'I got the gist of it, but why did you take it, Jiro?　Isn't that too suspicious?　Besides, the Solo family is really one of the biggest merchant families in the imperial capital, right?　I wonder if those people are going to hang around without a companion?　And why does he ask Jirou to play such a game all of a sudden? A simple betting game, but the mayor?　You're the highest-ranking person in Elishe.　How crazy is that?


　Rebecca says with a garish smile.

　If you think about it calmly, it's true. Even if you don't think about it calmly, it's still weird.
　............ Why did I decide to believe in the story with a whimper and play the game? I'm not going to be able to say that I'm not going to be able to get my hands on any of them. I didn't even check the identity of the opponent.
　All of this is based solely on the testimony of Mr. Efta, the self-proclaimed Solo family.
　Or maybe the elf fever was too high. Love is blind, as they say: ....... No, that's not the point.
　For some reason, I thought, "I'm sure we'll figure it out, so we'll have to play the game." .......


You're not going to be able to get it right. Ten spirit stones aren't a big deal. It's not just a matter of how many of them you can get in your lifetime, it's usually about 20. Even for those who have been loved by the spirits, it's only about 30.

　Hmmm...I got 2 spirit stones in 2 days, so I thought it was something that I could achieve guidance at least 5 times a month to get spirit stones, but .......
　I don't know what the average lifespan of a person over here is, but even if it's about 60 years old, it's still 20 in 50 years, so it's ...... one every 2.5 years. Hahaha, that's 25 years worth.
　That's why both Shero and Cabotcha (pseudonym) were so excited when I achieved the guidance: .......


''The price of the spirit stone is probably a lot higher than Jirou imagined!　Even the cheapest ones cost twenty gold coins.

　Oh, really?

　Super TAKEEEEEE!

　Considering that the gold coins sold for 150,000 a piece at a Japanese gold buying center, you can get 3 million yen ....... You can buy a car.
　I have to say that just by clearing the guidance, you can get that kind of bonus, the people of the other world are a bargain.
　It's also a good idea to have a good idea of what you can do with your money. But hey, though... .......


'Do you know why spirit stones are so expensive?　A spirit stone is itself a mass of spirit power. And once the power is returned to the elves with spirit magic, depending on the type of stone, various miracles can occur. The most popular way to use it is as a rejuvenation tool. The priests in Elisheh also undertake the magic reduction of spirit stones for you.

　Rejuvenate .......
　I didn't know it had such special power .......
It's not "This is a lapis lazuli stone in the rough. It's not a big deal...it's a small price to pay for 3 million.


If this Efta guy is real and you really need to give the mayor a gift, that's a big deal.　The mayor's name is Mr. Milkpearl, and he's famous for being an honorable man who doesn't take bribes.

Maybe it's not really a bribe. You give a gift, and if they like it, you win.

Not if you're somewhere else.

　Oh, I see.
　So you have to have them accept a gift from a merchant in public, like a party hall, and then make them express their love for it even more explicitly?
　Wow, why did I bypass this story? I should seriously run away.


You can't be accused of giving things away. So if you're really going to accept this story, you'll just have to be prepared to challenge me to give you 10 spirit stones...

I guess the only thing that helps is that there is no "bribery immediately tyho".





　◇◆◆◆◇





　The story goes back a bit.

　After I left Mr. Efta, I bought a suitable apology item in town and headed to Mr. Shero's house.

　I decided to buy a drink as a gift of apology.

　There are many kinds of liquor in this world, not only wine and beer, but also things like whiskey and liqueur are sold. Naturally, it is in glass bottles, so it seems that there is also glass production technology.
　There's a lot of house and stone-making, and it's messy, but there's more technology than you'd think: ....... Or maybe it's just a foodie civilization. And the food is delicious.

　I bought an amber liquor, like whiskey, that cost 85 ells. It seems to be cheaper to sell in a barrel like beer or wine, but the one in a bottle seems to be regarded as a luxury item.

　At first, because of the incident with the wild boar, I thought about getting some miso or something, but I didn't do it because I didn't have enough confidence to explain the source.

　It took us nearly two hours to get to Shero's house.

　We arrived at his house at lunchtime and both of us were eating, but he didn't seem to mind that I had left yesterday, and he welcomed me with open arms.
　They welcomed me with open arms as if they didn't care about the fact that I had run away from them the day before, and they served me food again.

