Chapter 4 - First Quest, a Merchant, and Panties
Gathering herbs is a tedious task. Clutching my guidebook, I mindlessly harvest the same old stuff. I’d returned to yesterday’s ambush site, guessing the attacked collectors had left some behind—and I hit the jackpot. They practically sprout everywhere. However, crouching while harvesting is hell on an old desk jockey like me.
"My back is killing me," I groaned, clutching my aching spot, when a sudden impact slammed into me. Before I could figure out what was happening, I was tackled and dove headfirst into the bushes.
"Huh?"
Sitting up, I barely dodged a jelly-like mass barreling straight for me. I drew my sword, bracing myself. A slime. A translucent, basketball-sized monster. The slime charged again. I swung my sword down, recoiling from the unexpected resistance.
"Tch!"
Bracing the hilt with my free hand, I thrust the blade into the slime. It dissolved into nothingness in an instant.
"My grip’s not good enough for a one-handed sword." I muttered to myself. Should I switch to a two-handed weapon or grind it out with a shield? Guess I’m visiting the weapons shop today. Lost in thought, I spotted a magic seed where the slime had vanished. I checked my surroundings—no one in sight.
"Woohoo! Jackpot!"
I bellowed in triumph.
After that, I encountered another slime. Defeated it, and another magic seed dropped. I got hooked on slime hunting. Yesterday’s vows of steady herb gathering were long forgotten. In the end, I killed about fifteen slimes and collected twelve magic seeds. My level shot up to 7. Grinning, I returned to town and headed to the guild.
"Quest herbs."
The same receptionist girl from yesterday accepted the herbs and paid me 15 silver coins.
"Can you exchange this?"
I tentatively offered one magic seed.
"T-This is a slime's magic seed! Rare!"
"Can you tell which monster they belong to?"
"Yes! Since the glow inside is light blue. Only slimes near town drop magic seeds that color. Light blue ones apparently increase HP."
"I see."
"We’ll offer you only 5 gold coins for it here, but if you take it to a trading company, they might buy it for over 1 large gold coin." The guild girl whispered her advice. One gold coin equaled 100 silver, while one large gold coin was worth 1,000 silver. I could barely contain my glee.
"If you give me just one gold coin from the profit, I’ll introduce you to a great merchant."
"Heh, don’t be evil. But if you introduce a girl even cuter than that one Mash was with yesterday, I’ll make it 2 gold coins—no, 3!"
I said on a whim.
"Hmm, unfortunately, none as cute as the girl Mash-san was with yesterday," she said unwillingly, blinking.
"I see."
"That’s right," she nodded glumly.
I went to the Mateo Trading Company and mentioned the guild girl’s introduction. A man calling himself Mateo greeted me. Mateo looked about my age but had the energy of a younger man. He led me to a private room, where plush sofas surrounded a high-class-looking desk.
"A new face."
Mateo, like the innkeeper and clothing shop clerk, seemed to handle customers with the same careful politeness as in my original world, unlike the guild staff. The guild girl was an exception—they probably treated nobles differently, but I preferred not having to be formal.
"Yeah, I arrived in town yesterday."
"Hmm? Are you the adventurer who cleared the goblin pack that's been causing trouble lately?"
A merchant through and through, he was well-informed.
"Probably the same one."
"I see, a skilled adventurer then."
"Rank F, though."
"No, your rank will rise quickly. No way a rank F could take down a goblin pack of ten."
More than that, I wanted to know about his relationship with the guild girl, but didn’t know how to steer the conversation. Losing interest, I showed him a magic seed and moved to business. Mateo held the magic seed up, casting an appraisal spell.
"About 15 gold coins right now." He said outright.
"Can you exchange it immediately?"
"Yes, of course."
"If I have one more..."
I took out another magic seed. Mateo momentarily widened his eyes but quickly composed himself.
"I’ll buy that for 15 gold coins as well." Apparently, having multiples didn’t increase the price.
"Then exchange that too."
Since pure gold coins weren’t practical, I exchanged some for silver and copper.
"By the way, does your company deal in slaves?"
Remembering the warrior slave Reed had, I asked.
"No, that’s outside our scope. But we can broker deals."
He leaned in, grinning slyly.
"There are many varieties. What kind of slaves are you looking for? We have three slaves working as servants in this trading company alone."
"Just curious. I know nothing about slaves, their prices, or how to buy them. Like, say... what about a female warrior? Preferably in her twenties."
He’d probably be stumped by that, but I wanted to gauge his reaction. Preferably the "Guh, let's end this!"-while-being-accosted-by-monsters type.
"Combat slaves, huh? One sold at auction the other day—a 20-year-old female warrior—went for 100 gold coins."
"Auctions, huh?"
