Chapter 62. Return to the City. Part Four

I did not know how much time had passed, but I was enjoying the bath. Yes, the water was cold, and it was far from the most pleasant sensation, but even the cold did not stop me from truly relaxing.

And then I suddenly heard someone enter my room at the inn.

Knock-knock.

"Alisar, I’m leaving you some new clothes by the door," Sherial’s voice came from outside.

"Alright, thank you," I replied.

Damn it… why am I answering so awkwardly while lying naked in the bath? Enough relaxing.

I quickly stood up, grabbed a towel, and dried myself off. Then I slowly opened the bathroom door just a little. There really were clothes lying by the door. I quickly reached out and pulled them inside.

Damn it, why am I so embarrassed? I’m a grown man. Acting like a schoolgirl… Whatever.

I quickly put on the new clothes. The size fit perfectly. Somehow, Sherial and Rem had guessed my measurements exactly. But whatever.

I finished getting dressed and stepped out of the bathroom.

Of course, there was no one in my room. It would have been foolish to think that Sherial was still here. Of course she wasn’t.

So… what now?

I walked over to the bed and carefully sat down on it. It was soft. Very soft. I leaned back and lay down.

How long had it been since I last lay on such a soft bed…

A very long time.

--

"Alisar! Alisar!"

I heard a familiar voice, as if from far away.

"Alisar! Wake up!"

My consciousness quickly cleared. I opened my eyes sharply. Sherial was standing in front of me.

"Are you going to have dinner?" she asked. "Or do you want to sleep a little more?"

"No, I’ll have dinner," I replied hurriedly. It seemed I had fallen asleep. I only wanted to lie down for a bit, but… I had still fallen asleep.

"Alright, then let’s go. Dinner is ready," Sherial said and headed toward the door.

I quickly got up, rubbed my eyes, and followed her.

Of course, we had dinner right there at the inn without going anywhere. There was a separate dining hall, and besides us, there were other people there as well. The food was… let’s say, decent. Not as tasty as what Sherial cooked, but at the same time much, much better than what I had been cooking for myself lately.

We finished dinner quickly and soon returned to our rooms.

Now, lying on the soft bed, I was thinking. To be honest, it was very awkward that two girls were paying for my lodging, my food, and even buying clothes for me. I needed to repay this debt as soon as possible.

And there was something else. I knew for sure that I had money somewhere. I hadn’t spent everything I earned before. But it seemed I had lost it somewhere. Along with my adventurer badge.

The last time I saw my adventurer badge… No, I honestly couldn’t remember when I had seen it last. Whatever, it didn’t matter. I would just pay the fine and have my badge restored. Money wasn’t a problem for me. And if I remembered how many mushrooms of Origin I had, and how many of them I had upgraded to rank 2… I was basically already a millionaire. Of course, I wasn’t going to sell everything at once. I would sell, say, ten or twenty first. Little by little, without attracting unnecessary attention.

Sigh… alright, enough thinking. I needed to fall asleep as soon as possible.

--

Another five days passed. Every night, we stayed at inns. Yes, these villages with inns were very conveniently located. And there were more and more people on the road.

The most pleasant thing was that people were no longer looking at me the way they had before. Of course, there were still some who threw hostile or aggressive glances my way. Mostly men. And, strangely enough, I noticed that several guys were looking at me… with envy.

Though maybe I was just imagining it.

Judging by the position of the sun, it was around four in the afternoon. In two or three hours, it would already set, but it seemed we were very close to the city.

Rem had mentioned its name in conversation… Gildora.

I had been there before, of course, but the name itself… had I heard it before? Even if I had, I couldn’t remember now.

It was good that Rem reminded me. It would have been strange to arrive in the city itself and not know its name.

When we approached the city gates, there were noticeably more people, and we entered the city surprisingly easily. Nothing new, really. When I had come here before, there were no inspections either. No documents were asked for. They only checked carts, apparently requiring some paperwork or inspecting the cargo. But even that happened quite quickly.

I needed to head straight to the adventurers’ guild right away. Restore my badge and sell the health potions I had prepared.

"Hey, where are you going?" Sherial suddenly asked.

"To the adventurers’ guild," I replied. "I want to sell the health potions I prepared," I added, pointing to the bag on my shoulder.

Yes, Rem had given me the bag as well. My old one had torn long ago and was no longer usable.

