Not a barbarian warrior.

Eugene stayed overnight at the inn Malika had recommended. It was worthy of full marks just for the fact that there were no fleas or bedbugs in the room.

As he came down the stairs from the second floor, the innkeeper’s daughter was busy making something again from early morning.

‘The aroma is good… It smells much more delicious than yesterday, no, even better than yesterday.’

As Eugene approached the kitchen area, the waitress said with a bright smile:

“I realized what went wrong yesterday. This time it will really be delicious!”

She confidently brought out a plate of stew and served it to Eugene. Her eyes were full of passion for cooking. It was completely different from her stammering appearance yesterday.

Instead of meat, the stew contained some unidentifiable fish. The vegetables also seemed different, as the color was different.

“Try it!”

Eugene slowly scooped up the stew with a spoon. The thick stew stretched like cheese, creating thin threads.

‘What on earth… did she do to make it like this…!’

Eugene, speechless at the shocking visual, soon thought of her sincerity and passion. Since he had lied yesterday, he should at least taste a spoonful.

As he put the thick substance in his mouth, his face involuntarily contorted. It felt as if a black hole had formed in the center of his face, sucking in his features.

‘This thick and indescribably terrible texture…! Moreover, it’s sour, salty, and even bitter…! Ugh…!’

As nausea rose from his stomach, Eugene finally couldn’t bear it and spat it out with a “Blech-“. As much as the smell was better than yesterday, the taste was even more terrible.

What she had done was… closer to alchemy than cooking. He could guarantee that with a bit more development, she could make poisons instead of food.

Eugene’s face was pale even though he hadn’t swallowed the food and had spat it out.

“Was… was it that bad…?”

“…Unfortunately…”

As Eugene couldn’t bring himself to continue speaking, she, greatly disappointed, started sobbing again and threw the ladle into the kitchen before disappearing.

“Hic…! I hate everything…!”

Eugene wanted to tell her ‘You’re more hateful for wasting precious food’ as she walked away, but he held back.

Not long after she had left her place on the first floor, the innkeeper appeared.

“Oh my… Did you taste that again? You didn’t have to…”

“It’s alright… It’s because I unnecessarily gave her confidence yesterday. I can endure this much.”

“We just brought in new ale from the brewery this morning, how about using that to cleanse your palate?”

“I don’t really like alcohol, so it’s fine. And you can speak comfortably to me.”

“…?”

The innkeeper was surprised by Eugene’s words. He looked exactly like a barbarian, but he didn’t like alcohol? In all his years running this inn, he had never heard of a barbarian who didn’t like alcohol.

Moreover, as he had felt yesterday, this was also the first time he had met such a polite barbarian. All those he had seen so far were uniformly belligerent and unrestrained, but this person’s attitude and atmosphere were completely different from such barbarians.

“I need to go out to sell some things, could you recommend any good shops or merchants?”

“Ah, of course.”

“You really can speak comfortably to me.”

“Hmm… Since you say so, I’ll do that. Actually, I was a bit tense. As you know… people from the northern continent are, how should I say, a bit rough.”

“…I’m not from the North, but I’m used to such misunderstandings as I often receive them.”

The innkeeper thought that Eugene was either of mixed blood with barbarian ancestry, or that although his bloodline was from the northern continent, he had grown up in a different region from a young age.

Anyway, he gave Eugene the information he wanted in detail.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I won’t have to go around wasting effort.”

“It’s nothing. Go ahead now.”

“Then I’ll be going first.”

Eugene bowed his head in greeting and went upstairs to pack his things.

He packed the money pouch he had received from Daisy’s village, the wolf hides, and the loot obtained from Marlon’s group, loaded them onto the cart outside, and set off.

The cart’s wheels kept clattering due to the flagstones laid on the street. People who were busy moving about from early morning didn’t pay much attention to Eugene, who had his robe pulled over.

The city square was full of people buying and selling goods at stalls or under tents. Eugene went to the merchants introduced by the innkeeper and sold off the luggage loaded on his cart one by one.

“Hmm… This tunic is too worn out. This one has a torn arm. Hmm… Including the pants and belt, this much should be…!”

The merchants all looked at Eugene’s shaded face inside the robe and quickly stopped trying to haggle.

They willingly offered Eugene satisfactory amounts of money.

“Thank you for the good trade.”

“Y-Yes, it was a good trade. Take care…”

Eugene was grateful to the innkeeper who had introduced him to conscientious merchants.

After disposing of everything loaded on the cart except for weapons, Eugene went to a money changer to exchange severely damaged coins.

As he had expected, the money he had received from the elders of Daisy’s village amounted to slightly less than fifteen silver coins.

