CH 19

“Then everything is fine! The town of Bezart welcomes you!”

I finally step inside the town, passing by Gatekeeper-san, who opens the simple gate for me.

–Ah! Aaah! Aaahhhh! 

I can smell the culture ahhh!!!!!!! 

I’m not mad, but I might be.

People were coming and going on the main street, lights were leaking from the buildings on the side, and there was a smell of savory…yes, savory food in the air.

How could I, a man who had lived on tasteless river fish and mostly watery fruit, remain calm in such a smelly situation?

Ah… how happy my nose is… how I can’t wait for my tongue to be happy too…

I’m in such a dreamy state that I feel like I’m going to fly off.

“”””Thank you so much!!!”””

All three of them thanked me in unison. Even Gatekeeper-san, who is watching behind me, is smiling now, even though he was angry earlier.

“No, like I said before, I was lost. I’m grateful to you for helping me find the way to town. Thank you, as well.”

With that, I returned the basket to Potta-kun.

“What are you talking about? If you hadn’t helped us then, we probably would have died. Even if we had managed to escape the goblins, there’s a good chance we wouldn’t have made it out of the forest.”

“That’s right! They were scary monsters that Zink would have run away!”

“Glad you made it home. Thank you! Thank you!”

I’m glad everyone is thanking me in their own way, but I’m the one who’s truly thankful…

If I had continued down the river as planned, I might have made it to the town by myself at some point.

But Zink-kun said it would be a long way.

Then it was thanks to Zink-kun and the others that I made it to the town earlier than planned.

And they gave me a lot of information that I would never be able to say to their faces, but was too valuable for me to ignore.

But, well…I guess we’re just going in circles.

So.

“Well, now that the sun has set, why don’t you go home and reassure your family? They must be worried about you, right?”

“I have to stop by the Hunter Guild first…so here you go.”

With that, Zink-kun held out a flashlight and the goblin’s sword.

“I’ve been using it because it’s handy for leading the way, but this belongs to Loki because it belonged to the monster Loki defeated.”

I accept the flashlight, but the sword…as the one who got the information one way or the other, I’m not comfortable with it.

“I’ll give that to you. It’s a little too long for me to use. It’s just my way of saying thank you for saving my life!”

“No way! Why should we get the spoils of victory for helping you? I’m smaller than Loki, and I can’t use it properly!”

That’s a reasonable response.

I glanced at Potta-kun, but it would have been a mistake to discuss swords with him, since he’s just a big guy and a timid one at that.

“Well then, I think I’ll still be in town for the foreseeable future, so let’s all go sell it and divide it into four equal parts one of these days!”

“Yeah, that’s strange… but okay. I’m going to be home late if I keep this up, so that’s it! In exchange, the contents of the basket will be divided into four equal parts!”

“Okay, okay. Just finish your errands and go see your parents.”

“All right, I’ll just keep them for now! Call me if you see me!”

“No problem. I’ll be at the Hunter Guild soon. I’m sure I’ll see you soon!”

“Okay, I’ll see you soon!”

“See you soon!”

With that, the three of them reluctantly walk away, and I see them off.

Phew.

We’ll see each other eventually if we’re in the same town anyway.

I’m going to be a hunter for now, since that’s the only choice I have.

Besides…I want to eat meat as soon as possible.

I can’t think straight because of the delicious smells that have been assaulting my nostrils for a while ago.

So, I’ll get more details tomorrow.

All right, I’ll dash to the source of the smell as soon as I see him off! 

I’ve got [Cross-Language Comprehension], so I’m in good hands! 

“Good evening! How much is this skewer?”

“Here you are! 400 Bikes a skewer!”

“400 e… nn… nn? Bike?”

“…”

“…”

I quickly turned back to where I had just been.

“Zink-kun!!! Mei-chan!!! Or Potta-kun! Somebody! Lend me money!!!!”

I shouted, but the three of them were already out of sight.