"Welcome to the great Labyrinth City Knossos!"
Mint dramatically spread his arms wide as the six of us spread out in front of him.
His wagon was parked on the side of the road a bit inside of the city and we were roughly lined up beside it, receiving his little speech.
Well, most likely it was only intended for me, being the only one that was visible to him that hadn't come here before. That said, I felt embarrassed for him, the way he was trying to make it bigger than it really was.
The city was big for sure. Even from outside it was hardly comparable to Linsington City we started at. The walls were higher, and took up more of the horizon. Even the gates were much larger, with wider doors and layered defences and the guards stationed there were more heavily armed and armoured than any I had seen before. The brightly painted plates were especially nice looking, with their vibrant blues and yellows.
The inside of the city wasn't too much different from Linsington, but the buildings that I could see from the main street looked like they were in better condition. That was nothing to say about the streets themselves. They bustled with thrice the number of people in comparison, as well as the shopkeepers and street vendors who were yelling loudly to attract last minute sales as the sun was going down.
"Umm, anyways, let's go get the confirmation for the completion of the job."
It looked like Mint had realized how embarrassing his little act was, and moved on, getting back onto the driver's seat on the wagon. The rest of us followed his wagon to the adventurers' guild.
Like the city walls, the adventurers' guild building was larger than the one in Linsington City, along with the front being more well taken care of. Or maybe it was just that it was repaired more recently? I could see some cracks on the walls near the front entrance that suddenly stopped at the door frame, which had its own share of scratches and minor cracks.
The wagon was parked in a dedicated parking lot beside the building with it's own guard watching it, this time his uniform had the same blue and black that all the guild employees I've seen wore. Though this time his top was puffier and had button-like rivets punched all over the front of it in neat rows. It was probably some sort of armour, but I hadn't seen that style before.
We all entered the building together, and was greeted by the noise of eating and drinking on one side and people talking loudly enough to be heard on the other. Doing our best to ignore it all, I followed Mint to one of the five lines to the receptions counter. It seemed like it was bigger there as well.
"While there were a bit of a hiccup, I have to say I was quite satisfied with your work Miss Scarlet."
As we waited and I half listened to another of Claret's stories, Mint suddenly piped up.
"Huh? Oh, thanks."
"If we managed to get through the Brokecleft Mountain Range without letting any imps notice us, then I would've given you a perfect mark."
"Oh, sorry."
While that bit wasn't directly my fault, it was still a part of the chain of events that I had started. Those things were probably a big deal to normal adventurers, even though Claret dealt with the entire group like they were a side show it seemed.
"It's fine Miss Scarlet! Not every run through those mountains go smoothly, and the fact that you managed to beat all the imps that came after you on your own is really amazing!"
The human boy adventurer responded frantically beside me.
But looking at him, the figures of the other two adventurers he was partied up with weren't around. Turning my head to the side, I saw them sitting at a table with drinks in hand as they were arguing about something again.
(When did they get over there?)
"Well, it's true, but I'd rather not face them at all. It's not worth the added danger, and sometimes you can get really unlucky and a whole lot of them might show up."
Thinking back, I did see a lot of imp corpses around that small lake where I killed that hydra. A group that large might've been a serious threat to these guys. Then again, I wasn't the one who fought them, so I had no idea how strong they were.
"I suppose that's true."
The boy gave Mint a wry smile.
"So what are you plans from here Miss Scarlet? I suppose you'd want to try your hand at the dungeon in the city?"
"Ah, umm, probably, yea."
I was looking forward to seeing how different it was here. And now that I didn't have to worry about Alicia getting hurt on top of having no real priorities anymore, it was finally time to brush off the accumulated rust since the last time I had a serious go at dungeon diving.
If things went well, I'd even be able to refill the ingredients I've been using up the last few weeks.
"I see. I suppose that it'll take you a while. I was going to head south to Praeliator City next before slowly looping back around then back, but you'll probably be diving into the dungeon for more than a few days, won't you?"
