The New Gate

After parting ways with Jayf and the others, Shin and his group returned to the inn.

Surprisingly, the inn manager himself welcomed Shin and the others, and guided them to a room that only special guests could use.

The previous rooms were of the same quality as the so-called suite rooms, but this one was even more refined. When casually appraising the materials that made up the room, he discovered that it was made of wood that was used for high-end furniture and high-quality armor in the game. In today’s world, even the cost of a single pillar would be a tremendous amount of money.

“The tea is also very expensive. It would look like a room made of gold if you knew the value, wouldn’t it?”

“I’m getting scared to even use the teacups…”

Party members Sety and Tiera, who had confirmed the details of the tea, looked sternly at the provided teacups.

“As long as you don’t treat them carelessly, it’s fine. Tools are tools. Besides, in terms of luxury goods, Moon Shrine is more impressive, you know?”

Schnee, who was also the assistant manager of Moon Shrine General Store, rebuked Tiera.

“That’s true, but…”

While the three are enjoying their tea, the other party members – Filma, Shibaid, and Milt – were also relaxing in their own way in the luxurious room.

After taking a breather, Shin called out to everyone.

“Well, according to Kluck, it will take a week for someone to come and pick us up, so what should we do?”

Kurikara was not a country that bordered the sea, so they would have to travel by land, and it would take that long. In a world without airplanes, travel inevitably took time. However, Kluck said that they might be a little faster.

Either way, it didn’t change the fact that they would have a lot of time to kill. The Wrought Iron Battle Festival seemed to be continuing, but Shin had decided to withdraw from the blacksmithing division, so he didn’t have any future plans.

“Among us, the only ones with set plans are Filma and Milt.”

The martial arts festival would continue. Filma and Milt would continue to a certain extent, in consideration of the people they had defeated in previous matches.

“If you’ve won, you have to try your best, otherwise it would be a shame for the losers.”

“The opponents in the preliminary round looked pretty similar. I hate to say it, but I don’t think the results would have been much different even if Milt hadn’t been there.”

Shin felt that there were no outstanding players like the Chosen Ones, except for Dragnil’s Elamella, who was Kluck’s bodyguard.

Also, some of the players who had been injured in battles against the Weapon Monsters or who had realized their own lack of strength had already withdrawn.

So Shin thought that Filma and the others shouldn’t be shy about withdrawing.

“That’s true, but it seems like the organizers want to liven things up because of that incident. You see, I’m a bit popular, aren’t I?”

“Ah, I see.”

Even before the incident happened, Milt was already popular. If someone like her, who combined both gorgeous looks and high fighting ability, withdrew, it would probably have  an impact on the attendance.

After the incident, she went to the reception desk with the intention of abstaining from the event, and someone at the top level of the management came out and asked her to stay. Filma was also begged to do the same. 

Incidentally, taking into account the players who withdrew, the match-up table for the main tournament participants was partially rearranged. As a result, Filma and Milt would face each other in the final if they win. 

It was unknown whether the top management in question knew that the two were members of Shin’s party. If they did, it was possible that they were hoping for an exciting final showdown between Filma and Milt.

However, Filma did not seem to have any intention of going along with that expectation, as she shook her head in a slightly disgusted tone.

“I don’t want to get that involved, so I’ll drop out at a reasonable point. Also, maybe because I’ve done well, I’ve been asked several times if I want to join a party. Shin’s name seems to be getting a bit well-known, but I don’t think they know him down to the party members.”

If they knew about Shin and his friends’ relationship, they wouldn’t be trying to poach members of a party led by an A-rank adventurer.

Then it would be a party problem, not an individual problem. If they were too persistent, an A-rank adventurer – in other words, Shin – would come out.

Whether they were fellow adventurers or not, most people would not try to get into a fight with an adventurer who had risen to A rank. In terms of financial power, fighting power, and influence, the disadvantages in the event of trouble would be great.

Even so, the fact that she was asked was probably because, as Filma said, the fact that she was a member of Shin’s party had not yet spread.

But there was no doubt that Shin’s name and rank had at least spread to some extent.

It also seemed that Schnee and Tiera were recognized as Shin’s party members – or rather, lovers.

Before the incident, many people had seen them walking around town together and getting all flirty, and as a result, apart from a few guys trying to pick them up, no one would approach them carelessly.

It was said that some of the guys turned back in a hurry after being advised by those around them to stop messing around with girls who are with an A-rank adventurer.

“Should Milt and I go out with Shin to town, like Schnee and Tiera did?”

“That would make me look like a bastard with a bunch of women in his life, wouldn’t it!”

Shin’s face twitched at Filma’s joking remark.

In this world, high-ranking adventurers, regardless of gender, were allowed to have multiple spouses.

The obvious reason for this was to leave behind as many strong children as possible. The threat of monsters was so close at hand that this was allowed, and it meant that even if a city was protected by walls, it was not a safe environment. 

