After splitting the magic stones with Gob, it was time for us to part ways.
Gob would stay in the dungeon like usual, while Ukyo and I headed back to the surface.
After all, as a monster, he couldn't just freely roam around Orario.
"See you tomorrow, Gob," I said while patting his shoulder.
He nodded and made a gesture that meant 'Be careful out there. And don't trust that weird guy completely.' His eyes glanced toward Ukyo, who was busy counting his magic stones.
I smiled.
"I'll be careful."
Gob made one more gesture: 'If he tries anything funny, let me know. I'll bite his leg.'
I chuckled, shaking my head.
"Alright," I said while turning around and waving goodbye.
With that, Ukyo and I began our journey back to the surface.
•••
The moment we left the dungeon and stepped onto Orario's streets, I immediately realized something I'd forgotten.
Slapping my forehead...
I looked down at my clothes, which were covered in blood.
Not just small splatters, but completely smeared from the earlier fight. Black blood from monsters mixed with my own red blood, creating quite a horrifying sight.
And apparently, this sight was drawing attention.
"There he is! Kaen the Beauty Savior!" someone whispered from the crowd.
"Look at him all bloody! He must've just saved another beautiful girl from monsters!"
"Wait, that's not his blood. Look at the color that's monster blood. Worthy of Kaen! He really is a true beauty hero!"
"Yeah! I still remember the legend about him he got beaten up by a mob because he was accused of being a rapist, but it turned out he was saving that girl from a criminal!"
"Right! And he even went to jail to protect her honor! A true hero! He's my idol from now on!"
I nearly tripped hearing those comments.
That awful incident was apparently still fresh in Orario citizens' memories.
I thought it would be quickly forgotten, but apparently not.
After all, adventurers love to gossip to relieve stress.
Honestly, I hate that stupid nickname, what kind of "beauty hero" am I? I don't even have a girlfriend!
"For my idol," said a man with sparkling eyes while clenching his fist, "after I get back from adventuring, I'll go to Ishtar Familia to... uh... cough... cough... donate to those poor girls who lack affection and money!"
"Yeah! Me too!" his friend chimed in enthusiastically.
"I'll give all my savings to help them! Even if I have to sacrifice my body for their sake, I'm willing!"
"You're right! We should follow in Kaen's footsteps! Become heroes for women in need!" shouted the third one while crying tears of emotion.
"But... aren't you guys just wanting to pay for prostitutes?" someone whispered innocently.
"SHUT UP!" they snapped in unison with bright red faces.
"That's... uh... SOCIAL DONATION!"
"Yeah! Social donation! We're helping their economy!"
"Exactly! And we're also learning about... umm... anatomy for medical knowledge!"
"Yes, yes, medical anatomy."
"Anatomy, they say..." muttered the people around with skeptical looks.
I walked faster, hoping to avoid further attention from this weird discussion.
Suddenly, Ukyo whispered in my ear with a mischievous tone.
"Looks like you're pretty famous here. And what the hell is 'Beauty Savior Hero'?"
Then he burst out laughing while holding his stomach.
"So you went to jail for being accused of rape? HAHAHA! That's hilarious!"
I ignored him and kept walking with increasingly quick steps.
"Hey, don't leave!" Ukyo shouted while chasing after me.
"Tell me about your romantic adventures! How does it feel to be a beauty hero?"
"There's nothing to tell," I answered curtly without looking back.
"Come on, there must be an interesting story! Was the girl pretty? Did she thank you? Did you two start dating?"
"NO!" I glared coldly while turning around with a red face... not from embarrassment, but from anger.
Mentioning that girl, Syr, was like reopening old wounds.
If I were stronger, I would've already kicked this guy.
"Why... you're being shy! That girl must've been really beautiful for you to go to jail for her!"
I kept ignoring him and sped up my pace.
Ukyo continued following while laughing stupidly and throwing out ridiculous questions.
Meanwhile, from behind, I could still hear the adventurers discussing their 'social donation' plans.
"Let's all go together then! It'll be more memorable!"
"Yeah! We'll say we're coming in the name of Kaen the Beauty Hero!"
"But don't tell anyone that we're actually just wanting to... donate."
"Of course! This is purely for humanitarian purposes!"
"Humanitarian? Earlier it was anatomy—can you guys just be honest?..." someone muttered again with a cynical tone.
"Alright, we all agree to go for Kaen's sake, so... Say it: FOR HERO KAEN WE WILL HELP GIRLS IN NEED!" the man shouted enthusiastically.
"FOR HERO KAEN WE WILL HELP GIRLS!"
"FOR HERO KAEN WE WILL GIVE LOVE TO LONELY WOMEN!"
"FOR HERO KAEN...."
"FOR HERO KAEN!!!" their leader yelled.
Echoes of their boisterous chanting could be heard behind me, mixed with suppressed laughter from other passersby.
I sped up even more while muttering to myself, 'Why do I have to listen to their stupid conversation?'
'Next time I'll just let monsters eat them all—maybe that'd be better for Orario's population.'
