Volume 22: The Second Trial ( Minotaur of Kuriti Island)
Chapter 20 - Carpenter Taros
I've defeated the Centaur brothers and put the family's treasure in the 【Item Storage】.
I got on a boat to go to my next destination, but I ran into a suspicious carpenter.
Speaking of carpenters in this world, it's normal for them to be muscular, but Taros looks like a skinny guy. It seems I wasn't the only one who was bothered by this, and Taros chuckled.
「Yeah, haha, I get that a lot. I'm embarrassed to say this, but well, I'm a brainworker. I don't work with my hands――I work with designs, drawings, that sort of thing.」
「I see. So you're a designer. Does that pay well?」
「I don't know. Well, it's just enough to make a living. ......」
Taros smiles vaguely, but he seems to be making rather a lot of money. If he's not making money, he'll tell you outright that he's not.
「There's an opening for a good-paying job on the Kuriti Island, and I thought I'd apply for a fresh start.」
「I see.」
I didn't care about the man's personal story, so I just listened to him.
Currently, "Black Cats of the Wind" should be heading this way. I've already told the Austin Academy of Magic about my survival, so I'm sure they know and are taking action.
I want to stay in one place if possible, but I'm wasting my time. If I do the seven trials in order, the information will be passed on to the other side, so we should be able to meet up somewhere.
「――That's why people's jealousy is really a terrible thing. I had no idea that my master was going to kill me. In my previous life, I had a boss who held me responsible for something.」
「Hmm.」
Taros is talking about something that seems to be a big deal in his life, but he's a stranger. If this were a beautiful girl, I'd give her a gentle shove and tell her what a hard time she's had, but I'm not interested in men.
「But when is this boat going to reach the island? If I had known how hard it would be, I wouldn't have taken the boat. If I drown in a storm, ugh, I've made another bad life choice.」
You're a depressing bastard. If you're worried about drowning in a storm, wait until the sky starts to cloud over.
「Looks like you're in over your head, Taros. Look, I see an island over there. Isn't that the Kuriti Island?」
I pointed to the island I could see.
「Ohhh! It's true! It's in the right direction, and I'm sure of it. Oh, thank God!」
Taros smiles as he takes out his compass from his pocket and pours his heart out.
「Then, Alec-san, thank you very much for your help today.」
When we were getting off the ship, Taros insisted on telling him my name, so I did, but I don't think I'll be seeing him again.
「Well then, first I need to gather information.」
This is a basic rule for adventurers.
I walked around the island looking for the sign for the adventurer's guild, Shoes and Wings, and found it quickly. It's easy to find in most towns.
Even after the Demon King is defeated, the world is still overrun with monsters, so the organization responsible for exterminating them is extremely important.
It seems that the roles are divided between the Kingdom's Knights and Adventurers. The State-run and the Private sector, with the Knights, who are larger and therefore slower, and the Adventurers, who are smaller and more resourceful.
When I pushed open the western-style double doors and entered, I found seven or eight rough warriors hanging out there, looking bored, as if they were looking for a party member to meet up with.
I don't like to get into unnecessary fights, so I didn't pay attention to them and went to look at the request form hanging on the right wall.
The second trial indicated by the grimoire "The Poetry of Welgilius" should be here. ......
I looked for an A-ranked quest first, but there were only B or lower quests listed here.
Isn't it's strange. ......?
「Hey bro, is this your first time on this island?」
The stern big man warrior put his arm around my shoulder and tangled with me in a casual manner.
「That's right, but I don't need directions.」
I lightly brushed away his burly arm.
「You're so cold, you know, adventurers are supposed to help each other, right? Even though people are just trying to be nice and teach the newcomers a thing or two.」
「Come on, Damien. He's not a rookie by any stretch of the imagination. He's older than you.」
A woman sitting at a round table with cat ears warned the big man. Her hair was short-cut and black. Her equipment is light, but her breastplate is steel armor, and she is probably in the upper class of adventurers.
She was still young. I'd say she was around twenty.
