The Scammer and the Northern Continent's Captain
After a delicious meal, we headed to the lowest-difficulty labyrinth in the Labyrinth City—Terraria's Forest—to test the magic tools.
Though it was called a labyrinth, there were no monsters at all. Rabbits, squirrels, deer, and other ordinary animals made up most of what lived there. Half forest and half open fields, the place felt more like a park to the people of the Labyrinth City—somewhere families came for a casual outing.
Truthfully, heading into a higher-difficulty labyrinth would have made the tests easier… but the biggest reason we came here was that I couldn't take Erna somewhere dangerous. The second was that combat magic tools were forbidden inside the Labyrinth City itself. And besides, if I wanted to check whether a monster-repelling magic tool actually worked, I needed monsters—or at least animals—around.
"I've been coming to Terraria's Forest with Father and Mother since I was little," Erna said.
Having spent nearly three years living in Free Port City, she was clearly happy to be back. She flopped onto the grass and started rolling around. On Earth I might have stopped her for fear of scrub typhus or something, but in this world a quick cleaning spell wiped out any nasty germs, so there was no real point.
While Lumine and I were busy testing defensive magic tools, rabbits and squirrels gathered around Erna. Whether it was because the animals here were used to people, or because an elf and a half-elf were nearby, they showed no fear at all.
"About time we ran the experiment," I muttered.
Animals were already clustering around us. I pulled out the monster-repelling magic tool I'd bought earlier, poured mana into it, and switched it on. According to that man, monsters and animals shouldn't come within a fifty-meter radius. Even ones already inside the range should leave because of some strange frequency.
"……"
"Pyuuk."
"Ahaha, that tickles~"
What?
Had I used it wrong? I was sure I'd turned it on properly. Yet even with the tool right in front of it, the rabbit showed no intention of running. It just kept playing in Erna's arms. Worse, it was giving her bird-kisses—the kind of grooming rabbits only do when they completely trust someone. There wasn't a single sign of stress or anxiety in its behavior.
"Defective… product?"
With that thought, I gave the magic tool a few solid thumps. When electronics or magic tools act up, a good smack is usually the best repair method, right?
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack-thwack-thwack!
My hand stung a little, but it couldn't be helped. Two gold coins weren't some dog's name!
"Kyuuuk!"
The rabbit that should have fled fifty meters away if the tool were working properly… instead reacted to the banging and hopped closer and closer to me. Sure enough, it pressed right up against me and started acting spoiled. That cautious little rabbit! That adorable rabbit!
"Unnie, the rabbits say you're being too noisy."
"Uuuugh… I know…"
Looks like I'd been thoroughly scammed. Thinking about it now, if a tool like that really existed, there's no way we wouldn't have known. Word would have spread across the entire world in a single day. Expedition teams would have bought them no matter the cost for the sheer comfort. There was no way something like that would be sitting in a magic-tool market for two gold coins…
Lately my head really had turned into a flower garden.
"I thought it was suspicious from the moment I saw it," Lumine said.
"Very suspicious. A monster-repelling magic tool, of all things," Erna added.
Yeah… it was. And yet I'd ignored both of them and bought it on my own. That was entirely my fault…
The two of them came over and gently patted my head while I wallowed in despair. Even the rabbit on my lap seemed to feel sorry for me and groomed me thoroughly.
*
Erna wanted to play with the rabbits a little longer, so we spent about two more hours in Terraria's Forest. Between running around and swinging her sword, she became completely attached to them. In the end she decided to take home the white rabbit that had been glued to her side the whole time.
Normally taking animals without permission was illegal, but if the animal itself followed you and refused to leave, it was allowed.
"Do I need to get Enge-ssi’s permission first?" I wondered. "If her daughter suddenly brings home a rabbit, she might be shocked… or maybe both of them will love it."
Enge-ssi was quite fond of animals herself. Anyone who remembered how she'd carefully given fruit and water to the Mongolian gerbil we found in the desert would think the same.
"Haa… From now on maybe I should get Lumine's permission before buying anything."
"Hehe. So you'll only buy the things I approve?"
"I'm thinking about it."
Anyway, we were heading back to the magic-tool market we'd visited earlier. Even in this world, scams were crimes, but the prevailing attitude was that the victim was the fool. You might see a scammer get arrested, but actually getting compensation was pretty hard—finding them was difficult to begin with.
In the Labyrinth City, though, things were different. Every merchant selling magic tools operated under official permits. It wasn't just personal credit on the line anymore; the reputation of the entire Labyrinth City was at stake. If those people sold defective goods—or sold something intending to scam from the start?
"It's no different from damaging the Labyrinth City's reputation!" Erna declared.
"Erna really is smart," I said.
She was right. This wasn't just between me and one merchant anymore. It was a matter of Labyrinth City—Labyrinth's—credit. I could be dismissed as a free-spending tourist who gambled on an obvious scam. But not every visitor to this city would share that mindset, right?
"It was around here…"
"Next to the flower shop, wasn't it?"
We'd only been inside Terraria's Forest for about three hours. Yet when we returned to the magic-tool market, the man who'd sold me the scam tool was nowhere to be seen. Everyone else was still at their stalls… so where had he gone? Already off work? Quitting after only three hours felt a bit… enviable, actually. Maybe I should try selling magic tools in the future.
