Will I End Up As a Hero or a Demon King (WN)

Chapter 207

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(8/12)

Chapter 207 – Completion of the Map

I spent the night in my old bed.

The next day, I looked down at Bezart again, promising myself that I would return. Then, I headed eastward.

After traveling southeast through the rest of Lagreath, I headed north again.

The southeastern part is a gradually deepening valley, and the border is marked by uninhabitable mountainous areas, so it’s quite easy to navigate.

I had already mapped the area around Lipsum, so mapping the rest was easy from there.

I only had to check my reference books for information on the few towns I passed along the way. It took me about two days to fill in the remaining gaps.

How many days did it take in total?

Probably less than a month, assuming I didn’t stop to hunt. However, it took about that long to map an entire country.

At my level of Map Making, the terrain is somewhat game-like, with only a general idea of the mountains and rivers. However, I’ve written down the locations and names of towns and large villages in my notebook. I should be able to combine this information to create a reasonably decent rough map.

If I can accurately transfer it to paper, that is.

Even though I have the Manuscript skill, there is no such thing as Transcription.

Does that mean I’ll have to use the Painting skill that Felin awakened in me?

I’m not sure, but since I’ll have to try putting my mental image onto paper without any skills, I should probably experiment first using scrap paper instead of expensive parchment.

Since the old woman knows I’m from another world, if it works out, I could show her the paper and have someone with Transcription skills copy it for me.

I’d also like to hear her opinion on the map.

That’s why I came to the royal capital to make some final preparations.

The map was finished in Lipsum, so it’s close.

This time, I didn’t fly straight to the palace entrance but went to the third district first.

When I stopped by the inn where I had stayed before, the owner remembered me, and I stayed there without any trouble.

From there, I went to my room and started sketching.

After enjoying a bath, I started sketching the map again. I learned that closing my eyes and drawing doesn’t work very well. Gradually, I created my handmade map.

I thought it was much easier to draw on paper while remembering parts of the map.

Considering I’m an amateur, I think I managed to draw some pretty decent-looking coastal features.

I filled in the names of various towns, large and small.

(Not bad!)

At first glance, the map I drew on an A4 sheet of paper is full of town names, but it won’t be so distracting if I transfer it to a larger sheet of paper.

Haha, maybe I’m a genius.

Now that it’s finished, I’d better hurry and see the old lady.

I completely forgot that I’m an important person and didn’t think to make an appointment.

I rushed straight to the palace entrance.

I immediately spotted a soldier who looked like the gatekeeper I had seen before. I told him, “I’m here to see the old lady,” and he replied, “Oh, the old lady, right?” I was surprised that he understood me. Only then did I realize how rude I had been.

Come to think of it, I think I called her an “old hag” behind her back.

I knew my way around from there, so I walked straight to the old lady’s room.

Perhaps she wasn’t expecting me because she came out hurriedly when I knocked. Still, it was nice to see the old lady and Enny again after such a long time.

I got straight to the main purpose of my visit.

I asked her how the book was coming along.

Enny brought the finished book out from the back shelf as if she had prepared it for me to take.

There were three copies.

“Oh, three!”

“That’s about all I can do in a month. I’ve found someone else to help with the copying, so I should be able to increase the number a little. I’ll let Enny take some of them, too.”

“No, no, that’s more than enough. Wait, what?”

I looked at Enny and saw her pouting and pulling a strange face.

She’s giving off too much of a reluctant vibe.

“It’s part of her studies. It’s easier to remember things if you write them down. She forgets things easily.”

“Ah…”

“Besides, it’s good practice for her future career. By the way, Loki, you said you’d buy them. Are you sure you can afford it?”

“Sure, sure. How much is this?”

“33 million beeke.”

“…Huh?”

“33 million beeke.”

“…”

“By the way, this is a secret gift from the government. It should have been given to you in person, but you didn’t want that, did you?”

“So?”

“That means the price is for two books.”

“Ho, hohoho…”

When asked for an incomprehensible amount of money, a strange laugh came out of nowhere.

This is my first time experiencing this.

The thickest book was what the old lady took out as a gift from the government.

That means the thin and medium-sized books together cost 33 million beeke, an outrageous price that makes the equipment seem cheap by comparison.

It’s at the level of buying a house. No wonder there are no bookstores in this world.

If Enny joins in on making the books, I will definitely run out of money.

Pop!

As my financial situation worsened, my inner Loki, who hoards money, quietly emerged, whispering, “Did you call?”

