Chapter 7 - Skeleton
Chapter 7 - Skeleton
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After disposing of all the items at the blacksmith, I was able to get 110 copper coins.
When I exchanged this, one silver-shining coin and 10 copper coins were placed in my hand.
1 silver coin!
'To think such a huge sum of money is in my hands!'
They say silver has been used more than gold since ancient times.
That's where the word bank (silver business) came from. A place where silver travels. Hence, bank.
"This is no joke, Karl.... My luck has been really good lately."
"Is that so."
Ever since I met that woman, my luck seems to have cleared right up.
Was this called being carried? Anyway, whatever Karl's deal is, thanks to him hanging out with me, life is pretty good these days.
'At least he seems to be around a B-class adventurer.'
That overwhelming strength of crushing a person's face with bare hands cannot be explained unless he's a superhuman.
'That being said, I don't think he can beat Isabel.'
As someone who has experience working as her exclusive porter, I can even explain just how incredible Isabel's strength is.
She's a woman with the skill to kill a person much more simply than taking an item out of a pocket, so enough said.
"Did you say you were buying combat boots and gauntlets?"
"Ah, yup!"
"It looks like there's a shop over there that handles those."
Karl said, pointing at a leather shop.
Hmm, it looks like a place that processes leather to make items.
'Later on, if I get some leather, I can just sell it there.'
As it happens, I also know how to skin leather.
Looking at it this way, working as a porter for a whopping two years doesn't seem like it was in vain.
"I'd usually expect gauntlets to be sold at a blacksmith's."
"Wrong. The only gauntlets you can buy are leather ones. Iron ones are very expensive. Because they have to be carved out meticulously."
...Is that so?
Now that I think about it, that makes sense. If they were cheap, every Tom, Dick, and Harry would be wearing them around.
"Then do I have to give up punching and kicking?"
"Not necessarily. You just need to embed studs into the leather. If you hit properly, you can break bones or so."
Is there even such a thing?
Actually, I don't really know. All the knowledge I learned from playing porter was acquired over my shoulder, so the level of it is low.
The only reason I barely know that the type of sword I'm holding is a falchion is because it's a pretty commonly circulated sword.
"Since you say such a thing exists, I'll ask for that."
First, I stepped inside the shop to purchase the items.
'What a foul stench!'
As I went inside, the smell of boiling leather was overwhelming.
They say that leather that is boiled, oiled, and dried becomes sturdy enough to block spears and swords.
That's why they boil it like that on purpose. If it's treated like that, it sells for a very high price.
Of course, my goal isn't something like leather armor. This is too expensive and has poor cost-effectiveness.
Rather, it's better to buy and wear padded armor with that money.
"I came to buy combat boots and gauntlets."
Going over to what looked roughly like a stall, an employee polishing leather with a cloth caught my eye.
"Your wife has been conscripted?"
"...I'm going to use them."
Why does no one think that I am going to use them?
This is all prejudice. Prejudice!
"Well, I'll need to measure your size. Since your build is inherently small, we'll have to custom-make them."
"Yes, yes. Do so."
Is it because they found out I'm going to use them?
The employee's tone of voice is strangely snotty.
"Huuuuum."
The employee took something like a tape measure and measured my body several times.
Then they went inside the shop and brought out a pair of combat boots and gauntlets made of brown leather.
"They're made of cowhide. Not even a single tooth mark will show even if you slash them with a dagger."
"Oh...."
"And the combat boots are made by layering leather. With a chunk of iron stuffed into the toe, if you kick someone in the chest, it splits their ribs wide open."
They're practically children's sizes, these things....
People with small builds like me must do adventurer work, too.
"Hand over 30 copper coins each. Consider yourself lucky that we happened to have your custom size. Otherwise, you would have had to pay extra."
"Yes, yes. I know. By the way, what about studs on the fingers? How much is the one with metal attachments added?"
"That's 50. It's not something on the market, so we have to attach them separately."
Since my entire fortune is 1 silver coin and 40 copper coins,
the money I have left now is about 70 copper coins. Not bad.
'As a porter, I couldn't even dream of such huge sums of money continuously coming in.'
Back in my porter days, meaning before I got this falchion, I really had to live a pathetic life.
If I worked all day and earned about 3 copper coins, I'd buy bread with one of them. The remaining two would be saved as emergency funds.
Then where do I sleep for lodging fees? I could just sleep near the church. The security is good there because holy knights patrol the area.
