Another World Metal Factory

Chapter 30

Palapilos.

The land, named”Burning Land,”was once a thriving city, serving as a crucial gateway to the metropolis in the old days. However, now its glory had faded, becoming a small town where only passing travelers stopped by.

Ancient ruins, a volcano said to have erupted once, and hot springs gushing forth.

Black stones that ignite when dug up… Besides these, there weren’t many attractions in this old city.

After passing the small village nestled within the crumbling, dysfunctional city walls and following the lakeside road for about an hour, an old lakeside inn came into view.

The inn’s name was”Krasivy.”A middle-aged woman in her mid-40s ran this small inn with her daughter. However, it wasn’t a typical inn with a pub on the first floor and small rooms on the second.

Walking along the path, a large main house first appeared. A slightly worn but sizable two-story house caught the eye, followed by a spacious open area in front.

And around it, hut-like houses were scattered sparsely, which was a unique feature of the Krasivy Inn.

However, Marsha thought it was just lonely because there were no guests.

“No guests again today.”

Marsha kicked a stone on the ground out of boredom.

Now seven years old, Marsha was the daughter of the innkeeper.

Guarding the inn with her mother, where few people visited, was quite a struggle. Especially since her mother was working tirelessly to maintain the inn despite the lack of guests.

Even now, Marsha was struggling to carry a wooden bucket to the well to help her mother, who had been working in the fields since early morning, as the evening approached.

Despite being next to the lake, drinking water was drawn from the well, accessing groundwater.

There was a spring a short climb up the mountain behind the inn, but it was a hot spring. Moreover, the sulfurous smell made it unsuitable for drinking.

Marsha lowered the bucket into the well and pulled the rope with a grunt. The bucket she managed to lift with great effort was less than half full. There was nothing she could do with her weak strength. Moreover, if it was too full, she wouldn’t be able to lift it, so she had to draw water little by little, pulling the bucket up multiple times.

While drawing water, Marsha straightened her back and looked towards the road. She heard the sound of a carriage approaching.

The sound was quieter than the usual carriage sounds, so Marsha tilted her head, wondering if she had misheard.

“Is this the right place?”

“Ah, yes. The lady in the village told us so.”

Only after hearing the conversation did Marsha confirm that a carriage was indeed entering the inn.

Marsha quickly put down the bucket and ran towards the path leading to the inn. It was a guest after a long time.

The last guest had visited a month or two ago, so Marsha’s face lit up with a smile.

“A guest! A guest! After all this time! Mom will be happy if a guest comes and pays!”

Marsha ran quickly.

Reaching the entrance of the inn, Marsha stretched her neck and looked, spotting a large bird in the distance. It was an Aspur.

“An Aspur! Are they a dwarf or a halfling? Or maybe a Mazoku? But Mazoku don’t stay at inns, do they?”

As she watched, the carriage entered the inn’s yard. It was a strangely designed carriage with unique wheels, which seemed to be the reason for its quietness.

“This seems to be the right place.”

“I guess so. We managed to find it.”

The driver of the carriage was an elf, and the man sitting next to him appeared to be human.

However, Marsha tilted her head, puzzled by the man’s unusual deep black hair, streaked with white, but undoubtedly black.

The back of the carriage was covered with a thick cloth, making it impossible to see what was inside.

As the carriage stopped, the elf and the black-haired man jumped off and looked around, their eyes stopping at Marsha.

“Are you the innkeeper’s child?”

“Probably? Hey, where’s your mother?”

The black-haired man asked, and the elf addressed Marsha, who felt a strange feeling and quickly ran towards the field where her mother was.

An unknown fear washed over Marsha.

2.

Led by Marsha’s sudden appearance, Shellen saw the carriage standing in front of the inn and approached, greeting the people.

“Ah, welcome. I am Shellen, the owner of this inn.”

Innkeeper Shellen greeted them politely, and the Factory Manager and Channing also greeted her in return.

Compared to the slightly plump Chelline, Shellen was a slender beauty. Although she couldn’t hide her age entirely, her beauty was undeniable.

“Wow, I’ve heard a lot about you. You are as beautiful as I’ve heard.”

“Oh my, such flattery won’t work on an old woman like me.”

Shellen chuckled and waved her hand at Channing’s playful remark. The Factory Manager thought she seemed accustomed to dealing with people.

The Factory Manager glanced at Marsha, who was hiding slightly behind Shellen’s skirt, peeking out shyly.

Marsha, around the same age as Illia, noticed his gaze and quickly hid behind the skirt.

“Marsha, come out and say hello.”

Shellen nudged Marsha’s back, but she didn’t want to come forward.

“I apologize. She’s a little shy.”

“All children are like that.”

“So, will you be staying for a few days? Breakfast is included, but you’ll have to pay separately for dinner.”

The Factory Manager waved his hand, interrupting Shellen.

“We will be staying the night. But we came here at the request of your sister, Chelline. She asked us to deliver some goods.”

“Ah!”

Shellen let out a gasp and looked at the carriage.

“So… you’re the one who makes those metal pots.”

