Midnight Acquisition
At my unintentional exclamation, Esmar chuckled and shook his shoulders. Still grinning, he turned his gaze back to the goods instead of me and asked while facing forward, “Does it seem too expensive?”
Looking at the village produce that had wilted a bit during the two days in the carriage, I already had my answer in my head. Carrot my ass, Shiba. A bundle of Yellow Wrinkle Fruits for one silver coin? In game terms, they were just potion ingredients. If you used them raw, they barely restored any health—pure junk items. In this world, one silver coin was half a day’s wage for an ordinary day laborer. Of course it was expensive. Obviously.
Even though that was what I thought, I watered it down so I wouldn’t offend him. “A little…?”
“This is how merchants have to live. There are travel costs, hiring guards… Do you think managing the horses is cheap? Sell at cost and you starve.”
He continued with a few more lines, as if he had his own reasons. Esmar sounded genuinely wronged as he listed the hardships of a traveling merchant, but…
From my perspective, having just witnessed a bundle of Yellow Wrinkle Fruits that cost six copper coins in Pardin suddenly become worth a hundred coppers, I wasn’t so sure. Do they really need to sell them at this price to make a profit?
With that question lingering, several tedious hours on the road passed. By the time a faint darkness had settled over the sky, the lights in the shops were going out and the merchants who had been out on the streets began packing up their goods one by one. Finally, when almost no one was left wandering the streets, Esmar and I followed suit, gathering what remained and moving on.
Ahh, it’s getting farther away…
The trash bin behind the abandoned house. I stretched my arm pitifully toward the old, spiderweb-covered building, but only emptiness remained in my grasp. Swallowing my disappointment, I waited in the carriage until we reached the inn. Esmar walked into a building with the familiar steps of someone entering his own home.
“One room, please.”
“Huh? Since when did you have a kid with you?”
At the request for a single room, the old man behind the counter leaned forward with both hands on the desk and looked at Esmar curiously. The sound of coins jingling came from Esmar’s money pouch as he searched for the lodging fee. After several clinks, he answered the old man with a short, exasperated mutter.
“Of course not. He’s the son of an acquaintance from Pardin village. They asked me to show him around a bit.”
“Hello…”
When Esmar finished the introduction, I bowed my head politely to the innkeeper. Upon hearing the village name, the old man’s eyes widened as he stared at me.
“Pardin? Well now, why? Thinking of becoming a mercenary?”
He grinned and immediately brought up mercenaries. It seemed that if a reckless boy came out of a remote rural village, nine times out of ten people assumed he wanted to be a mercenary. That profession carried quite a bit of recognition in this world. They were easy to run into, and to children they represented the image of strong men and strong women.
“Well, I…”
“He says he wants to be a traveler.”
Just as I was about to say something, Esmar answered for me. The old man’s eyes grew wide at the word “traveler” instead of the common “mercenary.” Then he spoke a few indifferent words.
“Must’ve gone mad wanting to starve to death.”
Ugh. At the blunt remark, I let out a silent sigh inside. Unlike the mercenary dream that at least tried to preserve a child’s innocent fantasy, this was a realistic jab that didn’t care at all. Still, it wasn’t like I had a good counterargument. Travelers were something only rich people did as a hobby. I wasn’t sure if that was an actual setting, but after living in this world, it felt that way. Money didn’t just fall from the sky.
“Hey now, what kind of thing is that to say in front of a child?”
At the harsh words, Esmar protested that it wasn’t appropriate in front of a kid and held out his hand, urging the old man to hand over the key already. With a jingle, the key was tossed down from about two heads above.
“Did I say anything wrong?”
After handing over the key, the old man at the counter added one last unnecessary grumble before ending the conversation. Esmar took the key and headed up the stairs first with steady steps. I followed closely behind and entered a room with two beds.
“Aigo, aigo…”
“Ugh…”
Both of us groaned as we collapsed onto the beds, our aching backs and hips finally getting some relief. The carriage vibrations that had wrecked my rear, the cold dirt floor that had destroyed my back while I slept, and finally the cold stone pavement of the city. My body screamed after taking the three-stage combo of despair-inducing floors. In that moment, I realized just how blissful it was to have something soft to lie on.
Without even bothering to light the lamp in the room, Esmar immediately fell asleep. I wanted to do the same—just pull the blanket over myself and rest—but I had something to do before sleeping.
Hearing his steady breathing, which suggested he was already in deep sleep, I quietly got up. Afraid I would fall asleep if I closed them, I forced my bleary eyes open and carefully set my feet on the floor so as not to make any sound.
I don’t know when I’ll get another chance…
On tiptoes, I crept toward the shelf by the door where the room key was conspicuously placed. I gently hooked it with my fingers, pulled it down, and carefully gripped it in my hand. After putting the key in my pocket, I wrapped both hands around the doorknob and turned it as quietly as possible. Suppressing even the small click of the lock, I slowly pulled the door open just enough for me to slip through—
The characteristic creak of an old wooden door echoed loudly.
What the— that sound…!
Because I had been so tense, the noise seemed even louder. Startled, I glanced back at the bed, but Esmar’s breathing remained unbroken. This isn’t like sneaking onto the computer behind my parents’ backs. With that thought, I stepped through the gap, closed the door behind me, and locked it.
I had successfully left the room without Esmar noticing, but the second gatekeeper—the innkeeper—was probably at the building entrance. Any sensible person wouldn’t let a child go outside alone at this hour. Just like when I left the room, I descended the stairs one careful step at a time. When only three steps remained, I tilted my head to peek at the counter—
He’s asleep?
Only the top of a head covered in white hair was visible behind the counter. Contrary to my expectations, the innkeeper was slumped over the chair, fast asleep. What? I didn’t even need to be nervous. I walked straight out through the already open door.
The city at night. Moonlight faintly illuminated the streets. I couldn’t let my guard down here either. This was the time when thugs and drunkards caused trouble. If a fight broke out and I lost, most of my money and belongings would be stolen. It was the classic system that punished players who wandered around right after graduating from the Royal Academy, claiming they wanted to adventure. Back when it was a game, encounters were random, but in reality, it was just a matter of avoiding them properly. I stuck to the main roads where there were still some people even late at night and headed toward the back of the abandoned house I had spotted earlier.
The place where the hidden item was located—a spot I couldn’t approach during the day because of prying eyes. Without a hint of hesitation, I reached for the lid of the trash bin that looked like it had been left unattended for a long time.
“It’s here…!”
The voice slipped out unconsciously, filled with joy. A pair of boots with a faint brownish tint and no patterns whatsoever. It would be several years before I could wear them properly, but I was certain this was the item I had been looking for. Grinning, I picked up the boots and returned to the inn.
There was actually one more hidden item in Windren, but even if the city was small, it was still a city. Wandering around alone at this hour as a thirteen-year-old just to get an item placed at the opposite end would be insane. For now, finding even one was enough. Holding the precious boots tightly, I approached the inn entrance. Peeking my head out from a short distance away to check—
“Kkrrrk—!”
Sleeping soundly, huh?
I could even hear the old man snoring loudly, something I hadn’t noticed earlier. Relieved by the sight, I quietly stepped inside. My footsteps climbed the stairs without a sound and returned to the room I had left. I hid the boots under the bed. Maybe because I had done it in secret, the thrill of obtaining an item felt even stronger. This was a perfect crime—no, perfect farming.