"Ah, probably."
"Yes, well, I hope it will go well for you. But in about a month over in Praeliator City, the Championship of Arms is going to be held. It'll be your chance, as the tournament only runs every five years, so many of the region's best will be attending. If you're interested in testing your skill, I recommend it wholeheartedly."
"Ah, maybe."
(No way. I don't wanna do something as troublesome as that. It's not like I actually care about how strong I am compared to others.)
"Haha, well, if you do decide to enter, it's unfortunate, but my schedule won't allow me to watch. I'll have moved on before then. Oops, it's our turn."
Mint arrived at the counter with the two of us behind him. He talked to the receptionist and handed him a wooden tag along with a metal card. The card looked a lot like the ID card I had from the adventurers' guild, but his had a different logo on it, with the words [Charwood Company] written under it.
After giving it a quick glance, Mint motioned towards the counter while looking at me. On his other side, the boy placed three guild cards on the counter, all with the adventurers' guild logo on them. I quickly pulled off my bag and got my card from it before placing it on the table with the four others.
The guild worker took the cards and the tablet before operating the usual device underneath the counter. After a few moments, he placed our cards back on the counter along with some coins in four separate, equal piles.
I grabbed my card and one of the piles before throwing it all into my bag haphazardly. The amount I received was a bit paltry for how long I was working for. In those two weeks, I could've made more than ten times that much by hunting, and that didn't take into consideration the reward for selling off the materials.
That said, it was a request for a lower ranked adventurer, and it was an easy job, even taking that into consideration. Since this sort of work was pretty reliable as well, I could understand how people liked it, but to me it was just boring as all hell with practically no perks that I could recognize.
From then on, I would refuse all escort jobs unless if I had a really good reason for it.
With the request finished and the paperwork done on our side, we headed towards the table the others were sitting at. The party leader handed the other two their guild cards and we all headed outside.
"Oh right. The materials from the monsters we killed."
It was such a minor thing, I had forgotten all about it.
"Oh those things?"
"Yea, do you want them in the back of the wagon?"
"Hmm...how about you keep them? The reward money was probably a bit low for someone of your strength, right? You did most of the work and even provided all the meals on top of that."
"No, it's fine. If anything, just put that much effort into the orphanage or something instead then."
"Is, is that so? Then I'll graciously accept them then."
I dug out all the remaining parts of the monsters I had hunted the last two weeks. There was still a significant amount of meat left, along with everything else that wasn't edible. All of it was piled up on the back of the wagon and the tarp was lain over it all before its ends were tied down to secure everything.
The adventurer kids helped out as well as gave their own thanks.
It was a bit embarrassing how they tried to make it a big deal, but to me, it was more like throwing away trash. I really didn't want to have anything to do with the leftovers of such monsters, and I didn't have much use for the money they could be sold with. My own living expenses were paltry after all.
"Now then, do you want us to show you a good inn to stay at Miss Scarlet?"
The cat boi and the girl looked towards me with sparkling eyes as their party leader asked me. To the side, Mint was glancing my way with the corner of his eye.
"No, it's fine. I want to look around for a bit. I'll find somewhere after."
"Is that so? It's getting pretty dark, so don't wander around for too long, or all the inns will close up. It won't be good for such a pretty woman to be stuck outside overnight."
The other two looked disappointed while Mint nodded to himself for some reason.
Somehow this prompted another one of Claret's stories. I was long tired of hearing them, but Alicia enjoyed listening to them and Claret telling them so much, I didn't have the heart to complain.
Half ignoring the two, I gave my goodbyes before I started to make my way down the street.
The overall layout wasn't particularly different from the previous city, though I wasn't sure about the location of each district in particular.
As the three of us travelled through the main street, I looked on at the various stores. There were quite a few stores that dealt with various types of weapons and armour, and even more that specialized in travelling goods and supplies. The street vendors interspersed here and there were mostly selling fresh food. The scent wafted over, but didn't do a thing to stimulate my appetite. I knew in my head that they probably smelt good to normal people, but to me it was difficult to get past the burnt smell.
