Port Town Alrescha

“So this is Hanapecha.”

“It’s Alrescha. Do you like the town?”

“It’s quite nice. The wind is a bit salty, but it feels good.”

The salty breeze is strong enough to be smelt from the bed of the carriage. It’s the characteristic smell of a coastal region.

The view of the townscape from the carriage gives off the feel of a foreign port town. The slightly old-fashioned look of the buildings also lets off a pleasant atmosphere. There’s nothing to criticize about it as a tourist spot.

… It would have been a good idea to have mentioned something about the food situation to loligramps.

While it is charming to have a quiet place where I can sleep for as long as I want, if I had stayed there I would have starved.

Because a person happened to be passing by, I ended up leaving my birthplace… but this new area looks pretty nice. I want to quickly have a nap.

“Well then, I’m fine here.”

“Ah… W-Wait a second Arge-san.”

As I start to step off of the carriage, Zeno calls out to me.

To be blunt, the name Arge that I have gotten used to being called over the past few days was really half-assedly picked.

My full name is Argento Vampear. Argento is the Italian word for silver and Vampear is the French word for vampire.

(TL: I chose to write ‘vampire’ as ‘vampear’ to distinguish it from the english word. It’s the usual trouble with Japanese being able to use foreign words for everything. Take 吸血鬼 and ヴァンパイア as an example, although it’s written ヴァンピール in this novel. Seriously, I’m going to shoot someone one of these days over katakana…)

I could have used the name from my past life, but Kuon Ginji is definitely a guy’s name. I may feel like a guy inside, but I’m physically a girl so I ended up picking a name that sounded feminine.

“What?”

“Please take this and this.”

Zeno-kun searches the inside of carriage and hands me a black hooded cape and leather bag. When I take the bag, it makes a jingling sound. Its pretty heavy, is there gold inside?

“There might only be a little, but please use it as funds for your travels.”

“Ah, so this is money… Is this ok, even though you’re a merchant?”

I wasn’t thinking about that problem at all, so the truth is I’m super thankful for the cash… however for a merchant, money is supposed to be more important than anything else. Is it really ok for him to so readily give this to someone with such a suspicious background?

“It’s because you saved my life. Also, while you’re in town please try to keep the hood on. Arge-san stands out a lot so this way it should stop… you know, stop you from being hit on.”

Ah, that does sound like a pain.

From what I can tell, it isn’t an exaggeration to call the current me’s appearance an unrivaled beautiful girl.

Judging from the Terrier Bandits’ and Zeno-kun’s reactions, my evaluation doesn’t seem to be wrong. For this reason, it might be important to cover my face. I have no interest in men. If they feed and care for me, it’s a different story though.

… Zeno-kun seems like the diligent type.

If I were to marry a person like this, helping out with his business seems tiresome.

To make matter worse, his business is as a peddler, meaning unless he retires, there will never be a chance to settle down. As a target to leech off of, he’s not perfect. This sucks.

Also, the uncomfortableness of the carriage’s luggage area causes him to lose points.

Even if you dock these points, there’s no mistaking Zeno-kun is a good person. He’s even done all of this for me.

“Uun… I feel kinda bad after all this.”

“It’s fine. Even for me, I feel kinda bad after receiving a horse.”

No, that’s just something you picked up from the Terrier Bandits.

“I still can’t casually accept this. I can’t repay you with anything right now though… how about next time we meet?”

“Next time?”

“Yes. If we meet again and Zeno-kun is in trouble, please let me save you.”

In exchange for saving his life, the thing I requested of him was to feed me.

I have already received my reward. That’s why I consider him taking me this far, clothing me and giving me money a separate case from that deal.

It might feel natural to Zeno-kun, but me being unable to pay back his goodwill makes me feel sick.

I might be extremely lazy, but I’m the type to properly settle my debts.

Even if I think that, all I have is my body. Even the clothes I’m wearing don’t belong to me.

The only thing I can pay with right now is a verbal promise.

Of course, a verbal promise is still a promise. If we ever meet again, if I have something to pay him with, I’ll gladly pay the price. It’s this type of feeling behind this promise.

After making this promise, it’s probably best to go our separate ways for now.

“… If you put it that way, I understand.”

“Well then, I’ll be off. Thank you so much. Please hire proper bodyguards from now on.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Stay healthy, Arge-san!”

I properly pull down the hood and jump off the carriage.

With some reluctance, I walk quickly and disappear into the crowd without looking back.

Well then, first things first…

“…Let’s get some lunch.”

Naps are nice and all, but I just received money so let’s gratefully use it. Money is only valuable when used.