　It's Yakimeshi (fried rice).
　Both of them looked like Westerners by all appearances, but they were eating Yakimeshi (fried rice) just like my mom made for me on Saturday lunch. It's not soy sauce flavored, though. ...... But I feel close to her.

　We finished eating, drank tea and smoked a cigarette, and then served some sake to apologize for the incident yesterday. Rebecca said "You're too cautious for your young age," but Shero was ecstatic. And then he was slapped by Rebecca as soon as he tried to open it.
　Oh ......, Mr. Shero is becoming more and more of a silly character in my mind .......


　Then I told her about the incident with Mr. Efta today and offered to help her out by paying her allowance.

　Mr. Shero listened, rubbing his bottle of booze noh-hooray, "That's a big dream!", but Rebecca had a scowl on her face. Was there some element of it that I didn't understand?


I understand the gist of it, but why did you take it, Giraud?

　And that was the beginning of the story.




　◇◆◆◆◆◇




　Mr. Shero has a hunting job to do, so Rebecca is the only one who will help him.
　According to her own words, "It's too dangerous to watch". I don't have enough material to argue with her, so I'll just accept her kindness. Is this also a "guidance"?　I thought so, but I'm not so much of a Nennet girl that I care about that anymore. After all, it's three million dollars.

　Then we headed into town, and Rebecca said, "Shall we go on horseback? I said, and we decided to go on a tandem, which was exciting and embarrassing.

'Then ride. Have you ever ridden a horse before?

　Rebecca emerges from the stables gallantly on her horse. Ka...... cool.
　He's a former mercenary, after all. I'm not sure if they used to fight on horseback or not, but the way they pulled the horse up beside me with their expertness is not stagnant at all.

　I knew I wanted a vocation as a horseman: ....... I'm not sure if you can do this without a vocation, if you practice normally. Also, I want a horse.


I'm not going to be able to get a good idea of what to do with it.　The saddle, it's for one person, isn't it?

This saddle is big, so if you pack it up, it's fine for two women and children.　Here you go.

　Then Rebecca packs it in front of me. You're kidding. I'm just a kid, huh? Rebecca is bigger than me, right? .......

　It's funny that I'm being cocky, so I had him pull me up and get on.

　I wonder if it's safe to ...... hug a married woman's waist. Mr. Shero didn't seem to mean it either, saying, "Be careful... Well, okay!　Okay, fine!

　Rebecca's back is warm Nally .......




　It's a good thing that you're not the only one.


I'm not sure why you went off on a whim yesterday.　I was just going to congratulate you on your achievement of guidance.

Oh, no, sorry. I'm just surprised that you're a bit of a guide at .......

　I'd be embarrassed to tell the truth, although I'd have to respond for no reason at all.
　I could never say, and I don't want to say, that I was disappointed because I thought it was a gratuitous good intention, but I was too calculating.
　In this world, trying to achieve guidance is a natural thing (after all, it's the right path guided by Spirit-sama), and it's pointless to have any thoughts about it.
　There's no doubt that both Shero and Rebecca are completely good people, and I'm not obsessed with any of them anymore.

...... It's okay, Jiro. We knew you had amnesia and it's our fault for not explaining it to you. ...... I should have told you that I was under guidance. ...... Quite often, guidance can lead to the end of a friendship. It's almost never the case with guys, but sometimes with female friends. Jirou is a sensitive person to look at ....... So, I'm sorry.

　Hmm?　You realize this is the real reason I ran away, right? I mean, we're talking about it, right? Rebecca, you're too keen on every single thing .......

　I thought it would be irksome to admit that I was really upset, so I made an excuse like "I was really upset". It's a good thing that you're able to do that.　He didn't pursue it any further, "If that's okay," he said.

　In the meantime, we arrived in town.
　As for the time, it would be about 2pm already. Thinking about the return trip home, we couldn't be so active. It would not be until tomorrow that we would be able to start preparing in earnest.


　So yeah.
　I've decided to take the match with Mr. Efta itself.

　It will depend on the investigation from now on, but it's something I promised once, and if there's no arrest, even if I lose the worst case scenario, I'll only need 10 spirit stones. I already have two stones, and I've always had them since I took the match, but for some reason I didn't feel like I was going to lose this match.
　And most importantly, .......

　And that there was another new "guidance" added to the vocation board, you know?



　 -----------------------
　[Baraka's Guidance]
　Let's go to the Mayor's house 0/2
　Fulfill your promise to the masters.
　???????? (? ・ ??????)　7/10

　 -----------------------



　...... hmm?　What's this one with all the hathamarks?