Legend

Zacuña's specialty dish was a pot dish with river fish.

Even when Ray was in Japan, in the summer, he went into the river and caught fish such as bamboo, sea turtles, Ivana, and kajika, so he couldn't resist the river fish as much.

In the first place, in the gilm far from the sea, it was a river fish when it came to fish.

That's why Ray was only a little sorry to hear that it was a dish with river fish, but the dish that actually came out was a very different dish than Ray had expected.

Ray, surprised by the intense flavor that I don't think of as a river fish, hears more about it and says he only uses river fish that can be caught in this neighborhood.

In fact, Ray also showed me that river fish that was still before the dish, but it was a fish that I had never seen even in a guilm where many merchants gathered because it was on the edge.

Ningro's appearance also looked like an elongated fish like Samma's.

Of course many things were different from Ray's known autumn fish, so I guess it's not exactly Samma.

In fact, the taste was very different from that of Samma.

Seasonal vegetables on that samma...... The pot dish with plenty of early summer vegetables satisfied Ray enough that it was summer.

... The villagers I was eating with were scratching sweat over the summer because of the pot dishes... in Ray's case I have a dragon robe, so I don't need to worry about that either.

(I'd love to eat a rice dish with a tightening if I could... I don't have rice)

If you're a former Japanese, it wouldn't be strange to be obsessed with white rice.

But in Ray's case, there was no strong obsession around it originally.

If you don't have white rice, you can eat bread. That was the feeling...... even for such a ray, I would never hate a rice cook after doing a pot.

No, when I ate pot dishes at home when I was in Ningro Japan, I also did a good job of leaving the ingredients for the rice cooking and eating the rice cooking the next day using the rest of the ingredients.

But as far as Ray knows, I've never seen rice in the Kingdom of Mireana.

Of course, it's true that Ray is going to various places as an adventurer, but there are still more overwhelming places he hasn't been.

The possibility that rice is the staple food in such a place could never be denied.

(Well, rice isn't necessarily the name rice)

With that in mind, it was Ray, who had Syrah and Regula being heard as children as a post-meal colloquial, but fuzzy jazz calls out to Ray like that.

"Lord Ray, thank you so much for helping Syrah this time"

"Nothing. You don't have to be so polite with words. As I was saying, it was a success."

"Still, if it weren't for Lord Ray, my daughter would be by now... that mother asked me to, but I don't have a face to match"

In that word, Ray now finds no sign of Syrah's mother as Jazz's wife.

But I don't do things like ask you where Jazz's wife is.

In the first place, Ray stopped by to really indulge in specialty dishes.

I didn't think to hear anything less interesting than fulfilling that purpose.

Though I could have predicted that he was probably already dead.

But such Ray's attitude was also until he heard the man who was near the jazz.

"Relax, this isn't Count Lerduct territory anymore."

"... what?

The word that came out of the man's mouth contains a word that Ray will never miss if he thinks about the request he is currently receiving.

"Count Lerduct?

Neither did the man who told Jazz think Ray would react to those words.

I was a little surprised by Ray staring at me... No, I open my mouth with feelings slightly closer to fright.

"Ah, oh. The Jazz originally lived in Count Lerduct territory. But there's so much going on out there that I've been running away from here."

"Heh. That's interesting. Can I ask you something specific?

"... why is Lord Ray so interested in my story?

To Ray's words, Jazz asks as he questions.

Count Lerduct is somewhat powerful among the nobles, but still only somewhat so in the end.

Not to mention why Ray, who is said to be neutral, is interested in the aristocratic Count Lerduct family.

To such a gaze, Ray wonders how to answer.

No way, fool. I can't even tell you that I'm going to retaliate for interfering with the construction of an extra guild honestly...

In the end, he coughs small to delude, then opens his mouth.

"As you can see from my presence in a place like this based in Gilm, I have some errands at Count Lerduct's for a few requests right now. So I was just wondering because they asked me the name of the person I was headed to. I don't care how much information I have."

"... I see"

Nodding like for once, Jazz didn't entirely trust Ray's words.

Ray's words are not lies, but they are not true either.

I would have felt that way from my perspective as a former adventurer of jazz, albeit rusty.

Former Rank C Adventurer can be said to be a worthy handyman.

Regardless of the exceptions like Gilm, because it's just not ranked as strange to be treated as a top class adventurer if you're a normal village or city.

So I noticed that Jazz has something behind Ray's words, but that's why I'm not going to pursue it either.

On the contrary, I open my mouth even more by pretending not to care.

"Count Realdact territory has a pretty tight tax rate. That's what I can finally live with... like that. That's why I'm out of Count Lerduct territory, too."

"Well, I guess so"

Normally, you wouldn't want to live to the fullest.

But still, not so many people move where they live.

In the first place, many people are amazing in the villages and cities where they were born all their lives.

For such people, there is no such perception as to leave the place where they live.

Being a profession such as a merchant or an adventurer would also overshadow the common sense around it... but there were never many who held such positions.

