MaruMA:Hajimari:Josak

Hajimari no Tabi Special Short Story: Josak Ending

Text: Tomo Takabayashi
Illustration: Temari Matsumoto

His majesty accepted to go on the trip as long as we could return on the same day.

"It's just a trip, Gurie-chan, just a trip. If we go there and come back on the same day, no one will worry too much."

"I guess you're right, but that depends on how good you're at deceiving."

"There won't be any problems with that, because I left Successor-kun, the rubber doll made by Anissina-san to replace me."

"Are you sure that will work, young master?"

His majesty thought for a few seconds and uttered 'Oh, crap!' as he held his head.

I chuckled as I mentioned that he must have made such an obvious mistake, because he really wanted to go on that trip with me and was in a hurry. But maybe the reason was something else.

The places that are close enough to visit and come back on the same day are the town surrounding the castle, and beyond the castle's walls, the forest that's only a horse ride away and some farms.

It was really worth the while to go on that trip. It brought Yuuri great joy to see the natural landscapes, the peaceful countryside people, and the typical buildings of that place. And it seems that he got quite interested in the market that sold regional products. He was curious about each of the items being sold there, that one couldn't usually find in the city.

"This place is really different from the town surrounding the castle in the capital, isn't it?"

"Here, take the reins and cover your head. If people were to find out your identity we'll get in trouble. People here won't pretend not to notice who you are, like the merchants at the capital. In the countryside, aristocrats are rare."

"If they realize who I am, will they attack me with applause?"

"Or maybe something worse, they might try to attack you with hugs."

"Awesome, I'm like a famous player. One that's taking a break in between games."

His majesty stopped at a stable where an old man was sitting and touched some of the dried food that was hanging. Maybe out of habit, he quickly approached his nose and smelled the food.

"Surely these are items that you can't eat while following a strictly structured castle life, right? It's the liver of the Dorodoku Turtle, which is banned. It works as a tonic to help you recover from exhaustion, but it also increases your stamina. I wonder if it contains that sort of ingredients? Well, let's buy a bag. Ah, and that thing over there is also a banned product, the "Uninterrupted magnification” that helps you grow your hair, but it also increases your stamina....."

"Wait, wait, STOP! Why does everything help you increase your stamina? Ah, if there are a lot of people concerned about that, I apologize. But in my case, when it comes to stamina, I don't care if I have enough of it or not. But I really wouldn't know.... wait! this is not what I was talking about!"

"Oh, no~ young master! Then do you worry about money? Don't worry, as you can see Gurie gets paid very well."

"No, you're wrong, I don't worry about money. I too have my wallet with me, and lately I've started receiving payment for my work."

I didn't know that kings got paid. Actually, he should be able to use all the money in the country without anyone getting in his way. I think he's lying to me.

His majesty carefully put back the item on the shelf.

"Before buying something, you need to at least hold it once in your hands, right? Whether I'll buy it or not, I need it in my hands so that I can see how the back side of the item is, or how easy it is to use."

"Hahaa"

"Even if I show interest in it, don't buy it for me right away, okay?"

"Yes, yes."

Judging by the way he was talking, it seems that people around him tend to buy him the things he likes. Oh, I can understand that, I can. I can imagine that. It seems that that type of grown up causes him trouble. Knowing this, I won't act against his will.

"All right, but I can buy you food, right? Young master, do you have a strong stomach? Do you like fruits?"

"My stomach? Yeah, don't worry about it! Even if it's food past its due date, I can eat it just fine. I also eat fruits, because clearly the most natural way of getting your vitamins is through fruit, right?......."

He then swallowed a wild strawberry. Maybe it was too sour, because his eyes started to cry reflexively.

"Eh?! Oh, I'm sorry! Maybe it wasn't ripe yet. Try this one instead."

"Ah.... This one is sweet."

In that moment, his majesty made a blissful face. This person's face really let's it show when he eats something that's tasty.

"How about that one? "

"That one, huh? "

He pointed with his finger to the fruit that was in a top shelf sitting on some soft pieces of fabric. He has a good eye for this kind of thing, or rather, I guess it's not that strange that he noticed it. It had a bright red color, like the color of blood that runs through the top of the head.

I took the gold coin in my fingertips and let it drop on dirty palm of the owner's hand. His majesty never pays attention to the price of items, but this is a rather unbelievable price for a single piece of fruit. It's approximately what a new recruit would make for a whole season. The only ones who can buy this fruit are rich people who live in the city, or soldiers with high ranks and too much money to spend. At any rate, this fruit can only be found in far away places, because it is banned in the kingdom.

After receiving the fruit from the owner, I softly cleaned it with my sleeve, and put it right before his face. Without hesitating he took a bite.

Oh man, it looked as if I was feeding an animal.

"Uwah, yummy! It's the first time I've ever eaten a fruit like this!"

He's the kind of person whose words match his facial expressions. But his majesty, with his lips and tongue covered with the red liquid from the fruit, suddenly said something that gave me a chill:

"Is this expensive? Or is it something even I could buy? Let's buy some more to take home! One for Greta, Conrad, Wolfram...."

"This kind of fruit can't be given as a present."

"Why? If I take this omiyage, everyone will be happy. It's an excellent plan!"

He spoke as if he would have done this in the past.

"Sorry, no, you can't take this. If you take this bad omen fruit to the castle, people will not only stare at Gurie, but even at the young master."

"Bad omen, you said? Is it poisonous!?"

"No, on the contrary it has a lot of good properties and it's good for your skin, but it has a taste that one can get addicted to. In the past, since it was so sweet and tasty, people got addicted to it, and there are many stories of people going into the forest, where you can find it, to steal it.

That's why this fruit isn't sold where the king lives, nor can you buy it or sell it around that area."

There are worse tales than that. Like the one about the wife of an noble who, driven to insanity by the taste of the fruit, went to meet an unknown man who said he had the tree that bears that fruit and she then abandoned her husband. That's the legend that exist surrounding this fruit. But those legends aren't true stories. They're only tales that no one needs to listen to.

"There's a reason why certain items aren't sold in the capital."

"I see, a bean that jumps had a bug in it. I'm sure there are many story surrounding the banned items. Ah! This one also has a nice color."

His majesty unconsciously licked his upper lip. On his face you could see he couldn't wait to taste some more of it. I picked up the long fibrous inside of the fruit and dangled it before his eyes.

"Right, right. For example, there's this. There's still this seed left...."

Joke aside, I wasn't completely right about how far away that place was and it was not possible to go back to the castle on the same day, but I didn't say anything until the sun went down. If I'm going to get scolded either way, I'll try to have as much fun as possible.

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