7 - The Trēs Trading Company 特里斯貿易公司

… She saw the ocean.

......她看到了大海。

Slowly sinking down into the deep and dark depths of the waters, she saw the lights grow further and further away.

她慢慢沉入深不見底的水底，看到燈光越來越遠。

Glittering small and red lights drifted through the sea in masses, but there were no signs of any lifeforms around.

閃閃發光的小紅光成羣結隊地在海面上飄蕩，但周圍沒有任何生命體的跡象。

And after she reached the bottom, the small light began to gather into her.

她的眼睛睜不開了。當她到達底部後，微光開始向她聚集。

They leisurely took their time, and once those lights began to fade out as well, she found herself resurfacing.

他們悠閒地慢慢走着，當那些光也開始熄滅時，她發現自己又浮出了水面。

A voice called out to her.

一個聲音在呼喚她。

『Your role has ended, …』

『你的角色已經結束了，......』。

A shadow against the light of the sun called out in a feminine voice. She got the feeling the figure had called out a name, but she couldn9;t catch it.

在陽光的映襯下，一個影子用女性的聲音呼喚着她。她感覺那個人影叫出了一個名字，但她沒聽清。

And she found herself saying something.

她發現自己說了些什麼。

『Next time…』

『下次......』。

➐

她搖搖頭，脫掉睡衣，穿着內衣去房間的浴室洗澡。

On the oceans inhabited by dangerous monsters, they wouldn9;t attack when she was there. The individual herself thought it as nothing but a coincidence, but others didn9;t see it as such.

"哈，哈......四點了。現在睡覺可不會有什麼好結果。"

It was clean, but it was furnished as if no one was actually living in it.

即使在公海上度過了大半年，她的皮膚也沒有曬黑的跡象。別人曾多次告訴她，她和別人不一樣。

“I9;ll have to go shopping today. We9;re setting sail next week… it seems we have some valuable cargo this time around, and they told us to take it across no matter what.”

But she wasn9;t treated any worse.

左手撫摸着額頭，【Vera Trēs】打量着房間。這不是她習慣的船上的房間，而是她自己在豪宅裏的房間。

Even after spending a majority of her year on the high seas, her skin showed no signs of tanning. Other people had told her she was different from others a number of times.

『Good work, …』

雖然很乾淨，但裏面的擺設就像沒有人真正住過一樣。

She raised the upper half of her body, and got her chaotic breath in order before brushing away the hair stuck to her face from her sweat.

在那裏，影子伸出了一隻手。她伸手去接的那隻手臂，已被玷污得慘不忍睹。她被打得遍體鱗傷，又是從海里爬上來的，手臂上沾滿了水草和貝殼的變種，甚至連珊瑚都粘在了她身上。

（不知道第一次是什麼時候。）

“It9;s happening a lot lately. I used to get them once a year, or never.”

她的黑髮在綁成天使翅膀的地方已經長出來了，那部分一直長到腰部。但其餘的頭髮幾乎沒長到肩膀。她的身體曲線優美。

And her conversation partner smiled.

喘着粗氣的女孩動了動腦袋，伸手摸向牀頭櫃上的懷錶。當她把金色的鐘拿在手裏時，她打開了鍾蓋看了看時間。

Having dropped by Rauno-san9;s office with Miranda, I accepted the report, and read the name aloud.

......當她睜開眼睛時，外面還是一片漆黑。

起牀後，她捏了捏自己的睡衣。她出了不少汗。

她抬起上半身，整理了一下自己混沌的氣息，然後拂去被汗水粘在臉上的頭髮。

不僅如此，水手們甚至稱她爲幸運女神。因爲無論遇到多大的危險，只要她在船上，--奇怪的是--船就永遠不會沉沒。

Even with a body like that, the girl had her own things to complain about. Among them, her greatest complaint was her reserved chest that set her apart from her younger sister.

她的對話夥伴笑了。

"維拉-特里斯？"

她的心跳開始加速。她望着水面，發現水面上倒映着一個怪物的形象。

這個噩夢薇拉已經做過很多次了。每次，她都會驚醒。

Outside the window, she saw some lights here and there across the town.

