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 Goleene Village!

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

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

Well, I hunted an Iron Golem yesterday so today's my day off though. If you can hunt one Iron Golem, you can take a few days off without doing anything as long as you don't splurge. That's even after splitting with my partner Yeene.

I take Iron Golems directly to Dine-san's shop instead of the guild buyback, but one goes for about fifteen silver, so they're pretty lucrative prey. Still, they're crazy heavy since they're just lumps of iron, 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. It's made using the village's stored flour at the inn's hearth. It's cheap, low-quality wheat, but when Kinue-san makes it, it somehow tastes amazing. Chomp… hard. It gets hard when it cools down, huh. Yeah, well, whatever. Kinue-san made this bread! Delicious!

Man, having someone who can cook is great, isn't it? Plus Kinue-san's beautiful. She has this ephemeral aura that makes her seem like a fairy, and honestly, I want to marry her.

Yeah, I think I'll visit the inn today. Maybe I should get her an accessory from Dine Trading Company as a present? Actually, their accessory selection is surprisingly good. Wonder why.

So anyway, I went to Dine Trading Company and bought one of this dungeon's specialty products, an Iron Golem iron ring. Iron Golems sell for fifteen silver, but this ring costs fifty copper each, which is pretty steep, but I bought it anyway.

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

Nerune-chan might look plain at first glance compared to Rei-san and Kinue-san, but she's actually amazing with magic. Apparently she's been quietly wholesaling light magic tools to Dine Trading Company. She's probably an apprentice alchemist.

It's not quite a dungeon town, but since this village formed in front of a dungeon, magic stones are cheap here. Craftsmen who work with magic stones often use places like this as a training base. That's why dungeon-adjacent villages 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've seen each other so many times and know each other pretty well. See? We're less than ten steps from a proposal at this point, 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～"

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

Sometimes there are other villagers in the hot spring. Ooh, isn't that Gozoh-san with the single-digit villager number! He brought alcohol! Those are some impressive 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, I hunted five the day before yesterday with Roppu and Kehma."

Three people got five… 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. No wonder he's always drinking if he can make that much in a day.

… 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 easier to run into Iron Golems when Kehma's with you. That guy's got a good nose for them."

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

"Idiot, having a 'good nose' doesn't just mean smell, it means having sharp senses."

"Huh! That's good to know. I'll casually use that to show off to 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 muscles at all — is he really an adventurer? Normally, even newbies build up some muscle from carrying heavy loads.

"Well, have a drink first. Here."

"Pass. I don't really drink alcohol."

The village chief arrogantly refused Gozoh-san's alcohol. He's probably the only person in this village who could do that. Everyone else would happily drink it. Because Gozoh-san's alcohol is incredibly delicious.

"Tch, you're no fun. Well, whatever, it's Kehma. Anyway, 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, you're not telling me you've already spent it all, right?"

"Money for booze disappears fast! But man, golems really are a blessing, this hunting ground is rare, and there still aren't many people here."

"I see… so more people will be coming, huh…? That means more work as village chief. I'm sleepy."

H-huh? What about my shot at twenty-five silver? It disappeared 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 name of Niku, but… her skills are even more outrageous. A lot of adventurers who underestimated her because of her small build got burned in mock battles. I'm one of them — lost fair and square.

That strength doesn't match her appearance — it's unfair, I tell you…

"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. So cool. Apparently he just came to warm up a bit before bed… but it's still noon? Eh, he's going to sleep already? What a slacker.

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

"Yup, it's Kehma. Kuro's always spoiling 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 like belly buttons. They're so cute and adorable! Gozoh-san seems to like people who can drink… ah, like 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. Seriously, why does this inn have so many potential brides for me?

"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, there's a fee… Wait? Isn't eleven a bit much? Shouldn't it be ten?"

"Eh? Oh… It's a special service just for you, 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 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 have given conditions. In other words, if I can afford that, she'll marry me.

Good grief, I'm popular again.

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

Now then, I've had lunch, so what should I do…? Oh, isn't it about time for the rat 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 rats race is pretty entertaining.

"Oh, Yeene? You were here?"

"Hm? Nanmo. You came too?"

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

"Winning?"

"I'll make it back in the next race."

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

"What'd you bet on?"

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

"Then I'll bet on something else… hey, Onsoku is the favorite, isn't it? Why didn't you buy that one?"

"Onsoku is running his second race today. He should be tired from going all out in the first one."

Is that how it works? Well, I bought a betting ticket for Onsoku. Five copper 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 was walking leisurely for a while, but the moment Oranihasanpo stopped before the goal, he made a mad dash. He practically tumbled into the goal.

Also, 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 could do it. The start was promising — I won the next bet on Elekimouse too. But after that it went downhill. Yumenokuni took almost all my money.

Man, I should have realized something was off when the betting ticket seller was Ichika.

"… Today's day off is over. Let's go for an Iron Golem tomorrow."

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

Haah, I sighed as I went to get dinner. Since there's stored flour, I can get bread made for just one copper each.

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 like a fairy. She's the kind of person where everyone naturally adds "-san" to her name.

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

"Ahaha, I'm embarrassed…"

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 thanks, I'll add some bacon for you."

With that, Kinue-san made a cut in some bread she'd apparently already baked and slipped a piece of bacon in.

… 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 exchange it for betting money at the rat race. They somehow buy accessories there too…

"Well then, see you. Please order a proper meal next time."

"Y-yes!"

I took the bread with bacon and went home in high spirits. We called each other by name and she made me dinner (bread). It's not an exaggeration to say we're practically married, is it?

"Man, Kinue-san is really a good person. She gave me extra cheese too."

"Yeene, your portion is spillover from mine, so be grateful to me."

"Yeah yeah, just hurry up and sleep, alright? We're hunting golems tomorrow."

I plopped down onto my futon.

Golem magic stones fetch a good price too 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.