We approached the town gate while holding Kumayuru and Kumakyu in our arms.
The man in charge of the gate noticed us and called out to us.
"What’s that look?" (Guard)
"I'm dressed like a bear though." (Yuna)
Other than that, there was no answer.
"No, I know that." (Guard)
If you know, please don't ask.
"I only do it because I love bears." (Yuna)
""Kuu~n""
Kumayuru and Kumakyu cried happily at my answer.
"Is that a bear you're holding?" (Guard)
The man looked at Kumayuru and Kumakyu that Noa and I were holding.
"I see, you like bears. Is that child different?" (Guard)
"I like bears. I even have clothes." (Noa)
Noa said that and took out the shop's bear uniform from the item bag.
Why did she have it?
"It's really a bear suit. Too bad, I guess you really like bears." (Guard)
The man seemed convinced about the bear, and did not pursue the matter any further.
"Well then, do you have a card?" (Guard)
"It’s my first time in town, so I don’t have a card." (Yuna)
I told a lie according to the meeting.
"Then, if you want to enter the city, you'll need money. In the first place, did the two of you come together?" (Guard)
"Yes. My dad was injured and couldn't come to town, so we took his place." (Yuna)
"I see. But rules are rules. Anyone who can't pay, even children, can't enter the city." (Guard)
If we had to pay to get into the city, it was cheap.
I gave the man money. The man's expression changed when he received the money.
"What? What is this? Is it money from some country?" (Guard)
Noa and I looked at each other.
"I got it from a merchant a long time ago, and I thought it might be useful." (Yuna)
I told a lie right away.
"I'm sorry, but I can't use this money. Don't you have any other money?" (Guard)
I didn't have any jewelry, and even if I did, it would be suspicious if I took it out in a place like this.
I thought about things I had that could make me money.
"Well, I came here to sell monster materials, but is there anything I can do about it?" (Yuna)
I asked politely, sounding a little awkward.
The gatekeeper glanced at me and Noa.
"Ah, I understand. I don't really want to do that, but let me show you." (Yuna)
For now, I took out about 5 wolf magic stones.
"Magic stones?" (Guard)
"My father killed it and came to sell it." (Yuna)
"Then give me four magic stones, including the one for that little bear." (Guard)
It might be a rip-off, but I didn't know the market price, so I accepted it.
The man happily received the magic stone.
After all, I felt like I had been ripped off, but in the first place, was there an entrance fee required for a bear cub?
But I didn't say anything because Wolf's magic stones were enough to rot and I didn't want to cause a fuss.
It was a hassle to be told that if I didn't pay, the bear cubs wouldn't be allowed in.
"So, I would like to go to the Adventurer’s Guild or the Commercial Guild, but where is it? Also, where is the inn?" (Yuna)
When I asked politely, the man generously told me.
It looked like Wolf's magic stone was having an effect. If I could ask a lot of things with 4 wolf magic stones, it was cheap.
"But it might be pointless to go to the adventurer's guild." (Guard)
A man said something meaningful.
I was about to ask why, but someone coming into the town came from behind and said, "Come on, come inside the town." So Noa and I entered the town.
I wanted to get a little more information, but I couldn't help it.
"I never thought we wouldn't be able to use the money." (Noa)
"That's right. Moreover, it seems like they don't know about our country's money, so there might not be any distribution." (Yuna)
"Yuna-san, what are you going to do now?" (Noa)
"Looking for my sister!" (Prim)
Prim spoke out from inside the pochette.
"I understand how you feel, but first we need to secure a place to stay." (Yuna)
That was the basics of traveling. If it was late and the inn was full, we would be in trouble.
Even though there was a bear house, I couldn't use it in the city, and people would think it was strange if we went in and out of the city many times.
"But that requires money..." (Noa)
"So, first of all, I'll sell the monster materials at the adventurer's guild and make money. The question is whether they'll buy it from me or not." (Yuna)
As much as possible, I didn't want to use anything that showed my identity, such as a guild card.
Even if I said I was an adventurer, they might not believe me.
If they didn't seem to buy it, I might have no choice but to prove my ability.
"Anyway, it looks like the adventurer's guild is nearby, so let's go there." (Yuna)
We started walking towards the adventurer guild we learned about.
People who passed by us were watching us.
"Hey, everyone's watching. Maybe they found out I was here." (Prim)
Prim asked, looking out from inside Noa's pochette.
"That's not true, Prim, please hide well." (Yuna)
"But everyone is watching." (Prim)
"Everyone's looking at me." (Yuna)
"Why?" (Prim)
"Well, Yuna-san's outfit is so cute that everyone is looking at her." (Noa)
Noa explained to Prim while choosing her words carefully.
I wouldn't say I looked strange.
I caused an 11-year-old girl to worry about me.
"Really? I don't really understand." (Prim)
"If I wore clothes like Prim-san wears, I think people would look at me the same way." (Noa)
"Eh, my clothes too." (Prim)
Generally speaking, no one wore the dress-like clothes Prim wore.
It was so beautiful and mysterious that I thought it would be difficult to make it normally.
There was nothing out of the ordinary about the Prim the fairy wearing it. Maybe it was fairy-like clothing. But maybe if we were to wear it, it would attract attention for another reason.
"So, don't worry about it, it's fine." (Yuna)
As if to prove this, I coulr hear people around me saying things like, "What's she wearing?", "A bear?", "That girl is cute," and "What are those two hugging?"
Apparently, the Kumayuru and Kumakyu we were carrying were also noticeable.