『幹得好，......』。

即使擁有這樣的身材，女孩也有自己的抱怨。其中，她最大的抱怨就是她那與妹妹截然不同的矜持的胸部。

0;I wonder when the first was.1;

"我今天得去買點東西。我們下週就要啓航了......看來這次我們有一些貴重的貨物，他們讓我們無論如何都要帶過去。"

After rising, she pinched her sleeping wear. She had sweat quite severely.

在她被遺忘的名字再次被呼喚之後，她的手臂斷裂，身體散架，再次沉入海底。

Muttering that, she took off her undergarments, and got into the shower…

She looked into the bathroom mirror to find her own violet eyes looking back. She traced her pale skin with a finger.

說罷，她脫下內衣，進了浴室......

"最近經常這樣。以前我一年纔出一次，或者從來沒出過。"

窗外，她看到整個小鎮上有一些燈光。

0;Hah, if they were a bit bigger, would people look at me too…1;

… When she opened her eyes, it was still dark outside.

Touching her left hand to her forehead, 【Vera Trēs】 looked over the room. It wasn9;t the room on the boat she was used to, but her own room in her mansion.

➐

Once open, the lid emitted its own light, letting her read the face.

但她並沒有受到更差的待遇。

“Hah, hah… it9;s four. Going to sleep now won9;t end too well.”

More than that, the sailors even called her a goddess of fortune. Because no matter how much danger struck, as long as she was on board,- strange as it was- the boat would never sink.

一打開，鍾蓋就發出自己的光，讓她看清了鐘面。

Shaking her head to the side, she stripped off her pyjamas, and headed to her room9;s bathroom in her undergarments to take a shower.

Her black hair was grown out in the area she tied into angel wings, and that part reached up to her lower back. But the rest of it was barely long enough to touch her shoulders. Her well-shaped body held splendid curves.

The girl with her breathing in a mess moved her head, and extended a hand to the pocket watch on her bedside table. When she took the golden clock in hand, she opened its lid to check the time.

她對着浴室的鏡子，發現自己的紫羅蘭色眼睛正在回望。她用手指描繪着自己蒼白的皮膚。

And at this point, she had received a precious boat from her father, and was working for the sake of her family… Vera Trēs was a prominent merchant girl, even in Beim…

在有危險怪物棲息的海洋上，當她在那裏時，它們不會發動攻擊。她自己認爲這只是巧合，但別人卻不這麼認爲。

“Vera Trēs?”

There, the shadow extended a hand. The arm she extended herself to take it, was horribly sullied. Beaten up, and having come up from the sea, her arm was covered in variants of water plants, and shells; even coral had stuck to her.

After her forgotten name was called out again, her arm crumbled, her body fell apart, and she sunk to the ocean9;s depths once more. Breaking up into small pieces, her unsightly form joined the ocean9;s floor…

（哈，如果再大一點，別人是不是也會看我......）

Her heart started beating faster. She looked into the water9;s face to find the image of a monster reflected back.

而此時，她從父親那裏得到了一艘珍貴的船，正在爲她的家庭而努力......即使在貝姆，薇拉-特里斯也是一位傑出的女商人......

That nightmare was one Vera had seen a number of times. Every time, she would wake up in shock.

我和米蘭達順路去了勞諾先生的辦公室，接過報告，大聲念出了名字。

I had gotten some fame, and a name like Holy Knight to myself, but in exchange, I went through a drastic drop in capital.

我得到了一些名聲，自己也有了聖騎士這樣的名號，但作爲交換，我的資本卻急劇下降。

Even so, I had received my money9;s worth, and my treatment from the Guild had changed. But it still was troublesome not to have any money. It would put quite a restriction on are actions henceforth.

即便如此，我的錢還是物有所值，公會給我的待遇也有所改變。但沒錢還是很麻煩。這對我們以後的行動會有相當大的限制。

Of course, we weren9;t troubled with living expenses, but as I was in a position where I needed a national-level budget, I had no choice but to seek out support.

當然，我們並沒有生活費的困擾，但由於我的處境需要國家級的預算，我別無選擇，只能尋求支持。

And I had requested the investigation on that matter to Rauno-san.

