25 - The Knight

After some unscheduled events, we arrived at the knighthood.

There are the residences of the four families of knights who follow their lords, their squires, and their soldiers. The four houses were in the past, and there are more knights now, so there must be new knight's houses, but I cannot distinguish them from the squire's house.

The old houses of the four knight families are large, and unlike the town houses, they have large yards. Each of them is surrounded by high walls and iron fences, and the passageways between them are closed by gates in some places. Like the plaza, they are designed to receive the residents and prevent the invasion of demons in the event of an invasion of the city.

We are lucky that there are no pedestrians on the street, so we stop to eat grilled fish. The trees in the garden, which can be seen through the utilitarian walls and iron fences, sometimes show their individuality. I am a little curious about the knight's family who has planted laurel trees and fruiting trees. I've been hiding for a long time to avoid detection!

After passing through a deserted street, you will find the lord's mansion at the north end of the street. I greet the gatekeeper and peek inside, where I see a beautiful lawn and a red-roofed building in the back. I passed through the gate quickly because of the gatekeeper's eyesight, and came to the barracks next to it. The only place I haven't visited yet is the south corner.

At the end of the barracks, there was an office with a reception desk facing outward, and I asked what it was. It was said that the residents' appeals are heard here.

I was told that I could experience training by a knight once a day up to five times for a fee, so I decided to take it. Would I be able to ride a horse?

No, it's not horses, it's sword and shield training. Of course.

I was asked to choose my weapon of choice, and since I only had one sword with me, I decided to go ahead with the training. I'm sure there are some swords available for loan.

"Hi, I'm Tale. I'm Tail.

"I'm Homura, nice to meet you."

Tail gives the students one-on-one instruction.

...... I thought it would start with a long series of barehanded swings with an oak wooden sword in a corner of the training ground, but it did not.

The speed of the fighting became faster and faster. If we got the order of the kata wrong, we might get seriously injured.　Tail keeps hitting each other just as fast as I can keep up.

E!? is visibly decreasing. I'm glad I ate earlier.

After an hour or so of fighting, Tail draws his sword and I bow to him.

I don't even use my skills, but my E! I am wobbling around, my E!

"You seem to be more of a speedy type, and since you are not suited for a forceful sword, I suggest you choose a skill that will allow you to use your strengths to your advantage and increase your number of moves."

With that final remark, the training was over. I know that, but I have not acquired most of the initial skills, so there are no derivatives, and I have few skills to choose from, Sir Knight.

When I checked, I found that [Swordsmanship] and [Sword] had increased by one level each. This is good, I want to go there every day.

I'll teach Kikuhime too. I know she wants to go boom-boom-boom with big weapons, but she's raising her shield to take on the enemies in the party.

I am allowed to take a break in the shade of a tree in the forge, watching the knights and soldiers training. The knights are individually polishing their swordsmanship, while the soldiers are repeating their group moves.

E!? is in danger, so they are drinking berry tea. I refrain from eating solid food.

While I was watching the training, Tail came up to me.

"Excuse me, is it forbidden to eat and drink here?

No, hydration is encouraged. We occasionally have people who take part in hands-on training, but most adventurers leave quickly after completing their training, which is unusual for us. Are you interested in becoming a knight?

I'm interested, but I have no intention of becoming one. I have no one or thing to which I can give my allegiance.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

If I had answered "yes," would I have been on a course to be knighted in my profession?

"Do you want a drink?"

I offer you berry tea.

"Tea?"

"Would you have preferred coffee?"

No, thank you.

"The man who just took one from below with a scrape is Liv, a man of solid swordsmanship."

Taille, as if to thank us for the tea, is explaining to us the match between the knights.

"The loser is Lamp, who uses a powerful sword.

Lamp is a stout man who looks like he has great strength. I mean, his legs are as thick as my girth. Ribs, on the other hand, is rather small in stature.

"The two groups over there are Misuzu with the twin swords, and Nexu with the thrusting sword.

Misuzi is the red one, and the two of them are showing off their brilliant swordsmanship of speed versus skill, but it's a trap that sounds like the name of a ...... part of meat. Ribs and tails are both named after parts of the cow, aren't they?

Take a carriage ride, it's a good way to get to the square. North end and south end.

The result, skill is a wonderful thing!　I went to the restaurant and bought recipe 9 for 9,000 cils. It contains corn soup, berry jam, and rabbit stew, and I can now cook "stewed" food. The recipe is 9, but thanks to the cheat-like number of specialties, the rating is at least 3 for "vegetables", "fruits", and "meat", so it is possible to get the recipe just by making each of them once, since there is no failure.

But you will only really be able to make them. If the rating does not exceed 4, it is better to eat at a restaurant, although it is more expensive. I hate bad food.

By the way, there are a lot of people sitting in the square, asking people to buy items. Is that it, or is this a voluntary bazaar for players to buy items while they are in Hoss?

It seems that not only are they shouting, but they are also making what they are selling public by writing it in the comments section of the patoka. Won't they be scolded by the street vendors for this?　I got the impression from the story of the herbalist who was away from home that the secondhand bookstore was quite serious. I looked into the shop to buy production materials, and found that materials that would be used in the early stage of production, such as medicinal herbs and rabbit meat, were very expensive, while those with high rank as materials were inexpensive.

It may be the relation between supply and demand, or perhaps there are many people who are buying a lot of initial materials in order to raise the production level. I was happy to be able to buy a large amount of cheap meat and fish, and was about to let out a sigh at the high price of medicinal herbs, when I was approached by a man.

