The place Lizel was led to by the man who introduced himself as Gil was a tavern.
The interior was similar to a bar, but it also served proper meals and had a few tables, so it was probably more of a tavern than a bar. Since it was still daytime, there weren't many customers, but it would probably get crowded soon.
"I'll take the back room."
"Alright."
Gil spoke to a man at the counter and placed a few silver coins on the counter. Lizel didn't want anyone to overhear their conversation, so he didn't object.
The man who seemed to be the master glanced at them.
"Hello, nice to meet you."
"...Ah."
It was clearly an unusual pairing, but he didn't say anything. Thinking that this was a pretty good place for this kind of conversation, Lizel followed Gil through the door next to the counter.
Inside was a small but comfortable private room with one four-seater table.
"Gil, you seem to be well-known here."
"I'm just a regular customer. Master, drinks."
"Oh, I can't drink, so I'm fine."
"Huh? Hey, he says he can't drink."
"I heard you."
While watching Gil arguing with the master through the doorway, Lizel sat down in one of the two chairs. He let out a sigh of relief, finally able to rest his legs after several hours.
Gil quickly returned with two glasses in his hands and offered one to Lizel.
"Here."
"Oh, thank you."
He had declined because it would be rude to go to a tavern and not drink, but unexpectedly, the glass he offered contained what looked like some kind of fruit juice.
He looked at it for a while, then gently placed the glass down without taking a sip. Gil, swirling his own glass and making the ice clink, looked at Lizel with a smile on his lips. "Should I taste it first?"
"If I doubted you, I wouldn't have approached you in the first place."
Liesel smiled calmly, and Gil inwardly clicked his tongue.
"(The whole thing, from me approaching him to this point, is all part of his plan, isn't it...? He's unpredictable.)"
Just as he suspected, Lizel was waiting for some kind of reaction before taking a sip from the glass.
Of course, he didn't think there was anything rigged, and he certainly didn't think the master of this place was in on it and trying to set him up. Even without thinking it, the possibility of doubt existed, and that possibility vanished the moment Gil spoke.
He could hold his own thoughts while simultaneously considering the thoughts of a third party. Lizel's ability to do this was special, but Gil's ability to notice it was also special.
"So, what do you want to know?"
"Well, let's start with your self-introduction, Gil."
"What do you want to know?"
"I'm not trying to pry into your life; I just thought it would be strange to have a conversation with someone whose name is all I know. Your profession, your romantic history, anything is fine."
Lizel dodged his probing gaze and calmly took a sip from the glass. As expected, it was freshly squeezed fruit juice; the sweet and sour taste was soothing to his tired body.
What Lizel wanted to know was Gil's position. The other person's position is important when receiving information.
He couldn't afford to get any misleading information, and the questions he asked would change depending on the answer. From what he could see, he was definitely an adventurer, but he wanted to confirm it.
Gil sighed resignedly, said "I'm going to smoke," and put a cigarette in his mouth.
"Fine, it's something you can find out if you investigate... I'm a solo adventurer, B-rank, I don't have a specific woman, and I don't intend to get one."
"You don't have one, but you're not bothered by that?"
"I'm flattered if that's how it looks."
Gil chuckled and lit his cigarette. He didn't expect that the comment he received from Lizel wasn't about his profession, but rather about his romantic history.
Gil, a solo adventurer of B-rank, boasts high recognition among adventurers. One reason for this is that it's generally said that solo adventurers can only progress up to D-rank.
Beyond that, it's not impossible to continue without a party, but the quests are almost impossibly difficult. Given this, it would be strange if someone who reached B-rank solo didn't become famous.
Lizel didn't react to Gil's comment. Even Gil, who was always so composed and effortlessly handled interactions with others, couldn't read his true feelings.
"(He seems more important than I thought... but I've never seen or heard of him before. It's also strange that he's wandering around alone.)"
"You seem sharp, so perhaps I'm confusing you?"
Despite not revealing his own thoughts, he mercilessly read Gil's.
The responsive exchange was somehow pleasant, and Gil took the cigarette from his mouth and extinguished it. It was as if he was enjoying the interaction with the man in front of him.
"Will you tell me if I ask?"
"Do you want to know?"
"I'd like to hear about your romantic history."
The exchange was repeated exactly as before, and Lizel laughed amusedly.
With his refined laughter, without raising his voice, Gil reached for his glass, certain that the answer would be that he was a nobleman.
"I have no profession, and nothing to prove my identity, so my status is no different from someone from the slums. My romantic history is a secret."
