Chapter 147
“Alright, Daniela . The first thing is cutpurses . ”
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Several hours had passed since we left the village and walked towards the east . The sun had gone down and our stomachs were full from dinner . The only thing to do was wait until morning . And so we started to discuss what we would do to beat this dangerous town called Nicora .
“Hmm . Cutpurses . Yes, most of the times they just take what is in your pockets . ”
“Right . I think that if you’re not careful, they bump into you with an, ‘oh, pardon me,’ and then rob you blind . ”
That totally happens . I say this as if I’ve seen it happen many times, but I never have . But I knew about it, so it was fine .
“But Asagi, do you not put your purse in the hollow bag?”
“Hmm? Oh… Well, yeah . ”
I was afraid of dropping it, so I always kept it in my bag… So it couldn’t exactly get stolen .
“And no one would dare steal my bag right? So it will be fine . ”
“No . That is careless, Asagi . ”
Daniela said as she threw some wood into the fire .
“I myself had had my bags stolen in the past . ”
“What?”
Was she really that dumb…?
“It was a long time ago . I had been searching for an inn . And this child appeared and claimed to be the child of an innkeeper, you see . And then he said he would carry my bags and lead me to the inn . It was as I was appreciating the thorough service, that the child disappeared into the crowd and I lost him . ”
“Woah…”
“These things happen . So you must take care of your belongings . ”
That was the kind of mistake tourists make on their first trip abroad…
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“There are other things that can happen as well . For instance, you are so happy to be in a new town and you are taking in your surroundings . And before you know it, your backpack has been opened up…and robbed of its contents . ”
“Ohhh…”
That’s something an amateur traveler who is too used to peace would… No, no, no . I couldn’t let my guard down either . After all, this was a different world . And so I decided to hold my bag in front of me .
“But Asagi, advertising the fact that you are being cautious like that can lead to trouble as well . They will see that you are scared, so be careful . ”
“What the hell do you want me to do…”
I can’t do this . I can’t do that . So there was nothing I could do to prevent it .
“It’s easy . Always be aware, and if someone confronts you, strike them immediately . It does not matter if they are in a group or it is an ambush . Fight back, head-on and annihilate them . Then they will not bother you again . ”
“I’m not sure if the town is what I should be worried about…”
When in Rome, they say . But I didn’t see the point in lowering ourselves to that level of barbarism . We were classy Adventurers . You know, smart, elegant resolutions were my style .
“You say that, but force can only be conquered with force, you know? They will not be moved by mere words . ”
“That seems a little harsh . But then again, even if they do understand your words, sometimes people seem to hear them through some mysterious filter . It’s the same no matter where you are . ”
I thought back to all the customers that were like that during my night shift . I laughed .
“So you have experience, Asagi?”
“Sort of . In the other world, that is . ”
“I see… So they are everywhere . You did of course, annihilate them?”
“I of course, did not . ”
I would get arrested .
And with that, the fruitless discussion came to an end . I was not sure that we were really going to be okay…
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The following day, we were forced to march through the rain that started in the morning . It was difficult to see, and the road was muddy as hell . I missed asphalt dearly .
“Is there nothing to stop the rain from hitting you on these days?”
“Hmm… There are umbrellas, but they take up so much space . And they are expensive . Most people put on a hood and bear it . ”
Huh… I hated getting wet, but there was nothing I could do besides pulling down my hood, which I did . Very deeply . At the convenience store, we stocked those cheap umbrellas…
I pushed my damp hair out of my face and paid attention to my feet for the next three hours . It was just as I was feeling very sick of all of it, that the clouds started to thin . It seemed like the rain would stop soon .
“Asagi . Monsters . ”
“Are you serious…”
Things were just about to get better . Horrible timing, guys . At least have the decency to appear where it isn’t muddy .
I pulled out my sword . I had been keeping Presence Detection to a very limited range because of the rain, but I spread it out now . And then I immediately sensed something to my left . It felt like…goblins .
“Are these special rain goblins?”
“No, just ordinary goblins . But do not let your guard down because of that . ”
“Do I ever?”
“Often . ”
“…”
That’s a bold-faced lie! It was just as I was going to claim complete ignorance towards this accusation, when we were attacked by several goblins wielding filthy weapons . They seemed awfully energetic in spite of being under the rain in their underpants, but they were a nuisance to me and would, therefore, have to go . This would be an easy job . Block, find your opening, chop off head .
