Chapter : 103
The Bachelor’s Right of Self-Defense
When life gets noisy, sometimes you just want to be alone outside.
After being tossed around by Leonard and my family the day before, I decided to go on a day trip camping.
As usual, I donned my adventurer’s gear and headed to the market to get lunch for today.
“Alright, how should I eat this prosciutto today…”
The main ingredient I’d be using was the leg of prosciutto I had bought earlier.
I had been nibbling on it little by little by myself, and it didn’t seem like it would run out anytime soon. Still, since it wouldn’t spoil immediately, I could take my time.
I had decided to smoke it outdoors, but I also wanted to make two more dishes.
“Maybe mix it with cucumber for a bit of spice… and wrap it with avocado and fry it as well.”
Once I quickly came up with the dishes, I went to buy the necessary ingredients.
Normally, cooking outdoors would require keeping things simple to avoid cumbersome luggage, but with my magic bag, I didn’t need to hold back.
…This avocado is a bit green. The one next to it is black, fully ripe, and looks soft.
I reached for the avocado I wanted—but someone’s white hand overlapped mine.
“Ah!”
The person reaching for it was Elsie.
We accidentally looked at each other and let out an awkward sound.
She wasn’t wearing her usual bar uniform, but a casual outfit: a white sleeveless top and denim.
Her cool, slender legs looked even longer.
Elsie’s style prioritized ease of movement over flamboyance, just as expected.
“Go ahead and take it.”
“…Thanks. Then, I won’t hold back.”
She smoothly took the avocado when I offered it.
It was surprisingly pleasant not to go through the pointless back-and-forth of both sides hesitating.
That’s the bad habit of Japanese people.
There were other ripe avocados.
I carefully checked the color and the stem area, then picked another fully ripe one.
“…It’s the first time seeing you outside the bar, isn’t it?”
“More like we just ran into each other.”
Although Elsie lived in the same city, I had never encountered her outside the shop.
Meeting like this was rare.
That said, meeting outside didn’t mean we were close enough to have tea together.
Elsie was still the bar owner, and I was just a customer.
Once we were outside, we were both private individuals and had no reason to interfere with each other.
After paying for the avocado and starting to walk, Elsie spoke up.
“…By the way, I bought the coffee mill you released.”
“You managed to get one?”
That meant she had gotten it on the first morning of its release.
There had been no additional production, and it wasn’t on store shelves yet.
In other words, anyone who had one now was a dedicated fan.
“…A friend told me. They said a magical device that makes delicious drinks was being released.”
“You had a coffee-loving friend?”
“…You probably see them almost every day at the café.”
Her words didn’t immediately register.
At that shop, aside from Rondel and Rita, the only person I talked to properly was Noid.
Even Noid had been appearing less often lately, helping Albert.
“…A flax-haired elf with glasses.”
“Oh, the elf who always reads by the window alone? I see them, but we’re not close enough to talk.”
“…Right.”
It finally clicked. I’d seen them in my peripheral vision but never had a conversation.
It was surprising that this elf and Elsie knew each other.
The royal capital really was small.
“…Sorry for keeping you so long. I tried making alcohol with coffee, so if you have time, come drink it.”
“Got it. I’ll come tonight. I’ll bring sparkling water and smoked food too.”
“That would be great.”
After paying, Elsie waved and left.
Alcohol made with coffee—probably something like coffee liqueur.
Since I hadn’t discovered anything like Kahlúa yet, it had been a while since I had coffee-based alcohol.
“…Looks like today just got more interesting.”
●
After finishing my shopping, I stopped by the Adventurer’s Guild.
I glanced at the quests posted on the bulletin board and assessed the situation in the Eastern Forest.
“Hello, Jilk-san. Here to check the surrounding conditions?”
A staff member with brown hair called out to me.
I didn’t recognize them. Had this person been at the guild before?
“Did you forget? I joined about a month ago—Milina.”
Seeing my puzzled expression, she introduced herself with a wry smile.
Ah, I remembered a new recruit had joined.
Meeting Gawain and Karen had left a stronger impression, so I had completely forgotten about her.
“…Right. Sorry, I forgot.”
