VRMMO no Shien Shokunin ～Top Player no Shikakenin～

Chapter 53: Desert’s Owl Pavillion

The inn called Desert’s Owl Pavillion was a fairly big one even among the ones within town.

Since she’s staying in this inn, has Claris-san earned quite the profit?

Buildings that were made by hardening sand and earth were the standard in the desert, while being solidly built, their color was also soft.

A bright light was leaked from within the entrance and the good fragrance of food stimulated our noses.

「Gulp.」 (Yumir)

「Yumir, you are drooling.」 (Hind)

「Whoops.」 (Yumir)

「…I’m begging you, please, be well behaved in front of other people.」 (Hind)

「I-I know!」 (Yumir)

Once I checked our hunger gauges, they were already past the 20% mark.

That being the case, it might be good if we talked while having a meal.

We informed them of our names at the reception and before long, Claris-san appeared.

Seems like she even went as far as picking our rooms so it appears like we’ll be staying here tonight.

There’s not much need for lying down inside the game, but shall we take her up on her offer and log out here tonight?

「I have also made arrangements for dinner, so let’s talk in the dining hall.

「I’m very interested in why Hind-sama and the rest have come to the desert.」 (Claris)

「I’d also like to know what’s the purpose of Claris-san being here.

「It’s probably related to business though…why did you choose the extremely harsh desert?」 (Hind)

We both smiled at each other and I could feel something stabbing at my back.

They are telling me to hurry up…though, I get the feeling that it wasn’t just one or two people stabbing me…who was it, the one that snuck a kick in there!

After seeing that, Claris-san said “The dining hall is over here” with a smile while starting to walk.

In succession, the five of us followed her.

We all sat down around a circular table inside a spacious private room.

I wonder if this room is used for VIPs…the treatment is so good that it makes me a bit uneasy.

However, Claris-san smiled the whole time while telling us that we didn’t need to worry since she knew the owner of the inn.

「Since the people of the desert are honest, go there and learn the basics of peddling…that’s what grandma told me to do.

「She also said that if I managed to endure the harsh environment of the desert, I’d be able to build up stamina.

「If we added this to what I previously told you, I believe you can get an idea about what kind of people they are.」 (Claris)

She left some of the goods she had brought with the caravan, but those were lost when the monsters attacked.

However, it seems she received some compensation from the mercenaries that acted as guards.

It would be one thing if it was something like our recent social systems, but it was something that didn’t really suit this middle ages setting.

「Sincere you say…

「It’s true that receiving compensation for losing the goods you left in their care is not something you would hear.」 (Hind)

「This might be a bad way to say it but…protecting them with your own life is your responsibility! You lost your luggage? I don’t care! Is what I’d imagine a guard saying usually」 (Tobi)

「I don’t know about other countries, if they did something like that here they would lose trust and be unable to continue business.

「It’s hard enough living in these lands, that’s why they are very honest when it comes down to business.

「On the other hand, they are very strict when it comes to treachery and fraud. That what this country of the desert, Sala is like.」 (Claris)

According to Claris-san, this is what the people of the desert are like.

In the process, she didn’t hesitate to state the name of the country in the conversation.

Seems like the name of this country is 『Sala』.

「On the other hand, she said to leave the Beli confederation for last.

「They are very greedy for profit and the people over there are very shrewd.」 (Claris)

「So, next time you’ll head south?」 (Hind)

「I still don’t know. Though, I plan to stay here doing business for the time being…but they have blocked the road towards the royal capital.

「Ah, everyone, we can continue while we eat. Let’s do it before it gets cold.」 (Claris)

She said that while looking at the steaming food.

Overall, it seems like they use tomatoes and broad beans on a lot of their cuisine.

While their ingredients are limited, they concentrate on making plenty of variations, I can’t decide which one to try first…

「Nu, this deep fried food is so tasty!」 (Yumir)

She’s quick as always to start eating!

The moment Claris-san said go ahead, Yumir started chewing something right away.

What she ate was something that was deep fried and had green paste within the crust and it was covered in sesame seeds.

「That’s called Tamiya. Instead of potatoes they use broad beans, it’s something akin to croquettes.」 (Claris)

「Claris-dono, what about this one?」 (Tobi)

「That’s a stew called Tagen.

「With tomato as the base, you can use rice, vegetables, meat or fish. All of them are really tasty.」 (Claris)

Yup, the spices on all these dishes bring forth your appetite.

They taste good and eating them warms up your body.

However, after some time passes, thanks to the effects of the tomatoes your body would cool down and it felt good.

We talked, though it would be better to call it us being engrossed in eating.

Thanks to that, our hunger bars were close to 100%.

Once we satisfied our stomachs, we started talking again leisurely.

「…So, because the soldiers of this kingdom failed to defeat the monster’s boss, the road to the royal capital…the Lukia desert is infested with snake type monsters.」 (Hind)

「That’s the case. Periodically a large specimen will appear, but if you don’t defeat it, it’ll take control of the ecosystem.

「The baby 『Horn vipers』 will suddenly increase in numbers and if we don’t deal with them soon-」 (Claris)

「I’ll take over from here, Claris-chan.」

「?」 (Hind)

Just when I noticed a low elegant voice cutting in suddenly, a well built man appeared holding food while dragging one of his legs.

Eh, could this be…the inn owner?

