Sorry to concern you.

"Let's drink again, okay? I won't let you take off my socks next time though, alright?"

"Ahaha, sure, see you again."

"Remember to buy more alcohol next time～"

"I've had enough of it!"

Karina-chan here. I befriended the little-yet-shrewd dwarf Sati-tan and said my goodbyes to her.

I learned a lot from her, including about the Merchants' Guild Certificate. Apparently, certificates from the various guilds allow for monetary transactions between accounts up to a certain amount.

It's amazing how this otherworld has electronic payment-like functions. Thanks to that, though, my balance was just scraping by.

For now, since my backpack was heavy with bottles of alcohol, I temporarily moved just the contents to my storage space. I made sure to link each bottle with its contents accurately so I could restore them properly later.

The prices were quite fair, and Sati-tan seemed to have shown some restraint—selling them in small quantities should indeed turn a profit.

That said, selling in bulk would be punishable unless done through a licensed liquor store. Understood.

Well, I decided to accept it as tuition fees.

In fact, Sati-tan had taught me quite a bit about being a traveling merchant.

"Alright, before offering the socks to the Goddess — let's check out if there are any quests at the Adventurers' Guild."

One of the tips was that it's good to accept delivery quests if they come up while traveling.

The Adventurers' Guild required completing a certain number of quests to avoid rank demotion or expulsion, so keeping an eye out for such opportunities seemed like a good way to earn some extra pocket money.

I also got information about a town where I can source the lotion requested by Harumikazuchi-oneesama, so I planned to look for quests in that direction.

With that determination, I entered the Adventurers' Guild, only to be greeted by—

"Karina! You're safe! We were looking for you, glad you're alright."

"Huh? Blade-senpai. Eh, you were looking for me? Why?"

Blade-senpai looked relieved to see me.

Safe? What's he talking about? I'm perfectly fine, no injuries or illnesses.

"Our lumberjacking the day before yesterday was apparently seen by some unsavory characters."

"Oh, yeah. We did go all out with the carts and everything."

"A solo newbie carrying lots of gold, and a beautiful girl at that—there were guys planning to attack you. You may look good on the outside, but the inside is another story."

What did he mean by 'the inside is another story'? I'll have to tell Harumikazuchi-oneesama about this… Oh, right.

Blade-senpai saw me at the Shun Lai Pavilion, and although I only heard about it from oneesama and had no memory of it, it probably did qualify as 'the inside is another story'…

Ignoring that.

"Now that you mention it, having money, no relatives, and being a beautiful girl… staying nowhere in particular, I was like a duck carrying a leek—too delicious a target."

"Huh? Yeah, something like that. And then I heard yesterday in the Merchants' Guild that a black-haired girl was taken away by a merchant, so I was worried."

"I see. Sorry for worrying you?"

The information wasn't entirely accurate, but that was fine.

"I actually was taken away… by a girl though, so I'm good."

"What about the girl? Is she okay!?"

"The fact that you're worried about her rather than me tells me exactly what you think of me. It's fine though. Well, I don't remember anything this time either. I was drunk."

Sati-tan cleverly sold me alcohol, so even if I did something regrettable, it must have been consensual. Probably. Eh. Maybe?

It was legal too since she was an adult dwarf, a legal loli!

"Ah. As for my money, as you can see, it's turned into alcohol."

"… So it's just money turned into alcohol, no real difference then."

"That's true too. Oh, Blade-senpai, want to buy a bottle?"

"Nah, I'm good. It's probably just regular booze you can buy around here."

"Think of it as helping a junior in need!"

"Don't be stupid, you can earn more with lumberjacking."

True.

But I'm kinda bored of lumberjacking now. Besides, why should I be the one worrying and fleeing because of some attacker?

Right, I'mma crush that attacker before leaving for another town to source the lotion.

Or better yet, attack them first.

I owed a bit to Solasidor, so why not contribute a little to improving its public safety? Tonight, my Spatial Magic will thirst for blood.

"It's okay to kill someone if they try to kill me, right?"

"When you put it like that, it's not funny."

"Maybe I'll accidentally do it? Perhaps? If I misjudge my restraint?"

"… That's not a joke. Look, don't initiate anything, but if you take a hit first, it's self-defense."

Apparently, the church had magical tools that could verify such things. Looks like I can confidently engage in violence under the guise of self-defense. Hahaha.

"Excessive self-defense leads to fines. Then I'll join you in lumberjacking."

"Booyah! So I can resolve everything with money even if I go overboard!"

It seems like the lives of people in this world are rather cheap.

Well, I'm one of those people now too.

"Since Blade-senpai will help with lumberjacking, I'm relieved! Alright, I'll go do it right away."

"I know you won't lose, but be careful not to get caught off-guard, and avoid getting unrelated people involved."

"Got it. It would be nice if the town's a little safer by tomorrow morning."

I kept to myself the fact that my own presence is probably the biggest threat to public safety.