City(2/2)
Deciding to take Mikoto to a bar for breakfast, Haru found himself in one that seemed to be not high class, something not too formal but not too cheap, ideal for the situation in which they were.
"...Yamaguchi-san, I'll be honest. We could have helped you a lot sooner."
As soon as they finished ordering, Mikoto opened the speech admitting they could have saved him much sooner.
"... I understand. However, what is important is that I received your help, which was crucial since alone, most likely other Killer Ants would come to finish me off"
He reflected for a second on this possibility. It was indeed easy for the Killer Ants to go in search of a large part of their comrades who had fallen. If they had found Haru alone in a room, moreover as defenceless as he was, Then there would have been no other way out.
'Most likely that's why I unlocked this skill [Survivor's Might]'
Thinking for a few seconds about the probabilities, Haru knew that this was the only possible explanation. Fortunately, Mikoto's group happened to be in that area, because if it wasn't...
'It was very likely that I wouldn't have survived.'
Sighing, Haru knew even though it was not his fault, and that there was no other way to deal with the situation, it was a dilemma. There were some situations where even the system could not do anything to help. Which meant that the risk, although lower than other adventurers, was also there for Haru.
His words startled Mikoto, who thought for a second about it and reached the same conclusion as him. Proceeding with the conversation, Mikoto explained why she wanted to talk to him. Her curiosity laid on his native land, and his apparent passion for the Eastern swords, since he owned another Eastern sword. She knew it was not appropriate to ask this kind of questions. However, she was curious to know if Haru had any connection with the far East, and also on his style, which he had never seen before.
To her questions, Haru didn't know what to answer. Not knowing the area called 'Far East' he certainly could not say that he liked it, so he decided to reveal the truth.
"I don't know exactly the story behind this type of sword. Recently, a blacksmith in the village where I come from, located not far from Orario, had given me the previous sword I think you will remember. Having already had experience with this type of sword, I ended up thinking the other models would make me feel awkward, so I chose to continue with this type of swords, only that it is slightly different from the previous one."
The difference wasn't only in quality. The sword Haru now had represented much more a sword from the far East than the one he previously possessed. Few of the differences resided in the blade itself. It was curved and single-edged, compared to the previous which was double-edged and also was straight, providing an idea more of a simple long sword than what Haru would define as a katana.
At his words, Mikoto wasn't particularly surprised. It didn't matter that Haru didn't know the whole story behind the swords they both held, what mattered most to her was finding someone who could train with her so that they could correct the flaws in their Swordsmanship giving each other advice.
By making this proposal to Haru, the latter was surprised. Having also explained to him what she had in mind to do, Mikoto had asked if he would try to spar against her sometime. Even with the level difference, she believed Haru would not take long to overcome it. Maybe it was just a feeling she had felt seeing Haru cut through an indefinite number of enemies endlessly, but she wanted to believe it could also benefit her, which is why she was proposing that offer in the first place.
But after their conversation had stopped on this point, Mikoto remembered something else she had to tell him before they separated.
"By the way, Yamaguchi-san. We collected all your drops related to the Killer Ants incident. The reason we were trying to seek you as soon as possible was to hand you back everything you weren't able to take since you were unconscious."
It was the captain's idea to collect all the drops before another swarm of Killer Ants would show up in the room. Although Mikoto had pointed out to him it was more important to get out of the Dungeon with confidence than the loot, the captain shook his head, answering that such a feat could not have remained unpaid. Which is why he had left Mikoto and Chigusa alone for a few minutes, and then returned with a bag filled with magic stones and drops.
But the captain's thoughts remained more about the fact that they had not helped him immediately, leaving him alone to fight just because he seemed to be getting by. To make things right, Ouka had decided to do a favour for Haru, one that would probably be enough to excuse for their behaviour. He couldn't have known that Haru was aware of why they had acted in that way, and he would certainly not be angry with Ouka without a valid reason to do so. Since first, The other adventurers were not allowed to interfere in the fights of others as they wanted, there were rules to follow.
"... I understand. I'll find a way to thank you for your gesture, one way or another."
He already had a couple of ideas on how to repay them, but while Mikoto replied there was no need to bother so much, the conversation came to an end as there was nothing for them to continue the conversation further. Leaving the Valis needed to pay for both their orders, Haru rose from the chair in which he was sitting. Saying goodbye to Mikoto as he thanked her again. However, the latter tried, without being able to change his mind, that she could pay her share for herself...
