SWNOVELXO Volume 1 Chapter 9 - Everyone is in Trouble
I was cheerfully drinking beer while gazing at the stack of 2.75 million yen placed on the table.
“We did it! We’ve become rich all at once!”
There were various problems, but we managed to sell the recovery potion safely.
As I was drinking cheerfully, I heard a ringtone from my smartphone, so I looked at it.
“I’m going. But please come to the guild. You never come, do you? After adventuring, let’s go drinking together.”
It’s Kaede.
I invited her for a meal a while ago, and she replied immediately.
“That was quick…”
I heard that Kaede turns off her smartphone during work because she’s in customer service. So, I thought she would reply at night…
Well, she might have been on break.
“Come to think of it, I haven’t been to the guild.”
I went there a while ago, but it wasn’t me.
It was the mysterious beauty, Eleanor Ocean.
“I have to level up too, so I guess I’ll go…”
I operate my smartphone and type a reply.
“Then, I’ll go either tomorrow or the day after at noon. If you’re off, let me know. I won’t go if you’re not there.”
There’s no point in going if Kaede isn’t there… Well, I won’t say that, but she’s exclusive, and it’s fun to talk with Kaede, so I want to go when she’s there.
“I haven’t hung out or gone out to eat with anyone since I graduated from college.”
Even if I do, it’s related to work.
Come to think of it, I don’t even have friends, let alone a girlfriend…
Well, it’s no wonder I’m getting depressed.
As I was self-deprecatingly drinking beer, my smartphone rang.
It’s probably Kaede.
There’s no one else.
“Tomorrow and the day after are weekends, so both the guild and the bar will be busy. Let’s do it on Monday. I’m off on Tuesday.”
Ah…it’s the weekend from tomorrow.
Being self-employed is amazing.
I have no sense of weekends.
Even so, I thought I didn’t see adventurers around much, but there are more on weekends…
I don’t really understand that.
I’ll ask Kaede next time.
I type another reply.
“Okay, Monday then. What about the restaurant? Should I make a reservation? Even if it’s expensive, is it okay?”
I have money.
Yes, 2.75 million!
“It’s Monday, so no need to reserve. Let’s go to a place near the guild. I’ll take you there.”
Near the guild…
Is it a regular place?
“Got it.”
“Oh, please bring a change of clothes. It’s a regular pub, but I don’t want you to come in tracksuits.”
That’s right.
If she hadn’t told me, I would have forgotten to bring a change of clothes and gone in my tracksuit.
You can’t go to a meal with a girl in a tracksuit.
That’s bad, really bad.
“Of course, I know.”
“20 seconds. Doubt.”
Stop counting the time.
“I’ll bring it properly.”
After replying, there were no more replies, and even read marks stopped appearing.
Probably, she went back to work.
I put my smartphone down and took a sip of beer.
Interestingly, it didn’t taste as good as when I was exchanging messages with Kaede.
Despite having 2.75 million yen in front of me…
◆◇◆
Since I have no plans for the weekend, I made potions unnecessarily, and I thought about moving, so I spent the time looking at information on apartments and condominiums.
During that time, most of my meals were convenience store food.
I really wanted to go to a good restaurant, but I decided to do that after Tuesday.
I didn’t want to eat anything that would surpass that before going to dinner with Kaede.
And just before noon on Monday, I prepared to go out, eating cup noodles for lunch and looking around my room.
The room is shabby, which can’t be helped, but it’s also cluttered and dirty.
That’s because there are a lot of potions lying around everywhere.
“Hmm, I made too many unnecessarily…”
It’s a waste to throw them away, so why not drink them?
“Either way, I can’t bring Kaede back home.”
No matter how drunk she is, seeing this room would sober her up in many ways.
Well, I don’t have any intentions like that.
After finishing my cup noodles, I grabbed a bag with a change of clothes and a white bag for gathering, and left.
Then, I got on the train and headed to the guild.
When I arrived at the guild, I went to Kaede who was at the reception.
“Hey there.”
“Hello…”
I greeted Kaede, but she returned the greeting casually and stared hard at my bag.
“What’s up?”
“No…”
I feel like Kaede is looking at me with eyes as if she’s pitying an extremely unfortunate person.
“Stop making that face.”
