Vol 1 Chapter 8 – Savvy Navigator【Vol 1: A Man Who Wants to Buy a Slave】

After leisurely taking two days to return to Olteria, I was reporting quest completion at the Adventurers Guild.

“I can’t believe you actually brought back Dragon Sage Flowers! Looks like your stealth abilities are the real deal! Damn, I worried for nothing!”

Looking at the Dragon Sage Flowers submitted to the counter, Furla broke into a delighted guffaw. The Boltz Mountains were a dangerous place where many adventurers lost their lives. Naturally he’d be happy that a regular customer returned safely.

I snorted a bit proudly and jabbed Furla.

“Told you, didn’t I? I’m confident in my stealth and detection abilities! Well, in exchange, I’m completely useless in combat though!”
“No need to be so pessimistic! You should be glad you’ve made it to B-rank! Everyone A-rank and above is a total monster! Don’t worry about it and just live at your own pace!”

Saying that, Furla slapped my shoulder.

Adventurer ranks started at F and went up in order: F, E, D, C, B, A, S. I’d climbed to B-rank—third from the top—in about two years since arriving in this world.

Apparently reaching B-rank in two years was quite impressive, but I had no intention of going to higher ranks. Of course, I was confident my actual abilities were A-rank or above. But if I became A-rank or higher, my responsibilities would increase and I’d have to deal with troublesome matters.

No way I wanted that, right?

“A-rankers fight Dragons, don’t they? That’s not something humans should do. Plus, I heard they get sent as noble messengers too. Rather than getting involved in annoying stuff like that, I want to live humbly like a normal human!”
“Gahahaha! You got that right! Don’t overreach yourself—just keep taking quests that fit your level!”

Laughing, Furla said that while checking the condition of the Dragon Sage Flowers on the counter. Just like I’d told Furla, living humbly was fine by me.

I was earning money to live a lovey-dovey life with slave girls. No matter how much easier it became to earn money, I wouldn’t throw away my time like that.

Same went for defeating the Demon King. If I accomplished that, I’d be forcibly given status and honor. That would make me lose even more of my time.

So defeating the Demon King could be left to the other guys who’d get reincarnated after me.

“Alright, I’ve definitely received ten Dragon Sage Flowers! Here’s your quest reward—twenty gold coins! Make sure to count them!”
“Thanks, Furla. Actually, I’ve got one more big report… I got lucky and found a wing-dropped Wyvern. I recovered the corpse—can you buy it?”

At my words, Furla’s eyes widened and he vigorously placed both hands on my shoulders with a bang.

“Hey Yuuki, is that true!? You really recovered a Wyvern corpse!?”

Furla’s voice drew the surrounding adventurers’ gazes toward us. Then voices started rising from here and there: “A Wyvern corpse?”

I asked the nearby adventurers to make some space and had them create an open area. There, I pulled the Wyvern corpse from my magic bag and displayed it.

“Must’ve been in a territorial dispute—when I found it, it was already torn up. One wing was severed, and the tail’s poison stinger was burned off and gone. So I took advantage and stabbed this right into its skull!”

Saying that, I placed my hand on the sword at my waist. Furla and the other adventurers stared at the Wyvern corpse intently. After a while, Furla gasped, opened his mouth, and started shaking my shoulders.

“Amazing, Yuuki! Bit unfortunate there’s no poison stinger, but if the hide and fangs are intact, that’s plenty! We can buy this at a high price! Can’t say for sure without appraisal, but at a conservative estimate, it’s worth at least one large gold coin!”
“Seriously!? That’s a huge help!”

At the mention that the purchase price would exceed one large gold coin, the surrounding adventurers started getting noisy. Some were simply envious, others begged me to treat them to food, but there were also adventurers looking at me with contemptuous eyes.

“You just got lucky and found a Wyvern on death’s door, right? Acting cocky when you’ve got no real skill.”
“Well, don’t be like that. He’s just a scrub who can’t make it to A-rank anyway.”

The ones hurling insults loud enough for everyone to hear were fellow B-rank adventurers like me. Since they too were stuck unable to reach A-rank, they probably couldn’t stand seeing me achieve results like this.

In situations like this, normally you’d either ignore them or take the bait and fight back, but I was different. Doing that here would only bring disadvantages. I was supposed to be a weak adventurer who just got lucky earning money.

“Everyone’s right—I really was lucky this time! It’s not much, but use this to grab some food today!”

Saying that, I pulled ten gold coins from my pocket and placed them on the counter.

The Guild also served meals to adventurers, and I’d just declared I’d cover payment for up to ten gold coins worth.

Cheers erupted instantly. Even the guys who’d been giving me grief looked a bit frustrated as they returned to their tables and immediately started ordering food.

“Sorry about that, Yuuki. It’s our job to keep those types quiet, but…”
“It’s fine, Furla. Besides, it’s true I got lucky! Just give me a little extra on the appraisal, yeah?”
“Yeah! Leave it to me! I’ll probably have your reward ready by tomorrow, so make sure to come get it!”

Saying that, Furla stored the Wyvern corpse in his magic bag and ran to the back of the Guild. I left the now-noisy Guild behind and started walking down the street.

You might wonder what I was doing when I needed to save money. However, this kind of pressure release was most important. No conflicts, no harassment targets. This was the best way to save money inconspicuously.

Ten gold coins was certainly painful, but considering the Wyvern’s purchase reward, it was only a one-tenth loss. Since I was definitely getting the profit, there was no problem.