A Town in Decline

Once we got off the carriage and paid the fare, we finally stepped into the town.

An idea I’d had earlier about the poor condition of the buildings was that they were on the outskirts, more exposed to the outside.

They could have been attacked by monsters, bandits, and so on. It was just a fleeting thought, but the deeper we went into the town, the quicker that idea faded.

Overall, the entire town looked rather neglected. It was a somewhat depressing sight compared to my world.

Even when we reached a market, things only got worse.

There was a decent amount of people moving about, just as you’d expect from a marketplace, but the shops didn’t seem to be in the best shape.

The goods being sold looked in bad condition, some even broken. It was as if they’d been scavenged from nearby ruins to sell—much like Liz had done.

And if you looked closely, especially down the alleys, you could see beggars lurking in the shadows. There were even children among them.

Never in my life had I seen such a deplorable situation firsthand.

Even so, we walked in silence for quite a while, with Liz still somewhat irritated and down from the extra she’d had to pay for me, until suddenly the silence was broken by the clinking of what sounded like armor, followed by a shout.

“Stop right there!”

Clink.

Clank.

The sound kept growing louder and closer, so Liz and I turned around, finding an armored knight running straight toward us.

“Hey! You there!” the knight shouted.

Judging by his appearance, I’d say he was still fairly young, maybe around my age. His hair was light brown and somewhat short, combed back except for a lock that hung over his forehead. He wore what looked like a uniform consisting of a white long-sleeved shirt and black pants, along with armor that mainly covered his arms, chest, and lower legs—as if aiming for protection without sacrificing too much mobility.

Another thing I noticed was that his shirt bore an emblem, though I couldn’t make out what it represented. Not knowing much about this world is really troublesome…

“Is something wrong?” Liz asked, puzzled.

The knight bent forward, resting his hands on his knees to catch his breath. It seemed he’d been chasing us for quite a while.

“L–lately… there’s been suspicious… activity all over town…” the knight said, still struggling to breathe. “Just two days ago, some houses… in the area were robbed.”

Looks like not only is the town’s infrastructure crumbling, but they also have a serious crime problem.

Things just keep getting worse.

“I see… Don’t worry, Naoya and I were just—” Liz began, but the knight cut her off.

“Those clothes you’re wearing are strange!” he exclaimed, referring to me.

Do I really stand out that much?

Sure, I’ve gotten the occasional glance, but I don’t think I look suspicious.

The knight drew his sword and pointed it at me.

“You’ll have to come with me, we need to ask you a few questio—!” he began, but was abruptly interrupted.

Someone behind him, wearing the same type of clothing and armor—though with a black shirt this time and some differences in the emblem—stopped him with a hard smack to the head.

“Are you an idiot!? I’ve told you before you can’t just act like that!” the man barked.

He was more muscular and taller than the previous knight; his hair was black and long, tied into a ponytail; he had a short beard and tanned skin.

If the younger knight gave off the impression of inexperience, this man’s appearance made it clear he was someone seasoned.

“But, sir, look at his clothes! They’re unusual—he must be involved in someth—!” the younger knight protested, only to be silenced with another blow.

“I apologize for my subordinate’s behavior,” the man said, bowing his head slightly.

“It’s fine, nothing serious happened,” I replied. “He said there have been robberies lately, so I understand my appearance might seem a little odd…”

If I were in the guy’s shoes, I’d probably also be suspicious of someone wearing clothes I’d never seen before.

“Besides, we’ve been outside of town these past few days,” Liz added, giving us an alibi.

And even if they didn’t believe us, we still had the carriage driver as a witness.

“I understand. If you happen to see anything suspicious, don’t hesitate to inform the guards. Have a good afternoon,” the man said before walking away.

“I’m really sorry!” the younger knight blurted, bowing nearly ninety degrees.

“Don’t worry, I probably would’ve done something similar in your place…” I replied.

That wasn’t entirely true, but if in my world I suddenly saw someone in armor, I probably would’ve stared at them too.

“Thank you for understanding! If you need anything, don’t hesitate to look for me!” he shouted before running off after his superior, leaving Liz and me alone once again.

“What an annoying guy…” Liz muttered, still irritated.

After that little incident, we continued on our way.

***

“This is it. This is the Adventurers’ Guild.”

To my surprise, the guild building was in good condition, unlike most of the town. It was two stories tall and stood out from the surrounding structures.

We both entered the place, where we were greeted by countless curious stares from every direction.

They must all be adventurers.

Some people were cleaning their swords or spears, others were eating a meal, and I even spotted a couple of people with rifles.

Aside from the firearms, it was more or less like I’d imagined it would be.

Liz walked up to the counter, and I followed closely behind.

