A few days later, the long-awaited Kura language course day came.

Unlike in the other lectures, there were few people in the cla.s.sroom. There were the merchant Harold Harrell and Myaro. There were also five other people.

'It seems there is no other general public. Except Harold.'

'At this moment, do the people of this country haven't felt the necessity at all? For starters, there may be no sense of internationalism in the Shanti.'

'The Kuran is not at the level of black people or white people. In terms of s.e.xual intercourse, since they are at a different level compared to the Shanti where children can't have it, the idea of diplomacy may never sprout in the first place. Or, since they are having mercantilism diplomacy or perhaps I should say, national isolation for 900 years, the idea of learning foreign language doesn't exist.'

I sat next to Myaro who had already come to the lecture room.

"h.e.l.lo." (Yuri)

I greeted him. Myaro accepted my greeting.

"Hi there." (Myaro)

However, he didn't speak anything else. It was still too early to talk in the morning.

"Yo." (Harold)

Accordingly, Harold sat next to me. It seemed he moved his seat.

"h.e.l.lo, nice to meet you." (Myaro)

"Who is this child? Please introduce him to me." (Harold)

"He is Myaro Gudanvier-san. Aah, this person here is Harold Harrell." (Yuri)

"h.e.l.lo, Harold-san." (Myaro)

Myaro smiled broadly. It felt like a smile when meeting people for the first time.

However, the reaction of Harold was extreme. He had a face as if he was scared, and it was also expressed in his manner.

"Ni-nice to meet you. Gudanvier-dono." (Harold)

For some reason, he shrunk in fear.

'What's with the honorific '-dono.'? At my time, he was like 'Oss! Aah, you are the child of the chief, is it!? What a big belly you have!?'. Well, it feels like that though. Ah no, maybe, it's not like that.'

"Speaking of Harrell, are you from the Harrell Company?" (Myaro)

'Does he know?'

"O-ouh. No… I mean, yes. I am honored that you have heard about me…" (Harold)

'His speech is weird.'

"You can stalk as usual, you know. You may talk like how you do with Yuri-kun." (Myaro)

"I-I see." (Harold)

Harold was obviously looked relieved.

'What is this? He was speaking just fine with me.'

"Yes. You are more or less the heir of the Harrell Company." (Myaro)

"Is the Harrell Company famous?" (Yuri)

I asked Myaro in low voice. Myaro started speaking with his mouth close to my ear.

"It is a medium-sized company that can't be said to be a large company, but I heard that Marmaset is getting in the way of the business and is falling away. They like to hara.s.s merchants who refuse bribes." (Myaro)

'Heh. It looks like Marmaset seems to be like a bad Yakuza. A member of that Yakuza is the dean of the Liberal Arts.'

'In that case, it feels like Harold acted in reservation toward Myaro was because he was scared with Yakuza's son (Myaro) compared to MP's son (me). I wonder what is going on.' (TLN: MP is a short form of member of parliament)

"What are you talking about?" (Harold)

Harold seems to be worried. When I looked at Myaro, wondering whether it was fine to talk about it, he nodded impishly.

"I heard that a merchant's home suffered damage by the blackmailer." (Myaro)

"Hmm… yeah…" (Harold)

There seemed to be no mistake as Harold looked angry. He probably couldn't complain in front of Myaro.

"Why do you want to learn the Kura language, Harold-san?" (Myaro)

Myaro changed the topic.

"Aah, yeah. 'I wonder if he would say 'the other day, this child said…'

"When I got together with this child in the abacus cla.s.s, I was told that if you don't have a job, you can trade with the Kuran. That was it." (Harold)

"With the Kuran… is it?" (Myaro)

Myaro had a slight frown.

"Since my father also said it was a good idea, I immediately applied and came to this lecture." (Harold)

"I was thinking for a bit, but are there any problems?" (Yuri)

I asked without reserve and Myaro seemed considering for a bit.

