CH 74

I walk to the merchant guild to finish up my business there. Today I’m here alone.

I’m taken to the same room as before, where Arthur and Coutre are waiting.

“What is your decision?”

I ask, and I’m handed a high quality cloth with a coin inside. It gives off a white shine, so is this a platinum coin? I’ve never seen one before, so I’m not sure.

“This is a platinum coin. Please take it.”

Says Arthur as he hands me the cloth and the coin with a troubled expression on his face.

“Use it to rebuild that village. It’s the merchant guild’s responsibility, so I don’t know if you need to talk to the villagers over there or the feudal lord, but just inform them and use that money well.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes, as long as you use it properly. Of course, I might come by to ask how the money is being used, so make sure to keep records. To put it bluntly, I don’t really trust the guild employees either.”

I warn them. There might be people who will think of getting rid of middlemen and pocketing the money.

That reminds me of those two gold coins I received when I first came to this world. I can’t say for sure that they took some of the money, but I can’t say they didn’t either.

“Very well. We will see that it is done.”

“Yes. And you can announce that this money is being offered by the Aurora company as aid to help rebuild the village. I mean, you did pay for it, and the process was pretty painless.”

I thought they would try to beat down the price, but they paid for it in full.

Trying to push them in this situation might actually turn out to be dangerous.

“Understood. I will report that to the main office.”

“Good. That ends my business here.”

I get up and leave the merchant guild, even as the two men look like they want to say something.

Next, I head to the adventurer guild, where Leila is waiting.

“Did you wait long?”

“Don’t worry. How did it go in the merchant guild?”

“Exactly as we talked about yesterday.”

“I see. I was surprised when I first heard you mention reparations, but I’m relieved to see it was not out of greed.”

“If it was just for me there’s no way I’d ask for a platinum coin.”

“But you still need to earn money, right?”

She’s right. I really didn’t expect to have to pay five hundred gold coins.

I looked into the market prices, and figured I could buy her for fifty to a hundred gold coins. Even the first slaves that they showed me there cost at most fifty gold coins.

“But I don’t think you need to spend so much, if all you want is a guard. Are you picky about a particular trait or something?”

I’m not picky, it’s just that the girl I have to buy costs five hundred gold coins.

“I want to check the quests for now. And I want to check where medicinal herbs grow if I can.”

We enter the adventurer guild together, and it’s relatively empty since it’s past noon.

In any adventurer guild, it’s hard to get the good quests if you’re not here in the morning.

I check the quests, and for some reason I see a lot related to security. I guess all sorts of trouble can happen when so many people gather for the advent festival.

“There aren’t that many hunting quests. Ah, but there are a few picking quests.”

Says Leila.

They pay the normal price. I can earn more money picking medicinal herbs and using them to make potions.

Even if I work hard completing these picking quests, I’ll only get a few gold coins.

“Sorry, but can you just ask them where I can pick herbs?”

“You got it.”

Leila walks to the reception desk, and I stay here looking at the available quests.

Most of the hunting quests are about hunting goblins and wolves. There’s one aimed at higher ranked adventurers about hunting a tigerwolf. It says it was sighted on the main road to the republic…

Then there’s one about hunting killer bees, and collecting honey. Honey is used for various things here.

As for get-rich-quick quests… Dragon hunt? Now that’s fantasy. There wasn’t a dragon attack or anything, it’s just someone after materials. It pays a platinum coin per dragon, and it was put up by the alchemist guild.

“What are you looking at?”

Asks Leila as she peeks over my shoulder. Too close, your face is too close.

“This quest about hunting dragons.”

“Ah… This. These quests are pasted in every large adventurer guild. But if someone actually takes down a dragon, they’re going to put it up for auction.”

“Really?”

“Yes. This level of reward might be profitable if the dragon that’s being hunted is a mini or a subspecies.”

“I see. Have you ever seen a dragon?”

“I haven’t, but there are records of dragons being sighted in the lower levels of the dungeon. Although I don’t know if that is true.”

So there are dragons in the dungeon. Is there something like a dragon floor or something?

“Anyway, I asked about medicinal herbs. That could be a problem here, so let us go back to Yor’s home first.”

Yes, I guess asking for an outsider could be bad for her.

I follow Leila out of the adventurer guild.

“What are you going to do in the time until the advent festival?”

“For now, my plans are to pick medicinal herbs. Also, can you train with me too?”

“Train?”

“Yes, I want to get better at fighting with a sword. You’re good at that, right?”

“Not good enough to be a good teacher, but I suppose we could do some mock battles. It would be better if you fought not just me, but the others too. Fighting someone else is bound to be a good experience for us as well.”

“Then let’s do it when you have the time. You have homework to do, right?”

“I sure do. And I can’t help but lament how better off I would be if I didn’t.”

Apparently the academy assigns homework on long breaks. Being a student sure is tough. Yes, it sure was.