Act 1: Chapter 38: To Aarburg City
The first day after I travelled along with Lovis and the others, we finally left the forest.
Though there seemed to be many Lvl 200 monsters around, the monsters who appeared around the edge of the forest were only around Lvl 40. The plain which we were currently treading on only had low level monsters.
According to Lovis, these bizarrely powerful monsters would only appear inside the forest.
「We’ve finally arrived… Aarburg city.」
Lovis spoke with an exhausted expression.
From appearances alone, it was a particularly big city which was surrounded by a rampart that provided it protection against monsters.
I could finally say goodbye to the outdoor life and say hello to civilization!
Although I had already gotten used to living in dar, gloomy places during my training with Lunaire, the fact that I could actually sleep soundly in an inn was a huge relief.
However… I was penniless at the moment.
「I wonder how much I can get from selling the《Adventurer King’s Golden Compass》?」While I unintentionally asked such a question, Lovis looked at me with dead eyes.
「Ah. No, my apologies! C-come to think of it, I have yet to tell you guys that don’t have any money and was wondering what I could do to earn some…」
I nodded while smiling wryly.
So… the《Adventurer King’s Golden Compass》was that important to Lovis.
I recall that he readily refused when I tried returning it, but I guess I have to take note of his feelings and make use of the compass.
「M-Money!? Y-You guys, did you bring money with you!?」
Lovis turned to his subordinates as color steadily drained from his face.
「Y-Yes, gimme a mi…」
「Me too, I didn’t bring much with me since we don’t really have any use for them, but…」
Damia quickly grabbed into the dimension pocket and took a coin purse from the inside.
Lovis’s eyebrows twitched once he saw the content of the purse.
Lovis took the coin purse and then flipped it, upside down.
The money were dancing around as they fell on the ground.
「Just this much!? Do you both not understand what the meaning money is for this parting gift!? Is this how much you value your own life!?」
Damia’s body shuddered upon hearing that.
Even Yozakura dropped her purse, looking quite dumbfounded.
「Y-You misunderstood! I thank you for your generosity, but rather than receive your money, can you at least tell me how I can earn it? And also simple rules or regulations that I need to take note of when I’m in the city…」
「A way to make money, is it? Uhm… you meant legally, right?」
「…」
Once I looked at Lovis in silence, he hurriedly waved his hands around.
「N-No, please don’t misunderstand! I mean, it’s really hard for someone without an ID to get a job in this town! I mean, you can’t make one unless your birthplace is reported properly! That’s why you have no choice but to find other ways to earn money and evade taxes… I never said that there wasn’t a proper way…」
「…I understand, since I’m lacking the knowledge for those, please explain.」
「U-uhm, you see….」
Lovis pondered for a while, he seemed to be really troubled by something.
It seemed strange that he actually got ‘jobs’ if he was like this.
「How about… the Adventurer Guild?」
Lovis suddenly raised his face as soon as Yozakura said those words.
「The hell are you thinking about, Yozakura!? As if Kanata-sama would stoop so low to the point of working with those p*ssies! Can you imagine this MONSTER bringing back stacks of herbs from working on gathering requests as a beginner!?」
「M-My apologies! It is as you say, Lovis-sama!」
Yozakura bowed down to Lovis, she was desperately apologizing for her error.
I’m right here… I could clearly hear you guys… to think that you were actually treating me like a genuine MONSTER.
「Why in the Black Reaper did you apologize to me!? You’re apologizing to the wrong person! My apologies Kanata-sama, Yozakura came from a foreign country, she’s lacking common sense around here…」
「Uhm, that’s fine too… About that Adventurer Guild…」
I was rather familiar with that name since I often read about them in light novels.
Since this world was created by Nyarlhotep to resemble stories in novels and games, I’m fairly certain that the adventurer guild was something that I already knew of.
In that case, it should be easier for me to earn money with a system that I understood.
「It’s an organization that is built in accordance with the country’s orders. As long as someone isn’t registered as a criminal, they can get a job by doing commissions issued by the citizens, the guild, or even the lord himself. The job would vary from something as simple as an escort duty or a demon beast extermination. The guild will also buy monster materials or items from the adventurer.」
Yup, I was really familiar with the Adventurer Guild’s system after all.
Though I don’t know whether my powers would be useful in demon beast exterminations, I knew that I could do at least this much after that training from Lunaire.
As far as I’m aware, I’ve confirmed that I’m stronger than Lovis and his gang.
I mean, is there some problem with my powers?
「They take so much for the mediator fees… You also won’t receive anything but chore-like jobs unless you’re really confident in your own ability. Moreover, the governor of this land is famous for being stingy, his reputation isn’t all that good either. Spending your time in this city is basically a waste of time, Kanata-sama.」
「Well, I don’t actually mind, though. Either way, joining the Adventurer Guild is the easiest way for me to make money, right?」
Although I said this, I would gladly do those chore-like commissions.
I mean, having nothing to do would only make me feel uneasy.
「Seriously…? With that level of yours?」
Lovis had a bewildered expression, a frown creased on his eyebrows.
Though he didn’t seem to be able to see my status or something, he still could’ve estimated my level during our previous exchange. [TL : At this point, Kanata still has zero common sense of this world]
「I-Is it too low?」
Was it really impossible then?
My level was far above theirs, but could it be that it was actually still too low…?
Despite Lovis still being baffled due to my words, his expression slowly turned into a smile, almost as if he was trying to get over something.
「No, it’s more than enough! Since you need money for your registration, I’ll give you some of mine. It isn’t that much, but please take the rest for your living funds.」
With these words, Lovis handed the money purse over to me.
Damia silently tapped on Lovis’s shoulder.
「…Lovis-sama, don’t you think that this person is actually misunderstanding something? Leaving someone like him here will greatly trouble the Adventurer Guild…」
「It isn’t my problem. I didn’t tell a single lie after all. I shouldn’t incur his enmity or anything like that. Anyways, let’s finish this quickly and leave as far as possible, we’ll be in deep sh*t if something happens later.」
The two whispered to each other.
「Lovis-san?」
Lovis’s body jerked when I called out to him.
「Uhm… My apologies Kanata-sama, it seems that we won’t be able to accompany you since the governor of this city doesn’t like us… It’s truly regrettable… But what do you say about going our separate ways here?」
「You’re right. Okay then, thank you very much for escorting me to this city, I’ll do the rest myself from here on out.」
「Yes, let’s part ways here, Kanata-sama! We are honored to have been able to meet you! Let’s cross paths in the future.」
As Lovis slowly stepped back, his two subordinates kept hiding from behind him.
「We failed to achieve our goal, but it really can’t be helped. Let’s get away from this place ASAP! Let’s pray that we will never meet this MONSTER again later!」
The trio then turned around and ran away as fast as they could.
…They really seemed to be in a hurry up to the last second.