Chapter 42: Letter Delivery

Author: Kurohitsuji
Raw: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n2086fk/43/
Translator: Lilia v4
Editor: Yuriko AYA

After talking with Glad, I get to cook the guild meals sometimes when I have free hands.
And from now on it’ll be accepted as a standing request.
Apparently at the Adventurer’s Guild they’re often too busy to cook, and dinner is just bread sometimes.
Really a harsh workplace. I’ll come make food as much as I can, yep.

That aside, today is work again.
Unfortunately there are no subjugation requests, so I take a delivery.
Just deliver a letter to an old man in the port town Asura.
Normally they send it with a merchant-caravan escort and it takes a month, but I can do it in a day.

So today I go through the sky in good spirits.
If I fly high, monsters don’t attack; it’s peaceful.
I fly in a lazy mood, looking at clouds in the blue.
Oh? A flock of birds. Flying low; maybe rain. I don’t want that.
The clouds aren’t black, but I’ll be careful. I don’t want to fly in rain.

That worry seems unnecessary; I reach Asura without incident.
The letter just has to go to this Adventurer’s Guild, apparently.
I deliver it right away and get a receipt stamp.
That completes the request, except.

“Um. I’m free anyway, so shall I take it the rest of the way?”
“That’d help, but… there’s no pay, you know?”

Hnn. No pay is a shame, but I’m here anyway.

“It’s all right. Do you know where he lives?”
“Ah, a house near the inn.”
“Near the inn… the blue roof I passed on the way?”
“That’s it. He lives there alone.”
“Hnn. Then I’ll go for a bit.”

It’s right nearby; I’ll drop it off quick.

○○○○○○○○

“Heeello.”

I knock, kon kon, and a gentle-looking old man comes out.

“Oh, a guest?”
“Letter delivery from the capital.”
“That’s kind of you. How about some tea?”
“Ah, then, since I’m here.”
“Come in, miss.”

Invited in with a kind gesture, I find sea paintings covering the walls.
Uwah, amazing. All kinds of seas painted.

Blue, white, sunny, cloudy.
Seas of all seasons, all faces, packed in.

“Awesome. Old man, are you a painter?”
“Nay, an old man’s hobby. I paint to kill time.”
“Fuwaa, that’s amazing. They’re so pretty.”
“Thank you. Now, excuse me a moment.”

The old man who poured tea slits the seal with a paper knife, takes out the letter, sits, and starts to read.
He looks somehow happy. A good letter, maybe.

“Ho, ho… miss, listen. Seems I’ve got a grandchild.”
“Oh. That so. That’s good.”
“Ah. A boy, they say. The daughters seem well too.”

The old man looks at the sea from the window and smiles slowly.

“I see. It was a good letter.”
“That it was, a very good letter. Ah, but if I were a bit younger I’d go see them.”
“Ah. Yeah. A wagon would be hard.”

…Ah. Right.

“Hey, are you going to write a reply?”
“Ah, I mean to write and send it right away.”

The old man answers my question with a calm smile.

“Then I want to deliver it. I’m heading back to the capital right away anyway.”
“Is that so? Then I’ll ask you. Can you wait a little?”
“Nn. I’ll wait.”

Facing the writing desk, he runs a quill for about ten minutes.
He may have had a lot he wanted to write.
He folds about five sheets, puts them in stationery, and seals them carefully with wax.

“Can I ask you with this? My daughter runs a furniture shop in the capital with her husband.”
“Ah, I know that shop. On the main street, right?”
“Ah, thanks to that they seem to be doing well.”
“Nn. Then I’ve got it safely.”
“I’m counting on you. Anytime is fine to deliver.”
“Fufu. Leave it to me. I’ll deliver it at top speed.”

I put the letter in the item box.
The way here was leisurely, but maybe I’ll hurry a bit going back.

○○○○○○○○

Out the city gate, ignite boosters, climb vertical once, and set course for the capital.
Since I’m here, maybe I’ll update my top-speed record. I want to deliver a freshly written letter.

When I finish the full-speed sky trip, I reach the capital before noon, even.
It works out more than you’d think.

This isn’t guild work, so I go straight to the daughter.
The furniture shop on the main street is near the city gate… yep, here.
Oh. That young man, maybe.
I can hear a baby crying from the back.

“Excuse me, I came to deliver a letter.”
“Oh. Miss, don’t you have the wrong address?”
“No, it’s a letter from the old man in Asura.”
“…No way. I only sent a letter today.”

Well, normally you’d be surprised.

“This is it. Here.”
“This is… certainly my father-in-law’s seal. May I look inside?”
“Of course.”
“Oi! A letter from Father-in-law!”

He goes into the back for a moment, and a young woman comes out with the letter instead.
She slits it with the same kind of paper knife as the old man, turns the pages one by one, and after slowly finishing the last page she closes her eyes.

“Thank you. This is certainly Father’s letter.”
“Not at all. More to the point, if we go now we can make it; what do you want to do?”
“Eh? Make it, to what?”
“A reply, of course.”

At my words, the young woman blinks.

○○○○○○○○

“Hello, good evening.”
“Oh, the young lady from midday. What’s this?”
“Here. A reply from your daughter.”
“…Well now. Really?”

Wondering, but happy.
I hand the letter I was entrusted to the old man, who smiles with a little hesitation.

“You’ll understand if you read it. Probably.”
“Let’s see… ooh, this is…! Thank you, miss. I’m very glad.”
“That’s good. And, last for today.
Will you write a reply?”

This was the day I set my personal top-speed record.
I got quite tired. But I think a day like this isn’t bad once in a while.
I met a lot of smiles. It was a good day.