Where can I go to sell potions?」
As soon as they arrived at Black Cat’s Eye, Randy and Kurt’s favorite inn, Hiroshi asked the critical question for their future.
「The Adventurers’ Association, for sure.」
「Because?」
「They won’t rip off newbies like you. Sometimes you can negotiate with them, and they don’t buy anything at an unreasonable markdown.」
「The Association also helps adventurers get on their feet. Barring any issues in the talent department, if they keep the new adventurers from prospering by ripping them off, it’ll just come back to bite the Association, anyway.」
Wise words from the moderately seasoned adventurers.
「I know. Why don’t you register as adventurers while you’re at it?」
「Both of you can take care of yourselves in a fight, can’t you?」
「Well, we can handle a Berserker Bear…」
「If you can take care of a Berserker Bear in that gear, no problem. We have to take care of something, and we’ll show you around once we eat. Why don’t you go register?」
「It’ll come in handy when you want to negotiate for anything on sale.」
And so, they decided to register. While they were clueless why something called the Adventurers’ Association was built or to what end it was operating, it was apparently an organization that was run without borders. It seemed pointless to dig into these backstories that seemed questionable even in-game.
「What’s it cost to register?」
「A handling fee of 5 Chrones.」
「Oh, and there’s a little test, but if you’re in the line a work, it’ll be a walk in the park.」
「I see. In that case, should I try to sell the Berserker Bear hide after I register?」
「That would make sense. You can pay the fee the later, but we’ll take care of it. Of course, they might waive it like they did your entrance fee, since you’re from the unknown continent, or whatnot.」
This nation seemed to pay a lot more attention to visitors from the unknown continent then they had thought. Hiroshi and Haruna couldn’t help feel uneasy at the shadow that seemed to lurk behind the whole thing.
「In any case, we gotta go through and register as adventurers.」
「Uh-huh. The food was delicious, by the way.」
After enjoying their first seasoned meal in two days, they set out into town. The cityscape of Wulls carried a unique atmosphere, like a love child between the architecture of Europe and Asia, a mix of stone and brick, and wooden buildings. Apparently, any city in Farlane, while there were some variance, all looked similar to this.
There wasn’t much trash on the streets, and gave off a hygienic impression. Water and sewer pumps were set up throughout the city, and sewage treatment was integrated, eliminating the stench from human waste.
Wulls, the capital of the giant nation of Farlane which was elongated north to south (although even its width exceeded the length of California), was a port city near the dead center of the country. A very large one, at that. The Wulls Castle wore the towering mountains to the north on its back, and the city layered around the main street that lead from the castle to the port in the southwest of the city.
One of the few cities in this world with a population of over a million. Consider the fact that the population of Farlane (one of the three populous nations in the world) didn’t even reach one hundred million (on paper) to grasp the relative size of Wulls.
Originally, there was the castle town of Wulls and the port town of Agurina, but by the time the seventh king took the throne, the two towns had grown to the point where it was a three hour walk from Wulls to Agurina, gate-to-gate. So they performed a large-scale public construction that merged and organized the towns into a single city.
While it was a huge expense to the national treasury, numerous workers flooded in from in and out of the country, who then stimulated the city’s economy and rapidly boosted the population. The investment was returned in fifteen years, instead of the estimated one hundred.
In this giant city, where it would take a civilian a day to walk from the East gate to West gate, or from the castle to the canal, there were numerous canals crisscrossing the city, serving as the people’s road. On land, there were stops for shared carriage rides all over, and additional carriages and horses roamed the city, delivering people and packages.
As an additional transportation, while a little expensive for everyday use, there were a few transportation gates set up. The people used the transportation system that served the needs of their day. The transportation from one city to another aside, transportation inside the city was rather plentiful.
Black Cat’s Eye, where Hiroshi and Haruna were staying, was located fifteen minutes from the East gate by canal. They was still quite a distance from there to the ocean, and they couldn’t smell it in these parts of town. However, if they travelled an hour south by horse of boat, they would start to see the ocean. Also, from the watchtower of Wulls Castle, one could easily look over the port. After all, Wulls was a city by the ocean.
