When I returned to the city of Ishqa for the first time in almost two months, I had two things in my hand that I didn't have two months ago.

　One was a black sword.

　This is not a heart-armor, but a normal weapon forged by a human blacksmith.

　Even though it was normal, it was forged by the sword smiths of the Ad Astera Empire, and they used black steel, which is known for its strength. A single one of these swords was a gem that could send ten gold coins flying. To be more specific, fifty coins flew.

　The reason I had disappeared from the city of Ishka for two months was because I had crossed over to the Empire in search of this sword.



　As for the fifty gold coins, I used the proceeds from the sale of the demonic beast materials that I killed in the forest of Titis.

　Manticore's tail, for example, sold for a pretty high price. Together with the medicinal herbs we collected, we were able to collect a total of ten gold coins. After all, the demons and herbs from the depths of the sea sold well.

　In addition, they were left behind by former adventurers who were killed in the Lord of the Flies' nest. Selling them within the Canary Kingdom was likely to cause trouble later on, so I sold them in the Empire.

　The necklaces and shields with magic power boosting effects and magic defense sold for a very high price as well, and all in all, roughly seventy gold coins. Together with the ten pieces of profit from the sale of materials, the gold that I obtained reached eighty gold coins.


　With just one gold coin, I could live comfortably for a month, so the value of eighty gold coins could be roughly known.

　It's an unknown amount of money to me, to the point where I jokingly muttered, "Wow, you're rich.

　Well, more than half of it was gone in the blink of an eye due to the cost of the black sword. That's expensive!



　However, this was unavoidable.

　The black sword has become very popular due to its distinctive (cool) appearance and the advantage of being strong and hard to break. Compared to swords, there are fewer blacksmiths to make them, which is another reason why the price is so high.

　It's a good idea to buy a normal sword instead of sticking to black swords, it will save you a lot of gold coins, but the reason I decided to buy a sword was to make my heart outfit less noticeable.

　If I returned to the city, there would be times when I would have to fight in public for some reason. At that time, if he summoned a black sword out of nowhere to fight, he would certainly stand out.

　Some of the adventurers may have heard of the Illusionary One-Sword School and the Heart Armor, and it's not necessarily true that there won't be anyone who can figure out the relationship between me and the Giken family from that.

　And the name "Sola," it's very Eastern style.


　If that happens, it will be troublesome in many ways.

　If you always wear a black sword at your waist, it won't be noticeable even if you summon your heart-dressing at the time of need.

　Hence the black sword. Buying an ordinary sword was not an option from the beginning.

　The actual black sword that I got was not as good as the shinsuo, but it was a good sword that fit well in my hand. It was a good buy.



　Thus, I had thirty gold coins left in hand.

　Another thing I sought with this was the beast girl who is still carrying my luggage.

　When I looked behind me, the girl opened her mouth with a nervous look on her face.


''What can I do for you, master?''


　Female. Young. Healthy. Healthy. Able to fight.

　The name of this girl, who was found by the slavers after meeting these conditions, is Seal Aroost.

　Apparently it means "lion bride". It's a name like that of a one-man warrior.

　.........Although this person has never held anything other than farm tools and is not even a lion beastman to begin with.


"No, it's nothing.


　I don't feel like I've been deceived by the slavers.

　It's just that the condition we gave is "able to withstand battle" and not "skilled in battle". I can't complain.

　Besides, I've been observing them carefully from the Empire to Ishka, and I didn't have any problems with their words or behavior.

　It hadn't been long since I became a slave, so I hadn't been able to erase my confusion and hesitation in that sense, but that wasn't a major problem.

　It can be said that this one was a good purchase as well as the black sword - although as expected, the expenditure of thirty gold coins was not planned.



　Why is it that every time I have an income, I have the same amount of expenses?

　Well, it was good that there were no "apology to the brothel" and "payment to the brothel" items this time.



　Thinking about this, I open the door of an inn.

　The blue Kotori-tei.

　It was an adventurer's guild's purveyor's inn where I used to stay.



◆ ◆ ◆



　I paid one month's lodging fees in advance from the leftover silver coins, and I gave the innkeeper's daughter a silver coin as a tip while I was at it.

　It's too large an amount of money for a tip, but since I'm also paying for my previous inconvenience, please feel free to accept it.

　The same amount of tip is planned to be bounced in every occasion in the future.

　I remembered the confused faces of my husband and daughter, and my throat quivered with a chuckle.



　Well, I'll leave you to indulge in a little revenge. The reason why I chose this inn is not to show off my money to that father and daughter like a rich man.

　This is the guild's purveyor's inn. Naturally, there are many adventurers among the guests. Moreover, the shop itself is deeply connected to the guild.

　In the past, when I was expelled from the guild, the information was passed on to the inn in less than an hour.

　If I stay at the inn, my information will be passed on to the guild through the mouths of the employees. That's what I wanted.




　The charges brought against me for Miroslav should be cleared, but that doesn't erase the fact that I taunted the guild master.

　The quarrel with the Falcon's Sword also remains. The guild will undoubtedly continue to mark me as a dangerous person in the future.

　That's why they chose this inn to make it easier for them to mark me.

　I'm not going to do anything.

　I won't do anything. If something happens while I'm not doing anything, it was someone else's doing. In a way, the guild can prove my innocence. Hmmmm.




　However, if things happened on the day I returned to Ishka, or even within a few days, that would be a bit too good timing.

　So we'll need to give it some time.

　I've included that to the other side in advance, so I'll work diligently for a while.

　That's right, I'll resume my soul's work of gathering medicinal herbs from today!




　.........No, with my current abilities, there's no problem at all with exterminating demons or bandits.

　However, since I was expelled from the guild, I can't take them as requests.

　Besides, at this point in time, I also wanted the people around me to think that I was still level one.

　Having returned alive from the Lord of the Flies' nest, some may have doubts about that, but to most people, I'm still a 'parasite'.

　It will be some time before that perception is overturned.