Ch.6Toward the Tinder (2)

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I woke up to the chirping sound of a bird perched on the clothesline.

Looking at the clock hanging on the wall, it’s exactly 7 o’clock, the very beginning of morning.

“7 o’clock…”

I once had a conversation with a lost historian.

He was wandering drunkenly by the docks, looking so precarious that I couldn’t help but meddle.

He told me many things, including that in the past, a day consisted of 24 hours.

And that the earth was round, and this rounded earth orbited around the sun as something called a “planet.”

Then humanity’s evil took form and destroyed the world, and humans were sucked into this world along with their home planet called “Earth.”

It wasn’t until a staggering 350,000 years after the fall that humanity sent the sun and moon back up into the sky, and the world that reunited with the sun and moon came to have 36-hour days.

The day when the sun first rose was designated as year one, the Solar Calendar was invented, and modern civilizations revolved around this calendar.

“Hmmmm…”

I lay still, thinking about what to do today.

The sun hadn’t fully risen yet, and the vast majority of people would still be in dreamland. I debated whether to go back to sleep or get up.

I raised my upper body for now.

A chilly breeze came through the window, and only then did my mind snap to attention.

Slide. Click.

Now the window was closed, and realizing I wanted more sleep, I lay back down in bed and tried to drift off.

*

Knock! Knock! Knock!

I don’t know how much time had passed, but I was awakened from my deep slumber by someone knocking on the door.

“Guest? It’s 9 o’clock, and breakfast will be served soon. Please come downstairs if you’d like to eat.”

“Ah…”

Looking at the clock, the hour and minute hands were indeed crossed at around 8:56.

I rubbed my eyes and got up, stretching to shake off the remaining fatigue.

Clack. Clack.

Opening the door and heading downstairs, I found numerous people occupying chairs and tables, having their meals—probably because it was time to head to work.

I sat at the counter, and after checking the key in my hand, the chef silently brought out bread, butter, and oatmeal topped with sour cream.

Rather than baking it fresh, it seemed they were reheating pre-made food, as the meal that arrived in less than a minute was steaming hot. I first mixed the sour cream into the oatmeal, then sliced the bread and spread butter on it.

Crunch… crunch…

They say connoisseurs can tell whether bread is high or low quality just by smelling it, but I was no connoisseur. All the “bread” I’d eaten until now was dry rye or corn bread, and even then, I could barely get my hands on moldy pieces or ones on the verge of rotting.

As they say, hunger is the best sauce—to me right now, even this bread could be called “gourmet.”

I emptied my bowl in 20 minutes, and after getting up, I headed to the blacksmith’s shop near the Adventurer’s Guild before going there.

My sword should be finished by now.

*

Upon arriving at the smithy, I first looked for the skinny blacksmith.

Before I could even call his name, he noticed my arrival and spoke to me. He must have been working through the night, as the skin beneath his eyes was dark with exhaustion.

“Welcome.”

“I’m here to pick up the sword I ordered.”

“Ah… the customer from three days ago. Wait a moment. Hey, Fitzgerald!! Where’s that sword you made? The customer’s here to pick it up!”

From somewhere in the distance came a voice shouting, “It’s on rack number 4!”

Soon, the skinny blacksmith handed me a set consisting of a longsword and a medium sword that had been placed on rack number 4, and I took them and secured them to my previously empty belt.

“Ah~! The Amaranthine style, is it?”

When I fixed the medium sword at the back of my waist with the handle facing left, the skinny blacksmith showed off his knowledge.

“Amaranthine style?”

“That way of wearing your sword. It originated in Amaranthine. It’s a place all swordsmen want to visit at least once.”

“Is it famous for swords?”

When I asked, the skinny man sneered as if I should know better.

“Of course! The oldest sword in the world is there! Amaranthine is far from here, so you can’t go right away. But, well, you’re an adventurer, right? Someday you’ll have business in Amaranthine.”

“…Right. I suppose I will.”

Adventurer.

What a sweet word that is.

Good, I have another goal now. I will go to Amaranthine.

Not now, but someday when the opportunity arises.

