episode_0006

When you think about your past life in another world, there is one profession that comes to mind first.

That would be an adventurer.

In the world of swords and magic, it is the most promising occupation and the ultimate dream of those who wish for a new life in another world.

Adventurers take on big and small quests from guilds, building their reputation and wealth while enjoying the “fun” and “income” at the same time.

I, too, used to think vaguely about all the good things that come with being an adventurer.

But being an adventurer is not something anyone can just do.

In everything, there are certain things that are essential.

If you want to run a restaurant, you need cooking skills, building or rent fees, ingredients, cooking utensils, and so on.

Similarly, if you want to be an adventurer, you need swordsmanship, magic, basic equipment, and basic physical strength.

An adventurer?

Saying, “I’m going to be an adventurer starting today!” as a naked person with nothing in this world was definitely out of the question.

Do swords and armor just fall from the sky?

After picking up a piece of leather on the street and crawling into a church, I realized that becoming an adventurer was not as easy as it seemed.

If I were to meet my past self, I could confidently say exactly what the narration says.

“You, coming to this world with that kind of mindset, will end up achieving nothing.”

“Through his self-objectification, Yunoa finally mastered the strange technique of criticizing his past self.

He felt that his current self had definitely improved compared to the past.

But as everyone knows, he is only indulging in self-reflection and has not done anything yet.”

That’s true.

So, I’m going to work hard from now on.

Anyway, becoming an adventurer is not an easy task.

Even if I’m an F-rank adventurer who is completely ignored by the guild, as long as I’m stronger and richer than me, I can do it.

But I wanted to become an adventurer no matter what.

The money I have now is all the 30 silver that was given to me by Tina, who used to be a saint.

Even an ordinary sword costs an exorbitant amount.

I decided to first find out how much money I needed to become an adventurer.

***

Kubel is known as a free city, but it is also famous as a trading city.

This is because it has a port where ships come and go, being adjacent to the sea.

I spent almost half a day wandering the streets and familiarizing myself with the geography of this new city.

Then, I visited weapon shops, general stores, and armor shops to calculate the cost of becoming an adventurer.

“Let’s see… 3 gold, 5 gold… one, two…”

Roughly calculated, I would need 10 gold.

In this world, 100 silver is equivalent to barely 1 gold, so in silver, it’s 1,000 silver.

And how much money do I have? 25 silver.

If you’re wondering why 5 silver is missing, it’s because I bought a skewer because I was hungry from walking around.

It was a grilled skewer with unknown animal meat and leaks alternated with a savory sauce, and it was incredibly delicious.

Even though the narration criticized me for eating without doing anything, I couldn’t starve.

“10 gold…”

Honestly, even though I’m not yet familiar with the economic concepts here, I felt that it was a huge amount.

Just getting the ‘basic equipment’ would cost this much without being too greedy.

Even if I invest in becoming an adventurer, I may or may not break even.

Becoming rich from starting as an adventurer with nothing but the clothes on my back!

It seemed like a story that was too good to be true.

Still, I won’t give up.

I hurried my steps before hearing the narration calling me a pathetic loser.

***

“I don’t really need any staff, you can check somewhere else.”

The kindly lady with a soft and warm expression waves her ladle in one hand as she shakes her head.

I don’t know how many rejections I’ve already faced with this.

Finding a job was not an easy task.

Even in the original world where job listings were conveniently available online, I never bothered to find a job.

So, it was no surprise that finding a job in this world was not going to be easy.

Even after checking the job postings for hiring, there was nowhere I could apply due to lack of skills or experience.

Therefore, I went around asking if any place needed extra hands, willing to do any odd job.

I was rejected at restaurants and blacksmiths.

I visited general stores, weapon shops, clothing stores, and even farms, but all I received were shakes of the head.

“There was nowhere that would accept Yunoa, who had never done anything worthwhile in his life.

With no knowledge, skills, or experience, he was truly like a blank slate.”

The narration criticized me, but I couldn’t help feeling a bit unjustly treated.

If it were my original world, maybe it would be understandable, but in this world, it seemed unavoidable.

