Life of an Adventurer in a Harsh World – Part 10
While an inn with a master, a hostess, and a poster girl was enticing, Hikaru shut the idea out of his mind. He probably wasn’t going to stay in town for that long.
Building relationships with others would only make it harder to leave. It would dull his judgment. He’d already gotten quite deeply involved with Freya, but there was nothing he could do about that since she worked at the Adventurers’ Guild.
So he wound up at a budget hotel. It was a five-story building that looked like a matchbox. Every room was exactly the same, with only a bedroom.
In this world, a five-story establishment was actually considered high-class. Plus he had his own private room. The hotel also had a sauna, although for common use. It cost 1,000 gilans a night; ten times the rate of the beginner adventurers’ inn he stayed at before.
“Are you really staying here, Sir?”
On the first floor’s reception desk was a woman wearing a uniform. She eyed Hikaru suspiciously—or rather, with great interest. A catgirl. Straight out of a fantasy world.
Cat ears were twitching on top of her head. Her fluffy, light-green hair hung softly down her back in a ponytail.
“1,000 gilans per night, right? Three nights for now.”
Hikaru took out 3,000 gilans. Blinking repeatedly, the catgirl accepted the payment. Her ears twitched with her every motion.
I’ve read a novel with a protagonist that was so obsessed with cat ears. How could he be so hung up on them? Had he not touched a cat before in his life?
“You must be quite loaded, Sir. Those are some nice clothes.”
“Really? I’m glad you like it.”
Dodorono would surely love to hear that as well.
“I do. So, there are a few things to keep in mind in this hotel. You have your own room and it’s soundproof. You may bring a woman over, but she can’t stay for the night. Okay?”
“Uh, come again?”
“Oh, I apologize, Sir. Do you prefer bringing men?”
“No!”
How did she even arrive at that conclusion?!
“Ah, do most guests stay here for that?” Hikaru asked.
“Yes. Isn’t that usually the case?”
“Sorry. I don’t really know what passes as usual around here (this world).”
“Guests invite me too, you know?”
“What?!”
For real?! You can invite the catgirl receptionist? Is that even allowed?!
His heart leapt. It was hard to believe he was the same guy who was questioning the obsession with catgirls just a moment ago.
“I turn them down, of course.” The woman laughed.
“…”
“You seem flustered, Sir.”
“I’m not.”
Hikaru calmed his heart down.
It’s not right to pay money for it. Not at all. Plus, I want my first to have me as her first as well. It’s not because I don’t want my partner to find out I don’t have any experience. Yup, definitely not. I just prefer it that way.
“Ah, but…” The catgirl leaned forward and whispered into his ears. “I might gladly say yes if you invited me.”
His heart jumped once more. Needless to say, she was only teasing him.
Hikaru left his belongings in the hotel room and went back out. The sun was still high up in the sky. The catgirl at the front desk waved at him as he left, wishing him a good day. He swore to himself never to let his guard down around her.
He was headed for the temple. The gods on his guild card—Assasination God, Stealth God—how many of them were there? He wanted an answer to that simple question. Roland’s memories didn’t provide much information on the matter.
Roland’s Blessing was Wide Area Noble Blood Relief God7: Noblesse. Most young nobles had it, apparently. In fact, if they didn’t have it, they got suspected of being a bastard born out of wedlock.
The temple was located in the center of town. The closer to the temple, the more crowded the streets. There were more shops as well.
The temple was a tall, dome-shaped structure that could be entered from any direction. Stone was used for its foundation, steel for the frames, and wood for the rest—overall, a unique construction.
Several huge windows featured fretworks of various deities.
“Whoa…”
As soon as he stepped inside, Hikaru saw a towering, five-meter-tall stone sculpture of a god. It was facing sideways, wearing a robe, holding a pen in its right hand and a crystal ball in its left. Hikaru found it quite curious.
The sign said Wisdom God. A preacher was standing next to it.
“It is said that the soul card was created by a researcher who was blessed by the Wisdom God,” the preacher explained. “It was such a powerful blessing that even now we still don’t know how the card works. Unfortunately, the researcher passed away after he finished creating the soul card system.”
Hikaru had wondered how the cards were so futuristic. A Wisdom God Blessing was behind its creation. It all happened a long time ago, the preacher said.
Towering beside the Wisdom God was the Sun God, with the Martial Arts God next to it. A preacher was standing in front of each, but what caught Hikaru’s attention were the weapons carved beside the Martial Arts God: A sword, greatsword, short sword, short spear, long spear, bow, throwing knife, shield, and armor. Nine kinds.