No—now wasn't the time for that.
"Excuse me, mister."
"Hm? The young ladies from earlier. Back for more magic tools?"
The man who'd been yawning over his slow sales recognized us.
"No, actually… did you see the man who was selling things here a little while ago?"
"The tall foreign merchant with the glasses? When I came back from the bathroom he was gone."
"Haa… is that so…"
A foreigner, so of course he clocked out early. No wonder he vanished…
Wait—foreign merchant?
"Ah… mister! Isn't this area only for Labyrinth City residents to do business?!"
"It used to be. But this section allows foreigners to trade as well."
"What?!"
"See that sign up there?"
He pointed. There was nothing written on it—just a single circle drawn on the board.
"Anywhere that mark is posted, anyone belonging to the Adventurers' Guild can set up shop."
What he explained afterward was this: two years ago, when the Labyrinth City opened, even non-residents became allowed to do business. Erna had been living in Free Port City for three years, so she hadn't known.
"So be careful buying from people like that. There are more strange goods than you'd expect."
"S-strange goods…"
"Esilly-nim did buy something strange," Lumine murmured.
"I should have stopped her more firmly this time…"
"Erna isn't at fault. Esilly-nim insisted on buying it."
Lumine casually dropped a fact bomb. How exactly was she planning to survive in bed tonight after saying that to me?
"Mister, is there any way we could find that man?"
Just in case—just in case!—I asked. The man stroked his beard thoughtfully, then finally shook his head with a regretful click of his tongue.
"Hard to say… This place is huge and the hours are all over the place. Probably difficult. On top of that, today is the day the large merchant caravans leave."
"Now that you mention it… Father said the caravans that were staying temporarily would all be leaving today…"
Erna backed him up. The man who'd scammed me was likely a merchant from a foreign caravan, and he'd decided to pull one last con on me before leaving.
"Nooo, my two gold coins!!"
"Just chalk it up to life experience. Two gold is a fair amount of money, though."
His words were sharp and painful, but I could only nod. Ugh… my chest. Wasting money I should have been saving to share with comrades whose whereabouts I still didn't know…
An ice-free port that never froze even in the cold weather. The cries of black-tailed gulls gliding leisurely over that sea. After roughly a week of voyage, the land I stepped onto was not the Western Continent but the Northern Continent.
The ships from the Central Continent to the Western Continent had been far too late, so I'd chosen the best option available right now and come north instead. From here I only needed to catch a ship to the Western Continent. Until recently there had been no official routes, but once proper trade opened between the Western and Northern Continents, ships had begun sailing.
"It's a bit expensive… but finding Esilly comes first right now."
Of course, making that resolution on the Northern Continent instead of the Western one meant nothing. I still had to start adventuring again just to earn the fare for the ship leaving in a week.
My current Adventurers' Guild rank was B. That made me a veteran capable of taking not only monster subjugation requests but dungeon-clear commissions as well. The fees were low and the work plentiful, so money should have been easy to earn.
Yes… that was what I'd thought the moment I stepped off the ship.
Only after arriving at the Northern Continent Adventurers' Guild did I learn the truth. There was no party kind—or stupid—enough to recruit someone who had just set foot on the continent. I had been far too ignorant… In the Northern Continent, experience from the Central Continent meant absolutely nothing. Who would recruit someone who hadn't even adapted to this freezing weather for the purpose of clearing dungeons?
I'd already been waiting two days, and not a single person had even tested the waters.
"……Esilly…"
The longer it went on, the more I thought of her. If it were that child, she wouldn't be stuck in the Adventurers' Guild waiting room like me—she'd be smiling as she conquered dungeons…
At this rate I wouldn't earn the money and I'd miss the ship. Miss this one and I'd have to wait more than another week. And Esilly, who hated settling down, might leave for somewhere else again. The last thing I'd heard was that she'd headed for a port town… She might already have grown tired of the Western Continent and moved on.
The more I thought that, the more the guilt toward Esilly threatened to drive me insane.
"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry… Esilly…"
I was restless. On top of that, a formless fear kept making my body tremble. Ever since I'd started chasing after Esilly, every single day had been so anxious and uneasy I thought I'd lose my mind. Outside the kingdom I was nothing, and the fact that I had wounded that child's heart made me so disgusted with myself I wanted to scream.
Then I realized it. I had treated the power of Esilly—who had been my subordinate by rank—as if it were my own. Even though it wasn't mine, I had grown arrogant, acting as though that strength belonged to me. I had merely pretended to be strong with power that was never mine.
And with that attitude I had treated Esilly like a troublesome little sister who only caused problems, always telling her to be patient and wait… The memory of how I had essentially used her that day squeezed my heart.
The more I thought about it, the more warm tears spilled out, soaking only my sleeves.
"Huh? Captain?"
I was sitting in the Adventurers' Guild waiting room crying again today when someone called me "Captain." For a second I thought it might be Esilly and lifted my head… but standing there was a woman who had once been Esilly's subordinate, together with women I had never seen before.
I had often seen her in armor, but this was the first time I'd seen her in a thick fur coat, so I almost mixed up her name.
"……Aria?"
"Is it really you, Captain? Why are you here… no, why are you crying?!"
Her name was Aria. One of Esilly's subordinates who had mustered out the moment the war ended and returned home.