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Now that we'd arrived in Aquarius, lodging was our first priority.

The inn we'd used before had vacancies, so we took rooms there.

Filling them all at once seemed to make the staff happy.

We were also able to stable the carriage.

They offered to rent us warehouse space for the cargo bed for an extra fee, so I took them up on it.

I wasn't about to let our goods get stolen after coming all this way.

I just pulled out the Chimera fangs we needed to take to the Adventurer's Guild.

… They were heavy. Wouldn't budge, in fact. So I handed them off to Elza.

Trying to force it would wreck my back.

She held them in both hands without a care. Not exactly normal, but for a seasoned adventurer, it wasn't that unusual.

"I'll stay at the inn."

"Sleepy. Leaving it to you."

Alexia and Finn opted to remain behind.

She was probably tired from the journey, and as the city's former lord's daughter, Alexia likely had no desire to wander around in public.

Considering she'd been welcomed back, I thought she was overthinking it, though.

Aquarius sat near the border, so the Empire's turmoil felt like distant news; a relaxed atmosphere filled the city.

It had completely recovered from the famine and starvation that once pushed it to the brink.

The land had always enjoyed the blessing of a Water Elemental.

Fertile fields stretched all around, even richer than Luido, the Kingdom's breadbasket.

Clean water flowed through the canals, so this year's harvest looked set to be bountiful.

If a food crisis struck the Empire going forward, Aquarius would likely be the one to provide relief.

Taking Azu, Elza, and Orleans along, I headed to the Adventurer's Guild.

Three women and one man. Our party drew plenty of stares, but the moment they spotted the fangs in Elza's arms, they flinched and looked away.

Adventurers weren't always what they appeared.

Even girls like Azu and Finn could swing massive swords or move faster than the eye could follow.

Still, people tended to judge by first impressions.

They'd probably figured we were a party of mostly women and tried to start something.

But seeing the Chimera fangs Elza was carrying, they must have decided we were bad news.

At the counter, I asked the receptionist about selling the fangs and inquired about that forest.

Sure enough, the forest had been designated a hazardous zone, home to three powerful monsters locked in a territorial struggle.

One of those had been the Chimera and its young, the ones we'd slain.

Since there was also a bounty posted, the appraisal covered that as well, earning us both the material sale price and the quest reward.

Incidentally, one of the other two monsters apparently had the ability to manipulate weather, and I was told that sudden downpours or summer snowfall sometimes occurred around the forest.

The storm might have been that creature's doing.

"If you'd brought more parts, we could have fetched a high price at auction."

"Sorry, but they got blasted apart. This was all we could recover."

"I see… That's a shame. Chimera blood is used in alchemy and sells for quite a bit."

Chimera blood, caustic and toxic enough to eat through skin on contact, was apparently a valuable ingredient to alchemists.

I'd heard that high-tier monsters had nothing to waste, but…

One of the Adventurer's Guild's revenue streams was the margin between what they paid adventurers and what they got at auction.

Of course, if that margin was too large, adventurers wouldn't sell to them, so their cut was essentially a handling fee.

Still, for high-value materials, even a small percentage added up.

"Sorry about that."

"No, if that's how it happened, it couldn't be helped. We'll purchase the fangs."

They showed me recent auction records, and since the fangs were from an adult specimen, I negotiated a slightly higher buy price.

I could have gone to an auction myself, but between travel and having to stay until the end to collect the proceeds, it wasn't practical.

One experience at a major auction had taught me that much.

It was nothing like a city market auction. Far too much hassle.

If something extraordinarily rare and valuable turned up, like the Anti-Magic Orb, then I'd consider it.

That single piece had earned me an unbelievable amount.

Adventuring really did have its romantic appeal.

I collected the reward and the sale proceeds and left the Guild.

"Azu, why don't you show Orleans around?"

"Good idea. She may be from the Empire, but I doubt she's familiar with this city."

"Sir, you really don't have to…"

Before Orleans could finish declining, Azu dragged her off.

"There's so much beautiful scenery here. Come on."

"Azu-sama, I understand, but please slow down."

They vanished in an instant.

She had pocket money, and they'd find their way back to the inn eventually.

"Looks like we can take it easy today."

"Yeah. That was rough."

A downpour, then sleeping on hard wooden boards.

Rougher than ordinary camping.

Taking a whole day to recover seemed reasonable.

Elza and I went to a leather-goods shop and bought fresh clothes for everyone.

"This underwear, blue silk. So pretty. Here, feel how nice the texture is."

"You don't have to spread it out in here. Cheap stuff makes skin break out in rashes."

"Oh my. We do belong to you, after all, Master. Thank you for taking such good care of us."

She said it with a wink.

Well, it came with the territory of owning slaves.

If someone under you looked shabby, it reflected poorly on the one above.

The inn served meals, but since we were already out, I decided to stop by a bar on the way back.

The place was lively with sturdy farmers fresh from the fields and adventurers finished with their day's work.

We were shown to the counter, and I ordered a few things off the menu at random.

Elza got wine and cheese.

"Well, well."

While waiting for our order, a voice came from beside me.

… I knew that voice.

Iefuda sat in the next seat over at the counter.

He was drinking ale, a foam mustache beneath his nose.

Beside him, Jill sipped milk.

She'd tipped her cup too far and had a white mustache of her own, though she didn't seem to care.

"Come on, you hopeless kid."

"Mrrgh."

Iefuda forcibly wiped Jill's face with a napkin.

Jill made a noise of protest but submitted without resistance.

Her massive trademark sword lay carelessly on the floor.

"Quite the coincidence, Yohane."

"What are you two doing here…?"

I started to jump up, but a hand on my shoulder pushed me back down.

"This is a place for drinking. We're here to drink, obviously. Don't say anything that'll make it taste bad."