However, she didn't have a scabbard hanging from her waist, and I couldn't find a weapon. She wears metal armor, so it's not like she's a mage.
「Ahh? What are you talking about, Camilla――ohhh? You're an old man, if you ask me.」
「It's Alec.」
I don't need a guy with an old man's face to call me an old man.
「Ohhh, I'm Damien. Why don't you join our party and do a little work for us. We were just talking about getting another warrior.」
The large warrior smiled, his voice somewhat lispy.
「Look elsewhere.」
「Tsk, I see. But it's not safe to go solo, you know? Do you have any friend?」
「I do.」
「Oh, yeah? Sorry to interrupt. Come on, Camilla, let's get going. You know, Damien the Demon and Camilla the Thousand-Handed are enough for this job.」
「It can't be helped.」
The cat-eared Camilla got up from her chair and grabbed a spear that was propped up against the wall. Apparently, it was her weapon of choice. Normally I wouldn't let go of my own weapon, but .......
As I was admiring her fleshy thighs, the two of them left the guild together.
Now, what to do? In the worst case scenario, it will take some time, but if I wait for Serina and Saki to join me, it won't be too difficult to gather information.
Those two are good at asking around and gathering information.
――But time is precious. If that's the case, I could use an informant who is skilled in that area.
「Hey, is there an informant on this island?」
I asked the guild employee who was yawning at the counter. He scanned me from top to bottom, then put his hand on his chin and said,
「What's your budget?」
「I'll give you as much as you want.」
I took out a bag of gold coins from the 【Item Storage】 and placed it on the counter with a thud.
「Mmm, this weight, this sound, it can't be, it's all gold coins!」
「Bingo!」
I untied the string and showed it to him.
「Mmm, you're richer than you look. ......」
「Looks are superfluous. So, what do you think? Is there a good guy?」
「Well, if you've got that kind of money, you might as well go with "Thoroi the Plagued". He's greedy, but he's good. If you mention his name in the market, I'm sure he'll contact you.」
「I got it. Thank you.」
「No, it's nothing to be thankful for.」
After leaving the Adventurer's Guild, I headed back down the main street to the market.
I'd heard that Kuriti Island was an island, but it seemed to be much larger than I'd expected. I could see the castle on the hill over there, and there was definitely a good amount of population. There were a lot of people passing through the streets, and all kinds of goods were being sold in the market.
It was not going to be long before I could get in touch with the informant Thoroi.
I was a little discouraged, but still I talked to the owner of the apple store.
「I heard there's a guy around here named Thoroi――or maybe a girl――by that name.」
「Yeah, he's a guy. A greedy man.」
The apple store owner replied with a frown and a shake of his head, as if he didn't like Thoroi.
「I'd like to get in touch with him.」
「Okay. Then――」
The shopkeeper wagged his finger and whistled loudly.
「I'm sure he'll come around now. You'll have to kill some time around there.」
「Oh. And while you're at it, give me one.」
「One gold.」
I pay the money and take the apple. I took a bite and found it to tasted sour, but not inedible.
「Oi! You've got to be kidding!」
As I was buying and eating the second apple, a man with a turban on his head shouted loudly from a store across the street.
「I'm a merchant, remember? Can't you see the cloth on my head? How dare you rip me off!」
He held out his hands in an exaggerated manner, probably in an attempt to attract the attention of the people around him and make them his allies.
But the other shopkeeper said in a calm voice.
「You're a stranger, aren't you? That's the normal price on this island. Beef is expensive.」
「What ......? Really?」
The passersby who had been stopping began to walk around as if they had lost interest, but it seems that beef is expensive here.
「I'll tell you. It's a curse. A long time ago, the king of this place had a bit of a problem. Since then, not a single cow has been able to have a baby on this island. So we have to bring them in by boat from other places. That's why it's so expensive. Cow's milk is also expensive.」
The owner of the butcher shop shrugged his shoulders and explained.
「Don't turn around, just keep walking.」
As I was casually listening to him, I suddenly heard a shrill voice in my ear.
――Hooh. Did he get behind me?
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