My morning in the new house was greeted with a general sense of discomfort.
　The muscle pain in my whole body is increasing, not easing.
　It's depressing to think that this will continue for a few more days.
　I'll have to be careful about physical work for a while.
　But it's still painful. I don't know if I've ever experienced muscle pain of this magnitude before.
　But that doesn't mean I can't stay in bed. I have to learn as much as I can about this city.
　I rolled over a few times and got up slowly.
　I stretch lightly through the pain, then stop.
　One of the tools that Ilias had given me at my disposal was a man's dress, so I borrowed it.
　It's not flashy, but it's not bad.
　Yes, according to the story, black hair and black eyes are rare in Japanese people.
　I gave up on the eyes because I didn't think there was such a thing as colored contacts, but I found a nice cloth to wrap around my head like a bandana.
　This would reduce the possibility of standing out from the crowd.
　Now, let's explore the country.

It's cheap, cheap, cheap!　Freshly picked vegetables!
How about some freshly grilled chicken?
"Look at my muscles!

　The market is full of life.
　No, what's that last one?
　There's a shiny, oiled-up macho guy performing.
　He's got a great body, but he's so greasy I get heartburn.
　I throw some copper coins into a basket in front of me and continue my stroll through the market.
　As it turns out, there is no paper money in this country.
　Some countries may have their own paper money, but most countries use coins.
　A copper coin is 100 yen, a silver coin is 1,000 yen, and a gold coin is 10,000 yen.
　There may be more, but I'll check next time.
　You have one gold coin, ten silver coins, fifty copper coins, and 25,000 yen in your possession.
　The lowest price on the market is naturally one copper coin, but there are some coins that cost as much as 100 yen.
　Such items are usually sold in bundles of one copper coin for several.
　There seems to be a concept of decimals as well, and there are places where people are made to choose and buy vegetables so that the total price is one copper coin, such as 0.5 copper coins for this vegetable and 0.2 copper coins for that vegetable.
　Food itself is basically inexpensive if you can find it cheap.
　If the food is already cooked, it will cost around one to five copper coins, which will save you a lot of trouble.
　I ate a kind of grilled chicken for breakfast.
　As usual, no salt is used, but instead the spicy flavor is well balanced with the fat.
　It is helpful to have a good sense of money in Japanese yen so that it is easy to understand.
　The next thing to look for is a restaurant, but none are open in the morning.
　I'm sure lunch places will open at noon, but it will take a long time to find one.
　After the walk, language study is waiting for me.
　Should I buy food for lunch and dinner at the stalls?　I don't know enough about the ingredients in this world to cook for myself.

"Wakyan!

　I heard an unfamiliar cry behind me. I turn around to see one of my daughters falling down in a grand manner.
　There were foodstuffs lying here and there, as if she had bought them.
　She was holding up an egg with both hands, and was plunging face-first into the ground, unable to catch herself.
　Fortunately, there are few round objects, so the area is small. I'll pick it up.

"Are you okay?　I've gathered them up.
"There you are. Oh, thank you!

　She's about the same age as Ilias, with lightly wavy auburn hair and a cute girl's vibe.
　The tip of her nose is red from a blow to the face, and her eyes are teary and very painful, but she doesn't seem to be injured.
　Still, it's a lot of shopping.
　It seems that he had been carrying it in a basket made of woven wooden bark, but it was broken down in the end of its life.

It'll be hard to carry it. Let me help you. How far do you want me to carry it?
"Oh, you don't mind?　Thank you!

　I wonder if I should split the load in half, but it's still hard to carry some things without a bag.
　I looked around to see if there were any baskets for sale nearby, but there were.

"Wait a minute.

　Then I bought a large, sturdy-looking basket.
　You can carry it on your back for one silver coin.

I'll put it in here.
You bought that?
You can't be slouching in the middle of the street, you'll disturb other passersby. Let's go.
Yeah, yeah!

　He piled the ingredients into a basket and lifted it.
　The girl continues to carry the eggs and other fragile ingredients.
　It's surprisingly heavy. I've decided not to do any physical labor, but since I said I'd help ......, I don't want to just pay her and be done with it.
　I put up with the pain in my body and started carrying it.

