Chapter 54

Yu's day begins before dawn when he wakes up.

When he opens his eyes, he shakes off Nina, who is hugging him like a pillow, and moves Lena, who is curled up in a corner, to Nina's side and covers her with a cloth.

Thinking about getting a mokko sheep or a udon waterbird to hunt and make a comforter, he heads to his desk.

On the desk are the Benanthus stomachs he cut out yesterday. The materials for the item pouch (6th grade) he bought before were a cloth bag, Benanthus stomachs, and alchemy level 3, but since he had a lot of Benanthus stomachs, he made the pouch using only Benanthus stomachs, and combined alchemy and space-time magic to infuse it with more mana.

Item Pouch (4th grade): Can hold up to 500 kilograms. The condition of the items inside is maintained.

I made a pretty convenient item pouch, even though I made it myself. Still, I wonder if the fact that I made something better than a 5th-grade item pouch, which requires a sturdy cloth bag, high-quality Benanthus stomachs, and alchemy level 5, is due to using only Benanthus stomachs, or the influence of combining space-time magic and infusing more mana.

Since high-quality stomachs are limited, I decided to use them when my alchemy and space-time magic levels are higher.

After that, I tried to make a waist pouch for Nina and a shoulder-type item pouch for Lena, but I forgot about the hardware.

I'll have to get the hardware made by the blacksmith.

After making a certain number of waist pouches and shoulder bags, I start preparing breakfast.

While baking bread, I put eggs and bacon in a frying pan. Soon, the good smell of baked bread fills the room, and Nina and Lena, attracted by the smell, appear, rubbing their eyes.

"Good morning~"

"…morning"

Both are still half-asleep, so I tell them to wash their faces.

While they are gone, I arrange the bread and bacon and eggs. By the time I finish pouring the warmed corn soup into the plates, they return.

"Wow~ It looks delicious today~"

"…good smell"

Nina spreads strawberry jam on the freshly baked bread and bites into it. The combination of the sweet jam and the freshly baked bread is, of course, excellent.

Lena enjoys the smell of the corn soup, scoops it up with a spoon, and blows on it to cool it down before drinking it.

Both eat silently. Usually, they would be noisy even in the morning, but they must be very hungry because they went to bed early due to a light dinner and fatigue yesterday.

"Alright, Lena. You have something to tell me, right?"

When I ask Lena, who is relaxing after eating, she trembles and avoids eye contact.

"…I have nothing to hide"

"You've become a witch as your 2nd job."

Nina looks back and forth between Lena and me, looking flustered.

"…It was necessary"

I stare at Lena for a while, but since she doesn't look away this time, she must have a very good reason for taking the job.

I place the item pouch on the table.

"…What is this?"

"This is the gold we recovered from them yesterday. We'll divide the money after selling the equipment and items."

Lena arranges the gold on the table from the item pouch. Platinum coins, imperial gold coins, gold coins, silver coins... the total was 18,700,000 madoka.

Since the tuition for the magic school Lena wanted to attend is 10,000,000 madoka (100 gold coins), there would still be plenty left after paying the tuition.

As Lena slowly returns the gold to the item pouch, she hands it to me.

"…I don't need it"

"What are you talking about? You need money to go to the magic school. Go to the magic school, become a sage, and then a court magician in the capital. And while you're at it, move out of the house."

Nina is panicking, saying "Auu~ Auu~," but Lena's original goal was to save up for the tuition to the magic school. Since she has reached her goal, it's only natural for her to go to the capital's magic school.

"…I won't go to the magic school. So I won't leave the house. Absolutely not."

I was left speechless. What is this kid talking about? And she's even smirking. I can't understand it, but Nina is nodding and hugging Lena.

Since further discussion would be a waste of time, I start arranging the equipment on the table. For Nina: 'Oni's Bracelet,' 'Fairy's Earring,' 'Dragon's Bracelet.' For Lena: 'Mild's Staff,' 'Golba's Necklace,' 'Rock Dragon's Ring.'

"I'll give these to you for now. The rest of the equipment will be sold or dismantled and remade into new equipment at the blacksmith's."

"What about your share, Yu?"

"I'll get the Mirage Ring. I'll give my Sisya pendant to Nina."

Nina grumbles about the uneven distribution, but I think this is the best way to balance our combat power. I also plan to have the blacksmith dismantle the mithril full plate armor and mix it with mithril powder and steel spider silk to make a mithril robe.

Lena seems to like her new staff, as she keeps looking at it. With her new 2nd job, she has gained new skills and her stats have significantly improved.

"We won't go hunting until we buy new equipment, so you're free to do as you please."

---

When I go to the Adventurer's Guild, there are a few people in front of Colette's counter, so I wait. The receptionist next to her moves the "On Break" sign and gestures for me to come over. The second adventurer in line tries to go, but freezes and returns to Colette's counter.

The adventurer's face is pale... The receptionist smiles and waves me over.

"A~a~a~!"

Colette is shouting something, but is she that busy?

"Welcome, Yu-sama. What brings you here today?"

"I'd like to sell some materials."

"Understood. Please hand over your guild card."

While the receptionist appraises the materials, she suddenly speaks up.