Just like that... We arrived at the Guild pretty quickly, mainly because I was practically running to avoid the increasingly rowdy crowd discussing their 'humanitarian mission' plans.
The large building with its magnificent architecture always made me feel small every time I entered.
Ukyo and I stood in front of the magic stone exchange counter.
The clerk behind the counter... began counting the magic stones we'd collected from the Needle Rabbits earlier.
"Hmm... pretty good quality for floor 8 monsters," he muttered while examining each one with a small magnifying glass.
"The condition is still prime too, no cracks or breaks. the amount..." he paused for a moment to recount, "73,500 valis."
More than 70 thousand valis!
My eyes immediately lit up seeing that amount.
This was the biggest haul I'd ever gotten in a single day, even though it was risky.
But... Hey, like the saying goes, risk always comes with profit.
Ukyo, standing beside me, stared at the pile of money with eyes glittering like a cat seeing fresh fish.
"Wow, not bad I can go help several lonely girls for hero Kaen!" he said while rubbing his hands together like a merchant who'd just made a huge profit.
I nearly coughed up blood from anger!
But I tried to calm myself... Take a deep breath, stay calm, Kaen, don't let emotions get the better of you.
After finally calming down, I started thinking about other things.
I didn't see Eina anywhere.
Usually she'd be at the Guild, though rarely, and I actually wanted to thank her because she'd once tried to help me get out of jail.
After getting out of jail, I forgot to thank her.
Taking the money from the clerk, I looked left and right, searching for that brown-haired elf.
She wasn't there.
"Maybe Eina's busy," I muttered while shaking my head with slight disappointment.
Just as I turned away from the exchange counter, I happened to see a Guild worker I'd seen before.
Rose Fannet.
A werewolf with long red hair and sharp eyes that always looked serious.
She was walking through the lobby with a thick stack of documents in her hands, her face showing the focused expression of a professional worker.
Even though we didn't know each other personally, I decided to approach her.
"Excuse me," I said while walking up to her quickly.
Rose stopped and turned toward me.
Her eyes scanned my blood-covered appearance with a slightly worried and surprised expression.
"Is there something I can help you with?" she asked in a professional but polite tone, though her eyebrow was slightly raised seeing my condition.
"I'm looking for Eina Tulle. She usually handles my business here. Do you know where she is right now?"
Rose was quiet for a moment, as if trying to remember something.
She shifted the documents to her left arm and scratched her temple with her right hand.
"Oh, Eina's busy dealing with something related to a familia outside Orario. If I'm not mistaken..." she thought for another moment, "Artemis Familia. Some kind of special mission that requires coordination with the Guild."
"Artemis?" I repeated curiously, starting to search through some memories about something called Artemis.
"If I'm not mistaken, she's the goddess of the hunt, right?"
"Yes, exactly. Goddess Artemis is known as the goddess of hunting and the moon. It seems something happened that requires Guild assistance for administration and logistical coordination." Rose explained patiently.
"Eina was specifically assigned to handle it because she's quite experienced. She'll probably be busy for a while."
"I see. Thank you so much for the information, Miss Rose."
Rose nodded politely with a thin smile.
"You're welcome. If there's anything urgent, you can see another advisor. They're all quite competent."
"No, nothing urgent. Thanks again."
"Oh," Rose added while glancing at my blood-stained clothes, "you should change clothes and rest soon. It looks like you just came from a tough fight."
"I'll do that. Good afternoon, Miss Rose."
"Good afternoon."
I walked away from Rose, while Ukyo, who'd been waiting patiently while observing the Guild's luxurious interior, looked at me with hopeful eyes.
"Finished?" he asked while glancing at the pile of money in my hands with an expectant gaze.
"Yeah," I answered while gripping the money pouch.
"But not here. Too crowded." I signaled for him to follow me out of the Guild to find a quieter corner for our transaction.
We left the Guild and looked for a corner that wasn't too crowded to make our transaction.
Finally we found a small bench in a park near the Guild that was somewhat hidden by a large tree.
I took out all the money and began counting carefully.
"Alright," I said while separating some coins with very careful movements.
"The potions I bought from you yesterday were 25,000 valis per bottle. Two bottles means a total of 50,000 valis."
I gave 50,000 valis to Ukyo with a somewhat heavy heart.
That much money could cover food for more than a month!
He accepted the money with a beaming face like a kid getting a birthday present, but then his expression changed to confusion while recounting the money in his hands.
"Wait a minute," he said while staring at the money carefully.
"This is just for the potions, right? Where's the money for my hard work today?"
I stared at him with a flat expression like looking at someone who just said water is dry.
"Hard work? You didn't help much—you almost got us killed by that swarm of Needle Rabbits because of your reckless horn-breaking."
"But I went through the trouble of luring monsters! And I ran all that way too! My legs are sore!" he protested while lifting one leg and massaging it dramatically.
"Running from danger that you created yourself isn't an achievement worth paying for," I replied with a casual but firm tone.
Ukyo put on a sad face like a dog that wasn't given food.
