Chapter 43: The Royal Capital, Leclerc

The city in the Kreis Duke’s Territory had been large, but as expected of a place that calls itself the royal capital—this was on a different level.

The line at the entrance gate was enormous, and the number of carriages belonging to nobles and wealthy merchants was staggering.

To top it off, there was even a dedicated entrance for adventurers. A guard yelled, “Adventurers, that way!”

I could hear someone muttering, “That’s country bumpkins for you,” but at least put up a signboard or something.

No wonder I hadn’t seen any adventurers.

When a city is this big, the coming and going of people increases, and naturally the number of wagons hauling supplies increases as well.

The place I was directed to had several dozen adventurers waiting in line. Since it was still before noon, I supposed this was normal. As I lined up, I felt people’s appraising gazes clinging to me.

If I followed the men who went before me, I’d naturally end up at the Adventurers’ Guild—and wow, it was big.

The interior had the same layout as other guilds, just on a larger scale, so I didn’t get lost.
I told the buying clerk I had an elk and was allowed into the dismantling area.

As usual, when I got in line, some jerk tried to cut in and said, “Don’t act all high and mighty with just one elk!”

If you report a large number, they mock you. If you report prey that needs dismantling, they mock you again.
The only way to deal with troublesome types is to ignore them, so I lined up quietly behind them. Then they turned around and smirked at me.

For an adventurer, being underestimated is fatal— but causing trouble here would be bad. Let’s play outside if we ever meet again, I cursed inwardly.

Two medium-sized hornboars and five wolves—Come on, at least hunt more cleanly, I thought with a half-smile, earning myself a glare.

“Hey kid, what’ve you got?”

“Various birds including Chikki-Chikki Birds, plus an elk, some wolves, and two kinds of orcs.”

“Oh? How many?”

“About ten of each bird type, one elk, three high orcs, five orcs, and eight Rush Wolves.”

“You’ve got a lot of birds… Wait, are you the guy who’s been bringing tons of birds to the guilds along the Blange Route? I think… they call you the ‘Breeze’ or something—some magician, right?”

Oh great. No wonder I’ve been called “Breeze” everywhere I go—turns out the dismantling staff across different guilds all talk to each other.
Looks like I can’t escape that nickname anymore.

Just when my turn was coming up, the man told me, “Follow me,” and led me inside.

He pointed to a spot, and I laid out all the birds first.

Chikki-Chikki Birds – 12
Runner Birds – 15
Green Birds – 13
Red Chickens – 16
High Orcs – 3
Orcs – 5
Elk – 1
Rush Wolves – 8

“Ohh… that’s a lot, and the beasts have barely any wounds. These are premium quality. I’ll appraise the birds high—keep bringing them.”

“It took me over a week to gather these, so I can’t bring them often. But if that’s fine with you, sure.”

I handed over my guild card and headed to the cafeteria. The glares from the waiting line were painful.

The cafeteria was ridiculously wide, though sparsely populated. Still, there were maybe fifty or sixty people.
Nice—when there are lots of people, a newbie doesn’t stand out. …Though I guess I was still getting attention, but they were all unfamiliar faces. Just “who’s that guy?” looks.

I sat alone, away from other people, sipping ale.
It’d be great if someone who knew the capital’s information was around, but adventurers probably don’t know much about city matters.

It would be over a year before I could return to Lynas. And if this Warrens guy was still after me, returning carelessly was dangerous. I needed to settle things.

Hunting around the capital’s outer forest while slowly gathering intel sounded like a good plan.

The dismantler brought the appraisal sheet. Total: 3,255,000 Dara.

Nice. I thanked him.

“My name’s Holtz, I’m the chief of the dismantling team. If you ever bring Chikki-Chikki Birds or Runner Birds, call for me, no matter how busy it is.”

“That’ll make other adventurers hate me.”

“I’ll handle that. Big beast meat is popular, sure, but bird meat is in short supply and nobles and rich merchants fight over it. It’s one of the few products the guild can use to control their appetites. We’re counting on you.”

Easy for him to say…
But those birds are causing me plenty of trouble.
Still, they sell well, and they make good bait to lure Warrens out—so I’ll put up with it.

I collected the money at the counter and asked for a recommendation for a good hotel for adventurers.

After shopping for supplies at the market, I checked into the Martin’s Hotel, paid for three days (12,000 Dara), and arranged for a carriage the next day to tour the capital.

On the next day, I changed into my tailored city clothes. People seemed surprised at my transformation, but they smiled, thinking it was for sightseeing.

I told the driver to take me to a mid-level hotel recommended in the capital, slipping him the usual four silver coins plus a tip.

The president of the company I worked at before reincarnating used to say,
“If you want good service, don’t be stingy with money.”
That applied not just to service, but also to information and techniques.
If you want quality, pay for it.

Judging from my outfit, the driver took me to a refined mid-level hotel with a calm atmosphere.

At the reception desk, a woman who truly deserved to be called “Madam” greeted me. I told her I wanted to stay about ten days, paid seven gold, and mentioned I might not return for two or three days.

Then I headed out for sightseeing.

I visited the massive statue of the goddess Felicienne, the largest market in the kingdom, and streets filled with all sorts of shops.
I honestly felt moved.

I asked if there was a map, since I wanted to shop later. She told me that the Commercial Guild sold simple maps listing major streets and famous shops.

Detailed maps were considered military secrets—asking for them could get me in trouble.
So I continued playing the simple country tourist.

I had a wonderful meal at a restaurant the driver recommended, and listened to rumors about the capital.

That night, I returned to Martin’s Hotel and toasted to a productive day before going to sleep.

The next morning, I went by carriage to the Commercial Guild and bought the simple map.

One silver coin for a single map—pretty pricey.
The merchants’ version, covering every shop in the capital, cost one whole gold coin.

Using my map, I asked about good restaurants, expensive fabrics, accessories, and so on, then returned to my hotel.

My tailored outfit did its job well. From the moment I entered the Commercial Guild, they treated me politely and answered my questions easily.

Clothes really do make the man. Even high-end adventurer gear wouldn’t have gotten me this treatment.

On the fourth day, I moved to the Corantine Hotel, which the carriage driver had recommended.
I spent the entire day staring at the map.

Warrens lived on Buerland Street, No. 15 Right. The hotel was far from there—walking would be impossible.
But now that I knew the location, I could go anytime.

For the next several days, I visited the shops with the fine fabrics the Commercial Guild had mentioned, and searched for baskets like the ones my mother and sister always used.

For my father and eldest brother, I found high-quality knives. For my second brother, Ralph, I couldn’t think of anything, so I planned to ask Mother to use the money I’d send to get him something suitable for the hotel.

For myself, I bought good tea leaves, long-lasting biscuits, and utensils for camping.

* * * * * * *

The day after finishing my sightseeing and shopping in the royal capital, I moved back to Martin’s Hotel. After staying one night, I headed out of the capital dressed in my usual adventurer gear.

It was a bit late in the morning, so the adventurer-only gate was relatively empty—but being a solo adventurer, I still stood out.

Thinking about it, I’m only eighteen years old.
I’ve helped Ted and the others in Lynas for a long time, but since officially registering as an adventurer, I’m just a newbie with 2 years and 4 months of experience.

Someone like me wandering around solo in an unfamiliar city—of course people would find it odd.

After leaving the west gate that leads to the Blange Highway, I walked for a while, then veered left into the northern grasslands.

Walking along a beast trail worn down by many adventurers, I headed toward the distant forest.

Everything that showed up on my detection magic was small fry; the only group wandering around seemed to be goblins.

I had no intention of hunting them, so I decided to tell the group of people who had been following me and whispering behind my back.

“Hey, there’s a group of goblins over there. Are you going to take them down?”

“Goblins? Where?”

“To your left—if you head east, you’ll run into them in two or three minutes. About six or seven of them.”

“Really?”

“I am a solo adventurer, you know. At least I can use detection magic. Whether you hunt them or ignore them is up to you. See you.”

They had been trailing behind me whispering to each other, but with the magic surrounding me, their voices were loud and clear.

“He looks like he’s solo, but is that for real?”
“Yeah, but we didn’t see anyone who looked like his companions after he left the west gate…”
“And look at his gear—he looks like a high-rank adventurer.”
“Should we follow him for a bit?”
“Don’t. If he’s actually high-rank, we’ll get more than just injuries.”
“Man, look at those boots—they’re definitely custom-made.”

All of that reached my ears, and it was seriously annoying.

Go hunt the goblins and sharpen your skills—I gave them a silent prayer of good luck.

Maybe there aren’t many adventurers who specialize in bird hunting, because I could hear plenty of Chikki-Chikki Birds and Green Birds around here.

Perfect chance to earn some pocket money. I just had to be careful not to overhunt them.