Volume 3 Chapter 3 Part 7
「Instant ramen, energy bars, the headlight, a change of clothes…」
Ayame: 『I’m also wearing the stockings that you liked so much (* ´ Д ` *)』
「I’m telling you, it’s not that I liked them- it’s because they have high [Defence]!」
Though I did like them. A lot, actually.
「Alright, first, we’ll be heading to the Adventurer’s Guild. Don’t push yourself. And if there’s anything dangerous whatsoever, run away as fast as you can.」
Ayame: 『‵(* ´ Ɐ ` )ﾉ *wahoo!*』
I glanced at Tateishi, wondering if this was really going to work out, only to be greeted by her usual, cold stare.
I wonder how she was feeling. Excited? Calm?
「Well, whatever. Let’s go.」
I grabbed a key and opened the front door.
Stepping outside, I found myself in a room built from stone, much like the dungeon. However, this room resembled a warehouse where various pieces of equipment were stored.
In other words, we were currently in a room on the first floor of the dungeon in an area controlled by the Thieves’ Guild. It was the room with the iron door that I’d investigated last time.
A pile of equipment was strategically placed near the door to my apartment.
That way, the guard wouldn’t be able see us come through the stone wall.
「Hello~!」
「Hrgh!?」
Apparently, the guard had fallen asleep. In order to not be mistaken for an enemy, I spoke the password preemptively.
「Steal it from the fat pig.」
「Y-you’re… Tooru, right? Miss Noela told us about you. Where did you even come from? Although, I guess I’m not supposed to ask about that.」
It seemed as if Noela had pulled some strings for us.
「And who’s that girl with you? She doesn’t look like Ria or Deet.」
Since the Adventurer’s Guild was officially in charge of the dungeon, many of the residents on the dungeon’s first floor had close connections to the guild.
Since Ria and Deet were both famous in the Adventurer’s Guild, it wasn’t surprising that the guard knew what they looked like.
「This is my friend.」
「Hmm. I see. Alright, that’s fine. Say hi to Noela for me.」
I’d been planning on meeting either Miri or Noela regardless.
As we made to head outside, the guard stopped us, handing us two hoods.
「This area is the Thieves’ Guild’s territory, so put this on before you go.」
「T-thank you very much.」
We left the building and stepped out into the streets. In place of streetlights, magical stones illuminated the area. Paired with the loud, vulgar people bustling about, the whole place resembled a downtown area.
When I examined the crowd using my appraisal skill, I noticed that most of them were below level 10. Which (thankfully) meant that if I ever got into a fight with them, I’d easily win.
Besides, I was currently wearing a Thieves’ Guild hood, so I doubt anyone would want to pick a fight with me.
For now, we were probably safe. But for Tateishi, who’d never been here before, this might be a frightening experience.
「How are you feeling? Scared?」
「…」
No response. Her expression was as cold as ever. Which probably meant that she was indeed scared. Despite her poker face, I thought I saw a sliver of distress flash across her eyes.
But unexpectedly, Tateishi’s eyes snapped wide-open, as if she had suddenly thought of something.
She grabbed her phone out of her pocket and began typing. Ever the keyboard warrior, her fingers sped across the screen. When she finished, she shoved the phone in front of my face.
Ayame: 『This hood smells! ° ﾟ(ﾟ´ Д ` ﾟ)ﾟ°』
She certainly wasn’t wrong. The hood smelled like a sweaty piece of used kendo equipment.
Apparently, there wasn’t an internet connection here, so Tateishi couldn’t communicate with me through LIME messaging.
「Are you scared?」
Ayame: 『Hell no! You’re with me, and also, I was born in a temple, so there’s no way I’d be scared ( ´ Ɐ ` *) *ufufu*』
I didn’t exactly see the connection between being temple-born and not being scared.
Eventually, we arrived at the headquarters of the Thieves’ Guild.
Noela, who managed most of logistics at the Thieves’ Guild HQ, welcomed us in the lobby. Miri, though she hid her true identity, was still the leader of the guild and was apparently occupied with some pressing matters at the moment.
It seemed that the situation with the Bodyguards’ Guild was quite serious.
Perhaps hoping for a breakthrough from the deadlock, Noela asked about my redevelopment plan.
「I see. So this type of operation is often executed in Japan, you say? We can offer you a detailed map of the first floor, so would it be possible for you to assist us?」
「Sure. I’ll do as much as I can.」
In the middle of our conversation, I abruptly found myself staring at a phone screen.
Ayame: 『Tooru, you’re so cool! You’re such a reliable guy (* ´ ー ` *) *spellbound*』
I was rapidly growing tired of the kaomojis, but this was a problem that would be resolved by the end of the day.
We headed towards the secret entrance leading to the surface that only the Thieves’ Guild knew about.
As we passed through the gateway, we were greeted by a mountain covered in greenery. As I took off my hood, I felt a cool, pleasant breeze blow across my face.
Ayame: 『Wow~ it’s so pretty Σ( °Ɐ° )』
「That over there is Yomi Town, though it’s real name is the town of Herakleon. That’s where we’re going now.」
After a short walk, we arrived at Herakleon.
Ayame: 『Over there! Are those blue-haired people? A-and, there! Lizards walking on two feet Σ ‵(´ Д ` ;)ﾉ』
Every time Tateishi saw something new or exciting, my eyes would be entirely obstructed by a glowing phone screen.
But this too would soon be resolved.
Ayame: 『Wahoo! Visiting the other world with Tooru is amaaazing! ☆fun!(p°• Ɐ •q)(p • Ɐ •° q)fun!☆』
Her fingers abruptly froze in place.
