episode_0080

“Oh, oh… I really like this. It’s amazing that there’s still a mansion like this near the city, big and abandoned, with no one caring.”

Mariel nodded her head approvingly as she wandered around the dusty and broken furniture-filled Bellaforte mansion.

With a peculiarly aged tone and strange taste, what exactly is she trying to do here?

Watching her quietly from behind, a sense of curiosity that wasn’t there before began to emerge.

“If you like it… should I buy it right away?”

“Yes! Of course! I’ll buy it for 5,000 gold!”

Mariel nodded enthusiastically with both hands on her hips.

How old is she… she looks young, but with that tone, it’s hard to guess her age.

Could she have used magic to reverse aging?

Well, as long as I can sell this mansion right away, I’ll be grateful.

“But… you…”

As I was about to finalize the sale of the mansion to Mariel and leave, she suddenly observed me intently.

“Is there a problem?”

“Are you an adventurer?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Hmm, hmm. Indeed… oh… is that so… hehehe….”

Mariel muttered incomprehensible words as she slowly turned around me.

It feels ominous for some reason.

“If… the deal is done, can I go now?”

“Oh! You can go. Tell Algot I appreciate it! I’ll send the payment over there! I plan to tidy up the mansion a bit!”

Even as she said that, her gaze was fixed on me to the point of discomfort.

With narrowed eyes, she looked at me, even giving off a sinister smile.

Ignoring her suspicious gaze, I left the Bellaforte mansion.

***

The payment for the mansion was delivered to me through Algot the next day.

I didn’t have an immediate need for a large sum of money, but I was satisfied with disposing of that old mansion and gaining some economic freedom.

“What do you think of meeting Mariel? She was quite unique, wasn’t she?”

“Yes… quite… but is her way of speaking always like that? Is she really very old?”

“Oh, no. She’s not. She spent time with an older mentor since she was young, so her way of speaking is influenced by that.”

But can one’s way of speaking really age them that much?

Did she not meet many people outside before?

“She said she’s a mage, is Mariel also an adventurer?”

I asked Algot.

In reality, although I frequented guilds and participated in various expeditions, mages were quite rare.

Most of the mages I had seen specialized in a few specific attack spells.

But Mariel introduced herself as a mage and a magic researcher.

From the start, teleporting from a distant place was impressive.

Even though she failed a bit, she felt different from other adventurer mages I had seen while going back and forth from the guild.

“Mariel is not an adventurer. Strictly speaking, she deliberately did not register as one.”

Algot replied.

Not registering as an adventurer… for someone who can use that level of magic, they could have been very successful as an adventurer.

“But Mariel is a pretty good mage. She didn’t register as an adventurer because it wouldn’t help her with the magic research she wants to do. If she had been active as an adventurer, she would have become even more famous.”

“Even though she’s not an adventurer, she can easily give away 5,000 gold like that.”

“There are many ways to earn money.”

A mage who earned a large sum of money purely through her own power without registering as an adventurer.

Honestly, I thought that was quite impressive.

Most people born with the ability to become adventurers usually register with the guild first.

Later on, even if I did other things, most adventurers kept their qualifications and were active.

I was the same.

Even if you had the ability to fight monsters, it wasn’t easy to make money without receiving requests from the guild.

The overwhelming information power of the guild and the various tasks that came from there allowed for stable livelihood.

Above all, the rewards paid by the guild from the silver rank were quite high compared to the average person.

Therefore, I didn’t feel the need to engage in high-risk, random-return individual activities while bearing the risk.

“Anyway, thank you for finding a buyer for the mansion.”

I expressed my gratitude to Algot once again.

Since she took office as the guild master of Kubele, I have received various help from her.

Carrying a thick purse, I left the study and realized once again that connections were important in this world.

***

Usually, an adventurer’s day starts by going to the guild early in the morning to receive requests.

But what about a wealthy adventurer’s day?

“Here, this is the key. You have a really good eye.”

A middle-aged man with half of his head shaved handed me a small key and praised me.

With the money from selling the Bellafork Mansion, I bought a small house near the guild.

Even if I sold the mansion for a much lower price than the original price, it was not comparable to the price of an ordinary house.

This is truly the dream of owning my own home.

Living the life of an adventurer who might leave this city at any time, having a home to return to still gives me peace of mind.

