Volume 1 Chapter 9 The Unsettling Shadow
I canceled my planned trip to the eastern dungeon and returned from the forest to Voltana town.
Just like when I left, the main street of the town is completely quiet, with no people walking.
The only places with lights on at this late hour are probably the taverns.
And now, there is a big problem that has arisen here.
Because I was late, I couldn't rent a room at the inn...
It's midnight, and the inn is fully occupied by many adventurers who have come to visit Voltana. There is not a single room available.
Today, I had planned to dive into the dungeon, so I intended to take turns staying at the inn with other adventurers.
But the female werewolf lying quietly on my back, making peaceful sleeping breaths, shows no sign of waking up.
I can't just leave her like this, but forcibly waking her up doesn't seem like it will improve the situation, so I leave her be.
Reluctantly, I entered the backstreet from the main street and began searching for an inn again.
But the result was the same.
The inn where I rented a room yesterday was already full.
"I can't just sleep outdoors this time."
While walking again, I came across a shop.
It was a shop where I could sell the materials I obtained in the dungeon today.
Strangely, even at this hour, light was leaking from the window of the shop.
It seems like the shopkeeper is awake.
However, considering his personality.
I don't feel like he would lend me a place to sleep.
But I don't know when I'll find another place.
There's a possibility, just in case. If it doesn't work out, I'll have to try somewhere else. With that in mind, I stood in front of the shop and knocked on the door a few times.
After a while, the door opened slightly, and the familiar bearded shopkeeper peeked out.
"Hey hey, what brings you here at this late hour... huh? It's the morning kid."
"I apologize for the suddenness, but I need to borrow a bed to let a woman who has fainted rest. All the inns are full."
The shopkeeper looked at me and the sleeping woman alternately, then let out a sigh.
"Well, no wonder everything's closed on a night like this... Seriously, what a pain."
"Huh?"
I was surprised by the unexpected words that came out.
"What's wrong? Is it that strange?"
"Oh, no."
Following the shopkeeper, we entered the shop.
There were bottles of alcohol on the counter, and the smell of alcohol filled the shop.
Even though I had come to the tavern early in the morning, it seemed like they were still drinking.
"Just to make sure, who exactly is that girl? I hope it's not some kind of trouble, though I doubt it."
"No, earlier I found her being chased by a monster in the forest. She's sleeping now."
As I said that, the shopkeeper immediately had a bewildered expression.
"You went into the forest at this time? What were you thinking... So, I guess the inn rooms were full and couldn't be rented?"
The shop owner said that while opening the door behind the counter.
Inside, there was a tidy room with a bed and a desk.
I was a little surprised by the difference from the rest of the shop.
"Even I clean up the sleeping place a bit. Well, you can use it."
I quickly laid the woman on the bed.
"Doesn't seem like she's injured or anything."
"Yeah. I gave her a potion before she passed out."
"Then she should be okay. Should we just let her sleep like this?"
I left the room with the shop owner and returned to the shop.
"But why did you go into the forest at this time?"
The shop owner asked while sitting on the chair at the counter.
I owed him for helping me. Somehow, I didn't want to hide anything from this shop owner.
"I'm an adventurer, and I was planning to enter the dungeon to level up."
"First of all, it's shocking to be an adventurer in this morning's outfit... And I'm surprised that you're strong enough to handle monsters alone."
"Well, I was in a dangerous situation too, to be honest."
If that monster over there had attacked, I wouldn't know what would have happened.
"By the way, did you defeat that undead ogre on your own?"
"Yes, but..."
"Huh!? Then why didn't you take it to the guild?"
"It's not like it caused any problems, but it's difficult to prove how strong I am, so I'm not very inclined to do it."
The shopkeeper's expression momentarily turned surprised, and then he let out another big sigh.
"If you had just said that from the beginning, it would have been nice. Recently, there have been adventurers bringing in suspicious items, so I was cautious."
"I guess it was just an ordinary shop."
"Surprising is unnecessary! By the way... why was that girl in the forest?"
The shopkeeper stood up from his chair, crossed his arms, and leaned against the wall, gazing at the door to the room where the werewolf woman was sleeping.
"I don't really know. She was being chased by a monster that blended into the darkness of the forest."
"What? I've never heard of such a monster being in the forest. So, what happened to it?"
"It suddenly disappeared somewhere. It was a monster that made beast-like growls and snake-like noises."
"I have no idea... but I've never heard of a snake-like monster like that being around here."
However, I do think it sounded like that.
So, could it be a monster that happened to come here like the Killing Bear?
"Maybe some village was attacked by monsters and they ran away all the way here. There probably aren't many people moving through the forest at this time."
"But aren't there soldiers in the village?"
"Well, that's not the case around Voltana. It might be better to be careful about going outside the town for a while, kid."
The shopkeeper starts drinking alcohol.
I wonder how much he has been drinking since morning.
"I mentioned it this morning, but in Cretia, the king favors strong adventurers to defeat monsters. Do you know why, kid?"
"No, I don't know."
"There are too many monsters, and there aren't enough knights and soldiers to protect the villages and towns within Cretea's territory. That's why they rely on adventurers. If they leave the monsters in the dungeon alone, they might eventually come out to the surface."
I remembered the Skeleton Ogre that came to the upper layer.
It was supposed to be a monster that originally belonged to the middle layer.
So, there might be a possibility that the monsters in the forest came out of the dungeon and onto the surface.
"Well, there's no point in us thinking about it here. Let's wait until that young lady wakes up to think about it. Okay, here."
The shopkeeper threw a blanket over to me.
"Well, except for the young lady, this is all you get."
The shopkeeper said just that, covered himself with the blanket while still sitting in the chair, and closed his eyes.
I did the same, sitting in the chair and closing my eyes, waiting for morning to come.
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