OVRMMO 078: In the Southern Inward-City

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Toaru Ossan no VRMMO Katsudouki
Author: Shiina Howahowa
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In the Southern Inward-City

We put in 2 breaks along the way, but even so, we reached the inward city at a much higher speed than if I ran the far distance myself. A bear’s running power is something you can’t make light of, na. Although it seems he’s not good at descending downward-sloping paths, though.

“We finally reached the city, na; but man, your ability to sense the presence of monsters is pretty amazing, na.”

On the way, of course there were monsters loitering around, and on top of that, night-time is even more dangerous, but with Farsight and Thief’s detection skills, we made it all the way through without fighting even once, since we could keep at a distance and take small detours so the monsters don’t notice us.

“Ma, it’s just a technique that I learned because I’m usually walking around all by myself.”

Replying like that to the bear fairy, I descended from his back, pet him a little more and made to part from him reluctantly, but.
From the guards guarding the gates into the city, there was a, “Present your identification!” that made me jump.
They’re a lot stricter with this compared to the fortress towns, ne?
Bear-san showed a card hanging around his neck, and I showed the ring.

“We have confirmed them; please, feel free to proceed!”

Bowing my head, I passed through.
They were only doing their job diligently, just with a little high-pressured way of speaking; getting angry at that would be misguided.
And also, gatekeepers are existences that can’t be timid when doing their job, so in some ways, gatekeepers being like THAT with their words is more reassuring.

After passing through the gates, there the scenery changed all of a sudden; with flowers blooming and music playing, an old Viennese cityscape spread out before me.

“The Fairy Country’s inward cities are cities that support the arts. North is literature, East is painting, West is sculpture, and here, the South, is music, apparently.”

To the me who had unconsciously stopped his feet, the bear fairy told me this.
So that’s why there’s so much music flowing about.

“Then, will there be any meaning for adventurers to be here?”

There the bear fairy immediately shook his head.

“It’s the reverse; there’s tons of work. The humans have adventurers; for us fairies we have the ones we call wanderers, those who are able to go from town to town while changing their jobs, but of course those who don’t have combat abilities aren’t able to do so.
And here too, as always, starting with the High Rabbits, there are harmful monsters; and the issues the gatekeepers alone aren’t enough to handle are many.”

Fumu, I see.

“In other words, this city is basically big on arts, but the combat ability, in some ways, is lacking, you mean?”

To that the bear fairy nodded in agreement.

“That’s basically it; of course there are permanent soldiers and knights stationed, but they are our last line of defense; they are unable to go on the offensive. If the city becomes inadequately defended, there is where the adventurers and wonderers should step in.”

Furthermore, when there’s no fighting going on, the soldiers and knights are living freely.
They’re ones who fight if they have to, they aren’t troops who get involved.
Of course, it’s not like they’re pointless existences; to not have those who are available to fight in an emergency is out of the question, after all. That said, it’s not good to just have them sitting around during normal times.

“Ma, whatever the case, as long as there’s work, looks like I won’t be troubled for money and fall into the mess of having to sleep outdoors. That said, as expected, I already just want to sleep today.”

Since I was given a ride, there’s no question that things were more leisurely, but even then, since I was detecting monsters, I got pretty worn out. And also, it’s getting to that time where I should log out.

“Then, I’ll give you my recommendation for the inn; its beer is also good. After that, we can eat your food, na?”

Saying so, the bear fairy licked his lips.

“Then, it will be the compensation.”

I handed over some of the rabbit kara’age and poultry skewers.

“With this, pardon me from it, but cooking right before I go to sleep is understandably tough, na.”

If I don’t hurry up and log out, tomorrow is what’s going to be tough.

“More than enough; tonight’s beer is gonna be tasty too, looks like. Until we reach the inn, I’ll give you a lift.”

And so, the inn I was taken over to had a private space that made it quite a wide, luxurious inn; even though usually, lodgings are the unchanging standard inn, like a chain store.
On top of that, if you want to stay at this inn but you don’t have a regular’s recommendation, you wouldn’t be given approval; a business that refuses on a glance. Are they able to get by with this? Although I think that, their food prices are somewhat high, so that’s probably where they get their main revenue.

