「Wynies! Run!」
There was a fair amount of traffic going in and out of the territorial capital, and the people of the territory had become suspicious after noticing us, so Mishinie shouted.
Maybe this was a common occurrence here, because no one panicked too badly. The townspeople immediately ran straight for the city walls.
「Takato! They are coming!」
Ladarion casually had excellent eyesight. To me, they still looked like dots.
「Stop! Mishinie, protect Sierra! Roz, use the light. Blind the Wynies’ vision!」
If the Wynies recognized prey by sight, then a nine-thousand-lumen attack should work.
「Ladarion. If anything happens, return to your original form.」
I wanted to keep Ladarion being a giant hidden in Baron Meyer’s territory, but if lives were about to be lost, there was no room to hold back. Survive first.
「They are coming!」
They had to be able to see that we were on guard, yet they still charged in. Were they desperate for food, or simply vicious? Either way, random production showed no mercy.
One was diving toward us. No, there was another behind it. Were they planning to attack one after another?
Roz’s nine-thousand-lumen attack made the Wynies instantly veer away.
──Cheat Time, start!
I kicked off the ground hard and jumped. One strike into the torso of the Wynies that had turned away. I twisted my body and landed another strike on the head of the Wynies behind it. Then I fell with gravity, but I gathered water beneath me to soften the impact and landed safely.
…Good thing I had thought of a way to fight dragons…
The moment Cheat Time ended, the water burst apart, and I lost my balance and landed on my backside. Oww…
「Boss, you okay?」
「I am fine! What about the Wynies?」
「Mishinie-oneesan finished one off. Two of them ran away.」
Leaving their companions behind and fleeing. In the end, they were just beasts. Or dinosaurs? Well, if we drove them off, that was all that mattered. I still had more than two minutes of Cheat Time left too.
「Master. You need to dry yourself quickly.」
「This much is nothing.」
I gathered water into my palm and tossed it away. If it was only about a bucketful, I could control it freely now.
「Takato. Soldiers are coming.」
「I will handle them.」
Using the people skills? Or negotiation skills? she had picked up at the Adventurer’s Guild, Sierra smoothly talked the soldiers around. We kept the Wynies’ magic stones, and the rest was handed over to Baron Meyer’s territory, which settled the matter.
So I would not be meeting the baron after all. Well, someone of status would not meet an ordinary adventurer so quickly. I doubted the information would reach the top that fast either.
「Sierra, thanks. We avoided a hassle because of you.」
「I am glad I could be of help.」
Sierra laughed softly.
I should avoid arguing with this one. I could only see myself losing.
「Takato. Kainzel is here.」
Perhaps after hearing the commotion, Kainzel-san had come.
「Are you unharmed?」
「Yes, I am fine.」
「Good. First, let us move somewhere else.」
And with that, we entered the territorial capital. Because of the Wynies incident, the entry tax was waived.
The place Kainzel-san led us to was a high-class inn, and it felt like the whole place had been reserved for us.
「How did you manage to get such an expensive inn?」
「Winter is the slow season. I paid extra and rented the whole place.」
Well, we had local money. More than enough of it. Reserving the place would not hurt our finances, and I had already given Kainzel-san plenty of funds. We might as well make this our regular inn from now on.
We gathered in the dining hall for the moment and shared updates on our situations.
「You still run into trouble as often as ever.」
At Kainzel-san’s bitter smile, I shrugged.
「It must be the goddess’s curse.」
Otherwise, it would mean I simply had terrible luck. No, being chosen by the goddess already meant I had terrible luck…
「Is the magic stone shop still open?」
I wanted to leave again tomorrow morning. I needed to visit the magic stone shop today.
「Yes. It also takes contracts from the Adventurer’s Guild, so I hear it stays open late.」
Ohh. So the Adventurer’s Guild also outsources work. More importantly, why is there no Adventurer’s Guild here? Was it not something every place had?
There was no need for everyone to go, so only Kainzel-san and I decided to head there. The others could rest.
The territorial capital itself was small, about the size of Mars Town, so we reached Mysenz Magic Stone Shop in less than three minutes on foot. Or rather, after entering an alley-like passage, we found a row of small shops lined up in something like a side street market.
「I hear this place is controlled by a group called the Maiz Family.」
I would rather not get involved with any criminal organization.
Kainzel-san entered the alley without hesitation, so I had no choice but to follow.
It was still too early for drinking, so there were not many people passing through, and no rough-looking types around. Was this place really operating properly?
「Here it is.」
What Kainzel-san pointed at was a shop barely six tatami mats wide. A counter blocked nearly half the store, and beyond it were rows of colorful magic stones.
…There really are all kinds of magic stones…
Not just different colors, but different shapes and sizes too. Some were triangular and misshapen. Some were as large as a fist. In this world, maybe humans were more harmful than monsters.
「Welcome.」
An old woman who looked like a suspicious fortune teller appeared from somewhere and stood behind the counter.
She absolutely reeks of overcharging!
「Kainzel-san?」
「It is fine. Only her appearance is suspicious.」
Ah, so Kainzel-san thought she looked suspicious too. Glad it was not just me.
「Hihi. Sorry for looking suspicious. If you are here to sell magic stones, then hurry up and hand them over.」
Before I got cursed, I placed the leather bag full of magic stones on the counter.
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