Translator: Cryus

We"ve arrived at the town of Remut.
In the end, Master didn"t do anything while I was hunting monsters.
He was just watching me.
At times, he simply raised his staff and pointed it at the monsters.
Most of it was directed to the Wild Dogs.
I don"t want to deal with them because they don"t drop anything though!
But he instructed me to do it, so I hunted them without questioning him.
I think I fought more battles here, but it actually took less time to kill them on the way to town, compared to when we were in the forest.
This is good.
If I hadn"t been using a search-and-destroy approach, we would probably have taken about an hour to get here from Master"s house.

We have to get off our horses and walk them by hand in town. It"s a rule.
There"s a corner just past the gate where we can feed our horses, but our horses are summoned monsters, so there"s no need to use it.
Also, they"re carrying some of our items.
Helix has perched himself on top of my rod.
I should do something about this too.

We"ve arrived at the Adventurer"s Guild. I release the bagged《Item Box》from the saddle on Master"s horse.
We secure our horses to the stations next to the building.
Helix is perching himself above it.

Master gives me a wink and enters the building.
I"m following behind with the goods.
Actually, isn"t this a little big for an《Item Box》?
I"m glad it"s not too heavy.

There"s a lot of people in here as usual.
Some of them are looking at the posted quests.
Others are accepting quests at the reception desk.
It"s morning, so no one is collecting any rewards right now.
But overall, there are fewer people in town compared to the first and second days.
Most likely more people are heading out of town on adventures.

Master is at the first section of the reception desk where no one"s tending to him, but just then, a middle aged employee shows up.
It"s the person who wrote the recommendation for me.

「Oh, thank you! Sorry about the sudden request.」

He"s thanking Master profusely.
His att.i.tude is really different compared to when he was talking to me,.

「Here are the goods.」

「I"ll count them all in another room.」

「That is a little unusual.」

「There"s been some noise after all.」

He looks serious.
I wonder if there"s a problem.
He jumps over the counter and shows us the way.
He gives a sideways glance at the reception desk and heads inside.
He enters the furthest door in the corridor.
It looks like a meeting room of some kind.
There"s an old man waiting inside.
He has a long white beard. It"s so thick I can barely see his mouth.

「Lugran!」

「Aurnier!」

They seem too old to be hugging each other.
Or at least that"s what I thought they were going to do.
Master stamps his staff on the ground, making a loud and threatening sound.
He"s grabbing and pulling the old man"s beard.

「You seem to have mistaken me for a convenience store owner, hm?」

「Ow! It hurts! Is this supposed to be repayment?」

「You pushed this novice adventurer onto me, so why not.」

「Ow! What are you saying? You probably killed time and made him do your bidding for convenience anyway. Ouch!」

「Tell me the reason, and we"ll start from there.」

Master finally releases the old man"s beard.
I"m starting to feel sorry on Master"s behalf, so I give the old man a polite bow.

「Very well. It has been a bit of trouble.」

This old man is the Guild Leader.
This is the information I see when I【Identify】him.

Remut Adventurer"s Guild Leader　Lugran　Lv.???
Light Elemental Mage　Serving Customers

Whoa, he looks awesome.
I think this is the first time I"m seeing someone with a t.i.tle before his name.
And it seems pretty important.

The middle aged employee is carefully opening the《Item Box》we left on the desk.
He"s arranging the potions in groups of 10.
Halfway through, he called a female employee to help him with his work.
They"re inspecting the goods.
I"ve done that as a part-time job.

I"m listening to the conversation between the old men while watching the employees work.
Right now, I"m interested in what"s going on with all the adventurers.
What happened here?
Because of the spike in adventurers, the market has lost its balance because it has been unable to provide various goods and necessities.
Potions being one of them.

Even though we made 430 potions, they"re saying that it"s definitely not enough.
The town is low on Healgra.s.s, which is an ingredient for potions. The Guild has been urging the Pharmacists in town to produce more herbs.
They"ve also directed all adventurers to return empty potion bottles for reuse.
They"ve also tried producing more gla.s.s bottles, but they"re not in a good spot with so few employees to begin with.
On top of that, they"re already low on quartz gla.s.s which is used for the bottles.

