“We repelled several large spiders today.”
“Nice! Way to go!”
“Those things have been popping up a lot lately. And usually in pairs.”
“Do you know? Most of them team up as male and female pairs.”
“Even giant spiders have females, unlike us…”
Absurd chatter bloomed. Foolish as it seemed, the atmosphere remained light-hearted. Crude and rough adventurers—they weren’t all bad, which was a good thing about these fools.
“Hey, you don’t look like you’re just starting out as adventurers. How long have you been at it?”
“…It’s been a week today.”
“Fresh meat, huh! How’d you find out about this weirdo tavern?”
“Huh, what’s it to you?”
The proprietor was about to lose his temper, but the boy answered the question calmly.
“I learned about it from Glenn at the training grounds. He’s still mentoring us.”
In the next moment, everyone’s faces twisted uniformly. It was a clear reaction. Most of those here had trained in Greed—meaning they were indebted to “that man.”
Suddenly, a patron burst into tears and patted the boy on the shoulder.
“You’ve endured hardship…”
“I still am.”
“Let’s drink today! On me!”
“I’m not good with alcohol. It’s bitter.”
“Are you a child!?”
“I’m technically fifteen, an adult.”
“Beautiful miss! May I ask your name?”
“I’m Shizuku.”
“And you?”
“Don’t be so rude. I’m Ur.”
And so, Ur and Shizuku were accepted into this tavern.
A week passed since their first visit.
It wasn’t unusual for new customers to arrive without causing much change in the tavern. The arrival of new customers wasn’t that rare. Today, although some customers were a bit rowdy, the proprietor and regulars remained as usual.
Lately, the regulars had been caught up in a “bet.” It wasn’t gambling with cards (that often led to fights among adventurers and was banned by the proprietor). Instead—
“Welcome back. Ah, you’re here again, kids.”
“I’m hungry.”
“The usual special, please.”
The proprietor greeted Ur and Shizuku, the duo. Instantly, all the adventurers enjoying their drinks and food turned their gaze to them.
“Hey Ur! You’re here!”
“Hey there. What’s up?”
“Did you quit the training grounds?”
“No, I didn’t.”
In the next moment, some adventurers slumped, while others cheered with gusto.
“All right! Two weeks down! Jackpot!”
“Seriously!? How did you endure that training for two weeks!? Are you crazy!?”
“Stop gambling with people’s lives.”
Well, somehow, these two had become familiar faces.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
After their research on the Gem golem, Ur and Shizuku found themselves becoming regulars at the tavern.
“…Don’t be stingy with the food. Eat as much as you can.”
Along with Glen’s invaluable advice, the tavern he recommended had good food, good portions, reasonable prices, and a friendly atmosphere, especially for Ur and Shizuku. Despite the majority being adventurers, the clientele was generally good-natured. The fact that they started gambling here was a minor flaw.
“I can’t believe it… How can anyone endure Glen’s training?”
“To be honest, I’m not sure either.”
Danji, a senior adventurer who seemed to have lost in their bet, groaned. He had wagered quite a bit on the weaker of the two who hadn’t lasted two weeks and now looked like he was about to die. Comforting him, Shizuku smiled and gently patted his head.
“Glen-sama must have a kind side, you know?”
“Shizuku-san, you’re so kind it makes you seem like a saint. That guy’s just trash!”
“Trash?”
“That’s a straightforward insult.”
As Shizuku blinked in surprise, the senior adventurer and member of the Glen Victim Club gestured animatedly, launching into his speech. Meanwhile, Ur listened casually while digging into fried chicken.
“── So, that bastard laughed and kicked me while I was writhing in pain and vomiting, saying, “It’s not blood. Okay, you can still go on”… Oh, aaaah!!!”
“Uh-oh, Danji is having another trauma episode.”
“What a hassle. Just give him some alcohol.”
And then his friends would finally come and take him away. Since Ur started coming to this tavern, he had gotten used to seeing this scene.
“Everyone seems to owe Glenn a lot.”
“Is it really owing him? I’m not so sure, hahaha.”
The one laughing and sitting next to Ur was Nana, a rabbit beastkin. She seemed to be drinking happily, likely because she had won a bet.
“Are you drunk again, Nana?”
