-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Valhalla Market Encounter
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The market street of Valhalla Palace.
Two mysterious outsiders were wandering the streets, taking in the sights.
Among them, the handsome Aum Rinia stared at the massive city with an expression of awe.
"Isn't it amazing?! Per! To think a huge city like this sprang up right in front of the temple?!"
Trailing behind Aum was a burly man.
His younger brother, Per, nodded in agreement with his brother's words.
"Yes, brother. It's a far cry from the backwater village Kudan described. The dwarves' doing, perhaps?"
"No, even dwarves couldn't turn a place into a thriving city like this in just six months! There has to be something else at play!"
"...Brother. Calm down a bit."
Per waved his hand as if to cool his brother's excitement.
"You know we came here because we were asked to do something."
"I know. I know. I know full well why we came here."
'Find Kankun and check on her condition.'
Kudan Ragnar, the rebel of the Ragna Tribe.
They had come searching for a girl named Kankun at his request.
"But do we really need to get involved personally?"
"They could become enemies. No, they will become enemies. They've grown to this scale in such a short time. Conflict with us is inevitable someday. So it's better to see, hear, and experience it firsthand."
"Still, isn't it dangerous?"
"Dangerous, yes—but we get far more reliable information this way. Some things just don't hit home from reports alone."
Per couldn't understand why his brother was so insistent on coming himself.
For the Nod Tribe, power ruled everything. Just how important was this intel to warrant this?
'Well, he must have his reasons.'
"What now, then?"
"What else? Time for some 'information gathering' first~!"
With that, Aum set down the leather bag on his back onto the street.
He spread out a mat on the ground and laid out the items he'd gathered from the continent.
"Alright, time to play the 'merchant'!"
"...Play merchant?"
"Merchants are the best for gathering info!"
Aum shouted as he said it.
"Come one, come all~! Rare treasures from across the continent, right here!"
The Nod tribesfolk in the market began glancing at Aum as his voice rang out.
The various goods laid out before him.
"And foods you can't find anywhere on the continent—truly exotic delights!"
Aum arranged some stones in a circle, piled up kindling, and lit a fire.
He set a pot on top and poured in water.
Then he added long, chewy clumps and strange triangular chunks, tossing in red powder and stirring it all together.
A unique aroma, one no one had ever smelled before, spread thickly through the market street.
As the Nod tribesfolk showed interest, Aum smiled.
'Alright, time to gather some intel.'
Aum began observing the city.
The people in the market gave goods in exchange for other goods when buying.
'Barter system's in place. But—.'
"Oh, what an unusual food. I'll take some."
A customer approached Aum and pulled out coins.
'Transactions with currency are happening too!'
It was a massive change for Nod tribesfolk who only bartered.
Aum smiled and nodded at the coins the customer offered.
Currency transactions were exceedingly rare among the Nod.
But this city was developing, and currency was starting to circulate bit by bit.
And the currency was...
"Thank you! This is my finest creation. Please try it and let me know what you think!"
'Something I've never seen before.'
Made of wood chips, stone, and metal.
A truly unique and intricate fusion of three materials.
'...Not your typical currency. The dwarves' work?'
Aum's lips twitched upward.
Engineering on an astonishing level. No, even dwarves wouldn't conceive something like this easily.
Or maybe there was a separate engineer who provided the design, and the dwarves mass-produced it.
Aum's gaze flicked elsewhere.
A shop a short distance away.
A weapon store.
The weapons the dwarves were polishing and selling were all made of materials he'd never seen before.
'...Doesn't look like anything from this world.'
Aum narrowed his eyes.
'And surprisingly, there are quite a few items from the continent too. Meaning...'
Other tribes were looting goods from the continent and trading or selling them here.
'Not a huge quantity, but enough to fuel some development.'
That was when it happened.
"Ughhh! What is this?! My tongue... it's burning!"
Aum looked at the Nod tribesman who'd bought his food.
The man grimaced fiercely, pulled water from his belt, and gulped it down, rinsing his tongue.
