Side Story: A Normal Villager Adventurer's Day Off

Hey there, the name's Nanmo. Believe it or not, I'm an adventurer!

Hm? These plain clothes make me look like a villager? Good eye.

Actually, I'm also a resident of this Golen Village!

The village in front of [Cave of Desires]: Golen. Well, it only got its name pretty recently though.

Apparently things got dicey recently with some powerful wolf monster showing up, but thanks to the hero, now I can dive into the dungeon every day with a plate as my charm!

Well, I hunted an Iron Golem yesterday, so today's my day off. If you can bag one Iron Golem, you can take it easy for a few days without splurging. And that's even after splitting the take with my partner Yeene.

I take Iron Golems directly to Dine-san's shop instead of selling through the guild buyback, and one goes for about fifteen silver, so they're pretty lucrative prey. They're crazy heavy since they're just lumps of iron though, so you gotta be careful.

I've got a house Kusaan built for me, so I don't have to pay for lodging either. It's a bit cold though.

There's no fireplace, but I can make a fire inside, so I make do with that. Obviously I'm careful about fires though.

Well, the village chief lets us use the hot spring to save on fuel costs, so it actually costs less to live here than when I was in Tsuia.

Now then, today's breakfast is cheap bread. Made from the village's stored flour and baked in the inn's hearth. It's cheap, low-quality wheat, but when Kinue-san makes it, it somehow tastes exquisite. Chomp… hard. It sure gets hard once it cools down. Yeah, well, whatever. But Kinue-san made this bread, so! Delicious!

Man, people who are good at cooking are the best, aren't they? Plus Kinue-san's beautiful. She has this ephemeral aura about her, like a fairy, and honestly I just want to marry her.

Yeah, think I'll visit the inn today. Maybe I should buy an accessory from Dyne Trading Company as a present? Their accessory selection is surprisingly well-stocked, for some reason.

So anyway, I went to Dyne Trading Company and bought one of this dungeon's specialties: an Iron Golem iron ring. Iron Golems sell for fifteen silver, yet this one ring costs fifty copper, which is kind of a rip-off. But I bought it anyway.

Now then, who's at reception today… whoa! It's Nerune-chan!

Nerune-chan might look plain at first glance compared to Rei-san and Kinue-san, but she actually has incredible talent for magic. She's apparently been quietly supplying Dyne Trading Company with light magic tools. She's probably an apprentice alchemist.

It's not quite a dungeon town, but settlements that form in front of dungeons naturally have cheap magic stones available. Craftsmen who work with magic stones apparently use places like these as a base for their training. That's why dungeon-adjacent settlements tend to have surprisingly cheap and well-stocked magic tools despite their small size.

Oops, I got sidetracked. Hahaha. Well, what I'm trying to say is that Nerune-chan is also someone I'd like to marry. An alchemist wife supporting her adventurer husband, doesn't that sound great?

"Hey Nerune-chan, nice weather today."

"Welcome～. Ehh～, is it～? Are you staying～?"

"No, I'm here for the hot spring!"

"Just the hot spring is～ free for villagers～, but ten copper for everyone else～"

"No, I'm a villager! Look, my villager ID!"

I showed her the iron tag that proves I'm a villager. The village chief had the blacksmith Kantra-san make these, and each one has a number and name engraved on it. I'm number eighteen. Pretty good number, right? Huh? What's good about it? Hahaha, if I say it's good, it's good.

Anyway, Nerune-chan always throws in jokes like this since we see each other all the time and know each other so well. See? We're less than ten steps from a proposal, right?

Fufufu, being a popular guy is tough!

"Ah～. Yes, confirmed～. Go ahead～"

"Thanks. Hey, want to come hang out at my place tonight?"

"Ah～, we don't do that kind of thing here～"

Nerune-chan reluctantly saw me off as I headed to the hot spring.

Sometimes other villagers are already in the hot spring. Ooh, isn't that Gozoh-san, the one with the single-digit villager number! He's brought booze with him! Those are some serious muscles! A true dwarf!

"Oh? Nanmo, huh. You got today off too?"

"Yeah, I managed to hunt an Iron Golem yesterday."

"Hoh, how many did you get, three or so?"

"One with my partner. How about you, Gozoh-san?"

"Ah, the day before yesterday I got five with Roppu and Kehma."

Three people, five of them… fifteen silver times five is… uh, fifty silver?

"Seventy-five silver. Twenty-five each."

"Ah, yes, I knew that? It's common knowledge, common knowledge."