There was no way to hide it, since she was sharing my senses.
I flicked my own forehead with a finger, letting out a loud smack. People surrounding us stopped to look around for the source of the sound, but I ignored them, and they all continued with their way after a little bit.
As we passed through a few more blocks and went deeper into the side streets, Alicia reminded me that we hadn't eaten for a while. When I turned to look at Claret, her eyes were sparkling and there was some drool that started to leak from her lips.
We continued until I was certain that there weren't any people who could see us in any direction before activating [Spirit Form].
With that, I made a bunch of regular mana treats in one hand as well as one big one in the other, and tossed the normal ones into the air before handing the big one to the dark spirit.
All the spirits around me munched on the mana treats happily while I opened my bag to retrieve a jar of blood. It was from several rush rabbits. I still had quite a lot of hydra blood, but I wanted to save that for a special occasion.
It seemed like there was more than just levels when it came to enjoying the taste of weak blood. Maybe she'd get over it once she's gotten used to it though.
After we all finished eating, Claret started to tell another story about Scarlet.
I'd lost count of how many stories she had told, and as tired as I was when it came to hearing them, I still payed at least a little attention to them just in case, since they were first hand accounts of events that had happened in this world, a world I had far too little knowledge about.
Considering Claret, she would've definitely told the little girl what it meant without leaving any details. As smart as she was, Alicia didn't need to know such a thing so early.
When I thought about it, Scarlet's encounter rate was pretty insane. It reminded me of all those stories where wherever the protagonist went, trouble seemed to just follow. I was glad that my first two years was relatively quiet.
I hoped that the last few weeks were more of an outlier for myself than anything. I'd welcome a return to a slow, quiet life, even if it was filled with hunting monsters.
It was. I didn't think I'd go that far for a thief, but I had a suspicion as to why she did that.
"Welcome to the great Labyrinth City Knossos!"
Mint dramatically spread his arms wide as the six of us spread out in front of him.
His wagon was parked on the side of the road a bit inside of the city and we were roughly lined up beside it, receiving his little speech.
Well, most likely it was only intended for me, being the only one that was visible to him that hadn't come here before. That said, I felt embarrassed for him, the way he was trying to make it bigger than it really was.
The city was big for sure. Even from outside it was hardly comparable to Linsington City we started at. The walls were higher, and took up more of the horizon. Even the gates were much larger, with wider doors and layered defences and the guards stationed there were more heavily armed and armoured than any I had seen before. The brightly painted plates were especially nice looking, with their vibrant blues and yellows.
The inside of the city wasn't too much different from Linsington, but the buildings that I could see from the main street looked like they were in better condition. That was nothing to say about the streets themselves. They bustled with thrice the number of people in comparison, as well as the shopkeepers and street vendors who were yelling loudly to attract last minute sales as the sun was going down.
"Umm, anyways, let's go get the confirmation for the completion of the job."
It looked like Mint had realized how embarrassing his little act was, and moved on, getting back onto the driver's seat on the wagon. The rest of us followed his wagon to the adventurers' guild.
Like the city walls, the adventurers' guild building was larger than the one in Linsington City, along with the front being more well taken care of. Or maybe it was just that it was repaired more recently? I could see some cracks on the walls near the front entrance that suddenly stopped at the door frame, which had its own share of scratches and minor cracks.
The wagon was parked in a dedicated parking lot beside the building with it's own guard watching it, this time his uniform had the same blue and black that all the guild employees I've seen wore. Though this time his top was puffier and had button-like rivets punched all over the front of it in neat rows. It was probably some sort of armour, but I hadn't seen that style before.
We all entered the building together, and was greeted by the noise of eating and drinking on one side and people talking loudly enough to be heard on the other. Doing our best to ignore it all, I followed Mint to one of the five lines to the receptions counter. It seemed like it was bigger there as well.