“Aside from me, he’s the important friend of a few people, here’s the recommendation, and furthermore I myself am personally referring him, so there should be no complaints, right?”

The proprietor of the inn (here the inn’s proprietor is a man, but they call him “proprietor” all the same¹) also said, “If it was even just this referral, the referral of ‘Wild Hair’ Zetan, there would have been no problems; welcome, dear guest; to our illustrious inn, please feel free to stay a while.”

“Wild Hair” Zetan, nee? So this Bear-san is a famous person, I mean, a famous fairy.

“Proprietor, that name is embarrassing, so stop it. Look, ain’t this guy looking at me funny now?”

Their acquaintances I guess; maa, it would be boorish to insert a retort there, so I’ll preserve the current situation of just staring at him.

“Oo, I beg your pardon; are you looking for lodging?”

I take out my money immediately.

“Yes; for now, one night please. The payment is here.”

The proprietor confirmed the amount, said “Yes, there are no problems; here you are, please enjoy your stay,” while he handed over the key, and then guided us inside.
I want to sleep immediately, so I said, “Then see you, ‘Wild Hair’ Zetan, you’ve helped me out a lot,” and he grumbled, “Like I said, enough with that … Old man, after this, we’re going to have some words, ok?”
Ho-ho-ho, although it wasn’t written over his head, the proprietor led me like that to one of the private rooms, bowed his head and said, “Then, here it is; please enjoy your stay,” and headed back to the counter.

“Good grief, thanks to that idiot daughter’s deeds, I’ve gained quite some benefits; finally, I can sleep.”

I’ve suddenly started talking to my self, but I already don’t care anymore; weapons and armor, I cancel them all; immediately I crawl into bed and log out. Even when I returned back to real-life, I immediately crawled into the futon and slept.
Going to bed twice but only getting to sleep once, what is this? While thinking that pointless thought, my consciousness gave way to sleep.

The next day, after finishing work and returning to my home, I logged into to the bed and made to get out, but I can’t move my body. What the!? A glitch!? I thought in my confusion, but when I looked closely, there’s a strange lump under the blanket.
And when I calmed down even further, there’s a strange weight hanging on me.
With a cold sweat full-heartedly starting to fall, I lifted one corner of the blanket, and there … the Fairy Queen is mysteriously there.
I replaced the blanket like I didn’t see anything; I haven’t figured out a thing that’s going one, but please don’t blame me for trying to escape reality.

 

SKILLS
[Wind-Blown Hunting Bow]Lv13
[Assaulting Kick]Lv22
[Farsight]Lv51 ↑1UP
[Craftsmanship]Lv55
[Small Shield]Lv 6
[Stealth]Lv41
[Physical Ability Reinforcement]Lv31
[Chivalrous Thief]Lv22 ↑1UP
[Whip]Lv37
[Fairy Language]Lv99 (Forced Acquisition) (Unable to be moved to Reserved Skills)

Reserved Skills
[Woodworking]Lv34
[Blacksmithing]Lv39
[Alchemy]Lv42
[Advanced Cooking]Lv10 ↑1UP

ExP 4

Titles Possessed:  The One who Charmed Even the Fairy Queen, The One who Defeated a Great Foe Alone, Liberator, ???
“The Fairy Queen’s Husband-san”, “Chef of the Battlefield-san”

A/N: She’s finally done it, her majesty the Fairy Queen.

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1. Although in english we switch the ending between proprietor and proprietress, in general, I guess he’s pointing out that they’re still calling the proprietor “shujin” when “danna” or something more masculine would be used instead. I think.

<t/n: Thank you RS for your donation!
Is it just me or is the spam getting more aggressive lately?
I will be trying to make an honest effort to get the updates back on track. I swear it must be the curse of NaNoWriMo. Even though I’m no longer participating in it, the lag in writing seems to carry over even if I’m not participating.>