The moment I opened my eyes in Weapon of Infinity, a request had struck like lightning.
It was an order to make ten Health Recovery Potions.
‘It was the first transaction in this world where money changed hands.’
The client, Jekus, had lost his mind the moment he saw my skill.
He had followed me so persistently, telling me to become affiliated with his guild.
-There is a Bies Guild building in the city, so feel free to give them my name and rest there.
To be honest, even after thinking about it again, Jekus was not someone I particularly liked.
But this was no time to be picky about cold rice or warm rice.
‘I need some kind of foundation before I can even start.’
At this point, even cold rice would be fortunate.
Was I not in a situation where I had neither a meal, let alone a place to stay?
‘Outsiders can’t even live in the city because it’s so filthy and miserable.’
Wer sighed deeply.
“I told you, it is best to keep your distance from those who seek to use others.”
“Then I just have to use him just as much.”
“Ritak, I know well enough that you are not the sort to suffer losses wherever you go, but......”
Wer shook his head from side to side, then landed on my shoulder.
He did not seem to intend to nag any further.
‘Right. Even if you lived in a cave all this time, you don’t like sleeping outdoors either, do you?’
I chuckled inwardly and moved my feet.
***
After asking one passerby after another, I finally arrived at Bies Guild.
Wer looked up at the building and snorted.
“They have decorated the outside rather well.”
“They sure have. It must be a bigger guild than I thought.”
Unlike the dull buildings around it, the dark-red bricks gave the impression that quite a lot of money had been spent.
There was even a sign hanging proudly, written in flowing script: “Bies Guild.”
“There must be plenty of people who will try to use others, just like that arrogant human we met in the village!”
“Well...... Let’s go in first.”
Creak!
When I opened the door, gazes fixed on me.
But the eyes soon scattered as though losing interest.
I did not want to draw attention either, so that was actually convenient.
A woman sitting near the entrance hurried over.
Her wheat-colored curls fluttered.
“Welcome! What brings you here?”
Her face, covered in freckles across the bridge of her nose, looked rather young.
She had a small build, but her confident voice was clear.
For no reason, I straightened my back and fixed my posture.
‘......Now that I have to say it, the words won’t come out.’
To say I had come to use their guild building as lodging...
It was quite a shameless thing to say.
But right now, even one coin was precious.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
“Hmm. I came at Jekus’s recommendation. Did you happen to receive any message from Root Village?”
The curly-haired woman blinked several times.
An awkward air flowed.
‘I should say I came to the wrong place.’
What glory and splendor was I chasing, anyway?
The moment I wanted to run out of the building at once, the woman clapped her hands.
“Ah! Are you the compounder from Root Village’s recovery shop?”
“......That’s right.”
“We were waiting for you!”
Eyes deep as a forest suddenly came close.
They were sparkling to a burdensome degree.
Without meaning to, I stepped back.
“He wrote at such length, telling us to take good care of our precious compounder when he arrived!”
Would it be better to flee from the guild building even now?
It seemed the insane prices had driven me insane too.
But it was already too late to run.
The woman gripped my sleeve and trotted along.
“I’ll show you the room where you’ll be staying. This way!”
“W-wait.”
“Ah! I should introduce you to everyone first. An incredible person has come to our guild, after all!”
“I said wait a moment......”
My eyes busily darted around.
A room to stay in, and an introduction?
‘I expected they wouldn’t hit me with cold wind, but still!’
This was too cordial.
It was to the point that I did not know what to do with myself.
Honestly, it felt burdensome.
What exactly had Jekus told them?
“Is that pale guy the compounder who can produce recovery potions in an instant?”
“Come on, you believe that? There must be some exaggeration mixed in.”
“But Jekus isn’t someone who says things that don’t exist either.”
“True. If so, there’s no harm in making a connection in advance.”
The whispers gradually grew louder.
I was nearing my limit.
