Natsuka watched, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
These could barely even count as magic stones anymore.
At most, they were magic stone shavings.
Still, he went ahead and put them away.
After that, the three of them tidied up their things and made their way over to the caravan parked not far off.
Along the way, Natsuka took the opportunity to ask about some basic information.
Things like what major events had happened in recent years.
Or, say, what the distribution of powers around this area roughly looked like.
Only, most of the time, the one giving serious answers was Asfi.
The one in charge of running his mouth wildly was Hermes.
…
The veil of night gradually receded, bit by bit.
Around noon the following day, Natsuka, having traveled along with Hermes’s caravan, finally stood before the city gates of the Sword Capital.
The towering stone walls stretched out to either side, heavy and solid.
At the city gate, people came and went in a steady stream.
All kinds of demi-humans, elves, and dwarves wove their way through, the hollers, the rumble of wagons, the clanging of hammers on metal all mixing together — a lively bustle rushing straight up to meet him.
Standing there in the crowd, Natsuka couldn’t help quietly clenching his fists.
His heart, too, gave a heavy thump along with it.
[It begins.]
[My otherworldly adventure has, at long last, officially begun.]
After entering the city, Asfi walked up to him carrying a pouch stuffed full of gold coins.
“Lord Hermes has other matters to attend to.”
“This is the payment for those goods of yours — roughly 50,000 Valis.”
“If you’re frugal, it should be enough to cover your basic expenses for half a month.”
Natsuka took a glance, casually stuffed the pouch into his backpack, his expression remarkably composed.
Asfi then continued.
“For the next few days, you can wander around the city first.”
“If you’ve decided whether or not to join our Familia, come back here in three days.”
“That’s when we’ll be leaving.”
It was obvious that her attitude toward Natsuka was rather complicated.
As if she didn’t really want him to join the group.
And also as if she were worried this fellow, following along with Hermes, might end up going off the rails alongside him.
At this point, the black-haired dog-girl standing beside them with her hands clasped behind her head — Lulune — also spoke up.
“Even though this is what Lord Hermes wants.”
“But honestly speaking, Natsuka kiddo, you really aren’t all that suited to our Familia.”
“By the normal process, at the very least you’d have to pass the trial first, right?”
The trial she was talking about, Natsuka of course knew.
The Hermes Familia’s recruitment placed weight on “thief aptitude.”
The assessment method was rather distinctive too.
The examiner would, with a magician-like sleight of hand, hide a coin in their palm, and the candidate had to guess which hand the coin was actually in.
Crude and simple.
At its essence, what it tested was observation, sense of smell, and a certain knack for thievery.
For someone like Natsuka who looked, on the surface, fairly proper, it really was a bit of a mismatch.
“So you see.”
“If you’ve got a choice, picking another Familia would be better.”
Lulune spread her hands, her face full of sincerity.
Asfi immediately shot her a flat little sideways glance.
“Mutt, you’re talking too much.”
“Yes, yes.”
Lulune immediately read the room and shut her mouth.
After that, Asfi turned her head back toward Natsuka, her tone notably more serious than before.
“Don’t take it to heart.”
“To be honest, I personally don’t want you to enter the Familia by that method, either.”
“But if that is Lord Hermes’s decision, I won’t oppose it.”
Hearing this, Natsuka’s expression turned a bit strange.
The “that method” you’re talking about wouldn’t happen to mean that thing where your patron god takes me to the Pleasure Quarter, would it?
Heaven and earth bear witness.
It’s clearly your god leading me astray.
Still, faced with this woman who was so obviously protecting her own, there was clearly no point in explaining.
Natsuka just gave a polite nod.
“I understand.”
After waving off the Hermes Familia as they went to deal with their goods, Natsuka stood there in place for a moment, his eyes flashing faintly, and then turned and headed deeper into the city.
The reason he had specifically come along with Hermes all the way to this city was, of course, not a random choice.
He had his own objective.
He was looking for someone.
To be precise, he was looking for a god.
“Based on the intel I picked up from Asfi’s side, right now we’re roughly about three years before the start of the main storyline.”
“Going by the plot timeline, that lord should currently be settled down right here.”
As Natsuka mentally went back over what the other party looked like, he made his way down the streets asking around for news related to gods in the city.
In the end, he spent 10,000 Valis to trade for the information he wanted from a tavern.
Then, with almost no hesitation, he immediately followed the lead and found a weapons shop tucked away in a corner of the city.
He had just raised his hand, about to push the door open and step inside.
But the person he came face to face with made his eyelid twitch.
“…Asfi?”
“Why are you here too?”
Asfi stood at the door, expressionless.
“I’m here to deliver a letter to an acquaintance.”
“What about you, Natsuka-san.”
“Why are you showing up here?”
The afternoon sun fell upon her lenses, reflecting back a sheet of pale white light.
Leaving it impossible to tell just what her emotions were at this very moment.
Natsuka inexplicably had this strange feeling, like he’d been sneaking off behind his wife’s back to meet a mistress and had just been caught red-handed on the spot.
Bah, bah, bah.
What wife, what mistress.
That way of putting it was way too weird.
At most, it could be described as “body in Cao’s camp, heart with Han.”