v3 Chapter 9: To the Plains

Meanwhile, Shouko, who had greeted her 13th winter in the Northern Forest, was scheduled to head to the Plains with the High Priest. However, there was no way Falco would let Shouko go alone.

Reasoning that if Shouko was going, he would too, Falco decided to accompany her as an escort. Naturally, Leon and Haru would be going along as well.

“High Priest,” Gaius stipulated, “If the stay becomes prolonged, send Falco and Leon back before the summer hunt.”
“Acknowledged,” Sain agreed. “If we are merely staying in the Plains, escorts are unnecessary.”

The High Priest and Gaius decided this, but Falco complained, “Don't decide without us.”

“Then,” Gaius questioned him sharply, “if it drags on, do you intend to remain in the Plains?”
Falco choked up. He knew full well that he was needed in town. Falco looked towards Shouko as if seeking help. But Shouko was merciless.

“Falco. Decide for yourself.”

Shouko wanted to be with Falco too. However, she had also heard stories that the Plains had so few monsters that even Lyla got bored and left. That even slimes were rarely seen. In that situation, even if he stayed with Shouko, when hunting season arrived, Falco would be the one worrying whether everyone from the Northern Town was fighting safely in Iwadou.

Falco should be different now from three years ago when he had participated in the summer hunt somewhat aimlessly. Falco looked down for just a moment, then raised his head. Deep down, he had already decided.

“I'll be back before the summer hunt.”
“Even if Shouko can't return?” Gaius pressed, harshly.
“...Yeah.”
“Well said!” Gaius firmly gripped Falco's shoulder.

“Me too,” Leon nodded.
“Me too,” Haru added with a nod.

Of course, it would be best if they could return before summer. But they had all grown enough now to judge for themselves what they ought to do. This request was fundamentally for the High Priest and Shouko. Once they escorted Shouko and the High Priest, Falco and the others would have nothing specific to do there.

“Well, let's pray it doesn't drag on,” Leon said hopefully.

First, let's just go and see the situation. And so, Shouko's group decided to set out for the Plains. The Plains lay directly south of the Deep Forest, across the central mountain range. It took two weeks to reach Iwadou, but three weeks to reach the Plains. Which meant, what about arranging food for the journey? Shouko considered that her job as well.

“Hey, Goldo, what kind of food should we bring to go to the Plains?” Shouko asked.
“I haven't been myself,” Goldo advised, “but as you get closer to the Plains, monsters tend to decrease even within Deep Forest territory. Bringing meat would probably be the safest bet first. Though, buying it is also an option.”

Shouko, who usually only ate hunted game, was surprised. That's right, certainly in the Northern Town too, non-hunters bought meat at shops, and even hunters sometimes bought from shops. Falco and Leon brought back meat because it pleased Shouko, but many hunters didn't bring meat back at all.

“However,” Goldo warned, “once you enter the Plains proper, hunted game decreases sharply, and only small creatures remain. Hunting itself might be difficult.”
“Then, will we stay in towns too?”
“To begin with, a considerable part of the Plains is used as farmland, right? You probably can't just camp there. What did Lyla say...” Goldo puzzled his head, trying to remember. Just then, Gina happened to pass by.

“You,” Gina chimed in, “it's that thing, you ask a farmer around there, 'Could you let us stay, even just in the barn?' Apparently, every house has a large storage shed or barn.”
“I see,” Shouko considered. “That, or ask if we can camp in their yard.”
“Well,” Gina added, “even without doing that, if they see the High Priest or your yellow sash, they'll probably let you stay without complaint.”

Healers were welcomed in any town. So, they might indeed let them stay. However, when they went to the Lakes, it had been a choice between camping or an inn.

“Well,” Gina continued, “no matter how willing they are to let you stay, it's still a burden, right? The High Priest isn't the type to approve of that much.”

Does that mean inns will be the main option after all? Shouko wondered. Maybe just enough food like when we went to get Haru? If there's no game, we have to use meat carefully.

“Shouko, you...” Gina spread her hands in exasperation. “The High Priest is going because he was requested, so the travel expenses should be covered by the other side, right? Don't think only about saving money.”

That was true. Shouko looked at Haru, who was with her, and they laughed.

“More importantly, go enjoy the Plains,” Gina encouraged. “It's full of people like Shouko, Haru, and Falco, right? I'd like to see that.”

Travel was difficult in this world, so journeys weren't very common. Only hunters and merchants moved around as needed.

However, not everyone was like Gina, telling her to go enjoy herself. In the evening, Aura paid a rare visit to Shouko's house, bringing Alfie along.

“How unusual, for you two to visit together,” Shouko remarked, surprised. It wasn't that the two being together was unusual, rather that they had purposely come all the way to Shouko's house was.

“Honestly, I could have come alone,” Aura explained, “but Alfie worried since it's evening and just tagged along on his own.”
“There's no harm in being careful, right?” Alfie justified. “Besides, I'd never been to Shouko's house.”

In contrast to the smiling Alfie, Aura looked sullen. As usual, she wasn't used to Alfie's straightforward affection, but she couldn't quite hide her happiness either.

“Never mind that,” Aura said, getting to the point. “Hey, Shouko, you're going all the way to the Plains, and you'll be staying a little longer this time, right?”
“Yeah. They said it was to help increase the number of healers, but...”
“Then it definitely won't be a short trip,” Aura reasoned. “In that case...” Her face lit up eagerly. “I heard from my father that the request to the High Priest came from a town in the southwest part of the Plains, not the center. We occasionally do business with a shop there, so I was wondering if you could deliver some Northern Town leather goods and clothing there?”

“Eh, sure, but...”
“Of course, I'll write a letter of introduction too,” Aura continued quickly. “But it's not really about whether they sell or not, it's more like... since Haru came, the clothing trends in this town have changed quite a bit with the embroidery and all, right? I want to know how the girls in the Plains react to it.”

In other words, Shouko thought, she doesn't just want us to deliver the goods, but to see how they're being sold?

“In that case, you should ask Haru,” Shouko suggested.
“Haru? Come to think of it, yes.”
“Eh, me?” Haru looked bewildered.

Aura's face brightened as if she'd heard something wonderful, but Haru looked bewildered. Indeed, Haru had only intended to tag along. Well then, what would become of this additional clothes-selling job?

T/N (I've matched spacing now. If you read the raws, its basicly how a japanese person would read it.)