"How am I supposed to eat this!? My tongue feels like it's on fire! What kind of torture is this—?!"
"...But it's my finest food."
At the harsh criticism of his cooking, a vein bulged on Aum's forehead.
He took great pride in his cuisine.
The problem was that very few—actually, no one—ever acknowledged it.
"Damn it! Charging money for this crap!"
As the Nod tribesman flew into a rage and raised his fist.
Clank—!
Aum and Per felt a chill run down their spines.
It wasn't just the two of them who sensed the cold aura.
Even the rowdy Nod tribesman froze, lowering his raised fist in shock.
And where they turned their heads—.
'Undead...!'
A skeleton clad in pitch-black armor stood there.
It was a servant of the Constellation of Sin.
"P-Patrol officer!"
Patrol officer? Something with that much presence was just a patrol officer?!
Aum's eyes widened.
The Nod tribesman forced a smile and said,
"N-No, nothing! I wasn't trying to cause a scene!"
"..."
"W-Well, I'll be going now..."
As the Nod tribesman backed away, the skeleton's gaze shifted to Aum and Per.
Aum muttered under his breath, his face stiff.
'Per... Is that a Death Knight?'
'...No. Just... a skeleton.'
'Yet it's radiating this much pressure? How many of those could you take on?'
'...Even one would be tough.'
Aum shut his mouth.
His brother was exceptionally skilled in combat.
The third strongest man on this frozen land after Kudan and Shaman—and even he said one skeleton would be a handful. Aum was speechless.
The skeleton glanced at the goods and food the two had laid out.
Then it promptly turned and left.
Aum and Per let out sighs of relief.
"...Talk about tense! Even with all these Nod tribesfolk gathered, no disputes break out because of them?"
Security maintained by overwhelming force, no doubt.
"At least that's one worry down—."
"Oh! It's the healer!"
"Healer!"
The market street grew rowdy.
Aum and Per turned toward the sudden commotion.
A bizarre, grotesque man had entered the market.
A man wearing a massive raven mask walked through the street, and people bowed their heads in greeting wherever he passed.
Aum grew curious about the figure the Nod tribesfolk were thanking so profusely.
"Excuse me."
Aum grabbed a passerby and asked,
"Who is that?"
"Huh? Oh, you're an outsider? You don't know him?"
"...Just arrived today. I was a merchant on the continent. Heard a city popped up here, so..."
"Oh! Perfect timing. We're hoping for this place to grow even more—word spreading to the continent would be great!"
"More importantly, that man..."
"Ah, that's the healer. Goes by 'Hun,' they say."
"Hun? Unusual name."
"Yeah, isn't it? They call him the right-hand man of the Constellation."
Right-hand of the Constellation?
Wasn't his closest aide Shaman?
Reading Aum's expression, the man chuckled.
"Not sure on the details, but even Shaman bows to him. Makes him second in the hierarchy, you could say."
"Is he strong? Doesn't look it..."
"Heh, don't judge by appearances. Especially us Nod—we know that better than anyone. How strong do you think he is?"
"That strong?"
"Yeah, terrifyingly so. When he first showed up, the village youths thought he was an invader and all charged at him..."
The man shuddered, recalling the event.
"They ended up as mincemeat, barely clinging to life."
"..."
"He took on hundreds barehanded... Beat them so brutally, no one else dared rush in."
Aum eyed the raven-masked man as he listened.
"Well, in the end, some guy named Hans or whatever talked them down, and things calmed. Something about testing potion effects...? Made excuses, but he healed everyone."
His tone and eyes brimmed with trust and faith.
'Hmph... The Nod tribesfolk are all being duped by a con artist.'
Rumors had spread across the island that the Constellation of Sin had descended.
Few believed it at first.
But faith was growing stronger by the day.
'That con artist is posing as the Constellation of Sin to fool Shaman and the Nod, building his power base.'
This was no small matter.
Perhaps some continental faction had extended its hand to manipulate the Nod.
Proof was in how developed this place was.