“Hahaha, of course! Alcohol is a wondrous joy!”
“I can’t even understand what you’re saying. And stop clinging to me.”
“Oh, are you embarrassed? Hahaha!”
“No, I’m just remembering the hellish scene where you almost puked on me last time.”
“Don’t worry, I’m fine today… or maybe not, ugh…”
“Someone get this drunkard away, quick.”
Despite all this, Ur and Shizuku were well-liked by the various patrons. It was annoying but also appreciated because,
“It’s the active season now, so be careful. Don’t get too relaxed even if you’re on the upper floors.”
“Yeah, I know someone who got eaten by a fire spider that way.”
“A fire spider? Isn’t that a monster from around the tenth floor? Do they come up to the upper floors during the active season?”
They could get useful information based on the experiences of veteran adventurers. Grateful for Glenn introducing them to this place, Ur and the others learned a lot from their interactions.
“So, are you guys still after the Gem golem?”
“Still in the investigation phase.”
They’d even give advice on the Gem golem, though,
“You’re really into some troublesome stuff, huh?”
“But there’s a bounty, right?”
“Ha! If there’s a bounty, it means it’s that much trouble!”
── It was also because they weren’t competitors.
Monsters with bounties were varied, but they were generally dangerous and troublesome. Adventurers who had stable lives rarely aimed for such targets.
“By the way, how strong is something with a five gold coin bounty?”
“Well… how strong is it?”
“It’s tricky!”
“That’s not very helpful.”
That’s a rough answer.
“For bronze rank, it’s not easy, right?”
Nana, looking a bit better, answered while eating a sausage.
“So, what about silver rank?”
“Piece of cake! Those guys are heroes.”
“Then why don’t the silver ranks take down the Gem golem?”
“Because their main activity is in the middle floors, Shizuku!”
A man answered Shizuku’s question eagerly.
“For a silver rank party, it’s more profitable to stay in the middle floors than to come back up. They won’t come up for no reason.”
“They can’t afford to leave their hunting grounds and let other adventurers take over.”
The shopkeeper nodded in agreement as he took away the empty plates.
“Is there such a thing as territories? The labyrinth changes, doesn’t it?”
“Sure, but have you ever seen the types of monsters in the upper floors change completely, even during the active season?”
“Uh… no.”
Except for exceptions like the Gem golem, it doesn’t change that much. From the first to the third floor, it’s always goblins, shadow wolves, giant spiders, and black lizards.
“Right? There are patterns. And the labyrinth itself doesn’t change that often.”
Large-scale changes in the labyrinth that completely alter the layout are rare. Experienced adventurers can quickly grasp the new terrain even with some changes.
“That’s why entire floors can be occupied by one party.”
“Yeah, during the active season, monster appearances can shift slightly, leading to fights over the best hunting spots.”
“So even though there’s a bounty, silver ranks won’t come and take over white or bronze ranks’ territories. It’d be embarrassing for them.”
“Reputation matters. Ignoring it can get you into trouble.”
An orange-furred beastkin nodded along with his companion.
“So, whites and bronzes have to handle it, but then their skill isn’t enough.”
“The Red Ogres tried to take on the Gem golem.”
“Those idiots? No way they’d manage! Didn’t they cause you trouble?”
“They were lively and fun, actually.”
Shizuku smiled, but she was the one who had the most trouble with them. After a fight with the Gem golem, they had tried to recruit her forcefully.
“They were saying all sorts of things, like not joining the wrong party, and seemed to be having fun.”
“Do they really think they can recruit like that? Those guys are idiots.”
The other patrons nodded. The Red Ogres were notorious, apparently not in a good way.
“They’re a bunch of fools acting like they own the upper floors.”
“They’re just bronze ranks who’ve been stuck there forever.”
“They cause a lot of trouble, and they back off only when the guild intervenes.”
“They might be lazy, but they’re strong enough to handle the monsters on the upper floors…”
Ur made a mental note to be cautious of the Red Ogres.
“Anyway, if no one deals with the golem, there might be a ‘festival’.”
“Festival?”
Ur tilted his head at the odd word, given the context. A dwarf grinned as he explained.
“It’s a tradition in Greed. A ‘Hunt Festival’.”
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