ChapterEpisode 18: Karaldin
Just before Layla had a hot and enjoyable time, Emily Artion was wandering around Karaldin in search of work.
Of course, she wasn’t just wandering aimlessly without a plan.
Even though she had lived in a village rather than a city, Emily was a proper reincarnator, and she was a tiny bit more worldly than the average village girl her age.
Instead of just going around looking for work, she thought of asking someone she knew to introduce her to a job.
And, the only person she knew in Karaldin besides Layla was just one person.
“…So, you want me to introduce you to a job?”
“Yes.”
Taron of the Karabut Merchant Guild sighed as he looked at Emily, who had come to him so suddenly. He had expected something like this to happen, but wasn’t this a bit too quick?
There are many serfs and vagrants who try to sneak into Karaldin.
They crawl into the city dreaming of a slightly better life, but the lives of most of them end with wandering around the slums and dying.
Most of them get caught up in crime and become slaves, or they are used as members of the underworld and die.
It’s a little less harsh for women, but not much different.
Becoming a prostitute, or falling for a trick and becoming a slave.
The lives of those at the bottom usually end in a similar way.
“Haa, okay. So what can you do?”
If Taron’s personality was just a little more ruthless, Emily might have been turned away at the door. However, despite his seemingly annoyed attitude, Taron was a character who valued trust.
He had been paid to let them into the city, so he thought it was his duty to do a simple good deed in return.
Besides, this connection might grow into another network to support the Karabut Merchant Guild.
500 Lads was quite insufficient as payment for arranging a job and sneaking in, but Taron decided not to care.
He could fill the insufficient value with the goodness in his heart.
“Um… swordsmanship?”
Emily answered with a bewildered expression, but Taron frowned.
Most people generally thought that a village girl’s swordsmanship wouldn’t be anything great. Taron also had the same thoughts as ordinary people.
And practically speaking, swordsmanship isn’t very helpful for a girl like Emily to find a job. Maybe if she was used as a spectacle in a coliseum.
“Anything else?”
“Hmm… reading and writing, and calculating?”
“Hoo, that’s useful enough.”
Only then did Taron nod as if satisfied.
Since the Karabut Merchant Guild had a branch in Karaldin, it had a fairly wide network of contacts. Arranging a job for a village girl wasn’t a difficult task.
Especially if that village girl was quite pretty, knew how to read and write, and could also calculate.
And if she could even do swordsmanship, there was a suitable place.
Taron finished thinking and looked down at Emily, saying.
“Then, there’s a place I can introduce you to. Follow me for now. I’ll have you test your skills once.”
//
“Umm….”
When I woke up, warm sunlight was shining through the window.
No wonder my eyes were so bright.
I felt something firm next to my head, so I turned my head and saw Charka’s arm. The arm, as thick as my thigh, was rising and falling slightly each time Charka exhaled.
“….”
Charka was fast asleep with his eyes closed.
I barely managed to lift my sluggish body and looked out the window, and I could see people bustling about.
The sun was already high in the sky.
It was a very late wake-up for a resident of this world, but this was unavoidable.
Charka’s words that he could do it until the sun came up were not empty words.
An Orc wouldn’t lie, but I thought he would because those words are usually empty, so I naturally thought that would be the case.
I regret accepting it that way.
When I got up, the first thing I did was check my vulva, and as expected, it was slightly open. When I put my fingers in, it was usually tight even with just one finger, but now I could easily put in three.
Well, I guess that’s to be expected after dealing with an Orc all day long.
I’m learning the Succubus Art, so it’ll come back soon, but I really got screwed big time. Still, it never got this open back in Lakers.
They say that once a woman falls for an Orc, she never comes back, and this was a night where I experienced those words to the bone.
I sighed and took my hand out, and there was a sticky substance mixed with something besides vaginal fluid.
I wiped it on the sheet and recalled what had happened last night.
Actually, I don’t remember much from night to dawn.
