Chapter 20: Kalinsha

I weighed the bag holding dozens of gold coins inside my hand before I attached it to my hip and continued my way out of the jewelry shop as I waved the jeweler goodbye. I still had some gems left that would sell for a pretty sizeable sum. Considering that I was pretending to be a noble, I couldn't really be too poor or not have the means to get to some liquid cash.

'These were my family's heirlooms! The last bit of money I could haul out.' Who would have guessed that I still had several gems left after the jeweler was only able to afford one of them? It was just a regular gem after all. True, the size was a bit bigger than what he had in store, but the price he gave me was almost the absolute maximum of what I could get.

And it wasn't a misunderstanding of me lowballing some high-end item. I had checked with the other gems he had in store. My gem would indeed be on the higher end of the spectrum, even though the gem was just a low-class item, literally a bottom-ranked item. So, him not trying to scam me was kind of baffling, but it certainly was a pleasant experience to have met such an honest man.

To be honest, I could have sent one of the four women that accompanied me, but what was the point of being outside of the tomb if I would not see the world with my own eyes? To experience the world was something anyone should enjoy. Besides, I had a lot of time to live, so experiencing the little things would be quite fulfilling.

As I strolled back towards my carriage, I was being stared at by the surrounding people, though every time I returned the glance at them, they would hurriedly look away and move away from the area. Some would wave before running away in haste. Wasn't too sure what that was about, but weirdly enough, they were happy to see me. Some were more than 'happy'.

In the end, there were some conversations I picked up, which made me realize I had successfully convinced them I was a noble. It was the background I was going for, so hearing the confirmation from the ones that just saw me was nice. Some believed I was a distinguished noble coming from the capital of this nation, Hoburns. Others believed I came from the south, which explained that they didn't recognize me, which was quickly rebutted by some saying that I might as well be a foreign noble as no one in the south could be 'like me'.

Of course, I didn't correct them and just let the rumor mill to its devices. Though I considered whether wearing a helmet would be a good idea, as my face seemed to be an attraction regardless of gender. However, it wouldn't do well to hide my face away, so I just did my best and ignored their stares, which came easily. Considering the fact, I was already being stared at by people inside the tomb, whose opinions were a lot more important and worthy of paying attention to, it shouldn't have been a surprise.

After I sat inside the carriage, Fubuki closed the door and we waited for Aneko and Yuri to guide us to the adventurer's guild. A glance at the seat next to Sueko revealed the abused woman that was used as bait by those demi-humans. She was currently asleep after we healed her. She fell and hit her head during her attempt to escape in the end. As soon as the battle had started, she used the opportunity to run away.

Some might feel mad about her using the attack on my carriage as a distraction to flee, but I couldn't blame her. Instead, I was rather astonished that she still had the will to resist her captors, though I didn't know for how long she had been kept. It appeared to be more than just a few days, but I couldn't be sure.

Even just a few days with the equivalent of murderous beasts must have felt like an eternity. Her body was covered in bruises, scratches, and bite marks, so she certainly didn't have it easy. Just the fact that she still had the will and decisiveness to escape was admirable enough to make me recognize her tenaciousness.

The carriage drove for a few quick minutes until we arrived, and Aneko opened the door for me to step outside. Of course, I immediately attracted the stares of those people around me, literally stopping to look at me before their stares got increasingly more curious and surprised as they saw me heading towards the adventurer's guild.

Perhaps it was also because of Fubuki walking next to me, following me inside. After all, she was exaggeratedly beautiful. So, we two must have struck an interesting sight.

I couldn't help but frown when I looked at the large hole in the building's facade, but I suppressed my snap judgment and continued inside. With a look around the interior, the first thing that came to mind was the number of people.

I hadn't expected it to be packed with people looking for a quest, but I had certainly hoped for more than a few drunkards splaying over the tables and benches and some individuals lounging around in the corners.

Although it was getting somewhat late, most adventurers should be back by now and rest, right? There should at least be a group that had just finished a quest and was now having a meal. At least, that was what I imagined. Not that I knew what an adventurer's life was like, but there should be more people around if there were a decent amount of people working in the guild.

The feeling of discontentment rose steadily, but I held off my judgment for a bit longer. At least the interior was decent. If the wooden floor had creaked with my steps, I would probably have given up by now. Either way, I would know more until I talked to the receptionist. After strolling through the mostly empty building, I arrived at a distracted man in his forties as he looked through some papers and wrote some things down.

"Excuse me." I tried to get his attention, but he just responded by telling me to wait for a moment. He didn't even get to finish his sentence when I heard a snort from the woman next to me.

"You insolent peasant," Fubuki called out with an air of superiority that I hadn't seen before... It certainly suited her, though I liked it more when she crawled on her knees- "We don't have the entire day." We were indeed somewhat strapped with our timing. After all, we still needed a place to sleep at.

