Guided by Guldo-san, I took a stroll around the square and various street vendors. Surprisingly, Guldo-san was frequently approached by the townspeople as we were walking around. Currently, he was chatting with a middle-aged woman.

“Oh, Guldo-san. Are you off duty today?”

“Well, something like that.”

“It’s rare for you to come over here, Guldo-san.”

“I usually hang around the guild.”

I was surprised by this exchange, but Guldo-san noticed my reaction and looked puzzled. “What’s wrong, Lark?”

“Oh, no…I was just wondering if Guldo-san is also avoided by the people in town. I’m sorry for thinking something rude.”

“Well, it’s not unreasonable to think that way. I don’t talk to many other people, and with this scar on my face, I’ve become even more scary looking than before, so it’s true that I’ve been spending more time alone,” he said and stroked his eyes a little sadly.

I mustered up the courage to ask him a question, “Um, Guldo-san. How did you get that scar?”[1]

“…It happened about ten years ago. There was a giant dragon that appeared in the royal capital that went on a rampage, nearly destroying the city. As an adventurer who was famous at the time, I fought the dragon alone to protect the royal capital. This scar on my eye is from that battle.”

“That’s…amazing.”

I could only respond with astonishment. The scale of the story, with a dragon and the royal capital almost being destroyed, was too large for me to comprehend. Guldo-san chuckled at my dumbfounded expression.

“Well, it’s a thing of the past, so I don’t really care about the scar anymore. Anyway, it’s a miracle that I got away with just one eye and one leg against a dragon. I need to be thankful for that, my mother said.”

“One leg?” I couldn’t help but glance down at Guldo-san’s feet upon hearing those words. Sure enough, there was a metal prosthetic attached to his left leg. “W-were you okay?” I asked.

“Well, I thought I might die back then, but they got me an excellent healer, and I somehow managed to survive. I also stopped doing anything reckless like Lark does. Everything is only possible if you have your life,” Guldo-san said, patting my head. Then he started walking, and I hurriedly followed him.

After receiving a tour of the capital, I followed Guldo-san as he led me to a recommended lodging. Walking behind Guld-osan along the main street, we eventually arrived at a medieval European-style building that he pointed to.

“Here it is,” he said.

The building was made of brick, resembling something out of the Middle Ages. A sign attached to the wall read “Little Bear inn”. Both Guldo-san and I entered the building, where a man at the reception desk greeted us with a smile.

“Oh, Guldo, you’ve finally arrived,” the man said.

Guldo-san seemed surprised at the man’s words. “Datz, did you know I was coming?” he asked.

“Well, yeah. Yesterday, my brother came over and told me to prepare a room for you and that you’d be bringing along a kid named Lark sooner or later,” Datz replied. “You see, Fritz was worried about you…”

“I see. Fritz was looking out for me,” murmured Guldo-san.

As Guldo-san was lost in thought, I was cheerfully greeted by Datz. “Hey, I’m Datz. You already know Fritz, who is the head of the guild’s cafeteria, don’t you? I’m his younger brother. Nice to meet you,” he said.

“Nice to meet you too. I’m Lark,” I replied.

“You’re a reliable kid… By the way, Guldo, how many nights are you planning for the kid staying here for?” Datz-san asked.

Guldo-san answered in a casual tone, “Can you take care of him for at least a month? He only needs breakfast and dinner.”

“Okay,” Datz-san agreed.

No, no, it’s not okay at all. I don’t have that kind of money.

“Oh wait, hold on a second! I don’t have enough money to stay for a month!” I said in a panic, but Datz-san just laughed loudly.

“Don’t worry about the money. We’re able to stay in business in this town because Guldo repelled the dragon. That’s why I let Guldo and anyone he brings with him stay for free. Although, Guldo never actually comes to stay… You, on the other hand, should come more often,” Datz-san said, glaring at Guldo-san.

Guldo-san sighed and shook his head. “Unfortunately, I have a lot of work to do… So, can I ask you to take care of Lark for me” he said.

“Sure, that’s fine. I’m sure Amelda will be fine too!”

Datz-san called out loudly to the back of the inn. A plump woman came out with a smile. “Of course, it’s a request from none other than Guldo himself. Oh, you must be Lark! I heard about you from Fritz. I’m Amelda, Datz’s wife. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too,” I said. “I’ll take up on your offer then.”

Amelda-san showed me to a really nice room at the far end of the second floor. When I came back down to the first floor, Guldo-san suggested that we go to the commercial district to buy some clothes. He said that the royal capital was divided into different areas, and the commercial district had lots of stores. So we left the inn and headed to the commercial district.

There were many shops lined up, so I was a bit overwhelmed, but I was drawn to a secondhand clothing store and bought three sets of clothes, pants, and underwear that fit me well. The cost was one silver coin. Guldo-san offered to pay for it, but it was an amount I could afford, so I took a silver coin out of my leather bag and paid for it myself.

After leaving the store, Guld suddenly became upset and said, “Lark, don’t be shy when you don’t have any money.”

“No, no, I’ve received a lot of help from Guldo-san, so it would be bad if I didn’t do more to show my gratitude.”

“… ”

We stared at each other in silence for a while. I was not going to give in on this one. Eventually, Guldo-san gave in first and relaxed his shoulders. However, he then told me that if there was anything I was troubled with, I should not hesitate to ask for his help, so I gratefully accepted his offer.

Footnote

[1] In the manga, the story behind Guldo-san’s scar is told by other adventurers as opposed in the light novel.