Record of Wortenia War: Volume 1

by Ryota Hori

  “Right, all done. You have a three day limit for completing this task. Bring the letter to Melpheren’s guild to confirm your completion. Are there any other jobs you’d like to take?”

  “Yeah, I’d like to take all those hunting jobs you mentioned earlier.”

  “Very well. Those would be hunting wild dogs, wild bees and wild rabbits. These have no time limit, so you can report the completion to whichever guild is nearest to you.”

  “Understood.”

  “Oh, right. I’d almost forgotten about this, but if it’s not specified which branch you should report to, it means you can report a request to any guild branch. I wish you good luck in your endeavors.” The clerk gave Ryoma an encouraging smile and bowed her head.

  “Yes, thank you very much.” Bowing his head in return, Ryoma made his way out of the guild.

  Ryoma had a reason for accepting those requests. He was being pursued by the Empire, and so he needed to get out of the country. But there was one problem regarding that. His pursuers would know of his intent to escape, and there was a chance he would be questioned if he were to hurry to the road now.

  So he sought a reason to leave the capital, and the job of delivering that letter happened to be rather convenient.

  And there was also a reason he chose to go to Melpheren, in the east. According to the map from the guild, the capital sat in the southeastern side of the Empire’s territories. In other words, the border to the north and west would take days to reach. The southern border was closest to the capital, but his pursuers were commanded by a wise woman. There was a high chance she would set a trap for Ryoma.

  So after weighing his options, Ryoma decided it would be safer to head for the second closest border, to the east. Of course, there was no telling whether his judgment would prove correct until he went there...

  Having completed his business at the guild, Ryoma went to the Sea Rumble Parlor as promised, to inform the owner that he had completed his registration.

  “Ah, it’s you. Did you register with them?”

  Gesturing for Ryoma to come to the counter, she handed him a glass of water and asked happily. The time was just after five in the evening, and since it was a touch too soon for dinner, there were hardly any customers in the store left.

  “Yes. I’m glad I asked you about that.” Ryoma answered with a grin.

  “That right? My, that’s just lovely, then. It was worth helping you out, then... Incidentally, how about dinner? It hasn’t been that long since you had lunch.” She cast her gaze at the clock on the wall. Opening his account at the bank and registering at the guild hadn’t actually taken that long, and even Ryoma, who boasted a relatively large physique, couldn’t do dinner just two hours after lunch.

  “Eeeh, yeah, I think I’ll have to pass on that...” Ryoma rubbed his belly for emphasis.

  His stomach was still holding that fried chicken and fish captive with elation.

  “Yeah, I figured as much.” She said, as her gaze was drawn to Ryoma’s outfit.

  There was apparently something wrong with his clothes.

  “Speaking of, dear, did you leave your luggage at your room in the inn?”

  “Huh? No, I don’t really have...”

  “Eh? You intend to go adventuring in that getup? What about your luggage? You don’t even have a weapon.”

  It seemed most adventurers carried their belongings on their person. It was safer than leaving any high value items in the inn, and made it easier to react to unexpected situations. Even commoner peasants and merchants carried at least a sword while traveling the highways. It was natural for the owner to be surprised, then.

  Ryoma glanced at his outfit; a shirt, pants and a cloak. It looked like a common outfit... At least, within the city.

  I see... I would have done it bare-handed, but that’s probably not a good idea. And she mentioned luggage, too. I won’t need to prepare to camp out since it’s just half a day to the neighboring town, but I’ll need to make preparations... Doubt I’ll find any convenience stores out there, after all.

  Fundamentally speaking, Ryoma didn’t intend to carry a weapon. Even for mere self-defense purposes, holding a weapon was extremely incriminating. Getting off with just an excessive self-defense charge would be a lucky break. At worst, one could find themselves charged with assault or murder.

  All that only applied to Japan, though. In this other world, not walking around with a weapon was seen as strange.

  “Oh, I thought I’d go check up on weapons later. I didn’t carry much to begin with, and all the requests I took were near the city, so I figured I could do without preparing too much...”