His outstretched hand almost knocked over the glass, but he quickly grabbed it, averting disaster. Then, he directed a sharp gaze at the unreadable man in front of him, as if trying to uncover everything about him.
Even in the face of a gaze that would make an ordinary person frightened and confess everything, the man's composed demeanor remained completely unchanged. "...It doesn't seem like a lie, but the information you're giving me, considering I'm supposedly confused, isn't exactly helpful."
"Do you believe it's not a lie?"
"If you're keeping your romantic history secret, it means you're not lying about things you don't want to talk about. Don't keep testing me."
Lizel narrowed his eyes, looking pleased. He had chosen someone he thought he could talk to reasonably well, but it was even more enjoyable to have someone understand his intentions so perfectly.
He had also noticed the near-miss with the glass earlier, but it hadn't shown on his face.
"That's right. If I were going to lie casually, I'd say I've slept with a hundred women."
"That's a bit of an exaggeration, isn't it?"
He nodded casually at Gil, who was smirking playfully, and then leaned his elbows on the table and clasped his hands.
"Now that the introductions are over, let's get down to business."
"From my perspective, I don't know anything about you."
"That's because your questions were poor."
He returned a rather bitter expression to the smiling Lizel.
There was definitely something he didn't want to be asked about. If this was the first exchange after all this, how many steps ahead did he need to think?
"(Well, fine, this time I'll just give him information worth the price.)"
Unlike a competitive transaction, this was a safe information exchange with full payment upfront. And the income was exceptionally high.
He didn't need to know the other party's circumstances. If asked if he was curious, that would be a different matter.
"So, what do you want to know?"
"Well, let's start with the general situation around here."
It was a safe question to ask an adventurer who frequently crossed borders.
"Have you just arrived here?"
"Yes, I just arrived here today."
He subtly probed, but the answer was given calmly. The man, who had just said he was from a place similar to the slums, now claimed to be from outside the city. Who exactly was he?
"...I haven't heard anything suspicious lately, things are calm."
"Lately?"
"Yeah, the Merchant Nation and the Magic Ore Nation were having some trouble a while ago, but things are calm now. Well, skirmishes happen all the time between those countries, so nobody really cares."
Nodding at the information he heard, Lizel recalled the map he had seen at the tool shop. It only showed the surrounding countries in a rough outline, and only the major roads connecting the countries were depicted, so he hadn't bothered to buy it since he could easily remember it.
Even in his original world, the maps owned by the castle were detailed, but the maps available to the public were like that.
"(The Merchant Nation... it's probably the country south of here, the center of trade with many roads connecting to it. The Magic Ore Nation? Since they're causing trouble with the Merchant Nation, it's probably the country southwest of the Merchant Nation, facing a large mountain range, and perhaps a Magic Ore Nation in terms of mineral resources. Conflicts between producers and merchants are commonplace, so I shouldn't worry about it.)"
"And you?"
"No, thank you. But this country is vast, I wonder if I can see everything."
Gil, who had been peeking through the doorway, returned with a new bottle of alcohol.
Seeing his unchanging complexion, it seemed he had a high tolerance for alcohol. Lizel envied him.
"If you want to see the Merchant Nation, the Magic Ore Nation, and everything else in detail, a month won't be enough. Even using a carriage, it would take too long."
"Right."
Considering that the names of other countries were included in the description of this country, the surrounding countries were probably vassal states or something similar. He had expected this, as the map showed the country he was currently in at the center, but it was possible that several of the countries (or cities) shown on the map were part of a single nation. The map didn't convey the sense of distance accurately, but after hearing the explanation and comparing it to the map, it seemed they possessed a considerable amount of territory.
Lizel recalled the characters written on the map. Strangely, they were almost identical to the characters from his original world.
The merchant nation of "Marcade," the magic ore nation of "Kavannah," and the country he had just arrived in were all mentioned in the conversation.
"What do you think of 'Parteda'?"
"This country? That's a vague question."
"Just tell me your general impressions, that's fine."
He looked at him suspiciously, unable to grasp the intent of his question, but he simply smiled back.
Seeing this, Gil sighed heavily and took a long drink of his alcohol, as if giving up.
"For me, it's just a place where I can make money. Good lodging, good food, decent jobs—that's enough for me."
"I see, that's helpful."
If this country was a place where wandering adventurers settled down, it wouldn't be unnatural for Lizel, whose identity couldn't be verified, to be there. He wasn't sure about the entry and exit procedures, but at least he could avoid the worst-case scenario of illegal entry.
