Chapter 261 The Gutter-Crawler Repays His Debt
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
After I spent a while teasing the “Sacred Artificer” Mailse Nina-sama¹, I headed back home for a moment, then grabbed my gear and made my way toward the Adventurer’s Guild.
With the elf adventurer Tania and the dog-beastman adventurer Laika both taking a leave of absence, I had quite a few loose ends to tie up. Because of that, I’d been practically living at the Guild lately.
Well, I’ve got plenty of acquaintances here, and we’ve always had a “you scratch my back, I scratch yours” kind of relationship. Even if it weren’t for the girls’ situation, I probably wouldn’t have just sat back and ignored the way things have been going lately.
”Kento-kun, you actually came!” Marm-san said.
”Keep up the hard work, Marm-san,” I replied.
As I pushed through the Guild doors, I found the receptionist, Marm-san, busy scrubbing down the tables and chairs in the lounge. Her face lit up the moment she saw me.
Usually, this is the part where the local thugs would start jeering at me, calling me “The Gutter-Crawler”² or whatever other insults they could dream up, but it looked like most of them were out on the clock today.
I got permission to set my bags down on a table and traded some small talk with Marm-san.
”Is everyone out on patrol again?” I asked.
”Yeah. That, or escorting caravans,” she said.
”Everyone’s pretty fired up; they say it’s a gold rush right now.”
For a while now, the Guild had been flooded with work. It was all a reaction to the monsters becoming hyper-active under the influence of “Zil Meina”³.
Beyond just caravan guards, it seemed the Crown had been issuing direct requests lately, even having adventurers team up with the military to patrol the outskirts of the Royal Capital.
Even those who weren’t skilled enough to take on real contracts were being kept busy hauling materials from the culled monsters. The whole place was a madhouse. At this rate, even a perennial F-rank like me might have actually made a decent chunk of change.
Of course, the caravans were jacking up their prices to cover the security costs, and the sudden influx of monster parts was causing a price collapse – and even without all that, it’s hard to be happy about a “boom” caused by a crisis… but that’s just how it goes.
”I’m back, Marm-san!”
”Man, we cleaned up! We’re loaded!”
”Hey, have some dignity,” one of them said.
”Yeah… but, seriously, we really did make a killing…” the other whispered.
A rowdy, boisterous group came stomping into the Guild – a rookie party that had been frequenting my shop. Actually, I guess they weren’t really “rookies” anymore. Looking at them, they seemed about one step away from hitting mid-tier status.
After all, today’s job clearly wasn’t just hauling luggage; they’d been entrusted with actual combat. I could tell that much just by looking at the state of their gear and their scrapes.
”Whoa! It’s the boss from ‘Harvest’! What are you doing in a place like this?” the leader asked.
”…Is it a crime for me to be here, kid?” I replied.
”N-No, nothing like that, it’s just…” he stammered.
I gave a blunt, surly response to the leader – a warrior who still had a lot of “green” left in him. It was time for my “shady shopkeeper” routine. Since it was a rare occasion, I pulled out my pipe, lit it, and puffed out a thick cloud of smoke.
”Hehe, Kento-kun used to be an adventurer himself, you know,” Marm-san chimed in.
”And even if he wasn’t, he’s a client today. There’s nothing strange about him being here, is there?”
”Oh, yeah… I think I remember hearing something about that…” the warrior said.
”Honestly. I’m sure I told you when I first recommended his shop, didn’t I?” she asked.
At Marm-san’s words, the kid looked at me with a mix of surprise and a burgeoning sense of respect. He’d probably be mortified if he found out I was a permanent F-rank, but hey – I wasn’t lying.
”Anyway, let’s take care of Kento-kun’s business first. Sorry, but you boys will have to wait -” Marm-san started to say.
”Nah, take care of them first,” I interrupted.
”My business involves these runts anyway, so I’ll just talk to them over here.”
”Really? Well, if you say so,” she said.
With that, Marm-san took their completion vouchers and headed into the back, likely to grab the bounty money the Guild held for the State. Once she was gone, the warrior-leader gave me a skeptical look.
”So… what’s this ‘business’ you have with us?” he asked.
”Here. Take these. They’re healing potions. And not the cheap diluted crap, either – the real deal,” I said.
”What!?”
I handed over several vials from my bag, and his eyes went wide, darting between me and the medicine. Real healing potions are expensive; they weren’t the kind of thing kids like them could usually afford.
They might carry one or two for a life-or-death emergency, but they weren’t for daily use. I knew that better than anyone. After all, that was me once. I eventually washed my hands of the adventurer life because I was too stingy to ever actually use the potions I bought…
”You… you can actually make high-grade medicine!?” he shouted.
”Hah! You brat, is that what’s surprising you!? Of course I can make it!” I barked.
”Well, you only ever sell to rookies, so I just figured you weren’t actually any good at it…” he muttered.
What a rude little bastard. I mean, sure, I couldn’t make them when I first opened the shop, but that was a matter of overhead costs, not skill. My master had given me his seal of approval, for crying out loud.
”But we can’t pay for these. We’ve made some coin lately, but we need to put it toward better armor,” the warrior said.
”That’s not for sale. I’m donating these to the Guild, so just take ’em and be grateful,” I replied.