“Yes. Then let’s unload the ordered goods first. Channing! Go wake the kids up. It’ll be dinner soon, so we need to unload quickly.”

“Yes, sir.”

Channing quickly climbed onto the carriage and shouted.

“Wake up!!!”

“Whoa!”

Startled by the sudden shout, Tehez woke up.

“Oh my! Channing! I thought the baby would fall.”

“A maiden worried about a baby! Get up. We’ve arrived at the inn.”

“Huh? Already? Did we sleep that long?”

Surprised by the conversation between Tehez and Channing, Richel, the daughter of the Red Rooster restaurant, emerged from under the cloth covering the carriage, commonly known as a horo (幌[ほろ], tarpaulin).

Hurriedly jumping out of the carriage, Richel looked around frantically and exclaimed in surprise.

“Huh? It seems like it’s still daytime, but we’ve already arrived? How did we get here so fast?”

“The carriage is smooth. The wheels turn well. So the Aspur doesn’t get tired. And the speed is faster too.”

Richel glanced at the carriage after Channing’s explanation and tilted her head.

“I don’t really understand…”

“More importantly, Richel, you should greet them.”

“Ah! Aunt! Hello. Hi Marsha!”

Richel smiled brightly and greeted Shellen, and Marsha, recognizing her, cautiously emerged from behind her mother’s skirt.

“How have you been, Marsha?”

“Sister!”

Marsha ran towards Richel. Seeing a familiar face seemed to ease her tension.

“There was a child here. She seems to be around the same age as our Illia.”

Channing commented while looking at Marsha, and Marsha and Shellen looked at Illia, who was being helped out of the carriage by Tehez.

Still half asleep, Illia rubbed her eyes as she stepped onto the ground and began to look around, noticing the unfamiliar surroundings.

Marsha, in Richel’s arms, looked at Illia. The silver hair that matched her snow-white skin looked fascinating to Marsha.

“She has horns on her head.”

Marsha pointed at Illia’s head. Illia’s horns seemed to intrigue her.

As Marsha pointed at Illia’s horns, Illia blushed and covered them with both hands.

“You shouldn’t say that.”

Shellen lightly flicked Marsha’s forehead and scolded her, and Marsha looked at her mother.

“Why?!”

It was an innocent child’s question, so Shellen struggled to find the right words. She was cautious because a wrong answer might hurt the little Mazoku girl’s feelings.

“Come out, Illia.”

The Factory Manager reached out and gently pulled Illia forward. She still covered her horns with both hands as she stepped forward.

The Factory Manager knelt down, met Illia’s gaze, and reached out to stroke her head.

“It seems like the little girl saw a Mazoku like Illia for the first time. So, Illia, are you embarrassed about your horns?”

Illia shook her head. Every Mazoku had horns.

Because of the horns, she had been ostracized countless times, and she had wished she didn’t have them. However, none of the residents of the alley she met while living at the factory had said anything negative about her horns.

When Illia shook her head, the Factory Manager turned his gaze to Marsha.

“It seems like you were curious about our Illia’s horns.”

Marsha nodded.

“I guess there weren’t any Mazoku guests at the inn.”

Marsha nodded again.

The Factory Manager guessed that the inn didn’t have many guests. Or perhaps it was because wandering Mazoku didn’t typically stay at inns.

The Factory Manager reached out and stroked Marsha’s head.

“Then you can learn from now on. The world is vast, and there are people with horns on their heads.”

The Factory Manager smiled gently and stood up.

Illia and Marsha looked at each other. Marsha stared at Illia intently, and Illia shyly turned her head away.

Marsha looked at Illia and then spoke.

“You look like a doll.”

“Huh?”

Marsha looked Illia up and down and said,

“You look like a doll. You’re very pretty.”

“Ah… Yes…”

Marsha touched Illia’s silver hair and spoke, and Illia blushed slightly and nodded shyly.

Suddenly, Marsha hugged Illia tightly.

“You’re cute!”

Marsha seemed to like Illia and hugged her tightly, and everyone laughed at the sight.

“Come on! I’ll show you around the inn!”

Marsha grabbed Illia’s hand and ran, and Illia followed her lead.

“Children become friends quickly.”

“You’re good with kids, Factory Manager-nim.”

Channing asked at the Factory Manager’s mutterings, and the Factory Manager shrugged.

“Try having five younger siblings. I had a 13-year age gap with the youngest.”

“Wow… Your parents must have been even more affectionate than ours…”

Channing stopped mid-sentence as he received a smack on the back of his head from the Factory Manager, and Richel burst into laughter.

“This guy always speaks without thinking. You! You always ask for trouble with your mouth! Shut up and get ready to unload!”

Channing rubbed the back of his head and walked towards the carriage at the Factory Manager’s scolding, and Tehez followed him.

“He’s an interesting young man.”

“That’s why I’m worried. Oh dear, what should I do with him…”

The Factory Manager sighed at Shellen’s words as she approached him.

“Factory Manager-nim! Please help us. I can’t unload this alone.”

“Alright, alright. Just wait.”

The Factory Manager moved towards the carriage at Channing’s call from behind the carriage.