Death March — Fixed

“Tek here--it’s a dream! My self-suggestion is reaching the limit; it’s another world, but I am only visiting in a dream, that’s become my compromise.”

I felt slightly disappointed when Martha said that the Inn didn’t have a bathroom, and none would except for maybe at the Lord’s mansion; because the food and sanitation of the town is so good, I thought that there would also be baths, or similar. When I asked if I could use my bathtub in my inn room, Martha said that I had to do it in the backyard, since there was a well.

The backyard is around six meters wide, and the well isn’t that far from the back door, but it doesn’t have a pump; it is the type that uses buckets and a winch to draw water.

I use of of the two wooden tubs that were already set out there for customers to bathe with.

At first, I thought that I may struggle to draw water, but with my high STR Status, it was very, very easy.

Though the backyard was used for bathing, the fence was only around waist high--even though there was very few pedestrians, there were still some that passed. It may already be dim because being around dusk, but to bathe in a place like this. Wouldn’t you need to be an exhibitionist?

When I look around, I see that there is a slatted wooden partitioning screen leaning against the back wall.

Ahh I see--it’s not as bad as I first thought.

After putting up the screen, I started to wash with cold water from the well.

It was then I realized: I forgot to buy soap.

Suddenly, a woman comes out the back door--she is a beautiful blonde woman, who seems to be in her mid twenties.

How do I say this, the town has a lot of beautiful women.

Our eyes meet.

The woman just smiles calmly and finishes drawing water and pouring it into the tub, stripping slowly and putting up the screen. But for some reason she places it so that it only comes up to her waist.

Whenever she moves a little, her upper body sways!

I estimate her to be a D cup, and those large masses assert themselves with confidence!

She did slightly cover herself with her hands, but occasionally her chest was exposed.

I summon all my strength, averting my gaze and going back to washing my body. I accidentally glance over and see her face, she grins at me and winks, before going back to cleaning calmly.

Maybe she thinks that I’m just a kid, but hey, it seems that there may be an upside to this younger form.

Moving quickly, I finish washing and wipe myself with my towel, wrapping it around my waist.

I wonder what I should do with the water, since there doesn’t seem to be any drainage.

“It’s okay to sprinkle the water on the garden plants, there is drainage below them.” The woman spoke, and I carefully made sure not to look in her direction--thanking her quietly, I poured the water onto the garden and quickly walked back in through the inn door.

>>Skill: Poker Face Acquired.

***

I had changed into a new robe after bathing, and felt strangely refreshed.

When I entered the main room, I realized that it was dinner time, so I sat down at a table. The dinner was mainly vegetables, and it was delicious, though I would have preferred a little meat in it--with a smile, I took my remaining jerky from my storage, cutting it up, I added it to my soup.

The woman from before entered through the door and sat at a table, she smiled at me, and winked again--which drew the curious look from Martha, who was taking her order. The woman’s smile widened as she whispered in Martha’s ear, probably explaining her actions, causing Martha to glance at me and blush; maybe she told Martha that she looked at me as well.

Turning back to the table, I felt the urge to drink some alcohol, but I knew that in fantasy worlds they mainly drank Ale or Beer, and I wasn’t sure that I was quite ready to drink that stuff.

I would gather my courage at a later date.

After I finished the meal, I realized that there is no light in my room. Backing out my still open door, I quickly glance around the hallway and see some glows from under other people’s doors.

When I went back downstairs, I asked the landlady, who was struggling with helping a drunk man find the stairs, “It’s one copper coin for a lamp.”

She also says that the lamp has to be returned later.

I pay the copper and grab a lamp, before walking to the shared toilet, which is situated in a room at the back of the corridor on the second floor. It is the kind where it drops into a sewer situated below the inn, the same kind that had been used to assassinate a few noble…the assassins sneaking through the sewers and stabbing up with swords or spears.

There is multiple bundles of straw tied together, I guess that they are to be used to wipe, and then throw down the hole; but since it seemed that it would be incredibly uncomfortable, I just cut a part from my handkerchief and used it--it may not be eco-friendly, and I will need to buy more later, but the comfort is worth it.

After I finish my, business, I return to my room.

The light from the lamp is dim, and I probably have some Magic Items in my mindbogglingly large pile of loot which could be used for illumination.

But if I take out the wrong item, it is possible that the inn may be destroyed.

The room I rented is eight meters wide, with a single wooden bed--there is also a chair and desk. The chair having no rollers is a matter of course, but the desk doesn’t even have any drawers. The window is small enough that if I were to stick my face out it, it would feel cramped. I wonder if it is purely for ventilation, but the landlady warned me to close it before I sleep, to prevent crime.

Fortunately, my Menu has a backlight, and I can read it in the dark.

***

Well, because I have time, since I don’t need to sleep--I will fill the Memo function of the Exchange tab with objectives.

