The Heavy Smoker and the Reaper of the Wheat Field (12)

Drumroll! Ta-da!

Yellow!

It was the color of the Yellow Monkey race—the yellow race.

“Pfft?! Kk, cough cough cough!”

Frang choked when she saw the color of the pressure stone. The receptionist, who had been about to explain, opened her eyes wide.

“Good grief.”

Even I was secretly bewildered.

According to the receptionist's explanation, indigo to blue was the range for Bronze class. If so, wouldn't green to yellow be the colors of Silver class?

It was probably right. I'd heard that pressure stones couldn't withstand pressure above red and would break, so adventurers above Gold class used other methods of measurement.

But that meant my physical abilities in Beast Regression mode were at the Silver-class level.

Fucking amazing. No, Vector-Man Bear's strength could probably reach that level with ease, but actually feeling it like this was something else.

At this level, it wasn't merely bear-like strength. I hadn't tested it, but I might even be able to smash rocks apart. At the very least, I could easily handle Bronze-class subjugation quests.

‘Still, it's too early to get cocky.’

Being Silver class was enough to walk around Sargadis with one's shoulders held high. But there were countless people in the world stronger than me. Just yesterday, I'd gotten cocky while beating water deer to death, only to nearly get my ass kicked when Beast Regression wore off.

Stare─.

Just then, I felt Frang silently looking at me. Her lips were twitching, but she seemed to be restraining herself out of consideration.

“Heh heh.”

At that gaze, the horny macho Nord inside me swelled with pride.

It was a little embarrassing, but Horny Macho Nord's opinion was that an admiring look from your girlfriend brought a man as much joy as most drugs. Not my opinion. Definitely not.

“Is something wrong?”

The receptionist asked while blinking. I had suddenly choked and then started laughing, so I suppose I must have looked strange.

“No. Nothing's wrong. More importantly, I'd like to ask about the promotion exam.”

I cleared my throat and steered the conversation back. Asking her to return the pressure stone right then would be troublesome. I needed to stall until the stone's color returned to normal.

“The exam itself is simple. At our guild, we consider anyone who completes three Bronze-class quests and succeeds at least twice to be capable of performing at a higher rank.”

What was this, a best-of-three promotion match? It was a little absurd, but it was actually a pretty decent method.

”What happens if I fail?”

“You can try again after six months. Ah, of course, you'll still be paid the quest reward whenever you complete a quest successfully.”

“Six months….”

Frang muttered quietly. Did she think that was a long time? Apart from major exams like the CSAT, most exams in twenty-first-century Korea were held only once every few months, so it really was a long time.

“The two of you may take the exam together. Quite a few adventurers are uncomfortable forming a party with people taking the promotion exam.”

“So you're selective about your party members. I understand.”

I did have the thought, What do Bronze scrubs know? But their lives were on the line, so it was only natural for them to be cautious.

There were also plenty of subjugation quests above Bronze. That didn't change even though the Aumdhura Guild focused mainly on exploring ruins.

“Would you like to take the promotion exam right away?”

“Do we have to start today?”

“No. When you take the exam is entirely up to you. Some people meet the promotion requirements but remain at their current rank without promoting.”

I sympathized with what the receptionist said. When you worked as an adventurer, you occasionally came to understand your own limits. It took courage to risk your life for more pay.

“Frang. Should we put off the promotion exam for now?”

“Yeah. They said we'd have to wait six months if we failed, so let's prepare properly and take it later.”

Since our opinions matched, we decided to put the promotion exam on hold.

Some people even set out water and prayed for success the night before an exam, so challenging it without a second thought would be reckless.

“Ms. Receptionist. We'll take the exam later.”

“Understood. Once you've made up your minds, come back to the reception desk and let us know. The guild will then provide you with quests we've selected.”

“Understood. Thank you for your hard work today.”

We said goodbye to the receptionist and went outside. As soon as we stepped out, Frang nervously checked the passersby before clinging tightly to me.

“Nord! What was that just now?! Yellow?! It was yellow, right?!”