---
Having nothing else to do, Haru decided to go and explore Orario once again. During his conversations with Hephaestus, he was able to obtain more information about the city.
There were eight Main Streets in Orario. Every one of them started at Babel and stretched out to the city wall. Each Main Street possessed a name for the direction it went from Babel Tower.
'I'm curious to explore Western Main Street.'
Western Main. The street where the guild headquarters were located, which meant wherever Haru looked, some adventurers entered and left the various shops as many of them were dedicated entirely to weapons and armour. The adventurers needed supplies, and places to relax, which is also why in the street, many Inns and bars were insight.
There was a lot of competition to obtain a place on Western Main Street. Since adventurers' funds were never low, and all the funds they were to spend, would then go to the various sellers in the street, reason why this was the most influential area of Orario, overflowing with adventurers and sellers. But while Haru tried to keep in mind some locals with more adventurers than average, he knew well these could not rival the famous Hostess of Fertility.
'Since it's almost lunchtime, and I can't do anything more...'
Maybe that was just an excuse. The truth was, he wanted to taste the food said to be of top quality. Since his goal was to relax, he had imagined this could be the best way to do this.
Looking around in the street to find what he was looking for, Haru spent about 30 minutes walking. Finally arrived at his destination, he could see a two-story building made of stone, so he confirmed he had reached his goal thanks to the overhanging sign with a crossed fork and a knife.
'It's fairly better than any other pub I've seen in the area.'
Inspecting the entrance for a while, Haru knew that it was at another level than the other pubs he had noticed in the street. The front entrance had a set of double doors with wood carvings decorating the frame. Carvings can also be seen in various places on the front of the pub.
The Hostess of Fertility sign could be seen on the left side of the entrance, things that put together, made the building eccentric, but at the same time suitable for the area where it was located. Before he could reflect further, however, Haru saw the doors opening. From the entrance, he could see a girl with brown hair and eyes, as well as the tail, and ears that sprouted from the head. Her appearance made Haru figure out who she was, but before he could close the distance enough to enter, he saw the girl chasing away a customer who seemed angry.
"Don't touch me, you filthy demi-human! I want my money back...!"
Listening to the customer's angry voice, Haru would have wanted to pass the two to enter, yet it would have been too awkward to him, so he chose to wait for the latter to get out of the way. From the almost forced expression of the girl, Haru could understand she was hiding her killing intent with all her strength. The latter forced a smile as she invited the customer out of the pub once again.
"This is the last time I will treat you politely, Mr Customer-nya. Once you eat the food, you can not request a refund... If you have understood, please go out before I will send you away myself-nya."
Haru had no idea why their conversation had reached such a high level of tension, and he was already feeling uncomfortable with the situation since he could hear some customers laughing at him inside the pub as if the situation was normal.
"...I will not leave until I have received my money back! That food does not deserve to cost 1,200 Valis, it was not good at all!"
To the customer's words, Haru was shocked. All this tension, insults and rudeness, because the price did not seem right compared to what he had eaten...
But to his surprise, Haru saw the girl wearing an almost gentle smile, but his instinct told him even this was nothing but a mask she was wearing to restrain herself from tearing the rude customer apart.
"I warned you-nya."
That's all the girl said, but as if they were the straw that broke the camel's back, Haru saw the girl grab the customer by the shirt before throwing him out the door. Seeing the man's body pass close to his face, he could only have an expression of sheer shock on his face.
'Is such a thing...common?'
This thought emerged as while he was shocked, the other customers in the pub whistled, others laughed at him while sipping their liquor, and still, others encouraged the girl to come out of the pub and teach him a lesson for the way he had behaved. Ignoring all this, however, the girl sighed and finally noticing that a new customer was at the door, she did not hesitate to welcome him with a bow.
"...Welcome to the Hostess of Fertility-nya! Please enter. I will show you where to sit."
---
(The famous City(2/2) is finally here! Though Haru has yet to explore the biggest part of Orario...)
(I have changed all the Wall Shadows to War Shadows. Join the discord as there are two polls you can submit your vote to now! The first will expire in a few days. Server Discord: discord.gg/y8VBZAp)