“I’m sorry. But you came in your tracksuit after all.”
Kaede returned to normal, but she’s still making fun of me.
“I’ve brought a change of clothes, though.”
“No, it’s not about that. It’s my fault for not explaining, but there are changing rooms and showers over there.”
Kaede pointed in a direction where there were two rooms.
It’s probably a men’s and women’s changing room.
“Now that you mention it, of course there should be a locker room.
We have to wear armor or specific clothing, and sometimes we sweat.
I had completely left it to Kaede, so I hadn’t really looked at those things.
But, a locker room…
A women’s locker room…
Unpleasant thoughts crossed my mind, but in the case of women, they don’t have a change of clothes.
In fact, they don’t even have underwear.
That’s not good.
I quickly gave up and left my bag with the change of clothes at the reception.
“Can you keep this for me?”
“Well, there are lockers in the locker room…”
“It’s a hassle.”
I won’t say that I don’t have money.
I have money!
Yes, as much as 2.7 million yen!
“Well, okay… Are you going to Eden’s forest today?”
When Kaede puts my bag at her feet, she asks where I’m going.
“Yeah. I’ve only been there twice and I haven’t encountered a wolf yet. I think I can manage, but I thought it would be better to proceed gradually.”
“… That might be wise. It’s better to be cautious.”
Kaede makes a slightly strange face.
“So I guess I won’t be making much money today.”
“Well, that can’t be helped at first. You need to get used to it and level up.”
There’s no need to skip grades suddenly.
I do have money.
There’s no need to take unnecessary risks when I’ve found a way to make money.
“Then, I’ll go to the second floor before going to the Frontier.”
“The second floor? Is that where the weapon shop is?”
“Yeah, I’m going to buy a sword.”
Well, a 500,000 yen one should be fine for now.
“Heh… You really got a substantial amount of money.”
“Yeah! So I’m going to treat you today!”
“Thank you. By the way, what did you do with that money?”
What… What did I do?
…This is bad.
I hadn’t anticipated this question.
“……………….”
I fell silent.
“Ha… Did you win the lottery?”
That’s it!
“That’s right.”
“Is that so… That’s good.”
Why is she speaking so flatly?
“By the way, what should I do with the short sword I’m depositing? Can I sell it?”
“You can sell it, but it’s better to keep it as a backup. That’s what everyone does.”
Hmm.
“Should I go with two swords?”
“Wouldn’t that be a hindrance? It would be nice if you had an item bag.”
An item bag is a magical tool that can store more items than it appears.
I know this one too.
“Isn’t it expensive?”
“It’s very expensive, and it’s mostly monopolized by companies and high-ranked adventurers.”
It’s tough for ordinary people.
Then, I’ll leave the short sword in her care.
“Do they drop?”
“Yes, they do, but most people sell them. It’s useful, but you can sell it for a higher price.”
That’s a dreamy story.
“If it drops, I’ll sell it. Let’s go eat crab in Hokkaido.”
“That sounds good. Please do your best.”
Kaede smiles happily.
“Leave it to me.”
“Then, please find it.”
Kaede says as she hands me the status card.
“Got it. Oh, what time do you finish, Kaede?”
“I finish at 5 o’clock today.”
It’s a good time if you consider changing clothes and such.
“Then I’ll come back around that time. By the way, what time does this place close?”
“We are basically open 24 hours. Not only adventurers, but also the Self-Defense Forces use it, so some people stay overnight for expeditions.”
I see.
“That’s tough.”
“Yes. But there aren’t many customers at night, and we hardly have night shifts.”
Hardly…
So there are occasional night shifts.
I’ve experienced night shifts before, and they are tough.
It’s no wonder she wants to complain.
“Good luck.”
“Please do your best too. Please earn more than 10 million yen a year.”
10 million…
I can do it if I sell 20 potions.
Easy.
Alchemy is really about making money…
I put the status card in my bag, and bought a 500,000 yen sword on the second floor.
Honestly, it didn’t look very high quality for a 500,000 yen item, but it seemed to be made from an unknown mineral, so I couldn’t tell for sure.
Still, I was satisfied to finally have the sword I wanted, and I headed to the gate and to Eden’s forest.
Now, it’s my third time in the Frontier!