Not to mention the fact that the taxes are really tight and if you can't live, you might think of some means, but the inhabitants of Count Lerduct's territory are not on the verge of starving to death, even if it's finally time to live.

It would be a testament to the fact that the Real Duct is never incompetent around here.

Most of all, it seems that Lerduct uses his talent solely to satisfy his own greed.

"... yeah? It was a long time before Jazz moved here, wasn't it? Syrah said she was born here."

If you think Syrah's age is about twenty, it means that Jazz came to this Zacuña before that.

For instance, I didn't think Jazz's known Real Duct was the same person Ray was targeting.

According to information Ray received from Dusker, the current Real Duct is in his thirties.

(Normally, I guess Count Lerduct, who is the target of retaliation in this case, is the son of Count Lerduct or something Jazz knows)

Of course it's not my son, but a separated brother of the year, relative, adopted son... it could be such a relationship, but that doesn't matter to Ray.

(No, noblemen seem to be proud of their blood muscles, so are there any adopted children, even if it is possible to be brothers or relatives)

There's no way I've been a lord since I was about ten.

Jazz nods at Ray's predictions like that.

"Oh, I see you do. However, rumors came from merchants, bards, adventurers, etc., that the only thing that changed was the lord, and that the policy of the territory had not changed."

To Ray's words, jazz squeaks and nods so.

Even if the Lords have changed, that policy has not.

When I heard that, Jazz even remembered being frustrated.

But if you think it's the result of education, you're oddly convinced.

"So, can you let me know if you have any information on Count Realdact territory?

I never thought I'd get information on where I was about to go in the village where I accidentally stopped by like this, Ray asks Jazz that.

"What I know firsthand is that's more than twenty years old information. I don't think it's going to help Lord Ray."

"That's not true. There's nothing new about information that doesn't help at all."

As someone who lived in Japan, Ray naturally knew the importance of information.

Whatever you do, it's very different from having no information.

"Okay. Most importantly, there is no such thing as being different from other noble territories. Although the tax rate is tight. As far as I know, the Count of Lerduct has an armed knighthood.... I did it quite freely because my arm stood up"

"Uh... I see"

To the words, Ray nods as he is convinced.

There will be people out there who resent their lords more than they take heavy taxes.

It was only natural that we should have the appropriate force to deal with such a person.

And if you ask me if that knighthood is doing what the name knight deserves more than being someone who cooperates with the Real Duct... normally, no.

"Are they the only ones whose names are the Knights, essentially close to private soldiers?

"Right. Instead, they have a lot of confident people in their arms."

That's what they said, and past Ray's brain was a group of private soldiers who caused this one incident.

(But the guy I captured had quite a bit of loyalty to his employer... well, I'm sending him to Gilm, so it's only natural to think about the area)

I know you chose the hard-mouthed ones for once, but you still didn't think they'd all be caught lightly until then.

There are many adventurers in Gilm who can stand up even if they pull out the ray that actually moved this time.

Couldn't you think about the circumstances around it in detail because you look down there as a small neutral of the forces?

(I don't think I'd do a dumb imitation like that if I'd done a good job on Gilm)

Neutralists are by no means a major force compared to the kings of the largest factions and their equivalent aristocrats.

But there is no doubt that they are still called the Three Forces.

"Well, whatever they are, we're just gonna do the request over here,"

"Right. Well, I don't mind if Lord Ray says so.... Oh, yeah. If there's anything you want to know over there, visit a man named Dostrite who's in a city called Hazlui. Perhaps you can help me."

"... Dostrite? Can I ask who it is?

"Mine, my brother."

The look on Jazz's face that tells him so comes in bitter colors.

I guess I have some hindsight for the fact that I'm the only one living peacefully here.

Most importantly, given the fact that my only daughter was taken away by an orc, it's a delicate place to call a peaceful life.

"Right."

That's why Ray returns that small.

I know that if I say something, it won't even give Jazz a break.

"... sorry. You're getting a little wet. So the next thing you need to be particularly careful in Count Lerduct's territory is the city called Jarwa, where Count Lerduct lives."

"Well, it would be home base"

"That's right. That's why there are so many soldiers and knights. If you need anything, I'll capture you immediately... but for Lord Ray, don't you have to worry."

If you're trying to capture Ray, that's not enough for one or two, ten, twenty, hundred, two hundred.

Of course, if you are a highly skilled individual, the story around it would be different... but there was no way that the Real Duct, who was never a prominent presence among the aristocrats, could have had that much power.

"I'll be careful for once. I don't want to make a big fuss about it."

Actually, I'm going to make that noise, but I'll tell you that for now.

When something happens, in case the people of this village knew what Ray was up to, it's because of all the inconvenience.

(Not to mention there's jazz in this village.... you'll know where the jazz came from if you're going to do a little research)

When that happens, I want to avoid as much damage as I can to jazz and the people of this village.

That's what Ray said.

"Oh, yeah, yeah. If you were an adventurer, you could write letters, right? You can carry as many letters as you want to give your brother."

He casually told Syrah that as he watched how the regulars were failing to dictate.