504 – The Town of Kuromaku

June 22, 2021

Narikin party has arrived in Kuromaku.

I possessed the little bird, Tran, and rode on Narikin’s shoulders to see the town. The town of Kuromaku was lined with black square buildings decorated with black cloth. Those clothes were probably sculptures or something because they didn’t sway when the wind blew, but they were very frilly. On the other hand, the clothes of the people on the street were white, a common sight in the Holy Kingdom, and they looked like they were wearing curtains.

I feel as if I’ve wandered into a monochrome world.

((Kuromaku… the black curtain, yeah, it’s suited its name well.))

“Yeah, it’s also meant a curtain that painted black, ah, the dye is this town specialty product.”

((I see…, it also serves as promotion for their unique product.))

((Rokufa, what is that?))

“Eee, I don’t know. Is it a… stall? Narikin, do you know anything about it?”

Just so you know, Rokuko has also been possessing Shiva and rides on Rokufa’s shoulders. She has also learned telekinesis. I noticed this quite late, but it’s easier to possess the bird and rides on Narikin and Rokufa shoulders than to possess them.

And just beyond my line of sight, there was a tent with fluttering cloth that could easily be mistaken as a fortune-telling hut, but the interior looked like a store of some kind.

“umm, from what I see, it appears to be a general store selling accessories, madam.”

“Ah! He is right, Rokuko-sama.”

((Accessories! Jewelry is an essential part of the culture. Rokufa, I’m going with Kehma later, so lend me your body.))

“Yes, with pleasure.”

Rokufa nodded at Rokuko’s request.

It seems they already decided to switch bodies later, without even asking about my schedule…. well, I didn’t have any in particular, though, not even a scheduled sleep at Beddhist church. Rokuko… you understand my schedule a bit too well.

“What shall we do, Master? Should we stop and choose a present for Madam for now?”

((I will do that when I possess you later, For now, take care of lodging first, we need to secure an inn.))

“Ack, you’re right. I shouldn’t let my wife sleep on the camp.”

“Well, you know… I wouldn’t mind camping out with you.”

“That won’t do, this is an unfamiliar place, and we are not on the road. How can you not take shelter when there is one? It’s only natural for a Beddhist believer to seek for a comfortable place to sleep.”

Narikin and Rokufa then huddle together. They really look like a married couple, aren’t they?

But since Rokufa face is a complete copy of Rokuko’s, it gives me a complicated feeling. And then, Rokuko jumped up and came to stand next to me on Narikin’s shoulder.

((The two of you are so close, aren’t you? We can’t lose this Kehma!))

((Are we competing?))

Shiva (Rokuko) rubs her body against mine. Her feathers are soft and fluffy. She’s a bird, so there’s no sex appeal in this, but she’s cute. Um, Rokuko, stop… Rokufa is grinning at us, and Naana is staring at you in disgust.

In the end, we managed to secure an inn. We use one for aristocrats or wealthy people because they’ll allow you to bring in small pets, but as expected, if the animal is too big, it will have to go to a stable, but if it’s a small bird, there’s no problem.

((The inn design is also… black cloth.))

“Ah, Master. I’ve heard that this is actually made of hardened cloth.”

((Oh, is that so?))

I landed on Narikin’s hand and stabbed the cloth with my beak, and it made a light and solid sound. I was wondering if it was made by soaking it in glue and letting it harden.

“It’s this town special product, a dye that hardens in response to magic., and there are even cloth armors made of it. They say it’s light and strong.”

((Hoo, interesting.))

“I’ve heard that the dye is only available in black because the raw material itself is black.”

((That’s a little disappointing, though the black is still a good color.))

Sturdy cloth, huh? Maybe we can incorporate it into our cloth clothes golem.

……

If I make black knee-highs or black tights with this dye, I can easily get a mold of someone’s feet.

Nah, it will be too hard to take them off. Let’s forget that.

We exchanged bodies in the inn room and came to the jewelry store.

“Now, Kehm… darling! let’s see what they have for sale.”

“Yeah, it would be bad if we messed up with each other name… What do you usually call her?”

((These days I call Rokufa as ‘my dear wife.’))

“My dear…”

I looked amazedly at Narikin, who now possesses the little bird on my shoulder. This guy is really…

“Well, let’s try this, dar–ling?”

“….ma-my dear wife, shall we go then?”

“~Yes!”

And Rokufa (Rokuko) crossed her arm with me. Feeling soft in all sorts of ways, I entered the tent of the jewelry store.

“Welcome.”

The inside of the tent looked like a normal accessory stall, with several cloth-covered wooden boxes on a simple table at the counter. Rings, necklaces, earrings, and other accessories lined up inside.

The boxes were divided into two categories: those with jewels and those without. Hmmm, a flat rate of one silver coin for the ones without jewelry and five silver coins with jewelry.

“Can you show me your goods? Let’s see. I’m looking for something that will suit my wife.”

“Something for a couple would be good.”

As Rokufa began to look at the items, the male shopkeeper came to assist me.

“Mr. Husband, are you looking for a gift for your wife?”

“Yes. Do you have any suggestions?”

“Well, all of our goods are top-notch… if you don’t mind me asking, how many other wives do you have?”

Ah, right. The Holy Kingdom is a polygamous country.

“I don’t have any other wives at the moment.”

“I see. Then this one is… Ah, but I guess it also a wise choice to buy a few more of these in case you get another wife.”

“E? Is that so?”

“Yes, even though some women say they don’t care it, inside, they DO care about it, so buying some in advance will save you a lot of trouble. How about this one? Isn’t the color of the magic stone is brilliant?”

Magic stone? It seems that the jewel was a magic stone, so it was doubling as magic tools?

“Does this have any effect?”

“Ah—I’m sorry! Mr. Husband is a traveler? I’m sorry, I thought you were from the Holy Kingdom judging by the clothes you wear.”

Is there something in our conversation that pointed out that I’m a traveler?

“…why do you think I’m a traveler?”

“Because There is no such thing as an accessory with a magic stone and has no effect. By the way, you can exchange magic stones in any town.”

“I see. Normally I would have asked what effect, instead of is there any effect?”

“It’s also rare to find a couple of two if they’re not tourists. In this country, there are many couples of four or more, even among the commoner.”

Is that how it is? I knew it a country with a polygamy system, but was it really that common?

“I was amazed at how people in other countries can take care of their children with only two people. Tourists are usually surprised when I say this, but all adults are married to multiple partners in our village. Of course, some couples get along particularly well.”

“Oh, I see. It’s much common than I imagined.”

While we chatted, I bought some accessories that Rokuko wanted.

These earrings with red fire magic stones are also said to be an offensive magic tool that explodes when thrown. They are disposable, but they are popular because they are easy to use in times of emergency.