Chapter 31

Summary of the previous chapter ------------------------------------------------------

I hear about the fate of a classmate who took a landmine skill from Wakabayashi. I give Tommy, formerly Wakabayashi, some advice and a bit of money, then part ways.

"Did you think about including Haruka in the group, but ended up parting ways?"

"Oh, Toya, did you want to go with us? If you had said so, I would have considered it."

After parting ways with Tommy, we returned to our original path and hurried a bit to head towards the city of Saarstadt. Although we spent some unexpected time on a rescue mission, Haruka predicted that if we keep this pace, we should arrive before evening.

"Even if I considered it, I think the answer would be no."

"At the very least, I won't be taking him with us now. No weapons, no armor, no combat skills. He might be a bit tough, but that's all. We're going to a place we've never been before, and we're not strong enough to protect someone like that."

"Normally, it should be fine, but if something like a Vibe Bear appears, it could be dangerous."

That's a kind of trauma for us. We can't accurately measure our magic power, but after that battle, we didn't have enough left for another fight. Considering our stamina and arrow consumption, even now, with some combat experience, two of them would be our limit. If we had a liability, it would be even more dangerous.

"Besides, I'm not close enough to him to put him before Natsuki and the others. They are more important to me. Right?"

"Yeah, that's the same for us."

Wakabayashi isn't a bad guy, but our relationship is limited to being classmates. Compared to Natsuki and the others, who we are closer to, even without considering gender, Natsuki and the others are far more important. Plus, Wakabayashi is a dwarf and strong, so he should be able to make a living as a day laborer once he reaches the town.

"We know him a bit, but it would be hard to abandon him if he's in danger. I don't want any of us to get hurt. As I said before, we can't heal limb loss."

"That makes sense."

"Basically, we weren't that close to Wakabayashi—no, Tommy. We don't really want to include him in our group."

It's honestly a hassle to add someone to our relatively stable group without a good reason. Even if we were to include someone, we wouldn't be very enthusiastic unless there was a strong emotional or logical reason. Among our current classmates, the only ones with that kind of emotional connection are Natsuki and Yuki.

"Hey, don't you think Toya and the others have few male friends? They often hang out with us, right?"

"Um, depending on the level of friendship, I can't deny that there's a tendency."

"So, they don't have many friends, huh?"

"No, they do have friends. It's just that the level of friendship is low."

The level of friendship Toya mentioned—probably a measure of closeness—is unclear, but he had friends he talked to and hung out with at school. However, their interactions were limited to school, and they rarely went out to play on weekends.

It's not that they refused to socialize, but with the time they spent playing with Haruka and the others, Toya, and gaming, they simply didn't have the time.

"Well, in a way, we benefit from that, so we can't really complain."

"You guys often get involved in trouble."

Because of that, we often accompanied them when they went out. We were like bug repellent. It's also a sign of how cute they are, but according to the three of them, "We don't find it exciting when delinquents come around!" Of course, that's normal.

"Maybe, in our original world, they had the qualities of heroines!"

"You can't say that it's impossible—now."

Haruka shrugged and sighed, and we nodded. Knowing about the existence of the evil god, we can't completely deny it.

"Anyway, let's move on. We need to get to Saarstadt quickly. We've already wasted some time."

"Right. Can we make it before the gates close?"

"I think so, but let's run. It shouldn't be dangerous on the road."

Usually, the city gates close when the sun sets, and you can't enter. We should have planned with some leeway to avoid camping outside, but we probably wasted over an hour with Tommy.

"No problem. Let's jog."

We agreed with Haruka's suggestion and started running, with Toya, who has sharp senses, leading the way. Even though we said it was a light jog, our speed was probably on par with world-class marathon runners. From recent training and practice, we know we can run for a few hours at this speed while carrying our gear.

We need to be careful not to be too tired to fight in an emergency, so this is a relatively relaxed pace. The difference from our original world is clear. However, we arrived in Saarstadt without any incidents.

◇ ◇ ◇

Saarstadt is a town that developed around the ferry crossing of the Noria River. Originally, it started with a few inns where people waited for the weather to improve to cross the wide and often turbulent Noria River. Gradually, more shops and homes were built, and the town was established with a defensive wall and a military presence, recognized by the state.

Because of its history, the town is divided by the river, with the functional part of the town on this side, where Lafan is, and mostly inns on the other side.

Compared to Lafan, Saarstadt is much smaller, which is actually convenient for us since we are looking for people. The defensive wall is also much weaker, made of wood, and you can see through the gaps. However, there is a proper gate, and a gatekeeper stands there.

"Hello."

"Welcome to Saarstadt. The boats are running today."

"Thank you."

An elderly, kind-looking man greeted us. We showed him our guild cards and entered.

