As Long as You Have the [Shop] Skill, the Dungeonized World Is a Breeze ~The Bullied Youth’s Payback

Chapter 166 – Ze’ev and Julaf

(TL: This chapter is from Ze’ev’s point of view.)

“Busy with work as always, aren’t you Julaf?”
I couldn’t hide a smile as I entered Julaf’s room and saw him wrestling with a ridiculously tall stack of documents.

“What is it, Ze’ev? It must be nice to be so free. You should help me with my work a bit, you fool.” (Julaf)
“Hahahah, no can do. I’m a fool after all. I can’t handle any difficult paperwork.” (Ze’ev)
“Geez, it’s crazy that you could become one of the Four Heavenly Beastmasters despite being like this.” (Julaf)
“I left all of the paperwork to my subordinates.” (Ze’ev)
“I would never want a boss like you. I’d probably die from being overworked.” (Julaf)
“Hey, hey, I still do what I need to do, you know? After all, on the battlefield, I was always the one fighting furthest up on the frontline!” (Ze’ev)
“What kind of general goes out before his men?” (Julaf)
Julaf let out a big sigh.

“There, there. Why don’t we have a drink?” (Ze’ev)
“I knew that bottle in your hand was a bottle of sake. It’s only a little bit past noon, you know?” (Julaf)
“It’s fine every once a while! There’s no need to be so hard on yourself all the time.” (Ze’ev)
“Sigh… Hey, Ze’ev.” (Julaf)
“‘Sup?” (Ze’ev)
“About this light pocket… What are your thoughts?” (Julaf)
“……….” (Ze’ev)
“Light pockets were originally phenomena that only occurred very rarely. But now, they’re happening one after the other… And besides, a light pocket on the scale of the entire imperial capital has never been confirmed before.” (Julaf)
“…Yup.” (Ze’ev)
I opened the bottle of sake and took a swig straight from the bottle.

“This is no mere coincidence. I think… this disaster was brought about by something… or someone.” (Julaf)
“Disaster, huh…? Then there’s only one explanation, ain’t there?” (Ze’ev)
“Vodara…?” (Julaf)
“Yeah. I dunno what his connection is, but he’s in league with the Curseweaver. In the first place, how’d he even join hands with the Curseweaver? I mean, a being like that who’s beyond human knowledge would be difficult to keep by your side, don’tcha think?” (Ze’ev)
As far as we understood, the Curseweaver was disaster itself. It took on a humanoid form appearance-wise, but it wasn’t a being that could be communicated with nor manipulated by someone.

“I don’t know what kind of power Vodara is using to accomplish that, but we do know that Vodara is definitely alive somewhere. And without a doubt, that guy is definitely still up to something no good.” (Julaf)
“…Yeah, definitely.” (Ze’ev)
Vodara was obsessed with being in control. He didn’t have the capacity to sit back and quietly take a defeat. I felt that he was definitely watching and waiting for an opportunity to do something big.

“Anyway, the imperial capital sure is full of problems. There’s also that matter with His Highness Nike to top it all off.” (Julaf)
“Yeah, ‘bout that. I was pretty surprised too! They invaded the imperial capital with just a few people and made it out with His Highness Nike unscathed! Man, that’s quite somethin’!” (Ze’ev)
“…Just thought I’d ask, but you wouldn’t happen to be in on this, would you?” (Julaf)
“Hey, hey, I’m not even acquainted with His Highness Nike, you know? If you’re gonna say that, I’d turn around and say that you’re the more suspicious one here. You’ve at least talked to His Highness Nike, haven’t you?” (Ze’ev)
“…I have. But I’ve had more contact with his mother, Shuren-sama, than with His Highness Nike.” (Julaf)
“Hmmm, what kind of person was this Shuren person?” (Ze’ev)
“She was very beautiful. Calm, knowledgeable… and kind.” (Julaf)
Julaf’s gaze looked distant as if he was remembering the past. From his face, I could guess that their relationship wasn’t that shallow.

“So… it might be improper of me to say this, but I’m actually relieved that her posthumous child, His Highness Nike, wasn’t executed in the end.” (Julaf)
“I see… Well, if Dragia were to hear that, it’d definitely cause some trouble.” (Ze’ev)
“….Is it really alright for you to be sticking around here? Mister Former Heavenly Beastmaster?” (Julaf)
“Oh, please. I’m not tied to any one country anymore. I’m a free adventurer now.” (Ze’ev)
When I flashed a grin at him, Julaf returned a smile and said, ‘I see’.

“But what about you? I’m hearin’ some people saying you’re a candidate to become the next emperor.” (Ze’ev)
“They’re just mouthing off as they please. I don’t have any intentions of becoming a king.” (Julaf)
“…Are you sure ‘bout that? You said it was your family’s wish for the Empire to bloom again, didn’t you?” (Ze’ev)
“That’s just what my parents wanted.” (Julaf)
“Then even more so, yeah? Your parents are both dead. You swore before their graves that you’d settle the score one day, didn’t you?” (Ze’ev)
“As you’re well aware, it was Vodara who exiled the Orbian family from the Empire. But now, we managed to turn it around and exile Vodara instead. They… shouldn’t have any lingering regrets anymore.” (Julaf)
“…Well, it’s all good as long as you’re okay with that. So, are you gonna go back to being an adventurer?” (Ze’ev)
“I don’t know, with these circumstances. Do you think there’s enough work as an adventurer? What about you? You must’ve been traveling around this new world for a while now, right?” (Julaf)
“Ah, yeah I dunno if we’d be able to find work as adventurers. Well, there are dungeons, and there are definitely monsters too. But I mean, we can’t communicate with the people of this world, so we wouldn’t be able to take any quests.” (Ze’ev)
I had actually gone around and saved some people who looked like they were being attacked by monsters. But they either got scared of my appearance and ran away, or I found that they couldn’t understand what I was saying and left after some simple greetings.

“Mm… That’s definitely the biggest problem. If we wanted to put down roots in this world, we’d surely have to negotiate with the people living here. We haven’t made contact with them at the moment, but there’s a possibility that they’ll come here sooner or later. If we can’t communicate with them then, it’ll be a problem.” (Julaf)
“Then what about that guy… Hakumen, right? Wouldn’t it be better to negotiate with him?” (Ze’ev)
“…Is he really someone that we can trust?” (Julaf)
“I didn’t sense any malice in him. Well, he seemed like a black-bellied kinda guy. But that’s just how merchants are, right?” (Ze’ev)
“Well… I guess so. But his timing was a bit too good, to the point that it bothers me a bit.” (Julaf)
“What do you mean?” (Ze’ev)
“Almost immediately after we were transported to this world, Hakumen appeared. And the next day after Hakumen appeared, His Highness Nike was kidnapped. It seems… a bit much to be a coincidence, no?” (Julaf)
I see. Now that he mentioned it, there certainly were some curious points there.

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