Chapter 3 (1/2)

The next morning, Loren showed up at the east gate. He had his supply of food in a small cloth bag, his great sword strapped around his back, and wore his battered leather armor.

It was not much, but it couldn’t be helped because he had to leave everything in the battle site and did not have any money to buy proper equipment.

He seemed to be early, since he couldn’t see Sarfe or anyone else from the party.

So he decided to have a little chat with the guards until the rest of the party came.

While talking with the guards, Loren finally found out the name of the city he was in, which was Kapha.

Loren knew nothing about this city at all.

He assumed that it was a city within some country, but since mercenaries weren’t confined to one specific country, and since he barely escaped from the battlefield, there was no way Loren would’ve known anything about Kapha.

“It’s a good city. It’s not as good as the capital but the food is good here and people are nice. Plus it’s my hometown as well,” said the young guard.

Loren couldn’t really understand the meaning or significance of a hometown.

For as long as Loren could remember, he was a mercenary, and kept on moving from battle to battle.

For someone like Loren who was never able to settle in one place, he couldn’t help but feel slightly envious of the guard, who looked like he believed from the bottom his heart that Kapha was a good city.

But settling down meant quitting being a mercenary, which meant thinking of a different way to make a living.

If one’s group disbands, it could mean two things. Either join a different group, or quit being a mercenary and look for a different job.

As Loren was thinking that being an adventurer in this city and settling here wouldn’t be too bad, Sarfe and his party finally showed up.

Everyone had full bags on their backs and looked better equipped compared to Loren, who had nothing but a small cloth bag.

“Are they your friends?”

The guard’s bright and easygoing manner suddenly turned slightly sour.

Loren thought that maybe he had something against adventurers, but quickly dismissed the thought because that meant he wouldn’t have been so nice to him.

“Maybe it’s because I don’t look like an adventurer,” thought Loren as he replied, “More like business partners. I’m just joining them for this quest.”

“Not trying to sound like a hater but you should leave that party as soon as you can. A guy that invites a bunch of women to his party is never a decent one.”

Loren thought maybe he was just jealous, but he wasn’t one to point that out.

He let out an awkward laugh and started walking over to Sarfe and the girls, waving at the guard behind him.

“Did you wait long?”

Loren shook his head.

Although they had agreed to meet up in the morning, it wasn’t as if they chose a specific time to meet up. He was also able to gain information from the guard while waiting.

No time was wasted, so he didn’t think that he needed to complain at all.

“Well we’re all here so let’s get going. Walking all the way there is going to be a pain so let’s borrow a carriage.”

The members of the party agreed with Sarfe, but Loren stopped in his tracks.

Since the village was a 3-day’s walk, he thought that they were going to walk there.

However, if they were going to rent a carriage, he was going to have to help pay for it.

After buying rations for the next few days and spending a night at the cheapest inn he could find, he didn’t have enough money to rent a carriage.

At this rate he would have to go on foot while everyone else rode the carriage.

As he was debating to either borrow money or run at the same pace as the carriage, he felt some coins slide into his hand.

Surprised, Loren look next to him, a black-haired girl wearing the clothes of a priest was looking up at him, with a finger on her lips.

The others were too busy looking for a carriage and did not notice the actions of Lapis, the priest.

“You’re in a tough spot, right?”

Before Loren could say anything, Lapis continued with a smile on her face.

“These are 10 copper coins. It should be enough to take you to the village and back, so please use them.”

Loren looked at the coins in his hand, then turned his gaze back to Lapis, giving her a puzzled look. Lapis stuck her tongue out and said to Loren,

“I’m lending them to you so please use it.”

It was good for Loren that he didn’t have to say out loud that he didn’t have any money, but lending money was not normal among mercenaries.

Among mercenaries it was unwise to do so because it was a profession where no one knew if he was going to be alive the next day to return the money, which led to many arguments. Loren decided that maybe it was different for adventurers.

“If you owe me one here, you might help me later to return the favor, so it’s sort of an investment as well.”

Loren couldn’t understand lending money for free, but basing an action on calculations and careful thought was something that he did.

He decided to stop giving it much thought and gladly accept her offer. He put the coins in his pocket and slightly bowed his head toward Lapis, expressing his thanks.

Lapis smiled, telling him not to worry about it.

As Lapis walked away from him, he heard the voices of Sarfe and the rest of the party getting close.

“We found a carriage. The ride to the village is going to cost 5 copper coins.”