  “Well, you’re a beginner, so it’s only natural you’d think that.” Hearing his words, the woman seemed convinced somehow.

  “Was that wrong?”

  “Adventurer work is dangerous, don’t you know?” She said with a sigh. “Do you know what the prime reason for adventurers and mercenaries dying is?”

  “What?”

  “Getting killed by a weaker opponent due to lack of attention or preparation... Low rank requests aren’t hard, true, and depending on the request, even women and children can do them. But there’s no telling what might happen outside town. You should prepare for the worst case scenario... if you don’t want to die, that is.”

  The owner’s words made Ryoma sink into thought.

  I’m acting like I’m still in Japan... She’s right! I don’t know this world yet. Plus, I’m being pursued by the Empire. There’s really no telling what might happen next, and I’m being so careless... Her concern makes perfect sense...

  “I’m sorry, madam. I guess I wasn’t as prepared as I thought.”

  Ryoma lowered his head to thank her for the considerate warning.

  “Oh, no, it’s fine! See, my store serves the people who live around here in the afternoons, but during the night we’re open as a tavern for adventurers and mercenaries, so I’ve seen a whole lot of adventurers. And let me tell you, I’ve seen plenty who came to tell me they were going off on some adventure, but never came back. And when I asked their comrades who had survived, it turned out they died close to town, since they forgot to take antidotes or didn’t pack enough medicine... So I thought I’d warn you.” She said, wiping her tears on her apron.

  She’d seen plenty of adventurers come and go, and it was apparent she was warning him out of her own milk of human kindness.

  I don’t know anything yet, so I’ll have to pay heed to her warning. I can’t afford to die in this world.

  “I have time, so I’ll go make preparations and come back for dinner after that.”

  “Oh, are you now...” The lady brightened up at Ryoma’s words. “I think that’s a good idea. Do you know where the stores are? The tool shop is on the main road, after the guild. The pharmacy’s next to that. I’d stock up on medicine if you can afford it. And for the weapons shop, take a right from here and go straight. Tell the old man there that the owner of the Sea Rumble Parlor sent you, and he’ll treat you nice.”

  Spurred by the almost motherly kindness of the owner, Ryoma left the store, in search of a weapon he could entrust his life to.

  Soon, he found the weapon store the Sea Rumble Parlor’s owner had recommended. The exterior was a bit dirty, but the front of the store was rather large. At the rear of the store was a large chimney that billowed black smoke.

  “Hey, ya lookin’ for somethin’?”

  As Ryoma entered the store and examined the spears and swords on display, a bearded old man called out to him.

  “Um, a convenient weapon, I guess...”

  Ryoma’s words didn’t have any ill intent. He honestly meant that he wanted to find and buy a weapon he could handle, hence ‘convenient.’ But as soon as the words left his mouth, the shopkeeper’s expression changed instantly.

  “None of the weapons I made or picked for me inventory are ‘convenient,’ ya duuuuunce! Now scamper off!” His shout echoed through the store.

&nb
sp; Ryoma was twice this small’s man size, but still found himself overwhelmed by his outburst.

  “Aaah, I’m, uhh, I’m sorry. They told me to come here from the Sea Rumble Parlor...”

  Upon hearing Ryoma’s hesitant words, the old man’s expression softened a bit.

  “Well, why didn’t ya say so sooner? The Sea Rumble Parlor’s missus sent you over, did she?”

  “Y-Yes!”

  “So, you a beginner? Nah... But really, you’re a novice with that mug?” He asked, eying Ryoma suspiciously.

  True, Ryoma’s physique was quite large and his face made him seem older than he was. Most people would be hard pressed to believe he was a novice. But Ryoma merely confirmed the old man’s words without panicking. Having people doubt his age was a common occurrence.

  “Yes, I just registered at the guild today.”