"Hm?" The man glanced up from his records with a frown and looked at Fubuki, just to be stunned for a moment. His eyes just locked onto her face, and I was glad I had given her a rather long, thick cloak to cover her sinful body. Otherwise, the men here could hardly think straight.

Just her face was enough to make men turn their heads. It took my coughing to get the receptionist's attention away from her before he finally turned to me.

His eyes widened slightly as he looked at me before his eyes snapped back to Fubuki and then to me. He took a deep breath, and I could see the initial admiration and contentment he had from looking at us turn into something akin to shock and slight disappointment.

Did he guess that Fubuki and I were a thing? Seems like he saw his chance dwindling. Not everyone could win in life, buddy.

"What can I help you with, sir, madam?" He stood up straight and bowed slightly while putting a smile on his face. In his periphery, he was analyzing our appearances.

"We would like to... know why the state of the adventurer guild is in such a run-down condition. There are hardly any adventurers around, and the building seemed in disrepair." He looked surprised at my inquiry before he nodded his head with understanding.

"Sir, yesterday, there had been news of demi-humans moving toward the great wall. So, many adventurers were hired to thin the herd, so to speak, before it became too much for the wall to handle. Most of them had already set out yesterday and would only return in a day's time or two, while those that remained are resting or, well, they enjoyed themselves too much last night after a successful mission." He glanced at the drunkards lying around.

"The damage at the front is attributed to a conflict between the guards of a noble from the south and a paladin an hour ago. However, it's already late, so I cannot get someone to repair the damage until the next day." The last few sentences he said were formulated rather carefully, clearly not wanting to offend me, since he wouldn't know if I was with that noble.

"I see... How is the business as an adventurer currently?" I wouldn't lie and say that the first impression of the guild hadn't stunted my willingness to join this group. There were other options, after all, though they came with their own disadvantages and those certainly didn't coincide with my isekai fantasy.

"There is always enough to do. Although we can keep most demi-humans out of our kingdom, there is still enough inside to cause trouble. Additionally, there are plenty of jobs issued by her Holy Queen for beyond the wall just like yesterday, but not enough skilled adventurers to bear all the weight. The pay is good, but it's risky and most people have enough after serving their time on the wall." He helpfully explained.

It was clear just from hearing the Holy Queen issuing adventurers to bear the load of the wall that the crown had some influence on the guild and its members. Of course, they weren't officially part of the nation's army as they were just 'hired' to help, but there was no denying she could conscript them if she wanted to, and apparently enough goodwill from the populace for them to follow her orders.

"I thought adventurers were supposed to be independent of the nation they are serving in?" I asked anyway to confirm how the membership was being wrapped up in.

"They are. We just help our nation make it safer. We are not part of its army... Sir, where are coming from? Do you perhaps need an escort? If you want to put up a request, I can help you put it up or refer you to some mercenaries or workers." His voice conveyed some worry about my well-being, but also some suspicion. About what was unclear.

"Just a noble from another country. To be honest, I figured we would become an adventurer since I had already heard that there were plenty of things to do here, and I was interested to see what being an adventurer was all about. Glad you confirmed my expectations."

He slowly nodded his head, still slightly suspicious, though his wariness had decreased slightly before he pitied us for some reason. I wasn't sure what conclusion he came to, but either way, it would be to my advantage.

He probably would remain suspicious until I integrated myself better as a genuine adventurer. Not that it was essential to convince him. It would still be a good measure to see how people around me reacted to me.

"Sir, with all due respect, it takes a level of skill or a certain... mindset to pursue this job." He was very careful with how he worded his rebuttal, and I could tell what he was getting at.

So, I just placed my hand on my sword. "Don't worry, I am quite alright with the sword, and I know a spell or two. My wife here is a skilled mage as well. Against the normal demi-humans, it will more than suffice." As soon as I finished, Fubuki gasp inaudibly.

"... I see. If you are sure, then you and your partner will have to fill in this form..." Afterward, he hesitantly handed me the papers and a plain pencil to write with. I wasn't sure why I expected a feather and some ink to write with, but it certainly was more pleasant to write with this.

To be honest, it would have been difficult to fill this form out since I couldn't read the language, but a simple [Silent Magic - Comprehend Languages] 1st tier spell did the job. Of course, the receptionist was helping me, which would have allowed us to fill these forms out even without knowing how to read the language. However, I couldn't be illiterate as a noble, right?

Good thing I had that spell. Although it would normally be a useless spell that essentially represented a wasted slot for magic, my books had opened a lot of venues in the regard to magic. That was the great thing about thoroughly understanding it.