Still, I felt a bit bad too.
After all, he did go through the trouble of helping us, even if in a very... questionable way that nearly killed us.
I reluctantly pulled out an additional 5,000 valis from the pouch and gave it to him.
"This is a bonus for your... 'effort' today."
Ukyo accepted the money with a deeply sad expression like a kid who only got one piece of candy when he wanted a whole jar.
"That's so little?" he muttered quietly while staring at the 5,000 valis like looking at something disappointing.
I didn't raise my voice. Instead, I spoke calmly. "Little?" I repeated quietly.
"Ukyo, that 5,000 valis is payment because you nearly got us killed. If you'd succeeded, maybe I would've given you 50,000. But since you failed completely, consider it... the cost of your failure."
Ukyo immediately froze, probably just realizing that his earlier comment was a bit excessive and insensitive to other people's financial situations.
"Uh... sorry," he said while scratching his head awkwardly.
"I didn't know that... um... your economic situation..."
I shook my head irritably and started walking away while putting the remaining money in the pouch.
"Wait!" Ukyo shouted from behind with a booming voice.
"Kaen! What time should I wait tomorrow? And do you want to buy my potions again?"
His voice echoed through the streets like a mosque loudspeaker, drawing the attention of everyone passing by.
Even some housewives who were shopping turned around with annoyed looks.
"Can you not shout like a street vendor?!" I said irritably while turning around.
"You're disturbing other people's peace! This isn't a traditional market!"
But Ukyo seemed completely unconcerned with my scolding or the sharp looks from people around us.
He kept waiting for an answer with a hopeful face like a puppy waiting to be fed.
"Tomorrow morning at exactly 8 o'clock in front of Babel Tower," I finally said with a resigned tone.
"Don't be late! And for potions, if the price is more than 1,000 valis per bottle, I won't buy them."
"1,000 valis?!" he protested with a voice even louder than before.
"That's too cheap for premium quality like my potions!"
Several people around us started stopping to watch our negotiation drama with enthusiasm.
"Take it or leave it," I replied while shrugging indifferently.
"That's my final offer. No more negotiating."
Ukyo was quiet for a moment, as if doing complex calculations in his brain.
His face showed the expression of someone having an internal war.
Finally he sighed deeply and made an 'okay' gesture with his hand like someone surrendering to fate.
"Fine, fine. 1,000 valis per bottle. But I guarantee the quality will still be the best you've ever tried! These aren't cheap potions!"
"See you tomorrow morning. Don't forget—exactly 8 o'clock!"
"Wait, wait!" he shouted again while running after me.
"Where are you going now? Want to eat together? My treat! As a sign of friendship!"
"Also... I just arrived in Orario, I don't know where Ishtar Familia is!"
"No thanks. I already have plans, and you really shouldn't go to Ishtar Familia either," I replied while speeding up.
"Come on!"
But I was already leaving with quick steps, abandoning Ukyo who was still shouting random things behind me while drawing attention from the entire area.
On my way back to the Hestia Familia church, I decided to stop by the usual place I buy bread for Goddess Hestia.
That simple bread cart that always gave off appetite-stimulating aromas had become part of my daily routine.
Especially when I wanted to bring something special for my beloved goddess.
The bread seller... a middle-aged man I knew fairly well... immediately greeted me when he saw me approaching.
"Kid!" he said with a friendly smile. "Just back from the dungeon?"
"Yeah, Uncle," I replied while approaching his cart.
"I heard some rumors about you saving beauties again," he said while chuckling.
"Is it true?"
I sighed.
"That's just a misunderstanding, Uncle. I didn't save anyone."
"Haha, so modest. But it doesn't matter, the important thing is you're safe and healthy."
"I also heard you got beaten up by a mob."
He began wrapping some fresh bread in brown paper.
His movements were skillful and caring, like an artist finishing a masterpiece.
Watching the man work, I realized I'd never known his name, even though I'd shopped here often.
"Uncle," I said curiously.
"May I know your name?"
The man stopped for a moment and looked at me with a warm smile.
"My name is Boros Granello," he said while patting his chest proudly.
"I've been selling bread on Orario's streets for 15 years."
Boros Granello.
He looked like someone who considered every dough a canvas, and every bread a work of art.
His cart was simple, but always filled with the calming aroma of fresh bread.
"My name is Kaen," I said in return.
Boros nodded politely.
"Nice to meet you, Kaen."
I was slightly surprised by his response.
I thought he'd say something like "I already know your name from the rumors," or similar comments.
But he didn't.
This man understood manners well and didn't get caught up in circulating gossip. He treated me as an individual, not as a character in rumors.
I respected him even more as a mature person.
"Thanks for the bread, Uncle Boros," I said while receiving the wrapped bread and giving him money.
"You're welcome, kid. Be careful on the road. And give my regards to Goddess Hestia."
I nodded, not surprised that he knew I had Goddess Hestia... after all, rumors spread like fire.
I started walking away with lighter steps.
"See you again!" Boros shouted from behind.
"See you, Uncle!"