Of course, I was also staying cautious of my surroundings, so any such stupidity as getting ambushed from the back was impossible . After all, Daniela was covering me . And I was also covering Daniela . But then again, by the way she moved, it always seemed like she didn’t need anyone to cover her . I was catching up to her in terms of level, but my on-field experience was still lacking . But it was important to slowly and diligently work your way up .
“Hey, Daniela . ”
“What, Asagi . ”
“Up until now, I only thought of goblins as a resource for getting ironware . ”
“Well, that is certainly horrible to hear…”
“So what do you need for proof of the hunt?”
Yes, up until now I just took the weapons and left the rest . Taking their body parts to the guild might have made me some money, but not as much as taking the iron .
“Ah, goblins… I have not had to gather anything from them for so long, but I believe that it is the ear . But I do not remember which one . ”
“Ears, huh?”
Well, I wasn’t going to start collecting them now, anyway . I was very much alright with some stingy Adventurer coming in and taking them after we left . I’m sure the goblins would appreciate their remains being put to some kind of use . That Adventurer will probably not be the most capable, but that was nothing to me . You could not grow without a fight . It was the trick to living as an Adventurer, and I could not forget that .
I gathered their weapons and then we moved the goblin bodies to the side of the road so they would not get in the way . We also put our hands together as a small sign of respect, and then returned to our journey .
The rain had now stopped, and beams of light were shining through the cracks between the clouds . What did you call that again? I forgot .
The thick clouds were pushed away by the wind, and by the time the sun was visible again, it was already about to set . Our progress had been hindered because of the rain, and we would not arrive at the town . In fact, we could actually see it from where we were, but the gate would likely be closed by the time we got there . I could have used Legs of the Forest Wolf, but this was one time that making a showy entrance into a new town was ill advised .
And so we decided to search for a place to set up camp for the night . However, it was muddy almost everywhere, which put me in a gloomy mood .
“What should we do?”
“Hmm… These are the times that fire magic would be useful . We could dry the ground…”
Unfortunately, there were no users of fire magic nearby . Me? Nope . I’m crap . That being said, this was not a good time to do nothing and wait for it to get dark . We could get attacked by monsters .
“Surely there is something we could…hmm?”
“What is it?”
“Uh, over there…”
It was hard to see from here, but there was a small cabin near the trees . Maybe we could borrow it?
“I would not advise that . ”
“What do you mean?”
“…What if it is used by bandits?”
“…”
I would not like that . But you can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs .
“Let’s just go and take a look . ”
“And what will you do if there are bandits? Will you kill them?”
“It would be pretty barbarous to cut people’s throats from the side just because they are bandits . I’ll step back and do what I can with fire magic . ”
That was one egg I wasn’t going to break easily . Unnecessary killing was wrong .
As Daniela’s skill with Presence Detection was higher, she concentrated on the front . I took the rear and sides . …Yes, there was no one around .
Tap . I tapped Daniela on the shoulder once and nodded . We slowly made our way forward, careful to not make any noise . Of course, I wouldn’t do anything so clumsy as step on a twig . We would explore most carefully .
After we had advanced to a certain point, Daniela stopped . The cabin had entered the reach of her Presence Detection . As she silently checked inside, I continued to scan our surroundings . There was still nothing . As there weren’t many trees here, I didn’t have to use it above our heads . But that also meant that we wouldn’t be able to hide . Not us or any potential enemies .
“…Asagi . It seems to be fine . ”
“I see…we should look inside then . ”
Just because there was no one there, it didn’t mean it was a normal cabin . Maybe it was used by bandits and they happened to be out now . If we found weapons, food or stolen goods, we would leave immediately .
We remained cautious as we stood in front of the door . Thankfully, there were no traps .
Daniela also checked the door, and it did not contain any tricks .
“I’m going to open it . ”
“Yes . ”
I slowly reached for the doorknob and pushed . The door opened slowly . Then I held up the lantern I had prepared in advance . It was the magic lantern I had swiped from the orcs .
Unsurprisingly, there was no one here . There were roughly stacked boxes, but no weapons or stolen goods . No corpses either . There were some coats, bows and daggers . I suppose those were weapons, but they were for hunters .
“Hmm…so it was a cabin for hunters then . ”
“What a relief…”
In any case, it was probably safe . That didn’t mean we wouldn’t have to stay up and stand watch, but it was still a relief . There seemed to be a small kitchen as well, so our last night on the road would be accompanied by a nice hot meal .