Akatsuki Translations

An old story.

Back when Ur was forced to wander between cities due to his status as a Nameless person before becoming an adventurer, when he was staying in the 【City of Sin, Envy】 due to his father’s work (although it’s questionable whether it should be called that).

At that time, Akane had already been consumed by the Spirit’s Egg and had become a 【Spirit-Bound】. Ur, who had been told of her value, continued to live while avoiding people’s eyes in order to protect her.

《Nii-tan, look, look at that!》 -Akane

“…It’s running, what is that thing?” -Ur

Ur was stunned by the sight of a huge lump of iron running without pulling a horse, a magical machine.

Envy is a great power in magical machines.

In this country, which is also the hometown of the 【Heavenly Demon Greylei】 and has benefited from the research he has brought, the most developed thing is magical machinery. The reason why machines based on magic have developed instead of magic itself is due to the very location where Envy was built. That place, called the Gingan Mountain Range, was also the 【Great Sin Dungeon Envy】.

The place where the mountain itself had turned into a dungeon and had abnormally risen from the original shape of the mine was a terrifying monster den as well as a wonderful treasure trove of minerals. The rare and diverse minerals that are born completely ignoring various conditions such as geological layers, temperature, humidity, and magical power concentration have developed the 【City of Sin, Envy】.

The inventions of the 【Heavenly Demon】 Greylei were extremely compatible with this land.

Since he began to demonstrate his talent, this place, which was famous as a city of blacksmithing, has developed into a city of contraptions that produces various magical machines.

In the middle of such a city, Ur and Akane were looking for food to live on today, as usual. His guardian was as useless as ever, so he was desperate to find his own livelihood.

There was no convenient orphanage like in Proudia. There were some, but they were full and had no room to take in Ur and the others who had parents.

So, they searched and asked around to see if there was any way to earn some pocket money that even children could do, and they found a job.

《Nii-tan, I found it!》 -Akane

“As expected of Akane.” -Ur

In this city where various magical machines are made and old ones are discarded, there are several garbage collection areas where discarded items are stored, and Ur and the others were busy collecting usable metals here.

Originally, garbage generated in the city should be compressed and stored as much as possible, burned, or recycled if possible. Since land is limited, it should not be taken up by garbage. However, the magical machines produced in Envy could not be burned and were difficult to compress.

As a result, an unreasonable measure was taken to create an abyss deep underground where no one would want to live, and abandon them there.

It is a place that could be called a dark side that every citizen of the city turns their eyes away from, and even the magical machines that are still in operation are mercilessly discarded, so there are dangerous places where unknown gases accumulate. It is frequently brought up as a problem, but it is left unattended because no concrete solution can be found.

Ur and the others went there and searched for metals that looked sellable. Of course, it was too dangerous to go down directly, so they made something like a fishing rod, and Akane would stick to it and collect metals that looked usable.

《Hey, this is tough for me alone.》 -Akane

“Sorry about that.” -Ur

《Buy me juice later, okay?》 -Akane

“If we can pick up something like mithril.” -Ur

After collecting some usable metals and copper wires, they handed them over to a suspicious factory that would take them and received a small fee. The two then set off for home.

They earned more than expected, but the factory was suspicious of how they were able to collect this much by themselves as children, so they decided not to use that factory for a while. It was necessary to eliminate the possibility of Akane being found out as much as possible.

The rest is to save the money they got and manage for a few days. Ur was thinking about buying juice for Akane who worked hard as promised, when…

《Nii-tan.》 -Akane

“What’s up? Don’t talk too much in public.” -Ur

《Look at that.》 -Akane

“Hmm…?” -Ur

While passing through a narrow back alley, Ur looked in the direction Akane was pointing and saw multiple figures.

They were children the same age as Ur or a little older. They could be seen making a fuss about something. To be specific, it looked like about five children were assaulting a small boy.