我還向勞野先生提出了調查此事的要求。

Miranda silently scanned through other documents.

米蘭達默默地翻閱着其他文件。

Rauno-san scratched his head with a sleepy expression as he explained it to me.

勞野先生一邊向我解釋，一邊用睏倦的表情撓了撓頭。

“The ones who can answer to your hopes are probably the Trēs House. They don9;t currently have any adventurers they9;re backing, but as merchants of Beim… well, they9;re one of the merchants controlling this city. They mainly profit off of trade.”

"能滿足你希望的，大概就是特里斯家族了。他們目前沒有支持任何冒險者，但作爲貝姆的商人......嗯，他們是控制這座城市的商人之一。他們主要從貿易中獲利。"

A large trading enterprise that owned a number of large-scale transport ships, and quite famous in Beim.

一家擁有多艘大型運輸船的大型貿易企業，在貝姆相當有名。

If there was anything strange about them, perhaps it was that they hadn9;t exclusively contracted any adventurers, while being merchants of the city of Beim, perhaps?

如果說他們有什麼奇怪的地方，也許就是作爲貝姆城的商人，他們並沒有專門與任何冒險者簽約吧？

At that scale, it wouldn9;t be strange if they were backing a number of promising parties. Yet the Trēs House wasn9;t doing anything like that.

“Goddess of Fortune?”

以我的名聲，這似乎已經是極限了。

“I have no idea what you9;re talking about. Fall? Would a cliff be involve? Even like this, I still have quite a resistance when it comes to hitting or cutting at girls, you know.”

『最好的選擇還是特里斯家族。其他人都想得到萊爾的名聲，所以相對來說會比較好抓，但這個人不會因爲把萊爾收歸門下而得到什麼好處。不，他們甚至有可能與其他商人發生衝突。』

Pushing those houses aside, and even conflicting with those that set Zayin and Lorphys as their main bases of operation… I highly doubt the Trēs House would be interested.

看完了文件，米蘭達把視線轉向了我。

“If you want a chance, it9;ll be with the girl, is what I9;m saying. It9;s unbelievably low. Of all else, I haven9;t heard any talks of her being a flippant one. And at present, the time she spends aloft is longer than her time on land. I asked the sailors, but apparently, she9;s a goddess of fortune, and not a target of romantic affection.”

“Anyways, if we want to have a chance, it9;ll be with that Vera girl, you say? Lyle, think you can get her to fall?”

扎因和洛菲斯正在與非特里斯商人打交道。

Finished reading through the papers, Miranda turned her field of vision to me.

我看了看文件。

把那些家族推到一邊，甚至與那些以扎因和洛菲斯爲主要經營基地的家族發生衝突......我非常懷疑特里斯家族會對此感興趣。

The Seventh was considering the other reports as well, but…

Rauno-san explained.

"如果要承包名方，肯定有商人會出雙倍。但如果是他們要經常使用的冒險者隊伍，我相信他們會以較低的價格成交。條件是，只要他們能把你帶到自己身邊。更何況，這只是估價。玩得不好，你的條件會更差。"

“… The money and terms of the other places are all much the same. One thousand gold a year is it? Work requests are a separate sum.”

（正如坦尼婭女士所說，與其說他們看重的是我作爲僱傭兵的功勞，不如說他們看重的是我的個人能力。）

"他們的工作相當廣泛，但這並不是唯一的問題。當你派出飛船時，你會發現。風暴、事故、怪物襲擊，船隻沉沒並不罕見。但特里斯之家的成功率很高。如果與其他船相比，差距可就大了。所以他們的信譽度很高，與其他商行的關係也很廣泛。這也是他們成爲貝姆著名商人之一的原因。到了這種程度，沒有一個傻瓜會對他們下手。"

從寶石那裏，四世聽起來很矛盾。

勞諾說："這只是個傳言，你知道的。"還說這是個不可靠的小道消息。

勞野先生微笑着把胳膊擱在沙發上。

而目前，他們正在其他國家之間進行大宗交易。他們是商行，不需要我的名聲和關係。

七世也在考慮其他的報告，但是......