"I think there is no problem, but there are many difficulties." (Myaro)

It seemed that there are difficulties.

"For example, you can be killed. However, there is no need to concern about that." (Myaro)

Harold nodded.

“That's fine, but it might be a problem if there are accompanying acts due to the difficulties." (Myaro)

"What does that mean?" (Harold)

'Accompanying acts due to the difficulties? Even I became good with the ancient Shan language.'

He made a considerable gloomy expression.

"I think the problem is the time it takes to find a trading partner. Of course there is a danger, but to avoid being killed or abducted, Harold-san may want consider using enough armed escorts to secure evacuations." (Myaro)

Even if Myaro didn't say anything, it was a consideration of the opponents were thugs.

'This is a normal measure because of the thug partners. Even without saying armed escorts, how about preparing arms for the sailors?'

"That will make it an invasion into the territory of the Kura country. The problem is, if the armed escorts go wild and killed a lot of Kuran even though it is an act of self-defense, that outright act is the same as piracy. Since the crime of piracy is a death penalty, even if you run away luckily, but the other side appeals to the country by sending a letter of demand, you'll be arrested and hanged." (Myaro)

'Aah, I see. That's why it's illegal. I had no idea.'

'Well, if you think about it well, it will be very common. 'Since it didn't go well when you acted on your own and negotiate with the hostile nation, you killed a lot of people, and retreated.' That kind of picture comes into my mind. The purpose at the beginning is to negotiate. Although there is  a room for self-defense in that respect, there is no change that it can blow into a small scale war.'

"Aah, I see… yes…" (Harold)

Harold was thinking about something.

"It is dangerous, but the harvest may be big. As what you expected, Yuri-kun." (Myaro)

I didn't know what to say, but he complimented me.

"I wonder about that. When I think about it, this may be a suicidal act." (Yuri)

"A merchant with ambition would challenge such a dangerous thing." (Myaro)

Myaro said that it was a matter of course.

'It certainly may be so. There is either image of earning a lot by doing a dangerous trade of high risk and high return or to curry the favor of powerful people and share interests.'

'It is obvious that Harold is not suitable for the latter, or it seems that he has already disliked it, so there is only the former. If it's not Mitsui, it will be Suzuki.' (TLN: Not sure what idiom is this.)

—

"By the way, the teacher of the Kura language seems to be a Kuran." (Myaro)

When Harold became quite, Myaro said that few words.

"Heh." (Yuri)

'I didn't know that.'

'Do the Kuran live in this country? No, it's not weird to live here.'

"Is that so? This is my first time seeing them." (Harold)

"Me too." (Yuri)

'Really?'

"Do the Kuran live in this country? How many of them?" (Yuri)

'Is it hundred people?'

"They basically don't live here. It's not amusing if they are found out to be a spy." (Myaro)

'Well, of course.'

"But, they do live here." (Myaro)

"They are exiles, right?" (Harold)

'Aah. I see.'

"So, these Kuran can no longer stay in their country, is it?" (Yuri)

"Yes." (Myaro)

"But, don't they usually escape to the east?" (Yuri)

'Eurasian continent is wide. If you have to escape to another country, you should go to the east. You can flee to the south, that is to Africa. In any case, there is no need to come to this country of extreme coldness and with different language.'

"Apparently, the people who are coming here were at risk to be killed by the pursuers. If it's here, it's almost impossible to pursue after that." (Myaro)

"Oh, that might be so." (Yuri)

'Certainly, there are no worries here.'

'Even if you want to act against an a.s.sa.s.sin, it is difficult to hide while on the way here since you are obviously a different race. In addition, it is very difficult since you have to move and it is cold outside. Instead of being a.s.sa.s.sin, you will need someone to do the a.s.sa.s.sination. So, you will need more money to kill one by one. That is how it is.'

"Especially if the bad people are coming, is it?" (Harold)

'Since they can't do anything much, they can only come to the conflicted country.'