“Heh heh. I was surprised too. It looks like Beast Regression raises my strength by several times over.”

From blue to yellow. Promoted two ranks at once.

If I used Beast Regression properly, I could protect Frang even if a Silver-class killer suddenly burst onto the scene one day. I was still a little uneasy about my technique, but my defense increased too, so it would probably be fine.

“You're already at the upper-Bronze level normally, so you should be able to take the promotion exam too.”

“The quest rewards get better starting at Bronze! We won't have to worry quite so much about inn fees!”

Frang said this with an expectant look. An inn. Come to think of it, I needed to bring that up too.

“Frang. What should we do about our inn? Should we go to Ms. Bayna's inn?”

Going back and forth between two inns would be a waste of time, so we'd decided to settle on one. Since the subject had come up conveniently, we might as well decide now. We planned to stay at an inn again starting today.

“Hmm…. I wonder. Mutarat's Children costs two coppers per night, but how much is the place you're staying at, Nord?”

“Three coppers. There's storage, a stable, and free breakfast. The owner looks fierce, but the food is good. Not as good as your cooking, Frang.”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

Frang grinned broadly and, out of habit, propped her chin on her breasts.

“Three coppers…. It seems a little expensive, but it has storage, so the security is good, right? Petty thieves hardly ever get in.”

“That's what I heard.”

If goods left in storage were stolen, the guards would get involved. That's why inns with storage had good security. The guards kept an eye on them even under normal circumstances.

Thanks to that, clumsy petty thieves were too scared to target such inns. I couldn't say the same for professional burglars, but why would people like that target an ordinary inn? Unless someone staying there happened to be carrying an ancient artifact or something.

“Hmmm….”

“Having trouble deciding? Then let's stay there for a few days first. It's morning, so if we pay the inn fee, we'll get a free meal too. If you don't like it after staying there, we can move.”

I did feel a little indebted to Dorka, so I felt slightly sorry about going to another inn, but what could I do? A man was a creature willing to hand over his liver and gallbladder to a woman he'd fallen for.

That guy would surely understand.

“Yeah. That sounds good. We'll use the same room, right?”

Her gaze held a subtle expectation. I nodded so vigorously that my head made a whooshing sound.

“Of course. Ah, I'm not doing this because I have any ulterior motives, okay? We're just trying to save money, so don't get the wrong idea.”

“Hehe. If I mess up, I won't be able to sleep at night.”

“I'll try to keep it to fondling your breasts. Ah, our inn is this way.”

We walked along the streets for a while and arrived at the familiar Sam's Rest.

─Murmur murmur.

It was morning, so there were a lot of people. I was nocturnal and had hardly ever been outside during the morning, but even so, it felt more crowded than usual.

‘Traveling merchants?’

The way they were dressed made them look like traveling merchants. They had come to legally fleece citizens who would soon have money to spare from the harvest. The inn was swarming with them.

“Oh. The kid's here.”

Dorka was carrying food when he recognized me and called out. I thought he was busy, but he seemed less busy than expected.

“What, were the traveling merchants just sitting around killing time? I thought the innkeeper had changed during the brief time I was gone and business had suddenly picked up~.”

The people gathered there hadn't placed separate orders, which was apparently why he had free time. After hearing me, Dorka tapped his head with the serving tray and laughed.

“Heh heh. Customers usually flock to our inn during this season. If you'd been a few days later, there probably wouldn't have been a room left.”

“You're kicking out a regular just because you're blinded by money? I thought we were friends. Is this the extent of our friendship?”

“You were thinking about changing inns before coming here too, weren't you?”

“Fuck, how'd you know? Get out of my head!”

“I can tell just by looking you over, idiot. Is that young lady over there the new companion you mentioned?”

Dorka looked at Frang. She flinched, then bowed stiffly.

“I'm Francesca Aetrinen! Please take good care of me!”

“Ah, you're planning to stay here? Welcome. Anyone who pays well and doesn't cause trouble is welcome here.”

He answered perfunctorily, then immediately looked back toward me.

