After choosing clothes, Lisbeth and I left the shop, and it was almost noon. We decided to wander around the village after lunch, and then headed to a shop Lisbeth frequented.
It seems my taste in clothes was right; Lisbeth was quite eye-catching as she walked.
Men passing by blushed and secretly glanced back at her.
Lisbeth's appearance was indeed outstanding.
Wearing such sexy clothes, it was understandable why men stared at her.
Lisbeth and I, in high spirits, arrived at a café-style shop with outdoor tables.
People's surprised looks at my appearance were no longer surprising.
I sat on the floor next to the table Lisbeth was sitting at, watching her order.
The clerk kindly asked if I also needed to order, and I explained that eating was difficult in my current state, and asked if they could just put the vegetables on a tray for me. The waiter said he understood and went inside. A sandwich-like dish and a cup of tea were placed in front of Lisbeth, while what appeared to be simply prepared vegetables were laid out in front of me.
I was quite pleased that the restaurant had considered my needs to this extent.
While eating, I asked Lisbeth if the street with the shop we had just seen was some kind of upscale street.
I assumed that would be the case, given the number of high-end shops, but she told me it wasn't. It was a street to the north with the entrance to an aristocratic residential area, a street lined with upscale shops.
She added that she had originally intended to go to the truly expensive shops inside the residential area, but had gone to that particular shop because of me.
Even though it's an aristocratic residential area, I figured it should be fine to go in. The shop I visited this time was only a high-end establishment frequented by nobles because the owner was famous for their clothing designs. However, I heard that the prices at high-end shops in the aristocratic residential area, which caters specifically to the nobility, are completely different.
Some shops operate on a bespoke basis; after selecting a design and clothes, you have to wait at least one or two months to receive the finished product… Otherworldly women's clothing is outrageously expensive.
But thinking about designer brands on Earth, their prices are also staggering.
Since it's for adventure, and considering the possibility of some kind of magical technology being incorporated, the price isn't entirely unacceptable.
"Where should we go this afternoon? Radia is much larger than I imagined; it seems we need to explore it properly."
"I'll mainly take you to the guild headquarters and some shops near your accommodation that you might want to check out. You don't know many shops yet, do you?"
On the way to the guild headquarters after lunch, they passed a cluster of residential buildings resembling small apartments. There, Lisbeth spoke in front of a simply designed building. "This is the dormitory where Ars and I live. It's in a good location and clean, and the furniture and amenities are relatively inexpensive for the price, so it's hard to find a room. Ars and I had a hard time signing the contract. Although the room is a bit small for two people, Ars lives on the second floor and I live on the third. The monthly rent for dormitories or houses shared by two or more people will suddenly increase."
It feels like a popular single-room building.
That Ars brat, can't we live together even though we're a couple?
If I came to this world as a human, I wouldn't care about the size of the room; if I had a girlfriend, I would choose to live together.
"That makes sense. If two people are crammed into a small room, it's hard to get a proper rest after an adventure." "Most adventurers live around here unless they're buying a house. When you talk about dormitory street, you mean this area. Further down, there are cheap dorms, but I've seen them all dirty, run-down, and infested with bugs. Once you can transform into human form, it's best to find a place around here." After saying this, Lisbeth temporarily put down her shopping bags, said she'd be right back, and went into the dormitory.
As the door opened, it looked like a clean and tidy lounge; it felt quite nice from the entrance.
Hmm.
If I could gain the anthropomorphism skill, I'd need to find a room around here.
Afterwards, Lisbeth and I quickly went to explore the streets again.
Afterwards, I wandered around the shops near the guild hall and my warehouse with Lisbeth, chatting about various topics. There were streets lined with stalls selling all sorts of ingredients, streets lined with equipment shops that could equip adventurers with gear, shops selling various medicines and secondary materials obtained during adventures, and so on—each piece of information was as precious as a jewel.
I showed her the warehouse-like building where I lived, and Lisbeth's expression became quite subtle.
She said I lived in what looked like a pen for raising livestock monsters…did it look like a monster pen to others?
But it really was a monster.
"Once I gain the humanization skill, I'll live in a clean dormitory too!"
While saying this, she continued to look around, and before she knew it, the sun was setting.
She headed to the guild office to wait for Ars. "If it's too late, let's have dinner in the office's cafeteria," she said, before entering.
Sitting at a table, she heard that the guild office would be open until about 9 PM after dinner.
