Translator: SCP-423

Editor: Evelet

Read at Watashi Wa Sugoi Desu!

Chapter 056 – You Are Safe!

The next day, morning classes were shortened due to a teacher’s workshop or something. I was lucky and went home immediately, quickly ate a lunch I had bought, and logged in straight away. Yuuta said he would also login right away. He said he was still bothering the elf village with the people from [ Mad Ride ].

When I opened my eyes, the sun was already high in the sky, and in front of me was a man in armor sleeping with his arms folded. I guessed that he was a night guard. The two men were exchanging information, and when they saw that I was awake, they laughed and said, “You slept well, didn’t you?” It was already desert outside. I wondered if the reason that it didn’t feel too hot was that the wind was blowing in and the sun was blocked by the roof. At any rate, we would be arriving at the desert city soon. Then it would be not long to Tre. I suppressed my impatient excitement and enjoyed the scenery outside. I saw the walking players and the wolves, snakes, spiders, and other desert monsters that swarmed around them. There were quite a few players walking around like this during the day, so monsters didn’t get close to the carriage. The players seemed to know what they were doing, and when a demon tried to approach the carriage, a player intercepted it in an encounter.

However, there were still some monsters that approached through the gaps. The man in armor was still sleeping, so I decided to take care of it.

I stood at the entrance of the carriage and threw my usual blinding potion at the approaching wolf monster. Since the carriage didn’t stop, we drove away, leaving the demon yelping. The demon would be cut down by a passing player. The experience points and materials of the defeated monster were in my bag before I knew it, so I felt sorry. I guessed the player who finished the monster off and defeated it would’ve been surprised to see that he only got about half the experience points.

“Well, I need to eat lunch,” I said to myself.

As I was hurriedly opening my bag, I saw the armored man in front of me open his eyes.

“Shortie. You’re pretty good.”

With a smirk on his face, he was actually pretending to be asleep and seemed to have seen my actions. “Huh, you didn’t do anything?!” When I reflexively responded, he laughed loudly at me.

“Just when I was about to act, the shortie stood up and tried to do something himself, so I watched for a bit,” he said.

“Ehh. You mean I could have just sat there?” I asked. “I thought that because the guard was sleeping, the demon would be bad news.”

“After all, the guys in front said you could sleep until we got there,” he reminded me.

“That’s true.”

It wasn’t even a workout because all I did was throw one potion at them. I took some bread out of my inventory and started eating it. This bread was a far cry from yesterday’s lunch with Crash, but it was pretty tasty.

“You eat a lot but you’re small. Wait, that’s not right. You eat a lot even though you’re small,” the guard said.

“The meaning doesn’t change, no matter how you phrase it!! It’s the same thing! Besides, I’m not that short!”

Why do people always call me shortie when I ride in a carriage? I wasn’t small until I sat down. I’m not small! Why was it that everyone seemed to have my eyes at the same height as their throats? If they were careless, they showed me their collarbones or something. It was strange. But I never get tired of looking at Vidello-san’s collarbone. It made me horny. The peddler kept me at nose height. Even Yuuta’s chin was at my level, what was even going on? Everyone just looked down at my hair whorl, what the heck was this?

“Hey, you can’t just change your eye line so much!” The guard said with a grin.

“It’s because I’m sitting down,” I retorted.

The men and even the coachmen guffawed as if they were infected by the man in armor’s happy laughter. It wasn’t a laughing matter, though. It was a serious problem. I figured I should have exaggerated my height after all. Reality would have been too sad for me to log out though!

After sitting on the chair huffily and looking at recipes for a while, I saw a big city in the distance. The city, which wavered like a mirage, had a mysteriousness that made it hard to believe that it actually was built there with tangibility. It seemed as if it would disappear as I approached it. But it was a desert, so just because I could see it did not mean that it was close. After seeing the shadow of the city, you had to drive a while further by carriage to get there. I had ridden through the desert at night before, so I was aware of this mysterious and mystifying thing.

“It’s amazing, a city in the desert. It’s the city I was born and raised in. Even though it’s in the middle of the desert, it has a characteristic bustle that you can’t experience anywhere else. Are you going to stay in the desert city today? Have fun for a night. Don’t make that face,” the guard said with an exaggerated pout.

I was aware that I was making a sour face. But if we got to the desert city ahead of schedule, I wanted to skip it and take a carriage to Quattro. I would’ve liked to get my feather amulet repaired there and then log out.

“I’ll enjoy it next time. I know the city is great, but I haven’t done much sightseeing. I really want to, but I have more important things to do.”

“I see. I don’t want to force you. Do your best! Shortie,” the guard grinned.

“I’m not a shortie!”

I couldn’t help but give him a quick smack on his chest with the back of my hand, but he laughed even harder, saying that it didn’t hurt or even tickle. Come on guys, don’t jump on the bandwagon and laugh at me. I’m not a shortie.

The carriage arrived at the desert city much earlier than planned, perhaps because the monsters hadn’t stopped us on the way. I asked the coachman if there were any carriages to Quattro, and he told me that they left from the gate on the other side of the city, so I thanked him, said goodbye to everyone, and ran to the other gate. But the desert city was too big to cut through. As I dashed down the main street, I saw the sign for the Adventurers’ Guild. I noticed a crowd of people in the plaza behind the guild, visible from the side of the building. I looked over and saw a Quick Horse being cared for by a guild employee. That coat, that coloring, was it…?

“Quick Horse! You are safe!!”

I pushed my way through the crowd and approached Quick Horse, who stood neck and shoulders above the crowd. Quick Horse also looked my way as if reacting to my voice. It let out a rough snort and stretched its head out to me.

“Watch out! You’ll get kicked!”

I heard a staff member call out, but this wasn’t the time for that.

I reflexively reached for Quick Horse’s snout and hugged his face. Quick Horse looked at me with calm eyes, and then he rubbed his big face against me. It was cute. Swiftly, I looked around at where the arrows had pierced Quick Horse. I knew an arrow had gone into its neck area. And also in its back and hind leg. It seemed that he had been treated properly after he had returned to the guild, and I couldn’t find any wounds. I was extremely relieved.

“Thank goodness. It’s healed. It must’ve hurt, it was our fault, sorry,” I apologized to Quick Horse, who sniffed and snorted as I stroked his body, enjoying the horse’s smooth coat.

Oh, right. I had to take a carriage to Quattro. When I looked up, everyone in the circle was staring at me. Even the guild staff.

“Perhaps you are the pharmacist who accompanied the boss’ son…?” a guild staff member called out timidly.

I turned my face to them, trying to decide what they meant. The boss…? Guild boss? Um, like Crash’s mother…! I thought and then suddenly remembered. Speaking of which, Crash told me that his mother founded a guild. So, she was the head of this guild? Wow, such a great person?! I hadn’t thought she was that high-profile because Crash was so friendly. But she was the one who made all of this. Of course. Did this mean that Crash was something like a noble’s son after all?

“Uh, y-yes, I was with the boss’ son.”

I wondered if I would be blamed for being attacked. I was able to pass by the Adventurer’s Guild in Sette. Come to think of it, Crash had also said that he borrowed this Quick Horse. And the carriage. I had abandoned the carriage, but I was planning to pay for the damages. I nervously awaited the next words from the staff member, but he just opened his mouth and said, “I have a favor to ask of you.” Then, with a ping, the quest column glowed. However, the carriage might leave. But this seemed like a designated quest limited to me. He’d asked if I traveled with Crash.

“I will help, if I can,” I replied.

I didn’t want to be jailed or have to pay compensation. Aaaah, I need the quest verification right now!