CH 41

Chapter 41 The Labyrinth City <Gamel> is a City of Adventurers

The labyrinth city <Gamel> was so full of adventurers that it could be called the <City of Adventurers>.

「There are more adventurers than I expected.」

I can hear the lively voices of the adventurers and the street vendors who do business with them.

Although it’s a little unsafe to let Nina and the maids shop alone, the prices are cheaper than in the royal capital <Qualarute> and the quality of the products is good.

There isn’t much trash on the ground even though it’s crowded with people, so it doesn’t seem like an uncomfortable town.

「This city has the largest labyrinth in the Quall Kingdom, which has more than 80 floors. The labyrinth is still shrouded in mystery because not many have ventured beyond the 60th floor, but the upper floors have been fully explored, and maps with explanations are available for sale. So, even beginners can dive safely, which makes it popular.」

I see.

It’s true that if you look closely, the proportion of young E rank adventurers is high.

A relatively safe hunting ground where there’s a place to rest nearby… no wonder the adventurers gather here.

「Moreover, the defeated monsters will be collected by the labyrinth and leave only the drop items. The amount of material that can be collected from each monster is less than the one outside the labyrinth, but it’s easier because you don’t have to worry about the labor of transporting and dismantling them.」

「But, Watson-san. If there are so many people and they’ve fully explored the upper floors, there wouldn’t be a treasure chest left, right?」

「On the upper floors, there are almost no treasure chests, so there is no problem. High-ranked adventurers like us dive deep while camping in the labyrinth, and there are also clans. From around the 15th floor, there will only be high ranks or clan groups, so the ratio is quite good.」

The 15th floor, huh….

At first, let’s attack the upper part without camping, and when Nina and Ian get used to it, let’s try camping overnight.

「Um… what is a clan?」

「Sorry, I didn’t know that you didn’t know about it, Nina-chan. A clan is a group of adventurers, the small one has several parties… and the large one has hundreds of people.」

「A clan often lends drop items to the members or helps them explore the labyrinth.」

Lahat-san and Nigg-san answered Nina’s questions in an easy-to-understand way.

There are clans in Rosalta’s capital, but there’s not much point in forming clans in the capital, so the number of clans is small and hardly known to the general public.

On the other hand, in the labyrinth city, there are many advantages such as filling party vacancies and securing a safe base, so it seems that many strong adventurers who have been active in this city for a long time belong to a clan.

「If you form a clan, you also will have a lot of advantages in terms of selling drop items. But… there are many adventurers who use their group power as a shield to act high-handedly, so from a merchant’s point of view, they are scary opponents.」

「Hee…. Did your family also do business with a clan?」

「My father was the branch manager here until he inherited the family from my grandfather. I heard that he mainly did business with medium-sized clans.」

Ian’s family, huh….

With this guy’s fall into slavery, the branch in this city would have been affected.

I think I need to be a little more considerate, including Ian’s own feelings.

Before heading to the guild, we took up lodging.

Unlike when I was alone, I was more stingy this time and chose a somewhat expensive inn.

If the five of us stayed at a high-class inn, we would be in the red even if we worked hard in the labyrinth.

Anyway, other than the two caretakers, we would only return to the inn to sleep, so it wouldn’t be a problem.

The name of the inn is <Dappled Sunlight Pavilion>.

It’s an inn that boasts a large bath and cuisine made with fresh ingredients from the labyrinth.

We rented two rooms, a men’s room and a women’s room, and the cost is 4 silver coins each day, including meals.

The women, who were sold out due to poverty, seem to like the inn pretty much.

As for Ian, he’s looking at the account book happily.

The beds are a little hard compared to other inns I’ve stayed at, but I don’t care about the quality of the room as long as it has a bath and a delicious meal.

…… For the time being, let’s use this inn as our base.

「It’s already evening, so let’s start exploring the labyrinth tomorrow. For now, I’ll go to the Adventurers’ Guild to say hello, gather information, and buy the necessary supplies for exploring the labyrinth. Let’s split up and get things done quickly.」

「「「「Yes! 」」」」

「The women’s group should go to the town to buy foodstuff, then rent the kitchen at the inn to prepare meals that we can eat while exploring the labyrinth tomorrow. We need stamina for exploring the labyrinth, so make the flavor somewhat strong. Something simple that we can eat in one bite would be nice. I’m a little worried about the public security in this city, so Ian should go with you as your escort, and to carry the luggage and haggle the price as well.」

「What about Master’s escort…?」

We don’t have enough men, so it can’t be helped.

I have to greet the guild and collect information myself, and even if I bring our female members to the guild, they can’t act as my escorts.

For food shopping, if I give the manservants of this inn some copper coins, they’ll probably carry the luggage, but… I can’t trust them.

Something irrecoverable might happen to the women, so it would be better to be cautious enough to have Ian go with them.

「I’ll come back as soon as I say hello and gather information at the guild, so don’t worry. I’ll take a short break when I get back… and while the women are cooking dinner, Ian and I will go shopping for supplies.」

「Understood. There are many adventurers with bad manners, so please be careful.」

Ian… don’t say that with a straight face.

That statement is a flag.

What if a troublesome template event is triggered…?