Since the gates of Ladia City close at 8 PM, they would receive the last batch of guild mission reports before closing.
Thinking about it, the time and calendar seemed quite similar to Earth's.
Were the planetary sizes and rotation periods also similar to Earth's?
While listening to this information, Ars returned, and they ordered dinner together.
Ars blushed and showed surprise upon seeing Lisbeth's changed appearance, but quickly regained his slightly serious expression while praising her, "She's beautiful."
"Hey, is that all?"
"Is everything done? What is it that you had to keep from us and only order around the heroes?" "Lisbeth questioned Ars in a slightly annoyed voice.
Yes.
I'm quite curious too.
But Ars's expression was unusually serious, and she sensed that this wasn't an ordinary matter. "Remember the day I was summoned to see the lord as a hero? Did you mention that a very powerful veteran hero had passed away?
That one was over level 50, a very strong presence among the heroes of Ladia."
"Over level 50 is quite impressive. The average adventurer is around level 30-40. So, did that person's death cause a commotion?"
"No… his death was indeed regrettable, but the problem isn't just that. The key lies in his body." "After hearing Ars's answer to my question, I learned that in this other world, as long as the corpse isn't destroyed to the point of dust or hasn't been there for too long, the deceased's identity can be confirmed by analyzing the remaining Aether fragments on the body. Although the body needs to be brought back, analysis using magical tools in the guild administration or the lord's city can reveal the deceased's identity and abilities, similar to adventurer card information.
"But this time, when the members of the deceased's guild brought back the body and examined it according to the death determination procedure... his information didn't include the identity of 'Hero'." "...Huh?" "How is this possible?" Lisbeth asked, a slightly surprised expression on her face.
According to Ars and Lisbeth, the hero's qualification is not lost once chosen.
Even in death, the hero's information should be displayed in the corpse assessment, but this time, after the hero's corpse was assessed solely for procedural reasons, the hero's information vanished without a trace.
As a veteran adventurer who had updated the adventurer card countless times, and who had even met the lord or the guild master several times, the hero's qualification had simply disappeared.
"Initially, some suspected that the lord had used some kind of deception... but it's pointless. Because for a so-called hero, more important than the country's welfare is the power gained from Infinite Ethel." "It's a huge burden for the nation to care for so many heroes, unless they are chosen based on strength and loyalty as directly subordinate heroes of the kingdom. Otherwise, the benefits aren't very good.
Besides, that person isn't so weak that they need to impersonate a hero."
"So... what happened at the time of death that caused that hero's hero status to disappear?" Ars nodded and continued explaining. "According to the guild members who recovered the body, he used to use his fighting spirit to charge through the dungeon, clearing monsters with the help of guild members, and then regrouping to defeat the boss." "In this labyrinth, their guild used the same tactics to advance in their assigned area, but when the members cleared out the monsters and entered the depths, they found that the hero was already a corpse."
"Since he was a hero, the possibility of the guild members killing him for some reason is extremely low... The final conclusion is that there are factors in the labyrinth that can kill heroes above level 50 and strip them of their hero status, right?"
"That's right." During the conversation, the waitress from the management office cafeteria brought the ordered food to the table. Ars took a short breath, drank his beverage, bit off a piece of fried meat, and continued his story. "Furthermore, the labyrinth itself was very unusual. Originally, the so-called labyrinth was an alternate dimension isolated from reality, created by the collision of high concentrations of Ethel and Tesel.
After clearing out the monsters and bosses inside, it would naturally dissipate once all living beings evacuated." Since the monsters that appear don't leave behind corpses, the only materials that can be obtained as extra income are minerals or plants that can be taken out of the dungeon.
However, if left unattended, monsters and Tether will keep pouring out like a cursed mountain range, so the nation pays commissions to guilds to handle it as a quest." Perhaps for my sake, Ars's detailed explanation was incredibly thoughtful. "This dungeon is a large, high-concentration Tether dungeon that has appeared recently. Therefore, most guilds with the capacity participated as emergency quests, and even the monster suspected of being the leader has been defeated." However, while Tassel has stabilized, the labyrinth has not dissipated. The lord and administration are now suspecting the cause might be related to the death of that veteran hero. It is said that other heroes and guilds who find the undissipated phenomenon suspicious have continued to explore the labyrinth, but have only found empty spaces where the monsters disappeared, without any clues. "That's why the heroes were summoned… Someone suggested it might be the work of monsters, specifically targeting lone heroes. Because the other heroes have been acting cautiously with their guild members.