I wondered why he was reacting that way, but it seemed he was deliberately keeping the conversation brief because he thought I might get jealous. I trusted Frang, so I wouldn't have acted that way, but I decided to appreciate his consideration.

“Like you said, we're thinking of staying for a day. But Frang and I are discussing a few things, so we might not end up staying at your inn. Sorry.”

I said it while braced for him to curse me out. It was easier on my conscience and less likely to cause trouble later than disappearing without a word.

“I know. I told you from the beginning that I thought this would happen.”

But Dorka replied with a sly smile.

“No guest stays at one inn forever. People move depending on their income, or get a place of their own. A first-rate inn takes in more guests than it loses and makes departing guests want to come back.”

“That sounds hard. I respect you.”

“It's not something you can do without enjoying it yourself.”

Was it professional pride as an innkeeper? After making that professional statement, Dorka shrugged.

“Your companion doesn't seem to have any luggage. Did you come straight here without stopping by the inn where she was staying?”

“Yeah. Not yet. We'll decide after trying this place for a day.”

“Right. You asking about Mutarat's Children last time was because that young lady was staying there, wasn't it?”

“That is correct, but I'm impressed you remembered.”

“Even my stupid brain got better after I kept using it.”

Dorka pointed at his head as he spoke. His memory seemed to have improved from working at an inn, where he had to memorize and record all sorts of things every day.

But had he really remembered something I'd casually asked about in passing? Was this bastard's memory actually better than mine?

“Anyway, discuss it with your companion and decide whether you'll keep staying at our inn. I won't force you to stay.”

“That's the plan. Oh, by the way, Dorka. Can two people stay in one room at your inn?”

Could two people stay in a room that cost three coppers per night? If that were possible, most ordinary adventurers would spend their inn lives sharing rooms.

Dorka spun the tray around as he answered.

“We have a double room that costs five coppers per night, so stay there. You'll get breakfast for two, but the other services are the same.”

I hadn't known there was a double room here. It made sense, since there must be plenty of guests who traveled in groups.

Speaking of which, five coppers. That saved exactly one copper per day. Some people would probably think it better to pay one extra copper and have separate rooms.

“The price is odd. Is the room spacious?”

“Whether it's spacious or cramped is a matter of personal opinion. See it with your own eyes and decide.”

Whoosh─

Dorka took a key from his pocket and tossed it. I easily snatched it out of the air and grinned.

“Thanks. And since we're eating breakfast here today, prepare it in advance.”

“Sure. What about the luggage you left in storage?”

“No. Sorry, but we still don't know for sure whether we'll stay.”

“Heh heh heh. Half the people who say that end up coming back here.”

What a smug bastard. I chuckled, waved goodbye to Dorka, and went upstairs to the second floor with Frang.

“Innkeepers all seem very friendly.”

Frang said this when we reached the second floor. I checked the room number written on the key and replied,

“Isn't it the other way around? The unfriendly ones went bankrupt long ago, so we don't see them anymore.”

“Oh…. That's a sad reality.”

“Heh heh. Sargadis isn't some rural village. Every inn must have something to boast about in the competition for customers, whether it's the price or the service.”

We chatted as we found the room and entered. As befitted a double room that cost five coppers, it was generally larger and better appointed than a single room. There was only one bed, though.

“Frang. What do you think? Do you like it?”

“Just a moment.”

Frang carefully checked the condition of the bed, table, and even the curtains. After a moment, she spoke with satisfaction.

“It's a nice room. Five coppers doesn't seem like a waste.”

“If you like it, that's all that matters. Let's stay for one day and make the final decision afterward. We should try the food too.”

“Yeah. Let's put down our bags and go.”

We went back down to the first floor, ate the free breakfast, and spent the night in the same bed.

And because Frang was satisfied, we decided to stay here from then on.

“Heh heh. I told you you'd like it, didn't I?”

“I have nothing to say.”

I had to admit Dorka was right and paid the inn fee.

Following Gentric's advice, we paid the inn fee every morning.