"I see, so Nanmo can do math. I leave that stuff to Roppu."

Yeah, that does seem like Gozoh-san.

But twenty-five silver, huh. If he can earn that much in a day, no wonder he's always drinking.

… Wait, he just casually said Kehma, but that's the village chief, right?

So the village chief was an adventurer? I had no idea.

"Just between us, it's way easier to run into Iron Golems when Kehma's around. That guy's got a good nose for 'em."

"Eh, the village chief has a good nose? Do Iron Golems even have a distinctive smell?"

"Idiot, having a 'good nose' doesn't necessarily mean smell. It means having sharp instincts."

"Huh! That's good to know. I'll casually drop that to impress Yeene."

"Oh… ah, want some?"

"Don't mind if I do!"

With that, I got a sip of alcohol from Gozoh-san.

Being able to naturally interact with senior adventurers like this is one of this village's charms.

Then, a new guest arrived at the hot spring.

"Hm? Someone's here?"

"Oh? If it isn't Kehma! Come on in, we were just talking about you."

"V-Village chief!"

The one who came in was Village Chief Kehma. He doesn't have any muscle at all; is he really an adventurer? Normally, even the lowest ranks build up some muscle from hauling heavy gear.

"Well, have a drink first. Here."

"Pass. I don't really drink."

The village chief brazenly refused Gozoh-san's booze. He's probably the only person in this village who could turn that down. Everyone else drinks it gleefully. Because Gozoh-san's booze is incredibly delicious.

"Tch, you're no fun. Well, whatever, it's Kehma after all. More importantly, how about taking this guy golem hunting sometime?"

"Eh?!"

A sudden invitation. C-could this be my chance at twenty-five silver a day too?!

"No way, too much hassle. Besides, I just went with Gozoh the day before yesterday. Gozoh, don't tell me you've already blown through it all?"

"That kind of money vanishes on booze in no time! But man, thank goodness for golems. A hunting ground this good is rare, and there still aren't many people around."

"I see… so the population's only going to grow from here… That means more work as village chief. I'm sleepy."

H-huh? What about my twenty-five silver chance? Gone in an instant? Haahh…

"U-um. V-Village chief? So, you were an adventurer?"

"Hm? Yeah, D-Rank for now."

"Oh. Same rank as me! … You don't look like a vanguard, so are you in the rear?"

"Rear guard. Kuro handles the front."

Kuro is… ah! Kuro-chan! Right, so she's the village chief's party member.

Kuro-chan is a girl with the outrageous real name of Niku, but… her abilities are even more outrageous. A lot of adventurers who looked down on her small build got a rude awakening in mock battles. I'm one of them. Lost fair and square.

That strength is totally at odds with her appearance. It's just not fair…

"Do you have a specialty magic? Ah, it's fine if you'd rather not say."

"Sorry, that's a secret."

The village chief got out right after that. Cool guy. Apparently he just came to warm up a bit before bed… It's still noon though? He's going to sleep already? What a slacker.

"Haah, so the village chief was Kuro-chan's party member… wait? Then does that mean Kuro-chan's 'Goshujin-sama' is maybe…?"

"Yup, it's Kehma. Kuro's always being affectionate with him."

"… Um, I heard Kuro-chan's name was 'given by her Goshujin-sama'…?"

"Nanmo… It's best to leave people's fetishes alone."

Wow, I've got nothing to say to that.

Oh, speaking of fetishes, I'm into belly buttons. They're so cute and adorable! Gozoh-san apparently likes people who can hold their liquor… ah, Roppu-san. Makes sense.

Anyway, after warming up properly in the hot spring, I decided to get some lunch. I hope it's Kinue-san's handmade onigiri.

I headed to the dining hall. Is Kinue-san there?

"Kinue-san～"

"Hm? Kinue-san's on the night shift today."

The one who greeted me was the silver-haired beauty, Rei-chan.

She's got a great figure too. I mean, seriously, why does this inn have so many candidates for my future bride?

"Oh, is that so? Well, I'm happy to see you, Rei-chan."

"Today's lunch is onigiri. Five copper."

"Your silver hair is beautiful today too. Can I get one onigiri? And one of your smiles while you're at it."

"One smile is five copper, so that'll be eleven copper total."

"Oh, it costs money… wait, isn't eleven a bit much? Shouldn't it be ten?"

"Eh? Oh… It's a special service just for you, dear customer."

"Got it, I'll pay!"

Heh, a special service just for me…! Not a bad feeling. I paid Rei-chan eleven copper.

"Here's your onigiri… Smile!"

