When I awoke the next morning, Lana was gone. The mini kettle, Yukikaze, was gone. Lady Mythlanica had disappeared as well. When I asked Machina about it, she said my wife had left in the early hours to run an errand and that she’d taken Yukikaze, just in case, at Machina’s urging. For some reason, Lady Mythlanica had also tagged along.
Massive, salted rice balls had been prepared for breakfast, courtesy of Lana. Ghett had brought over some small shrimp and fish left over from his market sales, which I made into an ajillo and paired with pork-broth soup, some pickled vegetables, and bacon sautéed with curry powder. Our spread all set, I sat down to eat once again with what society here took to be a very unusual group: a merman, an elf, a beastmaid, and an Otherworlder.
After we finished, I asked Ghett how things looked at the harbor; he said another ship from the Central Continent had sailed in earlier that morning. While Éa and Lanceil chattered on about everything and nothing, Ghett dived back into the ocean, and I went to check on our garden. Sprouts had appeared all around, and vines had begun creeping up their posts. One by one, our tiny tree golem carefully inspected each dew-drenched leaf and stem in turn. Together, we watered our crops, then walked a bit away from camp and scattered some food for the flying rabbits. They hadn’t started nibbling our greens yet, but they might once our crops started to bear fruit, which would be bad.
Wait, this herd grew again. Last time, there had only been seven, but now there were ten of them. Ah, whatever. They’re cute.
Morning chores done, I ducked into my tent and got changed. Same as always, I wore my camo fatigues, threw my trusty poncho on over them, and slid Agaccion into its sheath, which I then tied around my waist. Since I only planned for a light outing, I decided to leave behind my lycan bow and quiver. Lastly, I put on the glasses I’d finally gotten used to and was ready to leave.
“I’m heading into town to get ready for our next expedition,” I told Éa and Lanceil. “Do you two want to come with?”
“Thank you, but I’m going to do some laundry and inspect our equipment for damage, then have Machina give me another cooking lesson,” Lanceil declined.
“Oh, then I’ll join you. I wanna learn a new curry recipe,” Éa announced.
“Will you be joining us for lunch, sire?”
“Yeah, I should be back by then.”
“In that case, Éa and I shall put our skills to the test and have a feast waiting for you. Have a safe trip.”
“See you later, Mr. Souyaaa!”
“Byeee!”
The three waved me off as I left. I gotta say, it felt nice.
✦ ✦ ✦
When I arrived in town, I headed first to the Zavah Night Owl Trade Group’s headquarters to see if they knew where I could find the two entrepreneurial ladies, then made my way over to the stables, which served as a cheap inn reserved for adventurers. Any registered adventurer could use the stables for free. Since most didn’t own horses, though, they served as bare-bones public housing provided by the Hotels and Inns Association and were supported by the government. Inn owners donated space out of the goodness of their hearts, welcoming new adventurers with the unspoken understanding that these initiates would come back and stay at their hotel once they could afford it. For its part, the government was able to keep broke adventurers from sleeping on the streets and threatening the tourist appeal or safety of the city.
In case you’re curious, the price for a horse varied as much as it did in the modern world. Colts and older horses went for around fifty gold coins, while young, healthy steeds garnered around ninety, and the ones that were incredibly fast cost around two hundred gold. Purebred stallions whose lineages traced back to famous legends or heroes easily ran in the one to two thousand range.
I scanned the initiate adventurers in the barn until I found the pair I was after in the last of a long row of stalls. Piles and piles of belongings filled the space. The first thought that came to mind: Someone did a midnight disappearing act with some get-rich-quick scheme’s payout.
“Oh, why if it isn’t Lord Souya,” Lazalisa said in greeting once she spotted me; I gave her a “good morning” back. Though the reptilian beastmaid was ready for the day in her maid’s uniform, her employer lay splayed out, asleep on the hay in an expensive-looking set of pajamas, her expression an unflattering shade of stupid.
“Milady, time to wake. Master Souya has come to visit.”
“Whaaa—? Huuuh?” the Lady Champion mumbled. Her hair extremely disheveled, Freyja looked far more vulnerable and exposed than any young woman should allow others to see.
“Lord Souya, a moment, if you will.”
“Sure.”
