01x09 - The Merchant and the Dragon

[bunniefuu]

[bright flute music]

- [Hiraku Voiceover] Let me tell

you a story about a slime.

One day, the slime that

Tia brought here to

purify our waste water and

sewage started to multiply

and now there are lots of

different types of slimes.

They were all harmless,

so I didn't really notice that

they'd been multiplying, but

[girls gasping]

[dramatic music]

[slime farting]

[slime babbling]

- [Tia] Did it drink

an entire barrel?

- A single slime drank it all?

- My dad can only drink

half a barrel at most.

- That wine was

everyone's property!

- [Lastismoon] You can't go and

drink it without our permission!

- This deserves punishment!

- [Tia] That's right!

- [Lastismoon] Yeah!

- [Sena] Please wait

a minute, everyone!

Let's all calm down!

- [Hiraku Voiceover]

This came as a big shock

to all the alcohol-loving

residents here.

And so began our

village's first trial.

[slime babbling]

- Wait! Let's not!

- Leave it to me!

- Guilty.

- But, Anne!

Oh dear!

- Wait!

- Are we blowing something up?

- I feel bad for it,

so let's move away from

the barbaric options.

How about short

confinement instead?

- [Tia] But that was our

precious alcohol!

[slime farting]

- [Tia] Jeez, this kind

of stuff happens

because you're too soft!

- Pardon?

We're talking about

a slime here.

Even if we punish it,

I'm not sure it's going to

reflect on its action.

- [Tia] Well, you have a point.

- [Lastismoon] It is

a slime, after all.

- [Hiraku Voiceover] And so,

that slime was acquitted.

After that, it began to

pop up during our feasts

and celebrations so that

it could join us.

Oh well. I think it's all right

if we have one slime like that.

Too many would be

a problem, though.

["Flower Ring" by Shino Shimoji

and Aya Suzaki plays]

[bright violin music]

- [Hiraku Voiceover]

The season is autumn.

The summers here aren't

particularly hot or anything,

but it's still nice when

things cool down a bit

and we can get some

more work done.

And here's the result.

[stomach growling]

- I'm so hungry.

- [Hiraku Voiceover]

Autumn means eating.

[Flowrem giggling]

- [Flowrem] There's nothing

like a good hot pot!

It's so tasty!

- Would you stop taking

all the meat, Lasty?

- I'm eating vegetables, too!

[Sena slurping]

- Yummy!

We didn't have these

types of mushrooms

in Howling Village.

- Man, I really love

a good hot pot.

If we could get seafood here,

I bet these would taste

even better.

[girls gasping]

- So what exactly

are you referring to

when you say seafood?

- Let's see.

Stuff like cod, crabs,

or monkfish.

We can make broth from kombu!

Then make a chanco miso hotpot!

- Start researching immediately!

- I've got some info here!

- Oh no!

What do I do?

I've never even seen the ocean.

- Did you say crabs?

Can you eat those?

They're really hard.

- Kombu.

It sounds like something

quite terrifying.

[kombu growling]

- A broth?

That's the soup thing

you showed me

how to make earlier, right?

- That's right.

- Is chanco a kind

of fish, then?

- If we need the ocean,

there's a port city

within the Demonic Kingdom.

You're able to reach it

if you head south

from this village.

They do a lot of trading

of ocean products,

so we might be able to find

some of those fish there.

- Okay! I'll fly over

and check it out.

- Wonderful.

I can go with you.

We can ask a merchant

I know for help.

- [Lu] Let's get started

right away!

- [Flora] I'll take care

of the miso!

- They all really like

hotpots, huh?

- [Anne] Indeed.

- [Lastismoon] See you later!

- [Lu] We're counting on you!

- [Hiraku Voiceover]

When it comes to food,

everyone here

gets very motivated.

Well, nothing makes me

happier as a farmer

than seeing them enjoy my food.

