Chapter 25

Kena temporarily left the inn and bought several days' worth of food, potions, and various materials, as the journey ahead could be a long one. She also made preparations to deal with various situations, such as buying wood at a discount from a wholesaler via Kataratsu's workshop.

Feeling a bit lonely about her first solo trip without a quest, she heard at the adventurer's guild that a joint extermination team with Helsper would be departing in two days. She decided to join the end of the formation and asked Coral, who was at the guild, for detailed information about the coastal area, of course, paying the requested fee.

"Ugh, I should have gathered information first~"

"What's wrong, did something happen?"

"I already left the inn, so I'm wondering what to do for the next two days..."

"Your preparation was a bit off. Hahaha"

Kena pouted, feeling mocked by Coral. If she was going to stay, she thought of staying at Maller's place. Since she didn't stop by on her way back last time, she decided to return to check on the situation.

"Where are you going?"

"To the border village."

"By the time you get there, the extermination team will probably be back, won't it?"

"Hehehe. Coral-kun, what do you think of me? I have my tower there, and I can return in an instant with [Teleport]."

Kena puffed out her chest and waved her finger, taking an unnecessarily grand attitude.

"Ugh, so dirty, you should work a bit harder, you!"

"What are you talking about now? Once I go, it's mine."

Kena's haughty attitude made Coral want to tap her on the head. Kena nimbly avoided it, and Coral, getting angry, chased after her, but Kena dodged all of Coral's attempts. Her companions watched with warm eyes as the game of tag began, which ended quickly with Almana scolding them, "Don't cause a commotion in the guild!"

With the idea that a good day to start is today, Kena left the capital and, after shaking off the hermit, used the ring's effect to fly to the Guardian's Tower. There, she obtained very interesting information from the Guardian's mural of the sun.

"A visitor has come?"

"Oh, it's been a while since the last visitor. Just the other day, about three people came, got lost in the forest below, and ran away. They were spineless cowards."

"Hmm, so there's still a possibility of players?"

At least in this place, rumored to be home to a terrifying ancient witch, it was hard to imagine anyone coming for any reason now. Kena's trial could be cleared by low-level players with patience, so if they got lost in the forest and didn't come back, it was likely they came out of curiosity or to prepare. However, these were just speculations, so Kena stopped thinking about it. She would ask the Guardian when she came back and use [Search] to find out about the intruders. The Guardian could only recognize those who entered the area, including the forest and the tower, but couldn't act as an intercom or door knocker. If the mural started moving, it would be terrifying in itself.

Kena told the Guardian to inform her if visitors came and then left the tower for the village.

At the village entrance, two wagons were parked next to the workshop that had been added since her last visit, and horses were munching on the grass nearby. The village seemed more lively, and she wondered if more people had moved in as she headed to the inn.

"Ah, miss!"

"Hello, Ritt."

On the way, she met Ritt, who was carrying a bucket, in front of the inn and felt a sense of relief.

"Can I stay for two nights? Are there any rooms available?"

"Yes, there are. We have guests, but it's fine."

Ritt led the way with the bucket, and Kena followed her into the inn, where Maller, who was cleaning the dining room, welcomed her.

"Welcome, Kena. It's been about twenty days, hasn't it?"

"It's been a while, Maller. I'll be staying for two nights, so I'll be in your care."

"Kena, you're always welcome. Don't hesitate to stay as long as you like."

Kena paid forty copper coins for two nights and then asked about the slightly restless atmosphere she felt.

"Have more people moved in?"

"Oh, the wagons? Well, Kena, you made a bathhouse, right? Scholars from Outarokus came to investigate it."

"Outarokus... from the southern country, all the way here? Why did the rumor spread so far..."

The general knowledge of geography she learned from Eirine. Among the three countries, the southern Outarokus was known for its advanced magic technology, and the royal family was ruled by a high elf queen who had been in power since the founding of the country. The Felskero Academy was modeled after this place, but due to a lack of magic-trained teachers, it couldn't be a purely magic-focused school, according to Mai Mai.

The red country, Questeria, was a desert, but the blue country, Aurzelle, which was included in the same territory, was a tropical rainforest. It was a two-hundred-year-old mystery.

Kena sipped the warm tea Maller gave her and was lost in thoughts of the past when she met the eyes of two cat people who had just returned from outside. One was a male with brown hair and ears, wearing leather armor and carrying a sword at his waist, and the other was a female with beautiful black hair and ears, wearing leather armor and carrying a longbow on her back. The female stared at Kena and approached her, with the male following nervously.

"Hello, fellow."

"Fellow?"

"Are you an adventurer, right?"

"What do you mean by that? Hello, I guess. Do you need something?"

Kena's question made the female cat person think for a moment. The male swordsman, standing next to her, nudged her shoulder, saying, "What are you doing?"

Kena was slightly surprised by the results of her [Search] on the two. The female was around level 70, and the male was around level 80, comparable to Arbiter. At first, she thought they might be players, but since no indicators were displayed, she realized they were locals. For example, Kena's indicator would show her last affiliation, the black country, Riplas.

"We came here on a scholar's request, but there was nothing around, so we were bored. Then we heard there was a Tower of Wisdom nearby, so we went with the scholar."

Kena understood the situation. These were the visitors. They were going back to prepare with the scholar, but Kena's tower didn't require such preparation. It just took time.

The female cat person's high-handed manner reminded Kena of players who used to extort skills. Even in a game, such people existed, and she had to suppress the urge to laugh.

"So, why don't you come with us? When we conquer it, we'll add your name to the end of our famous names."

"No, thank you."

"..."

Kena rejected the offer with a full smile to avoid showing any weakness. The female cat person, who hadn't expected to be rejected, and the male cat person, who already looked apologetic, were taken aback. The female, with a twisted expression, continued.