The tall beastmaid vigorously yanked Freyja’s pajamas off and began making her presentable. I turned around and let my gaze wander from one adventurer to the next. Most looked like complete initiates, their gear old and crumbling, and their young eyes sparkling with dreams and confidence. I hadn’t started much later than them, so why did I feel like such an outsider? You’d never guess I did the exact same job.
It would’ve been nice to have the same aspirations and hopeful outlook toward adventuring, but then again, I guess the God of Adventurers wouldn’t have sent me packing if I did.
“Thank you for your patience, Lord Souya,” Lazalisa announced.
When I turned around, I saw the prim and proper lady in her usual scarlet dress and curly blond ringlets standing before me. Damn, Lazalisa, you’re a miracle worker. You sure you don’t want to try making a living out of this?
“Why, hello there, Soysouya. What can I do for you on this fine morning?” Ah, so close! Good enough for today.
Before I approached the main topic, I wanted to clarify one thing. “Maybe I should start by asking what brought you here? I know you had a few ups and downs, but you should’ve had enough money left to cover room and board for a while.”
“Oh, that. We spent it all.” Oof. This Champion couldn’t even control her own finances.
“Allow me to offer an explanation, Lord Souya. After acquiring that considerable sum of money all at once, we unfortunately let ourselves get carried away. I myself purchased several rare collectible weapons, while milady bought an entire wardrobe of new clothing. The next thing we knew, our funds had been exhausted.”
So that’s where all the stuff in the stall came from. This didn’t sound reassuring, considering I might one day have to entrust them with Shuna and Bel. I bet their last party leader had an extremely hard time dealing with them. I feel your pain.
“Let’s save the talk about your spending habits for another time. I came to speak with you today about an expedition.”
“Well, goodness gracious. Have you perhaps, unable to forget our extraordinary contributions the last time we linked arms, come to ask for our assistance? Heh-heh-heh, let me warn you now, we do not come cheaply.” Yeah, I’ll bet. Somebody’s gotta pay for your retail therapy.
“Milady, might I remind you, your contributions last time did not exceed regurgitating your bowels and languishing in nausea,” Lazalisa kindly pointed out.
“Ugh!” the mage groaned in embarrassment. “Just you wait, there shall be no such mortifying displays next time, and soon all will see the true powers that I—”
“Trust me, I know what you can really do,” I reassured her. She’d proven her mettle in the battle against Lana’s failed side dish, brandishing sorcery no ordinary mage could muster. One vestige of those powerful spells was still hard at work in my kitchen garden. “Tomorrow my party and I are heading into the dungeon to try to push through five levels in one go, and I would be grateful if you two could join us. I can offer you twenty gold pieces in remuneration, ten up front. Everything else we need for this expedition, I’ll prepare on my end.”
“Yes, gladly. We’ll be happy to accompany you,” she agreed without a moment’s hesitation.
“Milady, are you quite sure you do not wish to take advantage of this prime opportunity for extortion?”
“Quite sure, Lazalisa. I’ll do whatever I must for breakfast money!”
Look, I get that most adventurers live hand to mouth, but you two need to figure out how to budget, fast. It’s a shame—you’re so capable otherwise.
“That’s right, where is Gaslark?” The goblin in dwarf’s clothing was nowhere to be found.
“He apparently has a residence nearby and returned there yesterday,” Freyja explained. “………Perhaps we could arrange to live there with him.”
“No, milady. I’m afraid that would be too brazen, even for you.”
A Champion of Light living in a Dark Lord’s hideout? Sounds like a sitcom waiting to happen.
“Thanks, I’ll reach out to him myself. Here, your advance.” I handed Lazalisa ten coins from my pouch. “I’ll pay you the remaining ten once we finish the mission. For tonight, please find a hotel room and rest up. Treat yourself to something delicious to energize you for tomorrow. Just don’t go binging on alcohol and snacks.”
“Well then, don’t mind if I do.”
“Rest assured, Lady Freyja is not only the picture of health, but she can also sleep under any condition imaginable.”
“Okay, so tomorrow we’ll meet at the Guild at the toll of the morning bell.”
“Wonderful, we’ll see you there.”
First deal of the day in the bag. Now, on to the next.