[magical music]

And so, the return of the group

that set out in earnest

took place.

Three days later.

- It's a great pleasure

to meet everyone.

My name is Michael.

I'm an established merchant from

the city of Shashato

in the Demonic Kingdom.

- I'm the mayor, Hiraku.

Thank you for coming here

to our little village.

- Of course.

It's nothing, really.

This is part of my job

as a merchant.

[group gasping]

These are the marine

products I brought

from the city of Shashato.

They are our pride and joy.

As for the seaweed called kombu

that you requested,

our fishermen normally

throw it back,

even if they pull up some

in their nets.

- What? So

- No need to worry

about it, though.

I'll have my men collect some

kombu for you right away.

We'll have it dried and ready

before you know it.

- That sounds great.

- Now with regards to my visit

here to your village today,

I have three main goals.

[Hiraku sighing]

The first is to

properly greet you

and show you

my gratitude for

requesting to do

business with us.

The second is to suggest

more opportunities

for us to trade goods

and do business.

And my third goal,

if it's something

you would agree to,

is to become the official

government purveyor

for this village.

- Official purveyor?

- It means he would

like to handle

all trade between us

and the outside world.

- You're being quite direct

in what you're asking for.

- I'm always careful to not be

so indirect that my intentions

are somehow misinterpreted.

All of the crops here you

have are very enticing.

If you allow me the

opportunity to do so,

I can get you several times

more value when trading them.

- There are quite a few

people already

who want to do trade

with this village.

- As I said, if you agree to it.

Of course, I'd like to ask

that you first have

a look at the

list of products

that my company trades

for other entities.

And from there, we can

discuss my proposition.

I believe we were able to cover

a lot of important ground today.

Next time,

I'd like to discuss

the alcohol produced

in this village.

- [Lastismoon] You can't

have the alcohol!

[Michael screaming]

[Michael coughing]

- Pardon my ignorance.

I'll leave things as is now.

- Well, he seemed like

a skilled merchant.

That should come in handy.

- It certainly will.

- It'll be a big help

having him negotiate.

- And even though he's

handling things for us,

we'll get more goods

when trading now.

- It doesn't seem like he has

any intention to deceive us.

- Yeah.

I hope our relationship

with him goes smoothly.

- [Hiraku Voiceover]

It seemed like he was

really frightened

there at the end.

But oh well.

That's to be expected when

you're talking to a dragon.

[ominous music]

- [Michael] The Great

Tree Village, huh?

[Michael sighing]

[Michael screaming]

- [Michael Voiceover]

That was scary!

[upbeat electronic music]

[seagulls squawking]

[playful music]

- [Michael] A visitor?

Without an appointment?

- Yes. They would like to

talk business with you.

- [Michael] I couldn't be

any busier now.

- [Michael Voiceover]

My name is Michael Goroun.

I work as the head of

the largest

trading company

in this city.

- If it's nothing major,

can't you guys handle it?

Why do they need to

see me specifically?

- The person that

requested you

did so by name

when they arrived.

They even brought goods

from their farm.

I wasn't sure what to do.

- They already brought

goods with them?

Don't they know

the rules here?

If you guys can't

handle it on your own,

then just refer

them somewhere el-

No, I'll meet with them.

- Yes, sir.

- [Michael Voiceover]

My merchant's intuition

is telling me that

I can't ignore this.

This strange feeling

welling up inside me is

- I feel so very honored

that you remember me still.

- Yes, of course I do.

If I remember correctly,

the last time we had

the pleasure of meeting

was at your birthday party.

- [Michael Voiceover]

I can't believe the young lady

of the Chrome family is here.

My head would've rolled

if I had sent her away.

- Who have you brought with you?

- Oh! My companion is

- My name is Lastismoon

of the dragons.

Please call me Lasty.

- [Michael Voiceover]

Lastismoon?

Could she really be

that crazy dragon?

She's just a child!