Because the woman seemed ready to put me in front of everyone at any moment.
I pulled back the woman who was about to dart forward.
“Oh, my? Why the hallway all of a sudden......?”
“Calm down. I haven’t even joined the guild, so introductions are too hasty.”
“It would definitely help you too, Mister Compounder.”
The woman covered her mouth with the back of her hand and giggled.
“This is the City of Traders! Connections are an asset too.”
She was right, but it felt uncomfortable.
Was there not also a saying that one should be careful when getting to know people?
It would be troublesome if I made unnecessary ties and had them catch me by the ankle.
“Are you perhaps planning to leave soon?”
“That’s not it.”
“Then it would be nice to have someone with a high credit rating to handle proxy purchases for you!”
In truth, that was exactly the sort of purpose I had come to the guild building for.
She had just welcomed me to an embarrassing degree.
It was not as though Jekus had suddenly opened his eyes to charity; of course there was a reason he was putting in effort.
If something came, something also had to go.
“......Then assign me just one person. There’s no need for a whole crowd to follow me around, right?”
“Hmm. Shall we do that for now?”
For now? How much more was she planning to do?
I refused help that could not be repaid with a few suitable bottles of potions.
Was this not how one accepted one or two things and ended up led around by the nose?
“My introduction is late! I’m Abellana. I handle the guild’s general affairs.”
“I’m Ritak. As you’ve heard, I’m a medicine compounder.”
“And what is the name of the little friend sitting on your shoulder?”
Wer, who had only been rolling his eyes since we entered the guild building, hurriedly climbed down behind my back.
Now that he had been discovered, it was already too late, though.
Come to think of it, he had shut himself inside the bag even on the wagon.
‘He doesn’t seem like the shy type.’
Had he not gotten along fairly well with the fairies?
It was hard to understand, but for now, I decided to gloss over it appropriately.
“It seems he’s very hungry.”
“Then is it difficult to greet him now?”
“I was going to go out and feed him something. Are you coming too?”
Abellana smiled brightly and fanned her face.
“Ah! Unfortunately, it’s difficult for me to leave the guild building. I have far too much work!”
Even at the company, the general affairs team had seemed to have many things they had to pay attention to all over the place.
Since they essentially handled the household, it could not be helped.
“Hehe, instead, I’ll assign you my dearest friend.”
Abellana strode off.
It was in the direction of the lobby where the guild members were.
‘What are they so curious about?’
The effort of going to the empty hallway was made meaningless.
Because there were still many glances sneaking after me.
As if Abellana did not care at all, she passed all the guild members and stood before a table in the corner.
Her face, which had been smiling all along, was now greatly distorted.
“......Yoanes! I told you to stop drinking alone in broad daylight, didn’t I?”
At the table in the corner, there was a woman tilting a glass as large as her own face.
She was the one who had not even glanced this way when all the guild members were whispering.
Whether Abellana got angry or not, the woman emptied her glass.
The dark air beneath her eyes and her dull wine-colored hair looked as though they might devour her surroundings.
“The friend you said you cherish most is this person?”
“Oh, goodness! How could you say that in front of her?”
Abellana lightly pushed my arm with her fist.
And immediately after that...
SMACK!
Abellana struck the back of her “cherished” friend, Yoanes, with all her strength.
The crack that shook the building was loud enough that I squeezed my eyes shut without realizing it.
“Th-that stings......”
Yoanes groaned while clutching her back.
Abellana merely blew on her hand once.
“Get a hold of yourself. He’s a precious customer, so make a good impression.”
“A customer?”
“Yes. If things go well, he might become our colleague, or he might not?”
Who was she to put someone in the guild as she pleased?
Misunderstandings were best corrected as quickly as possible.
“I’ll be imposing for a while through Jekus’s introduction.”
I deliberately said “for a while” with emphasis.
Yoanes let out a small sigh.
“......I get the picture.”
