The desert town, Cutlass.
Located about half a day’s journey from the ancient city ruins “Lace Veil,” adjacent to the Desert of Death and the Lost Mountains, this town’s name is said to derive from the curved swords favored by the desert people. As the town’s name suggests, originating from a weapon, it is known as a lawless zone where only the strong profit, a place formed by adventurers and ruffians.
“It’s a shitty town with no order, but there are minimum rules. The Cruz people’s Killri Company, which handles food, and the dwarves’ Hoglos Company, which manages weapons and adventurers… both call themselves companies, but neither is a proper merchant house. And then there’s the Munza Society, composed of beastmen ruffians, and the Leesan Syndicate, which controls gambling and the red-light district, regardless of race. This town is mainly controlled by these four organizations.”
The bartender at the first tavern we found upon entering Cutlass Town said this with a bored expression, placing our meals on the counter where we were sitting. He’s a resident of this town, so I can’t trust him completely, but he’s not a bad person either. At least, he has enough common sense to tell us, knowing we’re Mersenian women, to leave the town before something terrible happens.
The meal that came out was a flatbread made from sorghum flour, like the naan in that woman’s “knowledge,” and a light green fruit juice. It’s called fruit juice, but it’s just the peeled and crushed leaves of a thick, thorny plant that grows in the desert, squeezed for its juice. The taste is slightly bitter with a faint sweetness, but it’s supposedly nutritious. I took a sip of the greenish juice, confirmed that the bread wasn’t poisoned, and nodded to Elena, who was sitting next to me, to let her know it was okay.
“So? Which one do you belong to?”
“None of them. If I had to say, the fifth power. In short, the drifters and poor people who don’t have the power to belong anywhere. This place is barely kept open just because there would be fewer places to drink if it closed down… How is it? This food is terrible, right?”
When the master called out to Elena, who was carrying a small piece of bread to her mouth, Elena smiled vaguely with just her mouth, while keeping her hood on.
“If you belong to the Killri Company, you can get decent food, but it’s ridiculously expensive, and if you run a store, you’ll be charged protection money. If you fall behind on payments, you’ll be stripped bare and turned into a labor slave in no time. The dwarves are relatively better, but they’ll crush anyone strong who isn’t a dwarf.”
The tavern master, who was initially frightened after I brutally killed the customer who had harassed us, now seemed calm, or perhaps resigned, and told us about the town. Apparently, he used to be an adventurer, but the Hoglos Company, which manages adventurers in place of the Adventurer’s Guild, took notice of him and crushed his leg. His adventurer companions at the time used [Cure], but they couldn’t completely heal him, and his path as an adventurer was cut off.
The customer I eliminated seemed to be a low-level member of the Leesan Syndicate, which controls the red-light district, but he was so insignificant that there would probably be no retaliation from the organization. The lower-ranked human adventurer who cleaned up the corpse seemed worried about a bill from the Hoglos Company, so I gave him a few silver coins, including a fee for information.
Perhaps pleased by this, or perhaps because there were no other customers and he was bored, the master gave us a warning as we were about to leave the tavern.
“I understand that you’re strong, but don’t stand out too much. Minor squabbles are commonplace, but if you mess with the executives of the organizations, they’ll crush you, even if you’re a woman, to save face.”
＊
“Elena, how was it?”
“Well… I didn’t sense any lies, at least. I wonder if he took a liking to you, Aria.”
Elena smiled slightly as we walked through the town after leaving the tavern. The reason she didn’t speak at the tavern was to avoid unnecessary inquiries due to the Claydale accent in our speech and Elena’s manner of speaking, but the main reason was that I had asked her, who was skilled at judging people, to scrutinize the information.
“It’s not a lie, but he’s holding back on information about the organizations… It feels like there are things he can’t say for his own safety. In any case, it’s dangerous to make decisions based on one person’s information, so let’s gather information from now on.”
“Understood.”
We, with our faces hidden by cloaks and hoods, were being watched to some extent, but no one bothered us because of it. In a town like this, there are suspicious people everywhere. Adventurers, drifters, no sane person would come to a place like this. If they did, it would only be criminals fleeing their countries or those with something to hide.