But no matter how they search, they haven't found any trace. Even the church has sent priests to help." As the conversation continued with serious expressions, Lisbeth and I absentmindedly ate the food on the table and the hay in front of us, while listening attentively. "Considering that traveling alone might attract attention, several experts stronger than the fallen hero have also acted alone, but still without success. Perhaps there are certain conditions, or it's specifically targeting the weak." Today, when we went to the South Gate, the returning guild brought back strange internal structures and decorations. The officials of the lord city compared them with existing dungeon records… but they couldn't find even a dungeon with similar cases.
That's why they came to our guild."
"Why us, who are still newbies? Could it be…?"
"Yes. They hope we can help explore the dungeon." Lisbeth's expression froze instantly.
A dungeon where even high-level adventurers had suffered heavy casualties, with even high-ranking heroes losing their lives.
Requesting the Madel's Light Guild, with only two novice adventurers, to explore such a dungeon seemed utterly absurd.
"This wasn't simply a suggestion made with a 'let's send a weak team try' attitude. For days, several heroes, teaming up with their respective guild members, have sacrificed their sleep to explore, yet they haven't found a single valuable clue." "If we only assign high-level heroes, we can't predict the exploration period, and they also have many responsibilities to fulfill and livelihoods to maintain. Imposing such indefinite tasks on them is a burden."
"Even so, why choose us...?"
"But the task entrusted to us has a three-day time limit, and it's a specific assignment including Shi Mo." When it was mentioned that we were traveling with Shi Mo, he emphasized that as a divine beast, we must ask him to participate in the exploration.
If we find nothing, we will report to the Kingdom, which will then lead the analysis of the dungeon.
Even if we find nothing, we will still be paid. If we can eliminate the dungeon or find out its cause, in addition to the reward, our achievements will be recorded." "…But…"
"Lisbeth." Ars leaned slightly towards Lisbeth, whose expression showed worry.
"I want to do it." "Then, looking at Lisbeth with a serious expression, he continued, "If we can resolve this matter properly, it will be valuable experience for us to move beyond the beginner stage.
The monsters inside have all been cleared out; there shouldn't be any major problems.
Although I was worried about the cause of the hero's death, that's precisely why I assigned tasks to those including Shimo." Ars looked at me and said, "After reporting your situation to the lord, he judged that you could lead us out of danger.
Moreover, as a divine beast, the lord expects you to possess not only combat skills but perhaps also the ability to unravel that strange labyrinth." "The reward for this mission is 10 gold coins for three days, plus 5 gold coins for you. Although it's a temporary contract, this mission will be tax-free, so we hope you'll definitely take it on with us." Ars said this while expressing his hope that I would come along.
5 gold coins, tax-free.
These conditions are quite good, no, almost like winning the lottery.
It's probably a dangerous and tricky task, so they've prepared a generous reward.
And it's tax-free.
When receiving the reward for the mushroom-gathering mission, out of courtesy...
I was given a copper coin, but 70% was deducted, leaving me with only 3 small copper coins.
When I reached 300 coins, I couldn't help but curse, "Those damned money-stealing bastards!"
I'd already spent nearly 2 gold coins today buying clothes for Lisbeth.
Although I don't have to pay for lodging and my meals are just cheap grass leaves, as an adventurer with no income, my expenses are probably considerable. I really don't know how long I can last.
Considering I'll need to find a room or equipment after acquiring the Humanization skill, I should save as much money as I can.
Besides, this quest involves resolving an anomaly that's attracting the attention of the lord and the kingdom.
Although I'm not interested in achievements, a successful mission would be very helpful.
Furthermore, when I acquire the Humanization skill, maybe some beautiful women will rush towards me shouting, "Oh, you're that divine beast master!"
"Hmm. I think it's fine. As long as you two decide, I'll participate."
"Okay. Thank you, Shimo. So, Lisbeth..."
"Ha... Although I think we should avoid dangerous things... but Ars seems to have made up his mind, so there's nothing I can do. Shimo, if you dare to mess around, I'll tell the lord and make sure you don't get your reward."
"Don't worry. If anything happens, I'll do everything I can to get you both out of there."
Saying this, he put the slightly cold food into his mouth and continued discussing the mission. Very good. The first three-day dungeon exploration starting tomorrow... I'm kind of looking forward to it.