Published at 22nd of January 2024 4:53 pm

Chapter 371 Part 2

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

「Ohh, I see! That guy, huh!」

He seemed to have found the answer and looked up while striking his palms with his fists, then nodding several times by himself.

「Is it someone you know too, guild master?.」

When I casually asked him, the answer that came from him was surprising. Apparently, I know this person, too.

「You don’t know? Well, it’s okay if you don’t know.」

“It’s a comrade of the vice guild master with similar peculiar tastes”, he added, to which Santa Claus responded with an offended look on his face, “It’s normal”.

(If the guild master preferences are women who have matured and aged well, then what about the vice guild master, I wonder?)

While looking at the two old men sitting in front of me, I search for the answer in my mind.

For a moment, I thought it might be 『Sin and Punishment』 since he claimed he’s the number one person when it comes to this play, but the guild master also claimed that 『I’m the person who knows about it the most in the Kingdom』 so I decided to rule it out.

「It would be a little boring to just reveal the answer here. Tauro-kun, do you have time this evening?」

The invitation he gave me with a gentle smile made my thoughts go around in circles.

It’s as if I have no plans besides appointments at brothels. The problem is what awaits me at the place they’re going to take me

「We’re going to an auction.」

It’s held several times a month and today happens to be one of those days.

However, this is only a small event, and the big ones are held only a few times a year. He said that he had been planning to attend only the big auctions, but this letter and my presence made him think it would be a good idea to go to one.

(Now that I think about it, has there been anything that the vice guild master has taken me to do that I didn’t like?)

I searched through my memories.

『The door of sin, where the last remaining women after the women who have been nominated are eliminated are gathered.』

『A three-generation Oyakodon of the girl you choose, her mother, and her grandmother.』

All of those match the guild master’s preference, but not the vice guild master.

(Then maybe I should accept his invitation and tag along to broaden my horizons. )

And so, I decided to reply with 『Gladly』.

***

Here, the stage moves straight north from the royal capital to the other side of the mountains, crossing the desert there to the east this time, and then to the mountainous area just across the border called 『The Lily Valley』.

There, an old man with a big nose was walking next to a golem horse with a cart attached to it, holding the reins of the golem horse.

『Laundromat here~! We are the best friend of you busy ladies who don’t have time to do laundry ~!』

With a megaphone with a built-in magic circle in front of his mouth, he walks along the cobblestones beside a clear stream in the middle of the valley. The target of is a complex of three-story apartment buildings lining up along the road.

「Landromat-san~ Come here please~」

He looked up at the sound of a woman’s voice and saw a fat lady waving at him from the balcony. He then waved to her to show he noticed her, and after that, a bag full of dirty clothes rained down on him.

『Thank you for your patronage. We will deliver your clothes tomorrow morning.』

After doing a skillful maneuver to avoid bumping into the dirty clothes, he put on a tag with the location of the room and put it in a large canvas bag on top of the cart.

But even in the middle of this process, he can hear voices, and when he looked up, another load fell on his face.

『The residents are all single women, and most of them are also busy working on jobs related to the Lily Knights』

Because of that, the old man with a big nose who comes to pick up their dirty clothes is very popular and the business is thriving again today.

(The best season is summer, but winter is a close second.)

It wasn’t so good in the spring and fall. That’s what the old man with a big nose thinks, but he doesn’t lose his sales smile.

(The repayment of the money I borrowed in the Lily Valley will soon be over. What should I do after that? Should I stop working alone and hire someone else?)

The floor of the laundry room is covered with magical circles of water, wind, and fire, respectively. Thanks to these, 『washing』, 『rinsing』, 『drying』, and even 『folding』, could be done by magic.

The amount of money was quite large, but thanks to the success of the 『pickup and delivery』 system, he has been able to repay the debt without any trouble.

(But this is all thanks to that person.)

The face of his benefactor pops up in his mind and he grits his teeth in a wave of gratitude that surges from his heart.

It was an elderly man with a long, well-groomed white beard who held the position of vice guild master in the Kingdom’s merchant guild.

(I thought it was over for me at that time.)

In his mind, time rewinds back to before he came to the Lily Valley, and the stage moves to the royal capital of the Kingdom.

