Side Story 3: Visiting a Remote Island 01

「Rengill, long time no see.」

「It has indeed been a while, Fran-san and Urushi-san.」

「Nn.」

「Woof woof!」

We were currently paying a visit to the headquarters of the Lucille Trade Association in Bulbora, greeted by Captain Rengill. As usual, he wore a smile on his face.

This man was the captain of the ship we took when escorting Flut and Satia, as well as a leading member of a major trading company.

Apparently, the Lucille Trade Association had a special request just for us, so we came over to hear the details.

Immediately after exchanging greetings, Fran reached for the plate in front of her. A plate containing five delicious-looking steaks stacked on top of each other. As expected of the Lucille Trade Association, their accommodations for beastkin were simply flawless.

Rengill watched Fran with a fond smile, before opening his mouth with a slightly more nervous expression. His gaze was directed not at Fran—but at me, the sword propped up beside her.

「Um, I suppose I should introduce myself since this is our first time talking, Sword-sama.」

『No need to be so stiff. Just treat me the same way you treat Fran. And you can skip the introductions. I already know who you are.』

「I-Is that so? Then I shall treat you the same as Fran-san. I look forward to working with you, Sword-dono.」

『Yeah. Likewise!』

To tell the truth, it wasn’t just Rengill who acted like this when meeting me. I’ve seen something similar with a decent amount of people.

A talking divine sword was something that had never existed before, so it was difficult to figure out my social standing. After thinking it over, most people concluded that a talking divine sword was essentially an apostle of the gods, and thus, a very important entity. They usually decided to treat me as someone of higher status.

What’s more, this idea became way more common among those in power, such as the nobility. In a world where the gods undoubtedly exist, the idea of divine right to kingship runs strong.

The gods have never actually commanded anyone to rule a country, but noble titles are displayed in the status window. This was believed to be proof of divine acknowledgment.

Since most people thought I was an apostle of the gods, they knew not to act too forcefully. Though there were some exceptions, like that one noble. Some arrogant dumbass seriously walked up to Fran, a Rank S adventurer, and told her to hand over her sword. Who could have seen that coming? Of course, Fran gave him a good beating right after he mentioned something about how I was “just a talking sword”.

After hearing what happened, the king was furious and stripped his family of their title. Serves him right!

On the other hand, adventurers and commoners usually saw me as an amazing sword belonging to a Rank S adventurer. Hardly anyone treated me as a divine apostle. If anything, I was more like an entertaining spectacle to them. Probably better that way since getting worshiped gets pretty awkward.

「So? I heard you have a request.」

「Yes, let us discuss that!」

『Just so we’re on the same page, we haven’t accepted your request yet. We just came to hear you out first.』

「Of course, I appreciate your honesty. You see, Fran-san, there are some people who desire a mock battle with you.」

「Mock battle?」

「Woof?」

「Yes, a mock battle.」

This kind of request was actually not that uncommon for us. Our previous clients were mostly mid-ranking nobles. High-ranking nobles, on the other hand, had a tendency to avoid potential danger, so we’ve had surprisingly little contact from them.

Simply sparring with a Rank S adventurer was a sign of prestige, and there was always the off chance of establishing a friendly relationship during the match.

The fees for requesting Fran skyrocketed after she rose to Rank S, so only nobles with wealth to spare could even afford her.

After all, there were only nine Rank S adventurers in the entire world. It’s no wonder that they cost a premium.

Unless Fran personally accepted a cheaper price, all non-urgent requests brought through the guild required eye-popping fees.

Oh yeah, and we only accepted those sparring requests the first three times. After that, we turned them all down.

Fran has gotten pretty good at holding back, so we didn’t have to worry about her going overboard. The problem was that she found mock battles against weak nobles unbearably boring.

Besides, we didn’t particularly care about connections with nobles, or the even more boring tea parties after the sparring match. Hunting magic beasts was always an easier source of income either way. There was not a single benefit in it for Fran.

「Who do I have to fight?」

「A certain group of warriors.」

Oh? Warriors, you say? So they aren’t nobles?

I was already thinking about the best way to refuse, but we might want to listen a bit longer. Fran seems interested too.

「Who are they?」

「Allow me to explain. You see, one of our business partners is…」

To summarize his explanation, the Lucille Trade Association apparently sourced a portion of their monster materials from a special village of warriors on a distant island. In exchange, the association supported them by transporting food and other daily necessities.

And one day, those warriors made a request. Would it be possible to invite the newly arisen Rank S adventurer for a mock battle?

The materials they supplied were extremely valuable, so the Lucille Trade Association wanted to accommodate their request.

「Since I was personally acquainted with you, Fran-san, I decided to reach out on their behalf.」

「I see… So are those warriors strong?」

「Oh yes. I’ve heard that some of them are comparable to Rank A adventurers. Though I must admit that this is merely the estimation of the guards in my company’s employ.」

「Hoh.」

Fran was completely on board now. She turned to me with her eyes practically shining.

「Master.」

『Well, I guess it doesn’t sound bad.』

With Rengill acting as the intermediary, the request itself seems pretty trustworthy. The chances of it being a trap are very low.

But there was still one issue—or rather, a question I had to ask.

『You submitted a request duration of “at least two months”, right? What’s that about?』

A normal sparring request should last like two or three days. The match itself wouldn’t even take half a day, and the travel time will be a few days max for this continent and the surrounding waters.

How could that possibly turn into two months or more?

「Right, that is definitely a major issue… First of all, this island is extremely far away. Travel time alone will take 20-30 days by ship.」

『Seriously? Is it on the other side of the planet or something?』

「Well, that’s not entirely inaccurate… Our destination is the Hagane Shogunate, or rather, a small island at the eastern edge of Hagane’s domain.」

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