'An empire? One of the kingdoms pulling strings from behind?'
Moving this boldly meant there had to be a shadowy backer.
'First, the ones controlling this place...'
The con artist impersonating the Constellation of Sin. Then that man, and Shaman.
'So that's the hierarchy?'
Aum narrowed his eyes and turned his gaze to the so-called healer.
The healer plopped down right across from Aum and Per on the bare ground.
And began tending to patients.
"Oh! Treating here today? My shoulder's been stiff lately—perfect! I'll head over!"
The man hurried toward the raven-masked healer.
Aum watched the healer.
The healer seemed to be treating patients but was also eyeing Aum.
"...Per, that raven guy seems to be staring at us."
"...Y-Yeah, looks like it."
The two whispered softly.
'Does he find us suspicious? As the con artist's sidekick who even fooled Shaman, he might have sharp instincts.'
'No way.'
'...We should pull back.'
'Already?'
'That guy's giving me a bad vibe.'
'...Understood. Brother's instincts never fail. But what about Kankun, the girl Kudan asked us to find?'
'We can look later.'
At that moment, the healer tilted his head.
The brothers froze.
'No way... He didn't overhear us...?'
'Impossible. In this noisy market, from that distance? No one could.'
Unless they were superhuman.
'Anyway, let's pack up. Best to retreat now—.'
The healer stood up.
And approached Aum and Per.
Per panicked, but Aum flashed a practiced merchant's smile.
"Welcome~! Customer! What can I get for you?"
"...What's this?"
The healer pointed at a strange item in the bag.
A board with colorful patterns, along with small round tokens, horse, castle wall, and crown pieces. A game board.
"Ah! This is a popular board game from the continent!"
"...Board game? Mind if I play a round?"
"Haha! Of course. Let me explain the rules."
Aum sweated coldly even as he spoke.
He hadn't expected the guy to approach! Now they'd missed their chance to slip away.
The healer sat cross-legged on the ground. He listened to Aum's explanation and nodded.
"I understand the rules."
"Really?"
"So, shall we play?"
The healer picked up a piece and said,
"Ah... You want to play me?"
"Yes."
"Customer, I'm quite the master at this game. Never lost to anyone."
"Doesn't matter. I'll win."
This guy...
Aum frowned at the healer.
Provoking him with a game? Fine, time to show him!
Might even pry some info out of him during play.
"Share some of that food too."
The healer pointed at the bubbling red dish.
The unique food with white clumps and triangular chunks.
"Per, serve some."
Per scooped some into a wooden bowl and handed it over.
The two began the board game.
Aum's expression was relaxed at first, after moving his initial piece. But soon...
As time passed, he started breaking a sweat.
'I'm... losing ground?'
After several more moves.
'I'm losing!'
Aum's eyes bulged.
And finally.
"Checkmate."
The king had no escape.
Aum looked up, sweating profusely.
The raven-masked healer wore a satisfied expression as he picked up the food bowl this time.
Aum felt a pang of bitterness at the sight.
To lose to a first-timer at this game. Well, at least he'd scream when he tried the food!
That might soothe the sting of defeat—.
"Delicious! So good!"
"...?!"
"Ahh... This spicy-sweet flavor! It's a bit off, but... incredibly tasty! It's the flavor I've been craving! Nothing like the greasy slop around here!"
My god! To think someone would praise his cooking!
Aum felt immense joy for the first time, his dish finally acknowledged.
"P-Per... Maybe this guy isn't so suspicious after all...!"
"Brother, I get you're moved by the rave reviews, but aren't you being a bit too quick to trust?!"
"Delicious. That spicy tang lingering on my tongue! A flavor I truly missed!"
"Really? Glad you like it...?"
'A flavor I missed?'
Aum stared at the healer.
"It's been ages since I last had tteokbokki. This chess game too."
The healer tilted his head slightly, glaring at Aum and Per.
In an instant, the two stiffened, unable to move.
Killing intent poured from his body.
"What are your true identities, you who possess things that shouldn't exist in this world?"