Because of that, the price of potions went up from 30 Dyns to 50 Dyns until yesterday.
The Merchant Guild complicated the issue by purchasing a bunch of them, so the Adventurer"s Guild is planning to settle things as soon as possible.
There"s talk that the prices of potions have reached 90 Dyns on the black market.
And Grade B- potions are being sold for over 200 Dyns. Just hearing this is scary to me.
Even for me, I only have one Grade C+ potion.
I can"t do anything if some punks decide to mug me for my potion.
The thought is scary.

Potions aren"t the only problem.
There are other things as well.
Arrows, for example.
Bow users were consuming arrows faster than workers were producing them. It was only recently that they started increasing the speed of production.

And because of that, production for staves for magic users have been halted. The only ones they have are in the store.
Then there"s Portable Food.
The cooks in the Adventurer"s Guild couldn"t even keep up with the adventurers, yet some families have been using Portable Food as emergency food.
The Adventurer"s Guild is making a slight profit from buying materials and ingredients from players. Raising the flat fee isn"t helping either side.

The Guild has already prepared to relocate its other buildings, but there are no woodworkers, so there"s not much progress going on in terms of the furniture in the new buildings.
This is really bad management on the part of the GMs.

「We have confirmed the total to be 8,600 Dyns.」

The middle aged employee gave the total price to Master.
They"re buying the potions from us at 20 Dyns each.
Master simply nods without a word.
The employee counts a few stacks of silver coins worth 100 Dyns each, then puts them into a small bag which he hands over to Master.

The female employee is continuously putting empty bottles onto the table.
What are they for?

「This is difficult for me to say, but we need even more potions by tomorrow.」

「You are asking for the impossible.」

「Well Aurnier, I know the impossible isn"t really impossible for you.」

「What about other pharmacists?」

「Now that"s impossible. Please, help us.」

The Guild Leader bows his head.
Master nods reluctantly.

「All right. I shall do what I can to help.」

「Thanks. I"m in your debt.」

「Repay me when I am still alive, alright?」

This means we"re going to gather more herbs and make even more potions today.
Our schedule for today is fixed.

「You sent this one to me, right? I am already having him help me make potions.」

「Oh, that"s great. We are in need of more Pharmacists.」

Sorry, but I"m a Summoner. Is there something wrong?

「Would you be willing to accept a separate request? This is the first time, so we would like you to deliver 15 potions.」

《You have received a quest from the Guild. Do you wish to accept it?》

Huh?
Master is grinning at me.
I wonder if it"s really okay to accept.

「Well, I"m still a novice, but I"ll try to help.」

《You have accepted a quest from the Guild! Please deliver 15 potions.》

The screen with the Yes and No options is disappearing.
But still.
I do have some potions in my rucksack.
I reach into it and arrange the potions on the desk.
I return the Grade C- potions into my rucksack.
The Grade C+ potion is stored separately in my《Item Box》.

「I have 22 potions. Will these do?」

The Guild Leader looks surprised, then breaks into a smile.
The middle aged employee begins counting.
I didn"t notice it before, but he"s using【Appraise】on each potion.

「Boss, everything is in order.」
「That"s good. You even brought more than requested.」

The employee hands me a small bag of coins.
There"s 4 silver coins worth 100 Dyns each…
…and 40 bronze coins worth 1 Dyn each.
They"re buying the potions at the same price.

《You have completed a quest from the Guild!》
《You have received 3 Bonus Points and 2 extra Bonus Points. You currently have a total of 9 Bonus Points!》

「Here"s the next one. Could you deliver 30 potions as soon as possible?」

《You have received a quest from the Guild. Do you wish to accept it?》

Dammit, I feel like I have no choice but to accept.
It looks like I can earn Bonus Points by completing quests.
In a way, that"s just what I want.

