SWNOVELXO Chapter 2: - Pants Please
The commotion was caused by a group of bandits attacking the caravan. I confirmed the bandits’ statuses using Detailed Appraisal, so there’s no mistake about it.
Now I can help the Kemonomimi girl and the beautiful Elf without worries!
“Uoooh!”
Swish.
A bandit who struck me from behind had his head separated from his body.
Blood gushed from the bandit’s neck and splattered on me. Is blood supposed to be this hot?
I got drenched in a large amount of splattered blood, but that’s not the issue now.
I swung my sword with single-minded determination. With each strike, my sword absorbed the bandit’s blood, turning it a deep red.
“Pant… pant… pant…”
Before I knew it, all the bandits were defeated. Did I take down about five of them? I was so absorbed in it that I didn’t keep track of the exact number.
“Ugh… ugh…”
Come to think of it, I’ve never killed anyone, not even a rat. Everything in my stomach came up.
On the very day I arrived in this other world, I became a killer? That’s too hard to accept.
Tears welled up in my eyes as I vomited repeatedly. There’s nothing left in my stomach. Not even stomach acid.
I sat down on the ground to rest, and a familiar-looking beautiful Elf stopped in front of me.
“I appreciate your help.”
“Huh… um… are you injured?”
I’m not used to being thanked like this. I didn’t even understand what she said.
Is this kind of gratitude common in this world?
But I’m in the middle of a conversation with this beautiful Elf, so I can’t just keep vomiting…
“A few people are injured, but there are no fatalities thanks to your help.”
“I haven’t done much…”
I’ve only killed about five people, and I’m still vomiting…
“No, thanks to you defeating the bandit leader, the rest of them were thrown into confusion. That’s why the damage was limited. We’re grateful.”
I don’t really get it, but it seems the first bandit I killed was their leader. The Elf woman is thanking me fervently.
“Let me introduce myself. I’m Lwinèza. I lead this group of escorts.”
“I’m Toi.”
“Toi…?”
“What’s the matter?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Toi-dono, is it? It’s a nice name.”
I somehow managed to brush it off. I see, my current cute appearance might have thrown her off. Maybe she initially thought I was a girl?
This group traveling on the caravan is Gortéo, a merchant caravan, and Lwinèza-san is the leader of their escorts.
Before meeting Gortéo-san, Lwinèza-san suggested I clean myself up.
“Huh?”
“Your clothes are soaked in vomit.”
“Oh…”
My appearance must be in pretty bad shape.
My clothes were already stained with blood, and Lwinèza-san said that it wouldn’t come out even if they washed it.
Nearby, the escorts were washing off the blood in a small creek. The water had turned red from the blood.
I also rinsed the blood off my face and head in the creek and decided to endure the mostly dry blood on my clothes.
The escorts had also been splattered with blood, but not as extensively as me. They were probably used to killing since they were escorts.
“You can use this cloth to wipe off the bloodstains from your sword.”
Lwinèza-san gave me a well-worn cloth.
I watched what the escorts were doing and followed suit, washing my sword in the creek, wiping off the moisture, and applying some kind of oil before wiping it again. She also lent me the oil.
“Thank you very much.”
“No problem. When using a sword, it’s good to have such old cloth.”
“Old cloth…”
I’ve only been in this world for a few hours, so I don’t have any old cloth.
“Normally, you use old clothes or underwear. It doesn’t have to be good quality. This cloth used to be my underwear.”
“Huh…”
This… Und-und-und-und-und-underwear!? Lwinèza-san’s underwear!?
Lwinèza-san’s underwear… *gulp*.
“Under…wear…”
“Hm? Did you say something?”
*Ugh*… I almost blurted out, “Underwear, please.” That was close! Saying that would make me a pervert. I’m not a pervert… But with this old cloth… Oh, she’s retrieving it… Sigh…
“Come over here. Gortéo-sama is waiting.”
“…Okay.”
I followed Lwinèza-san dejectedly. A dandy-looking man in his 50s was sitting in front of the carriage. That must be Gortéo-san.
“I am Gortéo, a humble merchant. Thank you very much for your assistance.”
He extended his hand. A handshake, I guess. A handshake it is, then. It seems I made the right choice.
“No, I just happened to be there, so please don’t worry about it. Oh, I’m Toi, by the way. Nice to meet you.”
Gortéo-san smiled warmly.
“This is a small token of my gratitude, please accept it.”
He handed me a brown leather pouch, and I was a bit surprised. Probably money, I think.
