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70.76% My 13th Reincarnation: The Gods Won't Let Me Die / Chapter 46: Shortages

章 46: Shortages

It's been a rather uneventful week since then. After we fixed up my bedroom, we continued working on figuring out celestial magic. My separated mana does seem to be reacting to something, but no luck so far.

Elizabeth has started bringing the sword with her wherever she goes to prevent is being stolen. She even wrapped it in a thick cloth, so she could keep it under her bed when she sleeps.

Then, one morning, Vol brought my attention to another issue.

"Hm," he grumbled, "We still haven't received most of the manacaster modules."

"Weren't most of them supposed to be done by now?"

Vol nods, "We were supposed to have enough for two manacasters by the end of the week, but we don't even have enough for one."

Right. The manacaster I'm carrying around these days is woefully incomplete. It only has the tidal spell I used the other day, the rock spike spell I used in the mine, and the agility spell. All good spells in their respective situations, but not nearly broad enough.

"Maybe we should stop by some of the blacksmiths?" Vol suggests.

We do so, heading to some of the various blacksmiths he had hired. Unfortunately, they all said the same thing.

"Hrm, 'fraid I can't do much for 'ya. I haven't gotten any of the materials I need."

For some reason, not a single one of the blacksmiths had received metal shipments in over week.

"This really is quite odd," Vol said as we exited the third smithy.

"A week isn't that long. What's strange about it?" I ask.

"Seb, we're in Tayde. They have new metal shipments coming in *every other day*.

The last time they went more than a few days without a shipment was when they had to switch mines after they cleaned theirs out. I think they went without a shipment for a little over two weeks during that time, but that wasn't even two hundred years ago.

There's no reason why they'd be running out now."

He pauses and thinks for a bit. It seems to be weighing on him; I haven't heard him talk so quickly outside of our time researching in Rosewood.

"I think we should go to Voaneve."

I gaze at him blankly. He does this sometimes; mention people and places like I'm supposed to know what they are. I think he forgets that I've barely lived 16 years in this world.

"Ah, Voaneve is a sort of traders guild. It established Tayde way back. Technically, Tayde is under rule of the elven council, but Voaneve runs it."

"Sounds evil," I say, jokingly.

"Ha-ha, that's exactly what I said! They stuck with it, though."

The sun is starting to bounce diagonally off the water when we arrive at Voaneve. It's a large, almost mansion-like building, located up the road from the ocean. I had thought there were many people wandering between trading stalls on the main street, but it's nothing compared to Voaneve.

Species in all shapes enter and exit the permanently open double doors. Elves sure, but also humans, dwarves, and even a draconi or two.

Entering the building, it reminds me a bit of the magic academy. The entry hall is massive, with a floor of marble and stairs curving around the side, leading up to several more floors. Along the left side of the building extends a broad window with a perfect view of the ocean.

Not a single building is in the way. I guess that comes as a benefit of deciding where things are built.

"Over here," Vol says, holding me loosely by the arm to make sure that we aren't separated.

He pulls me over to one of the staircases. It's significantly less crowded, though plenty of people are still walking up and down between floors. We walk up a floor to an open platform with a view of the room below.

We head towards a closed door with four guards standing outside. Well, more soldiers than guards, really. They're not only carrying weapons, but also wearing full plate armor, which must be rather hot. I can only really see their eyes.

"Halt," one of them says as we approach. Because that always works.

He has a little feather in his helmet. I'm guessing he's captain or at least higher ranking than the rest.

"Hello, we're here to see Evelyne," Vol tells the guard while walking closer.

"What's your name?"

"Vol," he replies, simply.

The guard raises an eyebrow and looks back at one of the soldiers behind him. He looks down at a piece of paper and then shakes his head at the soldier in front of us.

"Evelyne only sees people by appointment and you're not on the list. Leave."

"No need to worry. She said I'd never need an appointment to see her," he says, still smiling calmly back at the guard.

He seems to be having fun, somehow. I get the sense that he's holding back a smirk. What in the world is he doing?

"Uhuh, right. Get out of here before we have you arrested."

Just as I'm about to ask Vol what he's trying to accomplish, I see the door open behind the soldiers. Vol clearly sees it too as he smiles even broader.

"Hng, why are you making so much noise out here?" a soft, sleepy voice asks.

With a twitch, all the guards jump into upright positions. I glance over at the lady.

"It's good to see you again, Evelyne," Vol says. He seems to be grinning. And... uh... blushing slightly.

The woman looks back at him blankly for a moment. Then, with a sudden start, her eyes go wide.

"Vol?!" she asks, her voice still pleasantly soft despite being much higher.

Huh, I guess this Evelyne really does know Vol. Is she some sort of important figure at Voaneve?

