WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Alyo

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◈ Surviving as a Warrior in a TRPG World ◈

Chapter 13: Riverbridge (2)

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"Um... the money..."

"Oh, right. Sorry, sorry."

The boy's timid question reminded Gerik that he had forgotten something important. He quickly unpacked his bundle and took out a leather pouch.

He pulled two silver coins from it and handed them to the boy.

"I don't have any copper coins. You can make change, right?"

"Of course! I'll bring it up with the water in a little while!"

The boy acted like someone who had run into payment issues more than once. When Gerik handed over the money without making a fuss, his face brightened.

"Whew... How long has it been since I rested somewhere fit for people...?"

The inside of the inn looked a hundred times better than Farmer Baron's house.

It was still a shabby lodging with nothing but an old bed, table, and chair, but its private room reminded him of a modern studio apartment. That alone was enough to satisfy him.

"Haah... Tomorrow, I have to buy new pants..."

A few days ago, the raiders' murderous presence had scared him badly enough to soil himself. Given the situation, Gerik had not been able to change, and his face reddened as he decided to buy a spare set of clothes while he was at it.

"Excuse me~"

As Gerik grumbled while unpacking and organizing his things, that familiar voice came from outside the door again.

"Here's your hot water and your change. Come downstairs once you're done washing up. We've prepared your meal."

"Yeah. Thanks."

"Also, once you've used all the hot water, just leave the wooden tub outside your door. I'll take care of it."

"I'll do that."

The large wooden basin held a considerable amount of hot water. It looked heavy enough that Gerik was sure the boy had struggled to carry it up, despite his sturdy build.

Come to think of it, his arms and neck are red.

He had probably suffered minor burns from carrying the tub of hot water up and down the stairs.

Gerik gave a bitter smile at the sight of child labor that would have been unthinkable on modern Earth.

I'm still too soft. I should just wash up.

After lightly scolding himself, Gerik took off his clothes and began wiping himself down from head to toe with a towel soaked in hot water.

The chance to shower, or something close to one, lifted his mood.

After soaking the towel and scrubbing himself nearly a dozen times, Gerik felt clean enough. He got dressed again and headed down to the first floor.

"Hm? I thought you'd fallen asleep, but here you are."

The young adventurer had not come down for quite some time. Given this world's standards of cleanliness, the innkeeper had never imagined he was washing so thoroughly and had assumed he had simply gone to sleep.

The innkeeper waved Gerik over to a seat, then sat at the table across from him with an embarrassed smile.

"You're a lucky young fellow. Today's menu is my wife's specialty, meat stew."

With that, the innkeeper set a tray in front of Gerik.

The stew's deep brown broth was striking, and it was packed with large chunks of meat, potatoes, carrots, garlic, celery, and more. Along with a large loaf of bread, it stirred Gerik's appetite.

When was the last time I had a proper meal like this?

Compared with the food from his previous life, the stew was by no means exceptional.

Still, after spending a little over a month living on the terrible food at Baron's house, the stew before him looked unbelievably delicious.

Munch... munch...

When Gerik started wolfing down his food without a word, the innkeeper seemed to feel sorry for him. He silently held out an empty cup.

"Beer?"

"...No. Just give me some milk."

Gerik knew well from his previous life what drinking could do to one's health. Instead of chasing momentary pleasure, he chose to take care of his body for the future.

The innkeeper mistook that choice for typical greenhorn behavior. Smiling softly, he poured milk and set it beside Gerik.

"Thank you... munch..."

"You really are enjoying it. Tell me if you're still hungry. I don't usually do this, but I'll give you another serving today, on the house."

Since Gerik had come down late after washing so carefully, most of the guests had already gone upstairs to rest.

With no one around to complain about why they were not getting more, the innkeeper, a former adventurer himself, generously looked after the young man before him.

"Yes, I'd appreciate that. But..."

Gerik set the stew bowl in front of the innkeeper in a wordless request.

While the innkeeper ladled out more stew for him, Gerik asked what he had been wondering about.

"Ah, you said you wanted to buy armor and consumables, right? That's a good idea."

Having lived as an adventurer himself for many years, the innkeeper knew exactly how important armor and consumables were.

So when Gerik said he wanted to stock up on them, the innkeeper praised him for making a wise decision.

"That's adventuring for you. Wander around without proper armor, get stabbed by some goblin's stray blade, and you're dead in one hit. Good thinking."

The innkeeper then explained the nearby smithies and general stores to Gerik.

"Riverbridge may be a small town, but it's got three smithies. For a fellow like you, though, I'd recommend Red Anvil Forge."

"Why?"

"Unlike the other smithies, which also deal in farm tools and ship parts, that place puts weapons first! Their prices are fairly cheap too."

"Ah..."

Though it was a small town, trading ships came and went through it, so some smithies apparently prioritized making repair parts for ships.

Gerik was glad he had asked and listened closely to the innkeeper.

"As for a general store... The Generous Widow's Basket, run by Widow Mary, is a safe choice."