「Alright, I accept.」

《You have accepted a quest from the Guild! Please deliver 30 potions.》

30 potions.
It"s possible to deliver them by tomorrow, but not having free time kind of hurts.
The female employee is about to put some empty bottles into my rucksack.

「Oh, you may put those bottles together in this bag.」

Master is looking at the bag to indicate it.
It seems that he still has s.p.a.ce. Not like I have a way to find out though.

I can spare this money a little freely.
I"ve been wanting to buy some spare clothes for herb collection.

「Keith, I have something to discuss with this old man. Go take a walk around town for a while.」

「Okay.」

Just what I wanted.

I"m walking out of the Adventurer"s Guild. All of the Wild Rabbit Meat displayed at the window is now gone.
I begin walking around town with Zangetsu"s reins in my hand.
Helix lands graciously on the top of my rod.
There really are fewer adventurers in town compared to yesterday.
The green markers are hidden among the yellow NPC markers.

I"m looking around at the open stalls.
Even though it"s still early for lunch, there"s the smell of food in the air.
I stop in a corner of a row of stalls.
Something is catching my attention.

There"s a player selling food.
It looks like fried squid.
There"s also fried noodles resembling yakisoba.
There"s even meat skewers, most likely made of rabbit meat.

The stall next to it is selling seafood.
There are many kinds of fish as well as salted foods.
There are 3 players running the stalls, and they"re all female.
It doesn"t look like they"re working together, but they look similar in terms of appearance.

「Welcome! Enjoy some freshly made food!」

She"s giving that standard customer service smile, but I guess I"ll leave that aside for now.
The one who called out to me is the youngest of the 3 girls. I won"t say she"s extremely beautiful, but she knows how to make herself look charming.
I buy a fried squid and eat it while talking to her.

「It looks like there"s fewer players today. Did something happen?」

「The town is short on a lot of supplies and materials, so I guess they"ve gone to fulfill some quests and events that have been popping up?」

「Hmm.」

Is this girl actually a Cook?
This fried squid is really delicious.

「Are you a Cook, by any chance?」

「As a matter of fact I am. And you seem to be a Summoner.」

「Yeah. It"s a little tough, but I"m making some progress.」

「Same here. Being a Cook is one of the tougher production jobs, but I have to make a living.」

She looks at Zangetsu and Helix.
From her perspective, they should have green markers indicating that they are players.
But only player Summoners would drag along a horse and a hawk with green markers.

「I"m Keith.」

「I"m Mio. I"ll just say this first, but don"t try hitting on me, okay?」

「I wasn"t going to.」

【Identify】tells me that she really is a Cook.

Mio　Lv.2
Cook　Serving Customers

I reached out to her not because she"s a player.
It was because of her equipment.
She"s wearing a custom made leather jacket.
The heart shape on her jacket really stands out.
No NPC would have made that.

「In fact, what I want is a leather jacket just like the one you"re wearing.」

「Hmm.」

She"s showing a real smile.
Is this what it is?
Is she going to ask me to buy some yakisoba in exchange for information?
I"ll ignore her if she does.

「That"s fine. I can set you up.」

「Can"t you introduce us in person?」

「Well?」

She"s looking at the 2 people at the back of the stall.

「I"d appreciate any useful information you can give me.」

「Mio!」

The 2 girls are coming to the front.
They resemble each other.
No, they"d look like two peas in a pod if not for their hairstyle and equipment.
They"re probably twins.

「I welcome any customer. Don"t be so harsh on him!」

「Ugh, you"re so naive, Saki!」

The way she"s replying is kind of cute.

「Oh, don"t worry. I have nothing to do with this stall. We just arranged to meet here.」

The one who"s called Saki is slightly more mature and friendly.
Even though she dresses plainly, her facial features are really beautiful.
The other girl who came to the front resembles her, but she"s more charming than beautiful.
Even though they"re twins, they give a completely different impression.
She"s grinning and enjoying the interaction between the other 2 girls.