"While there were a bit of a hiccup, I have to say I was quite satisfied with your work Miss Scarlet."
As we waited and I half listened to another of Claret's stories, Mint suddenly piped up.
"Huh? Oh, thanks."
"If we managed to get through the Brokecleft Mountain Range without letting any imps notice us, then I would've given you a perfect mark."
"Oh, sorry."
While that bit wasn't directly my fault, it was still a part of the chain of events that I had started. Those things were probably a big deal to normal adventurers, even though Claret dealt with the entire group like they were a side show it seemed.
"It's fine Miss Scarlet! Not every run through those mountains go smoothly, and the fact that you managed to beat all the imps that came after you on your own is really amazing!"
The human boy adventurer responded frantically beside me.
But looking at him, the figures of the other two adventurers he was partied up with weren't around. Turning my head to the side, I saw them sitting at a table with drinks in hand as they were arguing about something again.
(When did they get over there?)
"Well, it's true, but I'd rather not face them at all. It's not worth the added danger, and sometimes you can get really unlucky and a whole lot of them might show up."
Thinking back, I did see a lot of imp corpses around that small lake where I killed that hydra. A group that large might've been a serious threat to these guys. Then again, I wasn't the one who fought them, so I had no idea how strong they were.
"I suppose that's true."
The boy gave Mint a wry smile.
"So what are you plans from here Miss Scarlet? I suppose you'd want to try your hand at the dungeon in the city?"
"Ah, umm, probably, yea."
I was looking forward to seeing how different it was here. And now that I didn't have to worry about Alicia getting hurt on top of having no real priorities anymore, it was finally time to brush off the accumulated rust since the last time I had a serious go at dungeon diving.
If things went well, I'd even be able to refill the ingredients I've been using up the last few weeks.
"I see. I suppose that it'll take you a while. I was going to head south to Praeliator City next before slowly looping back around then back, but you'll probably be diving into the dungeon for more than a few days, won't you?"
"Ah, probably."
"Yes, well, I hope it will go well for you. But in about a month over in Praeliator City, the Championship of Arms is going to be held. It'll be your chance, as the tournament only runs every five years, so many of the region's best will be attending. If you're interested in testing your skill, I recommend it wholeheartedly."
"Ah, maybe."
(No way. I don't wanna do something as troublesome as that. It's not like I actually care about how strong I am compared to others.)
"Haha, well, if you do decide to enter, it's unfortunate, but my schedule won't allow me to watch. I'll have moved on before then. Oops, it's our turn."
Mint arrived at the counter with the two of us behind him. He talked to the receptionist and handed him a wooden tag along with a metal card. The card looked a lot like the ID card I had from the adventurers' guild, but his had a different logo on it, with the words [Charwood Company] written under it.
After giving it a quick glance, Mint motioned towards the counter while looking at me. On his other side, the boy placed three guild cards on the counter, all with the adventurers' guild logo on them. I quickly pulled off my bag and got my card from it before placing it on the table with the four others.
The guild worker took the cards and the tablet before operating the usual device underneath the counter. After a few moments, he placed our cards back on the counter along with some coins in four separate, equal piles.
I grabbed my card and one of the piles before throwing it all into my bag haphazardly. The amount I received was a bit paltry for how long I was working for. In those two weeks, I could've made more than ten times that much by hunting, and that didn't take into consideration the reward for selling off the materials.
That said, it was a request for a lower ranked adventurer, and it was an easy job, even taking that into consideration. Since this sort of work was pretty reliable as well, I could understand how people liked it, but to me it was just boring as all hell with practically no perks that I could recognize.
From then on, I would refuse all escort jobs unless if I had a really good reason for it.
With the request finished and the paperwork done on our side, we headed towards the table the others were sitting at. The party leader handed the other two their guild cards and we all headed outside.
"Oh right. The materials from the monsters we killed."