After listening to the innkeeper's helpful explanation, Gerik asked about the going prices of various goods and any unusual rumors from the area.

He tried to sound as calm as possible while seeking news of the raiders, but they had been thorough. It seemed the massacre at Mudholm had not reached this place yet.

"Ugh... I'm dying."

For the first time in a while, Gerik woke without being battered by winter winds. Perhaps because his tension had eased, he let out a sigh as aches spread through his whole body.

At least he was still young, so his stamina was good enough that he did not seem to have caught a cold.

"Where did he say it was...?"

After breakfast at the inn, Gerik walked around town looking for the smithy the innkeeper had told him about the day before.

Fortunately, the town was not large. Before long, he found a smithy with a striking red roof.

"...Hello."

The blacksmith was so busy hammering away that he paid Gerik no attention, so Gerik spoke up to get his attention.

The muscular man, focused on his work, finally realized a customer had arrived. He set down his hammer and turned his head.

"...What can I do for you?"

The blacksmith, his skin covered in small burns and wrinkles, answered curtly as he rose from his seat.

"I'd like to look at leather armor."

"Ah, an adventurer, are you? Come this way."

That changed at once when Gerik said he was there to buy something. The blacksmith led him over with a welcoming manner, as if he had never been rude at all.

"How about this? It's armor made from the hide of a black bear that lives in the deep valleys. Tough and durable."

"...How much is it?"

"This? Ten silver coins!"

"...."

He had spent a large sum on his stay at the inn the day before. Hearing a price twice that amount come out of the blacksmith's mouth, Gerik felt his body stiffen.

"Th-That's too expensive. Don't you have anything cheaper?"

"Hmm...."

Looking at Gerik's large build, youthful face, and shabby clothes, the blacksmith seemed to be judging the state of his purse.

With a reluctant look, he put down the armor he had made himself and led Gerik to the other side.

"How about this one? It's secondhand, so it's much cheaper."

"How much...?"

"Five silver coins."

The blacksmith explained that although it was used, it had little damage and had been well maintained, making it perfectly serviceable.

"See here? What matters with armor is protecting vital areas, like the torso and joints. In that sense, it may be used, but the important parts are still intact. You can use this in a real fight without any trouble."

The leather armor did have quite a few scratches and damaged spots on its arms and legs, but as the blacksmith said, the critical areas were in clean condition.

"It looks good. But... could you lower the price a little?"

"Hey now, I need to make a living too! How about this? If you buy it, I'll refit the leather so the armor fits you properly. For free! What do you say?"

"Mm..."

The leather armor was slightly larger than Gerik. Instead of lowering the price, the blacksmith offered to alter it, and Gerik was tempted.

Still, rather than accepting right away, he kept his answer vague and quietly continued negotiating.

"I understand for now. Oh, and I'd also like a shortsword that's good for general use. Do you have one?"

"A shortsword? Of course we do. There isn't anything our smithy doesn't carry."

At Gerik's question, the blacksmith took him to where swords he had made himself were lined up.

Among the displayed weapons, Gerik spotted a shortsword similar to the one Lugos had carried and picked it up.

"How much is this?"

"How does four silver coins sound?"

It was not cheap either. Remembering the lesson from the day before, Gerik decided not to agree blindly and bravely tried to haggle.

"Could you take one silver coin off each if I buy the leather armor and this separately?"

"Good grief... Then I wouldn't even have the cost of materials left. Let's do this. Eight coins for both, and if you buy them, I'll service that longsword you're wearing for free. How about it? I'll throw in a whetstone too!"

"Oh..."

Gerik had not even thought about maintaining his weapons, so the blacksmith's unexpected suggestion caught his interest.

"If you teach me how to maintain a blade with a whetstone, I'll take your offer. How about it?"

"Ah, so you haven't maintained your sword much before? Fine! I'll teach you how to do that too!"

He could probably have pushed harder and gotten a few dozen more copper coins knocked off. Still, Gerik did not want to sour the blacksmith's mood and end up receiving a halfhearted lesson on weapon maintenance. Rather than pressing the matter, he decided to compromise and learn what he could.

"Let's take your measurements."

To alter the leather armor, which was slightly too large for Gerik, the blacksmith brought out a leather measuring tape and checked him all over.

Then he brought over the shortsword and taught Gerik how to sharpen a blade with a whetstone.

"It'll take about five days to alter the leather armor. Come back this afternoon, and your longsword will be sharpened up nicely."

Gerik said he would return later, then headed to the general store the innkeeper had told him about the day before.

Having bargained once or twice now, he had grown fairly used to it. He worked hard to haggle at the general store and eventually bought equipment like gloves, a robe, and boots, along with clothes and consumables, for the not-too-bad price of three silver coins.

"It was the right call to stay for about a week."

Learning that the robe, boots, and alterations to the leather armor would take around five days, Gerik happily realized that deciding to stay at The Oak and Owl for a week had been a good choice.

With his freshly maintained longsword and various consumables, he returned to the inn, ate the late lunch the innkeeper gave him, and headed for the empty lot behind the building.

Time to train. Train...

Footnotes:

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