They were exactly the same weapons under the Soul Board’s Weapon Mastery Skill Tree. This could not be a mere coincidence.
The preacher’s talk was mostly aimed towards practitioners of martial arts. To put it short, his message was along the lines of “If you put your heart into it, the Martial Arts God will be watching over you. So work hard.” Muscular soldiers and adventurers listened intently to his speech.
Hikaru didn’t get anything he wanted to know, so he waited until the preacher wasn’t too occupied before approaching him.
“Hello there, young man. Is there something you want to ask me?”
The preacher welcomed Hikaru with a big smile. It was apparent that not a lot of lanky boys came to visit the temple.
“I want to ask about the nine weapons,” Hikaru said.
The preacher gave a small laugh. “You want to know about the Nine Dogmas of the Martial Arts God? Tell me, young man. Which dogma are you studying?”
“Nine Dogmas?”
The preacher laughed again. “So we have to start from there. The Nine Dogmas refer to the nine weapons that the Martial Arts God prescribed after he mastered the art of fighting.”
“Prescribed? Prescribed that these nine weapons were the standard and the rest were unorthodox?”
“The other weapons were not really excluded, but they might as well have been. As you may already know, the martial arts schools in this town specialize in any of these nine weapons.”
“Right…”
“Here in Pond there are branches of the Raybrig Swordsmanship School, which the Sword Saint Lawrence attended, and the Celestial Spearmanship School, the best training institution for the long spear in the whole continent.
“Sword Saint? Is that a Blessing?”
“No. It’s what people call him. Mr. Lawrence’s skill with the greatsword is said to be unmatched in the whole continent.”
Hikaru changed his question. “What if you used a weapon that doesn’t belong to the nine kinds? Do you not get any Blessing at all? Like say, if your primary weapon is an axe.”
“A good question. While I have only limited knowledge, I have never heard of any Blessing related to weapons outside of the nine kinds being manifested.”
“I see. One last question, then. What basis did the Martial Arts God have in choosing those nine weapons?”
The preacher laughed once more. “There’s no rhyme or reason to what a god does. There’s only the outcome.”
That was quite deep, Hikaru thought.
Hikaru went around the whole place to find that only one or two-character gods were being worshiped in the temple.
There was a billboard that told how the world was created, but it was accompanied by a proviso that said there were various theories about it. As to this world’s underlying structure, there were only speculations.
But I’m pretty sure gods exist here. The Blessings are proof of that.
Hikaru learned that the Blessing shown on a guild card was the owner’s way of saying that they worshiped that particular god. It wasn’t that the card invoked the Blessing, but rather it was an instrument for the owner’s voice to reach the god. As a result, their abilities received a boost; in Hikaru’s case, his Stealth.
Gods, however, don’t have any will. They simply manage the world’s rules.
I’m really curious about the being—the god—who created this whole system.
Right when Hikaru turned to leave the temple, he overheard a conversation.
“Really? The case is settled?”
“Apparently. Which means we’re fired too.”
“This is ridiculous. They seriously call that an investigation?”
The two men were just leaving the temple. Their voices sounded familiar.
The knights on patrol at Count Morgstadt’s manor!
Hikaru ended up following them. He wanted to know what happened after that.
“The first to discover the body is the culprit? You can’t just jump to conclusions like that.”
“Keep it down, you idiot. Others might hear.”
“They’ll know soon anyway. They killed a big shot.”
Hikaru couldn’t believe his ears.
What? They caught the culprit? Judging by their conversation, I think they’re talking about Count Morgstadt’s murderer.
The actual culprit was right here.
Wait, did he say first to discover the body?
The first person to arrive after Morgstadt was killed…
That girl.
The pearly-skinned girl with the silver hair and blue eyes. Hikaru recalled how she looked incredibly thin. Maybe it was her nightclothes.
She’s being pinned for the murder? No way…
Hikaru’s knees went weak. The girl became his scapegoat.
What do I do? What do I do? Murderers probably get executed in this world.
The girl who helped him escape would be arrested and executed for a crime she did not commit.
This is unacceptable.
Hikaru made a decision.
I will save her.
NEXT CHAPTER
RELEASE RATE
Rule Breaker (Light Novel)
Speed up schedule by 10 hours
Current schedule: Every 70 hours
I do wonder if the catgirl was serious or not… That’s probably a tease, but still i’m curious as to how she’d react if he said “Then can you come with me tonight?” xD