It’s a bit ambiguous whether I fainted during that time, or whether the same time was repeated and deleted from my head.
“Kkeueung…”
When I got up, I felt a slight tingling in my leg muscles. It seemed like I had muscle pain because I had been spreading my legs for so long.
Even though it was reinforced with Ironclad Armor, I still had this muscle pain. I was a little dumbfounded, but fortunately it wasn’t too severe.
That’s why doggy style was better than missionary.
At least my knees wouldn’t be scraped, and I could feel it even deeper that way. Of course, if this Orc is the partner, it’s similar either way.
It’s just a matter of angle.
I picked up the clothes that had been discarded next to me and put them back on.
I still wasn’t fully recovered from fatigue, so I wanted to lie down next to Charka and sleep a little more, but I couldn’t delay any longer, or Emily might worry.
I was originally planning to go back in the morning, but it was later than expected.
Given Emily’s personality, she might be sleeping well, but you never know.
-Charrleuk.
I rummaged through Charka’s clothes, took out his pocket, and there were 10 silver coins worth 50 Lads and 20 silver coins worth 10 Lads.
After thinking for a moment, I decided to take only the 50 Lad ones.
It’s better to travel light.
“…Eut.”
When I tried to move again, I felt pain in my waist this time.
That fact was a little surprising.
This sometimes happened when I was dragged away by the guards or the Rockard Family, but that was when there were about ten people, and Charka is just one person.
Maybe if I hadn’t learned martial arts, I really wouldn’t have been able to move all day.
After thinking about it, I put one 50 Lad silver coin on the table.
It’s not a very meaningful action.
It’s just a small act of kindness that came from the thought that I enjoyed it too, so I should pay this much.
-Kkieeek.
Charka didn’t wake up even as the old hinge screamed.
I wondered if I would ever see him again, but since he’s in Karaldin anyway, I’ll probably see him occasionally in the future.
I turned away without regret and headed outside.
//
I came back to the inn, but Emily was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, a note that she seemed to have written was placed on the sheet on the wall.
-I’m going to work.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t in Korean, but in the Imperial Common Language.
….Did she even know how to write?
I sat on the bed, inwardly impressed.
Then, I used the Essence Absorption Art to convert the absorbed essence into internal energy and stored it in my body.
The nature of the essence absorbed from Charka was similar to that of humans.
But the amount was not comparable to that of humans. It was even more than the previous captain of the guard. I don’t know if this is a racial characteristic or a personal characteristic of Charka.
Anyway, it was worth giving him 50 Lads.
After circulating the Succubus Art and Ironclad Armor several times to control my body, I picked up the dagger I had left under the bed and left the room again. Since I was already awake and Emily wasn’t there, I was thinking of killing some time outside.
I paid for a week’s worth of room and board with the money I received from Charka and headed back to the street.
I was planning to go to the Adventurer’s Guild first. I wasn’t planning to become an adventurer right away, but I thought it would be good to know in advance.
The streets of Karaldin were full of life.
But it was a slightly different atmosphere from Lakers.
The vast majority of those walking the streets of Lakers were humans.
But that’s not the case here in Karaldin.
If you walk for a while, you’ll occasionally see Orcs, Hobs, and beastmen. There were just as many Half-breeds.
Unlike Demi-Walkers, which are classified as monsters, Orcs, Hobs, and beastmen are classified as people (Walkers). Of course, there are countries where this is not the case, but at least in the Kingdom of Kilkard, that was the case.
Especially in cities where adventurers gather, all Walkers are often treated as humans. Even if they are a little lacking in intelligence, they have the advantage of being able to communicate and having strong physical abilities.
Still, I don’t see any Ogres.
I thought there might be some because it’s Karaldin, but it was a little disappointing as much as I expected.
“Hey, miss. Would you like to have a meal with me…?”