"You’re going there dressed like that?" Sherial asked.

I looked at myself and lowered my gaze to my clothes and shoes.

"I think my clothes are perfectly fine," I said.

Sherial let out a sigh, as if disappointed.

"She means that you shouldn’t go to the guild dressed like that," Rem said. "Especially if you’re planning to sell a large number of health potions."

"I don’t think there will be any problems," I replied.

"Maybe," Rem said, "but it will still look strange. A person in ordinary civilian clothes suddenly selling a large quantity of health potions will attract unnecessary attention. It’s better to play it safe and dress appropriately. That will reduce interest in you. Even though you’re already safe, extra caution won’t hurt."

I thought about it for a moment.

"So what should I do then?" I asked.

"Let’s go buy you some gear," Sherial said, pointing to a nearby shop selling weapons and equipment.

--

Now I was heading to the adventurers’ guild. I looked like a real adventurer: leather armor, leather pants, proper equipment. The only thing that stood out was the sword at my waist. It was too good. My own sword. But otherwise, I looked like an ordinary adventurer in new gear.

I had planned to go to the guild together with Rem and Sherial, but they said they had no business there. Instead, they went straight to the inn where they usually stayed. They explained where it was located. The inn was called "Silver Dragon." Yes, the name was very pompous. Still, Rem said that if I couldn’t find it myself, I could just ask anyone on the main street, and they would immediately point me in the right direction. It seemed to be a rather famous, elite inn.

Finally, I reached the adventurers’ guild.

A huge building. Large entrance doors. Armed adventurers were constantly entering and leaving. No one paid attention to me. Many of them, like me, had large bags slung over their shoulders.

I stepped inside.

Yes, the main hall of the guild was enormous. A spacious hall, lots of people… and a line. A fairly long one.

Alright… considering that I currently didn’t have an adventurer badge, I needed to restore it first. That meant I needed to go there.

I stood in line at the counter that handled documents, not where adventurers with large bags were turning in their loot. First, the badge restoration. Everything else could wait.

I had to wait about half an hour, and finally it was my turn.

"How can I help you?" a beautiful female receptionist asked.

"I’d like to restore my adventurer badge. I lost it," I said.

"Oh, of course. You do know that there is a fee for restoring a badge, right?" she clarified.

"Yes, of course," I replied.

"Oh… I remember you," she suddenly said. "You haven’t been here for a long time. Did you go to another city?"

I looked at her more closely.

"I swear, I don’t remember this girl… Though… No, wait. I’ve seen her."

Yes, I remembered. She was the one who accompanied me when I was being checked during my rank promotion, when I received rank E. She had told me her name back then… but of course, I hadn’t remembered it.

"You don’t seem to remember me, do you?" the girl asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Sorry, no, I do remember you," I replied. "I just… can’t recall your name."

"Ah, it doesn’t matter. I don’t remember your name either," she said with a light smile.

I was momentarily at a loss, unsure how to respond.

"Then please tell me your name and your current adventurer rank so I can find your information in the database and issue you a new adventurer badge," she said.

"Alisar, rank E," I said.

She quickly wrote something down on a sheet of paper.

"Please wait here for a moment," she said.

After that, she turned around, opened the door behind her, and disappeared inside.

About ten to fifteen seconds later, another girl came out and took her place at the counter.

I stepped slightly to the side so as not to interfere with the next people in line, but remained in sight.

While waiting, I couldn’t help but think.

What kind of "database" does the adventurers’ guild even have?

Is it something like a computer? Or a magical artifact? How does it even work?

She only asked for my name and rank. Wasn’t that too little information?

What if there were other adventurers with the same name? She didn’t ask for a surname.

Still, I had been told before that this was enough.

Alright. No point in thinking about things I couldn’t understand yet.

About ten minutes later, the same girl returned to the counter.

She placed a metal token in front of me.

"Here is your new adventurer badge.

The restoration fee is four silver coins," she said.

I quickly took out the coins, placed them on the counter, and picked up the badge.

I immediately hung it around my neck.

"Thank you," I said.

"Don’t lose it again," the girl said with a light smile.

"I won’t," I nodded.

"Next time, restoration will cost more if you lose it again," she added.

"Yes, I know. Thank you," I replied.

After that, I headed toward the other line, where adventurers with large bags were standing.