"Those who are pursued because of doing ma.s.s murder are not allowed to take asylum." (Myaro)

"I see." (Yuri)

'There are only demerits.'

"They are basically political prisoners. The teacher who is appointed to this cla.s.s seems to be a nonconformist." (Myaro)

'Nonconformist. It sounds dangerous.'

"The teacher is a religious Kuran, and she seemed to have been exiled about three years ago." (Myaro)

'Heh. How does he know about that? I suppose he has investigated the teacher.'

—

A woman casually came in through the door. She walked with small steps and stood at the teaching desk. She was a woman who appeared to be twenty years old.

That person who was Kuran wasn't much difference from Shanti in terms of appearance. The difference was that the skin was dark. All Shanti had pale skin, so it felt refres.h.i.+ng seeing her. It was the second race I had seen in more than ten years.

That woman had long black hair on her ears, probably because of appealing. The shape of the ears was different from that of the Shanti, and the earlobes were round. Of course, there were no hair on the ears. She looked a bit short compared to Shanti women, but this might be an individual difference, so I didn't know if it was the general const.i.tution of the Kuran.

In other words, it was exactly the human I knew. Rather than the Shanti, the Kuran was closer to the human I knew.

Although I didn't even imagine a race that was like an ogre with horns, it was largely different from what I had in mind where the Kuran was taxonomically different to the point they couldn't have children with the Shanti. Based on the reference of Tolkien's, it looked like a dwarf.

With this, she was almost the same as human beings. Rather than to be told that they couldn't have children, it was much easier to understand that it was possible to have them.

'I wonder why they can't have children.'

In terms of biological cla.s.sification, it seems that there were clearly only subspecies

The making of the face was a little different from the Kuran, but because this person wears gla.s.ses, it looked more intelligent than the general Shanti. There were no gla.s.ses that could be called spectacles in this country, and they were using something like a loupe or magnifying gla.s.s. This was the first time I saw a vine-shaped gla.s.ses supported by the ears and bridge of the nose.

"My name is Eisa Viene." (Eisa)

She bowed.

"As you can see, I am Kuran. I was able to get a job at the academy due to the compa.s.sion of Her Majesty. Nice to meet you." (Eisa)

It might be because she wasn't used to the Shan language yet, there was a slight feeling out of place with the intonation of the p.r.o.nunciation. However, the grammar was perfect and there was no grammatical error.

'Does the Kura language quite different in p.r.o.nunciation from the Shan language since she is having difficulty in intonation?'

"Before we start this lecture, I need to explain it to everyone." (Eisa)

'What does that mean?'

“The Kura language that I teach is not a language that is universally applicable to all Kuran countries. To be exact, it is called the Telor language. I call it the Telor language as the Kura language as a matter of convenience, but please be aware that there are actually dozens of Kura languages." (Eisa)

'Ooh. Well, this is my a.s.sumption. I'm thinking of the world is divided by the Shan and Kura people, but the latter is not. Out of countless regions around the world, they may be only a mixed race living in a remote area.'

'It does not change even in the time when the Shantilla Great Empire was alive and well. Even though it was larger than it is now, the general rule does not change because it hadn't conquer half of the Eurasian continent like the Mongol empire.'

'The Kuran does have a uniform language. So, I was amazed when she said that. Well, maybe there is a third race I don't know in the Far East.'

"In other words, no matter where you go in the world, you will not be able to understand the language just because you have studied the Telor language. However, the Telor language is one of the most widely spoken languages among the dozens of cla.s.ses. Plus, it is also the language spoken in the outskirt area of the Shanti Kingdom. Other than that, there are still many speakers even if you go to the non-Telor speaking countries. If you look for those speakers, you will not have trouble in conversation. In other words, there is no doubt that it is the most appropriate Kura language for you to learn." (Eisa)

'Is it something like English in the previous world? No, it might be different?'

