Chapter 106 – A Clue!?

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I was quite disappointed when I saw what came out of the stomach.

If only we had acted sooner, then this wouldn’t have… Huh?

The ball of hair was incredibly light. In fact, it wasn’t hair at all, but were reed-like plants that had been gathered together.

And when I turned it over, I saw string that appeared to be braided hemp.

“Reeds…clothes made of reeds?”
“They are like the clothes that our ancestors wore.”

As Iria said, their cloth paintings had depicted the Fendel tribe during ancient times wearing clothes made of reeds. I had based the armor after those pictures.

It had clearly been swallowed. However, I didn’t see any corpse.

Wondering about this, I used magic workshop to carve up the Hell Alligator.

However, there was no one inside of its stomach.

“Could it be that it took off its clothes and ran away?”

And then Melk started to walk towards us.

“Give it to Melk. Perhaps there is a clue.”
“Uh, aye.”

And so Melk also inspected the reed clothes.

“There is a faint scent… Unfamiliar. But it’s close to fish.”
“It probably just means that the Hell Alligator was eating fish?”
“No, it is not that. Besides, the clothes also have a salty scent.”
“Hmm, let me see.”

I put my nose closer to it and smelled. Yes, perhaps there was something sea-like about it.

Could it be because the smell of the sea was soaked into the reeds?
In other words, the person who was wearing this had been in the sea for a long time.

“So it is the sea.”
“Well, if they had to flee from a Hell Alligator, then they could not be very strong.”

I nodded at Iria’s words.

“Indeed. So even if it is still nearby, we won’t need to worry about it going to the village while we are away. It is no danger to us… Now, we shall all go to the sea tomorrow.”

Just in case, we’ll pack enough food for several days. Some clothes and tools as well, so we could trade if we found someone.

Just then, I noticed that Fletta had raised her voice behind us.

“Heey! Sister!”

When I turned around, I saw that Monica the elf was coming towards us on a boat.

She must have come down the river from the elf village.

There were several wooden crates in her boat as well.
Once she docked at the pier, Monica embraced Fletta and Moo, who went running towards her.

“Have you been well, Fletta?”
“Yes! Today, we went fishing on that big boat!”
“I see. It certainly is…a big boat.”

I walked over to Monica.

“Hey, Monica. I was thinking about making several boats like this, so it will be easier to travel between our villages.”
“I see. In that case, we will be able to bring a lot more cargo!”
“Cargo?”

Monica turned towards the wooden crates which the elves were unloading from the boat.

“What is it?”
“These boxes are filled with it. We wanted to share some with you all, since you have done so much for us.”

Monica took one of the crates and opened the lid.

Inside, the box was filled with little purple and red balls.

“Berries. I heard that they could be picked around Fendel, but I’ve never seen so many.”
“In fact, we found a place in a plateau towards the north, where a lot of these grow. And since we could not eat all of them, we brought some for you.”

Melk seemed to be familiar with them, because she said, ‘Thank you,’ and started eating them. But they must have been a little sour, as she pursed her lips a little.
Still, they looked very ripe and delicious.

“Ah, thank you. With this many, perhaps we could plant some in the fields as well.”

We will be able to increase the number of things we can harvest from the fields.

“It really is because of you all. Now that we have tools, we can go to places we couldn’t before, and it is so much easier to gather food. If we find something else, I will bring them to you.”
“Aye, thank you. We can take some of it for our voyage tomorrow. In fact, Monica, those Kappas you spoke about. It seems they must be to the south sea. Would you like to accompany us tomorrow?”
“I am very interested in the sea. But, are you sure?”
“Aye. It will be easier to negotiate if there are different demihumans represented. Perhaps they remember the elves. I intend on inviting some dwarves and Minotaurs as well.”
“In that case, I would be glad to accompany you.”

And like this, we decided to head out to sea with representatives from all the demihumans.

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Seisan Mahoushi no Rakuraku Henkyou Kaitaku - Saikyou no Ajintachi to Howaito Kokka wo Kizukimasu!