“No, I didn’t do it for that…”
“If you don’t accept our gratitude, it’ll affect Gortéo’s reputation, so please don’t hesitate to accept it.”
He’s quite insistent.
“Well, in that case, thank you very much.”
I put the heavy leather pouch into my backpack and was about to get up from the chair.
“Where are you headed, Toi-sama?”
I hesitated and then sat back down.
“I’m not really sure. I’m on a journey without a specific destination.”
“I see. In that case, let us escort you to the next town by carriage.”
This is a chance to take it easy, but should I just take this person’s words at face value as a favor?
They might be trying to deceive me or have ulterior motives. There are no convenient stories in this world.
“No, I’ll walk.”
“Please, tell us about your journey.”
Despite my refusal, they kept inviting me. It wasn’t unpleasant, but it wasn’t comfortable either. In the end, I was persuaded, and I ended up riding with Gortéo-san in his carriage.
The merchant caravan consisted of four covered wagons, and one carriage had a roof for passengers. Naturally, Gortéo-san rode in the carriage with a roof, and I ended up on the same one.
Each wagon had a driver’s seat with one driver and one guard. Only the passenger carriage had guards on the roof. Additionally, there were four guards on horseback. I didn’t know the exact scale of this caravan, but it seemed quite formidable.
“Ahead of us lies Kerniffi, a major city second only to the capital.”
“It’s my first time going there. What’s the city like?”
“They have a dungeon.”
A dungeon!?
Calm down, me. Just because they said “dungeon” doesn’t mean it’s the same as what I’m thinking.
“Is something wrong?”
“Oh, no, it’s nothing… Can you tell me more about this dungeon?”
“Oh, it seems you’re interested in dungeons.”
Gortéo-san chuckled mischievously.
“I can’t deny it…”
I nodded, and Gortéo-san continued.
“The dungeon is known as the ‘Baldark Labyrinth,’ and it’s inhabited by various types of monsters. When you defeat a monster, its body disappears, and items drop. Occasionally, you’ll find rare drops. Rare items can fetch a high price when sold.”
I see, it sounds like something from a game.
“What do I need to do to enter the dungeon?”
“There’s an organization called the ‘Explorers’ Guild.’ If you register there, anyone can enter.”
I see, I see. So, all I have to do is become an explorer.
“That’s right. It’s better to explore dungeons with companions.”
“So, going alone is quite dangerous?”
“Yes, exactly. Explorers have various roles, like scouts who detect monsters and traps, tanks who draw monster aggro, attackers who fight monsters, and healers responsible for recovery. Without a well-balanced party, exploration can be very challenging.”
So, they’re suggesting me to a party.
“As for companions at the moment…”
“Companions are people with whom you share your job and skills, so finding trustworthy ones can be difficult. Rewards are usually divided evenly, so the more members you have, the less income each person receives.”
As I hesitated to answer, they provided this information.
“By the way, how about purchasing a slave?”
“S-Slaves…?”
Even in this world, they have a system of slavery.
“It seems you’re interested in slaves.”
“N-No, I’m not…”
I’ve had a few dreams about buying a beautiful slave and doing nice things for her. But in reality, buying and selling people just feels wrong.
“Be careful. Even with slaves, if you treat them roughly, you’ll break the law.”
“I-In what way?”
“You see, slaves have rights too. They can’t be asked to do things not in their contracts. For example, if you force yourself on a slave who hasn’t agreed to sexual activity, you’ll be charged with rape.”
It seems the slavery system here is a bit different from what I had in mind. Slaves have rights, and their duties are defined by their contracts.
Gortéo-san shared various information with me, and I also talked about Japan, keeping some details vague. It was a mutually interesting exchange.
Kerniffi, the city we were heading to, had a population of around 200,000 people. Its economy revolved around the dungeon. There were merchants who bought items from the dungeon, traders who sold weapons, armor, and useful items to explorers, as well as craftsmen who supplied goods to these merchants.
There were supposedly around 10,000 to 20,000 explorers, but due to the number of explorers who never returned from the dungeon, the exact count was quite uncertain.
I pretended to ask about prices and inquired about currency as well. They explained the coin system: 1 Gril copper coin, 10 Gril white bronze coin, 100 Gril silver coin, 1000 Gril gold coin, 10,000 Gril platinum coin, and 100,000 Gril black gold coin.
Based on what I heard, I estimated that 1 Gril was roughly equivalent to 10 yen in value.