"Excuse me, can you tell us where the adventurer's guild and the inns are?"

"The guild is that building over there, and if you go straight down this street, there are about ten inns near the dock. The most popular one recently is called 'River Breeze,' but it might not be suitable for you girls."

"---? Thank you."

The gatekeeper pointed to a small building next to us, which was the adventurer's guild. It was no bigger than a regular house, much smaller and poorer than the one in Lafan.

"Shall we check it out?"

When I suggested this, Haruka shook her head.

"No, let's do it later. We don't know if Natsuki and the others are working as adventurers, but they probably won't be here at this time of day."

"Right. Let's find an inn and have lunch first."

We arrived in Saarstadt in the early afternoon, either because the town was closer than we thought or because our physical abilities were better. We had planned to have lunch on the way if it took longer, but we didn't stop because we saw Saarstadt while talking about having lunch.

"Right. Let's find an inn and have lunch first. Then we can search the town. It's not that big, so if they're here, we should find them in a few days—assuming they are here."

"Hey, Haruka. Don't set up a bad flag. Let's believe they are here."

The town is small, less than a kilometer on each side, and we could run through it all in a day if we hurried. If Natsuki and the others are working in a visible place, we should find them in a few days, as Haruka said. But that's only if they are here. As Toya said, we have to believe they are here and search.

"I want to believe that too, but if we're too optimistic, the shock will be greater... Let's secure an inn first."

The road from the gate leads straight to the dock by the river, and it's not very long. We walked a bit and soon reached the area with inns on both sides.

"Hey, isn't that 'River Breeze' the inn the gatekeeper mentioned? He said it was popular, but his tone was a bit off."

The inns lined up didn't look much different from the outside, but 'River Breeze' seemed to be a popular inn (or restaurant) as we could hear people talking even though it was just past noon.

"Right, it seems busy... Shall we stay there?"

"I'm fine with it. In a way, I'm mentally prepared."

"...But there's a bad possibility."

In this world, getting good food is surprisingly difficult. Cheap food is usually bad, and even expensive food isn't always good. It's better to expect the worst and be pleasantly surprised.

"Let's go in, then."

When Haruka opened the door, a louder noise came out. The tables were full, and the counter was packed, with no room to sit. It must be that the food here is really good. Our regular inn, 'Drowsy Bear,' is like this during meal times, but there's one thing that caught my attention.

—There are no women.

Every table and the counter were occupied by men. It was a bit grim. Is this normal for a port town?

"Welcome!"

A young girl's voice broke my confusion.

"Sign girl, here we come!"

Toya said this, and I completely agreed. We hadn't seen any young girls in Lafan, and the 'Drowsy Bear' had a bear dad. Why, I don't know.

Isn't it okay to have a sign girl?

In other places, the guild receptionist is often cute, but calling Diora 'girl' is a bit much. She's charming, but...

I was about to agree when I saw the girl's face as she turned around.

"—Isn't that Yuki?"

"Yeah."

"This is unexpected."

It was the face of a friend I remembered, almost unchanged. Yuki had chosen to remain human while we changed our races. She looked a bit worn out, and her appearance was slightly different, but I couldn't mistake her. She didn't recognize us immediately, but when she saw Haruka, Toya, and me, her eyes widened in surprise.

"—!! H"

"We want to stay for a night. Is there a room available?"

Haruka raised her hand and spoke loudly, interrupting Yuki.

"! Y-Yes..."

"Great, let's do the paperwork."

Yuki, who was interrupted, looked confused but went to the counter and opened the ledger. Haruka stood in front of her, blocking the view of the other customers, with Toya and me behind her.

"...Is that Haruka?"

"Yeah, it's Yuki, right?"

"Yep! Natsuki is here too!"

"That's great... I know the others are Naoto and Tomoya, right?"

"Yuki, you're safe."

"It's been a while. I'm relieved."

Toya and I raised our hands and said this, and Yuki looked like she was about to cry.

"I, I..."

"Stop. I understand, but let's talk later."

While saying this, Haruka gently held Yuki's hand, which was gripping the counter.

"Come to our room when you're off work. Is there a room available?"

"...Yeah. A three-person room?"

"Sure. How much?"

"One night, no meals, is 1,200 rea, but..."

Expensive!

—Wait, is it just that 'Drowsy Bear' is cheap?

But it's more than double. It's 500 rea without meals there.

Haruka's eyebrows twitched, so she probably thought it was expensive too. Yuki looked a bit worried about us.

Well, we can afford it.

"Alright, it can't be helped."

"Right. Here you go."

"Thank you."

Haruka handed over 12 large silver coins and received the key.

"The room is up the stairs, at the end, on the right."

"Thanks. —See you later."

Haruka whispered and we headed to the room.