Still, when he combined all the money he had earned so far into one pouch, it was very heavy. It was a large sum almost equivalent to one gold coin.

Eugene put the pouch in his chest with a pleased smile, then started walking to leave the market.

As it gradually became crowded, Eugene, who was pulling the cart, moved slowly lest he bump into other people.

There was no rush anyway, so he was moving while looking around slowly. A small boy walked by and bumped into a woman standing a little ahead.

The kid didn’t even apologize and walked past the woman, taking quick steps towards where Eugene was. Then he bumped into Eugene once more.

Eugene naturally lowered his head and grabbed the wrist of the boy who was trying to pass by.

“Your hand movements are impressive.”

The boy struggled greatly in surprise, but he simply couldn’t escape from Eugene’s grasp.

Eugene searched the boy’s body and retrieved his own pouch and another pouch. Then he looked the boy over.

When the boy saw Eugene’s glare reflected inside the robe, he trembled. He thought it was over for him now.

“How old are you?”

“…Huh?”

“I asked how old you are.”

“Th-Thirteen.”

Judging by his shabby appearance, the boy was a vagrant like those found in any city. How many places would provide proper work and suitable wages to a thirteen-year-old vagrant? This kid probably didn’t have many ways to earn money.

Eugene looked at the young boy with pitying eyes.

He took out a few copper coins from his pouch and handed them to the boy. This was only possible because his pouch was plentiful at the moment.

“Hang in there. But try not to steal if possible. If you really have to, be more careful not to get caught in the future.”

“…?”

Eugene encouraged the boy in a calm voice and then let go of his arm.

The boy stood still with a bewildered face, unable to understand this situation that was beyond his expectations. Then, realizing that he had been let off, he ran away without looking back.

Eugene walked forward holding the other pouch he had recovered from the boy. He handed it to the woman who had bumped into the boy earlier.

“Here, this is what that boy stole earlier.”

The woman stared at Eugene’s face, then quietly muttered while receiving the money pouch:

“It was an unnecessary interference…”

“…?”

Then she turned around and left. Eugene was dumbfounded, wondering if he had heard correctly, but soon continued on his way, pulling his cart.

‘There really are all sorts of strange people. I returned the money she almost lost, and she calls it unnecessary interference…’

Eugene thought she was a strange woman and soon erased her from his mind.

Eugene went to the blacksmith district on the outskirts of the city. It was to dispose of the spear and axe. He decided to keep Marlon’s sword just in case.

After disposing of the weapons, Eugene stopped by a craftsman’s shop. He was carefully examining the displayed products to buy something to replace his tattered gauntlets and boots.

“Hmm…”

The shop owner, who had come out of the shop at some point, picked up items one by one and explained them to Eugene.

“A great warrior needs suitable armor. How about this? It’s a gauntlet with an extra layer of leather. Even though it’s leather, when it’s this thick, it can block most attacks.”

“Ah, this is good too. It has an iron plate attached inside the leather and fixed with rivets. It’s a bit heavy, but the defense is excellent. Oh, weren’t you looking at boots too? How about these? They have iron plates attached inside the foot, which is very…”

The shop owner’s voice, which continued with detailed explanations while holding onto Eugene, was filled with the pride characteristic of a craftsman. He didn’t care at all that Eugene had black hair and eyes.

“Hmm… How much are these leather gauntlets and boots with iron plates attached inside?”

“Just twenty silver coins.”

“…!”

Eugene couldn’t help but be surprised at the murderous price. Still, because the items were so good, he couldn’t not buy them.

“…Please give me a little discount. It’s too expensive.”

The shop owner, who apparently hadn’t thought this barbarian warrior would haggle over the price, jumped up and said:

“No, what’s expensive about this! An honorable warrior shouldn’t skimp on such items! You know that too, don’t you!”

“…I don’t know much about that. Isn’t honor something only nobles care about…? What honor could I have…?”

“Huh… well…”

A barbarian warrior who would deny even his own honor to haggle over prices… The shop owner was greatly perplexed. How difficult must his financial situation be to bring up such words, enduring the shame?

He soon looked at Eugene with pitying eyes and gave him a discount of as much as two silver coins.

“Thank you for the discount. I will use the items preciously.”

When Eugene bowed his head deeply to express his gratitude, the craftsman comforted him as if feeling sorry:

“Hang in there. It may be tough now, but better days will come someday.”

“…”

Eugene wasn’t struggling at all, but he neither affirmed nor denied the comfort. After finishing the transaction like that, he headed back to his lodging.