  Perhaps finding how instantly Ryoma answered to be convincing, the shopkeeper folded his hands and nodded grandly. His arms were blemished with countless burn marks, likely inflicted by embers during weapon crafting. Those burns stood as evidence of him being an experienced craftsman.

  “I getcha. Well, I guess that’s how it is. But that said, tyro! I don’t give two ticks about what you say in other stores, but don’t ever say somethin’ as vague as ‘convenient’ in me store!”

  “Are people who make their weapons by forging rare?” Ryoma asked, taking a dagger displayed nearby.

  “You! You can tell?!” That question made the old man’s expression swiftly change.

  “Yeah, more or less.”

  As the shopkeeper’s voice filled with astonishment, Ryoma examined the blade of the dagger in his hand. It had a polish and straightness to it which clearly showed it had been hammered time and again to remove all imperfections and nooks.

  “Oh, ya do! That’s just swell. Recently most smithies round here been mass producin’ their weapons by casting, and most adventurers think that’s good enough! Casting’s just pouring metal into a mold, ya can’t make good weapons with that!”

  Ryoma could clearly see the shopkeeper’s pride as a craftsman at work. This was probably why the sound of the word ‘convenient’ annoyed him to the point of shouting.

  And true enough, forging a weapon required time and effort, and the craftsman’s skill could turn it brittle, which made it hard to guarantee its quality. By comparison, using casting to make a weapon meant consistent quality, and it allowed for producing in large numbers, too.

  Forging yielded higher yet inconsistent quality and a smaller amount of products, while casting offered consistent quality and mass production. Putting aside the question of which one was better, given the fact weapons were disposable, it was only natural that cast weapons would be more accepted due to their price.

  The old man’s skill isn’t half bad, though. I see why the owner recommended him. Buying here might be nice, depending on the price, that is...

  Ryoma admitted the old man had skill, but that opened up a new problem.

  “So, what’re you lookin’ for? A sword, or a spear?”

  And there it was. This place sold swords, spears, even axes, but sadly there wasn’t a katana in sight.

  That’s a problem. He hasn’t crafted any katanas. This place does feel like Europe, so I didn’t get my hopes up about it or anything, but still...

  Ryoma still wasn’t going to give up on the shopkeeper, though. He wasn’t fixated on Japanese katanas, and would be able to compromise with a middle-eastern shamshir or a Chinese liuyedao.

  “Do you have any curved, single-edged swords?”

  “Curved, single-edged, you say...” He replied, deep in thought. “Are you looking for katanas, by any chance?”

  “You have them?!” Ryoma exclaimed in surprise.

  The city seemed European, and the soldiers all carried Western-style weapons like double-edged swords and halberds.

  “Sorry, but my shop doesn’t have any, and I don’t know how to make ’em, so I can’t take an order either.” He shook his head apologetically. “I know about them, though. Katanas are weapons used in the central and eastern continents, specialized for slashin’. You need some specialized trainin’ to use them, though, so they’re not common in other continents. No point in stockin’ up on a weapon no one has any use for, see?”

  “Yeah, I understand...” That was a perfectly reasonable justification.

  “If you were gonna find them anywhere ’round here, it’d be in the eastern port town, Pherzaad.” The old man said pensively, stroking his beard.

  “The port town, Pherzaad?”

  “Top place for foreign trade in the western continent, that. You can get goods from the eastern continent there, via the central continent.”

  Those words left Ryoma rather troubled.

  If he doesn’t have a katana, do I go with a sword instead? But I’ve never used one before. Do I take a spear, then? No... Maybe on the road it’ll be fine, but it’ll be hard to carry around in town. Then an axe, maybe? That’s not too bad an idea, but... Using a weapon you can only get in that part of town sounds problematic...

  Using a weapon he wasn’t accustomed to would be exposing himself to danger, and Ryoma didn’t want to compromise on something that would be so intimately linked with his life.

  But on the other hand, weapons were consumable, after all. No matter how high the quality of the weapon he used, the blade would gradually grow stained with oil and chip away. So long as he wasn’t keeping them stored away like some kind of art in a collection, all weapons would require repairing and replacing.

