## Chapter 17 – Escorting the Merchant Guild
And just like that, all the luggage was moved into Winia’s room.
What a convenient porter I’d become. I was practically a complete idiot, doing everything she asked. I hated my situation so much.
But what could I do? She was a damn powerful mage, and I was just some nobody. If Winia genuinely tried to kill me, she could probably do it in three seconds flat. That’s how dangerous and violent skilled mages were.
“Okay, done!”
After I finished organizing everything, Winia patted my head, looking satisfied.
“Can I get up now?”
“Of course, you did great, you little darkie! So impressive!”
Crawling on the stone floor like a dog had left my knees throbbing.
More than just throbbing, they were scraped raw and bleeding. If I’d at least worn proper clothes, it might have been different, but I was wearing the thin sleepwear I usually wore to bed instead of my monster-hunting gear, so I had zero protection. Seriously, my knees were completely fucked.
Seeing my one and only set of casual clothes, my shorts, ruined like that, made me want to murder Winia. I didn’t care if she was pretty or had big boobs. Murderous intent couldn’t be stopped by such things.
The knee area of my shorts was already soaked with blood.
There was no way it would ever come out with just water.
Unbelievable. I hadn’t spilled a drop of blood while hunting kobolds and cockatrices recently, and now I was bleeding in a non-combat zone like this.
Luckily, I still had some ointment I bought from the alchemist’s guild when I raided that gremlin nest. That damn 2 silver ointment. I guess I’d have to use it. I was saving that expensive stuff, but I had to use it here, thanks to this bitch.
“You can go now, darkie! It was fun today. See you next time?”
The blood was starting to congeal, sticking my knees to my shorts. As I carefully tried to peel them apart like scabs, enduring the pain, Winia smiled brightly and waved goodbye.
—*SLAM!*
And then she slammed the door shut.
Huh? Hey, wait a minute!
“Huh? Huh? Hey! Wait a minute!”
I panicked and pounded on the door. But Winia didn’t budge. No response came from behind the tightly closed door. Winia had used me as much as she wanted and then, as soon as I was no longer useful, she dumped me at the speed of light…!
And all alone in this space!
“Ah, goddamn it!”
Faced with this harsh situation, I quickly assessed the situation with cold logic!
Even if I looked like some kind of intruder in the women’s dormitory, I had no excuse. Sweat started to break out on my back. This didn’t make sense. This was an impossible situation.
Me, a complete idiot, left alone in a women’s mage dormitory? There was no way I could handle this reality.
The hand knocking on the door stopped. There was no point in calling her. She was just ignoring my shouts.
She was probably enjoying this situation.
“What’s this? That dirty guy?”
“Oh my, what is that…”
“Shouldn’t we call security?”
Just as I was wondering if I should just put on a straight face and walk out confidently, more and more female mages started to gather. Their gazes were far from friendly. It wasn’t some kind of thrilling curiosity about a man in the women’s dormitory; they looked at me like I was a genuine intruder.
And they were monsters who had the power to deal with intruders at any time.
If this were just Korea, I could have ignored them and walked out. But in a ‘women’s mage dormitory,’ I could really be screwed. All mages were stronger than me. If I moved carelessly, I could easily die a pathetic death.
So, I decided to try to resolve the situation peacefully through conversation.
“This is a misunderstanding.”
Why are people people? It’s because they can communicate. Of course, these bitches here all lived in the same dormitory as Winia, so they might all be unreasonable psychos, but thinking back to Bestie from before, maybe they could all be reasoned with.
“Who are you?”
“No, well… that Winia, that bitch, no, I mean. I’m a friend of Winia who lives in this room. She dragged me all the way here.”
“Winia’s friend? You?”
“Yes. A friend. No matter how psycho she seems, Winia is still a person, so she must have a friend or two, right? Well, I know that men aren’t allowed in here, since it says ‘women only dormitory.’ If I had any sense, why would I crawl into this mage’s den on my own two feet? But Winia beat me up and dragged me here to move her luggage, so what could I do? It was coercion, so to speak.”
I explained as logically and thoroughly as possible. I spoke eloquently. They seemed to be convinced by my intelligent and coherent explanation. Or, at least, they seemed to be trying to be convinced. They put their hands on their chins and thought.
“But men are prohibited from entering this dormitory.”
Oh, for fuck’s sake.
What the hell did this bitch just hear?
“No, Winia dragged me here, I’m saying? I was, like, threatened. So, I can go back now, right? No, I’m going back. Good luck.”
Actually, there was no need to talk anymore. Whether they were convinced or not, I had to get out of here. Without Winia, I was free. Call security if you want, you bitch.
I pretended to talk while turning my body around as smoothly and naturally as possible.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m busy.”
The woman grabbed my shoulder as I turned away. Was she trying to pick a fight with me? I frowned deeply and turned around, and the woman hesitated. My face was a bit intimidating.
—*Whoosh!*
Taking advantage of the gap, I just went down the stairs. I had explained myself properly instead of just running away, so they probably wouldn’t chase me too seriously. Maybe they were convincing themselves right now.
“Wait a minute…”
And who was going to stop me from leaving?
There was nothing in this world that could force me except Winia’s violence.
So, while receiving all kinds of attention, I barely managed to get out of the dormitory, but as I said, this was the magic tower area. And I was still in rags.
“Ugh… damn it. Winia, that bitch, really…”
I had nothing to do with these fancy streets, so just walking made sweat pour down my back. They say clothes make the man, but I was the exact opposite right now. My clothes were shit, so I felt like shit.
