Chapter 12 : Be Careful with People

The moment I opened my eyes in Weapon of Infinity, a commission had struck like lightning.

It was an order to make ten 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 followed me around so persistently, telling me to join his guild.

“There’s a Bies Guild building in the city, so you can use my name and rest there if you like.”

To be honest, even thinking back on it, Jekus was not a guy I liked very much.

But this was not the time to be picky about cold rice or hot rice.

I need some kind of foundation before I can even start.

I would be lucky if I had even cold rice.

Right now, forget meals, I did not even have a place to stay.

Being an outsider is so filthy and miserable that I can’t even live in the city.

Wer let out a deep sigh.

“I told you, it is better to keep your distance from those who try to use others.”

“Then I just have to use him that much in return.”

“Ritark, I know you are not the kind of fellow to go anywhere and take a loss, but…”

Wer shook his head, then settled down on my shoulder.

He did not seem inclined to nag any further.

Yeah. Even if you lived in a cave all that time, you don’t like sleeping outside either, do you?

I laughed inwardly and moved my feet.

After asking every passerby I came across, I finally arrived at the Bies Guild.

Wer looked up at the building and snorted.

“They have decorated the outside quite nicely.”

“Yeah. Looks like it was a bigger guild than I expected.”

Unlike the drab buildings around it, the dark red brick gave the impression that quite a bit of money had been spent on it.

There was even a signboard boldly hanging there, with Guild Bies written in elegant handwriting.

“There will be plenty of people like that arrogant human we met in the village, all trying to use others!”

“Well… Let’s go in first.”

Creak!

The moment I opened the door, gazes pinned me in place.

But the eyes quickly scattered, as if they had lost interest.

I did not want attention either, so that was actually more comfortable.

A woman sitting by the entrance trotted over.

Her wheat-colored curly hair fluttered.

“Welcome! What brings you here?”

Her face, with a nose dotted in freckles, looked fairly 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’m trying to say it, the words won’t come out.

I am going to use your guild building as a lodging house.

It was not an easy thing to say without sounding shameless.

But right now, I was in a situation where even one coin mattered.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

“Mm. I came on Jekus’s recommendation. Did you perhaps receive word from Root Village?”

The curly-haired woman blinked several times.

An awkward silence flowed.

I should just say I came to the wrong place.

What kind of wealth and glory was I hoping to enjoy?

The moment I felt like rushing out of the building immediately, the woman clapped her hands.

“Ah! Are you the compounder from the healing shop in Root Village?”

“…That’s right.”

“We’ve been waiting for you!”

Forest-deep eyes suddenly approached.

They were sparkling to a burdensome degree.

Without realizing it, I took one step back.

“He wrote such a long, detailed message telling us to take good care of you if our precious compounder came by!”

Should I still run from the guild building even now?

The insane prices must have driven me insane too.

But it was already too late to escape.

The woman firmly grabbed my sleeve and walked with quick little steps.

“I’ll show you the room you’ll be staying in. Please come this way!”

“W-wait.”

“Ah! First, I should introduce you to everyone. I have to tell them an amazing person has come to our guild!”

“I said wait a moment…”

My eyes busily darted around.

A room to stay in, and an introduction?

I expected they wouldn’t blast me with cold wind, sure, but!

This was far too hospitable.

It was to the point where I did not know what to do with myself.

Honestly, it felt burdensome.

Just how had Jekus talked about me?

“Is that white-haired guy the compounder who can produce recovery potions in an instant?”

“Come on, you believe that? He must have exaggerated a bit.”

“But Jekus isn’t the type to make things up either.”

“True. In that case, there’s no harm in making a connection in advance.”

The whispering grew louder and louder.

I was reaching my limit.

The woman seemed ready to put me in front of everyone at any moment.

I pulled back the woman who was about to rush forward.

“Oh my? Why are we suddenly going into the hallway…?”

“Calm down. I haven’t even joined the guild, so an introduction is too hasty.”

“But it will surely be helpful for you too, compounder.”

The woman covered her mouth with the back of her hand and giggled.

“This is the City of Traders! Connections are a form of asset too.”

She was right, but it felt uncomfortable.

Was there not also a saying that people should be chosen carefully?

It would be troublesome if I made needless connections and they ended up holding me back.

“Are you planning to leave soon, perhaps?”

“That’s not it.”

“Then it would be good to have someone with a high credit rating to handle proxy purchases for you, wouldn’t it?”

In truth, I had come to the guild building for exactly that kind of purpose.

They were just welcoming me to the point of embarrassment.

Jekus had not suddenly awakened to charity work, so of course there was a reason he was putting in effort.

If something came in, something had to go out.

“…Then attach only one person to me. There’s no need to go around in a whole crowd, is there?”

“Hm. Shall we do that for now?”

For now? How much more was she planning?

I refused help that could not be repaid with a few suitable potions.

Wasn’t that how you got hooked, receiving one thing after another?

“My introduction was late! I’m Abellana. I handle the guild’s general affairs.”

“I’m Ritark. 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, scurried down behind my back.

Since he had been discovered, it was already too late.

Come to think of it, he had also stayed hidden in the bag on the wagon.

He shouldn’t be the shy type.

Hadn’t he gotten along fairly well with the fairies?

He was difficult to pin down, but I decided to gloss over it for now.

“He seems pretty hungry.”

“Then is it hard to greet him right now?”

“I was about to go out and feed him something. Are you coming with us?”

Abellana smiled brightly and fanned her own face.

“Ah! Unfortunately, it’s hard for me to leave the guild building. I have far too much work to do!”

