Chapter 42

Because the guild has the impression of being a gathering place for rough people, Aichi assumed it would be a dirty and messy place, but to his surprise, it was a well-maintained area. Right in front of the entrance was a counter, and on the left side was a dining area where a few people who looked like adventurers were eating or chatting. No one had ordered any alcohol, perhaps because it wasn't even sold here. Those who wanted to get drunk would probably go directly to a bar.

As Aichi and his companions entered the guild, they were naturally watched by the adventurers. Initially, the adventurers were just slightly curious about these three new faces, but when their gazes shifted to Yue and Sia, their curiosity greatly increased. Some of them let out an "Oh," some were as captivated as the gatekeeper, and some were hit by their female companions, who were probably their lovers, with a punch rather than a slap. This clearly showed that they were indeed adventurers.

Aichi had expected someone to start a fight under the pretense of greeting them, but to his surprise, the surrounding adventurers just rationally observed. Relieved that no one was delaying them, Aichi headed towards the counter.

At the counter stood a very charming... smiling auntie. She had a good build, but her width was about twice that of Yue. It seemed that the idea of receptionists being beautiful was just a fantasy, much like the reality that real-life maids on Earth are often middle-aged women. Even in a different world, reality remained as merciless as ever. Incidentally, Aichi had not expected to see a beautiful receptionist. He didn't expect it, so he tried to stop Yue and Sia from giving him cold looks, which had been piercing him since the beginning.

The auntie, seemingly unaware of Aichi's thoughts, greeted them with a likable smile.

"Are you still not satisfied even with two lovely girls? What a pity, I'm not a beautiful receptionist."

...Perhaps the auntie had some kind of mind-reading magic. Aichi's face twitched as he finally managed to respond.

"No, I wasn't thinking about that."

"Ahahaha, don't underestimate a woman's intuition? A man's simple heart is easy to read. Being too distracted by other women can be a problem, you know?"

"…I'll keep that in mind."

The auntie, hearing Aichi's response, apologized with a slightly embarrassed look, "Oh, I'm getting old and preachy. I'm sorry for lecturing you on our first meeting."

She was such a likable person. Aichi glanced back at the dining area, where the adventurers were looking at him with expressions like, "Ah, that guy got lectured by the auntie too." It seemed that the adventurers were well-behaved because of the auntie's presence.

"Alright, let's start over. Welcome to the Adventurer's Guild Brook Branch. What can I do for you?"

"Ah, I want to sell some materials."

"Selling materials, huh? Can you show me your attribute card first?"

"Huh? Do you need an attribute card to sell materials?"

The auntie made an "Oh" face at Aichi's question.

"Aren't you an adventurer? Indeed, you don't need an attribute card to sell materials, but if you are an adventurer, we'll pay you 10% more."

"Is that so?"

As the auntie said, becoming an adventurer comes with various benefits. This is because most of the materials necessary for daily life, such as magic stones and recovery potions, are obtained by adventurers. In the wild, where one might be attacked by monsters at any time, people without combat experience generally don't go out to gather materials. Therefore, it's only natural that adventurers receive these benefits.

"Other benefits include a 10-20% discount at guild-affiliated inns and free travel on high-class carriages for high-ranking adventurers. What will you do? Do you want to register as an adventurer? Registration costs 1,000 luca."

Luca is the common currency in the northern continent of Todes. It is made from Sagaluka ore mixed with other minerals, and different colors are created using a special method. The denominations are blue (1), red (5), yellow (10), purple (50), green (100), white (500), black (1,000), silver (5,000), and gold (10,000). Surprisingly, the denominations are the same as in Japan.

"Ah, I see. Since it's a rare opportunity, I'll register. I'm sorry, but I don't have any money on me. Can you deduct it from the amount I get from selling the materials? Of course, don't include the adventurer discount when calculating the initial amount."

"Bringing two cute girls and having no money, what do you do? I'll give you the discount, do you want the girls to think you're broke?"

The auntie was so cool, Aichi decided to gratefully accept her offer and handed over his attribute card.

