Chapter 385

Asagi Kamiyashiro meets an acquaintance of Daniela in Rostrica

Someone was shaking my body.

“Mister Asagi. It’s your shift now.”

“Mmm…ah, thank you. I’ll get up.”

It was one the soldiers. I rubbed at my tired eyes while rising out of bed. By the time I got out of the tent, I was fully awake. There had been a time when it took me much longer. That was growth.

When I looked up at the sky, the moon was still glimmering. There was still some time left before sunrise. I was to take the watch until the morning.

“Phew…”

I added some wood to the fire and set a pot of water over it. In the meantime, I took out my cup and spread out Presence Detection. …Hmm. There was nothing else in the area. No monsters or humans. It was a quiet night.

Bubbles started to rise in the pot as the water came to a boil. And so I poured it into my cup.

“…Ah, it’s hot…”

It was good to just drink hot water sometimes. While the icesnow phase had ended and it was now warmer, it was still cold during the nights. The tasteless heat of the water was great for warming you slowly.

Taking the night’s watch was always rather boring if you took the time to clear the area beforehand. It was times like these that I used Jack of all Trades, Master of None to run simulations in my head.

If the enemy comes like this, react like this. I just kept repeating that. That was the only way to spend the nights.

“Maybe I could give ‘Shadow of the Deep Wolf’ a weapon and fight…”

My proficiency had been raised and I acquired new weapons. It would be very convenient to be able to use both at the same time. But when I tried playing it in my head…

“I see. It’s no use.”

The last time I tried such a thing, it copied the weapon that I was holding. If I wasn’t holding anything, then neither would the shadow. And so I tried controlling the shadow and made it grip a weapon.

However, the shadow’s hand just went through it. I didn’t understand why.

However, by touching the weapon…well, barely touching it…I found out that it was possible to create shadow weapons.

“It will be a pain to have to prepare it every time. But it won’t be too bad with the hollow bracelet. Besides, it means there will be more of me with weapons…”

There would be more instances now where I would have to fight large groups of enemies. And so Shadow of the Deep Wolf would be very important if I wanted to have the advantage in such situations. My mastering of the skill would change things greatly.

And so I ended up working with the skill until the sky brightened again. Thanks to this, there was more that I could do with it now. But it was pretty tiring.

“Good morning, Asagi.”

“Ah, good morning.”

Manager came out of her tent while stifling a yawn. The others soon followed her, and so I started to prepare for breakfast.

Of course, it was all simple stuff. I just randomly chopped up some vegetables and meat and threw them into a pot. However, I had a nice assortment of spices I had bought in town, and so I was confident that it was at least better than what an amateur would make.

□ □ □ □

We finished eating and prepared to leave. Just like yesterday, the now changed soldier would sit in the driver’s seat, and the rest of us got in the back.

“Here we go, then!”

The whip struck, there was a neigh, and the carriage slowly started to move forward.

The weather was nice today. There were still clouds in the sky, but it was mostly clear, and very blue.

And since it was a well worn road, there weren’t any bumps or holes, making it a relatively relaxing journey. It was peace itself.

Due to what happened yesterday, the driver was rather quiet. But not in a depressed sort of way. He too seemed like he was just enjoying the warm air and the sense of tranquility.

This quiet carriage ride lasted until the sun began to set. We were close to the royal capital, which meant there were no monsters around. And so we had been able to make good progress. Good enough to be able to stop at an inn within a city that was close to the capital, Rostrica.

As we had expected to camp outside again, this was a pleasant surprise. This meant that Daniela’s suggestion of shifts hadn’t really meant much, but I suppose it put us on friendlier terms with the soldiers. Hell, that’s probably why I was currently in a tavern with them. The women said they would sleep early in preparation for tomorrow, so it was just us now.

“Drinks are on me tonight!”

“Thank you!!”

“Stop it with the salutes!”

It was clear that they were all drunk now. Well, it was no surprise. This place was apparently quite famous. I had asked them if they had any recommendations, and this was it.

I didn’t really know why it was famous. They hadn’t told me.

“Hello!”

As we sat together and thought about what we wanted to drink, a group of strangers entered the building. They were all women in pretty dresses.

“Hmm? Do you know them?”

“What are you talking about, Asagi! They work here!”

“Eh? …Ah, so that’s what this is. A hostess bar!”