「I"m Saki. I"m a Leather Worker.」

「And I"m Fiona. I"m a Merchant, and I own the other store.」

「I don"t have any leather right now, but I can do something about it if you bring some materials.」

「I see. Then I suppose it"ll help if I show you.」

「If you have some right now, then I"ll be glad to see it.」

There"s a side table at the back of the stall where people can sit and eat their food. I move there and show her my materials.
She doesn"t look surprised at the Wild Rabbit Skin, but she seems interested in the Evil Ant Sh.e.l.l.
She"s taken aback by the Snow Ape Skin.

「I"ve never seen this before.」

「Yeah. It wasn"t on the forums, right?」

All 3 of them are giving me the『Where did you get it』look.
I"m feeling such intense pressure.

「I"ve seen the Evil Ant Sh.e.l.l on the forums before, but not the real thing.」

「It"s light, but it may be difficult to process this alone.」

c.r.a.p.
They have their large predator eyes on me.

「You have 15 pieces of Wild Rabbit Skin. It"s enough to make a jacket. Is there anything specific you want?」

「I want a pair of open finger gloves and a breastplate. Elbow and knee pads too, if possible.」

Saki begins mumbling something.
Most likely she"s calculating the materials she"s going to use.
I wonder if she really doesn"t need my measurements.
Maybe she can tell just by looking.

「I"d like to use the Evil Ant Sh.e.l.l for the gloves, elbow pads, and knee pads.」

「Are you using them for protection? Wait, are you going melee or something even though you"re a Summoner?」

「Yeah. as for the Snow Ape Skin, I"d like to use it for a perch for my Hawk.」

「Hawkplay?」

「Yup. I"d be grateful if you can make it for my left wrist or shoulder.」

What kind of a word is 「Hawkplay」?

「No, Saki. It"s called falconry.」

Putting aside Mio"s retort…
Saki is mumbling something again.
Conversations with her are normal, but it feels scary when she does this.
It"s like she"s cursing someone.

「Yup, I can do both. Don"t worry.」

「What about the design? I can make something similar to Mio"s jacket.」

「No, it doesn"t have to be that fancy. Also, today"s the third day, right? I"m impressed you made such a nice jacket so quickly.」

「Well yeah, I"ve been working hard at gathering materials and making it.」

Saki"s smile is frightening too.

「See? I told you I was right! This jacket is good advertis.e.m.e.nt!」

「Well, that"s good and all, but you"re about to burn the squid.」

「Oops.」

Mio goes back to frying the squid.
Go for it, Cook.

「So, how much money do you want in the pot?」

「Were you trying to make a pun?」

「Mio, don"t make fun of him. Let"s see, 1,000 Dyns sounds about right.」

Wow.
That"s more than I can afford.

「Wait a minute, Saki. There"s something I want to confirm with Keith.」

The Merchant Fiona, who was staying silent all this time, suddenly jumps into the conversation.

「You have other drops from Evil Ants, don"t you?」

「Oh, right. Should we call Reina?」

「She"ll come even if we don"t call her.」

How did she know I had other item drops from Evil Ants?

「Oh yeah, there was a post on the forums. They still don"t have screenshots?」

「Yeah. They said that we should closely inspect anything besides Rabbit Horns that could raise the bar.」

「I thought so.」

I don"t know what they"re talking about anymore.
Is this what it means when three women make a market?

Protagonist　Keith
Race　Human　Male　Racial Lv3
Job　Summoner Lv2
Bonus Points Remaining 9

Skill Sets
Staff Lv2　Punch Lv1　Kick Lv2　Summon Magic Lv3
Light Magic Lv1　Wind Magic Lv2　Earth Magic Lv1　Water Magic Lv1
Alchemy Lv1　Pharmacy Lv1
Cooperation Lv2　Appraise Lv3　Identify Lv2　Cold Resistance Lv1　Grab Lv1
Horsemanship Lv1

Equipment　Beginner"s Rod　Simple Clothes　Cloth Shoes　Rucksack　Item Box

Items　Survival Knife

Monster Summons
Volff　Wolf Lv3　Recalled and Resting

Zangetsu　Horse Lv1

Helix　Hawk Lv1