Chapter 7 – Search (3)
The innkeeper answered Kalt’s question with a bright smile.
“Yes, there is. A warrior party from 9 days ago is staying in our village. That too.”
The innkeeper said, placing her hand next to her mouth as if speaking carefully.
“He’s staying at our inn.”
“Really?”
It was an unexpected harvest.
I never would have guessed that the inn we were staying at was the same.
It is now easy to have contact with the indomitable hero Nellis’ party.
“But why the warrior party?”
The innkeeper looked at Kalt with the curious gaze of a village resident.
“I came here after seeing a job request for a warrior party here from a guild in another village.”
“Ah! Do you want to join the warrior party?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Perhaps thanks to the refreshing smile of a young man as he answered, the innkeeper also felt better.
“It’s good for Nelly’s too. If such a trustworthy customer becomes a colleague, they will feel very comfortable.”
‘At least he seems to have the right personality.’
Looking at the innkeeper’s reaction when she told him about Nellis’ party, Kalt expected that there would be no major problems with her personality.
The truth or a warrior party that is difficult for others to get close to is evident in the innkeeper’s reaction.
If you look awkward or have anger in your tone of voice, you can roughly infer the social nature of the warrior party.
“Is there a party for Nellis, the Indomitable Hero, at the inn right now?”
“I’ll be back in the evening. I went out this morning to make a request. Those kids are also very diligent. Thanks to that, I won’t have to worry about kobolds near the village.”
A kobold is a bipedal monster with the head of a dog.
In terms of difficulty level of extermination, D.
It is a stronger monster than the goblin, which has an extermination difficulty of E. It is a monster that you start catching about 2 weeks after the warrior party is formed, and you graduate to catching them easily in about 3 weeks to a month.
The party that has been in existence for at least two months is holding it.
Of course, if it is a request that is absolutely necessary for the village, it is worth taking on 2–3 times.
Assuming there is no one to take on the request.
‘Furthermore…, ‘
With a quick glance, Kalt looked inside the inn.
There was no sign of anyone inside the inn other than the innkeeper.
It is said that there are currently only Kalt and the innkeeper at the inn.
No matter how many adventurers go to the guild to kill time, this is still too little.
“Are there few adventurers in the village?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what happened. I heard that the number of monsters in the nearby dungeon has increased rapidly. Most adventurers have headed to the dungeon. I’m really glad Nellis’s came.”
Dungeon.
It is a phenomenon called the mystery of the world and refers to a space where numerous monsters appear at regular intervals.
There are many questions about the birth of dungeons, and there have been several cases in history where dungeons were suddenly created.
And sometimes monsters are produced in strangely large quantities in dungeons, and this is called overflow.
As the flooding gets worse, monsters may come out of the dungeon, so when there are signs of a dungeon flooding, the guild sends out a breaking news and requests nearby adventurers to convene.
From the adventurers’ point of view, if they have sufficient skills, the number of prey increases, and it is an opportunity to make money, so most adventurers gather in dungeons.
I heard the information I wanted.
There is no need to stop by the guild anyway, just wait until the warrior party comes.
After putting his luggage in his assigned room, Kalt came back down and spoke to the innkeeper at the counter.
“Is there anything I can help you with?”
“Yes?”
“I’ve just arrived, so I don’t plan on making any requests, and I don’t have anything to do until I wait for Nellis’ party.”
“Oh my, you don’t have to do that. It’s okay.”
“No, to be honest, even if I don’t ask for it, I still get sick if I stay still.”
Kalt bent her right arm and touched it with his left hand.
“I am confident in my strength, so please leave it to me.”
Then he frowned and Kalt winked.
“Furthermore, I also want to look good by helping a beautiful woman like my mistress.”
“Oh my.”
The innkeeper’s cheeks slightly blushed at Kalt’s appeal.
The fact that Kalt, with her smooth face, praised a woman like her so bluntly made her happy as a woman, even though she had a daughter.
Even if a woman gets older, she always has the heart of a woman who has not lost her youth.
“You speak very nicely. Then… I have some luggage to move to the inn’s warehouse. Could you help me?”
“Of course.”
While waiting for Nellis’ party, Kalt helped her innkeeper and found out a few more things.
After moving her luggage, her inn was empty and empty, so Kalt started talking to her. She liked the innkeeper and chatted with Kalt.
The innkeeper’s name is Nadia, and her daughter’s name is Runia.
She ran this inn with her husband’s money, but her husband passed away early, and she is now raising her daughter alone.
She also said that as her daughter grew older, she became really kind, and she is now the main lady of this inn.
“Lunia has grown up very beautifully, too. Do you know that? My daughter is the most popular among the young people in the village.”
“I think so.”
“Huh? You haven’t seen my daughter, so why are you saying that?”
“Well, if she’s Nadia’s daughter, she’ll look like Nadia, so she’ll be pretty. Of course, she’ll be popular in town.”
“Oh my, Mr. Kalt too. Ahaha.”