"By the way, Yu-sama, congratulations on your D-rank promotion."

"D-rank? What do you mean?"

"You defeated the Rookie Hunter, didn't you?"

I see, the Rookie Hunter had a bounty from the guild.

"Many new and even some veteran adventurers were victims, so your contribution is immeasurable. Here is the payment for the materials and the bounty."

In addition to the usual payment, I receive 30 gold coins. The 30 gold coins are for me, and the rest will be given to Nina and Lena.

"Thank you. Also, if you'd like, please share these with Colette."

I hand over the potato chips, which were well-received last time, and some small pieces of bread that I fried and drizzled with sugar and honey.

"Oh, thank you. We'll definitely share them with everyone."

The receptionist's joy was overwhelming. The other receptionists were staring at me with sharp eyes. Colette, with tears in her eyes, was saying "Mine~" while attending to the adventurers.

As I leave the counter, I hear a shout of "Yosha~!!" and the sounds of people clamoring for more, but I don't look back.

I see Larit eating at one of the tables in the Adventurer's Guild, so I approach him.

"If you haven't had any skills added to your dagger yet, I can ask an alchemist I recently met to do it for you?"

Of course, I don't actually know any alchemists, but I owe Larit a favor, so I can do the skill addition for him.

"Really?!"

Larit is so excited that he spits out bread crumbs while shouting.

He hands me the Damascus dagger and a magic orb. Larit was debating between 'HP Absorption' and 'MP Absorption' for the skill to add, but ultimately chose HP Absorption.

"Is it okay to just hand over your weapon? I might just run off with it."

"Hehe, I trust my eyes and skills."

Skills? Ah, 'Return Bag.' It's a unique skill that increases good fortune the more you do favors for others.

"Alright, I plan to go into the dungeon in three days. Can you have it done by then?"

"Got it. I'll bring it to you at this time the day after tomorrow."

Two days later, I hand over the Damascus dagger with the skill addition while doing some research.

Larit, upon receiving it, immediately runs off to test the skill.

As I leave the Adventurer's Guild and walk down the main street, I hear the usual voices.

"Hey there, mister~ I'm a werewolf! I have confidence in my physical abilities! I'll do anything, so buy me!!"

"Would you rather buy me? I'll give you great service!"

Various slaves are trying their best to sell themselves. The prices are cheap, as they are displayed on the street. The minimum price is one gold coin—100,000 madoka for a person.

I ignore the slaves trying to sell themselves and keep walking.

"……"

A dark elf girl in a cage meets my gaze with one eye.

She still has that lifeless look. Her clothes are tattered, and upon closer inspection, she has scars not only on her left eye and neck but also from her collarbone to her left upper breast.

"Why are you still alive?"

This is the first time I've spoken to her.

Her ears twitch, so she must have heard me.

"Why are you still alive when you have no will to live?"

"…a…u…"

"Surely you're not thinking that someone kind will come and save you, are you?"

A hint of emotion returns to the dark elf girl's eyes. It's anger.

"Let me tell you, no one will buy you. If you stay like this, you'll be sold for a pittance to a much harsher place within a year. I don't know how you ended up here, but your parents are scum."

"!? Ii…a…a…"

Looking at her makes me irritated. People like us won't find happiness by waiting.

The dark elf girl, who was sitting in the cage a moment ago, now reaches out through the bars, trying to grab me.

"Haha, you can get angry, can't you? Old man, I'll buy this slave."

"Did you notice? Impressive."

The old man, who was behind me, doesn't show any surprise at my realization.

The dark elf girl is frozen in shock.

After being led to a reception room by the old man and waiting, he enters, followed by what seem to be guards.

"How much for this slave?"

"…500 gold coins."

"What?"

"500 gold coins."

The highest price for a slave displayed on the street is 5 gold coins.

My eyes narrow at the old man's words.

Name: Lena Forma

Race: Human

Job: Mage, Witch

Level: 25

HP: 201

MP: 998

Strength: 41

Agility: 56

Stamina: 53

Intelligence: 289

Magic: 397

Luck: 16

Passive Skills:

Staff Mastery LV1 NEW!

Chant Speed Increase LV3

MP Recovery Speed Increase LV2

Magic Power Increase LV1 NEW!

MP Consumption Decrease LV1 NEW!

Active Skills:

White Magic LV3

Black Magic LV4 ↑UP

Barrier LV3 ↑UP

Magic Awakening LV2 ↑UP

Unique Skills:

None

Equipment:

Weapon: Mild's Staff (4th grade): MP Consumption Decrease, Magic Power Increase

Armor: Triangular Hat (6th grade): HP Recovery Speed Increase

Mage's Robe (5th grade): Magic Resistance Increase

Sticker's Mantle (5th grade): Fire Resistance Increase

Ogre's Boots (5th grade): Magic Resistance Increase, Poison Resistance Increase, Paralysis Resistance Increase

Accessories: Ygg's Amulet (5th grade): Defense Increase

Life Ring (5th grade): HP +50, HP Increase, MP Increase

Golba's Necklace (4th grade): MP Consumption Decrease

Rock Dragon's Ring (4th grade): Defense Increase