By the time he passed through the alley and entered the inn, it was already evening and the sun had set.

People sat at their respective tables, sipping ale and eating light snacks while chattering, and minstrels were humming while playing lutes and flutes.

It had been quiet during the day with no one dining, but now it was bustling at night.

The waitress, who had been busily serving ale and snacks, saw Eugene and ran over to say:

“Ah! You came at a good time. There’s someone looking for you.”

“For me?”

“Yes. You see that table in the corner over there? That person.”

Eugene walked in the direction the waitress pointed. At the most corner table, someone was sitting with a robe pulled over.

As Eugene sat in the empty chair at the table, the person in the robe spoke:

“A-Are you Eugene?”

From the delicate and thin voice, Eugene realized it was a woman. When he slightly moved the candle placed beside the table to the center, the woman’s face shaded inside the robe was revealed.

Wearing dusty glasses under her roughly tied hair, her eyes were hollow as if she hadn’t slept properly for days.

Although she didn’t show any special reaction upon seeing Eugene’s face, for some reason she kept stammering her words.

“O-Old man Malika told me… I heard you were the one who brought the lurehorn’s horns, is that right?”

“That’s correct. But who are you, and why have you come looking for me?”

“I’m Lorena… I heard you’re skilled enough to catch a lurehorn alone, so I w-wanted to ask you for a request.”

“What kind of request?”

“I need to go outside the fortress to find and bring something back… I need someone like you.”

“I need a more detailed explanation. Where do I need to go and what do I need to bring back?”

“I-I can’t tell you in detail, I’ll let you know if you accept the request. Don’t worry about the compensation, I have enough money…”

“Hmm…”

Eugene looked her over. No matter how he examined her attire, she didn’t look like someone from a noble family, and she didn’t seem to have much money. Just in case, Eugene asked Lorena:

“Usually, the compensation for such requests varies greatly depending on how dangerous it is. It would start from at least five silver coins at the very least, is that alright?”

At Eugene’s question, Lorena took out a small wooden staff from her robe.

As she chanted softly and waved the staff, a pure white light appeared at its tip and immediately disappeared. Eugene was surprised, his eyes widening at the sight.

‘A magician…!’

In this world, magicians who could handle mana were extremely rare beings. Even in a populous fortress city like this, there might be one or two at most. They weren’t people you could meet just because you wanted to.

‘I’ve been wondering when I’d get to meet a magician and talk to them.’

He had been thinking all along. Perhaps there might be clues to returning to Earth within magic. This was an opportunity as precious as gold.

As Eugene immediately sat up straight, Lorena, watching his reaction, asked with a light smile:

“You’ll take the request, right?”

“Of course.”

“I-I’ll come back tomorrow to tell you the details… It’s too late today…”

As she was about to get up from her seat now that the business was over, Eugene hurriedly said:

“Wait! How about receiving something other than money as compensation?”

“Wh-What do you want to receive?”

Eugene thought.

‘If I suddenly ask her to tell me about magic, will she readily agree? Probably not…’

In this world, there was a perception that knowledge related to magic was passed down very secretly and exclusively, like alchemy.

Asking for such precious knowledge as compensation was likely to be rejected no matter how you looked at it. She might as well have just given money.

‘Even if I bring up magic talk later, I need an opportunity to start a conversation anyway. There must be an appropriate thing to say at a time like this… Ah! Yes, that’s it!’

Eugene recalled how famous people back on Earth used to advertise selling their time to those who wanted to meet them.

He confidently proposed to her:

“Instead of money, I’ll take your time as compensation, Lorena. How about it?”

“…”

The magician Lorena narrowed her eyes and looked at Eugene at his words.

Eugene’s proposal was quite a good method. However, the metaphorical expression ‘I’ll take your time as compensation’ was a phrase that could be interpreted differently depending on the time and place in this world.

For instance, if such words were spoken in a noble’s reception room, it would mean ‘Let’s have tea and chat’, but in a dark inn tavern like this, it meant ‘Sell your body to me.’

Unaware that he might have made a proposal for her to sell her body, Eugene confidently held out his hand to shake hands.

Lorena silently extended her hand without saying anything.

However, her hand was not for shaking hands with Eugene. Her palm was facing towards Eugene’s face.

“…?”

A blue light flashed for an instant from her hand.

The surrounding air rippled for a moment, and then a powerful shockwave burst forth.

Bang-!

As the formless force exploded, Eugene flew through the air backward.

With a series of crashing sounds, he rolled on the floor repeatedly before hitting the wall and slumping down.

Lorena looked at Eugene with eyes full of contempt and muttered softly:

“Y-You… perverted bastard…!”