There was also the idea that having many spouses and children was not a problem as long as you had enough income to support them all. The economy would be better off if people spent more money than they need to, instead of saving more than they need.

However, the most important reason was that it would motivate them to return home alive.

Your loved ones were waiting. You have a place to return to. Such thoughts inspire those who want to give up.

This was demonstrated by Girard, the support character number 3, who once challenged Shin to a fight as his final wish, and improved himself to the point of landing a blow.

Shin didn’t intend to deny this way of thinking, but whether he would actually do it was another matter.

“Maybe we should help with the reconstruction work?”

“I thought about that too. But they said they would do it themselves.”

Shin shook his head in response to Milt’s suggestion. Their refusal was made in advance, saying that they could not allow their benefactor to go that far.

Compared to other countries, it seemed that there were many people in Kurikara who have manifested or inherited production-related skills, so it was expected that it would not take long for the situation to recover.

“The reason we came here in the first place was to rest, and it’s fine to slack off a little, but… I don’t want to just laze around.”

“In that case, how about we all go to the pool?”

Milt called out to the groaning Shin.

“Pool?”

According to Milt, there was a heated pool that used geothermal energy.

However, rather than an entertainment facility, it was more like a training center for learning how to swim.

In the real world, Milt was practically bedridden in the hospital, so she had never been to a pool, and despite being the one who suggested it, it was clear that she was the most excited about it.

“Apparently not many people bother to train in underwater combat during the tournament. It’s underground and doesn’t seem to have been affected by the recent commotion, so why don’t we go for a bit?”

When Shin asked about the details of the facilities, he was told that there were types where the water gradually got deeper so that people could get used to the water, and types with lanes like those used in competitive swimming. There were also so-called lazy river pools that recreated the flow of a river.

It was a common sight in Shin’s world, where the act of swimming itself was a form of entertainment.

However, in this world, swimming was treated as a skill for survival, so it didn’t seem to be very popular.

Milt said that she was going to participate in the martial arts festival on the second day, and then go to the pool after that.

“I haven’t had anything like that since I came here. I guess it’ll be alright. What are you all going to do?”

“I’ll accompany you. It’s just the right size to practice swimming without skill.”

While Shin and the others were enjoying the tournament, Schnee seemed to have already toured the nearby area to a certain extent. Seeing this as a rare opportunity, she expressed her intention to join them.

“If Schnee is going, I might as well. I only swam a little in the ocean last time.”

“Well, I’ll go too.”

“I’ll go too.”

Filma, Tiera, and Shibaid then also indicated their intention to participate.

“Hmm, I’ll pass.”

Sety was the only one among the group who wasn’t going. She made it clear that she wasn’t very interested in swimming.

“I also want to analyze the strange items Shin has collected so far. I’m personally interested in what they are. I’m sure we’ll be involved in a lot of things in the future, so I need to make the most of my free time.”

“I don’t want to get caught up in that.”

Shin said with a hint of reluctance. He wanted to stay away from troubles.

Sety was more interested in the unknown items, and as a researcher, she would prefer to focus on this.

“What about Yuzuha and Kagerou? Or rather, can they even go in there?”

Shin tilted his head, wondering if it’s okay to take Element Tail Yuzuha and Gruefago Kagerou to the pool.

“What about monsters? The facility is for people, after all.”

“In that case, Yuzuha will transform. Kagerou, stay home.”

“Gruuuh?!”

Kagerou’s cry would have sounded like “Really?!” to a human. There was no doubt that he was shocked when he was told to stay home.

“I’ll check, and if that doesn’t work, dive into the shadows… but I guess underwater is too much for that?”

Kagerou nodded in response to Shin’s question. Although the shadows were a special space, it seemed that things were different underwater.

“How about using equipment that lets you breathe underwater?”

Among the tamer’s equipment, there was one that allowed the partner monster to breathe underwater, just like the player. This equipment was for using land-dwelling monsters in underwater dungeons.

In the game era, it was used when there was no underwater partner monster or when you didn’t want to change the formation of your partner monsters.

“He says I don’t know. But I can swim, so it’s fine if I can just stay close by.”

Yuzuha spoke for Kagerou.

“Well, even though we’re going to the training center, the purpose is more like playing. For now, it shouldn’t be a problem if you use it normally. I’ll just check if I can put a partner monster in there too. If so, let me check if it works when hiding in the shadows.”

“Gruu~”

Shin patted Kagerou’s head as he nodded.

Even in the city, there were quite a few people with monsters. The tamer job shouldn’t be that rare.

In a country the size of Kurikara, they must have taken that into consideration.

Kagerou didn’t seem to particularly want to go into the water, so Tiera didn’t have to worry about being alone.

“So, after Filma and Milt withdraw from the competition, we’ll all go to the pool together.”

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