她問得很自然，我便雙掌一指她，搖了搖頭。

If they9;re going to use them as bodyguards, even if they weren9;t too smart, strong people were best.

I looked at the documents.

Rauno said, ‘it9;s just a rumor, you know,9; asnd said it was an unreliable tidbit of info.

“They9;re working quite extensively, but that isn9;t the only problem. When you send out a ship, you see. With storms and accidents, and monster attacks, it isn9;t rare for it to sink. But the Trēs House had a high success rate. If you compare it to others, it9;s a considerable gap. So they have that credibility to them, and a wide relation with other mercantile houses. That9;s why they9;re one of the prominent merchants of Beim. To such an extent there isn9;t a fool who9;ll lay hands on them.”

勞野先生笑了。

“Harsh as it may sound, at your level or reputation, even if you make a market for yourselves, I don9;t know if they9;ll even take you seriously. To the Trēs Trading Company, countries like Zayin and Lorphys are small fries in the realm of trading partners. Even if you offer them a monopoly an those nations, I can9;t say for sure they9;ll make a move.”

I was trying to find a merchant who would sponsor us, but while the Trēs House was on the top of the list, they were the party with which we would have the lowest chances of success. Or so was written on the report.

如果要讓他們當保鏢，即使他們不太聰明，強壯的人也是最好的。

“If they9;re going to contract a famous party, there are surely merchants who would put out double. But if it9;s an adventurer party they9;re going to be using regularly, they9;ll settle for a lesser sum, I9;m sure. And it9;s all as long as they get you to themselves, is the condition. What9;s more, this is an estimate, you hear. Play it poorly, and you9;ll be on even worse terms.”

"如果你想有機會，那就去找那個女孩，我就是這個意思。這簡直低得令人難以置信。我還沒聽說過她是個輕浮的人。目前，她在海上的時間比在陸地上的時間還長。我問過水手們，但很顯然，她是幸運女神，而不是浪漫愛情的對象"。

And at present, they were conducting large transactions between other countries. They were a mercantile house that didn9;t need my fame or connections.

“You don9;t think they feel like backing me?”

Hearing about goddesses of fortune, I tilted my head.

That9;s why Tanya-san told me to call out to the merchants after slaying a dragon or two.

聽到幸運女神，我歪了歪頭。

"......其他地方的錢和條件都差不多。一年一千金是嗎？工作要求另算。"

"聽起來很殘酷，以你的水平和名聲，即使你把自己做成了市場，我也不知道他們會不會把你當回事。對於特里斯貿易公司來說，像扎因和洛菲斯這樣的國家在貿易伙伴中都是小巫見大巫。即使你讓他們壟斷這些國家的貿易，我也不敢保證他們一定會採取行動。"

Warriors over tacticians.

Rauno-san smiled as he rested his arms on top of his sofa.

Zayin and Lorphys were dealing with non-Trēs merchants.

"你覺得他們不想支持我嗎？"

『Doing something like that would be troubling. Monopolies have their share of merits, but they have plenty of demerits as well… even to, I underestimated Beim. As expected, we can9;t let our guards down around merchants.』

"總之，如果我們想有機會的話，就得找那個叫維拉的女孩，你說呢？萊爾，你覺得你能讓她墮落嗎？"

『The best choice is still the Trēs House. The others will want Lyle9;s fame, so they9;ll be relatively easy to nab, but this one won9;t get much merit from taking Lyle under their wing. No, there9;s even a chance they9;ll clash with other merchants.』

As she asked that quite naturally, I pointed both my palms at her, and shook my head.

『做這樣的事會令人不安的壟斷有其優點，但也有很多缺點......我還是低估了貝姆。果然，在商人面前，我們不能放鬆警惕。』

With my reputations, it seems this was around the limit.

0;As Tanya-san said, rather than rather than my merits as a mercenary, they may be evaluating based on my stand-alone prowess.1;

From the Jewel, the Fourth sounded conflicted.

戰士勝過戰術家。這就是爲什麼塔尼婭小姐讓我在殺死一兩條龍之後，再向商人們發出召喚。

Rauno-san looked at Miranda.