『The underwear thief.』

『A man took off a woman’s underwear he passed by and ran away』. This was a disturbance that shocked the royal capital for a while.

And the culprit was the old man with a big nose.

『A sting operation using a female adventurer who has just finished an expedition.』

However, he was caught in a trap set by the Kingdom’s merchant guild with the finest bait, and he was eventually punished. He was thrown into prison by the guards.

(I can’t pay the fines, and no one can lend me money or vouch for my identity. I guess I’ll be working in the mines for the rest of my life now.)

As he was sitting on the stone floor nodding his head, thinking that he reap what he sow, his rescuer, Santa Claus, who was the vice guild master of the merchant guild, appeared.

Santa Claus is a man of high social standing and trustworthiness. Thanks to his help in vouching for his identity as well as his willingness to cover the fine, the old man with a big nose was once again able to step into the sunlight.

「If you don’t have a job, why don’t you go work for someone I know?」

I followed him nervously, wondering what he would make me do. But what awaited me turned out to be an extremely honest job of 『washing clothes』, which suited my tastes perfectly.

Thanks to this, I was able to work hard and, in addition to the low-interest rate, I was able to pay back the fine in a short time.

「You will have your own workshop in the Lily Valley. I will miss you, but do your best there.」

And that wasn’t all. When he went to greet him on his way to independence, the fat old man even gave him a small parting gift, which actually was not small.

「Why do you go to such lengths for me? I am a criminal, you know?」

It is natural for him to ask that question. It wasn’t just him, but everyone around him thought so as well.

The voice of the fat, white-bearded old man echoed with a gentle, well-pitched baritone.

「You got your hands dirty because you couldn’t find your way and got lost in the process. I don’t think the essence of what you were doing itself is wrong.」

Seeing the old man with a big nose, who was speechless because he didn’t understand what he was saying, the vice guild master of the Kingdom’s merchant guild opened his mouth.

「Do you know? There is something called Koudou* in this world. This is the art of listening to the voice of fragrance with your nose to improve yourself and enrich your life.」

[*TL Note: In Japanese, this is the art of appreciating Japanese incense.]

“And also…”, he continued while looking straight at the old man with a big nose firmly in the eye.

「You can hear the voice of a woman’s underwear. This is a rare talent. Scent and smell have no rank. Follow the right path and you, your comrades, and the world will be a brighter place.」

After the vice guild master said all that, the old man with a big nose finally understood everything up to this point.

(He was looking for a comrade.)

There was no doubt about it, the old man with the white beard is also a fragrance enthusiast. And since there are no brothels that 『Specialize in fragrance』, there are not many who have the same hobby as him.

(Or they’re just not being open about it. Like me.)

He knows this because he has lived this life alone, wondering if he is the strange one. And the more minor the hobby, the stronger the thirst for companionship will be.

A cool breeze blows through the big-nosed old man’s mind, erasing the fog that has clouded his mind.

「I understand. I will do my best for myself, my comrades, and the world.」

There was no longer any hesitation and nothing but an intense light in his eyes as he looked back at the vice guild master of the merchant guild.

Here, the big-nosed old man’s thoughts return from reminiscing the past and emerge into the present.

(I wonder if the letter safely reached him.)

The postal service in this world is not good. Merchant traders are often asked to carry the mail, but it is not uncommon for them to be attacked by magic beasts or bandits on the way and abandon their goods in order to escape.

(I wrote that the Lily Valley is far richer in resources than the royal capital. If he reads the letter, maybe he’ll come to visit me.)

Then I’ll take him to the workshop. And then we can listen to the smell of their underwear together.

The problem is that smells change over time. So it’s not possible to reserve it.

(It’ll be fine. The Lily Valley is a place with rich resources, and no matter when he will come, there will always be a gem when he arrives here.)

You will never encounter the same odor twice. That is why we cherish each encounter and enjoy it to the fullest.

He certainly has the talent for this. The old man with a big nose had not just mastered the art of Koudou, but he had already reached the essence of it.

「Laundromat-san~!」

Just as he was lost in thought, he heard a cheerful woman’s voice from above.

「Yes, I’m coming~」

The old man with a big nose pulled the reins of the golem horse as his face lit up with a hearty smile.

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