“By the way, you don’t look so good. Have you been sleeping properly?”

“Huh? Ah… I’m fine. It’s just everyday life for smiths like us. I managed to fulfill the contract somehow. What about you? Did you complete your first request well?”

“Hunting giant rats was quite a chore. Cutting off forty-six tails was even more so.”

“Ugh… a blade stained with fur and blood, I don’t even want to imagine it.”

He said with a grimace.

Actually, I had killed them with a club, but I didn’t particularly want to correct his misunderstanding, so I left the smithy after that final exchange.

*

“Ah, right. The armor.”

Only after leaving the smithy and arriving right in front of the Adventurer’s Guild entrance did I remember that my armor would be completed today as well.

I ended up changing course from the guild’s door to the clothing shop, and after walking for about 10 minutes, I reached the store where I had ordered my armor.

“Welcome!”

“I ordered a leather triplet and a long coat. Are they finished?”

“Just a moment… A leather triplet and… a long coat with ivory exterior and burgundy lining, correct?”

“Yes, that’s it.”

“Please wait a moment.”

As I waited briefly at the counter, an employee with a magnificent beard came out and led me to a changing room.

Only then could I receive my leather armor and long coat. As I expected, the leather armor was very sturdy, looking like it would resist even knife stabs well, and the long coat was so long it barely avoided dragging on the ground.

Both the armor and coat were larger than my body size, but since I was still growing, clothes that fit perfectly would soon become too small, so I deliberately ordered them in a more generous size.

“It suits you very well. One might even believe you’re a veteran adventurer.”

“I like it… This leather armor… what material is it made of?”

“Bear hide. There happened to be some prowling around this area.”

“Oh ho.”

I had expected ordinary cow or sheep leather, but bear hide? It felt like I’d stumbled upon a windfall.

Clink!

“Oh my.”

“This is a tip.”

“Thank you, sir. Have a good day.”

I gave a silver coin as a tip and left the clothing shop.

Money truly is the best. With 100 copper coins equaling 1 silver coin, and 1000 silver coins equaling 1 gold coin, I still had hundreds of silver coins remaining.

I returned to the Adventurer’s Guild with my coat flapping behind me, and like a member of a secret society, I deliberately pulled up my hood despite there being no rain.

A hooded man heading to the Adventurer’s Guild with two swords at his side… doesn’t it sound like the opening description of a novel?

I smiled beneath my hood.

Yes. This is what I wanted.

What else is adventure? This is adventure.

Lost in such exciting thoughts, I soon arrived at the Adventurer’s Guild.

*

The jingling sound of the Adventurer’s Guild’s main entrance was becoming familiar to me as I first headed to the request board.

The board was still crowded with people, so many that I couldn’t even squeeze in. I ended up sitting on a nearby sofa, waiting for people to disperse.

“This request is beyond your level. Choose something easier.”

“Ack… let go!”

And today, the muscle man was there again, unfailingly playing the role of disciplinarian, preventing straw-ranks like me from going on suicide missions.

….Honestly, it doesn’t seem very effective. But if that’s what he wants to do, who am I to stop him?

Not that I would try, with muscles that look like they could fold someone in half…

As time passed, around 10 o’clock perhaps?

All those adventurers left for their adventures one after another, and soon I could get up and examine the now much less crowded request board.

“Let’s see…”

To be honest, there aren’t many requests available for someone of my straw rank.

Still, when I lowered my gaze to the very bottom, there were a few that caught my interest. Among them, I tore off a request posted by a cheese workshop.

A request from a cheese workshop? I couldn’t even guess what it might be about, but the content was simple.

It seems a thief had broken into their cheese storage, and they wanted someone to check it out.

Calling the police would make the incident too big, and sending an employee seemed too dangerous, so they had no choice but to hire an adventurer.

Having accepted the request and memorized the route to the cheese workshop, I left the Adventurer’s Guild and…

“Rickshaw!”

“Yes! Coming!”

I called for a rickshaw.

Why did I bother memorizing the route to the cheese workshop then?

……

Good question?