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A Harem in the Fantasy World Dungeon Volume 1 Chapter 3 Part 9

Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist  Editor: Weasalopes   

But I guess I am still naïve as well, since a part of me still doesn’t want to admit that this is the real world, just like the one I left behind when I molested that 『Yes』 button. Back in the village I wholeheartedly thought that this was nothing but an ultra-realistic game, and that’s why I had no reservations about turning the Bandits that attacked it into salami, and besides, I did it mostly in self-defense. But now things are going to be different. We’re not talking about defending yourself anymore, we’re talking about assaulting other people, criminals though they are, but that’s beside the point, so that I could trade their lives for money which is going to be used not for some chivalrous endeavor, but for the scummy reason of satisfying my own selfish desires. The only real problem with this approach would be finding a sufficiently large group of Bandits or a few smaller ones near the town across the span of two days. That pretty lady knight said that the group I had dispatched in the village was the one operating in the slums of Veil, so I can probably assume that no other group would take their place, at least not for the time being. Based on my video game knowledge, all the criminals in the city will either hide in the city sewers, or relocate to their hideouts outside of the town, most likely in some caves or encampments deep in the thickest parts of the woods. Chasing them down would be another matter entirely if I knew the terrain around Veil like the back of my hand, but without such knowledge, running blindly around the forest might just prove to be a giant waste of my precious time.

As for the other ways of achieving my objective, I guess I could try doing the one thing that everyone who got sent to or reincarnated into another world would try sooner or later: use my knowledge from the time spend on Earth combined with my Identify Skill in order to multiply the amount of money that is already in my possession, but like I said before, I am just your average high schooler who knows jack shit about the economy and the processes which govern it, so I wouldn’t know what to do, even if the method and resources were right in front of me. And as far as I know, there are no tricks to gain a large amount of money in literally a few days. Getting filthy rich always involves long-term investments with large amounts of risk to them.

「Supposedly the Bandits whom you have defeated had decent equipment on them. Maybe selling them to the shops here in town could be a nice way to start?」

The Slave Merchant suggested once we got back to the guest room and I sat back on the sofa. As if I didn’t know that already.

Certainly, if I sold Durandal, it is more than likely that I would get 100,000 Nar for it, maybe even more. As for the Copper Swords, in my opinion they are just glorified, oversized butter knives unfit to fight not even against the Bandits, but also the weakest of monsters, so I don’t think they’d even be worth that much to begin with. But since the only weapon visible to others is the one I currently have equipped, there is no way for Alan-san to know about Durandal. When I first came here, all I had on me was a Copper Sword on my back, but now I also have a Scimitar tucked on my belt. From the outsider’s perspective, I guess I’m looking like some kinda weapons maniac or a sword collector.

Now let’s see… combining the prize money and the money obtained from the Village Chief with the ones I would probably get for selling Durandal, I think I would be able to obtain the required 420,000 Nar pretty effortlessly.

The thing is, no matter what happens, I absolutely cannot sell Durandal. Ever. If I did that, it would be lost to me forever, and that would mean a double loss for me: that of a powerful weapon and the Bonus Points I’ve spent to obtain it.

Even if obtaining Roxanne is everything to me now, losing Durandal would be equivalent to losing everything, because without Durandal, I won’t be able to guarantee Roxanne’s safety. Losing such a valuable weapon would spell no end of trouble for both of us. No, that sword is my absolute trump card. Even if it means facing more difficulties and adversity, I can’t part with it no matter what.

「If I chose to enter the Labyrinth, will I be able to make a sufficient amount of money out of it?」

I have to gather information about ways to obtain money without sounding too suspicious. First, let’s try to get as much info about Labyrinth related matters as I can.

「You can. It won’t be an astonishing amount but at the very least it will be a steady one. The exact amount would depend on your ability and luck, but I think 1000 gold is the minimal amount you could get for a single item found in there.」

It depends on your ability and your luck…

I guess so. But since the ordinary drop items would get me so little, gathering enough money out of them would still be impossible.

「1000 gold per item, huh? While that might be good in the long run…」

Right now time isn’t exactly my ally.