Ooph! What a great smile, makes me want to marry her.

It was a gentle smile, like the sun.

By the way, Rei-chan's onigiri sometimes have an insane amount of salt in them, yet they're mysteriously still edible. It must be because they're packed with love.

"Fufu, that's a nice smile. How about dinner together tonight?"

"Will you treat me to the S-Rank set meal? Just the meal ticket is fine. Smile!"

Five gold is way too much! Fufu, she's just being shy. But I know she doesn't actually hate the idea. Think about it: if she really hated it, she wouldn't set conditions at all. In other words, if I can pull that off, she'll marry me.

Good grief, I'm popular again.

Lunch was a normal onigiri today. The filling was some black stringy stuff… konbu from Pavera, I think? Well, it wasn't bad. It tasted of Rei-chan's love.

Now then, lunch is done, so what should I do? … Oh, isn't it about time for the mouse race? Yeah, I've got nothing to do anyway, so let's go check it out!

I headed to the game room. Admission is free. Just watching the mice race is pretty entertaining.

"Oh, Yeene? You were here?"

"Hm? Nanmo. You came too?"

It's my partner Yeene. He's got a betting slip in hand… ah, I have a bad feeling about this.

"Winning?"

"Yeah, I'll win it back in the next race."

Yep, this is a losing pattern… Which means, if I bet on something Yeene didn't bet on, wouldn't I win?

"What'd you bet on?"

"Ah, a two-point bet on Oranihasanpo and Aonotenteki."

"Then I'll bet on something else… whoa, Onsoku is the favorite. Shouldn't you have gone with this one?"

"Onsoku's running his second race today. He should be tired from blowing through the first one."

Is that how it works? Well, I bought a betting slip for Onsoku. Five copper's worth.

The result: Oranihasanpo stopped three steps before the goal, and Aonotenteki somehow ran backward halfway and returned to the starting line.

The winner was Onsoku. He had been walking at a leisurely pace along the way, but the moment Oranihasanpo stopped before the goal, he broke into a mad dash and practically tumbled across the finish line.

Incidentally, Bibibi, who was also in the race, was sleeping at the starting line.

… My five copper became seven. Yep, today feels like my lucky day!

Hmm, what nice weather (reality escape).

No, you see? I thought I had it. Things started off great. I won the next bet on Elekimouse too. But after that it all went downhill. Yumenokuni took almost all my money.

Man, I should have sensed something was up the moment Ichika was the one selling the betting slips.

"… My day off is officially over. Tomorrow we're going after Iron Golems."

"Yeah… aah, I was so close. If only I'd stopped there…!"

With a sigh, I headed off to get dinner. Since there's stored flour, I can get bread made for just one copper a loaf.

When I went to the dining hall in the evening, my beloved Kinue-san was there.

Kinue-san with her pale green, gentle aura is seriously a fairy. She's the kind of person everyone just naturally calls "-san."

"Oh my, welcome… Bread again, Nanmo-san?"

"Ahaha, sorry about that…"

Kinue-san properly remembers my name.

Kinue-san really does care about me…

Oh, I just remembered the ring I'd put in my pocket.

"Right, Kinue-san. I have a present for you today."

"Oh my, what is it?"

"Th-this ring!"

"Oh my, how lovely… hmm, then as a thank-you, I'll throw in some bacon for you."

With that, Kinue-san cut a slit in a loaf of bread that had apparently already been baked and slipped a piece of bacon inside.

… Kinue-san, truly a spirit. A pure existence…!

This service must be proof of a five-second countdown to marriage.

"Um, could you perhaps show me how the ring looks when you're wearing it?"

"Fufu, I'm working, so just this once, okay?"

Kinue-san put the ring I bought on her left index finger and showed me. She took it off right away since she was working, though.

… … Yep, I'm glad I didn't trade it in for betting money at the mouse race. For some reason, they buy accessories there too…

"Well then, until next time. Please order a proper meal when you come back."

"Y-yes!"

I took the bacon bread and went home in high spirits. We call each other by name and she made me dinner (bread). At this point, saying we're practically married wouldn't be an exaggeration, would it?

"Man, Kinue-san really is a great person. She threw in extra cheese for me too."

"Yeene, your share is spillover from mine, got it? Be grateful."

"Yeah yeah. Anyway, get to bed already. We're hunting golems tomorrow."

I flopped down onto my futon.

Golem magic stones sell for a decent price if you save them up, but Iron Golems are definitely the way to go…

Thinking about when my next day off would be, I fell asleep.