"Anyway, Yuna-san. Where is this place?" (Noa)
"Even if you ask, you’ll get suspicious, so you can’t ask in a bad way." (Yuna)
If they asked us where we came from, we couldn't answer.
It was difficult to gather information without disclosing our information.
"The cityscape is not that different from Crimonia." (Yuna)
The culture was not completely different, just like the Land of Wa. It was just a little different.
Noa seemed to have no problem with letters and numbers, as she read the letters on the products and looked at the price numbers of the products while walking. In my case, thanks to my skills, I could read languages and characters normally, so I couldn't make judgments about that.
"Ah, Yuna-san. Isn't that the adventurer's guild?" (Noa)
Noa pointed to a sign that looked like an adventurer's guild.
When I got close to it, I saw that it clearly said "Adventurer's Guild".
"Noa, there might be some adventurers who will get involved, so don't leave me." (Yuna)
In my past experience, there were adventurers like that everywhere.
Of course, it was because of my appearance that they got entangled with me, but Noa answered "yes" to my words.
We entered the adventurer's guild.
There, the noisy adventurers were nowhere to be seen.
"Huh?" (Yuna)
Inside the adventurer's guild, there were few people and it was quiet. When I looked around, I saw people sitting sparsely in the corners, quietly drinking alcohol. No one came to me.
"It's quiet." (Yuna)
It was unexpected.
For now, I headed to the reception desk, but there was no one there. The reception desk was empty.
Maybe they were on a break?
To begin with, there was no one behind the reception desk.
"Ah, what a cute guest for such a lonely adventurer's guild." (A woman)
I heard a voice from behind me, so I turned around and saw a woman in her mid-twenties holding a bottle of alcohol.
"There's no one at the reception desk." (Yuna)
"Well, she's not there." (A woman)
"Why?" (Yuna)
"Because I’m here." (A woman)
Did that mean the woman drinking alcohol was the receptionist?
Unlike the Crimonia's guild staff, I couldn't tell because they weren't wearing uniforms.
"Hehe, you look cute. And is that a bear you're holding?" (A woman)
"They're our friends." (Yuna)
""Kuu~n""
"They're a cute friend. I heard that if you take care of them from the time they're born, you'll get attached to her. That seems true." (A woman)
The woman gently stroked the head of the bear I wa holding.
"So, what business do two cute girls have in a deserted adventurer's guild?" (A woman)
She said that she felt lonely.
"Umm, I'd like you to pick up the monster material." (Yuna)
"A monster?" (A woman)
"It's a monster that my father defeated, but I'd like you to buy it." (Yuna)
I didn't want to give out my information as much as possible, so I explained.
"Then, are you with your father?" (A woman)
"My dad was injured and couldn't come to town, so we took his place." (Yuna)
"But you two are not sisters." (A woman)
I had black hair and Noa has blonde hair, we didn't look alike, we didn't even look like sisters.
"The child's father was injured, and since he couldn't come to town alone, she lives in the same village, so she came with me." (Yuna)
"Oh, that's right. Even though you're small, you're great." (A woman)
I was able to convince that woman with my flowing lies.
However, even I found it hard to accept that people called me small.
"Then I'll check it and you can take it to the counter." (A woman)
I put down Wolf's magic stones and furs.
If it was Wolf, the knights were fighting when we came to this town, so it shouldn't be strange.
"Oh, you have a cute item bag." (A woman)
The woman said while looking at the white bear puppet.
Then, I checked the wolf magic stone and fur on the counter.
"It's been dismantled beautifully." (A woman)
The woman inspected each piece of fur.
"Your father is amazing." (A woman)
The woman said while looking at Noa.
"Oh, what do you mean?" (Noa)
"He defeated Wolf's brain with one blow. Also, the dismantling process was beautiful." (A woman)
I defeated it with an ice arrow, and Fina dismantled it cleanly.
"If this is the case, I'll buy it a little higher." (A woman)
"Is it okay?" (Yuna)
"Yes, of course, because it's so beautiful, it'll fetch a higher price than usual." (A woman)
It made me happy to see that Fina was being praised.
The woman provided money.
I didn't know the market price, but it didn't seem like they were deceiving me, so I took it as is.
If we had been deceived, that couldn't be helped. There was still too little information about this city. Right now, we needed money to spend in this country.
"Thank you." (Yuna)
"That's fine. If you have any more materials, please come to the Adventurer's Guild." (A woman)
The woman happily put away the materials.
For now, the first objective was complete.
I would ask for the following information.
"Um, there's something I'd like to ask you." (Yuna)
"What is it?" (A woman)
"Why are there so many people in the Adventurer's Guild?" (Yuna)
"If you've never been to the city, there's no need to know. There are almost no adventurers in this city." (A woman)
"What?" (Yuna)
Unexpected words came out.
"Even if there are, they're just drunkards or adventurers who can't even fight." (A woman)
The woman looked at the adventurers near the wall.
"Why aren't there any adventurers?" (Yuna)
"That is..." (A woman)
As the woman tried to explain, there was a commotion at the entrance to the guild.
"It’s still a tough place." (A woman)
"Yuna-san, those people." (Noa)
These were the knights who were fighting Wolf when we came here.
Why are they here?
"You guys, hide in the back." (Yuna)
The woman whispered to me and headed towards the knights.
Noa and I followed the woman's words and moved to the corner where there was a pillar in the back.
Author's Note
Yuna arrives at the adventurer's guild.
There, once again, there is a mysterious knight...