Volume 2: It’s a pretty big deal.

Chapter 10: Old man goes to a new town

I was seen off by Mashiro and came to the checkpoint.

Passing through the checkpoint leads outside the town.

It’s been six months since I came to this different world.

I think I understand most things.

The cheapest way to move seems to be to go with a merchant when they move to another town.

(Now, how should I negotiate?)

Rather,

(Which merchant to choose, huh? I don’t want someone scary. And it’s a bit awkward with women. I can’t talk to women.)

At the checkpoint, they naturally inspect luggage, and there’s a specific order to that inspection.

There’s a long line formed.

Feels just like waiting at the checkout line in a supermarket.

(Should I go for that?)

I was leisurely waiting in line and decided to approach an older merchant with seemingly little cargo.

Standing beside him, the man looked at my face.

“What’s up, kid?”

“I was thinking about getting a ride on your carriage.”

The old man chuckled.

“How much can you offer?”

“About 5000 gels.”

The old man’s expression changed.

His smile disappeared.

“Not enough. If you were a woman, I’d let you ride for free.”

I was shocked.

Seriously?

(I heard it was enough with 5000.)

“If you were a woman, I could make you pay with your body, but not a guy like you. Hahaha. Try elsewhere.”

(Oh, this guy’s unpleasant. Well, there’s no point getting worked up over every little thing like this. Let’s forget it.)

While thinking so, I glanced at this man’s carriage.

It had “Garde Trading Company” written on it.

(I’ll remember that. Doesn’t seem like there’s any connection though.)

I’ll boycott him.

Making a vow of boycott alone, I search for the next target.

Who else seems free?

Ah, there.

I decided to walk towards the next target.

By the way, it seems this person was ahead of the Garde Trading Company, so they might get through the checkpoint soon.

“Excuse me.”

“Hmm?”

She turned around.

It was a blond woman.

Her hair color seemed a bit faded, giving off a sense of hardship.

(Even though she’s a woman, she seems much more reliable compared to that guy earlier.)

She’s probably in her early twenties?

“I’d like to ride your carriage.”

“Do I need to ask for your destination?”

“I haven’t decided yet.”

“I see. Just to make sure, I’ll tell you beforehand that I’m heading to the town of Grinova. Is that okay with you?”

“Of course.”

I nodded.

“How much?”

She shook her head.

(Oh?)

“It’s fine for free. I have no one to talk to anyway, so just hop in. Also, show me your identification. I want to confirm what kind of person you are, just to be safe.”

I showed the adventurer card to the woman.

“Not a criminal or thief, huh? Seems okay.”

With that, the woman introduced herself.

“I’m Rikka. It’ll be a short time, but nice to meet you.”

“I’m Tatsuya.”

“That’s an unusual name. I’ve never heard it before.”

As we chatted, it became Rikka’s turn for inspection.

Rikka showed the contents of the carriage to the checkpoint staff and underwent inspection.

Meanwhile, I glanced over at the Garde Trading Company.

(At that position, it’ll probably take Garde about three hours to pass through here. I’m glad there’s a kind-hearted person like Rikka around.)

At that moment, it seemed the inspection had finished.

The checkpoint staff spoke up.

“You may pass.”

Rikka pulled the carriage through the checkpoint.

As we passed through the checkpoint, the landscape quickly turned into grassland.

“Tatuya, you can sit next to me if you want” 

Rikka said, pointing to the seat beside hers.

I’m not sure what it’s called, but it’s that part where you give instructions to the horse, like the passenger seat in a car, I guess (?).

This is where my lack of knowledge shows, haha.

“Anyway, I didn’t expect it to be free.”

“It’s a long journey, you know. I just wanted someone to talk to.”

The carriage carrying us continued on.

The atmosphere wasn’t great, but it wasn’t bad either, a strange feeling.

It felt about as comfortable as a late-night bus ride, but maybe it’s because Rikka is so friendly that it feels nice?

In that kind of atmosphere, Rikka and I chatted along the way.

