First Time in a Human Town, Day Two

Snacking on a ham sandwich I'd bought for breakfast, I headed to the adventurer guild first thing in the morning.

The early morning adventurer guild was absolutely packed with people.

Looking around, it seemed like everyone was fighting over the quests posted on the bulletin board.

… Ugh, I really don't want to get mixed up in that…

"Goshujin-sama."

Niku turned sparkling eyes toward me as if to say "Leave it to me!"

… Honestly, I feel bad sending a small child alone into something like a rush-hour commute, but…

"Alright, go grab some good-looking quests!"

"Yes!"

Niku plunged gleefully into the sea of people. Her small body was swallowed up and vanished in no time…

After a while, she came back with two quest slips held in her mouth.

I stroked her head and chin while praising her, and Niku squirmed happily.

She really does look exactly like a dog. Thanks for that.

Now then, the quests she brought back were… "Delivery x10, Reward: 10 Copper Coins, Rank G or Higher, 1+ Person, Note: Deliver by end of day" and "Rabbit Subjugation, Reward: 10 Copper Coins per rabbit purchased, Rank G or Higher, 1+ Person, Note: Minimum 3, Maximum 10, same-day kills only."

I see, I can handle mail delivery easily enough with the map and the Cloth Golem. And rabbits seem doable. These should work perfectly. I promptly took the quest slips to the counter.

"… You just arrived in town yesterday, and you're taking a delivery quest? I wouldn't recommend it."

… Oh, it's you again. The same receptionist from yesterday was at the counter.

"It'll be fine as long as you give me clear directions to the destinations."

"If I had to escort you all the way there myself, wouldn't it be faster for me to just deliver the letters?"

"I wasn't asking you to go that far."

"And you're taking a subjugation quest on top of that? How reckless."

"Is it reckless?"

"Yes, reckless. You must be quite confident. Particularly regarding the rabbit quest, that's to supply meat for a skewer stall. I wonder how much they'll knock off the price for meat that's been mangled by that amateur-looking sword at your hip?"

"Well, I'll leave that part to my partner."

Honestly, Niku's much better at combat than me.

"… Also, I believe I explained this when you made your guild card, but failure to complete a quest results in a fine and some form of penalty. You understand?"

"Yeah, that's fine."

Sorry, I wasn't really listening to that part.

Anyway, I handed over mine and Niku's guild cards, and our quests were accepted.

"… Accepted. Do try to be careful. Oh, for the delivery quest, please go around to the back and collect the items from the person in charge."

"Sure, thanks."

The receptionist kept glaring at me, but she did her job properly. Setting aside her confrontational tone, her advice was actually sound. She's probably quite capable. Maybe she's just the type who gets misunderstood easily.

"Alright, let's go, Niku."

"Yes."

Niku and I left the counter and headed around back to tackle the delivery quest first.

 

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Splitting up the delivery quest between us, we finished it in no time.

… My legs were so sore from muscle pain that I couldn't move properly. While I slowly handled three deliveries to relatively nearby locations, Niku had already zipped through the other seven. Even accounting for the navigation and assistance from the Cloth Golem, I had to praise her competence. When I patted her head, her tail wagged proudly, which was adorable and healing.

We finished all that while it was still morning. The rabbit quest should be a breeze at this rate.

That said, where exactly do you hunt rabbits anyway? Crap, I have absolutely no information on that.

For now, let's go ask the client.

The client ran a grilled skewer stall.

The savory smell of sizzling, oil-glistening meat wafted through the air. My mouth reflexively started watering, and I had to swallow audibly.

"Oh, you're the adventurer who took the rabbit meat quest? So, where's the meat? Doesn't look like you've got any."

"Ah, no, we're about to head out now."

"I see. The meat's for next week, so as long as you hunt it today, we're good. I'll be here grilling until evening. So, what'd you need?"

Just then, a cute little stomach growled. It wasn't mine, of course. It was Niku.

Come to think of it, we hadn't had lunch yet.

"… Right, let me get two skewers first. Also, could you tell me where to hunt the rabbits?"

"Sure thing. Two skewers for ten copper… yep, exact change. As for rabbits, they're outside town. Try heading toward the west gate. There should be some in the forest near Tsuia Mountain, just a bit before you reach it… Oh, if you're not confident about butchering them, just bring them back whole."

"Got it, thanks. We'll be off then."

I took the skewers and handed one to Niku.

In return, Niku tried to hand me five copper coins. I didn't take them.

"That was a necessary expense for getting information. Don't worry about it. Besides, feeding your slave is a master's duty. Now, eat up."

"… Um, then what should I do with this…?"

"Ah, use it to buy something you want. If it's not enough, save up."

"Um… okay, yes."

Niku tucked the copper coins into the small pouch she used as a wallet. Then she bit into her skewer.

… Yeah, well, it's not bad. Definitely not bad, but it's a little gamey, and compared to a hamburger, the seasoning is kind of weak and unsatisfying. That's the face she was making, anyway.

 

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When I showed the quest slip at the west gate, we were allowed through without paying the toll.

Then, while heading toward the forest, we spotted our first rabbit.

"Kyu?"

It was… white and adorable. A cute little critter with red eyes. Fluffy. The fluffy thing was munching on grass.

But in the next instant, Niku sliced its head clean off. With the Golem Knife in her right hand set to vibration mode, it was an effortless cut.

"It's meat."

"O-oh. Good job, well done."

This kid shows no mercy.

She held the rabbit corpse by its legs while blood still gushed from its neck, draining it. Once the bleeding slowed, she tossed it into a leather bag. The severed head went in too while she was at it.

If Niku hadn't been here, I might have lost heart and failed this quest… Actually, I feel more guilty about this than when adventurers die in the dungeon.

Well, I did behead a rabbit myself after that. The meat I eat every day is meat someone killed. By eating it, I'm complicit in that. So there's no reason I can't kill here. It's meat I'm going to eat, after all.

With the Golem Blade and the Cloth Golem's assistance, even I could cut cleanly through the neck.

I got a bit of blood splattered on me, but [Purification] cleaned that right up.

… Wait, come to think of it, Niku-san didn't get a single drop of blood on her, did she? I seriously respect that.

Anyway, after all that, we brought ten rabbits' worth of meat to the client.

The breakdown? Niku: 8, Me: 2. Got a problem with that? Niku just instantly decapitated every rabbit she found.

When I asked her to let me do some too, she properly presented one she'd caught, holding it with both hands so it couldn't escape.

The other one I took down myself (with Golem assistance).

Honestly, Niku could probably handle this solo.

"Heh, not bad… You look scrawny, kid, but you've got skills."

Sorry, those are actually this girl's results.

My job was to stand there holding rabbits by the legs while Niku-sensei hunted them one after another, then toss them in the bag once they stopped bleeding. Niku-sensei went into the forest alone while I just stood around outside, spacing out as I held rabbit legs.

At any rate, the client gave us high marks. Even though they'd been sitting in the bag, the pelts were in great condition thanks to proper blood draining. All but one sold for the maximum price of ten copper each… ninety-seven copper total. Since most were in such good shape, he threw in a bonus, bringing our earnings to one silver coin.

Huh? Which one only got seven? That's right, the one I did myself. Sorry about that. The body was completely in two pieces.