”What!? Why would the stingiest shopkeeper in the city do something like that!?” he asked.
Seriously, incredibly rude. I’m not a miser; I just have a healthy respect for the value of money. That’s why I don’t give discounts to rookies – not even a single copper!
”I caused the Guild a bit of trouble recently. Call it an atonement. Besides, there are a lot of people who are going to be needing this stuff soon,” I explained.
”O-Okay… thanks?” he asked tentatively.
”Yeah, whatever. Just make sure you take some of my shop’s requests later and we’re square. Now, sit down and give me your leg. I’m going to treat that. You’re hurt, aren’t you? Your stride is all messed up,” I said.
”Wait, what!? Boss, are you a doctor, too!?” he asked.
”My master taught me a few things, but it’s nothing fancy. Besides, back in the day, I had to patch myself up every time I got thrashed. I can handle anything up to a light fracture without breaking a sweat,” I told him.
”Whoaaaa…”
As his respect meter seemingly ticked up another notch, the warrior-leader obediently rolled up his pant leg. No open wounds – just a nasty sprain. I could fix this up with some medicated ointment and a proper wrap.
”Get your staves and any enchanted gear ready too; I’ll take a look at them. I also brought some magic items over there – feel free to browse. Smoke bombs, tear-gas pellets, that sort of thing,” I added.
”Smoke… bombs? Tear… gas?” he asked.
”Tools to get monsters off your back so you can run away. I’ll explain how to use them in a bit,” I said.
I chatted with them while I worked on their injuries. This was the “solution” I’d come up with. Since Tania and Laika were pregnant and couldn’t go out into the field, I’d support the other adventurers in their stead.
It wasn’t totally pro-bono – I was having the Guild kick in some of the costs – but on paper, I wasn’t making a dime of profit. If you factored in my hourly rate, I was deep in the red.
But in the grand scheme of things, there are some profits you can’t put a price on. It kept Tania and Laika from feeling like they had to push themselves, and if these guys stayed active, my own supply lines stayed open.
Everything comes back around. It stabilizes the price of daily goods, and by talking to these adventurers, I get first-hand intel on monster movements and caravan routes. Sometimes you have to take a hit to win the war.
”Alright, that should do it. But don’t go getting cocky, you hear me? You only get one life. If you get mangled any worse than this, I won’t be able to put you back together,” I warned.
”Yeah. Thanks, Boss. Seriously, this helps a lot,” the warrior said.
”Don’t mention it. Just make sure you keep giving ‘Harvest’ your business from here on out,” I replied.
”Ha! I knew it! In the end, you’re always selling something!” he laughed.
I gave him a wicked, shady grin as I dropped my sales pitch, and he just gave me a snarky comeback and a firm nod. Yeah, this was definitely a win. If these adventurers felt like they owed me, they’d be loyal customers for life.
After that, I kept working as more and more adventurers trickled back in. It felt like the first time in ages I’d actually put in a hard day’s work.
Of course, the guys who knew me from my old adventuring days eventually showed up and started teasing me as usual, which sent my respect gauge with the rookies crashing back down.
…And then word got out that the reason for all this was because I’d gone and gotten Tania and the others pregnant. At that point, the respect gauge did a complete 180 and shot through the roof.
A lot happened after that, but it’s honestly too embarrassing to talk about, so I’ll leave it at that.
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Summary:
Kento visits the Adventurer’s Guild to assist in the wake of Tania and Laika’s absence. He provides high-quality medicine and medical treatment to a rookie party, establishing his reputation. He views this as a long-term business strategy to stabilize the region and support his pregnant partners.
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Character Insight:
Kento displays a pragmatic altruism; he masks his kindness with a ‘shady shopkeeper’ persona to maintain his social standing while genuinely worrying about the rookies and his community.
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Behind the Scenes:
The term ‘Yukidaware’ (Gutter-Crawler) implies a level of failure as an adventurer that Kento uses to hide his actual competence.
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TL Notes:
Notes:
• Laika – The beastwoman dog.
• Tania – An Elf adventurer who, despite her race’s reputation for low sex drive, is secretly quite passionate. She initially seemed ‘wasted’ (emotionally dry) to her friend Raika, but was easily introduced to the pleasure-items sold at ‘Harvest.’ She is easily embarrassed and attempts to maintain a dignified facade, despite her recent, frequent purchases. She wears practical but light armor over a simple cloth tunic and short pants, highlighting her grace and agility. Her primary relationship is one of friendly senior-junior with Raika.
• Kento – The owner of the magic tool shop ‘Harvest,’ which discretely sells adult goods. He’s a former overworked, ordinary salaryman from modern Japan who was suddenly transported (isekai’d) to this fantasy world. He has dark hair and an unremarkable appearance, typically wearing a plain, slightly suspicious-looking shop owner’s clothes looks like Kazuma Satou from certain series. He has a minimal amount of magic power, enough to craft his specialty items.
• Marm – The attractive, red-haired, tanned receptionist at the Adventurer’s Guild. She wears a uniform that emphasizes her ‘nice body.’ She is kind and acts like a supportive ‘big sister’ figure to Kento. Looks like Mirajane Strauss from certain series.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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