“Wow! With this much, I won’t have to worry for a while!”
I showed Pablo the large container filled with water, and he cheerfully carried it deeper into the establishment with the other staff.
“Hmm, but she’s such a powerful girl. I can’t believe she’s only D-rank.”
“Ah, thank you.”
Pablo circled around me, his gaze sweeping from my head to my toes. Feeling embarrassed, I stepped out of his orbit.
“I’ll make sure to add a nice bonus to your reward. By the way, have you two eaten yet? You should definitely have a meal here—it’s on the house!”
My stomach grumbled at the thought, and I jumped at the opportunity. Roel hesitated a bit, but it seemed her hunger won out in the end. I ordered the fried chicken lunch, while Roel opted for Gyudon. Contrary to her appearance, Roel had quite the appetite. Despite her initial reluctance, she polished off not only the Gyudon but also a sandwich and some pasta. Even Pablo was taken aback by her voraciousness.
Gyudon was a dish from a distant island nation. Pablo proudly boasted about how the restaurant covered a wide range of cuisines from various countries.
“That was delicious, thank you for the meal.”
“I’m sorry… I just couldn’t help myself.”
Roel apologized for overeating without lifting her gaze. In front of her was a pristine bowl with not a single grain of rice left, and her plate was nearly devoid of sauce.
“It’s fine, it’s fine! A promising Adventurer needs to eat well to gain strength!”
“Speaking of which, Pablo, we fought a Cobra monster in that cave. Was that a Floor Monster? I mean, with something like that around, it must be dangerous, right?”
“Cobra?”
Pablo looked puzzled, crossing his arms.
“I’ve had various Adventurers take on that request for years, but I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
“Really? Then it must have been something else… Where did that monster come from?”
“You two defeated it, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh, I completely overlooked that! If there’s something like that, I need to request C-rank or higher Adventurers from now on… No, B-rank at the very least. But that means more expenses…”
As Pablo muttered to himself, he continued to pace with his arms crossed.
“But to think you two could take down something like that—impressive! I like you both. That’s why…”
He paused and looked at us with a serious expression.
“Don’t die. I’ve seen many Adventurers come and go. I don’t want to see someone who was laughing and drinking here one day become a memory the next.”
Pablo spoke with a bitter expression, but he sent us off with a smile as we left. Outside, the sun was nearly set. Our reward was 600G. It was supposed to be 300G, but it seemed he really did add a bonus. When Roel measured her level with the Guild’s iron box, she emerged with a small fist pump.
“My level jumped to 5!”
“That’s amazing! But why did it go up by two? I was the one who defeated the monsters.”
Maybe it was because of that Cobra? No, that couldn’t be it.
“You guys are in a party, right? That means you’re gaining experience together, so it’s fine if one of you defeats a monster.”
Ord emerged from the neighboring iron box. I didn’t particularly like him. During the last rescue, he hadn’t done anything and had even caused trouble. I wondered if he was reflecting on how he would have died without Gantetsu and me.
“Of course, the efficiency drops compared to when you gain experience alone. That’s why I’m solo.”
I couldn’t help but think that it was simply because no one wanted to team up with him.
“By the way, you said your level is now 5? I’ve been working hard since then, and I’m finally at 6.”
“Ahaha, you’re higher than me!”
Roel joked, but I didn’t want to encourage someone like him.
“Well, you’re almost at C-rank. Keep it up!”
With that, Ord left the room. I didn’t like him, but at least I gained some useful information.
///
Once I returned to my room, I immediately started studying.
“Um, this is ‘ro,’ right?”
“That’s right, ‘ro’ from Roel.”
I began to learn to read and write little by little, and Roel was incredibly helpful as she taught me gently. But whenever I made a mistake…
“Meh! ‘E’ is this one!”
I seemed to struggle with studying. It was common for me to feel sleepy within five minutes. Each time, Roel would scold me with a “meh.”
“Roel, I don’t think I can do this…”
“Don’t worry, it’s much easier than defeating a Poison Salamander.”
She probably meant to encourage me, but it didn’t help at all. The drowsiness that came over me was far more formidable than any monster.
Before I knew it, it was already deep into the night. It was time for a bath, but first, I wanted a drink to enjoy after my bath. I remembered there was a vending machine nearby that dispensed drinks when you inserted money. Roel had told me that both the level-measuring machine at the Guild and these machines were made in a country called Metallica. Apparently, in that country, mechanical vehicles could even fly through the sky. I wanted to visit one day, but it was so far away, and I didn’t have any money.
As I stepped outside, a refreshing night breeze greeted me. The buildings along the street had sparse lights flickering on and off. I wondered what everyone was doing to pass the time.
“I think it was around here… found it!”
I quickly took out some money and selected a drink. First, I grabbed the apple juice Roel had asked for…
Suddenly, I noticed someone crouched next to the vending machine.
“Um…”
I called out, but there was no response. Were they sleeping? I reached out to shake them awake. In that instant, the person lifted their face and lunged at my arm, trying to bite me. I barely managed to back away in time, but they lunged again, determined not to let me escape.
No, this wasn’t a person. Covered in fur, I hadn’t noticed while they were crouched, but they were at least four heads taller than me.
【Mysterious Monster appeared! HP 445】
Long fangs protruded from its mouth, and its round eyes were bloodshot.
“Oo… Oooooo…!”
Letting out a growl, the monster swung its long arms at me, relentlessly pursuing me. It leaped into the air, kicking off the building’s wall to launch a surprise attack from the left. I stepped back to dodge, but the monster immediately followed up with a spinning kick from its left leg.
Its swift movements made it clear that even if it missed me, it would seamlessly transition to its next attack. Why was such a monster in the town? I couldn’t find an answer to that, so I decided to take it down. It would be a disaster if this caused a commotion.
I didn’t have a weapon, but I had no choice. The moment the monster thrust its arm out to attack, I grabbed it and punched its stomach with my right hand.
The monster’s body tore apart.
【Rua’s attack! Dealt 3529 damage to the Mysterious Monster!
Defeated the Mysterious Monster! HP 0/445】
As I gazed at the lifeless monster that had collapsed to the ground, I noticed several shadows rushing toward me from a distance. Three men approached, all clad in armor and armed. One of them compared the monster’s corpse to me.
“Could it be that you took this thing down?”
He had short, cropped blonde hair and a long face with slanted eyes. He squinted at me.
When I quietly nodded, the other two quickly wrapped the monster’s body in cloth or something similar.
“Unarmed… really? I can’t believe it…”
Just as I was about to ask something, the man pressed something into my hand.
“Forget what you saw tonight.”
With that, the three of them vanished into the night. Of course, the monster’s corpse was gone as well. Confused, I looked at my hand and found 1000 gold coins clenched in my fist.
Monster Compendium
【Gluttonous Great Cobra】
Though it has no poison, it is a ferocious cobra capable of swallowing even adults whole. Its swift and flexible movements cannot be caught by inexperienced Adventurers who have just begun to get accustomed to battle. Its constricting power is so strong that it can crush logs.