Even at a company, the general affairs team seemed to have many things to look after across the board.

Since they were in charge of the household, so to speak, it probably could not be helped.

“Hehe, instead, I’ll attach one of my dearest friends to you.”

Abellana walked briskly.

She was heading toward the lobby where the guild members were.

What are they so curious about?

The trouble of going all the way to the empty hallway became meaningless.

There were still many gazes sneaking glances after me.

Abellana seemed completely unconcerned as she passed all the guild members and stood in front of a table in the corner.

Her face, which had been smiling brightly the whole time, was now badly distorted.

“…Joannes! I told you to stop drinking alone in broad daylight, didn’t I?”

At the table in the corner was a woman tilting back a glass as large as her own face.

She was someone who had not even glanced this way while all the other guild members were whispering.

Whether Abellana got angry or not, she emptied the glass.

The dark shadows beneath her eyes and her dull wine-colored hair looked gloomy enough to swallow the surroundings.

“This is the friend you said you cherished the most?”

“Oh, honestly! How could you say that in front of her?”

Abellana lightly pushed my arm with her fist.

And immediately afterward—

Smack!

Abellana struck the back of her “cherished” friend, Joannes, with all her might.

The sound of the strike shook the building so violently that I squeezed my eyes shut without realizing it.

“Th-that stings…”

Joannes groaned while clutching her back.

Abellana merely blew on her own hand once.

“Get yourself together. He’s an important customer, so make a good impression.”

“A customer?”

“Yes. If things go well, he might become our colleague. Or maybe not?”

Who gave you permission to put me in the guild?

It was best to correct misunderstandings as quickly as possible.

“I’ll be in your care for a short while through Jekus’s introduction.”

I deliberately emphasized the words “short while.”

Joannes let out a small sigh.

“…That figures.”

Abellana wrapped an arm around Joannes’s shoulders with a bright smile.

“Now! Let me introduce her properly. This is Joannes. She has a good credit rating and knows the city well! She’ll definitely be helpful.”

“A-Abellana? What are you suddenly talking about…?”

“I’m telling you not to laze around and to work. Are you still drunk?”

Srrk.

When Abellana’s palm rose again, Joannes shot up from her seat.

“Fine…!”

Joannes hurriedly moved her feet.

I quickly followed behind her.

Why do I feel like I’m getting scolded too?

By the time I came to my senses, we were already outside the guild building.

In an instant, we had come out onto the noisy street.

“…Haa.”

Joannes roughly tousled her dull hair with one hand.

She had been smacked once and chased out, so there was no way she could be in a good mood.

Grrrrr…

But the sound coming from my stomach had been no joke for a while now.

Didn’t they say you should see even a scenic mountain after a meal?

“Let’s go eat first. You were drinking without any snacks.”

There had only been a few bottles of alcohol rolling around on her table.

I had seen plenty of guys who trusted their youth, drank like mad, and ruined their livers in an instant, you know?

I had no idea how it worked in a fantasy world, though.

Joannes let out a small sigh.

“…I’ll guide you somewhere decent. But don’t expect much.”

“What do you mean?”

“I-I mean I won’t be as helpful as Abellana promised.”

I gave a simple shrug.

“I’m not expecting anything.”

“…I said something obvious. You could probably tell just by looking at me.”

“No. As long as I don’t have to spend dozens of banus on one meal, that’s enough.”

How much could I expect from someone I had just met for the first time anyway?

I walked past Joannes and down the street.

She hesitated, then grabbed me.

“U-um.”

“What? Let’s hurry. I’m so hungry I barely have the strength to talk.”

Joannes said one thing with the same gloomy expression.

“…It’s the opposite direction.”

The marketplace was still noisy.

The crowd was full of energy even beneath the blazing sunlight.

One of the merchants calling out to passersby widened his eyes.

“Well, look who it is! Isn’t that Joannes?”

“G-greetings later. Please take the customer first.”

“Oh! Right. Let’s do that.”

Wer, who had been quiet all this time, slowly crawled up and whispered.

“Ritark. Meat. Meat. The meat skewered on sticks looks delicious.”

“I’ll buy two skewers.”

The merchant looked back and forth between Joannes and me.

“Can I give him what this young man ordered?”

“Yeah… Please do.”

“If you’re vouching for him, I’ll take 8 banus.”

The price dropped sharply.

It was still expensive, but compared to when I had come alone, it was a manageable amount.

But Joannes seemed to think differently.

“Th-that much?”

Grab!

When Joannes grabbed the stall, the signboard tilted heavily.

The merchant hurriedly waved his hands.

“You little rascal, the whole thing’s going to collapse!”

“Because you suddenly raised the food price by ten times, Mr. Bain…!”

Apparently, they knew each other well.

The merchant called Mr. Bain shrugged with a troubled face.

“Joannes, 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?”

Joannes slowly let go of the stall.

At that moment, as if he had been waiting, a flippant voice sounded from behind.

“Hey, Joannes! You finally came out of the guild building!”

A man whose conduct looked frivolous at a glance.

With his inverted-triangle face and thin, pathetic mustache, he looked exactly like a rat.

Joannes rubbed around her eyes as if exhausted.

“…Hoo.”

“If anyone should be sighing, shouldn’t it be me? Tell me where your younger brother is right now, hm?”

“I-I told you I don’t know…”

“Hey! You can’t just run off and hide after taking someone else’s money!”

Was it a debt?

I looked at Joannes.

Maybe it was my imagination, but the shadows beneath her eyes seemed to have grown even darker.

[End of Chapter]