Ch.35Western Morning

After extensive searching, we settled on “Central Palace,” one of the finest inns in Zemest.

Although the lodging fee was a hefty 5 gold per night, considering the stable rental, laundry service, and most importantly, the availability of a four-person family room, it was actually cheaper than booking two rooms at a lower-grade inn.

After leaving Ancestor at the inn’s stable, we headed to the Zemest Adventurers’ Guild to sell the Hunting Wolf pelts and the Mountain Troll’s magic stone.

While the Oxville Adventurers’ Guild was practically defunct except for quest referrals due to financial difficulties, one of the important roles of an adventurers’ guild is supposed to be purchasing various materials and magic stones acquired by adventurers.

“Unlike Oxville, they still have an actual guild building here.”

“But there aren’t many people around.”

“The role of a pure adventurers’ guild has been greatly reduced here too. Most people who come here are transporters looking for goods delivery requests, or merchants with spare space in their carriages.”

“So there aren’t many jobs suitable for adventurers…”

“There are some small transport requests. Like delivering a box of whiskey to the Blackforge Mine.”

“That’s just food delivery…”

I thought the dwarves could just come and get it themselves, but there must be reasons for ordering delivery. Maybe they’re too busy with their smithing to make the round trip to Zemest, or perhaps it’s common for dwarf messengers to drink the goods on the way… Let’s not think too deeply about that.

“How do we sell materials? Are there purchase requests posted on the bulletin board?”

“For rare materials or bulk purchases, there might be specific requests posted, but basically you just talk to the reception desk, and they’ll check the quality and buy it right away. Will, do you want to try?”

“Maybe we should let Seti handle it. She’s the one who skinned the Hunting Wolves.”

“Me? Um… okay. I’ll do it.”

As we approached the reception desk with Seti in the lead, a uniformed female employee spotted us and smiled. Having a young and pretty female staff at the adventurers’ guild reception desk seems to be an ironclad rule of this world.

The madam from Oxville? She wasn’t affiliated with the guild, so she’s an exception.

“Welcome. Are you here to request a quest, or to accept one?”

“I’m here to sell Hunting Wolf pelts and a Mountain Troll magic stone. Here’s my license card.”

“My goodness, a beastfolk adventurer? And if you’re Ellem Lu Seti… are you the one who recently registered as an adventurer in Oxville?”

“How did you know?”

“There was a small article in the newspaper a few days ago. There weren’t any photos, but it mentioned the first cat-folk adventurer in Grantis history.”

The three of us looked at each other with wide eyes, surprised by this unexpected information from the receptionist.

While newspapers wouldn’t be out of place in a western-style setting, we hadn’t seen anyone selling newspapers in Oxville or Ambers Ranch, so we hadn’t given it any thought until now.

“Is the newspaper with Seti’s story still available?”

“It was a daily paper, so it’s not being sold anymore, but they might have copies at the newspaper office or printing house. It was the Western Morning.”

“Western Morning… thanks. I’ll check it out later.”

I’m not sure exactly what the article about Seti said, but judging by this employee’s reaction, it doesn’t seem to have been written with a negative tone. If that article has been spreading to other western cities we’ll be visiting, perhaps the prejudice against Seti as a hostile native might have shifted somewhat favorably.

Pleased by this unexpected good news, we took out the two Hunting Wolf pelts and the Mountain Troll magic stone. The employee examined them carefully with a magnifying glass, then purchased the pelts for 15 gold each and the Mountain Troll magic stone for 550 gold.

“Next, shall we go get the newspaper with Seti’s adventurer debut story?”

“Hmm~ Could I ask you and Seti to handle that? I’d like to use the magic book editing room before it gets too late.”

“That’s right, you mentioned you wanted to overhaul your magic. How long do you think that will take?”

“It’s about 3 PM now, so I’ll finish by 7 PM and return to the inn. Until then, you two can do some sightseeing, and we’ll all have dinner together.”

“Four hours… I feel bad making Jessica do all the work alone.”

“Only magic users can enter the magic book editing room anyway. See you later.”

“Alright.”

“Good luck, Jessica.”

Jessica headed to the Colonial Development Office building to re-edit the spells registered in her magic book, while Seti and I decided to check the map of Zemest in the central square to find the Western Morning newspaper office.

We entered an alley about halfway up the northern main street and found the office tucked away in a fairly secluded spot. A boy who looked to be in his early teens was organizing documents when he rushed over to greet us. With spiky brown hair and healthy skin tone, he gave the impression of an energetic young boy in his prime.

“Welcome! This is the Western Morning newspaper! What brings you here?”

“Um… I was wondering if you still have a newspaper from a few days ago. The one with the news about the beastfolk adventurer from Oxville.”

“That would definitely be from four days ago… March 15th! We should have some left in storage! Please wait here for a moment!”

The boy opened a door to the back of the office and returned in less than thirty seconds with a newspaper.

