Chapter 1 - Hans
It seems that a guest has arrived at the inn. The innkeeper (Ada) asked me to keep watch the Inn, and after telling Murphy to shut up, I explained the price to the customer at the entrance.
「It's ten gold a night here, breakfast and dinner included. A shared room is eight gold under the same conditions.」
「Ah, I'm sorry, I'm not a guest, but I'd like to work here as a live-in. My name is Hans.」
said a young man with blond hair and a ponytail.
「What? Come to think of it, I saw you in the dungeon yesterday. Did you make any money?」
「No, I can take on a single goblin, but I was in real danger when I was surrounded by several guys in armor.」
「I guess. Not with that equipment」
「Yes. So ...... ugh!」
Suddenly, Hans collapsed on the spot.
「Tsk, hey, are you okay?」
It didn't look like that, but was he injured? I helped him up.
「Alec, get him some potions.」
「N-no, I'm fine. It's just dizziness.」
Hans said, his stomach growling loudly, but he hadn't eaten or drunk for a while. Sigh.
「I'll at least buy him a loaf of bread.」
Murphy put a piece of brass coin on the counter. Even though he didn't have any money to bet, it seemed that he did have that much change on him.
「I'll buy you some milk, then.」
I put a brass coin on the counter too. Then I brought him some bread and milk from the kitchen. I'm helping people.
「Ohhh! T-thank you so much!」
Hans was so hungry that he ate the bread and coughed a little.
「Cough-cough」
「Hey, brother, don't be in such a hurry. I'm not going to take it from you.」
「Indeed. If you don't chew your food, it's bad for your health.」
「Yes, ...... I'm sorry.」
When Hans finally finished eating, he seemed to catch his breath and bowed his head again.
「I will never forget this favor. When I rise in the world, I will give you both a huge mansion as a gift.」
「Ha, what mansion, did you hear that, Alec?」
「Yeah. Before you spout off such big words, you should at least be able to earn your own food for tomorrow.」
Hans is decently dressed, so it seems that he hasn't been homeless for long, unlike Lily.
「Yes ...... I'm ashamed of myself」
「Well then, first you need to earn some money for bread and milk.」
「Ha ...... Oh, um, I'll work diligently, please don't give me a pillow business」
「Huh? Who told you to do pillow business? Don't you dare say anything disgusting, man?」
Both Murphy and I are annoyed by Hans' misunderstanding.
「Ah, my apologies, I'm this beautiful, as you can see. Being beautiful is already sin in itself. ......」
「Hmph. This is a normal inn. If you're mistaking it for a brothel, you'll have to look in the back streets. Go home!」
Murphy says with a frown.
「Oh no! Because I really want to work in a regular inn. I'll do anything, even cleaning! I can't do hard work, though.」
Hans said, but I guess it's too much to ask him to carry hot water for bathing up to the fourth floor.
「Then, let's see, I'll have you make my soup. And I'll give you gold for it.」
「Yes, I understand」
「And while you're at it, I'll have lunch too, so make me something. Use whatever ingredients you can find in the kitchen. More meat, please.」
「I'll skip the meat.」
「Very well」
While I was waiting for him to finish cooking, Luka came back.
「It smells so good. I'm hungry too.」
「Hans, one more serving, extra meat.」
「Okay.」
「Hmm? Who's Hans?」
I explained to Luka, who tilted her head.
「There's a guy who's been asking me to let him work here as a live-in.」
「Huh. A retired adventurer?」
「No, Hans, what did you do for a living before?」
「Well, before, I'm a glassmaker. These days, sales are so bad that I have to earn my money elsewhere.」
「Houh, is there a reason why you've stopped selling?」
Murphy asked.
「No, well, they weren't selling that well before.」
I guess he's a bad craftsman. .........I'm starting to worry about the food.
「It's ready. Come on, eat up.」
Hans brought me a plate and it was beautifully presented, with carrots cut into stars floating in the soup and chopped parsley in the center, it looked pretty good.
「T-this looks delicious!」
「What, you can cook aren't you? Isn't it better for you to become a chef?」
I tried his cooking, and it tasted pretty good too.
「No, I was really fascinated by the beauty of glass. That jewel-like, crystal clear material can be processed at will! I get excited just thinking about what I can make with it!」
「No, you can't eat glass even if you say that.」
「That's right.」
Murphy and Luka answered in a boring manner. Well, because It's glass
「Eehh You understand me right, Alec?」
「Well, I know you like glass. I'll make sure Ada pays you well, and you can make whatever you want, as much as you want.」
「Okay! Thank you very much!」
It would be the greatest luxury to put the money you worked for into your hobby. The sweat, blood, and tears of labor will make your desires come true. It is truly precious. Well, I don't have to have such a luxury, and I don't want to work. I definitely don't want to work.
「Phew, thank you for the meal. Hans, it was delicious.」
「It was like a restaurant meal!」
「It was worth the money.」
All three of us were very satisfied and praised the impromptu chef.
「Thank you. Oh, by the way, as a token of our acquaintance, I'll bring you a piece of my work sometime.」
「No, I don't need it」「I don't want it.」「I don't need something like that」
「Eehh, that's too bad. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.」
「...... Well, no thank you.」
Luka frowning, she's not a fan of narcissists, either.
「Oh, right, Luka, if you have any extra High Potions, you can sell them to me. I'm fine with potions.」
As if Murphy remembered, he suggested such a negotiation. I'm sure there are plenty of them at the tool shop, but he's a lazy bastard.
「Hmm? Well, I went to buy some potions earlier, but they were all sold out.」
「Huh? Come on, Luka, there's no way the potions will sell out, even if you try to carry me, it's not going to happen, haha.」
「No, I'm telling the truth.」
That's strange.
I don't think Luka would lie, but there's no way the potions will sell out. In Spagna, the royal capital of Grandsword, there is a famous dungeon in the center of town known throughout the world as the Labyrinth of No Return, and it is crowded with countless adventurers. There are countless weapon and tool shops that take advantage of this, and many of them are lined up across the street or next to each other.
How could so many consumables be sold out at the same time?
――There must be a "reason" for this.
That's my gut feeling.
「I'll check it out.」
「Huh? Stop it-stop it, Alec, You can buy a cheap potion for ten gold. You don't have to go looking for them, just wait a while and you'll find them again.」
That may be true. Murphy was right, such cheap mass-produced goods will come in if you wait long enough. But there's something about the cause itself that I find troubling.
It's just a little anomaly.
I think my sense of smell has become much more acute in this world full of monsters and in the Labyrinth of No Return. I guess it's a survival instinct.
To live comfortably and peacefully, we must not allow any abnormalities to invade.
「Luka, if you want to go back to your room, please go and get Serina or Saki.」
「Got it.」
I decided to start the investigation. I was not sure that I would get the "correct" answer, but I was just making sure.
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