kscans

Chapter 3 - Buying Clothes in Town, the Guild, and a Parting of Ways

Richel was a city with a medieval European townscape.

It was protected by an outer wall, and entry was restricted to a few gates.

Mizuki and I, having safely reached the city, were in a clothing store.

We decided to start by fitting in with the world, appearances-wise.

The people of the city dressed more modernly than I had expected, but a suit and a sailor uniform stuck out like sore thumbs.

The shop was a recommendation from Aira, the busty priestess.

"I have no idea what to wear."

The climate here seems to have a temperature difference between summer and winter, but it's generally mild and pleasant.

Right now, it's spring. I randomly picked out a plain-looking cut-and-sew shirt and some long john-like pants.

"Don't dress so embarrassingly! We're going on an adventure."

Apparently, my weekend style was embarrassing.

"Easy for you to say, I don't know what to choose."

The store was small, but it was well-stocked. I had expected medieval-style clothing, but there were many things similar to my original world. It must be a culture brought over by previous transmigrators.

"Then I'll find something for you."

"Are you my mom?"

"Mmm, just let me. You can pick out your own underwear."

In the end, I bought the clothes Mizuki picked out and changed on the spot.

I ended up with a military-style look, while Mizuki wore a sailor uniform-like outfit, similar to what she had on before.

I had some things to say, but it was too much trouble, so I dropped it. Besides, if she's wearing a skirt, I might be able to see her panties again.

"They said they'd buy your old clothes for five silver coins."

"Wait, you're going to sell them?"

"Yeah? We could use the money, right?"

"Then I'll buy your clothes for ten silver coins."

"Whaat? No way. That's gross."

"Even if you sell them to the store, some old guy even grosser than me might buy your clothes. I might even come and buy them secretly."

"Mmm... fine. Stop being mean."

Mizuki gave up arguing and handed me her clothes.

"Whoa, you're giving them to me?"

"I don't need the money. Let's call this even for the slap, too."

"Got it. I'll take the light blue panties, too."

Mizuki's palm flew at me again.

Next, we stopped by the Adventurers Guild.

Free people register as adventurers here and make a living by taking on quests.

We started as F-rank adventurers. By gaining experience, we would be promoted to E, then D.

The term F-rank was the same as the one used to refer to a certain university in my original world, which left a bad taste in my mouth.

"Where is this Demon Lord guy?"

I asked the girl at the guild reception.

"The Demon Lord, sir? Well, there is a Demon Kingdom far to the east."

She gave me a strange look. It seemed to be common knowledge in this world.

"Is the king of the Demon Kingdom not the Demon Lord?"

"He was slain in the Paladins' expedition one hundred years ago. Since then, the Demon Kingdom has been ruled by a triumvirate of powerful figures. But they've become even stronger than when the Demon Lord was around."

"Is that so?"

"It is."

Her little nods were cute.

Mizuki, who had already finished registering, was talking with the members of Wind Blade who were at the guild. I couldn't understand how she could talk so casually and friendly with people she'd just met.

Come to think of it, she approached me with the same boldness.

While I was there, I accepted a beginner's quest to gather medicinal herbs. I also bought a pressed flower herbarium. It cost me 15 silver coins, which seemed reasonable considering the effort involved.

There were also dungeon explorations and monster subjugations, but after experiencing today's battle, those were out of the question.

Since the sun was starting to set, I planned to go out tomorrow. It had been a long day.

After I finished registering, Mizuki came over to me.

"Hey, they invited me to join Wind Blade."

"I see. I can't."

She looked completely blindsided. She clearly hadn't expected me to refuse so quickly.

"Why not? If we join them, they can teach us a lot, we can hunt strong monsters, our levels will go up, and we can get used to this world faster."

"That's what I don't like. Being taught is fine. But the rest is no good. Until I get used to this world, I want to take things slow. I thought I was going to die in today's battle. Fighting scares me. Aren't you scared, Mizuki?"

"Of course I'm scared, but Wind Blade is a B-rank party, so it's safe, right?"

A party's rank is determined by the leader's adventurer rank.

I looked at the members of Wind Blade, and my eyes met Reed's.

For some reason, he gave me a smirk. I didn't know how to respond.

It might be normal in this world, but I didn't like the way he had two women with him and a slave in tow. Being in a situation where that was constantly thrown in my face would be tough.

I didn't think I could fit in with that group.

"You should ensure your own safety with your own strength."

"Mmm."

"No, I'm not trying to force my opinion on you. You should do what you think is right, Mizuki."

"Why? Aren't we both transmigrators?"

