Translator's Note
You probably don't need to read this chapter (probably until chapter 562) if you have already read the published English version of light novel volume 17. This translation is just to make a good starting point for people who haven't read the light novel yet and to refresh some memories for those who have read.
According to NovelUpdates, the LN has already surpasses the unofficial translation, which only until chapter 479, so I don't think I have intention to translate chapter 480-546. But if there are requests or demands, I'll probably think about it later.
Slash!
Thump!
Clank!
Ka-clink!
The four sea serpent heads flew out and the four girls landed on the deck of the ship.
"Pauline-san, heal the injured! Others, exterminate the Sea Serpent!" (Mile)
"Yeah!" (Other 3)
There was water all around, and to avoid burning the ship, Reina used water magic instead of her specialty, fire magic. Just because she's good at fire magic didn't mean she's bad at other magic, so there's no problem with her attack power.
Mile and Mavis, of course, attacked with swords.
Slash, Thump, Clank~!
"Finished……" (3 of them)
"It's too early! I haven't even started healing yet!" (Pauline)
Pauline complained, but it couldn't be helped...
Pauline then began to cast healing spells on the injured sailors.
"Ah, aah, uh..." (Ship crew)
One of the people who had been fighting the Sea Serpent, who had been frozen in place, finally spoke to Mile and the others while trembling.
"Ah, who are you guys..." (Ship crew)
"Ah!" (All 4)
Even though they were moving to another continent with the intention of starting over as an ordinary hunter without attracting attention, what would they do if they appeared riding an ancient dragon and instantly killed a sea serpent...
"Mmmmmmm..." (All 4)
And Mile and her group secretly consulted in a whisper.
"I didn't give my name, and I can't tell them exactly what my face looks like. For now, I won't give my name...no, I'll give them a random name, and let's take a quick break! This is not really about these people. I'm not going to my home country, so there's no problem!" (Mile)
"I see!" (Other 3)
She seemed to have forgotten that she mentioned Pauline's name earlier.
Then, Mile came up with a random name to disguise the situation.
"We, the four Dragon Maiden sisters, apostles of justice and truth! Those of righteous hearts, devote yourself.
Well then, goodbye!!" (Mile)
Then, using gravity magic, she took everyone up into the sky, got on the Kragon that was circling and waiting in the sky, deployed her shield, and left!
The ship's crew just look on in shock.
"We… are…saved…?"
"Dragon Maiden...sama..."
"4 sisters, dragon Maiden... sama..."
"H-Hurray! Dragon Maiden, Hurray!"
"Hurray!" (Everyone)
"Long live the Dragon Shrine Maiden!!" (All sailors)
Then, the sailors began to pull up the corpse of the sea serpent floating around the ship.
They were sure it would sell for a pretty high price, and that they would take it home as evidence to make people believe in the miracle of being saved by a dragon and a dragon maiden.
The profits from selling the materials and talking about this story here and there for a fee would be enough to last for the rest of their life.
Luck like this didn't come along very often.
The passengers holed up in the hold never saw the miracle, nor were they given a share of the sea serpent's materials.
Everything belonged to them who fought for their lives.
Dragon Maiden-sama...
A new religion was born here.
"It wasn't a ship that would cross the ocean, so it seems like it's close to the shore." (Mile)
"...But then, wouldn't you normally sail at a distance where you can see the land? There's no reason why you should sail so far away that you can't see the land, right? The open ocean is dangerous because there are so many large monsters..." (Reina)
Reina refuted Mile's words, but...
"Maybe a good fishing ground is a little far from land, or if a transport ship crosses a strait..." (Mavis)
"Well, it didn't really look like a fishing boat, though. It wasn't on a regular route, but I think there was some other reason for it. It might have been a round trip to a remote island or something..." (Pauline)
Mavis and Pauline pointed out.
"Well, no matter how much you think about it, it’s still speculation, so there’s no point in thinking about it. In any case, I think we'll soon be able to see the land area. Kragon-san, please regain altitude so we don't get seen from the ground and make a fuss. Even if we reach the shore, we will continue to scout from the air for a while to confirm the location of towns and villages. Then, let's all discuss what would be a good place to land and where our 'Starting town' should be!" (Mile)
"ALL RIGHT, MILE-SAMA!" (Kragon)
Apparently, the continent Mile and her group were on...the Old Continent...and the New Continent weren't that far apart, like Japan and the North American continent across the Pacific Ocean. Compared to them, it seemed to be relatively close.