This time, Aichi properly hid the information. The card should only show his name, age, gender, and class. The auntie also asked if Sia and Yue wanted to register, but they refused. Since they didn't have cards, they would have to start from the issuance process. However, that would reveal their unhidden values and skills.

From Aichi's perspective, he also wanted to see their attribute cards, especially the skill section, which likely recorded their innate magic. However, considering that this information would be seen by others, and since their existence was not yet known to the public, it was better to avoid unnecessary trouble, so Aichi gave up.

The returned attribute card now had new information. Next to the class section, a job section appeared, which read "Adventurer," and next to it was a blue dot.

The blue dot represented the adventurer's rank, which would change to red, yellow, purple, green, white, black, silver, and gold as the rank increased. ...You've probably noticed, the colors of the adventurer ranks are the same as the denominations of the currency. In other words, a blue adventurer might be told, "You're only worth one luca." This is a heart-wrenching statement. The first guild leader who created this system must have been a twisted person.

Incidentally, the upper limit for non-combat classes is black. There are just over 10,000 black-ranked adventurers, and those who reach black without a combat class are highly praised, even more so than gold-ranked adventurers with a combat class. So, you can understand how important the color ranks are to adventurers.

"Work hard and reach the black rank! Don't let the girls see you fail."

"Ah, I'll do that. Also, can we sell the materials here?"

"No problem, I have the appraisal qualifications, so let me see the materials."

It turned out the auntie was not only a receptionist but also an appraiser, a truly excellent person. Aichi transferred the materials from his treasure vault to his bag and then took them out. The materials included monster fur, claws, teeth, and magic stones. When the auntie saw the materials placed on the counter, she looked shocked again.

"Th-this is!"

The auntie carefully picked up the materials and examined every corner. After a tense moment, she slowly raised her head, looked at Aichi, and sighed.

"You really have something special. These are... from the Tree Sea, right?"

"Ah, yes."

Aichi didn't follow the classic plot of the other world. It would be impossible to bring materials from the Nether here, as it would cause a commotion. Although Aichi hesitated a bit because the Tree Sea materials were already quite rare, there were no other suitable materials to sell, so he ended up selling the Tree Sea materials. From the auntie's reaction, it was clear that Tree Sea materials were indeed rare.

Aichi imagined a scenario where he brought Nether materials, and the receptionist was shocked! The guild leader appeared! He was immediately recognized as high-level! The receptionist's eyes were full of hearts! This kind of plot... he had never even considered. So, Aichi sincerely hoped that Yue and Sia's cold gazes would stop, and his body involuntarily trembled.

"...You really don't learn, do you?"

The auntie looked at Aichi with a helpless gaze.

"I don't understand what you're saying."

Even if his inner world had changed, his otaku spirit remained... truly, old habits die hard. Aichi pretended to be clueless and ignored reality.

"Since the Tree Sea materials are of good quality, it would be a great help if you could sell them."

The auntie moved the conversation forward as if nothing had happened. She seemed to understand the atmosphere, a truly excellent person.

"Are they really rare?"

"Yes, in the Tree Sea, human senses go wild, and once you're lost, you can't get out. No one goes in there without a reason. Those who bring subordinates to explore the Tree Sea for profit usually sell the materials in the central area, where they can get more money and easily gain a reputation."

The auntie glanced at Sia. She probably thought Aichi had Sia's help to explore the Tree Sea. Thanks to Sia, Aichi wasn't considered suspicious after bringing the Tree Sea materials.

After that, the auntie appraised all the materials and informed Aichi of the amount. The selling price was 487,000 luca, a considerable sum.

"Is this okay? In the central area, they would offer a higher price."

"Yes, this amount is fine."

Aichi received 51 luca coins. Due to the properties of the ore, the coins were abnormally light and thin, making them easy to carry even in large quantities. However, even if the coins were cumbersome, Aichi had a treasure vault, so it wasn't a problem.

"By the way, I heard from the gatekeeper that we can get a simple map of this town here..."

"Ah, wait... Here, this is it. It also includes recommendations for inns, so you can use it as a reference."

The map he received was well-made, containing a lot of useful and detailed information. It was hard to believe that such a map was given out for free.

"Hey, is this okay? Such a beautiful map is free? I think this map could be sold for a lot of money..."

