Chapter 145
Chapter 145
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Erpu
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The city of Erpu came into view.
It looked like a typical medieval fantasy city surrounded by walls.
"The city name seems like someone just stretched out the word 'elf' a bit..."
"That's right."
I'd just said it offhand, but Luna confirmed it was true, leaving me baffled.
"That's really it?"
"Yes. This place had brisk trade with elves for quite a while."
"Here?"
"Yes, but after the king changed, slavery was revived, and now it's become a city of elf hunters... well, slave hunters."
As we approached the gate, the two guards standing there eyed us warily, clearly on edge.
I was clad head to toe in black armor except for my head, and the elves behind me had their hoods up.
"Th-the two behind you... p-please remove your hoods..."
The younger-looking guard spoke up, stealing glances at me the whole time.
'Is it my build? Or the mana armor? Or both?'
They seemed to mistake me for a knight, just like those bandits had.
In any case, deciding to travel in armor had been a good choice. This rigid attitude was far better than being dismissed.
The inspection wasn't too strict; they didn't even ask for my identity.
They just roughly checked faces and let us in.
Aila and Luna removed their hoods.
A serene beauty with long silver hair cascading down and a glamorous golden-haired beauty appeared.
"Gah!!"
The guards' eyes widened at the sight of them.
Seeing them stare, entranced, it seemed even beauties of this caliber were rare here.
I addressed the dumbfounded guards.
"Can we go in?"
"Y-yes? Y-yes..."
We passed the dazed guards and entered the city.
A clean medieval street paved with stones stretched out before us.
"They're not freaking out."
"Freaking out?"
Aila tilted her head at my words.
"There are so many humans, yet you're staying calm."
"Hmph. It makes me want to puke, but I have that much self-control."
The sky was starting to turn orange, so we needed to find a place to sleep.
"Welcome to Erpu!! Great knight, sir! I know a good inn."
A kid hawking for customers approached at just the right moment.
The kid was skinny, looking no older than elementary school age.
"Can you take responsibility for that?"
I pressed him subtly, but he flinched only a little before answering confidently.
"O-of course!"
I liked that he didn't cower before me despite being a kid.
He must be that sure of himself.
"Lead the way."
"Yes, sir!"
The inn he led us to was in an alley off the main road.
"Innkeeper! Brought some customers!"
As I followed the kid inside, the room fell silent.
All the patrons inside turned to stare at me.
I scanned the place.
It doubled as a restaurant.
There were a moderate number of people.
The ones sitting at tables averted their eyes the moment they met mine.
This was a familiar occurrence, even back in my original world before I got famous. My build alone always drew stares wherever I went.
(K-knight?)
(No one but a knight would wear armor like that. Doesn't look like a trainee knight from his face—probably a free knight.)
(That build... is insane.)
(First time seeing someone that huge.)
My overly sharp senses picked up their whispers clearly.
"Three top rooms. Bring meals to the rooms."
"H-how many... days..."
"...About... three days. Bill for three."
"Y-yes, 9 silver, milord."
I handed the innkeeper a gold coin.
"Does this cover meals too?"
"Yes, more than enough."
"Eat in the rooms. And get someone to guide me around the city tomorrow. Possible?"
"Yes! I'll have someone ready by tomorrow."
The slave hunter mage had about 40 gold on him. Mana stones seemed valuable here too, so I could sell some if needed.
The rooms were cleaner than expected.
Not enough to satisfy someone from the modern world, though.
Given their standard of living, this might be something to be grateful for.
We gathered in one room for dinner.
The inn's food wasn't bad.
But to my modern palate, it wasn't exactly delicious.
"We'll gather info tomorrow and the day after. If nothing special, we'll head to Slurber. Prepare whatever you need."
I told Luna and Aila over the meal.
I'd probably have to do the info gathering myself.
I wasn't expecting much, but the elves were more useless than I'd thought.
Luna and Aila had lived isolated in the forest for so long that they were barely better than me, a total blank slate on the human world.
Aila was actually a liability.
'As long as she doesn't cause trouble...'
"Something... the way you're looking at me is really unpleasant..."
Aila grumbled, catching my gaze.
The next day.
"I'm Dorco, your guide, milord."
The innkeeper had no sense.
The guide was a skinny boy of fourteen or fifteen.
Changing him now would just waste time.
No choice.
"Any shops selling magic books?"
"M-magic books, sir?"
"Yeah."
"Y-yes, I'll take you to McDowell Magic Shop."
The guide, Dorco, looked bewildered that a warrior like me was asking for such a thing, but he led the way.
"Here we are, milord."
McDowell Magic Shop.
From outside, it almost looked like an antique store.
The display window held items of unknown purpose.
"I-I'll wait here."
The shabby boy contrasted with the fancy sign and pristine shop.
Whether he felt out of place or wasn't allowed in, it wasn't my concern.
-Ding.
Leaving the boy outside, I entered the magic shop. A balding middle-aged man startled at the sight of me and made a sour face.
Probably because a human in armor had walked in.
Likely mistaking me for a knight again.
"I'm a mage."
"A-a mage, sir?"
-Swish.
I pulled out the slave hunter mage's staff from my inventory and put it back to show him.
"S-subspace..."
The owner's eyes widened in surprise.
According to Luna, mages who handled subspace were at least 6th circle high mages.
Meaning I could pass as a high mage of 6th circle or above.
'Circles, huh.'
Heightening my senses, I saw four rings of condensed mana around the shop owner's chest area.
He was a 4th circle mage.
"Wh-what are you looking for?"
After showing off, the owner became much more polite.
"I want to see magic books. Bring as many types as you can."
"T-taking in a disciple?"
"Something like that."
I gave a vague reply to cut off further questions.
"Roy, bring the magic books by category."
"Yes~"
Soon, a freckled boy in robes came carrying an armful of books.
That's when I realized a handy feature of the dimensional shop.
The books the owner brought out were ones available in the dimensional shop too.
Comparing prices, I could pick valuable ones.
Items expensive in the dimensional shop were worth it.
Interestingly, some sold high here were cheaper there.
I skipped those, obviously.
I trusted the dimensional shop's valuations more than this mage's.
They were mostly basic intro books up to 3rd circle.
"No advanced magic books?"
"Th-those are at the Mage Tower..."
Annoying.
Intro level should suffice anyway.
Being able to shoot ice or fireballs would be plenty for them.
Prices were steep, as expected.
Nothing under 10 gold, some over 50. But compared to the dimensional shop, they were a steal.
"Total 284 gold."
I was short on cash.
"Take mana stones?"
"Yes, Roy. Get the mana stone measurer."
The robed boy went through a back door and returned with a small box engraved with fancy patterns.
I handed over a C-rank mana stone.
"Oh. Top-grade mana stone."
The mage placed it in the fancy box.
I just watched whatever he was doing.
"A bit above average. Value around 415 gold."
It was a mana stone appraiser box.
No way he'd scam a supposed high mage.
I swept the change and books into my inventory, then asked the mage.
"Know of a place called the Abyss Erosion Labyrinth?"
"Abyss Erosion Labyrinth..."
He pondered my question before replying.
"Never heard of it. I know of the Slurber Labyrinth, though..."
Not much different from what the slave hunter mage had said.
"Any info brokers around? Or places that deal in information?"