Chapter 19: A Journey with an Elf Wife is an Eternal Journey
When we returned to the surface, Mia cried out,
“You’re back!”
and burst into tears.
Apparently, she had been worried sick about whether we would return safely.
I stroked her red hair and told her that we had achieved the best possible result.
We went with Mia to see the bathhouse and confirmed that black water was gushing from the lion’s mouth.
“A-Amazing! It’s pitch black!”
“It’s like cola, right? It’s the best kind of water, sweet but not sticky.”
“I-It’s amazing. No other inn in Yankers has water like this.”
“And with that, The Dawn Fig Inn now has a unique selling point.”
“Thank you so much!”
“Now all we need is for your old man to get motivated…”
As I muttered that, the father in question appeared.
He was the complete opposite of the drunken figure I had last seen.
His clothes and hair were neat and tidy. His knives, the life of a chef, were sparkling.
He even seemed to be glowing with a halo.
Fina was very surprised.
Mia proudly explained the change.
“While you were in the dungeon, I persuaded my father.”
“Oh?”
“I asked him, ‘Aren’t you ashamed of yourself, drinking all the time while complete strangers are running around for our sake!?'”
“Amazing. To be able to say that so bluntly.”
“Ehehe. —My mother appeared to me in a dream. She said I shouldn’t spoil my father any longer.”
“That’s the right thing to do. A parent who burdens their eight-year-old daughter isn’t a parent. A child should live like a child. From now on, you should play a little, live off your parents.”
“…Yes.”
“I’ll help with that too. Specifically, I’m going to teach The Sun Tree Thicket Inn a lesson.”
“Huh? Why?”
“They’re a greedy bunch. Once they find out about the black water, they’ll try to steal it by any means necessary. So I’m making the first move.”
I looked out the inn’s window. The Sun Tree Thicket Inn made The Dawn Fig Inn dark even during the day. I wanted to bring about a dawn, both physically and mentally.
And so, we waited for the greedy ones to make their move.
As expected, The Sun Tree Thicket Inn acted immediately.
As soon as they heard that black water had come out of the neighboring inn, they began to plot.
“It’s no big deal if a poor inn like that gets some black water, but if we can monopolize that black water, The Sun Tree Thicket Inn can grow even further.”
“The nobles who love hot springs might take notice and make this their main encampment for the alternate attendance.”
With that calculation, they put one hundred gold coins in a leather bag and brought it to The Dawn Fig Inn.
They placed it in front of Mia’s father and said,
“Hey, poor man, I’ll buy your whole inn with this. You can use this money to drink as much as you like.”
“…”
Mia’s father, who had always had high self-esteem, and who had turned over a new leaf for his daughter’s sake, had a solid resolve.
He literally kicked out the messenger from The Sun Tree Thicket Inn and had Mia bring him some salt.
“Coming!”
Mia’s spirits soared at the sight of her father, who had regained his motivation and self-respect.
She gleefully brought the salt and they sprinkled it together.
It was the best course of action for The Dawn Fig Inn and Mia’s family, but not for The Sun Tree Thicket Inn. The owner of The Sun Tree Thicket Inn, who believed that even one hundred gold coins was a show of “mercy,” was enraged.
“They get cocky just because we’re being polite…”
They hadn’t been the least bit polite, but villains become villains because they have no shame. He decided to take drastic measures.
He hired laborers to tamper with the pipeline in the underground labyrinth.
In short, it seemed he decided to repeat what he had done before.
“Tampering with the pipeline is forbidden by the hot spring association. But I’m close with the association’s executives. They won’t listen to any complaints from The Dawn Fig Inn.”
The owner of The Sun Tree Thicket Inn let out a vulgar laugh, but that cunning plan would be his undoing.
I had seen through such a shallow scheme.
The owner of The Sun Tree Thicket Inn, who had stolen the black water from the pipeline, was overjoyed, saying, “What high-quality water!” But he soon noticed that the smooth black water was gradually becoming thick and muddy.
“What? It’s starting to get sticky. And it smells strange…”
He scooped up some of the water to check, but the once smooth water had turned into a heavy, oil-like substance.
The corrupt owner tilted his head in confusion.
I issued an evacuation warning to him.