If you hide your whole body with a hood, accurate [Appraisal] becomes impossible, even if you are being watched. Perhaps that’s why I saw several people in town dressed like us.
We are heading to a relatively safe inn in this town. According to the master of that tavern, if you want to buy safety in this town, using an organization’s inn is the best option. Among them, the Killri Company, which handles food and daily necessities, won’t be hostile as long as you have money, and they have several inns used by merchants from the Calfaan Empire who visit this town.
When we entered one of those inns, the middle-aged woman at the reception desk gave us a suspicious look, but when I handed her a small gold coin, she instantly smiled and treated us like VIPs. The price for one night without meals was two silver coins per person. It was close to the price of a high-class inn in the Royal Capital, but the room we were shown to was like a room in the countryside that cost about five small silver coins per night.
For now, I paid for two nights with a small gold coin, and gave the remaining money to the middle-aged woman as a tip, both for two days’ worth of meals and as hush money. It costs money, but in order to restore Elena’s strength, we need a place where she can sleep safely.
“…Aria. Could this be turned into money?”
Once we were alone in the room, Elena said this and offered me a knife. It was the knife she had for self-defense. It was something a noble lady would carry, and Elena’s knife, being from royalty, had jewels embedded in it so that it could be exchanged for money in an emergency. I had heard before that it would be worth five large gold coins if sold at a reputable store, but I gently pushed the knife back to Elena.
“We’re not that desperate yet. I think we’ll need money, but for now, Elena, you keep it until it’s really important.”
“…I understand.”
Elena seemed to have realized the meaning of my vague words. If two drifter women were to cash in something so valuable, there was a risk that someone would take notice. If we were to use it, we would need a situation and an opponent where we could reveal Elena’s position to some extent.
Understanding this, Elena quietly nodded, clutching the knife tightly to her chest.
“Let’s decide on a plan first.”
The ultimate goal is Elena’s return, but first, we must inform the Kingdom of Claydale of Elena’s survival. At least within three months. I had decided to some extent on the way to this town, but I judged that borrowing a communication magic tool from the Adventurer’s Guild was impossible in this town. In the first place, communication magic tools are managed by the state in every country, so the possibility of a merchant house having one, let alone the Guild or a high-ranking noble family, is extremely low, and even if they did, there was a possibility that Elena’s identity would be revealed, and she would be kidnapped and used as a political tool.
I had also considered asking a merchant coming to this town from the Calfaan Empire to accompany us, but the merchants who come to this town, which is a month’s journey from the Calfaan Empire, are either affiliated with the Killri Company or the Hoglos Company, so we would need a considerable connection to accompany them.
We both agree that we want to keep Elena’s identity a secret until we reach the Calfaan Empire if possible. If we were to head to the Calfaan Empire while hiding Elena’s identity, I considered the option of working as escorts as adventurers, but if it takes a month each way, they would probably hire exclusive escorts.
Even if we were to go alone, the one-month journey each way would be a problem. There are no post towns along the way, and Elena’s stamina would not last if we tried to cross the rocky areas and deserts by ourselves. Elena’s stamina had decreased considerably even during these four days of travel. She shows a brave face in front of me, but she hasn’t been eating much these past few days, so I can’t let her overdo it.
“You should rest today. You haven’t been sleeping much, have you? Let’s think about it tomorrow.”
“…Yes.”
Elena seemed to feel the limit of her strength as well, and when I cast [Purify (Clean)] on her and the bed, she obediently sat down on it. Since she used to be a maid, I tried to help her change, but she refused, saying she would do it herself.
“Also, use this. It’s mine, so it’s not much, but it has some defensive power.”
“A, Aria’s things!?”
What I handed her was underwear. Gelf made thin tights and a garter belt out of mithril fiber, and I have five each of white and black bustiers made of the same mithril fiber, so I gave Elena the white ones, based on my own impressions.
But not only that, Elena was also frozen with a bright red face, holding up a small silk undergarment that tied at the sides, which she had also received from Gelf.
