It didn’t take long to spot the Adventurer’s Guild building. For the record, that tall tower turned out to be a church.
「Didn’t expect it to be this impressive.」
It looked old, but the stonework was solid, and unlike most two-story buildings around, this one had three floors.
The entrance was wide open. Men carrying weapons were coming and going, but there were also regular townsfolk mixed in. So, it was a pretty open place.
After watching for a while, I realized the civilians were clients, and the ones without weapons were likely being taken to non-combat jobs.
「Feels more like a day-labor agency than an adventurer’s guild.」
Deciding it was fine to enter, I stepped inside. The hall was fairly spacious, and surprisingly crowded.
「Now then, where do I go?」
Gorg had told me the Adventurer’s Guild also buys things, including magic stones, so that’s why I came.
That useless goddess made it so I can understand the language, but not read the letters. She really doesn’t do her job properly, does she?
As I was looking around, a burly, armored man, easily two meters tall, walked in carrying a large sack stained red-black at the bottom. He headed straight for a counter and dumped it there.
「It’s Alzrise. A head of an Ogu* from the request, and its magic stone.」
TN: Changed from Ogre. Yeah, the bipedal bear-like creature from chapter 38. Who knows maybe there are properly spelled ogre here.
Well, that was good timing. So that counter’s where they handle purchases.
Still, did he take down an Ogu by himself? He certainly looked strong enough to, with that size and presence, but still, that’s monstrous. Even with a gun, I’m not sure I could handle something that big.
「That’s Alzrise the Ogu-Slayer.」
「Another Ogu hunt? Guy’s a damn monster.」
Yep, figures it takes a monster to kill another. Guess I’ll keep letting Ladarion do the dangerous work.
I’m just a humble goblin exterminator. Anything else I kill doesn’t make me a single coin, so I might as well let my pride get eaten by goblins.
Still, bringing an Ogu’s head inside like that… these people clearly have no sense of hygiene. Just how strong are their immune systems? I’ll wait until they clean up that counter before going over.
The Ogu’s head and magic stone filled two leather sacks. I couldn’t tell how much he earned, but I overheard that Ogu magic stones fetch two or three gold coins, so it looked like he got paid in silver. Makes sense, gold coins are harder to use for everyday stuff.
Once the so-called Ogu-Slayer Alzrise left and the counter was cleaned, I finally walked up.
「Excuse me. It’s my first time here, but is this where you do buybacks?」
At the counter stood an elderly man wearing a monocle over his right eye.
「You a foreigner?」
「Yes. I’m staying in Lasagna Village for now. Name’s Takato.」
He looked me up and down, his gaze sharp and appraising.
「If you’ve see something unpleasant, you might want to stop by the church next door for a prayer.」
If it’s that useless goddess’s shadow he’s talking about, please tell them Takato said ‘f’ you.
「Something unpleasant’s attached to me, huh?」
「Could be. You look like someone who’s been dragged from a peaceful life straight into a battlefield.」
「That’s… not far off the mark. Anyway, I’m here to sell something.」
I brushed off his words smoothly and brought the conversation right back to business. Impressive deflection skills.
I pulled out a towel-wrapped Ogu magic stone from my backpack and placed it on the counter.
「…Another Ogu magic stone? What happened?」
「If there’s any way to get one without fighting the damn things, I’d love to hear it.」
Don’t tell me people ‘steal’ them from those monsters. That’s just a good way to die.
「Jokes aside, my partner’s the one who took it down.」
「Where is he, then? Why didn’t he come?」
「If giants are allowed in here, I’ll bring him next time. But you’ll have to handle the complaints.」
Not that Ladarion would ever come here anyway. And honestly, talking to this curt old man isn’t exactly entertaining. In my book, “polite conversation” is for dealing with kids, not rude adults.
「A giant’s your partner, huh?」
「Yeah. More like family now, actually.」
When someone’s presence becomes that natural to you, they’re basically family.
「I see. If you’re getting along with a giant, that’s fine by me. For an Ogu magic stone, if it’s undamaged and full-sized, it’s worth two gold coins. Payment’s in silver.」
「Then that’ll do.」
I didn’t know the exact market rate anyway, so I’d just have to trust him. If he’s ripping me off, I’ll just take my business elsewhere next time.
「You an adventurer?」
「No, a goblin exterminator. If you’ve got any intel on goblins for sale, where they are, how many, what kinds, I’ll take it.」
「Wait… are you the one Mishinie mentioned?」
「Mishinie? Isn’t she in the town of Korel?」
Turns out this wasn’t Korel, it was another town under the Margrave’s domain, called ‘Koraus’. The locals just referred to it as “the city”. Korel’s apparently in the opposite direction from Lasagna Village.
「Her base is in Korel, but Mishinie’s a high-ranked adventurer. We call her here when there’s a big job to handle.」
So, she really was a strong adventurer, huh. Good thing I was polite with her.
「I see. I thought I might meet her if I came here, but maybe I’d be better off heading to Korel instead.」
「She’s a high-ranked adventurer. Even if you go there, there’s no guarantee you’ll meet her.」
So, she’s in demand. Well, it’s not like I ‘need’ to see her. If I happen to run into her someday, that’s enough.
「There are always goblin extermination requests posted. Want to join the guild?」
「No, I’m strictly a goblin exterminator. If you start pushing other jobs on me, that’ll just cause trouble. I’m not interested in joining.」
「Then register as a provisional adventurer. It’s a system for people without much skill, day laborers who handle smaller tasks. That includes chasing away goblins. If you kill one and bring back its left ear, we’ll exchange it for one small copper coin.」
「I heard goblin hunting doesn’t pay well, and yeah, for one small copper coin, I can see why no one’s motivated.」
「The Margrave’s subsidies only stretch so far. But if you’re actually hunting goblins, the guild will support you as much as we can. If the numbers grow too much, our own staff gets called out.」
「In that case, I’ll register as a provisional adventurer.」
Joining an organization’s a hassle, but if having the Adventurer Guild backing me makes extermination easier, it’s worth it. Especially when I need someone to handle the cleanup afterward.
…Yeah, I’ve been ‘intentionally’ avoiding thinking about what happens to the goblins afterward…
「That’s a big help. Sierra! Come here!」
When he called for someone named Sierra, a glamorous woman around thirty appeared. Quite the seductive one, too.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t interested, but to be honest, she’s not really my type. I prefer something a little more… moderate.
「He’s the man Mishinie mentioned. Register him as a provisional adventurer. I’ll leave the rest to you. The payment goes to your desk.」
With that, the monocled man left his seat.
Well, nothing to do but go along with it, I stepped up in front of Sierra.
「Nice to meet you. I’m Takato, a goblin exterminator by trade.」
「I’m Sierra, the receptionist. I’ll be your point of contact from now on, so let’s get along.」
Even though this world doesn’t seem to have a handshake custom, she suddenly took both my hands in hers.
…Wait. Is this some kind of charm tactic? Sorry to disappoint, but I’m no wizard, you won’t be casting ‘that’ spell on me.
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