He was wearing an apron and the fragrance of spices was coming from his body.

The people that were serving us until a while ago were all gone now.

Selene-san was really surprised at the sudden appearance of a third party but she’ll probably calm down soon enough since Riizu is talking with her. Nice follow up.

The one that will have to talk with the owner this time is probably going to be me so there’s no issues.

「Ara, Yaido-san」 (Claris)

「Here, Omali for dessert. I’ll give these to you free of charge, so will you listen to what I have to say, customers?」 (Yaido)

「Ah, this person is the owner of the inn, he’s called Yaido-san.

「After retiring from being a soldier, he’s an amazing person that built up this inn within a single generation.

「During his time as a soldier, he reached the rank of captain.」 (Claris)

「You are good at giving compliments as always. That was a long time ago.」 (Yaido)

Ah, no wonder I thought he was well built.

He held out the dishes with his well trained arms that were full of small scars, and placed this soup like dish with a sweet fragrance in front of us.

It seems to be a dish where bread is soaked in milk and baked, once I took a bite, I felt a bittersweet taste like raisins.

Furthermore, this fragrance and texture…these are nuts.

「It’s sweet! It’s tasty!」 (Yumir)

「Oh, you are quite the honest young lady. I like you!」 (Yaido)

Yaido smiled when he heard Yumir’s straightforward compliment and proceeded to tell us about the situation of the soldiers.

We don’t have much information so I was honestly thankful.

According to him, the next generation’s training hadn’t caught up yet so their current military strength was lacking.

To begin with, being a soldier wasn’t a popular job.

Being a guard for a merchant was far more profitable.

「In terms of salary, I think it’s gotten better now. It’s too late since they failed to defeat the boss though.

「There hasn’t been a war in recent years, so there’s been doubts about if we even need to have an army…but what would we do about public order then.」 (Yaido)

「With just the people that are there in the location, it would start showing signs of collapse.」 (Hind)

「You are right. While I was still in, I demanded over and over that they improved the working conditions.

「Until I had to retire because of an injury they didn’t do anything, and it ended with all my efforts being in vain.」 (Yaido)

When he said that, Yaido-san followed with a heavy sigh.

Complaining that it was far more profitable now that he was managing an inn.

Once she saw that, Claris-san said this while smiling.

「The truth is, the name of that army is Desert’s Owl. You can see Yaido-san’s love for the army in that name.

「He even went as far as naming the inn with the same name.」 (Claris)

「You sure said that in a malicious way, Claris-chan.

「Well, if I had to say…I’m worried about my juniors.

「So, about the reason I told you about this…the point is, I want you to take care of subjugating that boss.」 (Yaido)

We all exchanged glances.

A quest? This is a quest right? Is what we were all thinking.

Except Riizu, the other three were telling me to take it.

Without minding us, Yaido-san continued talking.

「Obviously, I’ll give you a reward for it. Furthermore, I’ll use my connections to have a suitable reward from the government too.

「It’s an enemy that is disturbing travelling for the people of the desert, we can’t ignore it after all.

「What do you think? Will you take it?」 (Yaido)

「Our intention was to go to the royal capital from the start so we don’t really mind taking it up but…」 (Hind)

「Ah, you want to know why I went out of my way to ask this of you? Let’s see…」 (Yaido)

Yaido-san stood up from his seat, then he stood behind Claris-san and placed a hand on her shoulder.

Then he looked at me and asked me.

「From your point of view, what do you think of Claris-chan? Ah, I mean regarding her as a merchant. I don’t mean as a person of the opposite sex.」 (Yaido)

「What do I think you say…her ability to take action is very high…no, she has a lot of personal connections.

「We found her by accident, but she was travelling in a wealthy merchant’s caravan.

「Even this inn, she’s an acquaintance of Yaido-san, right? So, doesn’t this mean that she’s well liked by merchants?」 (Hind)

「Fufu, I was praised by Hind-sama.」 (Claris)

「…Ah, well, let’s leave that aside for now. Now what I was going to say has lost its meaning…」 (Yaido)

「Eh, don’t do that Yaido-san. He finally…」 (Claris)

It hurts, it hurts!

Who was it, the one that stepped on my foot right now?

This is a conversation that might lead to a quest, stop now!

「Anyway, it’s just as you said, this girl has a good eye for people.

「Regarding that old man that lead the caravan, Amin. He might seem crude because of all those jewels on him and the fact that he has grown fat, but he’s very serious as a merchant.

「He’s quite the trustworthy fellow.」 (Yaido)

Even the mercenaries that recompensated Claris-san for her lost belongings are from an organization under the merchant Amin.

Since it’s only been a few days since she visited this country, what’s amazing is what Yaido-san said, her discerning eye for people and the speed at which she befriends them.

It goes without saying that this is useful as a merchant, we can say without any doubt that this is a gift.

「There’s also the fact that I heard that visitors hardly ever come to this country, but Claris-chan said that you were amazing.

「I can’t help but have high expectations of you, right? Those are my reasons.」 (Yaido)

As he said that, he passed me a quest request like the one I saw that day.

Since it looked like the details were all there, Yaido-san didn’t say anything anymore.

Once I took it, the rest of the party members simultaneously peered at it.

Hey, this is so cramped. It’s hard to read it.

What I was able to read first was the contents of the request 『Lord of the Desert・Basilisk subjugation』 written in an exaggerated way.