And from everyone, no less. Even Tsukikage, who hadn’t even been part of the conversation, was nodding along. We hadn’t known each other that long, and yet I was already being labeled the odd one out. I mean, sure, I could be loud, and I had a habit of doing ridiculous things, but still…
Hey, common sense, normalcy. You two can come back anytime now. My body is always ready to welcome you.
“We’ve arrived.”
In the middle of that completely pointless exchange, it seemed we’d reached our destination.
When I followed Tsukikage’s gaze, I saw a village nestled deep within the forest, carrying the unmistakable air of a hidden settlement.
So that’s how it is. I hadn’t noticed at all, having followed along behind her without thinking, but apparently, we’d been traveling by some kind of special route the entire time.
That was because, despite being surrounded by forest, the place sat against a sheer cliff face. Houses had been built jutting straight out from that cliff, clinging to it in layers. Under normal circumstances, they should have been visible from some distance away.
And yet, the fact that we had not noticed those houses until we were practically on top of them meant there had to be some kind of special mechanism at work, something deliberately concealing the village.
I had no idea what that trick was, but honestly, it did not matter. Even if I figured it out, it was not like I would have any use for it.
“Whoa!”
“That’s amazing…”
“Mm. It really feels exotic.”
“Y-Yes! The construction is completely different from the houses in the royal capital or Southern!”
Saria and the others voiced their amazement at the sight unfolding before us.
Just as Zora said, the homes here were not stone buildings like those in the Kingdom of Windberg or other nations. They were wooden, thoroughly so. It really felt like old-fashioned Japan.
Many of the buildings resembled long row houses, and to me, a Japanese person, their appearance felt oddly familiar, almost nostalgic.
Thin plumes of smoke rose from all across the village, making it clear that this place was very much alive and thriving.
As we stood there taking it all in, Tsukikage spoke.
“This is my homeland, the Shadow Village. Ordinarily, Muu-sama should be residing in Sun Castle in Eikyō, the heart of this nation. However, that place has already fallen into enemy hands. And with the other lords having sworn fealty as well, there are very few places left where she could flee.”
“And so,” Yaiba continued, “we’ve brought her to Tsukikage-dono’s homeland, this Shadow Village. Seiichi-dono, you likely felt it yourselves. Reaching this place requires the use of special methods. For that reason, we need not worry about pursuit for some time. The village itself also stands firmly on Muu-sama’s side.”
“I see…”
So it really was a ninja hidden village.
As I took another look around, two men dressed like townsfolk from Japan’s Sengoku period hurried toward Tsukikage, their faces tight with concern.
“Eiya! You made it back safely!”
“Yeah,” Tsukikage replied with a nod. “Thanks to fortune. Muu-sama is here with us as well.”
“Your service as shinobi is appreciated. The others can stay in this village for a time. We will also pass along the information we have gathered to you, Eiya.”
“You have my gratitude.”
It seemed those two men were shinobi as well. After exchanging a few words with Tsukikage, they melted into the bustle of the village and vanished as if they had never been there. Seriously, that was incredible.
As I stared after them, Tsukikage turned back toward us.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. Those men were shinobi like myself. In fact, everyone who lives in this village is a shinobi. The people here are one of the factions that support Muu-sama. For the time being, you will be staying at an inn provided by the village. This way.”
Following Tsukikage’s lead, we made our way through the streets.
“Welcome! How about some dango?”
“This blade was forged by that famous master smith…”
“Cheap and fresh! Just caught today!”
Voices rang out from all sides, brimming with life and energy. It was obvious that the village was thriving.
Even so, it was surprising that it still did not compare to the central capital. Just how prosperous was that place, anyway?
To be honest, when I heard “hidden village,” I had imagined something far quieter and more subdued. This lively scene completely overturned that image, though in a good way.
“This is it.”
“Huh?”
While I was busy taking in the sights, a massive structure suddenly filled my vision. Calling it a castle would not have been an exaggeration.
But hanging over the entrance was a short curtain with a single character: “Bath.” That made it clear this was not a castle at all.
In other words, the enormous building before us was an inn.
The image was eerily close to a certain god’s bathhouse I knew. This is dangerously similar. I feel like the name has already been taken.
Crossing a red bridge that looked just as familiar, we approached the inn where we would be staying. A woman in a kimono stepped out to greet us, stopping in front of us and bowing deeply.
“Welcome. We have already been informed of your arrival. Please, come inside and make yourselves comfortable. We will do everything we can to see to your needs.”
“Ah… I see…” The words slipped out before I realized something important and started to panic. “W-Wait, hold on. Money! What kind of currency do you use here?”
Staying at a place this fancy without any money would be no laughing matter.
Sure, in the Kingdom of Windberg or anywhere else on the same continent, I never had to worry about cash. But this place was culturally completely different, and given how this country had come into existence, it wouldn’t have been strange at all if even the currency itself had been newly created by Muu-sama’s power.
Depending on the case, most of the money I was carrying would be completely useless.
At my concern, Tsukikage and Yaiba exchanged glances.
“What kind of money, you ask…”
“I believe it is the same as what Seiichi-dono and the others use,” Yaiba replied.
“The same as ours?”
“Well, you see. When you defeat monsters, money drops, does it not? We simply use that.”
“Oh, thank goodness…”
At Yaiba’s answer, I finally felt a wave of relief. Apparently, the currency used in this country was gold coins and silver coins, just like everywhere else.
Still, when I really stopped to think about it, how exactly did money dropping from monsters even work?
If someone told me it was just a system built into the world by the god who created it, that would be the end of the discussion, but still. I had never given it much thought before, but the whole monetary system in this world was full of mysteries. I did not even know whether each country minted coins identical to those dropped by monsters or simply circulated what they found.
From an ordinary person’s perspective, being usable was all that really mattered. Even so, once you started thinking about it, it became oddly fascinating. Then again, this was probably not something worth digging into right now. The more I thought about it, the more it felt like I would fall into a bottomless pit of questions, so it was better not to dwell on it too much.
While I was lost in those thoughts, the woman from the inn suddenly spoke up in a flustered tone.
“Oh, please do not worry. We will not be charging you!”
“Huh? Really?”
“Of course. We could never ask for payment when welcoming Muu-sama. Naturally, the same applies to those accompanying her. If you are serving as her guards, then it is our duty, as those who serve the House of Yamato, to offer you the utmost hospitality. Please, make yourselves at home in this inn.”
What an incredible level of preferential treatment.
I got treated like an honored guest by the sea earlier, and now I’m being treated like royalty by people, too. Is this some kind of trend today?
“We shouldn’t keep talking out here,” the innkeeper continued with a gentle smile. “Please, come inside. We have already prepared our finest rooms for you.”
Following the woman’s lead, we stepped into the inn.