Chapter 9

We decided to cancel our plan to go to the dungeon in the east and returned to the town of Voltana from the forest.

Just like when we left, the main street of the town was completely quiet, with no one in sight.

At this hour, the only place that would be lit up would probably be the tavern.

But now, a big problem had arisen.

Due to our late start, we couldn't get a room at the inn...

It was midnight, and the inns were all booked by the many adventurers visiting Voltana, leaving no rooms available.

We had planned to go into the dungeon today, so I intended to take turns with other adventurers to stay at the inn.

The wolf girl, who was sleeping soundly on my back, showed no signs of waking up.

I couldn't just leave her, and waking her up forcefully wouldn't improve the situation, so I left her as she was.

Reluctantly, I moved from the main street to a back alley to look for another inn.

But the result was the same.

The inn where I had stayed yesterday was also fully booked.

"I can't just sleep outside this time..."

As I continued walking, I came to a shop.

It was the store where I had sold the materials I obtained from the dungeon today.

Strangely, light was still leaking from the windows at this hour, indicating that the shop owner was still awake.

However, given his personality, I doubted he would lend us a bed.

But I couldn't keep searching forever.

There was a chance. If it didn't work out, I could try elsewhere. With that thought, I stood in front of the shop and knocked on the door a few times.

After a while, the door opened slightly, and the bearded shop owner peered out.

"Hey, what do you want at this hour... Oh? It's you from this morning."

"Sorry to bother you, but I need a bed for a woman who has fainted. All the inns are fully booked."

The shop owner looked back and forth between me and the sleeping woman, then sighed.

"Well, of course, all the inns would be full at this hour... What a pain."

"Huh?"

I was surprised by his unexpected words.

"What, is that so strange?"

"No, it's just..."

The shop owner gestured for us to come in, and we entered the store.

Bottles of alcohol were on the counter, and the smell of alcohol filled the air.

He had been drinking again, even though I had visited the tavern in the morning.

"Just to be sure, who is this lady? I hope she's not involved in any trouble, right?"

"No, I found her in the forest earlier, being chased by a monster. She's just sleeping now."

The shop owner's expression immediately turned exasperated.

"The forest? You went into the forest at this hour? What were you thinking...? So, you couldn't get a room at the inn because they were all booked?"

While saying this, the shop owner opened a door behind the counter, leading to a neat room with a bed and a desk.

I was a bit surprised by the contrast with the rest of the store.

"Even I keep my sleeping area clean. You can use this room."

I immediately laid the woman on the bed.

"She doesn't seem to have any injuries, right?"

"Yeah. I gave her a potion before she fainted."

"Then she should be fine. Just let her sleep."

We left the room and returned to the store.

"But why did you go into the forest at this hour?"

The shop owner asked as he sat at the counter.

I felt a sense of gratitude for his help and didn't want to hide anything from him.

"I'm an adventurer, and I was planning to go into the dungeon to level up."

"First, the fact that you were adventuring in that outfit this morning was shocking to me... And you're strong enough to fight monsters alone, which is surprising."

"Well, it was actually quite dangerous."

I didn't know what would have happened if that monster had attacked me.

"By the way, did you defeat that undead ogre skeleton yourself?"

"Yeah, but..."

"What!? Then why didn't you take it to the guild?"

"Well, I didn't cause any trouble, but I don't really want to prove my strength, so I didn't feel like it."

The shop owner looked surprised for a moment, then sighed again.

"If you had said that from the start, it would have been easier. Lately, some adventurers bring cursed items, so I was being cautious."

"You're a pretty normal shop, actually."

"Thanks, I guess! But still... I wonder why that lady was in the forest."

The shop owner stood up, crossed his arms, leaned against the wall, and looked at the door to the room where the wolf girl was sleeping.

"I don't know. She was being chased by a monster that blended into the darkness of the forest."

"What? I've never heard of such a monster in the forest. What happened to it?"

"It suddenly disappeared. It made a growling sound like an animal and a hissing sound like a snake."

"I have no idea... I've never heard of a monster like that in this area."

But I remember the sound being just like that.

So, could it be a monster that had moved here like the Killing Bear?

"Maybe she was fleeing from a village that was attacked by monsters. Not many people would be traveling in the forest at this hour."

"But don't villages have soldiers?"

"Well, that's the current situation around Voltana. It might be best to be careful when going outside the town for a while."

The shop owner started drinking again.

How much had he been drinking since morning?

"As I mentioned this morning, Cretia's king is favoring strong adventurers to fight monsters. Do you know why?"

"No, I don't."

"There are too many monsters, and there aren't enough knights or soldiers to protect the villages and towns in Cretia's territory. That's why they rely on adventurers. If the monsters in the dungeon are left alone, they might eventually come to the surface."

I thought about the Skeleton Ogre that had come to the upper levels.

It was supposed to be in the middle levels.

If that's the case, could the monster in the forest have come from the dungeon to the surface?

"Well, there's no point in us speculating here. We'll think about it when the lady wakes up. Here."

The shop owner threw a blanket at me.

"Well, this is the best I can do for anyone who isn't a princess."

The shop owner said that, covered himself with the blanket, and closed his eyes while still sitting in the chair.

I did the same, sat in a chair, and closed my eyes, waiting for morning.