“Are you solo? We can let you join on a request we have.”
Once again, I’m being invited with a condescending attitude. Sure, I’m a novice adventurer, but why all these guys act so self-important? Even so, why? What’s with this popularity? Is it that my magnificent wild rabbit hunting skills are needed?
“Certainly it’s amazing, but it’s just hunting rabbits.”
As soon as I try to ask, they deny it.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“That’s to say. It’s the Item Box. You have an amazingly big one.”
It wasn’t popularity, but what I could carry. Umm, boring if I have to say myself.
“It’s OK if you’re put at the back.”
I see. The adventurers at the inn were aiming for that?
Just to make sure I try to ask what’s the payment for baggage carrying, but this is boring.
“I caught 35 wild rabbits yesterday. Do you have an idea how much the reward was?”
“… Unh, Umm.”
25 Gold x 35 rabbits = 875 Gold. The adventurer is probably calculating it in his head. He’s making a somber face.
“Well, that’s the way it is.”
I promptly depart and leave that adventurer alone. Somehow I feel like other adventurers are catching glimpses this way. It’s OK if it is my imagination, but it’ll be annoying if I’m held again so I exit the guild. And that’s only hunting rabbits. And yet he would probably offered only a stingy payment, do they take me for an idiot? Umm, shall I go hunt rabbits today?
I properly prepare my equipment, come out the gate and the grasslands were a short distance away. I proceed through the grasslands away from the main road. Places near the city where there are fewer number, using Presence Detection I can find wild rabbits.
“Found one, so…”
I approach using Stealth and Ninja Walk, lightly throw the knife and kill it. Such a dangerous beast back then, now is merely a small fry. Around the time I kill the 10th one, I take a break. This is 250 Gold. It is around 25,000 Japanese Yen. If it’s to earn money, this would be enough, but the problem is that wild rabbits no longer give experience! I’m sure I hunted a considerable number, but with wild rabbits, from around level 4 I haven’t been able to level up. Is the amount of experience minuscule? I’m not completely sure, but either way, it’s certainly enough rabbits to make a living. On the other hand, the forest is scary. Everyone says unanimously that it is dangerous. I was attacked by orcs practically around the perimeter, if that happened to an ordinary novice adventurer I’m sure he’d be dead. I take glimpses towards the forest. Let’s stop today. I’ve already earned enough anyways.
“How many you got today? 10? The wild rabbits also invade the plantations. Please be sure to hunt them.”
The gate keeping soldier said that. So there were plantations?
After asking about it, it appears they are beyond the gate on the opposite side and looks like they are very vast. I’m shocked that I didn’t know such thing. I had no business on the opposite of the city, there’s not helping it!
However, I got good info about the wild rabbits. I was thinking whether he would scold me for hunting them too much, but if that’s no the case then I can keep hunting without reservations.
“I’ll be going all out next time.”
“As expected of the Wild Rabbit, you’re so reliable!”
Can you fucking stop calling me Wild Rabbit?
“How about one?”
Suddenly I had the idea and took out one rabbit. It’s to thanks the trifling info I received.
“Is that ok?”
“I can catch more any time, right?”
One or two rabbits are nothing.
“That’s right, I should give you my thanks. We’ll have a feast today!”
While doing that, the other gate guards started to gather around us. Looks like they had free time right when traffic paused.
“And, so nice I’m jealous! it’s unfair only you getting that!” said some brawny soldiers when they saw us.
“Hey, please take this.”
I took out one rabbit for each person. In total 5 rabbits. It now looked as if they were extorting me, but somehow I changed my opinion while giving them away, as it was OK and I really felt glad. After all it seems soldiers’ salary is really low.
I didn’t enter town for the time being and just went to see the plantations.
It’s still the middle of the morning, even if I return there’s nothing to do. I was told the plantations towards the south are vast, so I’m heading there. I’m walking, but not too quickly, along the city’s tall walls and come to see the plantations. A one meter high wall that stretches forever perpendicular to the city’s walls. As a protection against wall rabbits, this should be enough.
A portion of the plantations should be lush green with growing produce, but rather it was mostly bare soil. Because there was evidence of ploughing, is it being prepared for produce to be sown? I get over the wall and keep advancing. It may look like trespassing, but no other roads could be seen. Several people are in the distance, I could see people working and one notices me. I wave at them as if saying that I’m not someone suspicious, and seeming lost interest they went back to work. Since it would be bad if I get in the way, I continue along the wall. One place on the wall there is compost piled up. It has a terrible stench. I don’t know what the raw materials were and I don’t want to know, but it was fairly advanced in the fermentation.
I kept walking some more and the main road could be seen. The west side main road goes through cutting across the plantation, surely it’d be natural to be amazed that one day someone said they didn’t know there was a plantation here. There’s a gate, and equally there were soldiers stationed here doing checks, but for now I continue towards the outside of the city. This main road keeps heading east and on carriage it takes around 5 days to reach the imperial capital. I’ve thought of going to the imperial capital eventually, but today my destination is a river. It seems there’s a river flowing near the city and a splendid bridge spans across it.