Yuna-san and Kagari-chan left the house.
I would see them off until they were out of sight.
Little Kagari-chan disappeared from view, and Yuna-san, who was dressed as a black bear, also disappeared.
"...they're gone." (Bollard)
Father was looking in the direction where Yuna-san and the others were walking away.
"……Yeah" (Lise)
"They were some strange girls." (Bollard)
They were truly amazing girls.
I was surprised when I saw the bear house for the first time, but I was also surprised when Yuna-san came out of the bear house dressed as a bear.
Bende-ojii-chan, Baran-san, and the others remained in the mansion and waited for the people Father had called.
In the meantime, they would listen to Bende-ojii-chan and the others.
"At first, they didn't believe me. But in the end, they believed me even though they were skeptical."
"So are we."
"That's why I don't think they'll believe me easily."
My mother, sister, and the servants who worked at home saw me and believed in me.
If I hadn't grown up, I didn't think they would have believed me.
"That's why I'll join you. I'm sure they'll understand when they see me." (Lise)
"I see, if they knew the girl from three years ago, unlike us."
"Yes. They all have known me since I was child." (Lise)
Father was the lord of this city.
I had been with him many times.
"If a little girl turned into such a beautiful girl, wouldn't there be more to prove?"
Bende-ojii-chan and others looked at me.
Aside from being pretty, there was no doubt that she was growing.
After a while, some of the city's biggest names came to the house.
Everyone looked like they didn't understand why they were called.
"Bollard-sama, why did you call us?"
Maygain-san (メーゲン), the guild master of the Commercial Guild, asked my father on behalf of the Commercial Guild.
"First of all, what I'm about to say is not a lie or a joke, so I want you to listen to it till the end." (Bollard)
Just as Father explained to Mother, the city was frozen for three years by the Ice Dragon. Residents were also frozen.
He then told them that the two girls who appeared a few days ago caused the ice dragon to leave.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Everyone who was called looked at each other.
"Please stop making jokes like that. Not only the building but also the materials are flooded and it will be difficult to clean up." (Maygain)
Maygain-san, who was listening quietly, said in shock.
"There's no way we'll survive if we've been frozen for three years."(Grazo)
Grazo-san, the Guild Master of the Adventurer's Guild, didn't believe either.
I also thought everyone was frozen and dead.
"We need to check how the mine is doing and prepare the iron ore before the ship arrives." (Maygain)
"No. The ship isn't coming, so it's okay." (Bollard)
The ship wasn't coming.
The town was abandoned and no ships could approach.
"We have a contract. There's no way they won't come." (Maygain)
We all talked about something that happened yesterday.
Even if Bende-ojii-chan and Baran-san explained it to them, they wouldn't believe it.
I stood up quietly.
"Everyone, it's been a while. It's Lise." (Lise)
I greeted everyone while looking at their faces.
Don't look away.
"Lise-chan?" (Maygain)
"Yes, it's been a while. Maygain-san." (Lise)
Maygain-san looked surprised when he saw me.
It seemed like he didn't notice me after all.
"Are you really Lise-chan?" (Maygain)
Even though I was still young, I was surprised to see how much I had grown over three years.
"For Maygain-san, I think it was only a few days ago that she met me, but for me, it was three years ago. I think you all can’t believe what my father is saying. Even mother didn’t believe at first. However, what Father and Bende-ojii-chan are saying is true. With the appearance of the ice dragon, communication with other cities has been cut off, and no one has come to this town. That's why, as Father said, no ships will come." (Lise)
"Have we really been frozen for three years?"
"Are you Lise-chan’s relative or something?"
Even when they looked at me, they still seemed skeptical.
"When I was little, I scribbled on Maygain's important documents and got him into trouble. I also remember that he fought with his wife and complained to me when I was young." (Lise)
"Is it really Lise-chan?"
Maygain-san began whispering in a low voice, "It's really been three years."
Next, I looked at Grazo-san.
"When I went to the Adventurer's Guild, I cried when I saw the faces of adventurers, which caused Grazo-san trouble." (Lise)
"Oh, there it was." (Grazo)
"Also, when the adventurer died, you cried alone." (Lise)
"You were watching me back then." (Grazo)
Everyone who was making a fuss began to calm down.
"Lise-chan, have we really been frozen for three years?" (Grazo)
"Yes. That's why ships from other cities won't come. If that so, do you know what will happen?" (Lise)
"We won’t be able to get the supplies we need." (Grazo)
"That's right. The longer you wait to understand, the more serious the situation will become. You can't buy things. You can't sell things." (Lise)
If supplies did not arrive, many people would be in trouble.
If people were unable to sell what was dug up from the mines, even more people would be in trouble.
"So, please believe in Father's words." (Lise)
I bowed my head.
"Bollard-sama, it's true, right?"
"It's not exactly like Lise-chan."