Using the key I received to open my home’s door and enter, I was greeted by a tidy room with a small kitchen attached.

Since I lived alone and often left the house due to my job, I didn’t need a fancy mansion like Bellafork.

The cozy room with a fully equipped kitchen and a loft on the second floor that could serve as a storage space was perfect for me.

It was a good atmosphere for inviting acquaintances over for a meal and a chat.

The guild was also very close, so I could reach it within 5 minutes of stepping outside.

In many ways, this house had nothing but advantages for me.

By the way, I wonder how the Bellafork Mansion I sold is doing now.

That magician named Mari seemed to want to use it as some kind of magical research lab.

I was curious to see how that mansion, which would require a hefty repair fee to be properly valued, would change in the hands of its new owner.

Well, I’ll stop by the guild for a bit and see how things are with the mansion if nothing unusual happens.

Today, I planned to take a break from requests.

And I have enough money left, so why not.

Is this what they call peace of mind?

As I was about to leave the house and head to the guild, a familiar face appeared.

“Oh? Sylphy?”

“Oh! Senior! Are you here to request something?”

Sylphy, with her mushroom-like short hair, approached me with a bright smile as soon as she saw me.

“But… what’s that on your back…?”

However, unlike when I saw her before, Sylphy was carrying a huge bow on her back.

The size of the bow was so large that she wouldn’t even be able to sit on the ground in that state.

Compared to the abnormally large size of the bow, Sylphy’s petite and slender figure made the bow look even bigger.

“Oh, is this what you’re talking about?”

Sylphy took out the bow from her back and showed it to me.

“You advised me last time, right? That I’m more suited for long-range attacks rather than close combat. So, I looked for various ways and thought this would suit me best, so I changed my weapon.”

“Still… isn’t it a bit too big?”

I took the bow from Sylphy for a moment and examined it.

It was too big even for me to use.

It would require tremendous strength to draw the string.

With a body enhanced through magic conversion, I shouldn’t be lacking in strength, but…

Just how powerful are the arrows shot from this bow?

“At first, I chose a smaller bow, but when I tried using it for a request, I still felt a bit uneasy. So, I started looking for a bow that could shoot farther… Ahaha…”

“Have you used this before?”

I asked as I handed the massive bow back to Sylphy.

I never expected that casual advice I gave her would turn into this.

Of course, it’s easy to reach a weapon like a bow when looking for a means to attack from a distance, but still, the size is a bit much.

“Sylphy sincerely felt grateful to Yunoa. After achieving the Silver rank, she couldn’t handle Silver rank requests on her own. The problem of magic concentration being released in close combat was so serious that she couldn’t complete requests suitable for her rank. Because of this, Sylphy, who was experiencing financial difficulties, changed her weapon and was now handling requests on her own.”

At that moment, the narration revealed an unexpected fact to me.

Sylphy… had serious problems that prevented her from completing requests of her rank.

When I asked her if she wanted to come with me to find Dragoknight ore and she showed a subtle reaction, I now understood why.

Still, it’s fortunate that she’s handling requests on her own after changing her weapon.

I didn’t expect such a big change from my advice.

“As long as there are no distractions around, I can concentrate quietly. By imbuing magic into the arrows, I can attack from very far away without any problems. Last time, I solved a monster that looked like a black dot on a high hill with just one arrow!”

“That’s… quite impressive.”

To take down a target so far away that it looks like a black dot with just one arrow.

That’s not ordinary skill.

“It’s all thanks to you, senpai!”

Sylphy nodded gratefully to me.

Well… as long as it turned out well, that’s all that matters.

If there’s a request to do together next time, I want to see with my own eyes her shooting that massive bow.

After a brief farewell with Sylphy, I entered the guild.

I was planning to take a break from requests today, but it’s probably a good idea to at least check the bulletin board.

However, as soon as I entered the guild, someone was waiting for me.

“Oh! You’re here! Yunoa! I’ve been waiting for you!”

It was that eccentric wizard, Mari, who bought the mansion.

Why is she in the guild if she’s not an adventurer?

She approached me and started scanning me up and down with her sharp eyes.

“Hmm! As expected… Hm! I see! Oh…”

“What do you want?”

“I won’t beat around the bush! Yunoa! Be my experimental subject!”

Eek.