In that case, it seemed he could move freely without any problems. This country, being a castle town, was a perfect base of operations, whether he planned to return home or stay for a while in this world.
Since there was someone he could rely on, Lizel smiled brightly.
"I was only planning to ask questions, but would it be alright if I asked for a favor?"
"...Well, the information I gave you certainly isn't worth much on its own. So, what is it? Do you want me to give you a tour of this country, be your bodyguard, or perhaps accompany you as a beginner adventurer?"
"All of them."
Lizel's straightforward affirmation caused Gil, who had been speaking in a teasing tone, to look at him with a mixture of astonishment and resignation. The first two things were easy to predict, but even the adventurer thing, which I added as a joke, was readily confirmed. It's completely impossible to regain control of the conversation now.
"You're surprisingly brazen, aren't you?"
"Not at all. Conversations with you, Gil, are easy because you understand things without me having to say them."
"You're making me understand them, aren't you?"
Gil put the glass to his lips and drained it. He let out a small sigh and placed the glass back on the table with a bit of force.
A sharp clinking sound echoed, but the person in front of him showed no surprise whatsoever. He probably didn't feel any fear, even though I was glaring at him.
"You don't have any knowledge of this area, and your background isn't normal. You have the brains to gather information without telling me. Ultimately, you wanted to bring the conversation to this point, didn't you?"
This time, Lizel didn't affirm it. He simply smiled quietly, but Gil was certain that it was an affirmation.
He thought he had gotten involved with a troublesome person, but he realized he wasn't regretting it as much as he thought he would.
Gil hadn't called out to Lizel as he was about to enter the alley out of kindness. The person at the end of that alley...
It was simply because I had previously been indebted to that "troublesome" guy.
Lizel denied it, but if a man who looked like a nobleman were to be harmed in that area, the whole place would become chaotic. I hadn't received that much of a favor from him, and I could have ignored him, but I called out to him on a whim.
That's what led to this situation.
Probably, there wouldn't be any problem even if I didn't accept the request. I could just take the two gold coins I received and leave; without even thinking about it, I could just consider myself "lucky to have received such a generous reward."
"What are the details?"
"They are the same as what Gil just said. For the first few days, we'll be working together, and I'll be taught various things, but after that, I think it will be in the form of accompanying me when necessary."
"Duration?"
"For now, one month. If necessary, how about extending it on a monthly basis each time?"
Even so, my mouth automatically asked about the details of the request. It was as if the adventurer's intuition I had cultivated until now was telling me not to let this person get away.
Gil immediately laughed off that thought, seeing the man in front of him smiling smugly. Lizel, who seemed to be enjoying watching him chuckle, had probably anticipated all of this.
The fact that a man of his age was acting solely out of curiosity.
"How much will you pay me?"
"How much work will you do?"
"Hah, who do you think you're talking to?"
He was a man I had only met today. I couldn't be interested in every single person I met.
So Lizel forcibly... directed Gil's interest towards himself. The fact that he was being manipulated by the gentle-looking man in front of him wasn't humiliating for Gil, but rather a trigger that aroused his curiosity more than ever before.
Gil was genuinely impressed by Lizel, who had exploited this trait that he himself hadn't even realized. He wasn't so childish as to stubbornly deny it. I've just finished all the guild's requests, and I haven't accepted any new ones yet. There's no reason to refuse.
"I'll show you work that'll empty your pockets in a month. I don't need an advance payment; you can decide after you see my work a month from now."
"That's an exceptional offer. I appreciate your confidence."
Lizel, who still didn't know the going rate, nodded, assuming things would work out in a month.
They clinked their empty glasses together, signifying the deal was struck.
"Speaking of which, could you recommend an inn?"
"Would it be convenient if it's the same one I'm staying at?"
"Yes. Once we get to the inn, I'll tell you about most of the things you're wondering about."
"I'm looking forward to that."
Watching Gil leave the room first, leading the way, Lizel nodded to himself. A person driven by profit is ideal as a negotiating partner, but it's different when you're working together.
Of course, someone who considers profit is easier to work with, but it's preferable to have something else as the deciding factor. A completely profit-driven person will only work for the exact amount of profit given, and if there's a more lucrative opportunity elsewhere, they'll move on to that.
He had used curiosity as the deciding factor with Gil, and it seemed he hadn't made a mistake. From his demeanor, a "solo B-rank" seemed to be a capable individual, and quite an ideal partner for a request.
Satisfied with his decision, Lizel left the small room.