[Lastismoon sighing]

The daughter of

one of the most

powerful families of

the Demonic Kingdom

and a dangerous dragon!

The risks of trading

with them are too high.

- So what is it that brings you

here to see me today?

- [Michael Voiceover]

But I can't just ignore them!

- We'd like you to

purchase these from us.

[Michael gasping]

And in exchange,

there are some things

we'd like you to find.

[Michael gasping]

- [Michael Voiceover]

What's going on here?

I'm being stared down

by a dragon

while being surrounded

by lizardmen.

I'm about to enter some

outrageous trade talks.

Was that feeling I had before

a warning of impending danger?

[Michael inhaling]

[Michael gasping]

These are those fruit

that have entered

the Demonic Kingdom

that people have

been talking about!

Each one of these can fetch

several silver coins!

And look how many

they've brought!

[coins rattling]

- [Michael] The goods you wanted

were from the ocean, correct?

- That's right!

- This port happens

to be my territory.

I can find whatever it is

you are looking for.

[girls gasping]

Because that's

the job of a worthy

merchant like me!

- [Michael Voiceover] I can't

let this chance get away.

- I want you to go to the port

and bring me their best catches!

- Okay!

- And after that, prepare

my things for travel!

- [Employee] Yes, sir!

- I'll take part in

the delivery myself.

Are the goods

going to the capital?

- Actually, they're

going to a village

in The Forest of Death.

- I'll carry the stuff,

so I can give you

a ride as well.

- [Michael Voiceover]

Forest of Death?

Give me a ride?

[Michael screaming]

- He's a merchant from Shashato.

- I see.

[Michael screaming]

- Oh.

And the merchant came with you?

[Michael growling]

- [Michael Voiceover]

The mayor seems normal.

[Michael gasping]

- [Lastismoon] You can't

have the alcohol!

[Michael trembling]

[upbeat folk music]

[Michael sighing]

- [Michael Voiceover]

I survived it.

I managed to finish my business

with that terrifying group

while having a smile on my face.

That was the best deal

of my life.

Huge profits are waiting for me

from here on out.

[Michael sighing]

However

[stomach grumbling]

[Michael groaning]

I'm not sure if my body

can handle this.

[girls gasping]

[Hiraku humming]

- [Hiraku Voiceover]

Here it is, real seafood!

Maybe next time I'll ask him

for shrimp or squid!

[girls giggling]

[bright folk music]

[banging]

[dragon growling]

- [Hiraku Voiceover]

This is the third time a dragon

has attacked this village.

I think.

Is this one related

to Dryme again?

For the record,

the three angel squad

in charge of

patrolling the skies

was quickly able to

spot this dragon

before it fully reached us.

However, stopping a dragon

proved to be difficult.

But seriously,

what is that dragon doing?

Acting smug?

[fireball exploding]

[Hiraku groaning]

Okay, so you're challenging me.

You want a fight, right?

In that case

I missed!

Is what I want it to think.

Once more!

Defeated!

[crash]

[wolves barking]

[Hiraku groaning]

- Ow, ow, ow!

Aw, you got me

with that spear.

I surrender!

Just kidding.

[chuckling]

- Why'd you do

something like that?

- Well, you see, it really isn't

all that big of an issue.

- But you burned

some of the forest.

- Okay. Give me a minute.

I'll come up with an important

reason why I did that.

[Hiraku growling]

- Hey!

Wait a minute, mayor!

I'm sorry, mayor, she's

[Hakuren gasping]

- It's little Drymey!

- [Hiraku] Little?

- [Hiraku Voiceover] According

to Dryme's explanation,

her name is Hakuren.

She's his older sister.

- This is your fault,

you know, Drymey.

You said you were giving away

Lasty as a bride-to-be.

- As a bride?

- No, that's not what I-

- You totally said that!

You said you wanted

to marry her off

to the mayor of

this village someday.

- Wait, what?

- It's not like that!