Even while walking to the Adventurer’s Guild, there were a few men who approached me. They were wearing light armor and had weapons on their waists. The only people who are allowed to carry weapons in the city are adventurers, soldiers, and knights who have a weapon carrying permit, so the man in front of me must be an adventurer.
I waved my hand and refused his offer.
“I’m sorry, I’m busy right now.”
“Don’t be like that….”
I would have followed him around yesterday, but I’m not really horny right now. I ignored the approaching men and headed straight to the Adventurer’s Guild.
//
The Adventurer’s Guild in Karaldin was a building with a rather simple exterior. It’s a bit big for that. It feels like a design that emphasizes practicality over appearance.
When I opened the door and headed to the lobby on the first floor, I could see people in various outfits along with a buzzing noise.
Warriors with swords and shields, archers with bows, as well as mages in robes and priests in priestly robes are commonly seen.
As many as there are different occupations, there are also many races that make it up.
There were Hobs and Orcs, as well as furry beastmen.
Unlike bars, the Adventurer’s Guild surprisingly had quite a high percentage of women. Of course, most of them were priests, mages, and archers. After all, women are a little unreliable to put on the front lines, so it can’t be helped.
Anyway, it was a scene that was hard to see in Lakers.
“Ah, hello!”
And among the many people, I saw a familiar face in the center of the guild’s reception desk.
A red-haired girl wearing a white blouse, a green jacket, and a black skirt, the uniform that symbolizes the Adventurer’s Guild, was standing next to the reception desk and giving awkward greetings to the people who were approaching.
“…Emily?”
For a moment, I wondered if I had mistaken someone, but that couldn’t be. The girl in front of me was definitely Emily Artion.
She said she was going to work, but it turned out to be here.
Anyway, she was very talented.
To be working at the Adventurer’s Guild the day after coming to Karaldin.
I was about to go to Emily and say hello, but I decided to talk to her later. I don’t know the rules of this place well, but if Emily, who hasn’t been working for long, is chatting with me, it wouldn’t give a very good impression.
I decided to leave Emily alone, who was focusing on greeting people with a nervous attitude, and concentrate on looking around the guild.
Even though I came to the Adventurer’s Guild, I still didn’t plan to register or anything.
I heard that you simply fill out a form and test your skills, but that’s just an ideal.
I heard from a former customer, a self-proclaimed adventurer, that it’s not that simple.
There were many newcomers who wanted to become adventurers, and since they couldn’t test them all one by one, they usually start by getting simple evidence.
Bringing a slime core from the underground waterway, or bringing evidence of hunting beasts or monsters outside. Most of the tests are done after that. Of course, there is some corruption in this process, so the method is not very clean.
The best thing is to get a recommendation from existing adventurers, but that’s not easy….
“We meet again.”
…Perhaps, it could be.
As I heard the familiar baritone voice, I turned my head towards it.
There stood the Orc I had spent a hot night with yesterday.
“Indeed.”
As I smiled and replied, Charka approached me and took a pouch out of his bosom. Then, he handed me a silver coin.
“I’m glad I ran into you. 50 Rad. You didn’t take it.”
So he knew.
I heard from Lakers that Orcs weren’t very smart, but it seemed that wasn’t always the case. Still, handing it over in a place with so many people felt a bit much.
“That’s a gift.”
“A gift?”
He tilted his head as if wondering why I would give such a gift, but I just smiled silently. I was a little too embarrassed to say it was a gift for the hot night we spent.
He doesn’t need to know this.
However, Charka pondered for a moment at my words that it was a gift, then replied.
“Then I must give a gift as well.”
“…Yes?”
“If you receive, you return. It is the rule of Kurun.”
I wonder if the rule of Kurun is the rule of the tribe he belongs to.
But wouldn’t that mean gifts would endlessly circulate in a virtuous cycle?
“What do you want?”
As I remained silent, Charka put the silver coin back into his pouch and asked.
A gift he could give me, well, there was something suitable.