Chapter 73

“Ahh, I did not expect to meet you here!”

The owner of the Paw Armor Shop said as he pulled on the reins.

“Ah, speaking of which, I don’t believe I’ve ever given you my name. It’s Nick. Owner of the Paw Armor Shop. It’s a pleasure!”

He then invited Daniela and me to take a ride in his carriage. And so we massaged our tired feet as we talked with him.

“What are you doing here anyway?”

“I’m making some deliveries to Alessa. It’s a mining town you know, and they go through clothes faster than anywhere else. And so I bring them some simple clothing made of scraps.”

Scraps, huh. I couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to wear that. Unless they were slaves. The ones that worked in the mines… Just thinking about that made me uneasy. I didn’t want to talk about anything related to that if possible, and so I changed the subject.

“So, the owner of the clothing store, what’s her name again?”

“My wife’s called Kyuna.”

“Ah, I see…”

(Translator: There is a stupid joke here about Nick + Kyuna = Paw that doesn’t translate)

I did think it was strange. Why was ‘paw’ in the name when it wasn’t in any of their branding. Apparently, it was just because of their names.

“But we do consider it the symbol of our store. But we discussed the matter and decided it was a little too much to have it on clothes and armor.”

But they did use it on their banner. And it wasn’t a cute paw made with four circles. It was the paw of a lion, claws and all. Pretty cool. It was a store for Adventurers after all. A cute symbol wouldn’t attract the right clients.

We continued on our way to Alessa in the carriage. It had rickety wooden wheels that would cause us to jump every time it rolled over a bump. It was just as I was starting to feel sick, that we reached the road that led into Alessa. The mountains on both sides of the road were quite a sight. I sat stupefied as I looked upwards, which made me forget that I was about to barf. Then Daniela placed a hand on my shoulder.

“Asagi, enemies.”

“Mmm…yeah, looks like it. Nick, stop the carriage!”

I increased the range of Presence Detection and saw that several monsters were descending from the sky up ahead. I pulled myself up to sit next to Nick and pointed at the sky.

“Monsters. It shouldn’t be too dangerous, but it would be better for you to move away.”

“I understand. But I am a ‘Crystal’ you know. I can protect myself!”

Huh, so he could fight. Well, it made sense. Or he would not have left the city without a guard. A Crystal wouldn’t be too bothered by the weak monsters around here.

Satisfied with that answer, I nodded and looked at the monsters ahead of us. They looked a lot like birds. I couldn’t tell how big they were from this distance, but they were probably the size of raptors.

“Ah, those are cliff eagles. They like to nest in the cliffs around here.”

Daniela explains as she takes out her bow and nocks an arrow. I listen to her as I create some ice arrows of my own. It was a neat little ranged attack I devised during the fight with the mega mole. As this didn’t look like it would be much of a fight, I just made a few and launched them at the same time that Daniela shot her arrow. The arrows flew straight to their targets, and the corpses plummeted to the ground. But one of them escaped the arrows. It was bigger than the other. Was it a parent?

“It is the leader.”

Daniela says as she shoots another arrow. So it wasn’t a parent…well, that made me feel a little better about it.

Daniela’s second arrow seemed to move faster than the first as it caught the leader in the chest. It was dead in an instant, and like the others, fell down to its grave.

“Won’t be easy taking anything back as proof, when they splatter all over the ground like that.”

“The proof for killing a cliff eagle is their biggest feather. It should be fine as long as it is not bent or scratched.”

The carriage continued to move as if nothing had happened. I walked cautiously next to it.

When we arrived at the place that the monsters had fallen, we saw that a few of them still had feathers that were undamaged. I was hoping to get the feather from the leader, but it was ruined from the fall. Daniela picked some of the smaller feathers to make arrows later on.

Now the large gates were visible. The gate was the same width as the road. And the town that was our destination should be right up ahead from here. First, it was a town within a forest, then a city in the plains, and now a mining town. I wondered what sight awaited us here. I wondered what Daniela was feeling with each new place. I looked at her curiously as we walked. When our eyes met, she tilted her head, returning my wondering look. She looked cute when she did that.

Once we got closer to the gates, we saw that there were guards stationed there too. A man who held a spear approached us.

“Halt. Who are you?”

“I am from the Paw Armor Shop. I have come to deliver some clothes that were ordered.”

“I am Asagi, an Adventurer.”

“Daniela, same as him.”