《Isn’t that dangerous?》 -Akane

“Yeah, let’s get away.” -Ur

《Nii-tan, he’s gonna die like that.》 -Akane

“Let’s call the Knight Order.” -Ur

It was a one-sided violence that couldn’t be called a children’s fight. But still, children are children. The blood is gushing out flashily, but according to Ur’s assessment, he probably wouldn’t die from that. In the first place, the attackers were just laughing with a smirk and having fun, and they didn’t seem to be thinking about killing him at all. However, Akane was scared.

While thinking it was a hassle, Ur thought it wasn’t very good to trample on Akane’s kindness towards others. Above all…

“I’ll give you morals.”

The teachings of the “old man” who taught him at the orphanage in the previous city, Proudia, still remained with Ur.

“…Can’t be helped. Akane, please become a mask.” -Ur

《Okaaay, don’t do anything reckless.》 -Akane

Ur gave up and gripped a broken pipe nearby. He put on Akane, who had become a makeshift mask, to hide his face and avoid being identified, and then approached.

“Hey.” -Ur

“Hm? What is it, kid? Don’t interfere, behe?!”

Ur aimed the pipe at the nose of the biggest boy among the group of three children, who seemed to be the leader. It wasn’t a strong enough blow to break his nose, but it was a single strike with enough force to make his nose bleed flashily.

“Be, behe?! It hurts!!”

“Wh-what’s with this guy?!”

“He’s coming this way?! Run!!”

As intended, blood spurted out, and they were immediately thrown into confusion. They were used to using violence, but they didn’t seem to be accustomed to having it used against them at all. Ur’s appearance with a mask seemed to have further fueled their fear. The children scattered and ran away.

“Ugh… uuh…”

And the one who remained was the boy who had been bullied by them. A slender man with orange hair. He looked older than Ur, but somehow he seemed weak and didn’t look very reliable.

Well, judging from the extent of his injuries, he wasn’t going to die and there wouldn’t be any lasting wounds. In that case, let’s leave quickly. Ur was about to turn on his heels, but…

《Hey, are you okay~?》 -Akane

“Ah, hey!” -Ur

Before Ur could stop her, Akane, who was supposed to be a mask, smoothly came forward. She was a kind sister, but at this time, she still didn’t understand that she needed to hide herself.

“Uh… you… um? Who are you…?”

《I’m Akane!》 -Akane

With a sigh of resignation, Ur also approached the boy. The boy was initially frightened by the strange pair he had never seen around here, but he realized that he had been saved and seemed surprised by that fact. With an anxious expression, he grabbed Ur’s shoulder and shook him.

“T-that’s no good. That guy, that guy is Heyldar, you know? His father is an important person in the central workshop, you know?”

“Hmm? It was good that I wore a mask, huh?” -Ur

《That’s troublesome, isn’t it?》” -Akane

Ur wasn’t really getting the explanation. He vaguely understood that the central workshop was a big guild in Envy, but even if the other party was an important person in that organization, it wouldn’t change Ur’s position.

For Ur, even if the person he got into trouble with was really just an ordinary citizen, there was a possibility of being kicked out of the city or getting caught. His position was weak from the start, so there was no point in worrying about it. That’s why he wore a mask and hid his face.

Realizing something from Ur’s demeanor, the boy calmed down after a while. Then he stepped back a little and timidly placed his hand on himself.

“…I, I’m Eckstein. What about you guys?” -Eckstein

“Ur.” -Ur

《I’m Akane!》 -Akane

And so, under these circumstances, the three of them met, and while Ur and the others stayed in Envy, they would develop a relationship as friends.

After this, for some reason, Eckstein began to accompany Ur and the others in collecting metals, resulting in a little adventure to retrieve him after he fell, and they started a fierce war with the group of children from the central workshop who had completely become their enemies, but that’s another story.