“Wow, damn it.”
I tried to escape the magic tower area as if I were running away. After running for a while, I saw the gate and the guards I had seen earlier. Judging from their uniforms, they weren’t city guards but just hired people. That meant they had no authority to arrest me.
“Stop!”
The guard saw me, pulled out his club, and shouted loudly. I didn’t stop running. I ran out with all my might.
“Unstoppable urge, dejaaah!!”
“Th, this!”
With that tremendous charge like a short-distance runner, I passed right through the guard and came outside. He was shouting something, but he didn’t seem to want to chase me.
Actually, I hadn’t committed any crime, so there was no reason for me to be caught.
As I stepped onto familiar ground, it was already the end of the day. The setting sun was truly heartbreaking. I lived a pathetic life where I had to pay for a room even if I didn’t do anything, so it was like I had wasted my money without even resting. It was so miserable. And I was damn hungry too.
I should have worked instead of playing around. Wasn’t this disaster happening because I tried to have fun?
Filled with bone-chilling regret, I headed straight to the Adventurer’s Guild. As I walked, the increasing darkness told me that the day was completely over. Goodbye, my beautiful holiday.
—*Buzzing.*
The Adventurer’s Guild at night was, as always, noisy. As soon as I opened the door, I heard the warmth of the orange light and the sounds of people living. I peeked inside and went to the counter.
“Good work. I’m E-rank, are there any jobs?”
“Hmm, please wait a moment.”
The receptionist girl was nowhere to be seen, probably off work. Sitting at the counter was the same male dwarf employee as before.
“E-rank, E-rank… What’s your name?”
“Katt.”
“Hmm… a lot of failure records.”
The employee looked through some documents and looked at me with a look as if he were looking at something petty. The expression on his face, with only one eye raised, was quite comical.
“That’s true. But is there anything? Anything is fine.”
“If anything is fine, then there happens to be one.”
“Oh, what is it?”
“There’s a merchant caravan going to the next city, Isvant, the day after tomorrow, and they’re looking for carriage escorts. E-rank adventurers get 12 coppers per day, so the total compensation for 5 days is 60 coppers. Of course, the guild will deduct 10 coppers as a commission.”
Isvant was the city right next to Krasheim.
I had only heard of it, but never been there. Just as I was wondering if I should go far away, this quest came up. I had never escorted a merchant caravan before, but it seemed pretty good. I just had to follow the carriage.
Besides, 50 coppers for 5 days seemed pretty average. But why were they taking 10 coppers as a commission? These damn thieving bastards. I felt like my blood vessels would burst with anger. But I didn’t show it.
“To Isvant? I’ve never been there, but if you say 5 days, I guess that’s how long it takes?”
“Usually. Will you do it? There are still a few spots left.”
“Sigh, yeah, well. I have to. I’ll do it.”
If I didn’t take a job now, I didn’t know when I would be able to.
To rebuild my tarnished reputation, I had to work even harder than before.
And well, if I could go to Isvant and settle down there, that would be good too. Then I wouldn’t have to run into Winia anymore. I, Kim Katt, was a man who thought it was okay to start a new life in a new field.
“Okay, then I’ll take that as acceptance. Let’s see…”
With those words, the dwarf employee rummaged around and took something out and handed it to me. It was a small wooden plaque with some kind of pattern drawn on it.
“Take it.”
“What’s this?”
“Go to the west gate before sunrise the day after tomorrow, find the Abnel Merchant Guild, and give them that, and they’ll accept you as a caravan escort. The guild entrusted the selection of personnel to the merchant guild, so that’s the proof.”
I see.
In other words, outsourcing.
The merchant guild gave the Adventurer’s Guild an advance payment and a wooden plaque they made themselves, and asked, ‘Please find some good people. Give this wooden plaque to the people you find as proof.’
As I was looking at the picture on the wooden plaque, the employee held out his hand to me. His hand was very thick, probably because he was a dwarf. What was it? Did he want me to read his palm? This guy has no luck with money.
“Huh? What is it?”
“10 coppers. Withholding tax.”
“Ah, damn it. Right.”
I took out 10 coppers from the insole of my shoe and gave it to the employee. My emergency money was under the insole of my shoe. I had been dragged out by Winia this morning and didn’t bring my wallet, so I would have been in trouble if I didn’t have my emergency money.
“Don’t forget. I definitely gave you the wooden plaque. Even if you misunderstand the time, lose the wooden plaque, or can’t attend the carriage escort due to personal reasons, the 10 copper deduction will not be returned. The merchant will pay the commission after you arrive in Isvant.”
“They won’t cheat me out of my money, will they?”
“They won’t cheat you out of your money unless you do something stupid. By stupid, I mean things like slacking off or running away.”
After accepting the request with that kind of feeling, I returned to the inn, and surprisingly, today was the day I had to return the book I borrowed last time, so I suddenly felt like shit.
It was obvious that the library would be closed now that it was completely night. The fact that the overdue fee was a whopping 1 copper felt like it was cutting out my heart.
Wow, damn it, if the caravan escort wasn’t the day after tomorrow but tomorrow, I would definitely have to pay 11 coppers in overdue fees. 5 days to get to Isvant, and 5 days to come back. So, 11 coppers in overdue fees. Thinking about it made me shudder.
I guess I’ll have to return the book and prepare for departure tomorrow.
“Innkeeper, give me some food.”
“…”
I received a cold bowl of soup on the deserted first floor of the inn. The innkeeper looked very tired as always, and the soup tasted terrible as always.
And then I slept.