「Can I get sell those found items to a Guild?」

「The Explorers and Adventurers Guilds are both here in this town. The Explorer’s Guild is the second building on the right across the main road. The Adventurer’s Guild is located in the center of the town on the west side. Just between you and me, they don’t like each other very much.」

The Adventurer’s Guild and the Explorer’s Guild are not on good terms, duly noted. Having an Explorer Job might not be such a bad idea.

「What about hunting down Bandits and collecting bounties for their heads?」

「That’s certainly a possibility, but I wouldn’t recommend it, if you want my honest opinion.」

「Wouldn’t… recommend it?」

「Yes, and for a number of reasons. For example, the only place where the Bounty Hunters Guild is located is the Imperial City.」

「Bounty Hunting…」

So it can really function as a Job, huh? That was to be expected. If you can become a Thief by stealing something and a Hero by Saving a village, then by following that logic hunting down Bandits and the like should make you a Bounty Hunter. 

At least I thought that it’s going to be like that, but apparently I was mistaken, cause when I checked my own status I have received no such Job. Maybe it is necessary to join a specific Guild first?

「A Bounty Hunter? You need to accumulate a lot of experience at hunting criminals to obtain such a title.」

「I see.」

Apparently the prerequisite for that Job is to have a Warrior Job at Lv10 or so.

「Even then, you won’t be able to protect everything around you simply by being strong. Hunt down enough Bandits as a Bounty Hunter, and you’ll quickly gain notoriety in the criminal underworld, becoming a target for everyone willing to exact revenge or increasing their infamy. When that happens, you won’t be safe anywhere, even behind the walls of the Imperial City.」

From a criminal’s point of view, Bounty Hunters must be their sworn enemies. It’s natural for the two to detest each other. It’s natural that both those groups would want to exact revenge if their members were harmed. I already murdered quite a lot of them, so… have I already been branded as a potential target?

「If you kill too many Bandits, can you end up being targeted by other outlaws?」

Looks like hunting Bandits might not be as good of an option as I have initially thought. Kill or be killed. That must be the absolute law of this world. But even if you’ll be strong enough to kill many, the ones who’ll come after them will eventually bring you down. History proved that to be true time and time again. Well, back in my old world at least.

「That’s right. And the prize money received in this way is absolutely not worth the risk of you and your relatives being targeted by other Bandits.」

Then is it possible that the Bandits I had killed during the raid on the village had extraordinarily high bounties on their heads? The ones going way above the usual price paid for the extermination of their ilk? No, that cannot be it. Picker-san counted the reward money for their slaying pretty accurately, so I guess it couldn’t have been anything special.

Either way, Bandit extermination should be my absolutely last resort. First, I should try my luck in the Labyrinth.

「All right, I think I learned everything I wanted to know now. But one last thing before I leave: if I want to stay in this town for longer, are there any inns or hotels you’d recommend? I don’t want anything fancy or too pricey, but at the very least it should be something comfortable, with good food and soft beds.」

「Those are some pretty specific conditions, but if you’re looking for something that is a middle ground between affordable and comfortable, The Veil Pavilion, an inn located at the southwestern end at the rotary in the town’s center should be the place to go for you. It is managed by the Innkeepers Guild, so I can fully vouch for their quality.」

「Okay, I will go there immediately.」

I don’t know what to think about that Innkeepers Guild, but it cannot be a bad place if Alan-san is recommending it to me. At the very least, it should be better than spending the night at the stables or with no roof above my head whatsoever.

I stood from my seat. Now that we said everything that needed to be said, there was no reason for me to stay here any longer. For now I will have to secure myself a place to stay, but from tomorrow morning, I will have to work my ass off as hard as I would beat my meat on a Friday night (hopefully I won’t have to take care of that myself for much longer).

「Then I will be anxiously awaiting your return in five days, Michio-sama.」

Sent off by those parting words, I left the Slave Merchant’s shop and moved forward towards my new goal: To gather enough money to buy Roxanne! And I think I don’t have to repeat myself, but I will do so just to psyche myself up.

Failure is not an option here!