## Chapter 47 – Dungeon
“Ah, morning light.”
I opened my eyes to the sunrise in the distance. The murky sky gradually turned golden with the morning light. My throat was hoarse as I got up and woke the others.
“Already morning? I’m terribly tired.”
“Let’s hurry inside. Sleeping outside is freaking cold.”
Copson was the first to rise, followed by Meria, who rubbed her eyes. Elise was already awake, sitting and reading a book. I wondered what it was, but it turned out to be her ever-present Bible.
“You’re awake? Then let’s go inside.”
Elise closed the book, attaching it to her waist. Four grotesque skulls already hung from her belt. All of them were the skulls of skeleton mages, marked with pagan symbols. What kind of voodoo nun was she?
We headed straight for the gate. It was already open. A jaded-looking middle-aged guard and a young, pigtail-wearing female guard stood on either side. The older man, apparently the senior, nodded, and the female guard scurried over.
“What business do you have?”
“Ah, we’re adventurers returning from a quest. We arrived at night and camped in front of the gate.”
“Adventurers? Do you have your permits?”
It was a formality that most guards skipped, but she asked for our adventurer permits. We rummaged around and pulled them out. Mine was a copper permit, issued by the Krasheim Adventurers Guild.
I’d received it when I was promoted to E-rank, so it was a few years old. It was grimy. It had been a while since I’d taken it out.
“All three confirmed. What about the nun?”
Without a word, Elise unfastened her rosary and showed it. The guard stared intently at the radiant crucifix necklace before speaking.
“Um… what religion is that?”
Hey, you frustrating idiot, just let us in already.
The older guard, who had been watching us, seemed just as frustrated and interjected.
“Hey, you don’t know that? It’s the Order of the Radiant Cross. Hurry up and let them in.”
“Ah, yes. Sorry. Please, come in.”
“Thank you for your trouble.”
I bowed and entered the city.
“Now, let’s go sell our loot.”
“Let’s.”
Having entered the city, we needed to sell all the items we’d acquired and convert them into money. Then we’d split the money, and that would be the perfect end to our thrilling dungeon trip.
“Sister Elise, let’s stop by the blacksmith first. Everyone, follow me.”
And so, we wandered through the streets in a group, selling our items. The first place we went was the blacksmith. I planned to sell the two knives I’d taken from the dead adventurer’s corpse.
“Two knives? Hmm, they’re a bit chipped. I’ll give you 40 coppers per knife, so 80 coppers total.”
I looked back at the others. Dividing 80 coppers by four was 20 coppers each. That was fine. Copson and Meria said it was okay, and Elise didn’t mind. I handed over the knives.
“Farewell.”
The blacksmith greeted us. I immediately came out and divided the 20 coppers among the group.
“Here, take your 20 coppers.”
“Where to next?”
Meria, who had received four 5-copper coins, asked.
“Well, I want to get rid of the imp horns and mimic teeth first. It feels ominous to have them.”
Even if you set aside the mimic teeth, the imp horns were really unsettling. It’s always the monsters that vaguely resemble humans that feel more repulsive. That’s why imps are disgusting. I wanted to get rid of them quickly.
“Then it would be best to go to the alchemist’s guild. They’ll give you a better price for magical materials than the magic tower.”
“Alchemist’s guild? I’ve never been there in this city. Do you know where it is?”
“Follow me. I’ll lead the way.”
This time, we followed Copson. We turned down an alley and came out onto a main street, where we saw the alchemist’s guild building, decorated with a giant potion bottle on the roof. Copson took the teeth and horns from me and opened the door.
“I have mimic teeth and imp horns collected yesterday. How much can you give me for them?”
Copson lowered his voice as he spoke to the clerk at the counter. Because it was a female clerk. Does this guy have trouble speaking unless he lowers his voice to women?
“Oh, mimic teeth. A rather rare material. You said you collected them yesterday?”
“That’s right. I went to a dungeon. They’re very fresh. I personally pulled the teeth from a living one.”
The female clerk, wearing a robe, appraised the materials with a magnifying glass. It didn’t take long.
“This one’s cracked, so it won’t do. This one’s too small, and this one has a chip. I’ll give you 32 coppers for the eight that are intact. I’ll buy the two imp horns for 3 coppers each, so 6 coppers total.”
Mimic teeth were 8 for 32 coppers? I gasped quietly. If this had been a solo hunt, it would have been a jackpot. 4 coppers each. Even if they were picky about the quality of the teeth, at that price, anything would be worth it.
I mentally engraved the knowledge that mimic teeth = expensive. Those mimic bastards were really kind guys.
“Is that alright? 38 coppers in total.”
9 coppers per person was fine. I hadn’t expected much from the materials in the first place. The main things were the pewter goblet and the staff.
