Chapter 22

As expected, the muscle pain started to bother me. I had taken a recovery potion before bed and even slept in the inn’s bed. I just want to lounge around all day today. But I only paid for one night, and I’m also hungry.

I descended the stairs like an awkward robot.

The inn’s breakfast was, as usual, soup and bread. Come to think of it, there are no sausages or bacon in this world, right? I’ve never seen them. There are dried meat and salted meat. I wish I could have bacon and eggs. I’ll have to try my best to figure out how to make them.

After leaving the inn, I decided to wander around today. Rest is necessary. But since there’s no entertainment, there’s nothing to do. In the end, I went to the Adventurer’s Guild and ended up people-watching.

Sure enough, many people were carrying swords. The people here must be well-off. They don’t need to compete for quests and can find work easily. Their equipment is also well-equipped.

I need to buy at least a leather armor. And since I want to use a strong bow, I need a bow holder. My shoes will probably become too small eventually.

No matter how much money I have, it’s never enough.

But I don’t want to take dangerous quests either.

"Hey, just here to look around today?"

I was spacing out when a staff member called out to me. It was the receptionist with the slanted eyes from the other day.

"Ah, yes. I was pretty tired yesterday."

I gave a wry smile, and the staff member returned it with a wry smile.

"Ah, I heard. When you stumbled in, everyone was on edge, thinking something had happened! It’s a shame you didn’t see it."

"Ahahaha..."

So that’s what happened. I thought it was a bit chaotic, but I was too tired to notice. Speaking of which, I remembered something.

"Um, yesterday, the client gave me some extra money as a thank you, separate from the reward. Was it okay to accept it?"

I asked hesitantly. What if it was against the rules?

"Ah, a small amount is fine. Of course, it’s not allowed for adventurers to request it. Also, sometimes they might ask for additional work, but if it’s not through the guild, be careful of scams."

"Ah, I see. I’ll be careful."

So that can happen. It would be hard to refuse if they asked for something extra, but it’s work, after all. The client for the gutter cleaning seemed nice, but if the additional work turned out to be something criminal, it would be no laughing matter.

"Hehe. From the looks of it, you won’t be taking any more gutter cleaning quests for a while. It was popular, and there were requests for you."

"Ugh, um... I don’t even have the tools anymore..."

"Hmm? Tools? I heard you used something unusual."

No, that’s scary. How extensive is their information network? It seems my indecision was noticeable. Seriously?

Actually, this morning, I went to check the garbage dump. After finishing work yesterday, I placed the tools at the edge of the dump so the slimes wouldn’t eat them, but both were gone.

Someone must have taken them, or the slimes must have come and eaten them.

When I told him this, he nodded thoughtfully.

"Would you take more quests if you had those tools?"

"I don’t know. At least it would be more efficient than a sieve. There are always gutter cleaning quests in this town, so maybe the guild could lend them out."

"Lend them out?"

The staff member’s eyes sparkled as he leaned in.

"Um, yes. Adventurers don’t carry heavy items, and it would be a burden for each household to prepare them. If they could be made cheaply, each household could keep them on hand."

For houses with gutters, whether they hire someone or do it themselves, having a convenient tool would be useful.

If the guild’s name was engraved on them, they wouldn’t be stolen.

It would be a win-win for the guild, the clients, and the adventurers.

"Hmm, hmm. Can I talk to the higher-ups about this?"

"Uh, go ahead."

"That’s not how it works. I’ll pay you for the idea. I’d also like you to help with the tool’s production, so I’ll make it a formal request."

"Fa...i..."

The pressure was intense. Were they that desperate for more quests? Well, I did say I’d never do it again after one time. It might be harder than a poor monster hunt.

The staff member, whose name is Harry, was talking to me. While Harry was talking, I decided to check out the underground store.

"Hello."

"Welcome."

The shopkeeper was the same sleepy-looking guy from the other day. On a whim, I asked his name. His name is Harry.

"Hey, you have the same name as the staff member from earlier."

"Hmm? Ah, you know Harry. He’s my brother."

"Whaaat?"

Suddenly, a shocking... no, not really, fact was revealed. Brothers, huh? Ears...

Noticing my gaze wandering, Harry chuckled. He put his hand on his head and flattened his hair. That’s when I saw his ears.

"Usually, they’re hidden by my hair. I’m not hiding them or anything."

Indeed, Harry’s hair is fluffy, so they were hidden. Looking at him again, I thought he looked similar to Harry, except for the eyes.

On a whim, I asked what kind of beastman he was.

"I’m a bear. People often can’t tell."

"A bear!"

Not big, not fluffy, not round, but a bear.

He explained that while beastmen inherit the abilities of animals, their physiques are similar to humans. So, being small because they’re a mouse or only eating meat because they’re a tiger... doesn’t apply.

That’s how it is. I guess I had some strange expectations. By the way, touching ears or tails without permission is still a no-go. But even with humans, touching someone’s ear out of the blue is not okay.

After learning this, Harry came down. We decided to have lunch while talking. Harry also decided to join, finding it interesting. I wondered who would man the store, but he just locked the door normally.