“Good afternoon, how can I help you?” the receptionist girl greeted politely.

Liz pulled a small pouch from her bag and set it on the counter.

“Here are the herbs from the mission,” she replied.

“When did you gather them?” I asked curiously, since I hadn’t seen her do it at any point.

“It was before I met you. I was in the area for the herbs, but then I wanted to check the ruins to see if I could find anything,” she answered.

She almost got attacked by an undead on a simple herb-gathering mission… This girl really likes getting herself into trouble.

“Understood! Let me check these and I’ll get you your reward,” the receptionist said.

“Wait! I also have some things to sell,” Liz added, holding her bag in front of her.

“Go to the counter on the left, my colleague will assist you there,” the receptionist replied before taking out the herbs to inspect them.

Liz and I followed her instructions and headed to another counter at the back of the guild, where another receptionist awaited us.

“Welcome. How can I help you?”

Liz set her bag on the counter and opened it, revealing some flashy yet worn artifacts—probably from the castle ruins where we’d met.

“I’d like to sell these items I found on a mission,” she said.

The receptionist began inspecting each item one by one.

It wasn’t a quick check. She took her time with each one, carefully determining its value.

Just from the amount of time and care she put into it, I could tell she was without a doubt a professional.

However, her answer wasn’t positive.

“The wear on these items is quite severe, which greatly reduces their value, not to mention that many of them wouldn’t have much practical use,” she stated bluntly. “We can buy them, but it won’t be for a high price.”

The hopeful look in Liz’s eyes vanished completely. It was as if something inside her had broken.

She must’ve put a lot of effort into finding the best-looking objects, only for the payout to be disappointing.

Even so, it didn’t seem like she was giving up.

“Then how about these!” she exclaimed, pulling out another pouch. Inside were the fangs of the Stalkey that had attacked us last night.

I wasn’t sure if it worked the same way here, but in fantasy works it was pretty common to sell monster parts. Maybe this time she’d get a better deal.

The receptionist examined the items again.

“They were extracted properly and don’t show significant damage. They’re not particularly rare monsters, but with this quantity, I can offer you at least fifty silver coins,” she determined, putting the fangs away again.

Liz didn’t look entirely satisfied, but it seemed she resigned herself to accepting it.

I wanted to help her somehow.

“Hold on…” I muttered to myself, catching Liz’s attention.

I rummaged through my pockets for a moment until I found it—the pendant that undead had dropped.

“How much could you give us for this?” I asked. It was the only way I could think of to try and help Liz.

Taking the pendant, the receptionist stared at it for a few seconds before letting out a loud scream that echoed throughout the guild.

“Where did you get this!?” she demanded, raising her voice.

“An undead dropped it, why?” I replied, unsure of what she’d say.

“This is a pendant with the emblem of the former royal family! Only those recognized by the kings could possess one!” she exclaimed, still unable to believe what she was seeing.

Was it really that important?

I was lucky I spotted it before leaving the castle ruins.

“This pendant is worth at least two gold coins!” the receptionist added.

Thanks to her loud tone, everyone’s eyes in the guild were once again on us.

And here I thought we’d gotten out of the spotlight…

“I’ll get the money! I’ll be right back!” she said before hurrying away.

Two gold coins. I should probably ask Liz how the coin system works in this world. I have a rough idea, but it wouldn’t hurt to confirm.

Speaking of her, her expression was complicated—like she was surprised, yet also worried and a bit down.

“Hey, Liz, you okay?”

“I’m fine. Anyway, congratulations on the money. With that, you’ll be able to travel to the capital without any problems,” she replied listlessly.

“What are you talking about? That money’s yours,” I said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Well… Wait, what!? No, no, no! You found that pendant—it’s your money!”

“Yeah, but we both took down the monster that dropped it, remember? And you also had to feed me on the trip and even pay extra because of me, didn’t you?” I argued.

“But…” she tried to protest, but I wasn’t letting her.

“Besides, I’ll be needing your help later on. Think of it as an advance payment,” I said with a smile.

Liz tried to speak, but she couldn’t come up with any counterargument.

“Are you really… okay with me keeping it?” she asked quietly, her head down.

Seeing her so down, I reached out and patted her head again.

“Of course. Without you, who knows what would’ve happened to me after waking up in those ruins.”

At my words, Liz smiled again and looked at me. I could see the sparkle return to her eyes. She looked truly beautiful.

“Thanks, Naoya!”

Soon after, the receptionist returned with the money. Liz took it and dragged me out of the guild, not forgetting to grab her reward money first.

“Wait! What’s going on!?” I asked.

“Come with me to the market! Let’s take the chance to do some shopping!” she replied energetically.

God, this girl really moves at her own pace.

But that side of her is charming in its own way.