CH 18

“A-are you awake?”

I wake up and see an old man, no, Siphon.

It was nighttime when we reached this town, so we couldn’t get rooms for everyone. The girls took precedence, and the rest of us were shoved into whatever rooms were left.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“Sorry for taking the bed.”

“Just getting to rest in a room is good enough.”

Yes, since there weren’t enough rooms, I ended up sleeping on a sheet on the floor. Normally this wouldn’t be allowed, but Dalton knows the innkeeper, so he made an exception just for today.

We stop to have breakfast in the dining room, and then the adventurers go to the adventurer guild, and the merchants to the merchant guild. The quest actually ends here, so we go our own separate ways.

We collect our reward for the escorting quest in the guild, and sell materials from the wolves we took down along the way. Their food supplies are running low, so the fact that we’re bringing some meat means we get some nice extraordinary revenue.

“Well then, you’re all dismissed. We are going to report to the guild about the tigerwolf. Let’s work together sometime if we have the opportunity. Dismissed.”

With Siphon’s words, every party goes its own way.

First, I ask the guild what inns they recommend, and check if I can stay there. The inn I slept in last night is available, but it’s a bit too expensive. Even if I end up having to stay there, I want to minimize the cost if I can.

They tell me about an inn that’s two copper coins a night. I pay for ten days, Rurika and Chris for five, and we secure rooms for ourselves.

“We should rest today. What are you going to do, Sora?”

“I’m going to check out what kind of quests the guild has. This place is not as big as the capital, but it’s still relatively big, and known as the trading city in this country. And I might as well gather some information, if I’m going to stay here for a while.”

“Hum, in that case, can I go with you?”

“Sure, but are you sure?”

I say this out of concern for Chris’ physical condition, but she says it’s fine if it’s only for a while.

I look at Rurika, and she asks me to look after her.

I return to the guild with Chris, and ask an employee about the area surrounding the town. I spend about an hour asking mostly about monsters and materials like medicinal herbs.

Then I go to the board where quests are affixed, and check out what they have.

“Sora, what are you going to do from now on?”

“I’m going to accept quests in this town for a while. It’s pretty far from the capital, so I might as well do some sightseeing too while I’m here.”

“Sightseeing… I’m a little jealous.”

“It can’t be helped, you two have a goal. I hope you accomplish it soon.”

“Yes…”

“And if you find your friends, I’d definitely like to meet them.”

“Eh…”

“I want to tell them just how much the two of you helped me.”

“Y-yes.”

“Oh… A big town like this really has a lot of delivery and miscellaneous quests. I guess I’ll start accepting them again.”

“You really like those, don’t you?”

“It’s because they’re safe. I guess some people think they’re a huge pain, but walking isn’t a big deal for me.”

We talk for a bit, and then it gets a little awkward.

I can see Chris’ face turn red as it peeks from under her hood, and I realize I’m being weirdly excited.

“Are you going back? I’m going to accept delivery quests and walk around town for a while.”

I say goodbye to Chris, and accept a delivery quest.

As I walk around, I check the locations of buildings I might visit while I’m here, like other guilds and weapons and equipment stores.

I have lunch at a stall, and I ask questions about this place while also talking about how I came from another city on an escorting quest.

Relay city Physis, also known as the trading city, is a major city in the Kingdom of Elesya, and prospers due to its connection to the capital. There is also a mine near here, so it profits off of doing business with ore too.

A village was built near the mine, and apparently there’s work over there too. It’s not like a dungeon, but I hear monsters frequently appear in the mine too.

“I heard monsters appear in the mine, but where do they come from?”

I ask Rurika when we’re having dinner.

I’ve heard that dungeons produce the monsters that appear in them, but I’m wondering how monsters get inside mines.

“I don’t know a lot about it either.”

“I have heard about magic energy pools producing monsters.”

“Magic energy pools?”

“Yes, but it is said that the principles of magic energy pools are not very well understood. One theory states that they are related to the phases of the moon. I heard this one is advocated by a famous sorcerer.”

“Ah… I’ve heard that a researcher of that Magic State of Efa announced it. Did you accept a quest in the mine, Sora?”

“I didn’t, I just heard that there are hunting quests sometimes, and I was thinking that maybe I’ll go if I have the opportunity.”

“Hn… We can’t say much about it, since we’ve never done a quest in a dungeon or a mine, but there are all sorts of restrictions, and you have to be careful as you walk around because it can be dangerous. If you’re going, you should form a party.”

“A party… I don’t have anyone I want to form a party with, so I should probably just do things like collecting medicinal herbs. I’m actually pretty good at that.”

“I agree. You’re very good at that.”

They were surprised when we picked medicinal herbs together. Appraisal is like cheating, so I can’t be wrong.

“Do you have plans for tomorrow, Sora?”

“I’m going to go pick medicinal herbs in the morning. I’ve been told where they are, so I should be back before noon.”

“I see, then how about we go shopping after lunch? We need to stock up on items.”

“Yes. Then I’ll try to come back as soon as possible.”

“Don’t rush yourself too much. Nothing good comes from that. And you need to be especially careful in a new place.”

Rurika’s concern is correct. I have Presence Detection, but that might not be infallible.