Sword Art Online Progressive 3 by Reki Kawahara

Author:Reki Kawahara [Kawahara, Reki]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy
Publisher: Yen On
Published: 2017-07-18T00:00:00+00:00

I couldn’t see any of the Fallen Elves. But those two guards had to still be at the sides of the massive doors on the other side of the pile of boxes. I stood up, the lid still clutched in my hand, and helped Asuna out of the box. Once I had straddled the side to exit the wooden prison, I carefully replaced the lid.

Before I could even enjoy a brief moment of peace, Asuna got right in my face. I was expecting her to give me hell over my transgression, but her whisper was actually about a serious matter.

“We need to figure out what the ‘materials’ they mentioned are before we leave this place. There must be a clue in one of the boxes we haven’t checked yet.”

“Yeah, I agree…but…it’s possible that…” I mumbled, my brain working feverishly over the phrases we heard.

The total needed. Completed as planned. Elven taboo. Deals with the humans. Keys. Recover. Plan begins in five days…

My mind was trapped in that space where inspiration was tantalizingly close yet still out of reach. I put a question into words that had been bothering me.

“Hey, Asuna. That Eddhu guy’s class was labeled ‘foreman.’ Do you know what that is?”

She nodded at once—she’d probably learned the English term in school.

“Yes. It’s the leader of a work crew for a factory, for example. Or a head craftsman.”

“…Head craftsman…?”

That would mean the hammer he carried was a tool, not a weapon. Whatever he worked on, it must be big…

Suddenly all of the pieces snapped into place in my head with an audible ka-ching!

“……!”

I nearly shouted in surprise, but I held it in and glanced over at the stack of boxes.

That’s right—I was about to say it to Asuna when we were hiding inside it. These sturdy boxes weren’t meant to transport something. They were something else disguised as boxes to hide the secret of the Fallen Elves’ dirty dealing.

Everything we were looking at was ship materials.

That had to be a huge workshop on the other side of the door, where they were dismantling the boxes to form pieces of lumber. The faint hammering sounds were evidence of that.

So why did they need to strike a deal with Rovia’s Water Carriers Guild to build a ship? Probably something to do with the elven taboo that General N’ltzahh mentioned. The elves in this world were forbidden from cutting down live trees for lumber. They could only take trees that had fallen naturally. So they were making deals with humans for extra materials to speed up the process.

“…Did you figure something out?” Asuna asked, jabbing my arm. My mind ground to a halt.

“Uh, y-yeah. But it’ll be a long explanation, so let’s leave this spot first. You never know if they might come back.”

“If that happens, we’re hiding in a bigger box,” she announced. I had no choice but to agree heartily.

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