We said our goodbyes to Rondario and the others and left the inn.
As always, the tax collector was waiting for us. Was I being taken advantage of?
「Good morning, mister!」
「Yeah. You are lively this early」
Her skin and hair looked shinier than before. Was this just growth?
「I am full of energy because I can eat every day thanks to your generosity! Thank you!」
No, she only ate for about two days with the toll money, right? Can someone change that fast? What was with kids in this world?
「I see. Well, we are heading home, so do your best starting tomorrow」
I took out three silver coins and put them in his box. It was a parting gift since we probably would not come back. He could survive on three silver coins.
「…………」
「From now on, tell adventurers welcome and have a safe trip. Even someone as clumsy as you can manage that. Charm is free. Fawn over adventurers who look like they have money」
Back in the days before the feminists went wild, that was normal. It was fine to use a girl’s charm. Men were stupid. Show some friendliness and they would probably drop a copper coin.
TN: So, I guess that confirmed(?) the gender? The kid has always been called in a gender neutral way.
「See you」
I said that and headed for the branch.
Inside the branch, the peak must have passed since there were not many people. When I spoke to the counter, Rusul came out right away.
「Can I talk with you for a moment?」
「Of course. We are just heading home today」
Without transportation, traveling took the whole day. We really should buy some kind of vehicle.
We were shown to the second floor, and today he served tea. It was not bad, but not good either. I could not tell what kind of tea it was.
「Thank you for your hard work with the goblin hunt. It seems you hunted quite a number. Even with our entire staff, we could not count them all」
「That only means there were that many. I am surprised there were no casualties」
「No, there were casualties. We just had no one willing to take the job, so we were at a standstill. We can only thank you and Ladarion」
With that many goblins, they would not have been at a standstill. They would have been trapped.
「It is not much, but this is the reward for the goblin hunt」
He handed me three silver coins and a few dozen copper coins.
「The goblin ears are Rondario’s party’s reward, correct?」
The ones who delivered them were the boys, so I thought they would get the bonus.
「This is the reward from Buzz Village. I already received the report from Bais」
Ah, Buzz Village. I completely forgot.
「If that is the case, I will accept it」
We needed money for inns anyway. Better to take what we could.
「You are heading home now, correct?」
「Yes. We work five or six days, then take about two days off」
The body needed rest, but the mind needed it even more or it would wear down.
「If you are going to Lasagna Village, it is faster to head to the town first and take the carriage bound for Misrim. The carriage will depart in front of the branch soon」
I see. I would choose a vehicle after returning to Lasagna Village. I already had a few candidates in mind.
We accepted Rusul’s suggestion and decided to return by carriage.
He guided us to the stopping point. The carriage, more like a covered wagon, was already waiting and a fair number of people were boarding to head to town.
Just like before, travel between the town and the city seemed quite active.
「Give this to the guild master. I believe you will receive a reward there as well」
When I boarded the carriage, he handed me a rolled piece of parchment.
「A reward? Would that not be double payment?」
「You are treated as affiliated with the guild headquarters. It would be proper for them to pay the request fee, but handling hundreds of ears would be troublesome. Buzz Village’s reward came from Mars Town’s budget, and yesterday’s is to be paid by headquarters. I explained that in the letter」
「I see. Understood」
I did not know the details of the system, but if they said they would pay, then fine. I said goodbye to Rusul.
As the carriage departed, the tax collector ran over and waved with a smile.
「Goodbye, mister!」
What was this, the final episode? I waved back lightly.
The carriage left town and traveled through the pastureland.
If the road had been better, I could have enjoyed the peaceful scenery, but the road was terrible so there was nothing to enjoy. I needed a vehicle that could handle this kind of terrain.
I rarely got motion sickness, but my backside was starting to hurt. Riding for ten kilometers like this was torture.
Around ten, we reached the crossroads leading to Buzz Village.
The goblins hiding in the ruins were still the same.
I could feel hundreds of them lurking in the ruins on both sides. We would need to come back and clear them out someday. Having goblins between a city and a town was a bad idea.
Before my backside went numb, the city finally came into view. Ah, time to put on the mask.
We passed through the city gate. I thought the carriage would take us all the way to the Adventurers Guild, but it stopped where many other carriages were parked and people began getting off. So, this was the final stop.
We had no choice but to get off as well and start walking toward the guild.
Between the third and second gates, you could walk along the main street in a loop, so it was impossible to get lost.
「Brother!」
As we walked through the stench, a homeless old man stepped in front of us.
「Ah, the old man from before. I’m surprised you recognized me」
Even though I was wearing a mask.
「There aren’t many folks wearing a grass-colored hat and hiding their face with a black cloth」
Ah… right. That was true. And this time I had not even put on the poncho.
「Have you been well?」
「Yeah. I stayed alive because you said you would treat me to some good liquor」
Right, I did promise that. Completely forgot.
「Then how about over there? We wanted a break anyway」
I invited him to an open café and handed the waitress a few copper coins to order wine and snacks.
「Is it really alright? Inviting someone like me?」
「It’s fine. If you feel bad, then tell me about the city. If you have lived this long, you must know it well」
In a place where the average lifespan seemed short, he looked to be over sixty. Calling him a living record would not be wrong. He was perfect for gathering information.
The wine and snacks arrived quickly. I filled the old man’s cup.
「This is the advance payment. If you teach us something useful, I’ll give you a drink that makes this taste like muddy water」
I had no intention of drinking, so I pulled a canned coffee from the apport pouch, opened it, and raised it. Ladarion ignored us and took out fruit juice from his backpack.
「Heh. You’re an amusing young man」
The old man lifted his cup, and we made a toast.
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