“I… have no money.”
“We’re out of money, nya.”
The next day.
Miina and I were in the inn, showing each other our respective funds.
Both of us had a small amount of gold coins, and some silver and copper coins.
Our current funds would last for only a few days.
Miina, with a look of exasperation, gave me a sharp glance.
“Douglas… how could you think of staying at such a questionable inn with that little money? And it felt like a rather pricey place, nya.”
“That’s because, Miina, the time spent loving each other is more important than anything else, right?”
“…Well, it’s better than doing it in a cheap, dirty place, nya.”
“Exactly! And money? If it runs out, we just earn more.”
“Douglas, you’re surprisingly casual about some things, nya…”
And so, Douglas and Miina left the inn and headed to the Adventurer’s Guild to look for work (quests).
Incidentally, the reason for our current financial predicament was that our earnings from yesterday’s ruin exploration were almost zero.
Aside from the Holy Axe Lombardia, all we found in those ruins was a negligible amount of treasure.
And that negligible treasure was already in the pockets of that priest and mage.
I could go retrieve that negligible treasure from their pockets right now, but that would be too petty.
Exploration of ruins is one way adventurers make money, but it’s not a quest from the Adventurer’s Guild, so there’s no reward from the guild.
Thus, upon arriving at the Adventurer’s Guild, Douglas and Miina stood before the bulletin board, browsing for quests.
“My adventurer rank is E, and Miina’s is F, so we can only take quests up to Rank F+. …Not even being able to take an E-rank Goblin Extermination is pretty tough.”
I glanced at the adventurer’s pass hanging around Miina’s chest, then scanned the quests on the bulletin board that were Rank F+ or lower.
Most of them were miscellaneous tasks like Herb Gathering and Carrying Luggage, and the rewards were, as expected, quite low.
It seemed more profitable to go back to the ruins and retrieve the “negligible treasure” than to take on these jobs.
Quests are assigned a rank, and high-rank quests can only be accepted by high-rank adventurer parties.
Naturally, high-rank quests offer higher rewards and higher danger.
For an E-rank Goblin Extermination, the going rate is around twenty gold coins, while for an A-rank Dragon hunt, it would be at least two hundred gold coins.
For reference, one gold coin, if one lives frugally, is enough for two days of stay at a cheap inn.
If a four-person party completed an E-rank Goblin Extermination, each member would earn about five gold coins. After deducting expenses for equipment repair and other necessities, they could manage to live for about a week without splurging.
Of course, “without splurging” is easier said than done. Most adventurers spend their earnings quickly on drinking, eating, and visiting brothels, and then have to look for the next quest.
The rank of quests a particular adventurer party can accept is determined by the number of party members and their adventurer ranks.
There are various detailed calculations, but for example, for an E-rank Goblin Extermination quest, the minimum requirement would be a party of four F-rank adventurers, or a party of two E-rank adventurers, or a solo D-rank adventurer.
This is why a party of two, with me at E-rank and Miina at F-rank, cannot even accept an E-rank Goblin Extermination.
In terms of combat strength, I can easily defeat a B-rank monster like a Chimera, so I believe I can defeat most enemies alone…
It’s frustrating that despite having the ability, I can’t take on high-rank quests due to the Adventurer’s Guild system’s restrictions.
“What should we do, Douglas? Miina is okay with quests like Herb Gathering, nya. Or should we look for a new party member, nya?”
“Hmm… No, if that’s the case—”
Just as I was about to come up with a plan, I was interrupted.
“Hey, Douglas! You’ve brought along a pretty cute girl! Did you snag another newbie adventurer?”
The Adventurer’s Guild also had a bar, and a group of adventurers were drinking there from early in the morning. Someone called out to me.
…Or rather, it wasn’t just “early in the morning,” it felt like they’d been there all night.
I didn’t know how many places they’d hit after midnight, but they were all completely plastered.
The drunks continued to harass me with even louder voices.
“You still haven’t learned your lesson after being rejected by a young girl the other day, have you!”
“You know you’ll just be dumped again! So why not have your fun before you get dumped!”
“Hahaha! You’re an idiot, Douglas. There’s no way you could do something like that. It’s Douglas! He’s lived forty years with seriousness for clothes. Not even if the sky turned upside down could that happen.”
” ” “Gahahahaha! That’s true!” ” ”
…Sigh.
I let out a big sigh.
Those guys have no filter, saying whatever they want.
Meanwhile, Miina, standing next to me, tugged at my clothes and stretched up to whisper in my ear.
“Douglas, what are those drunks talking about, nya?”
“Sorry, they’re acquaintances of sorts. They’re not usually this bad, but they’re completely out of it.”
“Is that so, nya? …But somehow, it makes me angry when they make fun of you, Douglas. Hey Douglas, can I tease them a little?”
“Tease them? What are you planning to do?”
“I’ll do this, nya.”
As she said that, Miina tightly hugged my arm.
The twin mounds of the beast girl’s ample chest were pressed against my arm with a soft jiggle.
” ” ” “Wha—…!?” ” ” ”
A gasp of surprise rose from the group of drunks.
Their eyes were wide, and their mouths hung open.
“O-oi, Miina, what are you—”
“Heh heh. Leave it to Miina, nya.”
Miina chuckled, and leaning against me while still hugging my arm, she said ostentatiously towards the drunks.
“Douglas, they don’t know, nya? They don’t know how amazing Douglas is in bed. Miina’s body has become so accustomed to Douglas that she can’t be satisfied by anyone else, nya. …You’ll embrace me again tonight, won’t you, Douglas?”
” ” ” “W-w-w-whatttttttttt!?” ” ” ”
The drunks started to get up from their seats.
But since they were so drunk, one of them stumbled and fell.
“Nyahahahaha! Serves you right! That’s what you get for making fun of Douglas, nya! — Now, Douglas, let’s go, nya.”
“You…!”
Miina’s surprisingly combative.
But it’s also true that it made me feel a little better.
Even if I’m used to being mocked, it’s still unpleasant.
“But thank you, Miina. I was a little happy.”
“You’re welcome, nya.”
I gave Miina a light kiss.
As soon as our lips parted, Miina’s cheeks flushed red, and she gave me a shy, sidelong glance.
…Is it just me, or is my girlfriend way too cute?
I’m feeling so happy these days that I’m afraid of the emotional backlash.