Meria and Elise also agreed, and as Copson received the money, I jumped in.
“Ah, and I have some ancient accessories I found in the dungeon. Do you buy those as well?”
“Ancient accessories? Show me.”
The clerk seemed interested in the term “ancient accessories.”
I pulled out the necklace, ring, and earrings I had kept and showed them to her. With each item I took out, her interest visibly waned.
“Rather than ancient accessories, they’re just old metals… Well, I don’t sense any magical energy, so I don’t think I can buy them.”
“Is that so? Then what about this staff? It’s very valuable.”
Since I was here, I wanted to sell it if I could, so I placed the staff on the counter. My heart began to pound. How much was the wicked magic staff worth?
“A black crystal? It’s a bit unusual, but it’s cracked. May I appraise it for a moment?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s see…”
This time, the clerk took out some appraisal tools and examined the staff. She seemed more interested than when she had looked at the ancient accessories.
It was a staff used by skeleton mages. It had to be expensive.
“The condition of the crystal isn’t very good, so I’ll buy it for 1 silver.”
“1 silver?”
I was so shocked I almost fell over.
No freaking way, I thought it would be worth at least 3 silver, what the hell is this?
Is this guy a scammer?
No, it’s definitely a lie. Now that I think about it, alchemists are all liars and top-notch scammers. They make a living by ripping off clueless adventurers like this, the real human trash.
Feeling upset, I immediately got up to leave.
1 silver was a lot of money, but it definitely wasn’t the price of this staff.
“It’s cheaper than I thought. I’ll look around elsewhere.”
“Then how about 1 silver and 50 coppers?”
Suddenly, the price increased by 50%. Did this guy think I was an idiot? Who would sell if you raised the price like that as soon as I refused? Looking at his face, he seemed a bit desperate, so he probably had some more leeway.
“Why are you suddenly raising it by half? I’m not selling, not selling.”
“Then 2 silver.”
“Wow, it doubled in an instant. Let’s go, guys!”
“Wait, just a moment…!”
I immediately left the alchemist’s guild. Freaking bastards. I’m the guy who paid 2 silver for Madecassol in Krasheim, dammit. There’s no way this staff would be cheaper than that ointment.
But unlike me and Elise, who came out right away, Meria and Copson came out a little later.
“What the hell?”
The guys who came out didn’t have the staff anymore.
“Hey, did you guys sell it?”
“Of course, we sold it. They gave us 2 silver and 30 coppers. Isn’t that a good price? I’d rather ask why you didn’t sell it.”
“Um… wouldn’t it be better for you to just go and sell it now, Khatt?”
These freaking retards.
“No, you guys. If they suddenly raise the price by more than double, there must be something up, right? They definitely ripped us off.”
“Even if that’s the case, what if we don’t find another one? You have to sell at a reasonable price when it’s appropriate to avoid losing money.”
Copson spouted nonsense that sounded right. I almost got persuaded for a moment, but it just didn’t seem right. In my opinion, they would have bought it with open arms even if I had asked for at least 3 silver.
I can’t let this happen. I need to improve my appraisal skills this time. I’ll find out the price of this staff myself and sell it for a fair price.
“Meria, do you think so too?”
“Um… isn’t 2 silver and 30 coppers a reasonable price?”
“Damn it… Sister Elise seems to be the most sensible.”
“Ah, I plan to submit this to the church.”
I see.
“Anyway, it seems like we just need to sell the accessories and the pewter goblet now. I think we should go to a jeweler, a gem shop, or an antique shop?”
“I have no connection to those places, so I don’t know. Where are they?”
“I’ll guide you this time. Let’s go.”
As expected of a girl, she seems to know those kinds of things well. I don’t have the money to buy luxury goods, nor am I interested in them, so I don’t know anything about that stuff.
I’ve never had any accessories worth mentioning in my entire other-world life. Except for the necklace I took from the bandit I killed last time. Come to think of it, I still haven’t sold that. I’ll keep it as an emergency fund and sell it later.
Following Meria, we entered a rather clean street. The reason why these places are clean is because adventurers don’t frequent them much. Most adventurers eat cheaply and throw trash anywhere, so places with a lot of adventurer traffic naturally become dirty.
“Let’s go into the antique shop first.”
We entered the cramped antique shop. A refined-looking old man bowed.
“Adventurers, I see. Did you find some old things in a dungeon or something?”
“Wow, the owner knows everything at a glance.”
Damn, if even the antique shop didn’t accept our ancient trash, there was no hope. I was about to sit down and cry on the spot.
“Then show me the items.”
“Just a moment, there’s a lot…”
With anticipation and anxiety, I took out the items.
