Chapter 16: Arrival at the Town of Aressa

Just in case it wasn't clear, "Randell" actually has two "l"s because it's pronounced "Rand-elle" not like a weird spelling of "Randal" . Just thought I'd mention that so that your mental-reading is accurate .

What, you don't read things by having a voice recite the lines in your head?

Weirdo .

As for notes related to the story, if you haven't already noticed, I've changed the drop-down menu a bit for Sword-shisho and separated the viewable chapters by number .

It's hard to explain, but I'm sure you'll get it if you just take a look yourself .

The reason for this change is simply to keep the amount of scrolling necessary to a minimum .

Anyways . This chapter's shorter than most... But that doesn't mean I'll do a double release or something . I had to finish off moving stuff that was stored in my previous house today, so I was occupied for a good 6 hours . Or maybe more . *shrug*

Enjoy the chapter .

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We continued to be tossed about in Randell's carriage for two hours .

「Oh, I can see Aressa!」

Atop a hill, I saw what appeared to be walls . Although, even if I say that I saw them, it was still quite distant . It's a distance that seems like it'd take another two hours to reach .

Still, it's quite large . According to Randell, it seems to be the biggest town in this area, with a population of around 10,000 . The only Adventurer's Guild in the area also seems to be in Aressa .

That reminds me, I forgot to ask about something important .

「How much is the entrance fee of the town?」

「Ah, it's 300 Gorudo . 」

Crap, I don't have enough . What should we do? Goblin Horns seem to be too cheap if they're sold to anyone other than the Adventurer's Guild...

That being said, I should also ask about the prices of other things as well . That way, I can calculate the necessary expenses, and plan for the future .

「How much per night at an inn? A cheap one would be fine . 」

「An inn, huh... The lowest rank inn would be about 200 Gorudo . Of course, rooms like that would come without meals . 」

I also asked about prices of other things . The average meal is 50 Gorudo, a loaf of bread is 10 Gorudo, a cheap knife is 300 Gorudo, and using a bathhouse is 20 Gorudo per visit .

Those seem to be the rough values, at least . 1 Gorudo is about 10 yen, it seems .

As for money... The coin rankings are: Copper Coins → Large Copper Coins → Silver Coins → Large Silver Coins → Gold Coins → Large Gold Coins . It takes 10 coins of the same kind to go up a rank . Even though Randell's a merchant, it seems that he's never seen a Large Gold Coin .

「How much would the Goblin Horns be at the Guild?」

「One pair would be 20 Gorudo . Merchants would buy them for about 5 Gorudo per pair, though . 」

Cheap! Goblins are really cheap! If you didn't hunt 10 a day you'd be unable to pay the inn's charges......

But what should we do? Even if we sold the 8 pairs of horns to Randell, we still wouldn't reach 300 Gorudo .

While being troubled, my Presence Detection showed a reaction . It belongs to something further ahead on the highway .

I tell Randell to slow down, and then proceed to scout ahead . Regular old Goblins were hiding in the bushes, it seems . As always, we'll counter using an ambush of our own .

The battle is finished in an instant with Fran's swordplay and my Magic . While collecting the horns of the five Goblins, I catch sight of a sword one of them were carrying . Wooden Clubs wouldn't be worth anything because they're nothing more than large branches, but I'm sure that a sword would be worth something, at least .

『Lucky . If we sell this to Randell, we just might reach 300 Gorudo . 』

When we return to the carriage, Randell buys the sword for 200 Gorudo . Its price was higher than expected .

「That much?」

「It's made out of Bronze, but it's in good condition . Adventurers would surely buy it if it were put for sale . 」

That really was lucky . With this, we'll be able to enter the town . Of course, the horns will be sold to the Guild, too .

As we continued along the highway, we hunted another Demonic Beast, which Randell bought . It was a black bug known as the Black Beetle . Its length was about 50cm long . It seems that its exoskeleton is used to make protective gear for beginners, so he bought it for 20 Gorudo .

Still, Demonic Beasts are quite cheap . Its materials could be used to make protective gear, yet it's only priced at 20 Gorudo? Well, I suppose being a lower ranked Demonic Beast would also contribute to that, though . Aiming for weapons carried by Goblins would likely be more effective . As expected, it's the fate of Goblins to be hunted by me .

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「So, Randell, were you able to return safely?」

「While traveling, there were a number of times it became quite dangerous . 」

「Ahh . Who's the young lady?」

「I picked her up along the way . I'll be taking care of her Admission Procedures as well . 」

「Alright . Your luck must have been good for coming across Randell's carriage . Randell's quite strong, so having him around would be quite reassuring, right?」

Towards the words of the middle-aged Gatekeeper, Randell smiles wryly . In actuality, it was Fran who protected and escorted Randell, after all .

However, because revealing that fact would have been unnecessarily conspicuous, we decided upon the scenario of Randell picking up and escorting a young girl along his trip .

「Alright, that'll be 300 Gorudo . Here's your temporary entrance certificate . It's valid for 3 days . Because re-entry costs money again once it wears off, be careful!」

Alongside that information, I had already learned that if one has an official identification as the town's inhabitant, or an Adventurer card, entering the town seems to be free . Because of that fact, I wanted to hurry and obtain an Adventurer card .

「Welcome to the town of Aressa . 」

Joining the Adventurer's Guild doesn't seem to have an age restriction . There is, however, an aptitude test that needs to be taken before the card is issued .

「Well, I'll be heading back to the shop . I suppose Fran will be going to the Adventurer's Guild?」

「Unn . 」

「My store's to the West of the main street, if you have time, please pay me a visit . 」

After saying so, Randell went on his way .

Even as he left, he didn't say anything else . Even though it could only be seen as naïve, he let a young girl that was walking along the road alone accompany him without even knowing her circumstances . Even until the end, he didn't ask of anything but her name . He was a genuinely good natured person .

After we've collected some money, we should pay him a visit . A visit to the man who was our first companion on our journey .

『Well, let's get going . 』

「Nn . 」