"我不知道你在說什麼。墜落？懸崖會牽扯到嗎？就算是這樣，我對打女生、砍女生還是挺牴觸的，你知道嗎？"

"幸運女神？"

在這種規模下，如果他們支持一些有前途的黨派，也並不奇怪。然而特里斯家族並沒有這樣做。

我想找一個願意贊助我們的商人，雖然特里斯家族在名單上名列前茅，但他們是我們成功幾率最低的一方。報告上是這麼寫的。

戰士勝過戰術家。

勞野先生解釋道。

勞野先生看着米蘭達。

Rauno-san laughed.

“No matter how difficult the voyage, if Vera is aboard, it will succeed… it isn9;t just the sailors that believe that. The people of the Trēs house do too. That9;s why Vera9;s a goddess of fortune.”

"無論航行多麼艱難，只要薇拉在船上，就一定會成功......不只是水手們相信這一點。特里斯家的人也這麼認爲。這就是薇拉成爲幸運女神的原因。"

I looked at the documents, as I put my hand to my chin, and pondered over it.

我一邊看着文件，一邊用手托住下巴，陷入了沉思。

0;If we want money, this is the best place… with other merchant houses, they9;ll have relations with other adventurers or mercenaries. That9;s not bad, but I don9;t like how it feels they9;re going to restrict our movements.1;

0;如果我們想要錢，這裏是最好的地方......與其他商行一起，他們會與其他冒險者或僱傭兵建立關係。這不是壞事，但我不喜歡他們限制我們行動的感覺）。

As I thought, Miranda looked at my face, as she giggled to herself.

正想着，米蘭達看着我的臉，一邊自顧自地傻笑起來。

“Come to think of it, you9;ll need a sea route to go north, right? How about hopping aboard one of the Trēs House9;s state of the art ships? It9;ll shorten the way there and back.”

"想一想，你們需要走海路去北方，對吧？跳上特里斯家族最先進的船隻怎麼樣？這樣可以縮短來回的路途。"

Rauno-san as well.

勞野先生也說。

“Come to think of it, it9;s just come in to the port. A large scale model with quite some speed to it. I heard it was Vera9;s personal one, but there9;s no doubt about it.”

"想起來了，它剛到港口。一個大型模型，速度相當快。聽說是維拉的私人飛機，這一點毋庸置疑。"

The state of the art ship the Trēs house didn9;t want to sink at all costs, was naturally given to Vera-san.

特里斯家不惜一切代價也不想讓它沉沒的最先進的飛船，自然是送給維拉小姐的。

“Well, putting seducing the lass aside, you9;ll at least have a chance to talk and see if you can get some support.”

"好吧，撇開勾引小姑娘不說，你至少有機會說說話，看看能不能得到一些支持。"

There, the Fourth let out an interested voice.

在那裏，四爺發出了感興趣的聲音。

0;… To be honest, it would be possible for us to get there by ourselves.1;

I became a bit interested in the man known as Rauno.

There, the man in charge replied.

I said that with a smile, but it doesn9;t look like he believed it.

"我確實認爲屠龍很重要。但這裏有一個逃避騎士身份的傢伙......好吧，如果沒什麼，那就這樣吧。把獎賞交給我吧。有了伊尼斯，這筆錢馬上就會變成房租和生活費，而我在這裏只能得到雞肋。"

他坐在沙發上，對面是一張矮茶几。克拉拉把請她喝的飲料放在嘴邊，似乎並不打算參與談話。

The region the Land Dragon subjugation had come up in would take much too long to reach on land. They would need to cross a mountain range, and while it wasn9;t impossible, a land route wasn9;t much of an option.

Novem told the man their business.

“I do think dragon slaying is important. But here we have a guy who ran from knighthood… well, if it9;s nothing, then so be it. And just hand the reward to me. With Innis, it immediately disappears into rent and living expenses, and I only get chicken feed over here.”

He sat on a sofa, opposite with a low coffee table between them. Clara put the offered drink to her mouth, and it didn9;t seem she would participate in the conversation.

The one to oppose those two opinions was the Fifth.

Miranda laughed at his words.