After a while, we came across a lightly paved road.

There were soldiers (?) standing beside it.

But Rikka maneuvered the horse to steer clear of them.

“Huh? Isn’t that the road?”

“That road is unusable.”

“Huh? Then what’s it for?”

Tightening the reins, Rikka seemed tense.

(Is she angry?)

“That’s Garde’s road. It’s called Garde Road. It’s a road made by Garde for Garde’s own purposes.”

We continued to veer significantly away from Garde Road.

We were deviating more than necessary.

(Garde must be quite particular.)

I decided to think that way.

And by the time the sun was about to rise, the faintly obscured vision became clearer.

In the distance, I could see the checkpoint.

(Is that Grinova town?)

Then, I noticed something.

“Huh? What’s that?”

I pointed at a carriage that was quite far ahead.

“Were there people ahead of us?”

“Oh. That’s the GardeTrading Company.”

Rikka muttered with a poker face.

“Isn’t it strange? They should have come out significantly later than us, right?”

“Garde Road is quite fast. That’s why. It saves several hours.”

I felt a bit perplexed.

(But there’s nothing I can do about it.)

Garde disappeared ahead of us.

After a while, the carriage carrying us also arrived at the checkpoint.

The checkpoint of Grinova town.

“We’ve arrived. This is Grinova town.”

A checkpoint appeared before us.

We were to undergo inspection upon entering.

However, I’m not one of Rikka’s companions, and since I don’t have much luggage, I was able to enter immediately.

Rather, it seems Rikka also intended to part ways here and said, “Go ahead.”

Before entering the town, Rikka spoke to me.

“I hope we’ll meet again, Tatsuya.”

I nodded at those words and decided to enter the town first.

Inside, there was a townscape similar to the one I had been in before.

It was a medieval European-style town.

However, it was still a new town for me.

(For now, I’ll head to the Adventurer’s Guild to gather information.)

While listening to someone who seemed to be a fellow professional, I made my way to the adventurer’s guild and entered.

(The interior doesn’t seem to differ from guilds in any other town.)

As I approached the counter, a young receptionist called out to me.

“Hello, may I help you with something?”

“I’d like to register as a freelancer.”

It seems that by registering as a freelancer, you can receive requests directly from clients. 

It seems that truly famous individuals don’t need to register with the guild, but they’re just a handful.

And in this case, there’s no skimming off the top by the guild.

The entire reward goes directly to me, it seems.

However, there are some drawbacks.

For adventurers who haven’t made a name for themselves, hardly any requests come their way. Even if requests do come, there’s a high chance of being looked down upon with comments like, “You want to make a name for yourself, huh?”

To avoid such situations, it’s necessary to first accept requests from the adventurer’s guild to increase one’s visibility.

It’s a tough world out there.

“If you’re here to register as a freelancer, may I see your adventurer card, please?”

I was asked this, and I handed over my adventurer card.

“I see.”

The receptionist said something like “Hmm” while looking at my card.

“Do you have any achievements?”

“Uh, just one.”

I felt a bit disheartened…

After all, I’m still just a rookie freelancer.

“Guess I’ll have to make a name for myself, huh?”

“Well, yeah. Even the freelancers who are famous now had their unknown periods.”

Hmm…

Just as I was thinking about trying to accept some quests for now…

Bang.

The guild door swung open.

And there, walking in, was Rikka.

She walked over to me and called out.

“Hey, we meet again.” 

she said to me as she handed a quest paper to the counter.

“I’ll leave this with the guild. The payment for the request will be made afterward.”

“Understood. The fee is 30%. Would you like to add any additional guild services?”

“It’s too expensive. It’s just a simple request.”

That’s the kind of conversation we were having.

(That fee is steep! So this is the guild’s skimming…)

I’d never been on the requesting side, but I didn’t realize the guild charged this much.

While I was lost in thought, Rikka glanced over at me.

Our eyes met.

“Oh, come to think of it, Tatsuya, you’re an adventurer, right?”

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter