CH 5

Since I was told to wait for several days, it means I can’t move from the royal capital for several days. On orders of the king. Not that I know how much of an old guy it is that gave the order. Nor how much hardship has the old guy that gave the order known.

In any case, since I can’t move, I might as well do what I need to do during this time.

Firstly, let’s go look for Horun. My sister.

Looking into glasses can wait.

It is an amazing construct of technology, but anyone can tell with a single glance that its structure is simple. I don’t think I’d be able to learn much from cursory research.

For sure I would have to go into technical specifics. It will take quite a lot of time if I am to begin.

Sis has become, according to the letter she sent, an adventurer based in the royal capital.

Adventurers did stop by our village every once in a while, so I have a general idea of what kind of occupation it is.

To summarize what all the villagers were saying, if I remember correctly, adventurers hunt magic beasts and gather herbs and mess with promising newbies to enforce a pecking order, and in spite of their large bodies and attitudes are actually just a reserve army of mean-spirited and selfish criminals.

They don’t have a specific job to do, instead relying desperately on commissioned jobs to scrape together enough spare change to make ends meet day by day. Also, they eat things that they pick up off the ground, and frequently fail because of being drunk. They go broke because they gamble, and sometimes end up foolishly accepting highly dangerous jobs because of a debt they have to pay back.

There is surely no other profession that suits my sister so well.

Ever since I can remember, Horun has always been of a caliber that cannot be bound by concepts within common sense such as ‘ordinary’ or ‘stable.’

Generally, she often ate things she picked up off the ground.

When eating meat, she would unfailing always gnaw on the bone afterwards.

That time when she buried a bone saying “it might turn into a tree of meat,” I seriously doubted her sanity.

How I pretended to be unrelated to her while watching her later get into a fight with a dog that dug up the bone is a rather treasured memory of mine.

“‘Scuse me~”

My objective has been decided.

Let’s ask this gate guard who is looking at me warily with a solemn face the location of the nest of adventurers.

“……”

“‘Scuse me~”

“…………”

“‘Scuse me~, there’s something I want to ask you.”

“…………”

“‘Scu—”

“Goddamn you’re annoying! I’m in the middle of work, don’t talk to me!”

U~wah, how scary. He got mad.

“And here I was thinking that you were ignoring me because you’re in the middle of work.”

Since he didn’t even flinch. I couldn’t help taking one step closer to him every time I called out again. I’m already close enough to touch him with my hand.

“That is exactly what I was doing! I was ignoring you on purpose! ON. PURPOSE! If you get it then leave me be!”

“Ah, is that so. So then, where can I find them adventurers?”

“Don’t talk to me when I’m in the middle of work!”

“That way? This way?”

“…… Follow the large avenue in front, you’ll find the Adventurer’s Guild near the city entrance.”

Even though he clicked his tongue, the gate guard still properly answered my question. What a relief. People from the city have this cold and uncaring impression, but I guess it’s not actually true.

“Thank you~”

I say my thanks, but he doesn’t respond to me anymore. He must be shy.

Alright. I got the information that I needed.

Adventurer’s Guild, huh. I’ve heard of this as well. Let’s go check it out.

As I proceed down the largest road amongst all the roads, I spy a building from which people wearing armor and carrying swords and axes and whatnot are coming in and out.

I can tell immediately.

That is the Adventurer’s Guild.

It says so on the sign too. As if they’re trying to flaunt it.

But that sure is a lot of people…… can I not go in?

…… But I can’t very well not go in, right? It’s not like I don’t care about Horun, even though I haven’t seen her for two years already.

There’s no helping it. Let’s slip in sneakily.

I wait around for a while, until I spot a large man wearing jangling armor who completely looks like an adventurer. Right before he enters, I erase my presence and follow behind him into the building.

Then I smoothly proceed inside with an innocent face and grab a seat. Not at a table that can seat several people at once, but at the counter seats, which is for people who come alone.

I wasn’t seen.

I did not feel a single gaze on me. It seems that my infiltration was successful.

——No, that’s incorrect.

There is one person looking at me. I feel a gaze on my back.

…… Hmm…… oh boy, that’s strong. The person who’s looking at me, I mean. Definitely much stronger than I am.

If it is a wild animal, then it would not be my prey, but a predator looking to prey upon me. Those eyes are looking straight at me, out of the sea of people armed to the teeth. Even taking my personal feelings out of the equation, this is definitely not a good thing to happen.

“…… Eh? Welcome……?”

