CH 18

Chapter 18: The Downtown Saint

After taking Ellis to the surface, Yuto went straight to his room.

He had to use the 1000 gard Healing Potion which hurt his budget, but it was fortunate that he made it in time to save Ellis.

Yuto nibbled on the 50 gard bread as he checked his Skill Board.

He did not clear any more quests, but recently, he started checking it out of habit.

Yuto: “Wait, huh? I have more Skill Points…”

When looking at his Status, Yuto noticed that his Skill Points increased.

Skill Point: 2 → 5

He doesn’t remember clearing any other additional quests.

Yuto: “Oh wait, did I clear the ‘Join a Party’ Quest when I invited Ellis to go back to the surface?”

He flicks his finger across the screen to change to the Quest Screen.

And sure enough, “Join a Party” was gone from the list.

In its place, a new Quest appeared.

Chain Quest

.Obtain a New Weapon (0/1)

.Go to the Dungeon with your Party

.Defeat the Boss on the 5th Floor of the Base Dungeon (0/1)

Special Quest

.Save the girl

Yuto: “So I guess this was in response to joining Ellis, and now we need to go to the Dungeon again? But wait, we were already in the Dungeon together, so doesn’t that mean we already completed this quest? Or do we have to go deeper into the dungeon to clear this?”

Yuto and Ellis retreated back up to the surface together.

This quest may be determined by which direction you are going within the dungeon.

Yuto: “So after getting to the 5th floor, the following Quest is defeat the boss, huh…”

This is Quest related to the 5th floor, and if Yuto had his long sword, he would have been able to clear it on his first go-around.

Yuto: “Wait...the 5th Floor boss is a Goblin King, so I could have just defeated him with [LIGHTNING] maybe…” *sigh...

Yuto lets out a disappointed sigh as he regrets not checking his Quest Board for Chain Quests after completing quests.

Yuto: “But because of that, I was able to save Ellis, so I think it turned out better this way.”

Putting that aside, Yuto takes a look at the “special” quest.

Yuto: “Save the girl…. Wait, who are we talking about here?”

In the Labyrinth City of Kornos, there are at least a few hundred thousand girls.

Yuto knows at least a few dozen personally.

Is it someone he knows directly?

Yuto tilts his head in thought.

For a second, he thought of Ellis.

But he quickly went away from that conclusion. That’s because technically, Yuto already saved Ellis once inside the dungeon.

Yuto: “This is such a vague Quest title…”

This is probably the most vague Quest out of everything that he has encountered so far.

Yuto is curious to know what kind of reward awaits him if he clears this quest, but he doesn’t know who the girl is or how to save her.

Yuto: “I’m going to have to leave this Quest alone for now…”

Yuto figures that it’ll be more efficient to complete the quests he understands rather than running around town saving any girl who needs saving.

Yuto: “So that leaves me with the Boss Slaying Quest and going to the Dungeon with the party.”

Yuto was wondering which he should complete when he fell asleep.

<<<<>>>>

When he awoke, Yuto completed his Daily Quest tasks.

It was when Yuto was finishing his 10 km run when it happened.

Yuto: “---OH!”

Yuto remembered.

When he first met her, he realized something, and that was Ellis’ reputation.

Yuto: “She’s the rumored Saint of the Downtown, the C-Rank Adventurer Ellis. Yeah, there’s no doubt about it. Those rumors were about her…”

At one point, rumors of a genius Heal Caster spread throughout the Labyrinth City of Kronos like wildfire.

Rumos say that she was just a child.

But even so, her skills as a Healer were amazing.

She joined a certain party, and they began clearing Instant Dungeons one after another.

She jumped immediately to C-Rank.

There are those who spat that she was just leeching off her party’s success and didn’t have any real skills. And it’s true that it IS always a possibility.

But Yuto himself didn’t believe it.

And that’s because Yuto himself joined C-Rank instant Dungeon raids as a luggage carrier.

And even doing so, he remained an E-Rank up until very recently.

No matter how much you try to leech off your parties success, if you really didn’t have skills, then your Adventurer rank will not go up.

If Ellis’ Adventurer Rank went up, that means she made an equal or higher amount of contribution to her party.

When he first heard the rumor, Yuto just thought, “So there are real geniuses in this word” and was simply impressed.

He never would have thought that that girl was Ellis.

Yuto: “But then, why would a Healer be doing a Solo dungeon raid on the 4th floor?”

Ellis was indeed surrounded by Horse Bats, and the situation was dangerous.

Fundamentally, a Healer will join a party, and make sure to cast healing on his/her party members.

There are very, VERY few healers with attack capabilities and join in on the fights.

“Oh! Mr. Yuto!”

While he was running, he heard a familiar voice call to him.

He stopped and looked around.

Yuto: “....Ellis?”

Ellis: “Yes, it’s Ellis, yes.”

Ellis waddled and ran up to him as a small animal does.

In her arms was a small package.

Ellis: “Um, Mr. Yuto. Thank you so much for everything yesterday, yes!”

Yuto: “Oh, please don’t worry about it.”

Ellis: “But, weren’t you in the middle of exploring the dungeon yourself…?”

Yuto: “No, I was actually about to head back to the surface.”

Ellis: “Is that so…”

Ellis looks a little relieved.

