I Was Connected to Earth’s Black Market From Another World With The Skill [Market]! (WN)

Chapter 277

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Chapter 277 – A Distant Whisper

After entering the inner bay, the hovercraft goes straight up to land, and the Prince and the others are disembarked.

“”” Prince!”””

I saw the children trotting up to him. They looked healthy, active, and smiling.

“””Welcome home!”””

An older girl comes up from behind the younger group, who are hugging and cheering for the Prince and the twins. She is wearing a white one-piece dress and smiling calmly, with Moff, the snow-white wolf, snuggled up next to her.

“Tinian!”

As the Prince calls to her, she bows her head with a big sister’s look on her face.

“Welcome back, Prince. You’re back safely.”

“I’m sorry it took so long. Tinian was a great help to me. I am truly grateful.”

“Your words are truly appreciated.”

“”…Tinian?””

Fell and Eyal hugged Tinian along with the children. She is the usual Tinian, but after not seeing her for a while, she has become much calmer.

But it’s unusual.

I didn’t know―if I had, I might have thought of something else―but I heard that for slow-growing elves, eleven years old is almost an infant. Because all the Casemaian and Republican children I’ve come in contact with have been solid, and Tinian seemed smart and calm… I underestimated the situation. Ivan-san’s daughter Korina-chan is 14 years old, and adventurer Calmon’s daughter Nora-chan is 11, but compared to them, Tinian and the other shrine girls seemed a bit slow in their speech. I mistakenly thought it was because they were foreigners.

But that was just an excuse. From what I heard from Myrril, they were about half of the human. That would make Tinian-chan five or six years old. When I heard this for the first time, I paled with surprise. Leaving such a young child (and entrusting her to the care of even younger children) on a remote island for nearly a week was complete child abuse. I had no choice but to reflect.

“With the help of His Majesty the Demon King and Queen, we were able to save many of our friends in Solbesia. Now that land is covered with forests, and more than a hundred of our people have returned to a peaceful life.”

“It was amazing; thank you for your efforts. We also.”

When Tinian’s arm stopped moving, Moff touched it lightly as if to encourage her.

“…Every… one. They’re all okay…”

She must have reached her limit. Tinian-chan burst into tears. The twins hugged her and supported her as she burst into tears. Myrril rubbed her thin body with them.

“Yes, yes, you did your best. I see all the children are well.”

“…And we ate our food properly. We slept warmly and peacefully. …No one cried, no one was selfish…no one complained.”

“I see, I see. And this is all thanks to Tinian, isn’t it? The way you act like a big sister is just wonderful. There is no one like Tinian at your age, not even in the Demon King’s territory of Casemaian!”

Myrril stroked her hands and looked at me while praising her. No, yes. I think it’s great, and I want to praise her, too, but… What am I supposed to do here? Maybe a souvenir? I wonder what it is. Besides weapons and ammunition… sweets? That’s something else for the current situation. On the other hand, the composite bow with a pulley that I gave to the other shrine maidens seems to be different as well.

Rinko and the dwarf old men approached me and handed me a nondescript wooden box.

“I thought this might happen.”

“What is this?”

“I got it from an old friend of Sarz.”

“It’s a gift for a special occasion. This is the best time to use it.”

This colorless box must be the work of the ‘Miraculous Lukemon.’ I appreciate the gesture, but is it really safe to give it to her?

I’m met with stares that say, “What are you doing?”, “Hurry up!” and to top it off, Rinko pokes me, and I get stuck, and then I go to the elf girl.

“Tinian.”

“…Eh?”

The tension seems to have broken, and the eleven-year-old ‘big sister’ looks up, her face slick with tears and snot. I took out a silk handkerchief Simon had given me and wiped her face.

“During this expedition, you were in charge of defending the leased lands of the Republic of Solbesia. Thanks to your efforts, friendly relations have been established between the Demon King’s territory of Casemaian, the Republic, and the Kingdom of Solbesia.”

The handkerchief I used to wipe her face was handed to her as it was, and a wooden box was placed on top of it. Tinian-chan took the box but was confused and did not understand the situation.

“This is a prize from the Demon King’s territory of Casemaian to you for serving as a bridge to friendship and peace. I hope you will accept it.”

“””Eh…”””

Tinian and the twins blinked their eyes, and the Prince was confused. To be honest, so am I.

“…Your Majesty the Demon King, what’s that?”

No, I don’t know. In fact, I am more worried than ever. Because of the ‘Miraculous Lukemon,’ I can’t help but feel a little nervous. I can only hope that there is nothing terrible in it.

“Just a thought from the people of Casemaian.”

“Thank you… very much.”

I smiled and nodded, nervous inside, as she asked me with a look in her eyes if she could open it. The wooden box, without any wrapping or decoration, opened with a click, revealing a necklace-like object inside. At the end of a thin chain was a very small milky-white ball. It was probably… a magic core. I could see a flash of light, but when Tinian-chan lifted it in her hand, the light faded, and the murkiness turned into a clear, transparent glass bead.

“Beautiful.”

“Do you like it?”

“…Yes, very much. …Can I have it?”

“Yes, I’d like you to have it. Here, let me help you put it on.”

I went around to her back, and when I touched the chain, it naturally separated and reattached itself. I feel like my magic has been drained from my body, but I think it’s all in my head. It was just my imagination, right? Right?

“I can hear the voice, Your Majesty the Demon King.”

Hey! What’s with the sudden change in atmosphere, Tinian? Lukemon-san, what did you do?

“”Tinian?””

The Prince and the twins seem to have sensed it as well and turn their eyes to me. No, I don’t know.

“Tinian, what do you mean by voices?”

“They are the voices of Milian and Macian. Oh, there’s also Melian and Lucian.”

No way. The voices of the shrine maidens in Solbesia? Seven thousand kilometers away?

“And the people of the Western Temple… Shariel, Kaiel, and Oriquel, too.”

A relay antenna for shrine maiden communication? Maybe it’s useful, but I don’t know what the mechanism or function is. I’ll skip what I don’t know for now.

“May the spirits guide you.”

I said something like that and ran away. I looked at Rinko and the old dwarves with reproachful eyes, but they gave me the thumbs up with big smiles on their faces. What the hell, I was saved.

“What the hell was that? Didn’t he tell you what the function was?”

“I asked for something a girl would like. She seemed to like it.”

“It’s amazing, isn’t it? It’s like getting a cell phone with unlimited use. I wonder if it has a texting feature. If not, do you want me to add it?”

“Stop it. You are trying to destroy the common sense and order of this world.”

“””Is that what you are saying, Yoshua?”””

I can’t argue with that. At this point, I finally noticed Lord McKin and Lady Ecla standing on the landing platform. They had apparently been waiting for some time so as not to interrupt the emotional reunion.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“No, I’m glad you made it back safely. I think the children have done well here without any problems, but there’s nothing we can do about the loneliness.”

“Thank you for your hospitality in my absence. I’m sorry I’m late getting back because of all that’s happened.”

“I could feel your success somehow.”

Seeing Ecla-san’s smiling face, I am at a loss for a reaction. How does she know about the story from 7,000 kilometers away? Or rather, how much does she know? Do the elves have a magical long-distance communication network?

“Well, it doesn’t really matter. I just wanted to greet you today.”

Ecla-san, who had retreated slightly, shrugged at me, who must have looked at her suspiciously, and urged me to speak to Lord McKin.

“Though it has been a short time, I am indebted to you in so many ways. It pains me that I haven’t been able to return the favor.”

“Wait a minute. What is it, all of a sudden? Oh no, you two, that sounds like…”

The fat lord looked at me and shook his head.

“I came to say goodbye.”