From outside The Sun Tree Thicket Inn, I used the “Amplify Voice” spell to warn him.
“Ah, just in case something like this happened, I made a little modification so that the heavy oil-like substance next to the black water source would flow in. By the way, the black liquid is flammable and explosive.”
“Wh-What did you say!?”
“Your inn is already filled with flammable gas. If you have even a shred of conscience left, evacuate your guests and employees.”
It was meant to be a final warning, but he didn’t obey.
It was just as I expected, so I asked the owners of the neighboring inns to help guide the guests to safety.
“Don’t do as you please!” the corrupt owner roared. He ordered his employees to stop them, but at this point, no one would listen to him. After all, he had shown little regard for even the lives of his employees. He was about to reap what he had sown by constantly skimping on his employees’ wages and working them like horses.
“I’m not going to die in a place like this!” they all shouted and began to flee for their lives.
At that point, the corrupt owner had no choice but to evacuate as well.
Once I confirmed that everyone had evacuated, I snapped my fingers.
“Click.”
In that instant, a spark ignited the flammable gas that had filled The Sun Tree Thicket Inn!
The Sun Tree Thicket Inn blew up.
The tacky, nouveau riche building scattered like fireworks.
The building that the corrupt owner had built through his villainy was gone in an instant.
The corrupt owner stood there, dumbfounded, looking at the ruins of his dream.
Serves him right.
He wouldn’t be able to cause any more trouble for The Dawn Fig Inn now.
Just as a final insurance, I clapped him on the shoulder and threatened,
“If you cause any more trouble in this town, the same thing will happen to your body.”
The corrupt owner fled, his legs giving out from under him.
“He won’t be causing any more trouble now.”
“And with that, the case is closed.”
Fina was in a good mood since we had resolved the situation without any bloodshed.
“Yeah. Though it might have been a bit rough.”
I looked over, and The Dawn Fig Inn was covered in dust from the explosion. It would probably take a few days to clean up. But no one blamed us for it.
“We were just thinking of renovating anyway,” Mia said, rolling up her sleeves.
And the neighbors, too.
“Mia was the only one who stood up to the tyranny of The Sun Tree Thicket Inn. We couldn’t resist at all, and we just accepted the little bit of water they gave us, following their orders. But you and Mia helped us regain our pride. Please, let us help,” they said.
Fina had apparently been planning to use wind spirits to clean, but seeing this, she sent the spirits away. It’s easy to solve problems with magic, but you can’t win people’s hearts with magic.
Fina and I helped clean The Dawn Fig Inn as pure labor.
It took a week, but during that time, Mia’s father treated us to dishes he had put all his skill into.
Fina and I savored the food and worked hard.
The feast after a hard day’s work was more delicious than any meal served in a royal court.
†
“Renas-san, Fina-san, please be sure to stay with us whenever you’re nearby!”
Mia saw us off to the edge of the post town, waving her arms vigorously as she said goodbye.
She shouted at the top of her lungs, watching us until we disappeared from sight.
Fina said to me,
“She was a nice girl, wasn’t she?”
“Yeah. I suppose that’s what happiness is, having a daughter like that.”
“Her father seems to have recovered too, so it’s all’s well that ends well.”
“He was a skilled craftsman to begin with. The next time we see him, his inn will probably be thriving.”
After that exchange, we resumed our journey.
The two of us, Fina and I, slowly made our way towards the Benan region.
There’s no need to rush.
A hundred years ago, we were too busy. In this world where we’ve defeated the Demon King, there’s no need to hurry.
Fina and I, flirting and being lovey-dovey, head north along the main road.
Our journey has only just begun, but this story ends here.
After all, my wife has a life that is practically eternal.
It would be impossible to write down the entirety of our journey together.
“A journey with an elf wife is an eternal journey.”
With those words, I put a period on this diary.
***
The Eternal Journey With My Elf Wife: The Legendary Hero and His Beloved Wife Journey Across the World They Saved 100 Years Ago – End
T/N: I was surprised to see that this novel is so short. The author ended this chapter in the raw with “THE END(In Japanese)” at the end, so it’s over, I guess. But now that the manga has come out, maybe they’ll be motivated to do a volume 2 or something?