I could just comprehend most spells I saw or even create my own spells with a desired effect. Just like this spell or even the spells from the illusion school, which I somehow disliked, were easily comprehensible.

It was something I had realized after Demiurge had visited me to sort out the band of maids to accompany and serve me on the road. After declining him and inquiring about some specifics about the anti-divination magic that seeped deep into the foundation of the tomb, he could not answer me beyond a surface level.

It was something I suspected when I had read through his reports. He knew how to use magic and what needs to be done to keep it functioning, but he didn't really understand it the same way I now did. The intricacies of the arcane, knowledge made one see the world from a different perspective, to see the magic for what it was. Code someone could use to change reality.

Demiurge only saw a higher-layered abstraction while I was already looking into the abyss. For me, creating spells of the 1st tier was the equivalent of asking a world-class mathematician to solve some simple addition. It would be foolish to expect them to fail because they had never used these numbers for that equation before. It was like expecting a linguist to not understand a normal sentence just because he hadn't read it before.

The rules behind the spells were the same, and I knew this language in-depth. Off the top of my head, I could almost instantly create spells up to the 6th-tier. 7th-tier spells would require some thinking, and the difficulty greatly rose with each tier. Creating the spells [Silent Image] and [Comprehend Languages] was more than just easy.

I read through the pages and fill them out accordingly for myself and for Fubuki. I had considered writing up Yuri as well, but I was more comfortable if just Fubuki joined me on my journeys. Besides, there were some tasks I would need her and the royal maids' help with, so it wouldn't do well for her to be occupied with accompanying me on a monster extermination job.

After handing the filled pages over, we were quickly registered as adventurers and got our first plate. Copper. It would take some time to grind that rank up to where I could be seen as an asset or as a threat - whatever they want to see me as - for the high society of this country, but there was no need to worry too much about that for now.

Even foreign nobles turned adventurers would hardly attract too much attention. It probably wouldn't be common, but I didn't see where it never happened. I certainly couldn't be the first noble turned to be an adventurer to earn some money, right? After they see I was in for the money, there would be plenty of people to offer a sum for my personal services or just my presence.

I was getting ahead of myself. I turned my attention back to the quests pinned on the board and memorized them shortly. Afterward, I was about to walk outside again. It was already late, and I needed a place to stay at. It wouldn't do well for me to sleep inside my carriage, though it was rather comfortable, and it would fit well in the narrative of me being a noble that needed money.

However, would a newly poor noble resort to sleeping inside a carriage, or would they try to pretend to be as rich as before as Arche's parents did? Especially after getting some money by selling my 'family heirloom'? Should I be more mindful of my money? Just as I was about to decide, the guy from the reception spoke out.

"Sir, have you arrived in Kalinsha today?" It appeared he was quite astute. I nodded my head. "There is a decent inn a couple of houses down the block. Many... higher-ranking adventurers use it. I wrote you a recommendation letter. Sir, you can just give it to the reception, and they will receive you accordingly."

I wasn't sure what I expected, but I certainly didn't think that he would advise me to an inn and hand over a recommendation. With a slight bow, I took the latter and thanked him before I exited the adventurer's guild and headed to the inn in my carriage. The carriage was parked in the inn's backyard by the sisters, while Fubuki, Yuri, and I stepped inside.

It looked decent enough at the first glance. Obviously, nothing one could compare to what I was used to from the tomb, but I should probably give up on that lofty idea of finding something comparable. The inn was, as he said, decent. If I had to guess, adventurers of the gold rank could probably afford it, but that was just based on the first impression and what I remembered.

I wasn't too sure about the ranks of adventurers and their approximate income yet. It was just that I remembered gold being pretty high, with the average being elite among normal veterans. So, they ought to make decent money, right?

The receptionist was quite sensible. Not only did he pick up on the fact that I might be in need of money, but he also considered 'my pride' as a noble to arrange something that should be in price range, while also being decent enough to be seen as someone with 'my status'. Good thing I didn't see his recommendation letter as 'charity', right?

The only thing that bothered me with this entire ordeal was the fact that he helped me. Shouldn't there be a divide between nobles and peasants? It was fine if he just didn't hate me, but to go out of his way to help me?

Hmm, he was probably out to get some connections or leave a good impression in case I rose in status again. Either way, it was a friendly gesture. To be honest, with the gem I had sold, I could probably have rented a small house, but that would be a bit too high-key and not in accordance with the image I wanted to present to the nobles here.

I also didn't expect to get this much money from the jeweler. I thought I would get scammed, especially after clearly expressing that I didn't know the price range acceptable for the gem I sold.

I gave the letter to the receptionist of the inn, who looked at it and barely changed his expression, though I saw his eyes widen slightly before he offered several available rooms. Afterward, we were guided up to our rooms as I pondered a bit about my interactions with the people since coming here.