I might've said something

kind of like that

while I was drinking, but

- [Hiraku Voiceover]

As the person in question,

it makes it hard to comment.

- So that's why I came out here,

to see what kind of person he

was marrying my niece off to!

- Then why couldn't you just

come visit like normal?

- Everyone always talks about

how strong the mayor here is.

So I wanted to come

play with you a little.

[Hiraku growling]

- It's not just that, though.

She's mostly here to vent anger.

- Of course I am!

Do you think I could

just let it slide

that my little niece

is going to

find a husband

before I do?

I mean, come on!

She's 900 years

younger than me!

I can't accept this!

It's ridiculous!

Don't you agree?

- It's fine if you

wanna come play,

but you shouldn't be causing

problems for other people.

And it goes without saying that

you're going to clean up

this mess, right?

- [Hakuren] So you two

are always getting

to eat food that

tastes this good?

- Well, it's not like I'm always

imposing on everyone here.

Only three out of

every ten days.

- Oh wow!

Lucky you!

- Maybe it's five days.

- She's already fitting in.

- [Hakuren] Five days?

- Mayor.

I'm sorry about what happened

and that my aunt is

- [Hakuren] Hey, Lasty!

- That Big Sis Hakuren

is causing so much trouble.

- It's nothing you need

to apologize about.

- Oh, hey!

I heard you have some really

fun games you all play.

Like the one where you line up

the little square things.

- Do you mean mahjong?

- [Hakuren] I wanna try that.

You play with

four people, right?

Hey, mayor!

Let's play a round!

I don't wanna leave here

only having lost to you.

- All right, that's fine by me.

So, first, let me

explain all the rules.

- I'll be fine!

I can figure it out.

- Is that so?

- More importantly

what should we bet on?

- Huh?

[Dryme chuckling]

- I see, then.

Yes, doing it this way

is more fun than

just playing the game.

- Let's take it easy at first.

- Mayor.

What would you normally bet

when playing mahjong like this?

- Even if want me

to bet something,

I don't really have

anything I can safely bet.

Maybe punish the loser?

The only thing

I can think to do

is play strip mahjong.

[Hakuren squealing]

- Sounds great!

- So the loser gets a

taste of humiliation, then.

- No, no! Don't do anything

you don't want to do!

Right, Lasty?

- If we're competing,

there's no way I can lose.

- [Hiraku] Excuse me?

- [Group] As a member

of the dragon clan!

- [Hiraku Voiceover]

I have a feeling

that things are

going to get bad.

- That's chii!

[Dryme gasping]

- That's riichi!

- Too bad.

Ron!

- [Dryme] What?

- [Hiraku Voiceover]

This is my fault

for carelessly

suggesting this idea.

[Dryme grunting]

- This is indeed

a very shameful thing.

- [Hiraku Voiceover] The dragons

are all very competitive

and they can't stand losing.

This lead to a very serious

game of strip mahjong.

You're new to this,

aren't you?

And you're wearing

the least clothing.

How are you so confident?

Now that it's come to this,

I wanted to carefully rack up

some points and end things

while maintaining the peace,

but

[suspenseful music]

Something isn't right.

Seriously,

what's happening here?

How am I losing?

I'm on my last

piece of clothing!

Don't tell me they're using

some kind of magic trickery!

Are they using telekinesis

to rewrite the tiles?

Can they see through

the back of my tiles?

No.

- Nothing's written on this one.

Is it an extra?

- [Hiraku Voiceover]

I'm overthinking it.

In any case

my chance has finally arrived.

I can score a double yakuman.

I can end the whole thing

with a single move.

But

Of course it had to be

this tile again!

It doesn't matter.

I'll never beat the dragons

if I'm paralyzed by fear!

- [Group] Ron!

- [Hiraku Voiceover]

That's about right.

- Okay, pants off!

- [Girls] Pants off!

Pants off!