我站了起來，向他問道。

『仔細想想，我還從來沒有在船上測試過我的技能是否有效。不過在小船上倒是可以用。』

0;When he9;s so unsteady in life, why is his work so thorough?1;

"不想。我想和伊尼斯保持良好關係。而且你至少應該付房租和生活費。"

➐

『Ah, that sounds nice. If he can raise the speed of ships, then Lyle9;s got something to offer to the Trēs House.』

“That rumor was true? What9;s more, Damien of Arumsaas has holed himself up in your mansion… what are you doing this time?”

“We are not requesting a free ride. Our objective is to shorten our travel period. We will be able to pay money to compensate.”

“How interesting. Last time Novem denied Princess Annerinne, but I wonder how it9;ll turn out this time around.”

“Don9;t want to. I want to stay on good terms with Innis. And you should at least pay rent and living costs.”

“I9;ll leave the payment with Innis. And I9;m not doing anything too big this time around. I9;m just going off to complete a request.”

"我們聽說有一艘船向北駛去它的移動速度比其他船快一截你能帶我們上船嗎？"

… Novem brought her feet to the Trēs Trading Company.

『啊，聽起來不錯。如果他能提高船的速度，那麼萊爾就能爲特里斯家族做出貢獻了。』

（......老實說，我們有可能自己到達那裏。諾維姆微笑着說。

第三。

I thought.

"真有意思。上次諾維姆拒絕了安奈琳公主，不知道這次結果會如何。"

反對這兩種意見的是第五人。

......諾維姆帶着她的腳來到了特里斯貿易公司。

我想。

陸地龍臣服的地區從陸地上到達需要太長的時間。他們需要翻越一座山脈，雖然這並非不可能，但陸路並不是什麼好選擇。

米蘭達被他的話逗笑了。

『他可能會撞壞什麼東西，到時候就會引起爭議，所以你最好就此打住。不過，如果只是爲了測試，應該不會有什麼問題。不過，特里斯和女神......是巧合嗎？感覺可不像。』

And a guild ship would also take too long. That was on top of the dangers of it sinking.

They were let into a back room of the firm, and the man in charge came out to give them his greetings. The man in his thirties wore a stylish suit, and had a soft demeanor.

而公會飛船也需要很長時間。而且還有沉船的危險。

Rauno gave an unmotivated response of, ‘It9;s a pain. And it works out one way or another, even if we default,9; as he lay down on the sofa.

Hearing that, Rauno-san covered his mouth.

She carried a letter of introduction from the guild, and dropped by with Clara to ask if they9;d let the party board their ship.

我一邊想着五世的話，一邊把所有的文件整理好，遞給米蘭達。她用手指在封面的裝訂處畫上了薇拉的名字。

我笑着說，但看起來他並不相信。

I thought over the Fifth9;s words, as I got all the papers together, and handed them to Miranda. She used a finger to trace Vera9;s name on the front binding.

"那個傳言是真的？更何況，阿魯姆薩斯的達米安已經躲進了你的宅邸......你這次又是爲了什麼？"

諾維姆把他們的事情告訴了那個男人。

"我會把錢交給伊尼斯。這次我也不會做什麼大事。我只是去完成一個請求。"

“We have heard there is a boat bound north. That it9;s movement speed is a cut across the rest. Would it be possible for you to take us on board?”

I stood, and addressed him.

（他的生活如此不穩定，爲什麼他的工作如此周密？）

我對被稱爲Rauno的這個人有些感興趣。

聽到這裏，勞野先生捂住了嘴。

他們被允許進入公司的一間密室，負責人出來向他們致意。這位三十多歲的男子穿着時髦的西裝，舉止溫和。

“I have read over the Guild9;s letter of introduction. I never thought the Holy Knight of rumor9;s party would make such a request of us. But it isn9;t a passenger ship. It has the necessary facilities, but we can9;t just have you hitch a ride and leave, can we? I do think it would be safest if you rode a ship provided by the Guild.”

在那裏，負責人回答道。

Novem spoke with a smile.

『Come to think of it, I9;ve never tested the effectiveness of my Skill on a ship. It does work on smaller boats, mind you.』

『He may crash something, and there9;ll be disputes, so you9;d best stop it there. Though there shouldn9;t be any problems if it9;s just to test it out. Still, Trēs and a goddess… a coincidence? Sure doesn9;t feel like it.』

她帶着公會的介紹信，和克拉拉一起順路去問問他們是否允許一行人登船。

The Third.