Well, that being said, if it's the ancient dragon's flying speed...
At the very least, it wasn't far enough that a small, primitive sailing ship could easily cross through a sea of sea-dwelling and flying monsters.
How long ago was it that travel between continents ceased?
Was it because high-performance ships and navigation technology were lost, or was it because of the spread of monsters?
In any case, it appeared that a considerable number of years had passed since the means of travel and communication between continents were lost.
"Isn’t it nice over there?" (Mile)
Mile pointed to the town on the ground from the back of Kragon, which was flying quite high in the sky.
"Hmm, it’s not bad, but wouldn’t it be better to be closer to the center of the country or the capital?" (Reina)
However, Reina showed some reluctance.
This was because there were more requests in the capital than in regional cities, and there were more difficult...interesting...requests.
The town shown by Mile was a seaside town. It's not a fishing village, it's a fairly large town.
There was what appeared to be a fairly large port for this world, and it appeared to function as a home port for not only small fishing boats but also cargo ships.
Mile's reasons for choosing there were completely natural as a former Japanese person.
...I want to eat fresh fish. I also want to eat seafood other than fish.
If there was a large port, rare ingredients from far away might be gathered there, and various cooking methods might have been passed down.
That was reason enough for Mile to stick to that city.
And the reason why Reina was not so enthusiastic about it was because although the town was large, it didn't seem to be a capital city...a royal capital or an imperial capital...it seemed like it's just a local town.
Well, the capital and largest city...The most prosperous metropolis in the country...Countries with different capitals and have multiple capitals...The central functions of a nation were spread across multiple cities... some countries do not even have a capital. That doesn't seem to be the case here.
And no matter how she looked at this port town, she couldn't believe it was a capital.
She couldn't be sure since I only saw it from above, but she couldn't find any buildings with the characteristics of a royal palace or imperial castle...
For Mile, she thought it would be better to make the capital in a large port town that was the center of shipping, but in this day and age where trade by ship with faraway places was not yet widespread, the capital should not be located at the edge of the country, but in the middle of the country. It would probably be more convenient politically and logistically to locate it near the center of the country.
And of course, it was more efficient to work as a hunter in the capital. Whether it's making money or making a name for yourself...
"But now we don't have to rush to earn money or make a name for ourselves, right? Maybe it's better to take it easy and have some fun this time?" (Mile)
"I disagree that there's no need to make money quickly, but if it's a regional city rather than the capital, even if Mile-chan does something wrong, the number of aristocrats and merchants who will gather there will be limited, so it might be easier. Also, even if something were to happen, the speed at which information spreads to other cities is slower than in the capital, and it might be a little easier to escape and change our base to another city." (Pauline)
"Wha-..." (Mile)
Mavis and Pauline didn't seem to be particularly dissatisfied with Mile's choice of city, although Pauline had something to say about it.
Then Pauline and Mavis continued speaking.
"Besides, in this town, Mile-chan will cook all kinds of delicious dishes using seafood, right?" (Pauline)
"And instead of starting from the capital all of a sudden, it would be great to start your activities in a regional city and then take an adventurous journey to the capital!" (Mavis)
"...For now, let's check out the city. If you don't like it, you can just move on right away!" (Reina)
Reina was so cool...
Also, since Crimson Vow was a hunter party, they might have to settle down temporarily, but it's normal for people to travel around and change bases while they're young. So, they didn't have to be so particular about choosing their first town.
"Then, let's go to that town for now.
Kragon-san, land in a nearby deserted forest!" (Mile)
"UNDERSTOOD!" (Kragon)
Thus, the planned location for a new base for "Crimson Vow" was decided.
Author's Note
Vacation is over!
This year as well, we look forward to your continued support of the "Tiny Girl Trilogy Who Looks About 12 to 13 Years Old." (^^)/
During this vacation, I worked on two books, had a meeting with the person in charge, updated the manuscript for Narou after the vacation, entered data for final tax returns, prepared documents related to government offices, and everything else went smoothly. (^^)/
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