It’s gotten long again, so it’s split into two parts.
“Welcome.”
The bell attached to the door jingled, and the middle-aged shopkeeper subtly frowned at the appearance of the customer who entered.
This was a town’s apothecary run by an alchemist. However, this apothecary didn’t just sell medicine to heal people’s injuries and illnesses; it also sold rat poison, agricultural chemicals to spread on fields, and alchemical materials for general alchemists.
The customer wore a thick, dark gray cloak that covered their entire body, and their face was hidden by a hood.
Occasionally, customers would come in to buy dangerous drugs or materials, and the shopkeeper thought this customer was one of those types. Even if they were suspicious, he didn’t discriminate against customers. Especially those who hid their faces, as they could be servants of nobles, and refusing them could lead to trouble later.
“Do you sell monster materials?”
“Of course, but… I don’t sell anything other than alchemical ingredients, you know? If you want something rare, go to the Adventurer’s Guild or the Merchant Guild.”
The customer, who sounded like a young woman or child, shook their head at the shopkeeper’s words and ordered materials that were common in this town, as well as materials that were rarely sold in this shop.
“Are you an alchemist? It’s quite an unusual combination, but could you tell me what you’re using it for?”
The shopkeeper took out the ordered items from the back of the shop, and, out of curiosity as a fellow alchemist, asked. As the customer, who had paid, was leaving the shop, they turned back slightly and opened their mouth.
“It’s just for ‘pest control’.”
It took about ten days to reach the County of Sentorea.
According to my “knowledge,” this is a town where the main road from the Royal Capital to the neighboring Duchy of Gordle passes through, and it seems to be a fairly large town, though not as big as Dandole.
Perhaps because it’s a town by the sea, there’s a faint, strange smell, but is this what my “knowledge” calls the smell of the tide?
Due to the training I underwent to get here, I hardly passed through any towns or even proper roads, so the travel clothes I had been wearing were almost rags.
I’ll enter the town from the slums side again, as usual, but I’ll be going out into the streets, so I’ll change into new clothes and use [Purify (Clean)] on myself.
While hiding my face with the hood of my cloak, I lightly surveyed the town, and using the materials I bought along the way, I spent time making medicine in the ruins of the slums until it got dark.
According to the information I gathered along the way, the dungeon in this town is a bug-type dungeon. If that’s the case, then this medicine I’m making should be “useful.”
After confirming that the sun had set, I headed to the main street that I had marked during the day. I looked around the night town, and before the “first bell” indicating midnight rang, I arrived at my destination.
The largest church in the town. I entered the empty confessional that was open all day, and waited patiently for that moment.
Goooon…
The clock tower rang the first bell, and at the same time, I confirmed the faint sound of the magic key unlocking. I opened the seat of the bench, which shouldn’t have opened, retrieved the bundle of documents stored inside, returned the seat, and left the church as it was.
There were still people in the taverns on the main street at this hour, but around the church, there was no one in sight. I gazed at the street where no one “should” be and let out a soft voice.
“Hmph…”
These documents contain information about the targets investigated by the contact in this area.
The latest date is two days ago, so it can be considered almost up-to-date information.
The target, the Thief group that hunts newbies, the ‘Blade Fang,’ uses a dungeon about half a day away from this town as their hunting ground, and they showed their faces at the Adventurer’s Guild here two days ago.
Their actions involve “working” on a weekly basis, spending four days in the dungeon, including travel, and resting for three days, during which they find their next prey.
Their prey consists of young people in their teens, no more than two, and they steal money and equipment from those who are well-dressed, and kidnap those who are good-looking to sell through the Guild.
However, even if they don’t find suitable prey, they don’t forcibly hunt random people. In that case, they act as normal adventurers to avoid being recognized as thieves.
Their reputation at the Adventurer’s Guild is extremely bad, but there is no evidence to punish them. Rather, they are suspected due to the self-inflicted misfortune of the newbies, and are sometimes sympathized with by the rougher adventurers, it says.
Due to their bad reputation at the Adventurer’s Guild, they may change their base, and prompt action is desired… I see.
The next morning, I went around the clothing store and the armor shop that had just opened to prepare the necessary equipment.
I tried to keep it as cheap as possible, but even though I knew about it from my “knowledge,” the actual shopping was different, and I ended up using almost all of the gold coin I had as an advance.
Well, half of the budget is for this “Staff for Mages,” so I’ll engrave in my heart not to lose it and sell it later. The other items are used clothes and secondhand goods, so I don’t care if they get dirty since they’ll be bought for a pittance anyway.