I’ll have to earn money with all my might to buy the books steadily.

If this continues, I’ll end up selling my magic gemstones sooner than expected.

“Well, it’s okay for now. I was just surprised at how expensive they were.”

“Let me know when you have the money. You’re a hunter, so you probably keep your money at the guild, right?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“This much shouldn’t be a problem to withdraw. But if it becomes too much in the future, let me know. I’ll figure out a way to move the money around behind the scenes.”

Hearing this, my ears pricked up.

If the old lady is right, then this world has a system for “money transfers.”

However, it sounds like it can only be done in certain cases or under special conditions.

It’s probably not something I should expect to be able to do myself.

Knowing that there’s a secret method that can be used in an emergency could help me avoid a crisis, so I’ll keep it in mind.

It involves using a letter, but we’ll talk about that later. After that, we moved on to the map I had been working on in the morning, and the conversation about books came to an end.

But first, I had to explain.

Neither the old lady nor Enny knew what a map was.

What did Liste say back then?

Could they not imagine a world from above, or were there restrictions on what they could write down?

Well, their reaction to this homemade map would probably give me the answer.

With that thought in mind, I took the folded piece of paper out of my pocket and showed it to them.

“What’s this?”

“…”

“This is called a ‘map.’ In my world, they’re commonplace. This is what the country of Lagreath looks like from above.”

“Oh…”

“Loki boy, did you make this?”

“Yeah, well, I can fly, so it’s useful for traveling when you know where the towns are. Especially since this place didn’t accept demihumans for a long time, so they probably don’t know where anything is.”

“Convenient… Of course it is. Everyone just draws it in their heads. Huh? Why didn’t anyone think of such a convenient thing before? I never even…”

Enny is more interested in the thin white paper than the map itself.

After all, she’s about the same age as those three.

It’s understandable for a child, but judging from the old lady’s reaction…

(I see, I see. She can draw something similar to a bird’s-eye view map in her head.)

I guess that makes sense.

In conversations with people in this world, the cardinal directions of east, west, north, and south have come up frequently.

Everyone has their own unique mental map based on their knowledge and life experiences, and they answer based on that map.

The accuracy and scope of these mental maps vary greatly from person to person. Someone who has never left their town probably only has a mental map of that town.

That would make the desire to go outside fade away, wouldn’t it?

“I want to hear your honest opinion. I’ve made this map of Lagreath to start, and I want to share it with the world. What do you think?”

“Are you planning to make maps of other countries as well?”

“Of course. But I can’t say how quickly I’ll be able to create them.”

“Well, that makes sense. The layout of the towns and villages in this country is almost identical to what I know, and the border lines are so detailed that not even I know them that well.”

“Then…”

If it’s just a map of this country, I can’t agree, but if you’re planning to make maps of other countries, too, then I’m all for it. It’ll make it easier for people closed off within the country to look outside.”

“I see. I’m glad you said that.”

“But what are these characters?”

“Huh?”

“They’re really hard to read!”

“Oh…”

Looking closely at the map, I realized the towns and villages were written in Japanese kanji and katakana.

Even the writing in my notebook is the same as it was on Earth.

I suppose I should correct it, but if I don’t need to hide the fact that I’m from another world anymore, maybe I should just accept it.

“Haha… Sorry. That’s the language of the world I came from. If you have Different Language Comprehension, you should be able to understand it.”

“Huh! Oh! Grandma, look! There are a lot of strange characters written on the back of this paper. They might be powerful spells!”

“What are you talking about?”

No, Grandma, don’t get involved.

The words on the back of the paper they were both staring at were instructions for customers.

They were long but nothing special. I’m starting to feel embarrassed, so please stop.

I pulled the paper away and confirmed once again that she understood the map.

Then, I asked the old lady to copy the map onto paper from this world.

In exchange, I agreed to help her—or rather, the country—create a more detailed map.

The map would divide the country into four parts or show individual territories. It would be a rough map for small and medium-sized merchants and residents.

I was initially limited by the idea of copying, but once I unlocked that, ideas started flowing.

As I listened to the rapid-fire proposals, I realized that this was the moment.

I told them they could do whatever they wanted.

It would be convenient to have such a map, but I don’t have time to create one that detailed.

They said they would be ready by the day after tomorrow since they needed to quickly copy the map of the Lagreath Kingdom onto the large parchment sheets the country has.

After withdrawing money from the Hunter’s Guild, I bought three books and decided to spend the end of my journey in Lagreath’s capital city.

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