The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I'm a "Farmer", Not a Demon King! ~ - Chapter 103

The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I’m a “Farmer”, Not a Demon King! ~

Chapter 103   Negotiation skills

“The Adventurer’s Guild, huh?”

“Well, this is the best place to gather information.”

After finishing our conversation, we resumed walking and had now arrived at the Adventurer’s Guild.

Currently, we had received money from the Aldoa family, and we could live comfortably without actively working as adventurers.

So, why did we come to a place like this? Not to take on requests, as I told Sofia, but to gather information.

Well, speaking of information, it’s not anything substantial. At most, we’d inquire about the current situation around this city, the conditions of the roads ahead, and the circumstances to the best of our knowledge.

“I’ll check over there, Sofia, please check over there.”

“Understood.”

Saying that, we headed toward the adventurer’s area, and Sofia headed toward the client’s area to gather information.

Well, we could have gone together, but this is more efficient. Besides, adventurers are a rough bunch due to the nature of their job, which requires strength. That’s a given. However, if I were to bring Sofia a beautiful girl in a maid outfit there, I’m confident that we’d definitely attract unwanted attention. Even on my own, I might attract attention. It’s better not to increase the likelihood of trouble.

So, we decided to split up to gather information. I went to the bulletin board where there would likely be some information posted, but there wasn’t any significant information.

Next, I went to the bulletin board for requests for minors, but that also turned out to be a waste of time.

That leaves the bulletin board for adults, where they post high-risk requests outside the city. Checking this might give some insights into the condition of the roads and the general situation. Things like “monsters spotted over there” or “beware of bandits on this road” that sort of stuff.

However, there were people gathered around that board. It wasn’t a large group, probably a team or acquaintances, but it was still annoying.

I thought of trying to peek somehow or wishing they would just leave, but right now, I’m just a kid. I’m too short to peek from behind people.

While pondering how to manage this or how to get them to leave, one of the adventurers in front of the bulletin board noticed me and turned his gaze towards me.

“Huh? Hey, what’s a kid like you doing here? You can’t take requests unless you’re an adult. If you want a request or something, go over there.”

After being told that, I checked the man who had spoken to me, his friends, and the reactions around us. Then, I noticed Sofia looking at me from the corner of my eye.

Her expression seemed worried, not about the possibility of me getting hurt, but more concerned that the person bothering us might go too far. In reality, with just this, I didn’t think they could do much to me, so her concern was understandable.

But don’t look so worried. Even at this age, I have my ‘Negotiation Skill (self-taught).’

“No, I don’t intend to take on any requests. I was just thinking of checking what kinds of requests are in this area and what dangers one should be cautious of. Ah! Everyone here looks strong, so I wanted to ask a little. Are there any precautions one should take around here?”

I felt a little bad, but these guys don’t seem that strong, and they probably aren’t high-ranking guild members. Their equipment had some minor scratches, but the quality was poor and varied.

It’s fine if their gear has some minor scratches, but they’re wearing things of different quality. If they had something with a powerful magical effect, I would understand, but it wasn’t the case. Even though they didn’t have top-notch gear, they didn’t invest enough to get them all to a consistent quality. If they had the money, they would have leveled up their equipment.

Yet, being in a state where they don’t have much money and still hanging around the guild at this time of day suggests they aren’t particularly skilled or successful adventurers. Probably some dream-chaser who just arrived from the countryside, right? That’s probably why they’ve never received much praise as an adventurer and haven’t been relied upon much.

So, I thought replying with some provocation would get them to talk cheerfully…

“Looking strong? Us? …Hah, you get us pretty well!”

It had a remarkable effect. Well, more jubilant than I thought. I figured they hadn’t been provoked like this much, but their attitude changed so much more than I expected. Anything’s fine if they’ll talk.

After listening to the adventurers who were gathered in front of the bulletin board, I signaled Sofia with just a glance, and we left the guild to join up outside. I thought we might get into trouble if we talked about it inside the guild… but when we met up, Sofia was making a strangely contorted face for some reason. Her forehead was almost wrinkled, and her mouth was tightly closed, a delicate expression, as if she was holding back laughter.