"It's fine, I wrote it out of interest. I have the talent of a scribe, so this is like doodling for me."

The auntie's excellence was almost concerning. Why was such a person working as a receptionist in a border guild? Aichi couldn't help but wonder if she had a tumultuous past.

"Is that so? Well, it's a big help."

"No problem. By the way, now that you have money, you should stay at a better place. It's not that our area has bad security, but because of those two, a lot of rowdy men will come out, regardless of the security."

Aichi was taken care of until the end. He smiled and said, "I'll do that," then headed towards the exit, with Yue and Sia following with their heads down. In the dining area, a few adventurers were whispering and staring at Yue and Sia until the end.

"Ah, they're quite interesting in various ways..."

After that, only the auntie's happy murmur remained.

～～～～～～～～

Based on the map, which was more of a guide, Aichi and his companions decided to stay at the "Masaka Inn." According to the description, the inn had delicious food, good security, and most importantly, a bath. The bath was the key factor. Although the price was a bit high, money wasn't an issue. However, Aichi was a bit curious about the name "Masaka"...

The first floor of the inn seemed to be a restaurant, with a few people eating. As Aichi and his companions entered, the gazes of everyone in the room focused on Yue and Sia. Ignoring those gazes, they walked to the counter, where a lively girl around 15 years old greeted them.

"Welcome to the Masaka Inn! Are you here to stay or to eat?"

"To stay. We came based on this guide. Can you provide what's listed here?"

The girl nodded after looking at the map Aichi showed her.

"Ah, you were introduced by Miss Catherine. Yes, everything is as listed. How many nights will you be staying?"

The girl efficiently started the check-in process, but Aichi was looking at something far away. He seemed a bit shocked that the auntie's name was Catherine, and he was pulled back to reality by the girl's call, "What? Customer?"

"Ah, sorry. One night is fine, including meals and a bath."

"Alright. The bath costs 100 luca for 15 minutes. It's available at this time."

The girl showed Aichi a schedule. Aichi wanted to take his time, so he requested two hours, which made the girl exclaim, "Two hours?!" This was a point Aichi, as a Japanese person, couldn't compromise on.

"Ah, what about the rooms? We have double and triple rooms available..."

The girl looked at Aichi with a bit of curiosity, probably at the age where she was starting to think about relationships. However, even the surrounding guests were listening, which was a bit much for Aichi. Although Aichi thought Yue and Sia were beautiful, they were more attention-grabbing than he had expected. Perhaps because his encounter with them was unusual, his senses were somewhat numb.

"Ah, please give us a triple room."

Aichi answered without hesitation, causing a stir among the guests. The girl's face turned a bit red, but someone interrupted Aichi.

"...No, two double rooms."

It was Yue. The surrounding guests, especially the men, looked at Aichi with a "You deserve it" expression, interpreting Yue's words as a request for separate rooms. However, their expressions turned to despair at Yue's next words.

"I'll share a room with Aichi. Sia will take the other."

"Wait, why! I don't want to be left out! What's wrong with a triple room!"

In response to Sia's sudden protest, Yue said directly,

"...If Sia is there, I won't be in the mood."

"Not in the mood for what?"

"...What... What do you mean?"

"Ugh!? What are you saying here! You're being perverted!"

Hearing Yue's words, the men looked at Aichi with despair and jealousy. The inn girl was already blushing and looking back and forth between Aichi and Yue. Aichi tried to stop the situation from getting worse, but it was a bit too late.

"Then, Miss Yue, please go to the other room! I want to share a room with Mr. Aichi!"

"...And then?"

Yue stared at Sia with a cold gaze. Sia, intimidated by this strong presence, remembered her training and trembled, but she declared loudly, as if shouting, "Women must be bold!"

"In that case, let Mr. Aichi take my virginity!"

Silence fell. No one spoke, and the entire first floor was completely quiet. Everyone in the inn, including the kitchen staff, who looked like the girl's parents, stared at Aichi and his companions with expressions like, "Ah, youth is beautiful."

Yue's eyes turned icy, and she moved slightly.

"...Next year's today will be your death anniversary."

"I won't lose! I'll defeat