“I don’t think you’d want mine, but…”
“N-No, that’s not it! But…”
Come to think of it, this type of underwear originated in Dandole and hasn’t been widely accepted yet, except by female adventurers and some noblewomen. Elena, I believe, usually wears short drawers, so she might be resistant to this new style of underwear.
As I wondered what to do, I looked at her, and Elena repeatedly glanced between the underwear and me, her face flushed red to her ears, and muttered softly while looking down.
“…P-Please help me.”
“Understood.”
The next morning, we finished our meal of potato and bean stew brought by the inn’s waitress and headed to the Hoglos Company, where adventurers gathered.
The tavern master said it was “relatively better,” but we couldn’t let our guard down. Still, the reason we were going there was not only to earn money but also, and most importantly, to make a name for ourselves as adventurers.
To buy safety, you need power and money. But if anyone other than a dwarf shows power, they’ll be crushed by the Hoglos Company. If you still want to show power, you need a connection with the other Killri Company.
If we establish ourselves as powerful adventurers and become known at the Killri Company, we might have a chance to accompany them to the Calfaan Empire.
So, we decided to try and achieve that by making and selling potions. According to the inn’s waitress, whom we paid for information, daily necessities in this town are quite expensive. It’s difficult to gather materials in the desert, and the Killri Company brings the necessary potions from the Calfaan Empire, so ordinary people can’t even use them properly.
However, the handwritten book I received from my Dark Elf master, who lives in this region, contains the materials and methods for making uncommon potions found in this area, which I had also learned.
There are Dark Elves in this town who might be making them using those methods, but since some use monster materials, I don’t think there are any alchemists in a town like this who are better than my master.
We’ll take on requests as adventurers to avoid standing out and obtain money and materials.
We’ll create Superior Potions using monster materials, establish a connection with the Killri Company, and distribute them to the adventurers to make it impossible for them to lay a hand on us.
The problem is the two mafias, but we can’t predict how they’ll move in the current situation. A young Mersenian woman is already conspicuous, so there’s a risk of being targeted.
If those guys lay a hand on Elena in the worst-case scenario… I’ll crush them.
“But Aria… isn’t this not a place where adventurers gather?”
“Yeah. First, we’re going to get Elena’s equipment.”
The Hoglos Company acts as an Adventurer’s Guild, but it’s essentially a merchant.
The Hoglos Company handles all the weapons, armor, and iron products in this town, so weapons and armor are naturally sold in the company’s building.
The reason the dwarves of the Hoglos Company don’t recognize higher-ranking adventurers of other races is probably because it becomes difficult to monopolize materials when they’re around. Even for the exclusive dwarves of this land, business is business, and the store had a considerable selection of armor for humans.
Armor and weapons were lined up in a space about the size of a dance hall, but even a quick glance revealed that there were no weapons as good as those made by Galbas.
The dwarves here aren’t Rock Dwarves like Galbas and Gelf, who are skilled at forging, but Mountain Dwarves like Dolton, who are good at detailed work. Moreover, heavy weapons and armor aren’t favored due to the desert climate; lightweight equipment that allows for easy movement in the sand is the majority. But that’s just right for choosing Elena’s armor.
There wasn’t any armor better than Gelf’s, but I found a monster material robe and cloak, a bag and boots, and a steel Knife that seemed to suit Elena, and bought them for ten small gold coins.
Elena was reluctant to spend money in the current situation, but this is a necessary expense.
“Does it look good…?”
Elena, while still hesitant, spun around with a bouncy movement and a shy smile, showing off the “adventurer” equipment that she wouldn’t have had the chance to wear in her position as a Princess.
But, at that moment—
“Oh? A Mersenian girl. That’s rare.”
“…………”
When we turned around at the sound of that voice, there was a Cruz boy with a friendly smile, about the same age as us, and behind him, a slender Dark Elf boy was staring at us with a sharp gaze.
Aria and Elena decide to act as adventurers.
Who are the boys who appeared before them?
Next time, Two Boys
Aria and Elena challenge the ruins.