It was a suite with two sides separated by a door in the middle. One was for the master and the other for the maids. We had also booked another room for the woman we saved as otherwise it would get too cramped in here and I also didn't want her to overhear something she shouldn't have.

The bellboy guided us to our rooms, and I gave him a gold coin for his trouble. He thanked me profusely and told me if I had anything I wanted, that I could just ask them before heading down again.

I was about to enter the door when Yuri stepped inside already and then checked the room for any danger. I put her out of my mind as I entered the room as well and saw the starry night sky shining through the open door to the balcony. The room was fairly bright, with the lights in the chandelier. It was rather interesting to see those lamps powered by magic.

I was already informed of the keyword to turn them off and on again, so they essentially functioned like a normal light triggered by verbal commands. Pretty high-tech for a world that was essentially medieval times in every other aspect.

Although I could see the light was powered by magic, I wondered what the actual spell rune looked like. I could create something similar, but I didn't want to accidentally revolutionize a spell that seemed common enough to be used in a decent inn. The entire design looked like it was influenced by modern style. Probably an influence by former players bringing the aesthetics to this world.

I walked onto the balcony and looked out onto the street. The city had grown darker, but one could see the occasional twinkle on the street by its streetlights or a patrol walking with a lamp through the roads.

I stepped inside again and closed the curtain before going to the door to the side. A bathroom revealed itself with a bathtub that was placed on the wall. It was quite generous and even had a faucet. I turned it and it actually provided me with water. It wasn't water created through magic but was brought here from somewhere.

At least they had proper plumbing. Would have sucked if I had to get used to a lower standard of living than even the Romans had back then. If that had been the case, I would probably incline to return to Nazarick. After checking out the bath, I went to the bedroom and checked the quality of the bed I would sleep on... On second thought, I would probably not sleep at all. Too much wasted time, even if it was incredibly relaxing to do.

After doing my rounds, I heard the maids enter their rooms, so I headed there with Fubuki. "What do you think of it?" I asked as I opened the door connecting this half with the other. Yuri was already inside, welcoming the maids.

"It's filthy and I would rather you sleep in a better place." She didn't continue and I could see where she was coming from. If Nazarick had been the only point of reference, I would call this a shitty place. However, I had lived in worse conditions. This was fairly high in standard. Even better than some decent 'modern' places I had stayed at by a long shot.

"It is what it is," I said as I looked at the maids laying the woman bait on the couch. I wondered what the other people in the inn thought about my maids bringing up a sleeping woman. "Wake her up."

We had already healed her, but we had put her to sleep until we arrived in the city. Didn't want her to cause unnecessary trouble by throwing a tantrum or trying to escape again in the middle of the forest. Not that she could escape, but I just didn't want to deal with her then, so we waited until we had a place to sleep before we woke her.

Sueko lightly shook her and dispelled the effect of the [Sleep] 1st tier spell. The woman was disorientated when her eyes fluttered open. She froze when she saw Sueko this close to her until my maid stepped away. Fearfully and confused, she backed away until her back touched the couch's backrest as she propped herself up to a sitting position.

She looked around the room, extremely confused and not comprehending the situation before she saw me take a step forward. I knelt next to the couch, so we could be at eye level and gave her a gentle smile, which thankfully put her at ease.

"Don't worry. You are safe now-" I was about to continue speaking to her when understanding filled her eyes and tears suddenly welled up in them. At first, it was subtle, barely noticeable. However, the emotions inside her seemed to burst out, and the tears grew abundant, cascading down her cheeks in a steady stream.

She then threw herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck as she audibly bawled her eyes out. Her arms slung around my neck as she pressed her body tightly against mine, desperately clutching and holding onto me as if I was a phantom threatening to disappear in the next moment.

I rubbed her back in silence, trying to soothe her, but my words of encouragement were just met with more crying. For several minutes, she just cried her heart out before she fell asleep again from exhausting herself too much.

I carried and tucked her into the bed next door before returning to the maids' side of the suite. "Sueko, could you take care of her when she wakes up?"

She nodded and bowed slightly. "Of course."

I then turned to the others and cast some spells to counter divination or investigative magic before I went over our plan for the next couple of days. Telling Yuri to investigate the local criminal syndicate so I could get an overview of what might be important to gain certain recognition and influence here.

Aneko was to help her get the intel with the assistance of some summoned assassins. In the next few days, the entire city should be thoroughly scrutinized. I wanted to target the criminals first, as they wouldn't be able to openly start a sweep through the city. Of course, I knew that corruption wasn't as big in this kingdom as it was in the Re-Estize Kingdom, but it certainly couldn't be perfectly clean.