After exterminating thirteen goblins, it was noon, so I made sure no one was around before returning to the Sefuti Home.
「Ladarion isn’t back yet, huh.」
The clock showed 11:49. Looks like he’s still on the road until noon.
For lunch today, I bought six servings each of the A, B, and C set meals from the company cafeteria.
If I keep eating delicious food all the time, my diet will get unbalanced, so I decided to go with cafeteria meals for lunch.
「Providing meals like this for just 400 yen each… that’s impressive.」
I appreciate that kind of corporate effort.
I was taking a bottle of barley tea out of the fridge when Ladarion returned.
「Good work. Go wash your hands first.」
I placed his apple juice on the table, and once we’d both washed up, we began eating. For the record, I only took the B and C sets, everything else was Ladarion’s.
After lunch, we rested while spreading out a map to confirm each other’s locations.
「I’m heading into town to do some shopping, so I might not reach Lasagna Village until night.」
「I’ll probably be there around 3.」
We shared notes on our surroundings, and when one o’clock came around, we started getting ready.
Since I was already close to town, I only carried what I needed on my belt, but just in case, I also stored a Glock in both my shoulder holster and backpack.
「Right… I totally forgot it’s summer.」
To hide my gear, I’d put on a light poncho, but the difference in temperature between the mountains and the plains was huge. Should’ve left the jacket behind.
Now that more people were traveling the road, I took off the jacket and stuffed it into my backpack. I really need to think more carefully about my urban outfit choices.
I cooled myself off under the poncho with the replenished cold spray as I followed the road, until a massive city wall came into view.
「Way bigger than I imagined.」
According to Gorg, the city was protected by triple walls, and it was quite spacious inside.
「It’s like a real-life ‘Attack on Tit@n’.」
Since the giants built it, the walls were around seven or eight meters tall, and in the distance, I could see giants doing maintenance work. Honestly, this really was a fantasy world.
The area around the walls served as a buffer zone, and there were some kind of thorny plants growing there.
「Do monsters attack in groups or something?」
Goblins gather in packs quickly, and I guess other monsters do too. This world is unpleasant.
Before long we came to a gate wide enough for even a giant to pass through.
There were guards posted at the gate, but they weren’t collecting tolls. They were just there to watch.
You pay to enter through the second gate, where first-class citizens live. If you pay the civic tax you can live there, but it costs about three gold coins a year, around 300,000 yen.
By the way, outside the second gate up to the third wall there is no tax, but there are no utilities and it’s filthy. The villagers said it’s not a place suitable for people to live.
When I passed through the gate a sour stench hit me.
…This is rough…
I pulled a mask from my cargo pocket and covered my nose and mouth. It didn’t block the smell completely, but it was better than breathing the air directly.
The second wall was three to four hundred meters away. Brick and wooden houses were built haphazardly, and the ground was muddy. Horse droppings were scattered everywhere. If this were as humid as a Japanese summer, I’d head straight out of here.
I regretted coming in, but I went with the flow of people and walked around.
There were a lot of stalls and the market seemed lively.
They sold vegetables, meat, clothes, and all sorts of things, but nothing I really wanted. Shopping isn’t a hobby of mine, so I just browsed and moved on.
I got a bit tired, so I sat at an open café, well, I imagined it was an open café, and ordered a bottle of wine. Three copper coins per bottle.
「No wonder Mishinie and Gorg are happy with wine that costs five hundred yen.」
Three copper coins felt expensive for the taste.
「Here, old man, this one’s on me.」
It was undrinkable for a second glass, so I handed the bottle to an old beggar sitting by the road.
「Are you sure?」
「It’s fine. Just return the bottle when you’re done.」
I dropped a copper coin onto the plate on the ground too. A little share of happiness for someone worse off than me.
「If we meet again, I’ll get you a better bottle. Hang on until then.」
It would be a real laugh if I died before that.
After saying goodbye to the old man, I followed the crowd and walked down the stall street. I soon found the bladesmith I was looking for.
「I’ll take a look.」
The stall owner had one leg missing and an eyepatch over his left eye.
「Hey there, have a look. They’re not masterpieces, but they’re all worth the price.」
He looked rough, but his tone was light, and his sales talk had a charm to it.
「I’d like three knives for carving wood, one hatchet, and a whetstone if you’ve got one. Something around five silver coins’ worth. Oh, and if the knives come with sheaths, that’d help.」
「Now that’s a fine customer. You from another country, mister?」
「Yeah. I’ve been wandering so long I’ve forgotten which country I started from. I’m living in the giants’ village now.」
「Then that means either Lasagna Village or Roast Village.」
Roast Village… what kind of name is that? Who comes up with these?
「Lasagna Village. I owe them, so I thought I’d bring back some gifts. The man’s big with large hands, so make sure the handles are big too.」
「Then this one, this one, and this. I don’t have full axes, but I do have hand axes. This one here’s a good pick.」
I couldn’t tell good from bad anyway, so I decided to go with his recommendation.
「If they work well, I’ll come buy again. You always set up shop around here?」
「Not always, but usually in this area. If you like what you got, go to the ‘Biles Weapon Shop’. Tell them Gaz sent you, and they’ll give you a small discount. They’ve got real axes there too.」
「Biles Weapon Shop, Gaz. Got it. I’m Takato, remember me.」
「Takato, huh. Of course, I never forget a good customer’s name.」
I put the sheathed knives into my backpack and tied the hand axe to it with a cord.
「By the way, is the Adventurer’s Guild nearby?」
「It’s over by that tall tower. You an adventurer, Takato?」
「Nah, just a humble goblin exterminator. See you around.」
With that, I started walking toward the tower.
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