"Yes, slaves are usually bought from slaver shops, but there are quarterly auctions open to anyone where they’re sometimes sold. That female warrior was bought after leaving behind a 'Guh!' and disappeared. If you aren’t picky about age or gender, you might find one for around 70 gold coins, but there’s no fun in that, right?"
Mateo grinned meaningfully. He saw right through me.
"100 gold coins is expensive. If they escape, it’s game over."
"Slave runes are carved into their arms. Slave runes can be activated to issue commands or inflict pain. Orders like 'suicide if you run' or 'suicide if you betray' prevent slaves from running or betraying you."
I wonder if a simple "obediently obey me" wouldn’t cut it? Seemed like there were limitations. Come to think of it, the slave Reed had also had runes carved on his arm. I’d thought it was just stylish ink.
"I see. What about mages? I want the 'strongest on Sunday mornings' girl type."
He already knew what I was thinking. I decided to be honest about my preferences.
"Mages are valuable because not just anyone can become one. You won’t find them at the slaver shops here. There’s a large city east of here, founded by adventurers. They were selling them for 250 gold coins there. A man, though."
"That’s out of my reach."
I accidentally misspoke after. He must’ve realized I had 100 gold coins on hand. Didn’t want to show my hand entirely.
"Oh, speaking of which, a platoon arrived in town a few days ago and is selling some dog-ear slaves. I don’t have any connections to broker that, but if you’re interested, you should check it out."
"Got it. Thanks for everything."
Unlike Mizuki, I couldn’t make friends through smooth-talking. Once I get used to this world and raise my adventurer rank, I might contract slaves to expand my party. I wrapped up our conversation and stood up.
"Ah, feel free to bring anything you want to sell. If you need any unique weapons or armor, just say the word. Even if we don’t have it in stock, I’ll order it."
We shook hands.
Back at the inn, Mizuki and the Wind Blade group had also returned from their dungeon exploration. They were eating on the first floor. I called out to them and then went to my room. I wanted to eat right away, but I didn’t know how to approach them. I gave it some time before heading to the dining hall.
"You’re still here?"
Only Mizuki was left.
"Is that bad?"
She sounded peeved. It was awkward, but avoiding her would make it even worse. I sat at the same table as her and started eating. Still bland.
"Here..."
"Huh? What is it?"
Mizuki handed me a cloth bag. I reached for it haphazardly, but she vehemently stopped me.
"Apology from yesterday. For the second punch."
"The second punch was after I cornered you for being a pervert. Don’t worry about it."
"I’m worried about it. But this is really just a trinket, okay?"
Mizuki’s face was bright red. I was ridiculously curious about the contents.
"Can I check it?"
"...Do it where no one can see."
I nodded and peeked inside stealthily. Light-blue panties and bra. Definitely the same ones she’d been wearing yesterday. I glimpsed the essence of rare item acquisition.
"O-Oh, oh oh oh!"
"Stop slobbering and put it away!"
"Mizuki..." Did she know what this was for when she gave it to me, including yesterday’s sailor uniform?
"W-What is it?"
"Let’s just forget everything that happened. I’ll make this my family heirloom. When I get back to my original world, I’ll donate it to the Louvre and make it a world treasure. And from now on, let’s get along."
"Got it, stop giving me that creep stare."
I got lightly roasted, but I couldn’t have cared less.
"Oh, and this too."
It was a tiny pouch. The opening was sewn shut, obscuring the contents.
"What’s this?"
"A charm. I don’t know if it works."
"A girl giving a deploying man something like that?"
"...Yeah." I said randomly, and Mizuki nodded.
"Whoa, too much. I didn’t ask for this. I’ll never return it, though."
"Mmph."
"You’re overdoing it. I never asked for this much."
Mizuki looked down sheepishly. I needed to get back to my room and consecrate my treasures, but I’d just said we’d get along, so I’d wait.
"Hey, Beers died today."
"Who’s that?"
"The warrior of Wind Blade."
"Oh, that slave?"
Mizuki nodded. That was his name, right? Did he die?
"I don’t know how he died, but this is that kind of world. Don’t let it get to you."
"Okay."
She’s surprisingly docile. Wait, does she smell like alcohol?
"Hey, you’re drinking alcohol, even though you’re a high schooler."
"Oops, is that bad? I didn’t think I drank that much, and it’s legal to drink at sixteen here."
Mizuki replied sheepishly. Did she only give me the panties and the charm because the alcohol made her bolder? I’d be told to return them when she sobered up. If she only gave presents because she was drunk, I should limit her alcohol.
"I want to stop you, but drink if you want. Just don’t drink to drown your sorrows. I’ll join you for fun-drunk nights and carry you home tipsy."
"Perv!"
Mizuki laughed weakly.
"But... okay. I’ll only drink when I’m having fun."