Skeleton Knight, in Another World Chapter 6

Translator/Editor: Silver

「Seeking Employment as an Adventurer」 Part 1

The next day, sunlight entered the room through the wooden window.
I stretch my body, that had gone stiff from sitting on the bed with my back against the wall. Although I didn’t have any muscles with this body, it was a ingrained habit. Realizing this, I cracked my neck and stood up.

Daylight fills the room when I open the window. The window faced the main street, so I could already see activity in the streets by looking out.

Something like an open market was open, I could see people selling vegetables and grilled meat, as will as merchants selling art and jewelry. It was no surprise that there was a large turnout of visitors that went about.

After I verify the contents of my luggage and insured that I still had the right amount of money left, I left the inn. n.o.body was at the counter, and other guest were leaving as they pleased. It seems that paying in advance was the norm here. What a sloppy business model.

I enter the main street carrying the weapon sack over my shoulder. The people on the street gaze at me in unison, making me feel uncomfortable. I wonder if this type of body armor is still unusual in this world?

Trying to let it go, I set a weapons shop as my first stop.

Heading west from the main road, I saw a signboard cover with a sword & axe over one of the shops. Entering, I see that the shop was crammed with weapons and protective gear.
From the back, a middle age balding man appeared. The man had a surprised look on his face, before he began speaking.

“Danne-sama, what can I do for you?”

“I want to sell these. How much?”

I took out the weapons from my sack and placed them on the counter one by one. All of them except one of the daggers because it might be useful in the future.

The owner of the shop picks them up one at a time, so that his can check the condition of each weapon. He places his hand on his jaw while determining a price, before he looks my way again.

“15 suk for the curved sword, 5 for each straight sword, 7 for the mace, and 1 suk and 5 sek for the daggers. The curved sword is sell-able if I polish the blade, but the other swords have damaged cores and need to be repaired. There is little damage on the mace, so I can just sell it as is.

“I don’t mind.”

“Alright that comes to 50 suk and 5 sek.”

He went to the back and pulled out 50 gold coins and 5 silvers coins. I put them in my leather pouch and placed it on my waist.

With the sell of the weapons and horses, I’ve come into quite a bit of money. The inn I stayed in is priced at 1 sek a night, since 10 silvers equals 1 gold one , I could stay there for over a week with just one gold coin.

However, I don’t know when money would be necessary in this world. I had to find a way to secure funds in case of emergencies……

When the owner of the shop returned after putting the weapons away, I asked him,

“Excuse me, you wouldn’t know were a wanderer could earn a steady income would you?”

“A steady income? With such excellent equipment, isn’t Sir already employed as a adventurer? Adventures usually don’t have to pay the toll for leaving and entering cities,”

It seems that there in normally a toll for entering and leaving cities. Since I entered Rubierute with the feudal lord’s carriage, I didn’t realize  that there was one.

Adventurers simply have to show their certification to the gate guards and they would be let right in. Since the the duties of adventurers  frequently take them in and out of the city they were excused from the toll. Members of the merchant a.s.sociation seem to have a similar setup, however a price can be charged depending on the amount and types of goods they bring in.

I thank the weapon shop owner and then leave. The adventurers guild was right across the street for the weapon shop. Next to that was merchant a.s.sociation’s building.

The building of the adventures guild was two-stories high, and the wasn’t anything outstanding about it besides the sword & s.h.i.+eld signboard. When I open the double-doors, I notice a counter across from the entrance. The strange thing was that it was surrounded in an iron cage, give the whole area a zoo exhibit-like appearance.

One bear sat in the cage. Wait, that’s the body of a man not a bear. He had a stubby beard and short raven-black hair,the area around his left eyes had large scars through it, his muscular arms appeared ready to burst, and his exposed chest was covered in hair.

Were the social advancement of women delayed in this world? Looking around, I only saw stuffy men in this h.e.l.lhole.

I slowly approached the bear-like receptionist. The one-eyed bear glared at me, as if I was his opponent.

“I would like to join the adventurers guild.”

Across the cage, the expression of the one-eyed bear twisted, when I stated my purpose. The end result of that distortion was an eerie smile, that was clearly never used much…… It gave a whole other meaning to the term “priceless smile”.

“Lookin at you equipment, it doesn’t seem like you have money troubles. The acceptance into the adventures guild includes a background check. As well as a test of strength. If you can hunt down a beast, monster, or bandit bring the proof here to conform it. Easy right?”

You say that a beast is good, but there are still things like monsters.

Coming here I saw flocks of animals in the hilly area, but I don’t think I past any monsters or if I did I didn’t notice them. I thought back to the idyllic scenery.

Anyway, one of the targets for subjugation was bandits? Would a freshly severed head count as proof then…… However the bandits I caught yesterday were already cremated, so I can’t use those.

“I understood. A few beast , coming up”

Leaving the adventurers guild building, I make my way towards the west gate.

In the middle of the city, there were a verity of places that were selling leather goods. Things like leather coin purses and leather handbags were all around. I  pick up an item while on pa.s.sing though one of the shops. It was a traveler sized gourd, with a small cork attached to the top of it. The gourd seemed like it could carry as much water as a lager bottle. A necessary item for any traveler.

“How much is this?”

“Master, how about 1 suk?”

The merchant laughs, while telling me the 1 gold price. One gold seems rather high, for what was is essentially a water bottle. The atmosphere seem to suggest that they overcharge me based on how I look. I should break this atmosphere with with little threat.

“One suk……huh?!”