"Homura!"

"Homra~"

It's a maple and a maple tree.

"Hello. I thought you were Foss."

I'm back to resupply.

I'm back.

Fast has more weapons than the others.

"Fast has more armor than we do."

Subtle secondary voice .

"So..."

"Can you sell me a dish?

"Fine, but I've never given you a rating of 10, have I?　And I don't know what the market is."

If you follow the recipe exactly, you might be able to get away with berry juice.

"The 10 rating is rarely sold in the bazaar.

"Even if it is sold, the Rank is not high, so the effect wears off quickly.

"There are not many dishes for sale in the first place, perhaps because you can buy them at restaurants at a slightly higher price.

"The effect of the addition is not very high either.

"Barely any grilled meat is sold.

"Only grilled meats are more affordable than in restaurants.

"I like Homura's food with high Rank of ingredients.

"You'll get hungry slower.

"I'm hungry when I use my skills.

"I don't have to squirm in the middle of a battle."

The twins talk alternately, and it is becoming more and more difficult to tell who is speaking, but the one with the monotone ending is Momiji and the one with the inflection is Kaede.

The matching black outfits with short skirts, short pants, half coats and knee socks are quite cute. I prefer the absolute area to the bare legs.

In summary, even a dish with a rating of 10 is not so effective because of its low rank, so I don't think about the additional effect of rating 10 anymore, and just choose E! I want to have a high rank rice that will slow down the decrease of E!

I will buy the ingredients and give them to you, please.

"I'll pay you 15 sil for each ingredient you bring in.

"I'll give you free stuff if you bring your own, okay?"

That's not how it works.

"I'd like to ask you again next time.

"The key to a long relationship is to be firm with your money.

"I'll pay that amount when I know the market price, so please give me an extra this time~"

"I had 70 shillings with a Chotototz steak rating of 5!"

"That's a lot of money."

"Chotzu meat is about 45 shill, isn't that reasonable considering all the other ingredients?"

"You can cook three slices in one go?"

As expected, he thought he could only cook one piece at a time. I told him that I would pay him 10 shillings as long as he could cook and my level of skill would improve.

We choose a dish that we can eat without having to sit down and cook it with the ingredients brought in for the time being.

Chototzu and watercress sandwich, French fries, fried white fish, Margherita pizza, cookies. At Kaedemomizi's request, berry tart, coffee, tea, beer.

Apparently, the party is divided into several groups. While we are cooking at the edge of the plaza, Kaede buys some of the ingredients that are missing from the bazaar at a stall. I cook while replying to the texts from Ochazuke and Kikuhime telling me that they have logged in.

"Beer is not ready soon, so I'll start with what I have on hand. Also, taste the spaghetti."

I have made more beer for about three people, so I can give it to them from what I have on hand, and instead I stock up on the ingredients they gave me for replenishment. The cooking level has been raised one level, and the spaghetti is an extra treat for Kaedemomizi. It's a hassle to do the bazaar by myself, and the purchase of N!

I thanked them at the plaza and headed for the guild. I remembered the reference room on the second floor and wanted to check it out, but I wondered if it was open.

I was relieved to find the Adventurers' Guild more empty than I had expected. The first impression of the guild was so strong that I could not get rid of the image of the place being crowded even though I have come here several times to report on my visit. I went to the counter and asked the receptionist for her name.

"Sorry, can I use the reference room upstairs?"

Yes, you can. Yes, you can use it. There is an attendant inside, so please ask him. Please note that eating and drinking are not allowed.

"Thank you."

"Thank you very much. You were the one who helped me clear the crowd a while ago, weren't you?　Thank you for your help. My name is Plum, please give me a call if you need anything.

I didn't expect to be remembered, but I heard that professionals in reception can memorize a person's face in one shot, a skill I could never have.

"Thank you, I am Homura. By the way, there is an adventurer's bazaar in the plaza, is it all right?　I just took advantage of it earlier."

No, you can't. They'll take it down. You will be caught red-handed, so as long as you don't use it in the future, you'll be fine.

Wow, that was close.

"The commercial guilds have allocated the rights to the trading places, but there seems to be a problem with just banning it, so they are currently preparing the southwest area for the adventurers' bazaar, so if you are interested, you might want to show up now."

"Thank you, I'll go there before I go to the archives."

I don't intend to become a merchant, but I want to be informed.

The guild of commerce is across the main street from the guild of adventurers, facing the square, of course. It is amazing that they are selling illegally right in front of the rightful owners. In that situation, it would have been difficult to tell whether it was a bazaar or a friend-to-friend exchange, and the exchange with Kaedemomizi would have been dangerous.

I had sold most of my things at the Adventurers' Guild in order to raise my adventurer's rank, so I had never visited the Commercial Guild except for a peek at its lobby.

There is an information counter in the middle of the lobby. There is one staff member inside the counter and two others outside in matching uniforms.

"Excuse me, I would like to know about sales by adventurers.

Yes, not for purchase, but for sale. Let me show you around.

One of the people outside seemed to be giving me a tour, so I followed him. On the first floor, the side facing the plaza seems to be the sales area, and the side facing the street seems to be the purchase area.

I was led to the third floor and brought to a very massive door.

"Guild leader, an adventurer is here to discuss a sale.

Wait, why are you suddenly at the top? Are you busy?　Are you busy, guild leader?