'In this level of human society, there is less international mobility, so it is dangerous to simply regard it like an international language. That's too bad, it would be better for me to think of it as a local language.'

"There is one more. The Telor language or the Kura language is not something that can be learned a lot in the period of one year. It is similar to the national language to be exact. It is necessary to divide into at least three lecturers. To be honest, it should be divided into five. In other words, it will take about five years to learn it. However, since the only lecture given to me is this one, I can give you only four units. In other words, when it comes to giving credits on the condition of sufficient mastery of the Kura language, you will be forced to do as much as five times the effort per unit compared to other subjects.

I would like to give credits even if the learning is not perfect since this sounds unfair, but I think it is unfair to give credits when the learning is not progressing at all. In my opinion, it will be necessary to put double efforts compared to other general subjects. So, I'm sorry, but for those who are not interested in the cla.s.s, this lecture will be less interesting. Again, I am very sorry, but I have no choice but to recommend that you change the lecture if you are displeased when hearing this. Of course, I will teach the remaining students of the cla.s.s in a sincere manner, and I will help you learn even outside the school." (Eisa)

'Hmmm. that was rather a very long explanation, but it seems that the Academy side has neglected the Kura language lecture, and it is said that they are stingy about the credit. It would be nice if you could give about 12 credits instead of 4 credits for the beginner, intermediate and advanced level. In that case, she probably wants to concentrate on those who want to remain in this cla.s.s.'

'But, what if it takes five years? Is it possible to master a foreign language from scratch by only doing one lesson a week for five years? It feels a little optimistic.'

'I used to speak English for four years at university, but it was impossible. I could speak English enough to travel abroad, and I could write the dissertation in English if I took time. However, I couldn't reach the level of talking professionally with the researchers on the other side. In addition, there was also a habit of intonation.'

"Now, I would like to start a lecture. First, I will explain the basic differences between the Kura language and the Shan language. I also don't speak the Shan language perfectly, so if you have any questions, please feel free to ask me at any time." (Eisa)

The lecture began.

'It's a waste, but I will write the main points on the parchment. It is inconvenient because I can't do it on the writing board.'

'In this lecture, I find that the knowledge I learned when studying English was useful.'

'The Kura language or the Telor language is an SVO-type language. I can immediately understand it. The Shan language is an SOV-type language similar to j.a.panese, so it is similar to the relations.h.i.+p between j.a.panese and English.'

'In addition, the accent is also different. The grammar is simple to learn, but the different ways of putting accents is extremely difficult.'

'When you get used to a language that compensates for p.r.o.nunciation at high and low pitches, you can't easily adapt to a language that complements one sound that is strongly p.r.o.nounced with another. If either grammar or accent is the same, it should be easy to become familiar at a stretch, but if both are different, you will have no choice but to feel the walls.'

When Eissensei actually spoke the Kura language, Myaro looked confused. Harold was  rather quiet.

'If you work in trade, you may have had the opportunity to hear it from the pirates.'

The lecture ended when the time block division bell came.

"Well then, this is the end of the lecture. Please treat me well for the period of one year after this." (Eisa)

Eissensei went out of the room.

'Yeah. First off, I want to have vocabulary flash cards or something, but how should I do it?'

Looking at the side, Myaro had a pokey face. He was somewhat gave up.

"Myaro, what is it?" (Yuri)

I became concerned and called him out.

"…It may be impossible for me." (Myaro)

A few words came out.

"I-I see." (Yuri)

'Language studies is not suitable for most people. There are people who are good at languages even though they aren't good at other things. If there are people who can take the English Proficiency Test when they are the second grader of the junior high school, there will be people who aren't good with the language even if they study abroad. I think it is not a waste to learn it, but it is not necessary to overdo it. As Eissensei said, it's unprofitable.'

"… It was like an octopus language or something." (Harold)

'This is serious. Octopus language, huh… I would like to listen to the lecture one more time. I am also uneasy about the future, as I am not good at languages. Yeah.'