“Wait! master. That was a little joke! How is 2 sek and 5 sok? Hihihi……”

The price immediately fell to 2 silver and 5 copper coins. It was 1/4 the original price. It’s possible the the price was still high, but since it was cheaper than before I bought it. I hand over 3 silver coins, and receive five coppers as change. It was hard to find silver coins, since my pouch was full of gold. Perhaps I should buy two more and separate the coins by type.

Besides the gourd I also bought large sack to place the game I hunted in. I paid with 10 copper coins to lighten my wallet a little.

Incidentally, I bought a grilled rabbit from a shop selling food. One rabbit cost two copper pieces, and was wrapped in a leaf-like parchment to take on the go.

Detouring through the private housing section on my way out of town, I spot a small open s.p.a.ce before the west gate. A stone aqueduct was built along the path. It seemed to provide drinking water, as I saw merchants filling their gourds and wives from near by houses fill large jars with water. Farther downstream there were women was.h.i.+ng vegetables and even farther down people were doing laundry. I had a feeling that the east gate also had such a aqueduct, but I was unaware of them because of how late I came into town.

The crowd calmly divided when I approached the aqueduct, It was like Moses had appeared, but it could of been chalked up to this people instinctively avoiding potential danger.

I fill my gourd with water before corking it. It should have been about 1 or 2 liters? I then place it in my sack before heading to the gate.

There seemed to be a baggage check at the gate, as even my belongings had to be looked through before I could leave. Around the merchants in line, were what appeared to be bodyguards. Probably due to the exiting tax , there were not a lot of people in my line out the city.

When I finally reach the gate, I’m stopped by a gate guard.

“Halt! It is three sek to leave out this gate.

In response to that, I take out the pa.s.sport I got from Rita yesterday. The gate guards see it, and they displeases me by having it change hand in order to see if it was real. It might have been better if I spoke up.

When I leave the gate and cross the stone bridge, I stop and take in the view of whole area. In the fields there were people tending to the crops. On each of the farmers necks there was a wooden tag the probably acted as a pa.s.sport.

While walking away, I think of a trivial thing like that as the city gets farther and farther away.

I don’t use 【Dimensional step】right away because I don’t want to stand out more then I already do. I’m having enough trouble with my appearances alone.

Up till now, I have yet to see anybody use magic. If magic isn’t common in this world, then I could be treated as a witch or monster and be burned at the stack. Even if it does exist, it is doubtful that s.p.a.ce and time manipulation would be common. If it were common then what would be the point of horses.

So for now, I will move on foot.

As the highway goes up a gentle slope, the beauty of the whole scenery can be witnessed. To the left was the large river that bent greatly in the southwest direction. Down the hill  the road divides into two, one path traveling along the river, while the other one trailed off in the northwest direction. The fields don’t spread out beyond this hill. and there are no longer any people on the road. Without any witnesses I can start using 【Dimensional step】to cover the distance.

I decide to take the northwest path. Since I have no map and don’t know any identifiable landmarks, it wouldn’t be strange if I got lost straying to far from the highway.

【Dimensional step】was convenient when I had a large clear field of vision. Even the distance of 1 kilometer can be taken lightly. The only downside was that I could be easily spotted in clear open fields. Things will get troublesome if I’m careless.

While traveling down the northwestern path, I see a wooded area on the side of the road. There should be beast to hunt as game there.

I materialized at the edge of the forest, and started my trek through them. If there was a dangerous monster here, then I could always escape.

In the forest, I set about finding some game. The distance I could cover was shorter in the forest then in the plains. My armor was more noticeable as well. A camouflaged hunter, I did not make.

As the forest gives way to a stream, I ended up finding a pair of wild boar. Their length was a little over 1 meter, they had statuesque bodies covered in grey hair, and their two tusk covered in a arc-like manner.

It appeared that the two of them were relaxing near this stream. I stand between the gap of two trees, and grip onto my sword. A pale blue light appears, as the sound of metal against sheath is heard.

When the boars try to dash away, I use 【Dimensional step】to appear ahead of them. When I had finished materializing, I was already in the middle of the swing that cut off the hind legs of the lead boar. I followed that up by transporting again, so that the second boar’s hind legs were sent flying.

The boars just lay sideways on the ground, letting out scream-like cries. Moving quickly I stab the two in the gut with my sword. Blood spills out from the guts and leg stems, yet to two continue to cry out.

The water is dyed red, as it carries the boars’ blood downstream.

Since the wild boar should be edible, bringing them home should result in some extra income. I once heard that it was best to avoid the instant kill in cases like this because the blood would be left inside the body otherwise and stink up the meat. By letting the heart push out the blood, there would be no odor left in the meat.

I thought it was quite a cruel thing to do in order to eat good meat, as the crying of the boars became feeble.

Then I remembered the spiced grilled rabbit that I bought this morning. Perched on the rocky sh.o.r.es of the swamp, I take off  my helmet. The wind blows causing the trees rustle through the forest, while the quiet sound of moving water flows though the area. After stretching a bit and breathed in a breath of fresh air, I pull the grilled rabbit out of my sack.

“Itadakimasu”

After putting my hands together, I unwrap the rabbit from the parcel, and bite into it. The aroma of the herbs is enticing, and the the meat is deliciously salted to perfection. In no time the meat was all gone. I brought out the drinking water I got this morning, and took a swing of water.

It seemed that I could eat and taste as usual, even with this strange body.

“Thanks for the meal”

Finished with my meal, I wash my hand in the water of the stream and sit down again.

It was break to rest myself.

I think his ability to eat and sleep are like the world administrators from EGA. He doesn’t need to eat or sleep but can if he wants to.