Abellana smiled brightly and wrapped an arm around Yoanes’s shoulders.
“Now! I’ll introduce her properly. This is Yoanes. She has a good credit rating and knows the city well! She’ll definitely be of help.”
“A-Abellana? What are you suddenly talking about......?”
“I’m telling you to stop lying around and work. Are you still drunk?”
Sliiide.
When Abellana’s palm rose again, Yoanes sprang up from her seat.
“I get it......!”
Yoanes hurriedly moved her feet.
I quickly followed behind her.
‘Why does it feel like I’m being scolded too?’
When I came to my senses, we were already outside the guild building.
In an instant, we had come out onto the noisy street.
“......Haah.”
Yoanes roughly mussed her dull hair with one hand.
Since she had been hit once and chased out, there was no way she could feel good.
Growl......
But the sound coming from my stomach had been serious for a while now.
There was a saying that even Mount Geumgang was best enjoyed after a meal, was there not?
“Let’s go eat first. You were drinking without any food.”
Only a few liquor bottles had been rolling around on her table.
I had seen quite a few people pour down alcohol while trusting their youth, only to wreck their livers in no time, you know?
Though I did not know how it worked in a fantasy world.
Yoanes let out a small sigh.
“......I’ll guide you somewhere suitable. But don’t expect too much.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean I won’t be as useful as Abellana promised.”
I merely shrugged once.
“I don’t expect anything.”
“......I stated the obvious. It must be clear just from looking at me.”
“No. As long as I don’t have to spend dozens of vanus on one meal, that’s enough.”
To begin with, how much could one expect from someone they had just met for the first time?
I walked past Yoanes and headed down the street.
She hesitated, then caught me.
“U-um.”
“What? Let’s hurry. I’m so hungry I don’t even have the strength to talk.”
Yoanes, still with a gloomy expression, said one thing.
“......It’s the opposite direction.”
***
The marketplace was still noisy.
Even beneath the scorching sunlight, the crowd brimmed with energy.
One of the merchants calling out to passersby opened his eyes wide.
“Well, look who it is! Isn’t that Yoanes?”
“G-greetings later. Serve the customer first.”
“Oh! Right, let’s do that.”
Wer, who had been quiet the whole time, slowly crawled up and whispered.
“Ritak. Meat, meat. The meat skewered on sticks looks delicious.”
“I’ll buy two skewers.”
The merchant looked back and forth between Yoanes and me.
“Should I give them as this young man ordered?”
“Yes...... Please do.”
“If you’re vouching for him, I’ll take 8 vanus.”
The price range had dropped sharply.
It was still expensive, but compared to when I had come alone, it was bearable.
However, Yoanes seemed to think differently.
“Th-that much?”
Grab!
When Yoanes grabbed the stall, the sign tilted greatly.
The merchant hurriedly waved his hands.
“You little fool, everything’s going to collapse!”
“It’s because you suddenly raised the food price tenfold, Mister Bain......!”
It seemed they knew each other well.
The merchant called Mister Bain shrugged with a troubled face.
“Yoanes, I don’t feel good about it either, but your reputation hasn’t been very good lately.”
“But......”
“It’s a matter of credit, isn’t it? Hm?”
Yoanes slowly let go of the stall.
At that moment, as though waiting for it, a loose voice sounded from behind.
“Hey, Yoanes! You finally came out of the guild building!”
A man who looked frivolous to anyone’s eyes.
His inverted-triangle face and sparse mustache made him look exactly like a mouse.
Yoanes rubbed around her eyes as though tired.
“......Hoo.”
“If anyone should be sighing, shouldn’t it be me? Tell me where your younger sibling is right now, will you?”
“I-I told you I don’t know......”
“Hey! You can’t just swallow someone else’s money and hide!”
Had she taken on debt?
I looked at Yoanes.
Perhaps it was just my imagination, but the shadows beneath her eyes seemed to have grown even darker.