And gathering her courage, she hands the package to Yuto.

Ellis: “Um, I got you this.”

Yuto: “....Huh?”

Ellis: “This...this is just a little something for the Healing Potion you provided to me.”

Yuto: “Um….”

Yuto thought he should probably refuse it.

But Healing Potions are 1000 gards each. From Yuto’s very personal perspective, it’s not a cheap item.

And Ellis is trying her best to return the favor.

It would be rude to turn her feelings of gratitude down.

Yuto: “Um...thank you.”

Ellis: “Yes, yes.”

Yuto took the package.

And Ellis had a very warm smile spread over her face - a smile that would warm anyone’s heart.

Yuto placed the package in his inventory, and raised a hand to Ellis.

Yuto: “Okay Ellis, I’ll see you around.”

Ellis: “Oh, uh…. Yes, yes.”

Yuto didn’t wait for Ellis’ reply, and began working on completing his Daily Quest tasks.

When he returned to his room, he got the package out of his inventory.

Yuto: “Wait, was Ellis waiting for me at the Temple Square just so she could thank me for the Healing Potion?”

The Square in front of the Temple is an excellent place to look for adventurers.

But it doesn’t mean you’ll find the adventurer you’re looking for.

But if she was waiting there, that means she took a lot of time out of her day looking for Yuto.

Looks like Ellis was one to always fulfill her duties and return the favors.

Yuto opens the package and looks inside.

Yuto: “WH--!!”

Yuto almost screamed after seeing what was inside.

Yuto expected there to be a Healing Potion inside.

But what Yuto saw was a “mid-grade” Healing Potion.

The standard low-grade Healing Potion will heal scrapes and small cuts.

But the mid-grade Healing Potion could heal deeper cuts and larger wounds.

Because of that, the price of one of these is 10,000 gards.

Yuto: “Wait….did she think I gave her a mid-grade Healing Potion?!?!”

Blood drains from Yuto’s face.

If there is a misunderstanding, this is bad.

Instead of 1000 gards he made her spend 10,000.

To Yuto, 10,000 gards is 100 days of food.

It is a fortune among fortunes.

Yuto: (OH CRAP! WHAT SHOULD I DO?!?!”

Yuto panics inside his room, and roams and paces left and right as he holds the mid-grade Healing Potion.

Yuto: “...I should give this back, right?”

If there was a mistake, Yuto can’t accept this as compensation.

But this is also a reflection of Ellis’ gratitude.

If he simply returns this to her, it would be a slap to her face and reputation.

Should he take it? Or should he return it?

Yuto was at his wits end, and decided to consult with someone who deals with money every day.

<<<<>>>>

Mari: “And why is that person me?”

Yuto: “Well… since you’re the head manager, I thought the smart and intelligent Ms. Mari would be more knowledgeable about these kinds of situations…”

Yuto rubbed his hands together like a salesman trying to get on the good side of his potential customer.

Yuto went to the Weapon and Armor Shop, Plutos.

He’s discussing his situation with his childhood friend, Mari.

She’s the head manager of the store.

From her extensive experience in dealing with business situations, Yuto thought Mari would be more experienced in dealing with gifts.

Mari: “I’m not that knowledgeable about gifts…”

Yuto: “But don’t you take gifts to other stores to keep good relations?”

{{Chonky Notes: Japan culture is full of gift giving for sucking up to your boss, to your neighbors, to your teachers, and to other businesses. Also lots of gift giving for apologies and making amends}}

Mari: “Do you really think we’re the kind of store that does that kind of sucking up to our competitors….?”

If you’re taking bribes to other stores, it’s usually after your store caused some sort of problem.

Plutos is a cleanly run business.

There was not a single time that Mari had to resort to getting gifts for other businesses.

Mari: “Well, as far as I heard, I think it’s okay to keep that Healing Potion.”

Yuto: “But this is 10,000 gards! What I gave her was a regular 1000 gard Healing Potion!”

Mari: “If you buy something of equal value, then I think it’s harder to sense the gratitude inside the gift. In order to get her feelings through, she got something of greater value to show for it.”

Yuto: “Hmmmmmm… really? You really think so?”

Yuto is thinking hard and tilting his head.

Mari: “You’re too sensitive about money. You’re a D-Rank Adventurer now, so start acting like it.”

Yuto: “But it’s 100 days worth of meals…”

Mari: “And you need to stop calculating everything by your cheap meals. Don’t you know that that’s weird on so many levels?”

Mari is holding her head on the counter.

Then realizing that he’s at the store anyway, Yuto decided to ask Mari.

Yuto: “Hey, about my long sword from last time. Is it done yet? I want to go back to the Dungeons as soon as possible, so if you can return it…”

Mari: “Yuto...I told you to take a break, right?” Yuto: “......uh oh.”

Yuto poked a hornets’ nest.

Mari: “I’ve told you once, and I will tell you again, you train way too hard! You need to learn to rest and recuperate from your fatigue. Otherwise, you’re going to get hurt one day. Resting is also part of being ad adventurer--- HEY! I’M STILL TALKING TO YOU, YUTO! I’M NOT DONE!! COME BACK HERE!!”

Mari seemed to have a lot she wanted to say, but Yuto quickly ran out of the store in full retreat.