Suteko Ni Narimashita 17

Once I made the decision, I immediately set out to explore the city.

It wasn’t my fault that I didn’t know, but on the positive side, there was still something for me to discover—to learn.

I should start learning now.

I stood on the boundary between the slums and the city.

The scenery on the other side was a complete 180. There were proper buildings and roads and, although there weren’t many people, there was a lot of traffic, unlike the desolate and deserted slums.

I took a step outside.

When I first came here, I saw a man who couldn’t enter the slums. 

Will everything change once I step outside?

I didn’t know.

But then, I remembered the excitement I felt when I arrived in this city. I’ll be able to experience that again. When I thought that, my step became as light as a feather.

I was surrounded by shops I’d never seen before. No, I have, but only once. Therefore, I could safely say that I’d never seen them …again. 

I saw some bundles of clothes being displayed at one of the stores. At first, I thought they were selling fabrics, but I was mistaken. A few customers would pick colorful fabrics boasting a variety of patterns, before calling the clerk. Then, a simple measurement would be taken on the spot. Apparently, it was a custom-made clothing store.

In the back of the store, the clerk skillfully cut and sewed the cloth. As a matter of course, it wasn’t something that could be done instantly. Afterwards, the customers left empty-handed. Nevertheless, the clerk exclaimed, “See you tomorrow.” It seemed that the product would be finished by the end of the day.

Then, I saw a store bearing the sign, ‘Rain House’. However, there was no product to be seen. Instead, there was a small table with a glass bottle placed on top of it. A man sat behind the table, staring alternately between the sky and the liquid inside the bottle.

What kind of store is this? To find out, I watched the store, but no customers showed up.

As I watched, the clerk suddenly took out something that appeared to be a notebook and scribbled something with charcoal. Unfortunately, I was too far to make out the writing, but I assumed that it had something to do with the store.

After some time, a lone customer appeared. He paid and then received what seemed to be a memo.

What is that…?

In addition to various stores, there was also a small rest area.

It seemed to be a playground for children who couldn’t work yet. The river from outside flowed into the nearby pond. When I saw how much fun those children had as they ran and played tag, I couldn’t help but wish to join them.

Come to think of it, we were around the same age. However, unlike me, they were dressed in fine clothing. Although my clothes weren’t ragged, they were caked in mud. If it wasn’t for the adventure clothes I was wearing, who knew how many dirty looks I’d get from my surroundings?

I heard a loud scream and turned to look at the building from where it sounded.

Inside, the guards were training; their screams booming.

I got a little curious.

I wondered how strong the guards in this city were.

Lurking in the shadows, I turned invisible and walked inside. Nobody noticed.

Inside, a simulated training of criminal subduing was performed.

According to the training session, once the criminal was found, he was likely to become trigger-happy.

Those who acted in the roles of criminals would exhibit various violent tendencies, such as drawing their weapons, running away, or going berserk and taking passersby hostage.

Since it was a practice, the level of difficulty was reasonable, boosting the success rate. Nevertheless, it was quite effective. Some of the actors struggled to break free after they were subdued.

“Excuse me, but can you come over here?”

“Huuuuh—!?”

A criminal threatened the guard who was politely telling him to move away from the line. Up to that point, the guard didn’t intervene. 

“It’ll be over in a moment.”

The guard used hand signs to gesture to nearby guards. Upon receiving the signal, the guard began discreetly moving away from the line of criminals.

“Aaaargh—!”

The criminal revealed his true nature. He drew his knife and intimidated those around him. His scream was intense—perhaps because the person was dedicated to the job.

“—Requesting immediate support! The target is alone! He’s armed!”

When the guard closest to the criminal yelled, the other guards rushed up from what was supposed to be the guard station.

Almost immediately, the criminal was suppressed under a bunch of shields and spears, and subdued.

I watched the entire thing. I have to say, it was quite interesting. Was it the so-called arrest technique? The way they handled their weapons was completely different from martial artists like Shium.

To them, a spear was just a stick with a blade, while a shield was a board used to hold and press against someone. Rather than to kill, the weapons were used to suppress. I could see the difference between an adventurer and a guard.

Of course, if necessary, the shield could serve as a defense while the blade could easily penetrate through flesh.

While I was watching the training, I thought that the level of practice was reasonably high. Even if they were no match for Shium or Denner, they could easily catch someone inexperienced like Kisch.

If the opponent had been Shium, the guard would’ve lost his head the moment he called for help. The same went with Denner – the guard’s body would’ve been riddled with holes. I could easily imagine both scenarios.

Could it be that Kisch and I were fortunate to receive such rigorous training? Thinking about it made me feel a bit better.

I left the training ground in the same mood as the training continued.

A nice fragrance wafted in the shopping district. 

The tangy fragrance of fruit along with the mouth-watering smell of grilled sauces tickled my nostrils.

They were all drifting from the stores around me. All of a sudden, I recalled what the shopkeeper said—

—He’s right, I’ve never stepped foot here.

When it came to nourishment, I’d either hunt or buy one from the Stone Shop. But it turned out that a place like this existed…

I wanted to try one out. Unable to bear my curiosity, I wobbled to the small fruit stall that caught my eye.

Fruits were piled up like mountains on a small table.

The clerk was a slightly older woman with yellow hair.

“Sister, how much is one?”

When I asked, she searched for the source of the voice before looking down and finding me.

With a smile, she answered after a brief pause.

“Oh, are you shopping? This is 2 iron coins a cup. Do you have cash with you?”

The clerk winked at a certain large, mandarin-like fruit.

I handed her 2 iron coins.

“Yes, please take this.”

“Oh my, what a polite little boy.”

With a circular motion, the clerk cut off the top of the fruit before slicing the flesh inside into small pieces and scraping it out. Then, she put it in what seemed like a squeezer and transformed it into a mushy liquid.

After filtering the liquid through a colander, it was poured into the remaining skin.

“Here you go. Careful not to spill it.”

“Thank you.”

When I received it, I could feel the thickness of the skin, which resembled that of a watermelon, as the juice sloshed inside.

—What I thought was a fruit shop turned out to be a juice shop.

It tastes like mandarin orange juice. How refreshing.

It’d have definitely tasted better if served cold.

But, it’s also a bit sour…