Esily
And so, I went to the well and showered.
Though this world had magic and many “travelers” who came from modern Earth, the imperial family wasn’t overflowing with enough money to expand the water supply system to the 3rd district of Baruk.
As far as I know, I heard that they are gradually expanding the water supply system, starting from the capital, Lukphelton, where the current emperor is.
It’ll probably take a few years.
Finishing my shower with that thought, I put my clothes back on and entered the inn to order the magic soup.
It had a great price-performance ratio.
“One soup, please.”
“Ah, yes.”
Magic soup was a soup made by putting all sorts of ingredients into a cauldron and boiling it continuously.
If there were any edible ingredients, people at the inn would add them to the cauldron on the spot.
And that’s how the never-ending magic soup was born.
And there was a reason why I ate this soup.
One bowl of soup was 5 copper.
To put it accurately, it was about 50 cents.
Although the hygiene was a bit concerning, it wasn’t a huge worry since it was boiled.
Thud.
The employee scooped a few spoonfuls of magic soup into a bowl and placed it in front of me.
A savory smell hit my nose.
“Hmm.”
It seemed like someone had added something savory to the soup.
There was no way it would smell this savory otherwise.
By my standards, this soup was delicious.
There were times when I used to eat food waste on the streets, so compared to that, this was a very rich meal.
And at that moment.
A thought crossed my mind.
Would it be right to order bread here?
It was a concern.
‘Bread… is 1 silver.’
If I gave up one bread, I could eat two bowls of soup.
But it was a bit much to give up dipping bread in the soup.
So, with tears in my eyes, I took out 1 silver from my Subspace pocket.
“...One bread, please.”
“Ah, yes.”
How should I describe the bread I ate?
It was delicious.
*
Having filled my stomach, I came out of the inn.
"I wanted to try out the advice I received from the forum last time."
With that thought in mind, I entered the Adventurers' Guild.
Creak-
The door opened with the eerie sound unique to old doors, revealing the still-deserted interior of the guild.
It was still morning, so perhaps everyone hadn't entered Baruk yet, or they were still asleep at the inn.
Most adventurers weren't exactly known for their diligence.
The majority preferred to take it easy.
I could understand.
If I had the time, I'd probably be leisurely too.
"Hmm..."
As I approached the counter, I saw Esily, once again dozing off.
What the?
Why is she sleeping again?
Does she always sleep like this?
While having such useless thoughts, I tapped on the table.
And then-
"Huh…! Greetings…!"
"Ah, Esily. By any chance, are there any quests you could recommend? It's my first time taking on a quest, so something suitable would be great."
Before mentioning the money I wanted to deposit, I thought it would be better to receive a quest while there weren't many people around.
It seemed like it would be difficult to get a good quest once it got crowded.
When I asked, Esily stared at the notice board for a moment, then got up and took down a quest parchment.
And then, she showed it to me.
"Usually, it's best to start with goblin subjugation.. but since you're a mage, Eugene, let's start with orcs."
"Yes?"
"Orcs."
"Um.. Aren't orcs a bit difficult to hunt?"
Hearing that, Esily chuckled and said,
"Well, for someone of your caliber, Eugene, orcs should be a piece of cake. And to advance to the Silver rank, you need to at least be able to handle orcs."
"...Hmm, I see."
To be honest, I was a little worried.
I had never been in a real fight before.
Sure, I had gotten into some scuffles on the streets, but I'd never experienced actual combat.
Street fights and battling monsters were on completely different levels.
With that thought in mind, I spoke to Esily.
"In that case, shouldn't I form a party? I heard parties are important."
“Um… usually, you only need two people for a Silver rank Orc subjugation, but maybe it’s because of the Demon King’s revival, but the Orcs have been gathering in hordes. So, you need at least four people at the Silver rank.”
“Hmm… four people…”
I was a bit worried.
Could we really have a proper party play with people I haven’t even met once?
It would be weird if I wasn’t worried.