I'm really grateful for your help!　Oh, I'm Saira, and you are?
I'm just an old man passing through.
"Pfft, old man!



　I'll tell you my age.

"Oh, my God!
That's true. I mean, aside from your face, you've got some dignity.
No, not really. - Oh, it's nothing, I'm sorry!

　I'm sorry. - Heh heh heh, maybe not as much as a knight or something!
　Iliad is much more dignified than you. I'll ask him how to show his dignity next time.

Um, brother?　You don't look like anyone around here, do you?
I came to Taze a few days ago. I was just wandering around today to get acquainted with the city.
Well, I'm a waiter at the restaurant down the street. I'm a waiter at the restaurant down the street.
As long as it tastes good.
Hmm, that's not good enough?
"Not good enough?

　And enough with Sila showing me around. We arrive at a restaurant.
　A tavern, perhaps.

This is my restaurant, Dog Bone!
"Couldn't you have done something with the name?
"Shut up, you're complaining about someone's restaurant.

　The man who interrupted our conversation was a large man, probably two meters tall, with a large scar on his face.
　What kind of roughnecks are you?　If I hadn't been so used to taking down bandits, I'd have cried with fright!

"Cyra, this isn't your store. It's my store!
"Well, manager, I work here, so it's my store, no problem.
There's a problem. Who the hell is this guy?

　I'll tell you how it happened. By the way, this big guy's name is God's.

I see. Thanks for the help, bro. I'll pay for the basket.
I don't want it. I want my food.
I'll feed you at lunch, but I'm still working on it. It won't be ready soon.
That's all right. I was going to add that I'll feed you at lunch.
All right, well, wait till noon or come back at noon.
I'll help you in there. Cyra, when you're done, why don't you tell me all about this town?
Sure!

　Since this is a good opportunity, let's ask Sila about the city.
　Godz is basically in the kitchen preparing the food, while Sila is cleaning the restaurant.
　There is a faint smell of alcohol in the air.

I clean the place roughly after I finish my night work. It still smells like alcohol.
"I'm lucky there's no vomit left. Let's just get it over with.

　We finish cleaning quickly and cooperatively. We started chatting while ventilating the restaurant.
　I asked Sila about the types of stores in the city, the population, the percentage of positions, etc.
　There are no major supermarkets or convenience stores, but there are clothing stores, shoe stores, hat stores, blacksmiths, armor stores, herbal shops, and so on.
　There are also bookstores that sell grimoires, which you can visit when you learn to read.
　Some of the facilities are open to anyone, but there are some that require a certain level of status to use.
　Libraries, barracks, garrisons, in short, facilities reserved for officers and knights of the state.
　It is not good for ordinary people to have access to prisons.
　There was a case the other day where a civilian was put in jail and asked to be put back in, but let's forget it.

"By the way, I was wondering, why did you start working here as a waiter?
"Well, I want to be a dressmaker in the future, and I'm saving up for it. I want to be a dressmaker in the future, and I'm saving up for it, but I don't have time to devote to it every day, so I chose to work here, where I can have three days off a week and work day and night when I have to.
Is this place profitable?
Not at all during the day, but at night it's pretty crowded with people who want to drink.

　Hmm, so you can't expect lunch.
　Well, anything will do as long as it's filling, and I can save money on the basket.

So you study clothes on your days off?
"Yes, I go to various stores and look at clothes, and buy cloths and try to make them by myself. But I'm not ready yet.
Do you ever apprentice yourself to a dressmaker?
I'd like to be an apprentice, but stores with craftsmanship don't take apprentices easily.

　I've asked a few stores, but they've turned me down.
　That may be true, but the purpose of taking an apprentice is often to make him or her take over the store.
　If you try to train others, they will become your rivals in the future.
　There are schools of learning, but they are places where people of a certain class can go, and even if they can go, they can only learn high education, not specialized knowledge such as clothing design.
　To become a dressmaker in the future, one must either become an heir or learn on one's own.
　However, in the latter case, you will have a hard time both in terms of money and skills.
　No, it is an ongoing struggle.

It's a tough road.
"Yeah. But it's fun.


"That's right. I wouldn't be able to do it if I didn't.
"Heh.

　Ugh, your smile is so bright.
　If I don't do something about this pimp life, I'll die of inferiority complex!