The reason? Only a sliver remained on her phone battery. This was something I had been paying attention to for a long time now.
Tateishi collapsed to the ground, on her hands and knees. A pitiful state, but I wasn’t about to tell her that I’d packed a power bank.
Besides, there was no need to worry. Because right in front of us was the huge temple, towering above.
♦︎ ♦︎ ♦︎
「W-what did they mean by ‘lingua franca’…」
「If you pay two gold coins to the temple, they give you the skill. It’s a telepathy skill.」
「Does this lingua franca come with kaomojis…?」
「Do you really like kaomojis that much? With this, you can communicate fluently without using your smartphone, you know.」
Up to this point, Tateishi’s vocabulary only consisted of ‘yes,’ ‘no,’ and very short sentences. With her newly-received telepathy, she’d be able to use much longer phrases and sentences.
「If I don’t use kaomojis, people will mistake me for being cold or scared.」
「It’s fine. I already know that you’re nothing like that. You’re much more girly than you let on.」
「Uwaaa, T-Tooru…」
For a moment, I thought Tateishi was about to break into tears, but when I glanced at her, I saw her face contorted into an angry expression.
We were carrying a lot of luggage on us, so I decided to drop by an inn.
At the reception, the reception lady asked what type of room we’d like. In other words, two separate rooms, or share a room.
I’d been considering taking up requests at the Adventurer’s Guild to earn some small pocket change, but for the time being, all I had was the money from Deet. I needed to cut costs wherever I could.
「T-Tateishi. Is it okay if we get one room, like, share one room?」
A huge scowl was written all over Tateishi’s face.
Maybe she really wanted her kaomojis back.
「Tooru, I don’t mind a double room.」
「A-ah, I apologize! A twin room, please!」
In the end, I asked for a twin room (a room with two beds) as opposed to a double room (a room with one large bed).
i couldn’t imagine a colder stare from Tateishi. What did she even want?
After depositing our luggage, we made for the Adventurer’s Guild. Soon, we arrived at a stone building, the inside of which was the very image of a bar.
「Tooru. You’re not planning to get me, a high school student, drunk, then bring me back to that inn and have your way with me, are you?」
「N-not at all. This is the Adventurer’s Guild, that’s all.」
Tateishi’s unwavering eyes somehow grew even colder.
If she had battery left, Tateishi would probably send me some ‘just kidding!’ kaomoji. Though her body language gave off a very different emotion.
Under the watchful eyes of Tateishi, I timidly entered the Adventurer’s Guild.
「For now, let’s find a place to sit and order something to drink. All that walking made me thirsty.」
We chose a spot and placed our order.
The waiter returned with two full glasses and a bowl filled with something that resembled nuts.
「So you are planning on getting me drunk after all…」
「Just try it.」
It was just water. In the other world, even water costs money.
「This is just water, isn’t it.」
It seemed like no matter what I did, the only Tateishi did was scowl at me.
Which one do you want then? I wanted to ask. Alcoholic or non-alcoholic?
Kaomojis really were necessary.
As we sat there, we were approached by an adventurer.
Which wasn’t unexpected. First of all, I was level 17, which, objectively speaking, was really strong. And secondly, less than a handful of adventurer had the priest [Occupation] like Tateishi.
「I know it’s rude, but I appraised you two. A level 17 and a priest, right? I’m going to hunt strong demons, so please join my party. Uh…」
Today, the solo magic user Deet, with her signature ‘If you approach me, I’ll kill you’ look, wasn’t with us.
On the other hand, Tateishi was emanating an aura that would easily give Deet for a run for her money.
The adventurer, who resembled a knight, hastily backed off in fear. 「I-I’m sorry…」he stammered before leaving.
「Tooru, weren’t you going to search for a profitable job?」
Well, yeah, but. Adventurers continued to approach our table, only to be driven off by Tateishi’s death stare each time. I suppose at this rate, Tateishi would probably do just fine if I left her alone. Leaving her at the table, I went over to the bulletin board.
As I suspected, the request for Enami’s capture was still posted on the board. Despite the higher reward, no one had completed it yet…
What in the world was I going to do…
As I stood thinking, I noticed an argument breaking out between the reception lady and an adventurer.
Upon closer inspection, I saw that it was Marron from back then. She’d been the only person who had invited me to her party when I was still low level. She herself was a level 5 hunter.
Actually, I’d been searching for her. When she’d invited me to her party, she’d mentioned gathering medicinal herbs on the dungeon’s second floor.
For beginners like me and Tateishi, that seemed like the perfect quest.
「That’s a quite a bit of money for a death grizzly… but on the other hand, it’d take a while for the Francis armed forces or a nobleman’s private army to move out.」The receptionist said calmly.
「It’s terrorizing the village and that’s all you can offer?」
「Perhaps some adventurers around here would be willing to help. Though the chances of that aren’t high.」
I wasn’t exactly sure what they were arguing about, but it sounded bothersome. The other adventurers, likely thinking along the same lines, averted their eyes, pretending to be minding their own business. I wondered if now would be a good time to run away.
But before I could take action, I heard a voice call out.
「Y-you! You were with Deet that time, weren’t you!」
Ah, crap. I accidentally met her eyes. Fleeing was no longer an option.
「W-well, Deet is strong, but I’m just a beginner so…」
「A-amazing. You were level 10 last time, but now you’re already 17? What kind of extreme fighting did you go through…」
Well, I shut myself in my room and clicked a mouse.
「I’m begging you! Please save my village.」
「Ehhhh?」
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