Of course, this is only possible in spring or summer. When winter comes, it's just right to literally freeze to death, so I stay at inns using the money saved up during spring and summer.
Ah, those tear-jerking days!
'Let's save this money and use it to pay off debts, or use it for separate investments.'
Alright.
I'm getting more and more perfectly equipped!
Since the sun hadn't set yet, Karl and I decided to take on one more request.
"Skeletons?"
Karl looked down at me with a puzzled expression.
Hmm, it looks like my explanation is needed here again.
"They are beings born when ominous mana infuses a dead corpse. Since it usually takes a long time for mana to infuse, they mostly rise as bones."
"Those aren't guys you can see in the snowy plains."
"That's right. In the snowy plains, corpses freeze and are well-preserved. Even if they turn, I'd think they'd become zombies."
These zombies and skeletons are like the nightmares of adventurers.
If you die during a request, you'd turn into guys like that, so he probably hates that.
"By the way, is there a reason you didn't bury the guys we killed last time? They could have become skeletons or something."
"Ah, that's a simple reason. It's like an unwritten rule among the survivors."
The reason I can get requests so easily now is because this is an unprecedented boom period.
Recently, as the flow of mana in the forest became strange, monsters swarmed, and the country offered a lot of bounties to eliminate them.
Normally, there isn't much work. Perhaps because of that, adventurers don't bury corpses in order to increase requests even a little.
That way, they'll revive as skeletons and create work.
As I explained this complex and anti-human business logic, Karl wore a mysterious expression.
"That's not right."
"It can't be helped."
Even I couldn't hide my shock at this morally wrong thing at first.
To be honest, I think I was full of myself back then. Of course, ever since I almost starved to death that winter, I haven't had thoughts like that at all.
'Even the barbarian of the north can't hide his shock at this sight.'
Though actually, this is right.
A bit bitter, huh.
"If you leave a corpse in the forest, beasts will tear into the flesh. Monsters or beasts that have tasted human flesh attack people. Not good."
"Ah, I see."
Oh, that wasn't it.
It was a more pragmatic reason.
"Well. Since most adventurers are actually good-for-nothing loafers, it seems they wouldn't care about things like that as long as it makes money."
Karl nodded at those words.
Actually, it's foolish to question what adventurers do.
These bastards are vulgar folks who do anything for money, so they pick and choose incomprehensible things to do.
"How much is this request worth? Little warrior Dennis."
"Skeletons can be easily caught as long as you have equipment, so the price is cheap overall. About 30 copper coins."
"I see. And the distance is close, too."
Expensive requests are usually structured in a way that dispatches you far away from the city.
Chores like this are close to the city, making them perfect for earning pocket money.
Of course, this is also thanks to the boom period.
Long live the boom period!
"Anyway, our destination is visible over there."
The place where the skeletons were spotted was a cemetery built deep in the forest.
They say it was the site of a village hundreds of years ago. Because so many monsters kept coming out, they packed their bags en masse and migrated.
And that migrated place is the city where I reside.
"Eerie."
"Well, it is a cemetery after all. There's certainly that kind of atmosphere."
The trace of a village was completely buried and disappeared beneath the trees.
Houses and fences swallowed by nameless green plants, leaving not even a fragment, are visible.
As we crossed the broken fence and entered the village, the eerie atmosphere intensified.
"It seems the graves are over there."
However, the cemetery wasn't hard to find; stones don't discolor easily no matter how much time passes, so that seems to be why.
The cemetery was located far away from the village. By quickening our steps a bit more, we arrived near our destination.
"...There they are."
-Dalgeurak dalgeurak.
The unpleasant noise of bones clacking against each other here and there.
Impure entities driving their bodies with resentment toward the living are walking around.
"What is those bastards' weakness?"
Karl said, gripping his axe firmly.
"Usually, smashing the skull stops their activity. However, since they were resurrected from old corpses, their durability is weak, so you can just smash their legs or ribcage and then crack their skulls."
"I see."
"Ah, but we still need to be careful. According to the request form, there are about 20 skeletons. If we're not careful, we could get surrounded."
Of course, my warning wasn't accepted.
-Whoosh!
The axe flying at a ferocious speed split the skull of an unfortunate skeleton right down the middle and embedded itself firmly in an old tree.
"Hmph. Good hand-feel."
That doesn't apply to that person at all.
Anyway, I should prepare for battle, too.
"Alright. Let's go!"
I drew the falchion slung around my waist and shouted boldly.