  The reality of it made Ryoma ponder his options, but the shopkeeper probably noticed Ryoma’s conflict, since he decided to speak up.

  “Hmm, so regular weapons ain’t cuttin’ it for ya, eh... Fine, then! I’ll show ya me collection. If ya find anything useful there, you can take it!”

  “Huh?”

  “Well, y’see, I keep all the stuff I put me eye on there, and things adventurers bring in that’re pretty impressive but hard to use. Weapons and tools I can’t sell, since no one knows how to use ’em. Maybe you’ll find something ya can use in there. I can let you have a few if you need ’em! Follow me!”

  With that said, the old man beckoned Ryoma behind the counter, towards a staircase leading down to a basement. At the bottom of the staircase was a steel door, which the shopkeeper unlocked with a key he took out of his pocket.

  “Come on in. Can’t say if you’ll find anything you want, lad.”

  When they first met he called him ‘tyro,’ but at some point he’d changed his attitude.

  I guess he acknowledges me on some level...

  The change seemed to have happened when Ryoma said he could tell the difference between a cast weapon and a forged one. Apparently, craftsmen tended to treat customers who acknowledged their work with more affection.

  “Wow, this is something...” Ryoma found himself saying with admiration.

  The room the old man ushered him into was fairly large, at around 50 square meters, and was lined with countless shelves. On top of those shelves was an assortment of weapons, waiting for the day a warrior capable of handling them appeared.

  “From the right you have swords, then spears, axes and bows. Each one of them is a fine product, made at the hands of a master craftsman. The kinds of weapons that pick their wielders, eh? Someone with considerable skill. But that’s not what I wanted to show ya.”

  The old man then led him to the leftmost shelf.

  “I wanted to show you this.”

  Ryoma turned his gaze toward the weapons on the shelf. The first thing he noticed was a wooden tonfa. There were also other unique weapons, like a three-sectioned-staff, nunchaku, a sai and emei daggers. There were even chakrams and an extendable baton.

  What the hell... Where did he get all this stuff...

  Ryoma’s surprise was understandable. They were completely out of place in this place and age. It was a mix of many cultures with no connecting thread.


  “Whaddaya say?”

  “These are too unique...” Ryoma shook his head.

  “Eh, knew it... You dunno how to use them?”

  “No, I can use them, but... I haven’t had any fundamental practice with them.” Ryoma said, picking up the tonfas, cutting through the air with them in a rotating movement.

  “Whoa there. This ain’t good enough for ya?” The old man asked Ryoma with a fascinated expression.

  “Nope, no good. I know how to use them, technically, but I can’t really apply that. I won’t get anything out of using them in real combat.” Ryoma replied, putting the tonfas back on the shelf.

  “Say, lad...” The old man asked suspiciously. “Ya really a beginner? First time I’ve served a customer like ya. I thought ya were a tyro at first, but nothing you say or do is normal...”

  “Come on, old man. I really am just a beginner. I just happen to know a lot from traveling all over the place with my father.” Ryoma answered with a wry smile.

  “I wonder ’bout that... Well, never mind. So, whatcha gonna do?” He didn’t seem convinced, but the shopkeeper urged Ryoma to pick a weapon.

  His eyes were shining with expectation. The weapons that slumbered in his storage for years might finally find a wielder. Even if these weren’t weapons he had made, it felt like he was giving his daughter away for marriage. But contrary to the old man’s expectations, Ryoma only gave half-convinced nods and advanced deeper into the room.

  “Hmm...”

  It’s not like I can’t use them at all, but I have to keep in mind that using something too unusual might attract attention...

  Weapons each came with their own advantages, but it took training to make use of them. On the other hand, weapons with unusual shapes were imposing, but also attracted the gazes of others. Since he was being pursued, Ryoma didn’t want to draw unwanted attention to himself.

  “Oh!” Having come to the end of the room, Ryoma’s gaze fell on a certain item.