Well, this was new. Usually, the guards would be more helpful as I rolled in through the gates at top speed. Until now, I had felt very close to people of this occupation. But there was no danger at our heels this time, and instead, he looked at us suspiciously. It made me feel quite foreign again.

“I will have to inspect your belongings. Get out of the carriage and wait by the wall. Men!”

He shouted and a few others came running our way. Now they were going through all of the baggage in the carriage. We obediently waited by the wall and watched all of this happen. But it really was only clothes, and so they finished without finding anything that could cause trouble. Yes, this trip had ended good and peaceful for once.

“We have finished our inspection. You have traveled a long way. Welcome to Alessa!”

After hearing that the inspection was finished, the captain smiled and had the gates opened for us. The heavy doors creaked as both sides slowly cracked open. I stared at it dumbly like the country bumpkin that I was. And then something touched my butt.

“How long are you going to stare at it? Do you want to be left behind?”

“Don’t touch my ass though, not the ass.”

I chased after Daniela and her evil laugh as she went ran on ahead. And that is how we arrived at this mining town, Alessa.

□ □ □ □

As it was a mining town, there were rails laid out all over the place. They were for the rail cars that carried the ore. But there were no proper crossings, which seemed a little dangerous. But then again, these cars were being pushed by people. And it wasn’t likely they would run me over.

Most of the town stretched upwards. Stairs, ladders, buildings. The houses went higher and higher up the mountain. While it strained your neck, the sight was impressive. Still hurt though. Pillars of smoke rose from different houses, which we were told, were mostly blacksmiths. It seemed very efficient to be able to immediately turn the mined ore into weapons. A mining town was a blacksmith town.

As Nick had to deliver the clothes, we immediately parted ways after entering the town. This seemed like a big place, but it really wasn’t. We would likely bump into each other again.

“Hmm, we arrived peacefully in the town this time. Which means there is no one to introduce us to an inn. What should we do?”

“That is true… I am very disappointed that your penchant for getting involved in incidents has become useless here. We will just have to ask around, I think.”

“It is with great regret, but we have no choice. No, this is actually the norm. Don’t depend on my attributes too much, Daniela.”

We tried to sound smart while having the dumbest conversation. We were searching for a bar. Surely there would be bars in a mining town. We really should have asked Nick. But it’s too late now. I’ll just think of this as part of the charm of traveling.

We wandered around, looking for a building that looked like they would serve alcohol, but it was proving difficult. Finally, we caught someone related to the mines and asked for directions. And so we were eventually able to arrive at a bar. We didn’t ask the person about an inn. Why? Because there is a reason to ask such questions at a bar. Daniela, of course, had a desire to go asking at a bar. It was written all over her face, and so there was no problem there.

On the way, we saw a group of mining slaves holding pickaxes. A few looked towards me…their hair and beards were grown out. Their skin was covered in sand and dust, making it hard to distinguish their faces. I could not tell if any of them were those damned Adventurers.

“Welcome.”

The owner looked at us with suspicion. There were a few other customers in the dimly lit room. There were also prostitutes here, while there had not been any in the bars of Fhiraldo and Spiris. Their dresses amplified their breasts. It was quite wonderful. Even their skirts had a high slit running up it that offered a good view of their legs. I stole a few glances before I felt Daniela’s hand on my butt again. I told you, not the ass!

“Two cups of wine and something light to eat.”

Daniela sat down at the counter and quickly made an order. We really just needed a drink, but that was never enough for her. I sighed and made my way to the counter to sit next to her. But then something pulled me from behind.

“Hm?”

“Hello there, big guy. Why don’t you come and have a drink with me?”

The busty broad I had been looking at was tugging on my shirt.

“Er, I have business over there.”

“Ah, don’t be like that! I promise that you won’t regret it?”

“No, really. And you don’t want to see her when she’s angry. Excuse me…”

I quickly looked behind me and saw that Daniela was glaring over her shoulder. Damn, that was scary.

“Ah, oh well… if you say so…”

The busty broad was defeated by Daniela’s eyes, and her voice trembled as she let go of me.

“Sorry about it. I know it’s just your job…”

“You seem to have your hands quite full…but if you ever want a breather…”

We continued in hushed voices. Then Daniela coughed so loud that we both jumped. I was sharp enough to not miss witnessing the effect of gravity on her breasts when this happened, before making my way back to the counter where Daniela waited.