1. Let’s really consider if this is a dream or reality--for the time being, let’s not do anything that I’d regret later if this is really another world; so for the time being, let’s say it is real.
2. Let’s be wary of the surroundings--Even though I can most likely escape danger thanks to my high Level, I shouldn’t act too antisocial that it would hinder me from my Other World Tour. Also, unlike Earth, there seems to be Gods here; I have no idea how strong they are, let’s not be too overconfident in my own ability and act carelessly.
3. Let’s obtain a means of self-defense--I need a method to ‘neutralize’ opponents, and skills or magic to survive a troublesome situation. I want to refrain from raining meteors every time there is trouble.
4. I may as well enjoy the exotic atmosphere--with how real it seems, sightseeing will be very enjoyable. My budget is more that plentiful, so I don’t have to worry about money any time soon in the future.

Let’s ask the soldier if there is someone who gives guides and tours.

Is this all I need?

I remembered to add ‘Buy soap’ to a postscript, then I tried to sleep--closing my eyes and shutting off my mind.

***

“Well, this is the first time I’ve been asked to be a tour guide.” says the twenty year old jack-of-all-trades, Nadi, while laughing happily. She may not be a traditional beauty, but she is definitely cute, she must be popular.

Apparently, Nadi is normally a contractor for miscellaneous jobs from the Worker’s Guild, so it is quite simple to hire her as a tour guide.

Since walking is a pain, I borrow a roofless horse-drawn carriage, to tour the town--while it isn’t much faster than walking, it is more interesting.

“The West Street isn’t too prosperous, so citizens not only deal with normal goods…they also sell various, slightly, ‘gray’ goods in the back of their shops.” Nadi raised an eyebrow as she spoke, then looked away from me--I had the feeling that she may have utilized some of these…extra services, some time in the past.

“For example?”

“Well, something like love potions, pawn shops that don’t care if the client has proof of ownership, moneylenders, even brothels are common. The slave company is also located on this street”

I accidentally reacted to the word ‘slave’, I was curious about that beautiful Asian girl, and the one with the purple hair, the one who stared at me with such fascination.

Nadi looked over at me and seemed to smile knowingly at my reaction, before looking back at the street and made sure not to hit pedestrians. Strangely, there was absolutely no judgement in her eyes.

The carriage proceeded along the West Street, along the inner wall of Seryuu city.

“Around here is the craftsmen block. Woodworking, blacksmithing, leathercrafting, and many other craftsmen work in this area. Most of them don’t even have an actual store--generally they open a stall, or directly sell their products to the customer in person.” Nadia paused for a second, drawing a breath, “If you have a craftsman acquaintance then there is no problem, but generally, to prevent trouble, people have to go to the arms shop as an intermediate to trade in weapons and armour. There are high class arms shops within the inner wall for knights, and shops for ordinary soldiers and the general public on Viso Street in the Eastern part of town. Though Hunters tend to go to the Western part of town, since there are a lot of meat processing stores, along with a single arms shop.”

I look around, the area around me seems rather sketchy, similar to the cheaper sections of a big city--but not as bad as a red light district, or ghetto areas.

I wonder what the tall tower standing around a kilometer away from us, and it has been on my mind since the start of the tour; it’s around twenty meters tall, and looks surprisingly rugged.

When I asked Nadia, she responded with, “That’s a defense to repel Wyvern attacks. At the top of the tower is a large crystal that is charged with powerful Magic. The even bigger and grander tower which eclipses the castle is primarily for the castle’s own defense, this one helps cover the rest of the residential area of Seryuu.” Nadia rolls her eyes, “About forty years ago, when the great Black Dragon attacked, that tower played a very big role. Back then, although the tower was only half as tall as it is now, it was brought down, but the records say that it successfully repelled the beast.”

“Only repel--did the Black Dragon escape to the sky?” I couldn’t stop the question from escaping.

Nadia giggled, “leaving aside the Wyvern, defeating a True Dragon is impossible--only someone like the Ancestor King, Yamato; or the Saga Empire’s Hero would be able to do that.”

I twitched at the word, one that appeared in books and games, one which heralded big events, troublesome events.

“There is a Hero?”

“The Saga Empire has a Summoning-style Great Magic, which summons Heroes. However, the compensation is enormous, so except for every 66 years, when the Demon Lords come. They don’t perform it. Yamato and the founder of the Saga Empire were also Heroes who were summoned when the world was in a crisis…its so dreamy.” Nadia blushed, her eyes dampening as she seemed to fall into some kind of delusion about the ‘dreamy’ Heroes.

I wonder what she was thinking, but it’s probably best that I don’t know.

As I thought, these Yamato and Saga people were summoned, which may be why the Holy Swords have names like those from Earth legends.

When Nadia finished speaking, we had finished following the West Street and went back towards the inner residential area.