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“You are…” -Ur

“Let me introduce myself again. I am Eckstein Lagoat, vice-captain of the Envy Knight Order Strike Force. Nice to meet you.” -Eckstein

Eckstein smiled refreshingly.

In the past, he was more of a timid type. He avoided standing out in public and didn’t really like talking, having a shy personality. He wasn’t the type to smile in a businesslike manner in front of others at all. While thinking that and observing him, he glanced at Ur and then smiled apologetically.

《Yup, he’s still the same old Eckstein.》 -Akane

“Some things about him haven’t changed.” -Ur

It had been many years since he parted with him. The parts that had changed must have changed greatly, of course. However, it seemed that his essential qualities had not changed yet.

But now, he stood in the way as an enemy.

“Lynne Nuu Leyline-sama’s power has been confirmed. Her technique is useful for preserving the asset that is Uuga. We were blind.” -Eckstein

As Eckstein said that, Gloria next to him glared at him as if to reprimand him a little. However, it was unclear whether Eckstein didn’t notice or noticed but ignored it, as he didn’t turn his gaze. Compared to Gloria, he continued speaking in a calm tone.

“But then, does that mean that 【Gradol】 will rely on a magician from 【Lust】 for the operation of Uuga?” -Eckstein

Lacretia’s words stumbled with a “hmm.”

“No matter how you look at it, Uuga is a satellite city. Managing that city depends on a magician from the 【City of Sin, Lust】 who belongs to the Adventurers’ Guild. It’s hard to say it’s sound.” -Eckstein

At this point, Eckstein highlighted the fact that Ur and the others were outsiders.

Indeed, among Ur’s group, the 【Walkers】, the only one essentially involved in this matter is Echelle. (Even she is not yet officially a member of the Adventurers’ Guild.)

Ur and the others came here at Echelle’s request after many twists and turns. They live in Uuga for convenience, but they are not official residents. Essentially, Ur and the others were wanderers. If asked if they were qualified to be entrusted with the great responsibility of operating and managing a city, they would be unfit. It’s not that they lack ability, but fundamentally, they have no qualifications.

Cities are walls to secure the zone of human habitatation.

Many people even consider the city itself sacred. Having a witch from an outside country and a Nameless wanderer protect it could indeed cause problems.

“Then, let Gradol formally employ the 【Walkers】 and clarify the master-servant relationship.” -Lacretia

“What’s the point of doing that just for show? The priests of Gradol won’t approve of it either, right?” -Eckstein

“There are many precedents in Gradol of hiring guilds due to a shortage of personnel for city management.” -Lacretia

“That was during the reckless city planning of the former Shinra, the Caraleigh family, right? Wasn’t the unreasonableness of that plan connected to the current turmoil? Will they accept external intervention now that the turmoil has occurred?” -Eckstein

The debate began to stagnate again.

It was fortunate that they weren’t crushed by the absence of someone with abilities equal to Greylei, but it was tough not being able to fully push back with Lynne’s demonstration of management ability. The scales also continued to sway in the center.

This is going to drag on, Ur thought.

“Is it really that complicated?” -Black

However, at that point, a low, deep, resonating voice that instantly dominated the place was heard.

Black, who had been silent all this time, had spoken. Everyone’s gaze involuntarily gathered on Black.

“…What is it, Black?” -Lacretia

Lacretia responded to his words. She exuded an aura of wanting to ignore him if possible. In fact, that sentiment was probably shared by everyone present, but they couldn’t ignore him no matter what.

It was like a giant lying in the middle of the road while the debate was progressing. It couldn’t be ignored.

“No, well, I honestly enjoyed watching the girls’ heated argument, but it seems to be stagnating, you know? So I thought this old geezer would give a little advice.” -Black

Saying that, he turned to face Lacretia, who had asked him. He held out his hand, which had grown claws, looking more like a demon than a beastperson, and then…

“Hey, Lucy. Won’t you sell Uuga to me?” -Black

He dropped a bombshell.