Chapter 30
When I woke up, my head was foggy. The reason was obvious. The story Rikila-san had told me last night had been shocking...
"You're late, Reiji."
"Oh, good morning..."
When I went to the entrance lobby, Rikila-san was as he always was, and I seemed to be the last one there.
"You've got bedhead."
"Ah, sorry..."
"What's with you? You look spaced out."
"Oh, it's nothing..."
Mimino-san ran a small comb through my hair.
So soothing... No, I need to pull myself together, too...
"Ow!?"
Just as I was thinking that, stars burst across my vision. Rikila-san had brought his fist down on my head.
"Pull yourself together, Reiji. We're leaving here today."
"Ah, y-yes!"
Looking at Rikila-san with teary eyes, I realized this was his way of sending me a message: Don't go worrying about me like you're some big shot. But did he really have to hit me?
"What? You got a problem?"
"...No, nothing."
"Huh? When did Reiji-kun and Rikila become so close?"
When Mimino-san asked me,
"We're not friends!"
"If you ask whether we're close... a little."
"Huh!? What the hell, are you trying to push me away?"
"Do you want us to be friends?"
"As if! What the hell are you talking about?"
"What a pain."
"What'd you say!?"
"Hahahaha, you two are getting along great!"
Mimino-san burst out laughing at our exchange, Non-san watched with an affectionate smile, and Dantes-san gave a wry smile as he said,
"Well, now that that's settled, let's get moving. Non and I are going to the government office to get our exit permits. Mimino—"
"I'm just going to restock the seasonings."
"Right. Rikila and Reiji, what are you two going to do?"
"I don't really care what we do, but..."
"Can I go to the Adventurers Guild again?"
"What, the training grounds again?"
"Yes!"
"You're an odd one."
Though he sounded exasperated, Rikila-san said he'd come with me.
After parting with Dantes-san and the others, Rikila-san and I headed for the Adventurers Guild.
The capital was bustling that morning. People were pulling carts—perhaps carrying goods for sale—while others carried large baskets or hurried off somewhere.
Had Rikila-san really memorized the guild's location in just one day? He smoothly picked his way through the back streets. Impressive. I would have gotten completely lost. Thank goodness I hadn't said, "I can go by myself."
"Oh, there's a kid."
In a back alley, I spotted three or so children peering into a large jar filled with what looked like rainwater.
"Hah, you're a kid too, dumbass."
"Ah, none of that, please."
"What the hell!? You've gotten awfully mouthy all of a sudden!"
Rikila-san looked utterly stunned, which I found a little funny. We walked past the children—I found myself thinking that little kids played in back alleys in every world...
Huh.
No.
Huh?
Wait, wait, wait.
"Waaaaait, you guuuuuys!!"
"Eek!"
I came charging toward them with a terrifying expression, startling the children into running away.
"H-hey, Reiji! What the hell are you doing!? You can't rush at them like that!"
"Ah, um..."
"You start by introducing yourself properly, and then say, 'Let's plaaaay togetheeer,' right?"
That's what you meant? No, that's not it. That's not what I was worried about.
"This..."
I'd noticed something barely visible inside the jar, and it had caught my attention.
"...Just as I thought."
There was something white and wriggling, like a worm—or rather, wasn't it some kind of worm? It looked like a tubifex worm, the kind I'd seen in Japan's drainage ditches. Or maybe you could call it a ragworm.
It was there.
"Huh? What about it...? Were those brats looking at this?"
"Rikila-san, do you know what this is?"
"No idea. Some kind of disgusting creature... Hey, Reiji, what the hell are you doing!?"
I had thrust my arm into the jar and pulled out the white worm.
"I can't believe I found it here..."
It was a material that 【All Creation】 had told me about.
It was one of the three materials I needed to cure Dantes-san's petrification.
Rikila-san looked aghast as I carefully transferred the white worm into a leather pouch. The distance between us grew just a little—not only physically, but psychologically as well. Still, he didn't ask any questions. Probably because yesterday's sale of pseudo-turmeric had left him thinking, 'Maybe it's used to make some kind of medicine. I don't even want to know.'
I was ecstatic. If I could just acquire one more material, I'd be able to cure Dantes-san's petrification! Apparently, I needed to feed the white worm a 'Leaf of the Tree of Life,' and it was probably nibbling on it in the leather pouch right now. It had been nibbling on it when I put it in.
Apparently, it would be fine even if it died after that, so I decided to leave it in the pouch and let it be... Yeah, I found it a little gross too.
"Rikila-san, I'm not getting my hopes up too much, but..."
"Is that any way for someone to ask a question...?"
"Do you know of any metal that's 'a deep silver color'?"
"Huh? You mean mithril?"
"What!?"
Wait, seriously? We've already found the answer!?
Does that mean curing Dantes-san's petrification is right within reach...!?
"That's it, that's it, that's it! Mithril! A fantasy material! It exists!? And it's silver-colored!?"
"What the hell is 'fantasy' supposed to mean?"
"Ah, no, I'd appreciate it if you didn't get hung up on that. So, about mithril..."
"You really do say the strangest things. Well, whatever... Mithril is mithril. It's a metal that can be mined in tiny amounts from Mithril Mine, and it's expensive enough to make your eyes pop out. I'd say it's a deeper silver than pure silver."
"I want to get some somehow! How can I do it!?"
"Impossible."
"Huh...?"
"The government controls mithril, and none is sold to the general public. It's a serious crime to acquire it on your own, and there's so little of it that it never even makes it to the black market."
"Nooo..."
I was stunned.
I thought curing Dantes-san's petrification was finally within reach... But of course. Maybe I'd gotten a little carried away after getting lucky twice in a row.
Ah, what a shame... Is there no way to get even a little mithril somehow? Well, it's not certain that mithril is the material we need yet.