"It's true. I want you to hear what happened these past three years." (Bollard)
Father and Bende-ojii-chan talked about the events of the past three years.
Everyone looked like they couldn't believe it, but they listened quietly and asked questions from time to time.
"It's been three years since the ice dragon lived on the mountain peak..."
"To lay eggs..."
"Ships came to town, but once they found out there was an ice dragon, no one came near."
"Then, which ship is really supposed to come today?"
"It won’t come."
The ship that was scheduled to arrive today was three years ago.
"As for the packages that are scheduled to arrive in the future."
"It won’t come."
"There are also ships coming to buy the iron ore that has been dug."
"Won't come"
The Master of the Commercial Guild and the mine officials looked on in disbelief.
They couldn't buy or sell.
"So hurry. We have to contact the town where we had friendships and go back three years. That won't be easy either. Our town is thought to have been destroyed by the Ice Dragon. We have to explain this and ask them to resume business with us. But that is not an easy task. The other party must also have found a new business partner."
"That's right. If three years have passed, they should have been purchasing iron ore from a different place. Even if I asked them to buy it from me, they would still buy it as before."
If they had new business partners, they wouldn't have to buy from our city.
"The same goes for purchasing. Just because you order something doesn't mean it's ready right away."
Just because we asked for food didn't mean it would be provided easily.
Even for flour, they should have found a new business partner and sold it to them.
"If what Bollard-sama is saying is true, it will be a big problem. No, it's probably true."
Everyone looked at me.
Just as Kagari-chan said, those eyes looked like they're looking at something mysterious.
This kind of attention continued to be paid to us.
If Kagari-chan hadn't told me, I wouldn't have been able to endure it because I wouldn't have been able to prepare myself.
I promised Kagari-chan that I would look forward and do my best.
So, no need to look down.
As long as they saw me, believed in me, and took action, I didn't care how much people looked at me.
"Okay. So what should we do?" (Maygain)
While I was looking at everyone, Maygain-san asked me.
Apparently, he believed me.
We discussed what we would do from now on and decided on our respective roles.
I would like the Commercial Guild and the merchants to go to other cities as soon as possible, tell them about the current situation in the cities, and negotiate to get the relationship back to the same level as three years ago.
"Also, some of the buildings in the mine were destroyed by the ice dragon, and the ground is in a lot of trouble. Unless it's repaired, we won't be able to move around by horse-drawn carriage." (Lise)
There was a large step where the ice dragon landed, making it impossible for a horse-drawn carriage to pass.
Maygain-san, the Commercial Guild master, said that he would send the craftsmen as soon as he confirmed the situation.
"Also, part of the mountain peak has collapsed, which is causing a lot of trouble, so please be careful." (Lise)
I informed them of the situation as seen from the mountain peak, and they decided to send the adventurers to the nest where the ice dragon was, including checking.
Also, one big problem remained.
How do we communicate this to the residents of the city?
"I am speaking as part of my role as the lord, but even if I speak like everyone else, they won't believe me easily. However, I have to speak. I have to make them understand. I also know the reason why the supplies haven't arrived. I need everyone to understand. I want everyone to help me." (Lise)
"I will tell the merchant union. From there, if we spread the word, it will spread little by little." (Maygain)
"Actually, I'm a little skeptical too, but I'll let the adventurers know from our side. They'll believe it if they take it on board as a ship's escort and hear about this city from other cities." (Grazo)
At present, learning about the city's situation from the outside might be the quickest path to understanding it.
"Now that I think about it, is it true that another ice dragon came and a girl dressed as a bear and a young child fought it and chased it away?"
"It's a fact." (Bollard)
"What about those girls?"
"I stopped them, but they returned today. I know it's hard to believe. There are ice dragon horns and scales, so I want you to check." (Bollard)
Father proved this fact by showing the ice dragon's horns and scales.
Everyone who saw the ice dragon's horns and scales looked surprised, and Commercial Guild Master Maygain-san's eyes lit up.
"What are we going to do about this?" (Maygain)
Yuna-san said that she would help rebuild the city.
However, the reason was that the townspeople would die and many people would need help, but the townspeople were still alive.
"Right now, I don't have any plans to do anything with it. It was given to me by the benefactor who saved this city. I'm not going to make a decision in a hurry." (Bollard)
Maygain-san looked disappointed at Father's words.
Just as Father said, I didn't think there's any need to sell.
The townspeople were alive.
The city that was frozen in ice is in dire straits, but if the residents were still alive, it would be okay if everyone did their best.
Then, everyone gathered in this house began to move.
"Lise, thank you." (Bollard)
Father thanked me.
"Everyone believed me because you told them." (Bollard)
I hoped it was helpful.
Author's Note
Sorry for the absence from posting last time.
If we are unable to post, we will report on activity reports or on X (old Twitter) like this time.
...
*Thank you to everyone who reports typos.
Please note that some kanji have been revised to match the book, so some may not have been revised.