Most adventurers check for requests in the morning and then go on “adventures.”
However, only adventurers with “trust” can accept requests, and most adventurers head to the dungeon to obtain Magic Stones from monsters, but the basics should still be the same.
As I prepared and headed to the Adventurer’s Guild, I felt the same kind of gaze as before.
It didn’t change even after entering the Adventurer’s Guild. However, when I entered with Viro before, it felt like I would have been harassed if he hadn’t been there, but the gaze directed at me this time was a different “kind” than before.
I was stared at, but not harassed. I expected to be harassed to some extent, but should I have dressed more sloppily…?
But, now that I’ve attracted this much attention, I resigned myself to the fact that I can’t dress any other way. Just as the Guild staff began to suspect something, I was finally called out to.
“Hey, you, are you by any chance alone?”
When I turned away from the bulletin board at that frivolous voice, I saw that the ones who called out to me were boys in their mid-teens who looked like they had just come of age.
I had seen young adventurers hesitating to call out to me several times, but when I saw their faces, I sighed inwardly.
…A miss, huh?
“…I’m sorry. I must decline.”
As I lowered my head gracefully with the mannerisms I had been taught during my maid training, I could feel a slight gasp from the surroundings, not just from the boys.
This time, I’m “cross-dressing.” Originally, I’m a woman, so the expression “cross-dressing” might be strange, but this time I was dressed in a particularly feminine way.
I released the Gray Illusion and let my long hair down, and the pink hair flowed smoothly with every movement.
The clothing store lady, who had assured me that I looked like a petite 12-year-old if I kept quiet, was strangely enthusiastic about styling my hair and even applying light makeup, so I looked quite different from my usual self. I was wearing a deep green dress that cost one Silver Coin.
If I wore soft leather armor over that and carried a staff, I thought I would look like a ‘beginner Magician.’
The reason I was using the mannerisms I learned as a maid was to act like a naive young lady, but judging from the reaction around me, was I being a little too polite…?
Thinking that I had failed, I looked at the boys’ faces, and they were red-faced and pressing closer, as if they were offended.
“W-we’re just out of the village and looking for party members!”
“You’re a Magician, right? We’re the vanguard, so I think we’d make a good party!”
“I’ve been wondering how to approach you…”
“…………”
Their appearance reminded me of those boys who attacked me while I was bathing in the forest.
Am I going to crush them again…? As I narrowed my eyes for a moment thinking that, another voice called out from behind them.
“Hey, you brats! The young lady is troubled, isn’t she!”
The one who admonished the boys was a group of three adventurers in their mid-twenties.
One of them stepped between me and the boys, and the other two grabbed the boys’ shoulders and pulled them away from me.
The boy who had called out to me first was intimidated by the adventurers, who looked stronger than them, but still persisted.
“W-we’re properly trying to adventure…”
“Come on, don’t bother the girl in a weird way, go hunt rabbits outside!”
One of the adventurers glared at the boys and chased them away, and they muttered something but obediently left the Adventurer’s Guild.
After seeing them off, the short-haired man who had called out to me first gave me a reassuring smile and spoke to me with concern.
“Young lady, are you alright? It’s dangerous for someone like you to be alone.”
“But, I’ve already chased them away, so it’s okay.”
“Not all Adventurers are like that. They’re still young, so please forgive them.”
The remaining two men also wore excessively friendly smiles, using pleasant words while subtly trying to make me feel like being alone was a bad thing.
A short-haired man with a sword and shield.
A red-haired man with a Hand Axe and a bow.
A bald man with two daggers.
Their appearances matched the “information” I had heard.
…This time, it’s a “hit.”
“…Thank you very much.”
When I quietly lowered my head and put on a professional “smile” that I wasn’t very good at, they interpreted my attitude favorably.
“Are you nervous? It’s okay, you don’t have to be scared anymore.”
“But, those guys seemed really hung up on this young lady, is it really okay?”
“They might be lying in wait outside.”
One of them tried to reassure me, while the other two stirred up anxiety as if they were just chatting.
“Is that so…”
When I frowned slightly, thinking that would be really troublesome, the first man put on a refreshing smile and made a suggestion as if he had rehearsed it.
“If you’d like, how about we travel together for two or three days? Even just until we can confirm your safety.”
“Yeah, that’s a good idea.”
“We’d feel better too.”
The three of them smiled kindly, saying only things that were convenient for me. I pretended to think for a moment, then nodded slightly.
“…If it’s alright with you, could I ask you to?”
…Gotcha.
To be continued in the second half. Scheduled to update tomorrow.
We’re entering the Dungeon.