It was such a minor thing, I had forgotten all about it.
"Oh those things?"
"Yea, do you want them in the back of the wagon?"
"Hmm...how about you keep them? The reward money was probably a bit low for someone of your strength, right? You did most of the work and even provided all the meals on top of that."
"No, it's fine. If anything, just put that much effort into the orphanage or something instead then."
"Is, is that so? Then I'll graciously accept them then."
I dug out all the remaining parts of the monsters I had hunted the last two weeks. There was still a significant amount of meat left, along with everything else that wasn't edible. All of it was piled up on the back of the wagon and the tarp was lain over it all before its ends were tied down to secure everything.
The adventurer kids helped out as well as gave their own thanks.
It was a bit embarrassing how they tried to make it a big deal, but to me, it was more like throwing away trash. I really didn't want to have anything to do with the leftovers of such monsters, and I didn't have much use for the money they could be sold with. My own living expenses were paltry after all.
"Now then, do you want us to show you a good inn to stay at Miss Scarlet?"
The cat boi and the girl looked towards me with sparkling eyes as their party leader asked me. To the side, Mint was glancing my way with the corner of his eye.
"No, it's fine. I want to look around for a bit. I'll find somewhere after."
"Is that so? It's getting pretty dark, so don't wander around for too long, or all the inns will close up. It won't be good for such a pretty woman to be stuck outside overnight."
The other two looked disappointed while Mint nodded to himself for some reason.
Somehow this prompted another one of Claret's stories. I was long tired of hearing them, but Alicia enjoyed listening to them and Claret telling them so much, I didn't have the heart to complain.
Half ignoring the two, I gave my goodbyes before I started to make my way down the street.
The overall layout wasn't particularly different from the previous city, though I wasn't sure about the location of each district in particular.
As the three of us travelled through the main street, I looked on at the various stores. There were quite a few stores that dealt with various types of weapons and armour, and even more that specialized in travelling goods and supplies. The street vendors interspersed here and there were mostly selling fresh food. The scent wafted over, but didn't do a thing to stimulate my appetite. I knew in my head that they probably smelt good to normal people, but to me it was difficult to get past the burnt smell.
There was no way to hide it, since she was sharing my senses.
I flicked my own forehead with a finger, letting out a loud smack. People surrounding us stopped to look around for the source of the sound, but I ignored them, and they all continued with their way after a little bit.
As we passed through a few more blocks and went deeper into the side streets, Alicia reminded me that we hadn't eaten for a while. When I turned to look at Claret, her eyes were sparkling and there was some drool that started to leak from her lips.
We continued until I was certain that there weren't any people who could see us in any direction before activating [Spirit Form].
With that, I made a bunch of regular mana treats in one hand as well as one big one in the other, and tossed the normal ones into the air before handing the big one to the dark spirit.
All the spirits around me munched on the mana treats happily while I opened my bag to retrieve a jar of blood. It was from several rush rabbits. I still had quite a lot of hydra blood, but I wanted to save that for a special occasion.
It seemed like there was more than just levels when it came to enjoying the taste of weak blood. Maybe she'd get over it once she's gotten used to it though.
After we all finished eating, Claret started to tell another story about Scarlet.
I'd lost count of how many stories she had told, and as tired as I was when it came to hearing them, I still payed at least a little attention to them just in case, since they were first hand accounts of events that had happened in this world, a world I had far too little knowledge about.
Considering Claret, she would've definitely told the little girl what it meant without leaving any details. As smart as she was, Alicia didn't need to know such a thing so early.
When I thought about it, Scarlet's encounter rate was pretty insane. It reminded me of all those stories where wherever the protagonist went, trouble seemed to just follow. I was glad that my first two years was relatively quiet.
I hoped that the last few weeks were more of an outlier for myself than anything. I'd welcome a return to a slow, quiet life, even if it was filled with hunting monsters.
It was. I didn't think I'd go that far for a thief, but I had a suspicion as to why she did that.