"Listen, we are well-known adventurers in Outarokus! You should feel honored to work with us! This will be a great honor for you..."

"No, thank you."

Kena rejected the offer again, word for word. The female, with a red face from anger, glanced at Kena and stomped up the stairs of the inn.

"I'm sorry, my sister was rude."

The male cat person bowed and followed her.

"I'm sorry for the trouble."

"Why are you apologizing, Maller? Adventurers come in all sorts, and sometimes you get someone like that."

Kena returned the cup and was surprised when Maller bowed to her, so she assured her that it was no big deal. The worst experience she had was when a player tried to steal her skills by force when she became a skill master.

"By the way, Maller, listen. My daughter, Mai Mai, is terrible~"

"Kena, calling someone your daughter is quite a shock for me."

"Terrible!?"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. So, what about your daughter?"

"Well, you see..."

To lighten the mood, Kena told Maller about the events in Helsper, how Mai Mai kept the secret of having a grandchild, and the hornbear hunt she did with two other women after returning. She spent the morning with Maller and the others, enjoying Maller's cooking for lunch, which she hadn't had in a while. Kena promised Ritt that she would tell more adventure stories at dinner and then headed to the workshop at the village entrance, where she had previously drawn a diagram to explain the mechanism to Gia.

On the way, she greeted the villagers she met. She then met Rotul, who seemed to be returning from hunting, with a few rabbits hanging from his belt.

"Hey! Kena, you're here?"

"It's been a while, Rotul. Are you done hunting?"

"Not as much as you, Kena. Are you here for a quest?"

"Just a break. I'm going on a trip to a distant place the day after tomorrow."

"Why would you come to such a rural village... If you come so often, why don't you just live here?"

Rotul meant it as a joke, but Kena's response was silence. When he looked at her, she was crossing her arms and thinking seriously.

"...That might be a good idea."

"No, no, Kena, are you serious?"

"I've been thinking about setting up a base somewhere, so this might be a good opportunity. I'll talk to the mayor later."

Kena seemed serious, so Rotul, thinking he should have mentioned it as a topic, decided to talk to the mayor before going home.

As for Rotul's suggestion, Kena would consider it again when talking to the mayor, but first, she wanted to see how the technical skills she had could change things when made by human hands. She approached a dwarf who was squatting at the entrance of the workshop, doing some work.

"Hello."

"Oh, hello... You're the girl from before. Do you need something today?"

"It's about the mechanism I explained with the drawing last time. Are the others here?"

Kena asked if she could come inside to discuss something confidential. The dwarf agreed and led her inside, bringing two other dwarves and a female companion from the back. They introduced themselves briefly. The sharp-eyed human female with glasses was Sunea. The largest of the dwarves was Lux. The shortest was Lux's apprentice, Dodai. The smallest, about as tall as Kena's shoulder, was Lux's son, Latem. They were a family that had contracted with a merchant in Helsper to run a technical workshop. Kena was surprised to hear that Sunea and Lux were married, but she understood when she learned that Sunea was a second wife and Latem was not from an interracial marriage.

"So, Kena, you mentioned something confidential. What's the matter?"

Sunea, as the representative, started the conversation with Kena. Lux and the others were mainly responsible for the work, while Sunea handled negotiations.

"I can provide you with the completed mechanism I explained with the drawing last time in exchange for a fee."

"What!?"

Sunea's face was filled with shock, as Kena's offer was completely unexpected. Lux and the others were frozen, mouths agape, not understanding what was happening. Kena tilted her head as the silence continued. Lux was the first to recover.

"Wait, wait, girl! We're grateful to study what you've made, but are you okay with transferring the rights to your technology to someone else?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Kena had no idea what "rights to technology" meant. The mechanism itself could be made by anyone who had completed the offline quest, and it had no use outside of the quest. She confirmed that Shining Saber and Coral could also make it. It was a prerequisite skill for other construction skills in the game but was mostly useless except for building a fort. Kena's confused expression made Sunea realize she didn't know, so she asked again if it was okay to transfer such a valuable technology for a fee. Kena, on the other hand, was amazed that the technology had declined so much and had no objections to transferring it for research.

The fee included not revealing the provider's name and not using it for anything that could harm people. Of course, once transferred, how it was used was up to the other party.

"...Understood. We will respect both conditions as a reflection of Kena's will. However, the amount of money as the fee is something we cannot afford. We will consult with the merchant we are contracted with, so can you wait for a while?"

"Um... Is it that expensive? That thing?"

Kena was puzzled. How much money did they expect to pay for a simple mechanism that just used gears to draw water from a well? She was filled with question marks.

"Well, it depends on its future value and how widely it is used... But I think it would be around ten gold coins."

"Wha!?"

Kena was taken aback by the amount, which was twenty times what she had imagined. She was puzzled about how to judge such a large amount, which would allow her to live in the village for about ten years without doing anything. She was still unaware of her unusual way of thinking.

"Is there even a merchant who can come up with such an amount?"

"I think the merchant we are contracted with can manage it."

Kena had a bad feeling before being asked, so she guessed and asked first.

"......Sakaiya, or something?"

"Yes, that's right. We are favored by the head of Sakaiya."

"Keirick's direct subordinate, huh? Then there's no need to rush with the money. I'll bill that person."

"Huh? Do you know the head of Sakaiya?"

"Um, yeah... Maybe a bit of a business partner?"

Kena didn't want to explain in detail that "That person is my grandchild" and have Sunea and the others bow to her. Being screamed at by people who knew she was related to a high-profile person wouldn't feel good. Kena finally realized this. Sunea and the others also