「Hmm… Adventurers, huh?」
「If at all possible, could we kindly keep our safety a priority?」
「I know. We can’t jump into some difficult job right off the bat, anyway.」
「Actually, we gotta start by gettin’ our clothes and equipment sorted out, before anythin’…」
Hearing Hiroshi’s interjection, Haruna clenched here brows, reminded that she was, and had been, wearing her only outfit all this time. Frankly, getting a change of clothes was a dire matter that she wanted to take care of by the end of the day.
The good news was that Farlane was abundant with water, which meant that they could easily find a bath. There were bathhouses all over town, and many inns and flats, for a fee, offered private bathes as well.
「If we’re going to be adventurers, I can’t wear different clothes every day, can I…?」
「’Fraid not. We can only carry a finite amount of clothes to begin with.」
She couldn’t argue. As long as they didn’t own a house, they would be constantly carrying all of their possessions around. Clothes, in addition to being bulky, were surprisingly heavy. And no matter what style of clothes they chose to wear, the details of which didn’t matter much if they were going to wear them under their armor. Of course, from a physical and financial standpoint, she couldn’t have a different armor on every day.
「Speakin’ of, what about weapons and armor?」
「Once we have enough money, I was thinking of picking up some cheap and steady ones. What did you used to use, mainly?」
「Nothin’ in particular. What I used a lot were axes, pickaxes, scythes, knives… Hammers, sometimes.」
「…You mean…」
「I think we both know what I mean. Hold on. I need to buy a pickaxe, at least.」
Randy and Kurt, who kept one ear open to Hiroshi and Haruna’s conversation on the way to the Adventurers’ Association, the word pickaxe hung on them.
「What the heck does a potion maker need a pickaxe for?」
「A bunch. The thing I need the most are quartz for the bottle to hold the potions, and sometimes I need to make a special bottle, so I would want the pickaxe to mine the stones I need for that process.」
「You make the bottles, too…」
「You gotta start with the bottles. When I make potions above a certain grade, I gotta tweak the bottles to begin with.」
Chuckling at the adventurers who had obviously never heard of such methods, Hiroshi explained that it was the way he was taught. While they were having this conversation, Haruna, who had peeking into this store and that, checking the prices of things, let out a sigh.
Since glass wasn’t too scarce in Farlane, many stores, like contemporary cities in America today, had a glass window with displays inside. While glass wasn’t cheap, they weren’t too expensive for a shop or house to have a few panes.
「These clothes are up there…」
「How much?」
「About 15 Chrones average for an outfit. It’s enough for two nights at Black Cat’s Eye with a long-term contract.」
「…It’s a toughy…」
As for the payment at the inn, they had a free first night, and Randy and Kurt had paid for the next six nights. There was a discount for staying a week, which brought down the price to 7 Chrones per night. They had booked separate rooms for Hiroshi and Haruna, so the total of their stay for a week comes out to 84 Chrones.
In addition, Randy and Kurt had given them 20 Chrones in cash for any expenses. It was enough money to make them feel guilty about asking for anymore just for the potion. Randy and Kurt would tell them that the money included a tip for Haruna’s song as well.
When it came to food, breakfast was included with the stay, but the dinner menu was similar to the lunch they just had, which was soup and salad with bread, along with grilled dried meat or sausage, or occasionally grilled fish.
Apparently they served stew some days in lieu of soup and meat, but that didn’t make much of a difference. If they wanted something better to eat, they had to bring their own ingredients or pay an additional fee. Breakfast, in fact, was just bread and soup. Considering that they would have to prepare their own lunch, 15 Chrones for an outfit was a lot to spend.
「Maybe I just outta make ‘em… It’s gonna be tough without a loom, though…」
「That’s what you think of first…?」
Hearing Hiroshi mumbled out of Randy and Kurt’s earshot, Haruna interjected with a chuckle, from a safe distance.
「If we can do it for free, we should. But I guess I can’t really work on yours…」
「Why not?」
「You don’t wanna tell a guy you never really knew your measurements, do ya?」
「…A little awkward, if I’m being honest…」
「A coat, maybe… But underwear…?」
Haruna couldn’t help but twist her face to Hiroshi’s mumbling, and decided to ask, just to make sure:
「…You can make them?」
「I never had, but I did have a recipe with me, so if I wanted to…」
「…I’m sorry. My want for clothes and my dignity are duking it out right now…」
「Wait, I can handle jackets and all, but I wouldn’t know how to go about making your underwear…」
「…Sorry, I wasn’t thinking about that…」
As they were talking, they arrived at the Adventurers’ Association.