Chapter 15

“It’s the city!”

As soon as the city came into view, Mari spread her arms wide and let out a cheer.

That reaction… didn’t she do the same thing last time?

Well, compared to the small village we visited last time, a city of this size is definitely worth being amazed by.

After leaving the rural village and walking diligently, Mari and I finally arrived at a place that could be called a big city.

Astram, the city of adventurers and trade, the second-largest city in the Kingdom of Eustia after the capital, and a place known as the home of adventurers.

Even for me, excluding my past life, this was the first time I had seen so many humans gathered in one place. Having lived my entire life in an Elf Village, the sight of a big city for the first time was naturally awe-inspiring.

“…I should pretend I don’t know any Elves.”

Of course, that aside, Mari, who was clearly showing her rural origins, was embarrassing, so I subtly distanced myself from her.

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After entering the city, Mari burst into laughter, clutching her stomach as if something was incredibly funny.

“Hahahaha.”

“…Stop laughing.”

“But it’s just too funny.”

“Is it funny that someone was in trouble?”

Damn it. When I tried to enter the castle, they grilled me and eventually tried to turn me away, but as soon as Mari stepped forward, they smiled brightly and let her through right away.

It was shameful to have been helped by a fool who couldn’t hide her excitement about arriving in the city.

Do they like Elves that much?

That kind of species-discriminating human is the gatekeeper of the castle gate, which is practically the face of the city. It just shows the level of Astram.

All I had was a height of about 2 meters, a body trained from being a hunter, and not a single piece of identification in human society.

…….

Wait. But Mari didn’t have any identification either.

I feel wronged.

Hoo. Unexpected trouble made my head heat up for a moment.

This isn’t good.

After being born as a Lizardman and finally arriving in a big city for the first time, staying in a low mood would only be a loss for me.

“Hey, Mr. Kurt. Let’s go to the Adventurer Guild! I want to register as an adventurer!”

“No. There’s somewhere we need to go first.”

I have to shake off this unpleasant feeling by going ‘there.’

Ignoring Mari’s suggestion to visit the Adventurer Guild first, I followed the signs and walked.

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“It’s the market!”

Entering the market, I spread my arms and let out a cheer to express my trembling excitement.

Indeed, Astram is not only a city of adventurers but also a city of trade.

Located in the middle of an important crossroads of the continent, Astram is overflowing with imported goods from all over the continent.

And among those imported goods, there are, of course, rare ingredients that are hard to find even in the Lizardman Village or other small towns.

“My goodness! I can’t believe my eyes! Selling cheese in so many varieties! Merchants passing through the Verde Jungle only sell one or two types, and even that’s only once in a while!”

“This is salamander meat! A creature that didn’t live where I used to! I wonder how it tastes! But I don’t have enough money…!”

“Am I dreaming right now? Is that… soy sauce? With just that, I can make not only braised chicken but also teriyaki sauce!”

Damn it!

Is this heaven?

Is this the level of Astram, the center of trade?

“…I should pretend I don’t know any Lizardmen.”

I heard Mari muttering something behind me, but it wasn’t as important as looking at the rare ingredients, so I ignored her.

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But even in this world, the laws of capitalism apply.

Of course, rare ingredients come with a premium, and with the money I had, I couldn’t buy as much as I wanted.

Do you know the sorrow of a man who can’t buy rare ingredients even when they seem to beg to be purchased?

Yes. In the end, what matters is money.

Having gotten used to the Lizardman lifestyle where money isn’t a concern, I had forgotten that in human society, you need money to live comfortably.

And to earn money, you need to work.

So Mari and I went to the Adventurer Guild to register as adventurers.

The Adventurer Guild, located in the heart of the city where land prices are likely high, was bustling as if it were a tavern.

No, seeing how many humans were drinking heavily even in broad daylight, that impression wasn’t wrong.

As I opened the door and entered the guild, the chatter of adventurers momentarily died down, and I felt numerous gazes on me.

But perhaps due to the geographical nature of Astram, where countless adventurers come and go every day, they seemed to consider my appearance as just another unfamiliar visitor and quickly resumed their noisy chatter.

In novels, when the protagonist first enters the Adventurer Guild, they’re often mocked with lines like, “Hahaha! A kid like you wants to be an adventurer? Go drink your mother’s milk and come back!” But in reality, people aren’t that interested in strangers they see for the first time.

At most, a few men glanced at Mari, the Elf.

Ignoring their gazes, I immediately approached a woman who seemed to be the receptionist and spoke.

“Welcome to the Adventurer Guild. How can I help you?”

“I want to register as an adventurer.”

“Ah, adventurer registration? Adventurer registration requires a 5 silver registration fee in Eustian currency and a simple qualification test. Additionally, the test fee is 1 silver, and the fee is non-refundable even if you fail to qualify. Do you understand and agree to this explanation?”

This feels different from what I expected.

It feels like signing up for insurance.

I guess it’s not as simple as placing your hand on some suspiciously convenient crystal that magically brings up a status window.

“Understood. Here’s 12 silver for me and the Elf behind me.”

“Payment confirmed for two people. Then I’ll call someone to conduct the qualification test. Please wait a moment.”

“Sure.”

By the way, 12 silver? Registration costs more than I thought.

If I had impulsively bought rare ingredients at the market, I would have been short on money.

“See? I told you it was a good idea to stop you from spending all your money on ingredients at the market earlier.”

Mari said with a triumphant look, making a sound like “Ahem.”

“I was planning to keep enough money for guild registration from the start.”

“Really?”

“Ahem, more importantly, it seems this place also functions as a tavern or restaurant. Given the size of the Adventurer Guild, it probably has various additional facilities. There might even be simple medical facilities or lodging here, though we can’t see them.”

“Ah! You’re changing the subject now, aren’t you?”

“More importantly, seeing what the adventurers are eating, I’m getting hungry. Should we eat something while we wait?”

“Ah! Then I want skewers!”

So simple.

As we sat nearby and engaged in trivial conversation, the receptionist soon called us.

Going to the reception desk, we were greeted by a tall woman with slightly bluish-black hair tied in a half-up style, along with the receptionist.

Her height seemed to be around mid-170cm, which, considering that the average human male adventurer is around mid-170cm to 180cm, made her quite tall for a pure human woman.

While that alone might make her seem just tall, her overall feminine silhouette, combined with the visible muscles here and there, indicated that she was a fairly high-level adventurer.

Judging by her leather tank-top-style light armor, she might be from the northern barbarian tribe.

I thought barbarians would be burly giants with brown skin and bulging muscles, but her skin was pale, and while she had toned muscles, she looked more like a healthy, attractive woman rather than a brute.

By human standards, she might even be considered quite beautiful.

“This is Karina, a veteran adventurer of silver rank who will assist with your adventurer registration. Karina, this is Kurt, a Lizardman, and Marisia, an Elf, who are aspiring to become adventurers.”

“I’m a Half-Elf, not an Elf!”

“Nice to meet you. Half-Elf Marisia. And Lizardman Kurt. Then let’s start with the Lizardman first.”

“Me first, huh. You stay seated and wait.”

“Got it! Good luck, Mr. Kurt!”

What’s there to do about luck when registering as an adventurer?

And so, I moved to the examination area with Karina for the adventurer registration.