CH 69

Chapter 69 - About the Slight Changes

Aptitude for outdoor activities. It is one of the most important qualities for adventurers.

There are not many adventurers who specialize in the city, who do not go outside the city, but walk around the city to complete their requests.

Looking for things. Looking for missing persons. Personal investigation. Arbitration of disputes. Solving all sorts of other cases. The only people who can make a living at it are the city thieves, who have access to the underworld as well as the outside world, and have an excellent intelligence network.

During his vacation, Souya made a few acquaintances who might be able to help him with his requests in the city, but all of them had their own quirks.

Jackal, a Thief with an eye patch, was insidious and unpredictable, and Charlotte, the second receptionist at the Adventurer’s Guild and a Thief Magician, was friendly, but seemed like someone I should avoid getting to know better than I had to. Jackal’s servant, the Thief Rat, was not at a level where he could be asked to do anything in the city.

Requests centering on the city did not currently have a high success rate for requests, and he should probably actively take requests from outside the city for now.

Souya felt the need to build up his physical strength to endure the long journey, and for the past three days, he had been actively walking around the city of Ilstadt, trying to keep up with his exercise routine. It was a good way to get acquainted with the geography of the city I might be working for in the future, and above all, it was only a walk.

As he got older, his physical strength was gradually waning, but as a grown man who pretended to be a gentleman, he couldn’t afford to look pathetic.

Even so, at the present time, the girls, who carried large loads on their backs and walked around for a day or two without a care in the world, were probably more physically strong than he was.

Three days after the robbery at the Doga’s workshop, Mia and Merylou, who had gone for a forest bath in the Thrail Forest, returned to Ilstadt.

“…… Hey. Mia-kun and Merylou-kun. Welcome back. Did you get a chance to relax in the forest?”

The two girls appeared in a private room at the adventurer’s inn that Souya had been renting for the duration of his vacation.

“Yeah. It was fun …… Right, Mia.”

“I’m back, Souya-san. As Merylou-san said, we were blessed with good weather and were able to take our time and enjoy the nature.”

Neither of them seemed particularly tired, indicating that they were accustomed to walking outside on a regular basis. This vitality is something that Soya would like to learn from, and although I declined this time because I had to prepare for an adventure in town, it might be a good idea to enjoy the forest bathing with the girls if there is another opportunity.

“That’s great. I’ll buy you guys dinner this evening. I have some extra income from an unexpected source.”

Souya had received a reward of 20 gold coins from the blacksmith Doga for his help in fighting off a robbery.

The blacksmith and axe-wielding warrior, Doga, could have dealt with the robbers on his own, but he decided to accept the favor of offering the job to three adventurers who were present.

In addition, it is possible to rent a mithril sword saber for the price of a bottle of fine whiskey, which means that you owe too much to Doga, but Souya thinks that he will bring his favorite fine liquor as a thank you when the time comes. 

“Extra income? Souya, did you have any skills that you can use to make money on the side? …… Your magic is hard to use in the city, isn’t it?”

While Merylou was able to earn money by playing the ocarina and Mia was able to earn money by serving in the temple of the Earth Mother Goddess Mikaela, Souya did not have any skills that were suitable for such a side job. As Merylou said, it is difficult to earn money through magic in Ilstadt, where the Magician’s guild is very popular.

If there’s demand, I can do something like teaching, as I did the other day when I taught Mia basic arithmetic, but such jobs are not easy to find in Ilstadt, and even if they were, they were the domain of the students of the Academy of the Magicians’ Guild or the Temple of the God of Knowledge, Luster.

(By the way, I’m supposed to teach Charlotte-kun about magic …… Does this count as a sideline in magic?)

Souya suddenly remembered the promise with Charlotte that he would give individual guidance on magic on the condition that the magic stones handled by the Magicians’ Guild were procured, and his expression was clouded.

When I thought about it, I wondered if it would be undesirable for me to give individual instruction in magic without the Magician’s Guild knowledge.

I had spent the last few days exploring the city to build up my strength, so I had completely forgotten about the appointment itself. I might need to talk to her once before I set out on my next adventure.

“…… What’s up, Souya? Something on your mind?”

“Excuse me …… Merylou-kun, we’ll talk about the extra income later. A lot happened while you were out in the woods.”

“A lot? I’m curious …… So, Souya, when you saw us, did you notice anything?”

Merylou asked Souya with fixed eyes.

(……noticed anything?)

At her urging, Souya first observed Merylou.

The Wood Elf girl in front of me, a forest elf, was wearing a cloak and her long green hair was pulled down in two buns in front of her as usual. Her appearance didn’t seem to have changed in any way.

I continued to look at Mia. She was wearing the white priestly robe of the Earth mother goddess Mikaela, and the cleric staff in her right hand. Her long, lustrous blond hair.

Then, a braid in Mia’s long hair caught Souya’s attention. The way she bundled it up seemed different from usual.

“Mia-kun. Did you change your hairstyle?”

“Oh, …… yes. I wanted a change of pace. It was Merylou-san’s suggestion.”

Mia touched the braided part with her finger.

I wonder if Merylou’s suggestion was to point out this hairstyle. When Souya looked at Marylou, she looked away and whistled.

“I think it’s good. It suits you.”

Souya chose a modest compliment and told Mia.

I’m not particularly fond of the three plaits part, but she looks good in person, so the words are true and this hairstyle definitely suits her.

“…… What he said. Good for you, Mia.”

Merylou grinned and teased Mia, who turned red and covered the braid with her hand, looking embarrassed.

Souya felt a smile at Mia’s gesture, but he couldn’t help but be amused by the fact that things had gone according to Merylou’s plan.

“…… Souya, you’ve been feeling lonely and alone, haven’t you? You should have come to the Thrail too.”

“Yes. Yes, I was lonely without you …… That’s not the reason, but I actually completed one request for the adventurer’s guild.”

In response to the murmurings of the extra income, Merylou had a look of dismay on her face. Both eyes, which are usually fixed, were wide open.

The reason why I put off the process of the request was partly to get back at Merylou for her earlier, but Souya felt a little bad when she overreacted so much.

Mia also seemed a little unsettled, and seemed to be wondering why Souya had accepted the request.

“…… Souya …… Don’t tell me, someone pulled you out …… No way, you rootless bastard?”

“Merylou-kun, there’s nothing for you to worry about. It was a spur-of-the-moment request that was accepted on the spot and ended on the spot. I’ll tell you what happened now.”