"Seb, meet Eve."


next chapter

章 47: Vol and Evelyne

It turns out that Vol and Eve are quite close. Or so I extrapolate from the length of their hug.

"Goodness, Vol, I have not seen you in almost a century," she said, looking over him, "You are starting to look pretty scrawny."

"Well, I've been a bit busy."

"Caught up in your research, I presume?" she asked with a knowing smile.

"That too, but recently it's been because of Seb... astian here."

Right. That's me. Seb-astian.

"Sebastian," I say, reaching out my hand.

She takes it, looking intrigued and politely puzzled.

"We're actually here to hear about some metal shipments," I tell her, looking to Vol to continue, since he knows her best.

"Right," he says, apparently having immediately forgotten why we were here.

"The blacksmiths around town haven't been getting metal shipments in about a week," he tells Eve.

"Ah," she says, softly, "Yes, I am aware."

"Do you know why?"

"Mmm, in part. Three of the ships that were supposed to be carrying shipments from Cavern have gone missing," she tells us, solemnly.

"The ships have been disappearing? Could they be getting hijacked by pirates?" Vol asks.

"That is what we thought, too. A few days ago, we hired some adventurers to protect the third ship."

"I assume they went missing too?" Vol asks.

"You assume right, dear."

That's a suspicious set of circumstances. And an even more suspicious use of "dear."

"What level were the adventurers?" I ask.

"I hear that they are the best. A-rank."

A-rank adventurers? She couldn't possibly mean them, right?

She continues.

"Apparently, they defeated a greater monster, so we believed they were the best choice."

Ah. She does mean them.

Vol and I exchange glances. I get the sense that Elizabeth won't be very happy about this.

In that moment, an idea springs to mind.

"When is the next shipment?"

"The ship was supposed to leave here tomorrow, but we have been debating putting it on hold until we can find a way to keep the crew safe."

I look over at Vol.

"What do you think?"

He nods,  "We should go. Elizabeth will probably want to come, as well."

Eve looks a bit confused.

"Come now, Vol, you have not fought in ages. And, respectfully," she turns to me, "I do not believe that you are any more capable use than an A-rank adventurer."

"He is," Vol says, without hesitation.

"We need this metal shipment," he continues, "We can do this. Trust me, Eve."

He leans in, lightly putting his hand on hers. Something very suspicious is going on here.

"Very well," she sighs, reluctantly. "I will tell the ship to depart with you tomorrow."

"Thank you, dear," Vol says, smiling.

He gets up and I follow. I must admit, that was surprisingly impressive for Vol. I had already begun considering different ways to convince her, but I guess it wasn't necessary.

After pushing our way back our through the crowd downstairs, we leave through the front doors. On our way back home, I ask the still smiling Vol a question.

"So, how do you know this Evelyne?"

"Hm?" he seems to snap out of his thoughts, "Oh, right. She's- well- my wife."

"You're married??" I exclaim.

"Of course I am," he says, slightly offended, "I've been married for centuries."

"Hold on, you don't have kids, too, do you?"

"Ha-ha, no~ Those I never got. Well, not counting you, anyway. Evelyne and I are both far too busy for that."

"Sure. But you're still married, then? It sounded like you hadn't seen each other in a long time."

"We worked out something of a deal. I think you'd appreciate it, Seb."

"How so?"

"For one, she supplies me with materials and support for my research. It also gives me something of a foothold to still be a part of Voaneve through my marriage. In return, I provide Tayde with frontier research, which improves the town at a much faster speed than anywhere else."

"Huh, that is pretty clever. Wait, what do you mean you're 'still' a part of Voaneve?"

"We founded it together, of course! I thought that'd be obvious to you, Seb."

"What? Why would that be obvious?"

"It's kind of in the name, you know? Voaneve. Vol and Eve."

That really is kind of obvious, isn't it.

"You really enjoy just shortening names, don't you?"

"It's efficient," he says, happily. He seems to be in a good mood after all this.

"I suppose so. Why don't you shorten Elizabeth's name, then?"

"A-haha~ I tried calling her Liz once, but she wasn't too happy about it. She threatened to trash my office," he laughs. "Though, maybe she was joking. I honestly can't tell."

Sometimes I forget that Vol has had a life before ever meeting me. The fact that he's married made me feel just as weird as it did when Elizabeth talked about her and Jonas as children. I might've been disconnected from people for too long.

Nearing nightfall, we arrived back home. Upon telling Elizabeth about Jonas and his group disappearing, she immediately broke in.

"I'm going with you."

"Relax, Elizabeth. You're already invited," Vol tells her, soothingly.

"The ship is leaving from further up the docks, where the tidal spell didn't hit. It's set for tomorrow morning, at dawn."

"In that case," Vol says, "We better get some rest."


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