"No, we were strangers in our original world, too. Anyway, I'm going to gather herbs tomorrow."

The events of the day had been so intense that I was starting to feel like I'd known Mizuki for a long time. I couldn't forget the fact that we were strangers.

"...Okay. I think I'll try exploring a dungeon with the people from Wind Blade."

I wish she wouldn't give off such a lonely vibe. Especially since she despises me.

An old guy like me just can't handle that party.

"I'm going to look for an inn."

"I'll talk with Reed and the others a little longer."

That's what she said, but it was pretty much decided she would join. They knew that Mizuki had defeated a swarm of goblins almost single-handedly.

Her joining them, since she could immediately be counted as a fighting force, would be a welcome addition for them.

I went to the 'Great Ape Inn,' a recommended, slightly upscale inn for commoners featured in Laciel's 'The World's Guide.'

'The World's Guide' was incredibly thick and unwieldy. And that introductory feature took up half of it.

One night was 7 silver coins with breakfast included, and dinner was an additional silver coin. Alcohol was 5 copper coins, or two drinks for 1 silver coin.

The room had one bed. Water had to be drawn from a well. The toilet was on the first floor, and there was no bath, but a pail of hot water for washing was provided instead.

The first floor served as a tavern and dining hall, and I ate my meal there.

It wasn't bad. If anything, it was good. But it was a bit bland, like something was missing.

As I was eating while reading 'The World's Guide,' Mizuki and the members of Wind Blade came in. It seemed this was their base of operations as well. Mizuki spotted me keenly and came over.

"If we were staying at the same inn, you could have waited for me."

She immediately started complaining.

"I wanted to check out the town."

I especially needed to check out the red-light district.

Just to check. Unfortunately, I lack the communication skills to talk to the opposite sex.

"I see."

Mizuki nodded.

"It seems the macho warrior isn't here?"

"...Beers-san went to a dormitory-style inn,"

Mizuki said, looking uncomfortable. Come to think of it, he was a slave.

"I've decided to join Wind Blade. I'm going dungeon diving with them tomorrow."

They're probably going to the dungeon near the city.

Dungeons are said to be a type of spatial magic, like storage, but it's unknown why they appear. They exist all over the world.

They can appear anywhere in the world. One day, they just show up. And monsters are born from dungeons.

The goblins we fought today were also born in a dungeon and had wandered into the field.

To protect the world's safety, dungeons must be conquered.

They consist of multiple floors, and the monsters become stronger as the floors increase. Each floor has a powerful monster called an Area Guardian.

Up to six people can enter the space where an Area Guardian resides. For this reason, the maximum number of people in an adventurer party is set at six. By defeating the Area Guardian and destroying the Crystal Core in the deepest part, the dungeon disappears.

"After all... no, it's nothing."

It seemed Mizuki hadn't given up on getting me to join Wind Blade.

"I see. Well, I'm going back to my room."

I said that and left Mizuki.

Back in my room, I checked my character sheet.

My adventurer level was 4. I couldn't tell if the experience boost skill was working or not. As a benchmark, reaching level 50 makes you an A-rank adventurer, but it takes over 10 years. For magic-based classes like mages and priests, it takes twice as long.

It's possible to change jobs and learn multiple professions, but only the primary profession levels up with experience from defeating monsters.

I checked the help for Goddess Summon in the skill list.

'Summons the goddess Laciel. Unleashes an infinite barrage of arrows upon swarming enemies, and a blow from her Divine Spear upon powerful foes. Be warned, it consumes a massive amount of magic.'

I wonder which is stronger, Goddess Summon or Mizuki's skills. The outcome of a fight would depend on whether Super Save could block a blow from the Divine Spear.

Come to think of it, I'd never talked with a member of the opposite sex who wasn't a relative for this long before.

It's possible that the cumulative time I've spent talking with Mizuki is longer than all my previous conversations with women combined.

Mizuki despises me, yet she still actively tries to communicate. It's something I can't imitate.

She's cheeky, and everything she says is annoying, but she offsets it with looks that anyone would find beautiful. Plus, there's the added service of flashing her panties to provide nightly fap material.

And that Mizuki is joining Wind Blade.

I wanted to stop her, but there was nothing I, who she hated, could do.

I imagined Mizuki getting close to Reed and eventually becoming his lover, just like Aira and Cecily.

I shook my head, dispelling the delusion.

"Goddess Summon!"

I shouted, but nothing happened. Was it because there were no enemies? Or was I out of magic? It was embarrassing, but since no one was around, it was fine.

I was tired. Tomorrow was herb gathering. I'll do my best.