I'm going to have to do something about it.　What are you doing about lodging?
Oh, I was able to rent a spare room at a kind knight's house.
Wow, you know the knight?　Your brother is actually a great guy?
No, I just happened to have a chance to help him with his work. No, I just happened to help him with his work, and now I'm just unemployed.
I see. I hope you find a job soon. By the way, which squadron is this knight you're taking care of?
"Ilias Lazzel of the Raggedy Dough.
"What?

　"Ilias-Lazzell of the Raggedy-doo Corps." "What?" Sila harmonized nicely with Godz who just appeared.
　Well, it looks like we have a good working relationship.

"Oh, you mean the Iliad?
"I don't know if there are any others, but she's a goliath female knight who clears the forest with a single swing of her sword. Is she famous?
I don't know if there are any others, but Gori is a female knight who clears the forest with the swing of her sword.

　What do you mean, "Niwaka"? But I guess she's famous because she's the first redhead in the oldest Ragdoll squad. His looks are good, but I think he's more famous for his stupidity.

"Ilias-sama is an amazing person who won the sword fighting tournament held in the land of Taze!
"Yeah, beating up knights with confidence in their skills without swinging a sword is now a legend.

　You should compete in swordplay. If I were the judge, I'd disqualify him.
　He's a gorilla after all.

Well, Grandpa Kara and the others were strong, but the Iliad was something else.
"Grandpa Kara"?　"Grandpa Kara?" "Are you Karagyugyesta-Dmitri Kovkorn?
　Why do you remember his full name? I still can't even say it while looking at my notes.
"That's what he looked like.
"Master Karagyugyesta is known as the 'Divine Spear' and is one of the five best spearmen among the Tarzan Knights. The story of how he fought a wyvern that flew far into the sky and threw his helmet off is a saga that is still told by adventurers.

　Throw the spear. At least use a weapon.
　They should call you the God Helmet.

He's rarely on the front lines. He's rarely on the front lines. You're lucky you get to see him fight!　The knights of Raggedy-doll are all top-notch knights and there are others...

　I can't say. I can't tell you. If I told you that the Ragdoll knights were helping me with my desk work, or that I was using them as a sniper for a surprise attack, this group of meeja would probably attack me.

And you saw Ilias-sama's fight, right?　Wasn't he great?
"Yes, it was great. When he grabbed a mallet bigger than himself and crushed it with his bare hands, I couldn't believe he was the same person.
"Whoa!

　At any rate, I was to recount the story of the first attack on the bandit stronghold.
　The two knight fans were listening to the story with sweaty hands.

"Oh, so your brother was helping to defeat the bandits this time?
That's right. It's not like he can fight, so he was just guiding the way.
Oh, I see. But I wish I could have seen you fight, Ilias-sama!
"The battle was good, but it was very sluggish. The battle was good, but it was very sluggish.

　The two suddenly became gloomy, perhaps I shouldn't have said that.

...... I see, so there is such a thing.
I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that I'm not the only one who's had it.
Yes, Master Iliad is strong and amazing, but there are many people who have a negative opinion of him.
People who think that knights are a symbol of men find the strength of Master Ilias repulsive.
"He's shunned by men and feared by women. That's about it.
But, but!　It's not that everyone is against him!　There are people who support you!
Just look at the two men in front of you.
That's right.

　The discrimination against the Iliad is not limited to the knights, but also to the people.
　But still, there are those who admire him as a matter of course.
　The scene of the other day's battle passed through my mind.
　That's right. It's impossible not to be tempted by such a display of strength.

"Don't worry. The Iliad may have lost command, but he won the head of the man who controls the bandits. He's definitely the one who put an end to all this.
I see. I see!


"Heh, that's great!　It's almost lunchtime, I'm gonna go make some food!

　Psylla and Godz are as happy as can be.
　Good for you, Ilias. You've been properly evaluated.
　No one is appreciated by everyone.
　To be truly appreciated, even by a select few, is the greatest honor.
　Right now I'm still focused on the blame, but one day I'll understand.
　Well, I'll bring them here sometime.

"......
Oh, it's not so good, is it?
We don't sell a lot of food, but we're pretty good at drinking.

　You should wait until the quality of this restaurant's food improves before you bring him here.