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Chapter 3 [Witch party enters the dungeon city.]
Having received an escort request, Tet and I stopped at the town just before the dungeon city to report the completion of the request, then headed straight for the dungeon city on foot.
“There really aren’t many monsters around here, are there? Ah, medicinal herbs.”
“Majo-sama! There are some here too!”
We leisurely made our way along the road, collecting medicinal herbs.
Even though the location changed, the types of herbs that grew remained the same, so it’s a process that I had gotten used to.
Then, in the evening, we cooked the ingredients we bought in town with the seasonings we created with [Creation Magic].
“Turnip creamed stew is fine for tonight, right?”
“Yes~nanodesu! The oozy turnips and thick slices of bacon are delicious!”
“Unfortunately, we’re having chicken today.”
“Chicken is delicious too~”
I cut the meat of the bird monster that we had defeated and disassembled it into bite-sized pieces, then put them in a pot.
Then, we dipped the bread in the finished cream stew, or ate the stew with rice created with [Creation Magic], depending on my mood that day.
Then, at night—
“Majo-sama, are you ready?”
“Yes, I’ve prepared a blind.”
I made a simple bath: water-repellent cloth acting as blinds on a meta support around the stone bathtub that Tet had made.
In addition, I put up an [Origin Magic] barrier in the area and prepared for the first bath in a long time.
“Well, let’s take a bath now. —<<Water>> <<Fireball>>!”
I poured water into the stone bathtub and heated the water with my fireball magic.
I put in a pouch premade in advance—I mixed some dried citrus peel and herbs in it—and seeped the bag in the tub to make a medicinal bath.
“Phew, this is a good way to end the day.”
Unlike getting rid of the filth using purification magic, the citrusy scent of the water produced an emotional uplifting feeling.
After Tet and I washed each other’s hair, I fell asleep with my body warmed up.
Tet, who doesn’t get tired, kept up the night watch as usual and the first day ended.
Accustomed to camping out during our journey, after a few days of gathering herbs, we arrived at the former capital, dungeon city Apanemis.
“Well, we finally arrived.”
We lined up in the adventurer line when entering the city, then they processed us and let us in.
The entrance to any town was exceedingly smooth in order to not hinder adventurer’s activities in any way, but the treatment in the dungeon city was even better since adventurers are the focus of the economy.
I asked the gatekeeper where the guild is located and headed there without losing my way, then I found that the guild was built next to the dungeon that was formed in this city and that they controlled the entrance to the dungeon.
“Well, let’s put off the dungeon for now and gather a bit of information first.”
“Eeeh, I want the dungeon’s magic gem.”
“Yes, yes. Instead, I think there are some good training partners at the guild’s training center, so you should head there.
“Got it~nanodesu!”
I smiled at Tet’s selfishness while heading towards the guild’s reception desk.
“Good afternoon. I just arrived in this city today so I came to give my greetings. Here’s our guild cards.”
“Welcome, nice to meet you. Please allow me to take a look.”
I was a suspicious-looking kid with a hood over their head, but I’ve learned over this past year of traveling that it’s not much of a problem if you show them your guild card first.
Also, it seemed like D-rank adventurers and above could challenge the dungeon, so it wouldn’t be unusual for adventurers from rural areas to come here for the dungeon.
However, they were slightly surprised to see a C-rank adventurer with a child’s height like me.
“Thank you very much. What are your plans for the future?”
“I’m planning to stay here for a while to challenge the dungeon. An inn… is relatively expensive, so I was wondering if there’s anything like a house for rent? I’d like something I can rent for a long period.”
The receptionist was bewildered by my firm answer but judged me to be more mature than I appeared and took out a few documents.
“If that’s the case, there are several houses for rent managed by real estate agents affiliated with the guild. There are also some single-room rent houses run by former adventurers.”
After listening to her explanation, we could rent an apartment-like styled housing instead of a whole house.
Tet and I basically will just go back to sleep or leave our belongings there for a while, but the apartments are managed by former adventurers, so the security seems to be on the mark.
“Then, I’d like to rent that leased residence, so please give me a letter of introduction.”
“Understood. Please wait a moment.”
“Also, while I’m waiting, I’d like to submit some materials…”
“If that’s the case, you can take the materials to the counter over there.”
Tet and I confirmed the location of the materials counter, headed over there, then took out the medicinal herbs we had collected along the way.
“We would like to sell these medicinal herbs.”
“Understood. I will assess them immediately.”
The materials were in my time-delayed magic bag, so the freshness was satisfactory.
In the future, I would like to increase my mana and create a time-stop magic bag which is yet to be created by anyone.
While thinking about these things, it seems like the assessment results and letter of introduction were finished.
“These are very good medicinal herbs, so I decided to set the price at six silver coins. Also, here is the letter of introduction to the leased residence and a map to it.”
“Thank you, I’ll go there at once.”
After saying that, I took Tet and headed to the leased residence from the guild.
It was a two-story building, and the way the doors outside of the building let you enter into each room made it feel like an apartment.
The rent was two small gold coins per month, so I paid 12 small gold coins for six months all at once. They were surprised and asked for my rank.
“It’s C-rank. However, I’ve just been living a life that doesn’t require a lot of money. Can I ask you something else?”
“Yes, what is it?”
“It seems like this place has a bath. Where is it?”
“Ahh, there’s a bath. It’s in the back.”
When you defeat a monster in a dungeon, the corpse and blood disappear, leaving behind a magic gem or the monster’s materials, so it’s less likely to get dirty.
However, sometimes adventurer’s requests are located outside the dungeon, so when they return from outside the city, they may find themselves stained with blood.
The bath is used to wash off the blood.
“We can use it freely as long as we fill it ourselves, right?”
“As long as you draw your own water, pay for your own firewood, and clean it up when we’re done, I don’t mind.”
“Yayyy! We can take baths for a while!”
I chuckled at Tet’s newfound love of bathing while I arrived at the room we were renting.
We rented a corner room on the second floor. In the middle of the room, I took out my favorite bed that I had obtained during my travels.
This was a first-class bed, big enough for Tet and I to sleep together, created using [Creation Magic].
In order to create the best bed, it took about 30,000 mana and I even had to borrow mana from my [Mana Crystals].
Compared to the blade-shaped metal mass that bisected the hydra, this is the second most mana intense creation I have ever made, even if inferior in mass, due to the craftsmanship, fine intelligence, and ingenuity that went into it.
When I saw Tet jump onto the bed, I smiled, then placed my mixing tools that I had created with [Creation Magic] on the furnished table.
I’m thinking of making a potion with the herbs in my magic bag to fill time whenever I feel like it.
“Well then, let’s start looking through the guild documents and search for dungeon information tomorrow.”
“Before that, I’m hungry~!”
“Then, let’s head out for a meal.”
Tet wriggled on top of the bed, so we headed to a nearby restaurant, though a little early.
There, maybe they used monster parts from the dungeon and seasonings found in the dungeon, I returned to my apartment feeling satisfied by the fairly delicious cooking.
That was how I ended my first day in the dungeon city Apanemis.