“Make sure to remember me next time.”
She said this, but I barely had any interaction with her and wasn’t sure I could remember her.
I didn’t come to the guild every day, after all.
Also, how long had she been standing next to me?
She’d already been working at the guild for a month. Surely she didn’t need to show herself off like this.
I didn’t know what she was thinking.
“Did you come again today to check the Eastern Forest?”
“That’s right. You don’t need to bother—go back to your work.”
Her talking next to me only distracted me from organizing information.
“Hey, you! You don’t need to talk to Milina like that!”
Suddenly, a voice called from behind.
“Who are you?”
“I’m Arkins. A B-rank adventurer like you.”
He introduced himself, but I had no memory of the name.
I couldn’t tell if he had been in this guild for a long time or was a recent transfer.
“I’ll introduce myself first. Jilk Luren. And what’s your problem?”
“Your attitude! Milina was trying to help you, and you talked to her like that!”
“Why are you getting involved when you’re not part of this?”
“Shut up. This isn’t the time to argue.”
“No, it is the time.”
His argument made no sense.
I had never asked anyone to gather information for me.
He had done the same thing last time, and I had refused.
Even so, he kept interfering, so I told him to back off.
Adventurers weren’t required to accept guild staff support. Refusing was no problem.
Whatever happened was their own responsibility. That’s what being an adventurer was.
Thinking this, I realized dealing with a man who didn’t listen would be pointless.
I didn’t think I was at fault, but he was a hassle.
“…Sigh. Fine, I’m sorry. I’ll be more careful next time.”
“What’s with that attitude? Don’t get cocky just because you’re a B-rank artificer!”
Even after apologizing, he got furious and lunged at me.
I didn’t dodge.
Instead, the artifact I had equipped reacted, and he was blown away.
[Colliding Collar]—an artifact that automatically releases an impact against an attacker.
“Ugh! You bastard!”
“Self-defense.”
I told the man sitting on his butt calmly. He grabbed his sword in rage.
The guild filled with tension.
Drawing a weapon inside the guild was forbidden everywhere.
But this man seemed to have forgotten that basic rule.
“He attacked first and drew a sword. A little rough handling is fine, right?”
“Y-yes! Please, try to keep it peaceful!”
I confirmed this with a senior staff member, different from the new recruit, to ensure I had their agreement.
With someone this reckless, killing him wouldn’t be a problem, but there would still be penalties and issues later.
It was best to neutralize him smoothly.
“Go. [Binding Snake Chain].”
I removed a chain attached to my pants, infused it with magic, and threw it.
The magic-infused chain formed into a snake, lunging at the man and wrapping around his arms and legs.
“Ugh! What is this!?”
He fell, dropping his sword.
He struggled desperately, but the snake-shaped chain only tightened.
A normal person couldn’t move at all.
Normally, this would end the fight, but he was also a B-rank adventurer.
He might have multiple artifacts like me, or special magic and skills. Showing mercy here would be fatal.
“[Lazy Wand Ilvis Wand] Release.”
I took out a wand from my magic bag and spoke its activation words.
A purple gem glowed, and ultra-gravity was applied to the man lying on the ground.
“Gah!”
The pressure dented the guild floor. The man screamed briefly and lost consciousness.
“Whoa… he just one-shot a B-rank? I have no idea what’s happening.”
“…You think you could beat Jilk?”
“No way. He has dozens, maybe hundreds of artifacts I don’t even know the effects of. Instant-kill stuff.”
“Better to pick a fight with a dragon than him.”
The adventurers murmured after the fight.
They were used to rough situations and weren’t scared by this.
On the edge of my vision, I saw people betting on who would win and exchanging money.
“These guys really are free-spirited.”
“Is he… okay?”
“He’s alive, but some first aid is probably necessary.”
“…Right.”
“Also, can I leave now? I want to head to the forest…”
Normally, I’d take a small quest first, but after all this, I just wanted to leave.
I wanted to quickly escape this place and relax in the forest.
“You’re quite free yourself, Jilk-san. Well, you weren’t at fault this time, so it’s fine.”
With official permission from the staff, I collected my artifacts and left the guild.