There is a female wearing an apron looking at me with a ‘since when has he been there?’ face. So that’s a waitress, huh. We didn’t have those in our village.

The waitress who was busy going in and out of the kitchen carrying dishes and drinks finally noticed me when going behind the counter to grab a bottle of something. Our eyes did meet over the counter, after all.

This person definitely feels like I’d appeared all of a sudden.

Even though she passed right by me just now. She didn’t notice at all that time.

I don’t really have anything I want to order, but…… oh right, I haven’t had breakfast yet. Might as well eat here then.

“Please give me something bread-like and something soup-like.”

I don’t know what they actually serve here, so I give a vague order.

“Bread, -like……?”

As I can’t imagine most of the adventurers that are going in and out possessing any substantial wealth, the menu here shouldn’t be that expensive. It should be fine to just let the waitress decide for me. But I  am on the lookout for rip offs. If it seems expensive, then I’ll just run away.

“Ahh, umm, would the breakfast set be fine? It comes with bread and soup and fruit.”

“Ok, give me that, then.”

So then.

For now, I’ve gotten the ordering out of the way, so I can look for Sis…… but it seems that she’s not here at the moment.

Keeping my eyes forward, I probe for presences.

Right now, there are a total of 20 adventurers inside the guild. Of the six tables, five are in use, and the flow through the doors is high volume.

Seeing as how after they gaze at the papers stuck on a wall they then turn to talk with their friends or head straight out of the guild, I deduce that those papers must be the request forms that detail the daily employment jobs.

Yep, Sis’ presence is not here.

And, same as before, there is still one person looking at me. I don’t know what their intention is, but they are stronger than me, so I have no intention to engage.

Dammit, I feel that person approaching me.

“——Young man.”

I think I just heard a woman calling out to someone. But well, there’s no guarantee that it’s directed towards me.

“——You there, young man.”

She’s grabbed the counter seat next to mine and seems to be looking in my direction though.

No, no, no, there’s still no telling with that alone.

That’s not enough to be sure that it’s me that she’s calling out to. There is still the possibility that she’s calling out to someone on my other side. There is no one suitable to be called “young man” on that side though.

“——Thank you for waiting.”

As I keep up my ‘it’s no concern of mine’ attitude, the waitress comes back with my food. Oh, this looks good. The bread doesn’t seem all that different from what I was eating back in my village, but it’s my first time having a soup that smells like this. Did they put in a spice that I don’t know? And there’s even meat inside. What a feast early in the morning. Thank you for the food.

“——Oh hi there, Lorobel. What’s the matter?”

I maintain my ‘it’s no concern of mine’ attitude even while picking up my bowl of soup, but the waitress calls out to the woman sitting next to me.

Let’s casually listen in.

Why is she looking at me, and why did she call out to me. That’s what I want to know. Though well, it’s still not confirmed that it’s me that she has business with…… Haah, I guess that’s too large of a stretch, huh. Since she’s even gone and sat next to me.

“Oh, I get it. You’re trying to hit on him? But isn’t he a bit too young to hit on? Even though he does have a cute face.”

“What, no. It’s just that there’s something I’m curious about.”

I would very much like for you to not be curious though.

“You know this kid?”

“No, it’s my first time seeing him. Hey, we’ve never met before, right?”

The waitress looks at me.

But there’s no guarantee that it’s me that she’s talking to, so I don’t say anything and don’t look at her and just continue sipping at my soup. Mmm, soup in the city is delicious. I wonder what they put inside. Is it really an unknown spice?

“…… He’s been like this the entire time I’ve been calling out to him.”

“He probably doesn’t want to get involved with other people. It’s not that rare to see adventurers who don’t want other people interfering with themselves, right?”

Hear, hear. Adventurers who don’t want other people interfering with themselves is not rare, you hear? Not that I’m an adventurer, though.

“Ahh…… I think you are listening, so I’ll just tell you what I want.”

Having understood that I have no intention of responding, the woman next to me has apparently decided to tell me the reason why she’s been calling out to me.

“Young man, your glasses. I was wondering where you got your hands on those.”

Glasses?

…… My glasses, huh.

I see, so it’s my glasses that she has business with.

After enduring the gazes of the waitress and the woman next to me for a while longer, I think about it for a bit, then turn my face.

“What is it about my glasses?”

I dislike getting involved in troubling things, but since it’s my glasses that she has business with, then I feel willing to at least hear her out a bit.

In any case, I’d need to ask someone for information about Sis.

This woman next to me——her name is Lorobel? Yea, let’s ask her various things, then.