“Hey, why are you turning away?”

Giving a stern look to Sofia, who seemed to find something funny, she averted her face and, at that point, though she didn’t say anything, her shoulders started shaking.

“No, I’m… just a little…”

“A little what?”

I somehow had a feeling of why she was laughing. Probably because of the way I behaved when I approached the adventurers earlier. Kyle mentioned it before, but it’s probably because it was so different from my usual attitude, creating a strong sense of dissonance.

Well, I’m aware that it’s quite a contrast from my usual demeanor and that it doesn’t quite suit me.

“So, shall we decide the next course of action based on that information?”

“Don’t try to deceive me. Try to steady your trembling voice at least.”

Even if you try to disguise it with your expression, your voice is giving away your amusement. The corners of your mouth are still upturned.

“Well, never mind. Let’s move to another location.”

“Yes.”

Thinking that continuing the conversation here would attract unnecessary attention, I led Sofia, who was not smiling but rather stifling laughter this time, to a nearby café with an outdoor seating area.

“Now, about the information we inquired about earlier, in this area, there are no supreme species. Well, it’s something we expected.”

“If they were here, the area would either be flourishing or in decline.”

Indeed, as we began to discuss seriously, Sofia returned to her earnest demeanor. I nodded in agreement with her words.

The supreme species refer to dragons, giants, and celestial tribe.

Depending on the circumstances, dangerous monsters that can be called supreme do appear. Slimes and chimeras, for instance. As they grow, they become as dangerous as dragons.

But that’s not it. The three I mentioned earlier are beings born with power. They casually stride through the realm that ordinary people desperately try to reach through hard training. Such unreasonable existence.

Dragons and giants are, well, as the names suggest. A giant lizard with wings and a human so massive it rivals a castle. That’s the gist of it. In reality, they are beings with power beyond their names, but that should give you an idea.

Now, as for celestial, it’s about angels and demons.

You might think there would be four species in total, but fundamentally speaking, angels and demons are one species. It’s just that their individual characteristics or rather, their perspectives and way of thinking are so extreme that their prejudices are severe. Should I say they are a species that charges forward with preconceived notions due to their extreme beliefs?

“And it’s just their actions that differentiate them as angels or demons. It’s like the Demon Faction and Angel Faction within the Celestial tribe, so to speak. Hence, the supreme species encompass these three races.”

“Ah, I see. So, there aren’t many dangerous magical creatures around. In fact, damages caused by thieves might even outweigh them.”

As Aldoa’s head mentioned, this area seems to be suffering from frequent thefts. Apparently, while monster-related damages have decreased, the damages caused by thieves have escalated, making it a headache.

“If we consider places accessible within a week from the city of Karakas, it seems to be the case.”

“Seems that way. If I were to point out, they’ve allocated too many people to deal with the bandits, causing an abundance of goblins and small creatures of the animal type. Also, in terms of distribution, it seems there are more magical creatures on our route. Well, even if we say ‘more,’ it doesn’t seem to be significant.”

“If that’s the extent, should we not be particularly worried?”

“Yeah. Even if we get attacked, we can handle it without a problem, and I doubt the road will be blocked due to battle aftermath.”

As long as we don’t encounter supreme species or magical creatures that approach their level, we should be fine.

The same goes for bandits. Regardless of the occupation, we need to be cautious if they’re above the sixth tier, but honestly, if you can use the sixth tier, it’s safer and more stable to specialize in that field and make a living.

Generally, bandits who attack the highway are weaklings. Even rogues with power opt for safer and more stable jobs by establishing their own base. The bandits who attack are essentially just a bunch of weaklings, albeit numerous. They might extend up to the fourth tier, but if you’re vigilant, you can handle them easily.

Hence, bandit or magical creature attacks are not a concern.

Furthermore, both bandits and magical creatures won’t cause problems as long as they don’t foolishly resort to large-scale area attacks or use earth-interfering skills.