"公會的介紹信我已經看過了。沒想到傳聞中的聖騎士一行會向我們提出這樣的要求。但這不是一艘客船。它有必要的設施，但我們不能讓你們搭個便車就走，不是嗎？我認爲，如果你們乘坐公會提供的船隻，那纔是最安全的。"

勞諾沒精打采地回答道："很麻煩。9;他躺在沙發上。

"我們不是要求免費搭乘。我們的目的是縮短旅行時間。我們會給錢補償的。"

There, the man pretended to think hard on it…

說到這裏，男子假裝認真地想了想......

“Unfortunately, even if you offer money, I think it9;ll be difficult. It9;s our state-of-the-art large-scale vessel after all. Some parts of its craft have been kept to absolute secrecy. If you insist so heavily, could you board a different ship? It9;ll be one of our own ships, and with the guild9;s high recommendation, we won9;t mind you riding free of charge.”

"很遺憾，即使你們出錢，我想也很困難。這畢竟是我們最先進的大型船隻。它的某些部分是絕對保密的。如果你這麼堅持，能不能換一艘船？這將是我們自己的一艘船，加上公會的大力推薦，我們不會介意您免費乘坐的。"

From the smiling man, they could feel a considerably strong intent to refuse. At that moment, a knocking sound rung through the room.

從微笑的男子身上，他們能感受到相當強烈的拒絕之意。這時，一陣敲門聲響徹房間。

The man made a troubled expression and apologized, before standing, and heading for the door.

男子露出不安的表情，連聲道歉，然後站起身，向門口走去。

“What is it? When we9;re dealing with guests…”

"怎麼了？我們在接待客人的時候......"

The man9;s voice outside was barely audible.

外面男人的聲音幾乎聽不見。

“… No, wasn9;t this matter my jurisdiction…”

"......不，這不是我的管轄範圍嗎......"

It seems they were arguing outside the room.

看來他們是在房外爭吵。

Clara emptied her tea, and looked at the door.

克拉拉倒掉茶，望着門。

“It sounds difficult. As expected, they don9;t want us to approach their goddess of fortune? Well, there are those sorts of rumors about Lyle-san.”

"......在這種時候？不過，我們還是可以在任何地方找到冒險者來擔任守衛......明白了。我去問問。也告訴老闆一聲。"

談判以失敗告終。諾維姆是這麼想的，但是......

"我爲之前的事道歉。我們的情況發生了變化。如果您能接受我們的請求，我們將接受之前的事情。當然，我們也會爲此支付可觀的報酬。"

“… No, there9;s something strange.”

After hearing the rumors about Lyle, no parent in their right mind would ever let their precious daughter aboard the same vessel. That9;s why Novem and Clara were the ones who had come to negotiate.

"......不，有些奇怪。"

看到男子態度的轉變，諾維姆笑了。

And the man…

“… At a time like this? B-but still, we could find adventurers to take up guard duty anywhere… understood. I9;ll try asking. Tell the boss that as well.”

門開了，那個男人走了進來。他看起來比以前更不耐煩了，但笑容沒有垮掉。

She could hear some flustered voices on the other side of the door.

她聽到門的另一邊傳來一些慌亂的聲音。

It had ended in failure. That9;s what Novem thought, but…

說着說着......

“I apologize for before. And our circumstances have changed. If you will accept a request of ours, we shall accept the previous matter. Of course, we will also pay a considerable reward for it.”

And said that…

Seeing the man9;s change in attitude, Novem smiled.

"您能詳細說說嗎？"

聽到關於萊爾的傳言後，任何一個正常的父母都不會讓自己的寶貝女兒登上同一艘船。這就是諾維姆和克拉拉來談判的原因。

而那個男人......

"聽起來很難。果然，他們不想讓我們接近他們的幸運女神嗎？嗯，有關於萊爾先生的那些傳聞。"

“Could you go into the details?”

The door opened, and the man entered. He looked a little more impatient than before, but his smile hadn9;t crumbled.