Though called a newspaper, it was different from what I was used to—more like a two-page (single sheet) newsletter about A3 size—but with an elegant title logo at the top and neatly printed text divided into paragraphs, it was unmistakably a newspaper.

Scanning from top to bottom, I found the article we were looking for about halfway down the front page.

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[First Cat-folk Adventurer Born!]

On March 13th (Day of Light), the Colonial Development Branch in the First Western City of Oxville witnessed a historic moment.

The native “cat-folk,” who have maintained a closed stance toward colonists since the armed conflict near Riverside in A.S. 78.

A young cat-folk girl has expressed her intention to join the path of the Western Colonial Project, breaking over twenty years of silence.

Recognized for her achievement in bringing down key figures of the slave-trading “Red Fox” gang, Ellem Lu Seti, a cat-folk girl who officially received a Frontier License, has formed a party with two colonial adventurers, William J. Kim and Jessica Walter, with whom she had previously been associating, and headed toward the western lands where infinite mysteries and glory await.

The Director-General of the New Continent Colonial Development Headquarters, Jeronimo, also expressed great joy at this news and left a message of support, sincerely hoping that her presence would be a catalyst for improving the long-stagnant relationship with the cat-folk.

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“Oh, so the Director-General of the New Continent Colonial Development Headquarters is supporting Seti’s adventurer debut. That’s great news, Seti.”

“Yes. I hope the relationship between the cat-folk and the colonists improves, even a little.”

“Wait! So the beastfolk lady there is Ellem Lu Seti from this article?!”

“That’s right. We came here after hearing about the newspaper article at the Zemest Adventurers’ Guild.”

“Thank you for the favorable article.”

“Then, I have a request!!”

The newspaper boy couldn’t hide his excitement as he grabbed a large camera from the corner of the desk and looked at Seti with sparkling eyes.

“May I take your picture?! My brother stationed in Oxville regretted not being able to photograph Miss Seti! If I take pictures and publish a follow-up article, the news of the cat-folk adventurer’s debut could attract people’s attention once more, and more people might recognize and think favorably of Miss Seti!”

“A picture… you’ll take it? Where are the other newspaper staff?”

“The editor-in-chief is at the printing house, and the other reporter is out at the Blackforge Mine! Oh, I may be an apprentice, but I’m a reporter for the Western Morning! My name is Thomas Wayne, please call me Tom!!”

A newspaper apprentice reporter. I’m not sure whether to admire him for having a proper job at such a young age—much more impressive than I was at his age—or to lament the state of child protection in Grantis, but I set that issue aside for now and considered Tom’s proposal.

The article in the Western Morning was indeed favorable to Seti, as she said, and if it could soften people’s perceptions of her personally or of the cat-folk in general, there would definitely be merit in spreading an updated article with her photograph.

If it becomes widely known that Seti is an adventurer with a Frontier License, even those with negative feelings toward the cat-folk would be unlikely to harm her at the risk of becoming Desperados.

On the other hand, if there are already criminals who have fallen to Desperado status—such as remnants of Jonathan’s gang—Seti’s appearance being made public could potentially make her a target for them.

Either way, the decision isn’t mine but Seti’s, and all I can do now is explain to her the potential merits and demerits of accepting Tom’s proposal. After hearing my explanation, Seti thought for a moment and then looked at Tom.

“Tom.”

“Yes!”

“If I let you take my picture and another article is published, can you guarantee it will be favorable like the last one?”

“Of course! The right to draft the article belongs to the person who did the reporting, so I’ll write it myself, and the editor-in-chief personally thinks well of you, Miss Seti!”

“Then you may take my picture.”

“Are you sure about this, Seti? Have you really thought about the risks?”

“Since I’m already in a party with colonists and adventuring together, people will recognize me as the cat-folk adventurer from the newspaper even without a picture. If I can’t completely avoid people who want to harm me, I’d rather choose to increase the number of people who support me and the cat-folk, even by just one.”

Seti certainly has a point. Usually, she would choose to prevent a 10% crisis over pursuing a 90% opportunity, but if the risk is unavoidable anyway, it’s not a bad idea to accept Tom’s proposal and gain the positive influence it might bring.

“For that reason, I’ll accept Tom’s request.”

“Thank you! Then, one shot in front of the office, one on the main street, and one close-up of your face, please!”

“Alright. If needed, I can pose with my spear too.”

“You’re being very enthusiastic, Seti. Were you actually interested in having your picture taken?”

“…I can’t say I wasn’t.”

Though Seti turned her head and answered primly, my sharp gunman’s eyes didn’t miss the slight blush on her cheeks.

Seti may seem quiet and cool at first glance, but surprisingly, her expressions are easy to read.

Watching Seti pose sometimes demurely, sometimes bravely according to Tom’s requests, I thought I should definitely get a copy of tomorrow morning’s Western Morning newspaper.