[Lastismoon gasping]

Pants off!

Pants off! Pants off!

[girls squealing]

- [Hiraku] I am defeated!

[girls squealing]

- [Grattz] The dragons

are gathering

in that village again?

- Yes.

The ancient dragon Hakuren

was spotted

staying there as well.

- Impossible.

They've got enough power

to conquer a whole country!

Can we afford to just

sit back and watch?

- So, more importantly,

Beezel

- Yes?

Do you have an idea, Galgardo?

- No.

It's my daughter.

She's been in a mood lately.

She hasn't said

anything to me all day

besides good morning.

Is this her rebellious phase?

- Anyways, we need to focus on

preparing our military forces!

We'll have to secure

the funds we need.

- [Randan Voiceover]

I resign. Randan.

- [Grattz] Randan?

- [Beezel] Ah, he ran away.

- [Grattz] Is this a joke?

- So, if you divide these apples

between three people,

how many apples will

you have to eat, then?

I wish I could just

eat them all, though.

[class laughing]

- She's really come

into her own here.

- [Hiraku Voiceover]

After attacking

The Great Tree Village,

Hakuren decided to stay here

for the time being.

Surprisingly, she's very skilled

and able to handle any job.

But she complains about

anything she's asked to do.

Every time I look,

she's doing nothing.

- I don't wanna.

- Why do you complain about

everything so much?

- I'm hoping that one day,

maybe people will stop

asking me to do things.

[Hiraku sighing]

- [Hiraku Voiceover]

I had no choice

but to order her

to start digging holes

and then filling

them back in.

- Stop being so cruel!

- She gave up on day one.

- [Hiraku Voiceover] In the end,

we settled on her teaching

reading, writing, and math.

She became the village teacher.

- And that's why

learning to read, write,

and do math will

end up helping you

a lot in your day

to day lives.

Listen up.

I want all of you

to work really hard

so that one day I don't have

to work anymore, okay?

- [Class] Okay!

- [Hiraku Voiceover]

I think her motivation

might not be the greatest.

- Please, we beg of you

to spare our lives.

- What are you talking about?

- [Hiraku Voiceover]

According to what

the lamia girls were saying,

at some point, the

younger animals decided to

clear a dungeon they found

in the middle of the forest,

forcing the lamia to

quickly flee their homes.

[lamia gasping]

[wolves barking]

They didn't know

what they were doing,

but they still caused

a lot of trouble.

- What should we do?

- They came all the way here

to seek our aid and protection

from having lost their homes.

It would not be proper

to turn them away.

- [Hiraku Voiceover] In the end,

we decided to trade

the precious gems

the lamia mined

for some of our crops.

After that, they went back

to their original homes.

- I'd like it if we could

keep trading from now on.

- Yes!

Just ask us for

whatever you want.

- [Hiraku Voiceover]

They're so genuinely

excited about this

that it's making me awkward.

- Okay, then, I have something

I'd like to request.

- [Junea] Yes?

- It's fine if it's only

when you're visiting,

but I'd appreciate it if you

could put some clothes on.

[dreamy music]

- [Hiraku Voiceover] That might

be part of their culture,

but I really had trouble

not staring.

After that, the lamia formed

the Lamia Delivery Service

and started carrying our

trading goods for us.

With everything said and done,

I'm glad we found

some reliable neighbors.

Between this and the increased

trade with the other areas,

it feels like the village

has reached a new level.

- Since we've increased

the amount of trade,

shall we plant more crops?

- Yeah.

[bright folk music]

[ominous music]

- It appears that village is

indeed amassing military might

and planning something

most dreadful.

- It may be that they're

convincing Flowrem to stay there

just so they can use her as

a hostage if they need to.

- We should begin gathering

our troops at once,

Princess.

- I understand.

We must defeat that village.

And we have to save Flowrem.

["Feel the winds"

by Yui Hizuki plays]

[rustic music playing]