"Southerners and northerners do indeed look different, but there shouldn't be such a huge difference between cities, right? Or are you the sort of detective depicted in the Detective Hamilton Story Collection, able to determine someone's origins from the dampness of the mud on their shoes and the marks on their palms?"
Shade joked, while the man who had struck up the conversation shook his head.
"No, no, I'm not a detective. I'm Joan Bruner, a professor of geology and folklore at Kasonlik Royal Mining Academy, from Wilundell. I brought my students here for geological fieldwork. As for how I inferred where you came from, it's because the people of Green Lake City don't have your sort of temperament."
"I'm John Watson, a writer traveling the Old Continent. What sort of temperament do I have?"
Shade raised an eyebrow as he asked. Professor Brownell said:
"The temperament of an adventurer. It's an unstable temperament, one that seeks risks and challenges. But looking more closely, you also seem like a scholar. In any case, a lifeless city like Green Lake City wouldn't have someone like you."
"That's quite an impressive deduction."
Shade praised him. As expected, the other four people in the carriage had no interest in their conversation.
"Because of my research material, I've met quite a few folklore professors, but I've never met one like you—a professor of both folklore and geology."
"Geology is my work. Folklore was my hobby when I was studying, so I picked up the degree along the way."
Professor Brownell explained. Shade expressed his admiration again, then asked curiously:
"Did you bring your students here because, just like Randall River Valley in Kasonlik some time ago, gold mines have also been discovered here?"
The other four travelers all looked over at once, and Professor