It was the day after the intense, fierce battle with Elphabelle!
After making their way through the wilderness, Wataru and his friends arrived in a small country!
“Mr. Sebas said that the fourth orb would be here... Was he telling the truth?”
“Well, he didn’t seem like the type of guy who would lie, so it’s probably totally okay! Still... It’s been a while since we’ve been in a place with this many people in it!”
Wataru spread his arms wide and took a huge breath of air, smiling as if it was the sweetest thing in the world!
“This is the Revant Kingdom,” Résistance helpfully exposited. “It’s a lot smaller than the Sky Kingdom, but the nearby wasteland happens to be a good source of high-quality clay, so they’re pretty famous for their pottery. They’ve actually grown fairly prosperous by exporting their pottery to the surrounding continents.”
“Wow, you really know a lot, Résistance!”
Résistance rubbed at her nose in embarrassment at Aria’s compliment. “Well, yeah! I may look like a brutal warrior, but my hobby’s actually pottery! I’ve been here loads of times!”
Résistance had decided to show some character development by declaring herself to be a “pottery enthusiast”! But this new bit of trivia has absolutely nothing to do with the story that follows, so our Dear Readers may forget it as they please!
“Okay, then, let’s find that trader who has the orb and go to his house!!”
✦ ✦ ✦
The Revant Kingdom was a country in the northern reaches of the Wind Continent. It wasn’t as brilliant a realm as the neighboring Sky Kingdom, and all the buildings around them were cozy little wooden structures. The roads were paved, yes, but not with the lovely cobblestone of the Sky Kingdom—they were merely hardened and flattened dirt in the shape of roads.
The climate was warm, and just as Résistance had said earlier, the pottery made using clay harvested from the nearby wastelands is what had made the place famous. As a matter of fact, they passed by a number of shops selling pottery wares along their way towards the mansion where the owner of the fourth orb lived. Among them were items that had images of birds and flowers etched into them in red, or other, more unique designs. Wataru’s homeland of Japan had created a famous style of pottery known as “imari porcelain,” which I mention only because the pottery here was nothing like that at all and so the different varieties they saw as they walked through the market were quite interesting to him.
“Here we are, Wataru. This is the place Mr. Sebas told us about. It’s the residence of the owner of the fourth orb, a trader.”
The house Aria pointed at was a sturdy stone building that had been painted a bright red. It was two stories tall, and it seemed all the more impressive in comparison to the meager wooden houses around it.
“What’s this mansion trying to prove? My eyes hurt just looking at it...”
“I’m sure whoever lives here has to be a flashy old man, if he enjoys having his house be such an eye-catching red color.”
“Cool! Let’s head on in!”
Wataru was eager to get a move on. He walked up to the entrance of the house and knocked firmly on the large doors. “Hellooooooooooooooo!! Anyone hooooooooooooooome??” Wataru had shouted with all his might, but there was not so much as a whisper of a reply.
“...What do we do? Break down the door or something?”
“No, absolutely not.” Résistance hurried to crush Wataru’s idea about violent entry.
—and that was when it happened!
Ca-reeeeek......!!
Without warning, the doors in front of them slowly began to open, accompanied by the sound of creaking, scraping wood!
“Oh, it’s opening now!”
From beyond the doors emerged a single woman! She had beautiful pale skin and looked to be about nineteen years old, and she was wearing a maid’s outfit the same shade of red as the house’s exterior!
“Hello there. I am one of the maids, Mira. Do you have business with Master Alibaba?”
Mira was superbly polite to the guests as she bowed to greet them! “Alibaba” must be referring to the owner of this grand residence!
“Ah! Excuse us! We kind of want the orb!”
“......?”
Mira was stunned into speechlessness, and could only stand and stare at Wataru! She didn’t appear to have been troubled by the sudden way he’d brought up the orb; rather, she looked as though she had absolutely no idea what he was talking about!
“Apologies for our indiscretion,” Résistance said, pushing her way around Wataru to speak to the maid. “We are adventurers. We’ve come to negotiate with your master, Alibaba.”
Nice save, Résistance! The maid Mira seemed completely convinced by this explanation of their abrupt appearance at the front door!
“Oh, I see, is that what this is all about? In that case, please allow me to direct you to the chambers of Master Alibaba.”
“Yes, ma’am!!” Wataru was bursting with excitement!
And so the three of them successfully entered the mansion without breaking down any doors! But there was something the three of them could not yet have known waiting inside!! They could not have had any idea that once inside the mansion, they would be thrust into being involved in an incident of a most terrible and horrifying nature......!!