No, there was no time to complain.

With little money to spare, if I couldn’t find a job soon, I would end up back in poverty.

Ah, becoming an adventurer is so difficult.

By the way, where could Tina be and what could she be doing?

She mentioned looking for a job here too, so maybe we’ll meet again someday.

If I were to meet her again and she was doing well while I was back to being poor, that would be the worst.

I can’t bear to face such embarrassment.

Let’s keep looking a little harder.

“Yunoa, who was on the verge of becoming a beggar for not finding a suitable job, was in a situation where he should worry about begging for food rather than becoming an adventurer.

Meanwhile, at the port of the trading city of Kubel, a trading ship loaded with trade goods was preparing to dock.

After a week-long voyage, this trading ship was filled with expensive and valuable goods not easily found in this country.”

A trading ship.

Listening to the narration, I turned my head towards the sea where the port was, and indeed, I could see a large ship approaching from afar.

“…Are they trying to give me a hint?”

I muttered softly as I watched the large ship getting closer to the dock.

If it weren’t for the narration, I wouldn’t have known that such a ship was coming in.

So, I was more concerned.

The electronic nun living in my head didn’t just spout venom.

Sometimes, amidst the venom, there seemed to be subtle stories that could be helpful.

“Well, I’ll know once I go.”

There’s no point in overthinking it.

I immediately headed towards the port, where the trading ship was about to dock.

* * *

There were already many large and small ships docked at the port of Kubel.

Indeed, true to its name as a trading city, trade through the sea route was actively taking place.

Among them, the trading ship that the narration had mentioned was notably large.

I found a visible spot near the dock and watched as the trading ship approached.

They said it was filled with expensive goods.

I wonder how much money just one of those wooden crates would be worth.

“Lower the anchor!”

“Lower the anchor!”

A rugged-looking man on the trading ship shouted loudly, and the crew members hurriedly moved around, shouting back.

Sailors have a rough image, and it seems no different here.

As the ship docked, I went closer to the dock to get a better view of the situation.

“Hurry up and unload! Don’t dawdle! Don’t drop it!”

A muscular man with a headscarf shouted as he came down to the shore.

The crew members started unloading heavy-looking cargo from the trading ship.

I looked around, trying to find the person who seemed to be the captain of the ship.

Honestly, I was intimidated by the strong scent of testosterone in the air, but I needed a job.

Wearing a captain’s hat on my head and dressed in a uniform unlike the other crew members, a man stood out.

Summoning my courage, I approached him and spoke.

“Um… Are you the captain of that ship?”

“Yeah? That’s me.”

When I spoke to the captain of the trading ship, he looked at me with sharp, piercing eyes that seemed to have no particular thoughts behind them, but it was enough to send shivers down my spine.

“I’m in need of work. I’ll do anything you ask of me diligently.”

But I was already thick-skinned.

I realized that if I had nothing and no skills, I would have to pave my way to survival with a steel plate on my face.

Even if the captain stared at me with intimidating eyes, the worst that could happen was getting cursed at and rejected.

After listening to me, the captain rolled his eyes, showing a lot of white, and scanned me up and down before speaking.

“Hahaha! You think you can work on our ship with that weak body? Must be a joke.”

I expected as much.

But his reaction wasn’t as harsh as I thought.

Let’s try a little harder.

“I’m short on money and need work immediately. If I can’t work as a crew member, I’ll gladly do cleaning. I used to clean a church that eight people cleaned together, but I did it all by myself.”

“Hmm.”

At my earnest request, the captain’s eyebrows slightly furrowed.

Indeed, this man was frightening.

He was the kind of man who would scare away at the sight of a kraken appearing in the sea.

But they say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.

After a moment, the captain of the trading ship spoke to me.

“It seems like a matter of survival. Fine. Clean all the cabins, decks, and masts of our ship spotlessly by the day after tomorrow. Give the cleaning duty guys a day off as well. If you impress me, I’ll give you 1 gold.”

Yahoo.

I got a job.

Thank you, Captain.

But wait, I have to clean this insane-sized ship all by myself?

…Damn.