I hadn’t noticed it at all. I scanned the room again and saw that while it was dim, there was at least one woman at every table, and they were pouring drinks for the customers.

“Damn it…Daniela won’t like this…”

“What are you having?”

As I hesitated about what to do, a woman with blue hair sat next to me and peered into my face.

“Ah, um… Some fruit wine, I guess.”

It would be rude to have taken a seat and then leave without drinking anything… And so I decided to order a drink for now.

“Hehe. Well, isn’t that just adorable?”

“Ahaha…”

She smiled mischievously. Somehow, I got the impression that she was rather popular. But I had never been to such an establishment and felt very out of place.

And so I probably looked a little put off as the two cups were placed in front of us. Right, you get a drink for them too. I’ve heard of this. You’re paying for them to drink and talk with you…

“Alright, Mister Asagi. If you would like to make a toast!”

“Really…?”

I wanted to leave, but the soldiers were all excited.

“Uh… Well, it wasn’t exactly an arduous journey, but we still got here in one piece. So cheers to that!”

“Cheers!”

They shouted and then drained their first cups. They were good drinkers. And they immediately ordered more. As for me, I just downed enough to quench my thirst.

“Are you not a drinker?”

“I wouldn’t say that. But today…”

“Oh?”

She looked at me with a puzzled expression, however she had only taken a few sips herself.

“I know. You have a girlfriend.”

The wine actually tasted pretty good, but I nearly spat it out then.

“Hehe. I see. Well, this place has changed a great deal from before. And so sometimes people enter it without knowing.”

“I see…”

“Yes, you’re not the only one.”

Her smile was less mischievous now. She was truly amused as she laughed. I sipped my drink, feeling rather foolish.

“These other guys here. They’re soldiers. And I brought them here as a sort of gesture of gratitude. So you can see how awkward it would be to leave…”

“Well, it can’t be helped. So, you’re an Adventurer? Is it your first time in town?”

“It is. Though, I have heard of it before.”

Rostrica. Daniela had talked about it a while ago. It was where she first registered as an Adventurer. But aside from that, I knew nothing.

“So, we’ve become quite famous then.”

“I don’t know. It just happened to be where my girlfriend got registered.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Huh?”

Was it so odd? There were guilds in nearly every town. And new people registered all of the time.

“But there is no Adventurer’s Guild here?”

“Huh? Really?”

“Yes. There was, a very long time ago. But the Guild Master committed some great crime and was punished by the royal capital. And there hasn’t been a guild here since.”

“A long time ago…”

Well, Daniela would have been quite young back then, so it would be a long time ago… Now that I thought about it, this woman had blue hair, which meant she was a blue elf. Perhaps she knew something.

“Miss, do you know about what…”

“Well, yes, I do… I am an elf. …Ah, is your girlfriend also…”

“Yes, she’s an elf. A light elf.”

“A light elf? Would her name be…Daniela by any chance?”

“It is… Uh, do you know her?”

I had not expected to hear Daniela’s name.

“I knew it… Daniela would be the only light elf to become an Adventurer here… I see. So she is here now.”

“Uhh…”

“Ah, sorry. It was a long time ago.”

What did she mean by that? Daniela didn’t talk about her past much, so I was curious to hear more. But judging by her expression, it wasn’t exactly a pleasant memory.

“Still, she’s lucky to have found someone like you.”

“Hey, I’m the guy who left her to come and drink out here.”

“But you didn’t know, right? Stop being so indecisive!”

She said as she slapped me on the thigh. Well, I doubted Daniela would really be mad, but it still didn’t feel right.

“Well, it seems like she’s alright then. I’m glad.”

“…I won’t allow her to be unhappy.”

“Ahaha. You talk as if I’m her parent.”

It almost felt that way.

“Please give her my regards. Tell her that Frey congratulates her on her friend.”

“…I’ll tell her. Thank you, Miss Frey.”

Daniela would have likely come here shortly after surviving the stampede.

I didn’t know what her situation was exactly after the death of her parents and friends, but it would have been incredibly difficult. I didn’t know if I would have been able to bear it.

Still, she had walked to this town in order to survive. In order to learn the skills to survive. And I suppose that’s when she met Frey.

We chatted casually after that and then left after an hour and a half. Thankfully, I was able to afford it due to several sources of income, but it wasn’t cheap. I would prefer to go to a normal place next time.