Nadia blushed and waved her hand at the harsh remarks Kalt often made.
“The joke is too much. You shouldn’t say things like that to a lady like this.”
“Madam, do you think Nadia looks like her lady and not her aunt?”
“A lady…”
Nadia didn’t know what to do when she heard Young Man Ho’s soft smile and compliments.
When a villager who lives in the same village says to her, ‘Hehe, Nadia looks really pretty today too~’, she simply replies with a thank you.
However, when she heard it from Kalt, a young man who had a good looks and a strong body, even though the words were similar, they had a completely different effect on Nadia.
“Mom! I’m back!”
A lively voice rang through the inn.
Nadia’s daughter, who has straight orange hair and green eyes like Nadia.
Runia, who had gone to do her shopping, returned to the inn.
“Aaaaah!”
As soon as Runia entered her inn, she saw Kalt and let out a small scream, covering her mouth with one hand.
“Mom! Who is this handsome man? Have you decided to hire a new employee?”
“What kind of new employee is this? He is too.”
Nadia stood up and introduced her Kalt to Runia.
“This person is Mr. Kalt. He came to see Nellis’s job recruitment.”
“You’re an adventurer! But you’re so handsome that you’re not expected to be an adventurer! There are a lot of adventurers who are rough and tough.”
“Lunia! I told you shouldn’t have such prejudices!”
“Yes! Now that prejudice has been broken. Wow, wow… He’s really handsome.”
The adventurers stationed in the village were only average level adventurers.
But when I saw Kalt, who had a decent appearance, I couldn’t help but admire him.
It was like looking at clay dolls played by children and then being amazed at a plaster statue created by an artist.
“Hello, my name is Kalt.”
Kalt’s profound yet gentle voice tickled Runia’s ears.
‘The voice is really crazy… !’
For Runia, a village girl with no special events, the presence of Kalt itself felt special.
“You’re Runia, right?”
“Yes, yes!”
“You are beautiful, just like Nadia.”
“…!”
The fact that she was told that she was pretty by a handsome man made Runia’s heart beat.
“Mom!”
First, Runia walked to Nadia’s side and lightly tapped her shoulder several times.
“What should I do? What should I do? They say I’m pretty!”
“Yes, my daughter is pretty. But that’s just a greeting, so don’t be rude and put your luggage down.”
“No. I don’t think so? I hope not~.”
In Runia’s mind, her imagination spread to the place where she was currently walking around Osundo while dating Kalt.
“He really… He told me to leave my baggage behind!”
Match! And Nadia lightly slapped Runia on the back.
“Aaaaah! I knew it.”
Nadia looked at her knife after seeing her daughter enter her kitchen.
“I’m sorry, isn’t he a bit fair?”
“No, it looks good because it’s bright. Oh, and what I just said wasn’t meant as a greeting.”
“Yes?”
“I’m saying that Runia is pretty, just like Nadia.”
“Oh my, oh my. Mr. Kalt too…”
Checking Nadia’s shy reaction, Kalt raised the corner of her mouth.
If you touch it a little more, it will come over.
Such confidence sprouted within Kalt.
Kalt remained at the inn and helped Nadia and Runia until Nellis’ party returned.
The more help Nadia and Runia gave, the more they could not help but view Kalt more favorably.
Kalt, a handsome man with a soft voice, said he would help out of kindness, so the two didn’t even suspect.
By evening.
“Thank you for your help today. This is service.”
“Enjoy it! My mom worked hard to make it!”
Kalt won the favor of Nadia and Runia to the point where he was treated to a free dinner at the inn.
“Thank you.”
Kalt was accustomed to receiving that treatment.
Kalt was used to being treated like this because he usually treated others favorably.
The only difference was whether the favor was intentionally expressed for a specific purpose.
Around the time Kalt finished dinner.
“Ah~ I’m hungry~ Nadia! Please make me some dinner.”
“Because I worked really hard today.”
“Really, I met kobolds one after another on the way back. Sigh, I’m tired.”
A group of three women entered the inn.
“Oh, you guys are here. Welcome. It’s just right. I have someone to introduce you to.”
“Yes, introduction?”
“Yes. They said they were recruiting you, and someone here saw your recruitment and came to visit.”
At Nadia’s words, the three people’s eyes focused on Kalt.
Kalt got up from his seat and approached the three people.
“Hello, my name is Kalt. Are you Nellis Party, the Indomitable Hero?”
“Yes? Oh, yes. That’s right.”
“I came after seeing the recruitment notice. If it’s okay, I’ll join your party…”
Grumble~
A large belly clock rang in Nellis’ stomach.
“…”
Nellis’ face turned as red as blush.
Among her colleagues behind her, one who appeared to be a wizard turned his head with his forehead and the other, who appeared to be a nun, smiled awkwardly.
Kalt kept his smile and moved out of her way.
“Would you please listen to my business after I finish eating?”
“… Yes.”