“I, I’m not good at those kinds of things.”
Maybe it’s because I’m shy, but I’m not good at leading others.
That’s why I prefer to be led by others.
But I have to gather party members on my own.
A sigh escaped my lips.
“Ha…”
As I was sighing like that, Esily, with her golden curly hair, smiled and spoke to me.
“How about I help you a little?”
“Yes.”
I can’t refuse this.
You have to seize an opportunity when it arises.
It would be foolish to foolishly reject an opportunity that came to you.
“Then I’ll write down the recruitment requirements here. You can come back here at the same time tomorrow. There are a lot of adventurers who want to take on Orcs since it’s a good way to build up achievements.”
“Oh… Okay.”
It was fortunate that Esily was being so kind to me.
Thanks to her, I was able to receive such comfortable service.
I should buy her something later.
Thinking that, I thanked Esily.
“Ah, thank you. Thanks to you, this is much easier even though it’s my first time…”
“Oh, no problem.”
She has such a kind heart.
I was so grateful.
To think she would go this far for me.
Except for being a mage, I was nothing special.
“Then I’ll be on my way.”
“Ah, yes. Please come back around the same time tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
With that, we parted ways.
“Ugh…”
I stretched my stiff body for a bit.
Then, I went outside the Baruk 3rd district for a while.
I had to practice my magic for the day.
Normally, I wouldn’t even bother with this kind of magic practice, but I had been doing it consistently since the other day.
To increase magic power, repetitive practice is good.
Of course, sitting down and imagining spells is also practice, but it's a little less efficient.
[Electric Field]
I try out the techniques I've mastered in my room for the past three days.
Crackle-
All living things within a 10m radius would have fainted.
Unfortunately, the only thing here was an ant, so only the ant fainted.
Thinking that, I started to practice hard.
"Ah, the bank."
Come to think of it, I haven't deposited any money.
Well, I can do it next time.
*
It was probably a few days ago.
The day I was harassed by adventurers until night.
And at that time.
An adventurer who used honorifics to me appeared for the first time.
The man called himself a 'magician'.
At first, I didn't believe it.
A magician wasn't the kind of power you'd commonly find in a neighborhood like this.
That's why I called the guild master.
But-
'...He really was a magician. And a very strong one at that.'
According to the guild master, the magician named Eugene had very pure and vast mana.
It wasn't clear exactly what level he was, but in terms of skill, he was somewhere between a gold plate and a platinum plate.
Surely he himself would have had an idea of his own level.
But to be so kind.
It was unbelievable.
Like people who usually approach me with their eyes on my body, I couldn't help but think he had ulterior motives.
However-
"Then I'll be on my way."
"Ah, yes. You can come back around the same time tomorrow."
"Yes."
Even though we met after three days, the magician left the adventurers' guild quickly as if nothing had happened.
As if his only purpose was to make the request.
That's why I couldn't help but be taken aback.
Almost no man had ever met me and not shown any lust.
I'm ashamed to say it myself, but I think I'm quite good-looking.
And I have a good body too.
But to think he wasn't interested at all.
It hurt my pride a little.
At the same time, I became curious about the magician named Eugene.
That's why the guild gave him special treatment, unlike other adventurers.
"Hmm..."
I wonder how long it would be before he shows interest in me.
I was very curious.
Most men showed interest the moment their eyes landed on me. It wasn't an entirely unpleasant feeling.
As I was returning to my seat, my mind awash with these thoughts-
"Don't do anything naughty. It's very rare for a wizard to come to Baruk District 3."
The guild master's voice startled me. He materialized behind me, chuckling.
I understood the underlying message in his words.
'Don't try to attract attention on purpose.'
But his words only fueled my curiosity about this wizard named Eugene.
What kind of person was he that warranted such a warning?
I wanted to know more.
I continued to work while harboring such thoughts.
I couldn't wait for this shift to end.
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ReplyDeleteDifferent tls? Some terms are different, such as magician instead of mage
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