Volume 3 Chapter 3 Loot
Al and the others arrived at the outpost south of Lester well past noon.
"Ugh... the wagon is about to break. Rosinante, just a little more, hang in there!"
Lippi complained as he gently patted the mule, Rosinante. Al and Orson, covered in mud, trudged alongside him. They had defeated a large lizard and loaded it onto the wagon, but on the way back, they got stuck in the swamp several times, forcing them to push the wagon repeatedly.
"Well, it's quite a big catch. I'll make sure to give you a good tip, so please bear with it."
Orson tried to calm Lippi as they moved forward. After passing the outpost, the road improved, and the wagon moved much more smoothly.
"Huh? The road to the processing plant is that way, right?"
Al pointed out that they were heading in a different direction than usual, but Orson shook his head lightly.
"Today, we're focusing on the materials. We're going to the dismantler."
"Oh, directly there?"
Until now, they had either dismantled magic beasts themselves or taken them to a processing plant for dismantling and selling. Al knew there was a business for dismantling, but he had always thought it was something you did on your own, so he hadn't considered it much.
"Yeah, for high-quality materials, it's better to go to a specialized dismantler instead of the processing plant. The processing plant does a rough job, so it�s a waste. Let�s sort out the skin, meat, and other materials properly. By the way, how about upgrading your leather armor?"
Al glanced at his own leather armor, which he had bought when he first started as an adventurer in the capital. It wasn�t very expensive and had a few frays, but it fit him well, and he had never felt dissatisfied with it--until now.
"Should I change it?"
"If you're teaming up with us as a magician, your armor is fine. But since you go solo too, you should have proper armor. I�d suggest steel like mine, but you might not have the stamina for it. Leather armor made from a large lizard's hide would be just right for you."
"Hmm..."
Al brushed off the dust from his leather armor and thought for a moment.
"Knowing you, you're probably hesitating about getting a new spell, right? Even if that takes a little longer, your life is more important."
Orson laughed as he lightly patted Al's shoulder, and Al nodded reluctantly.
"Hey, Al, if you buy new armor, you won't need the old one anymore, right? How about giving it to me instead of today's tip?"
"Hmm, I get that I should think about armor first, but I need to find out how good the armor made from large lizard hide is before I decide. Plus, it needs to be processed, right? Either way, I can't do it right away."
While Al and the others talked, a group of 5 or 6 people approached. The first three wore metal-reinforced armor and carried spears and maces, looking like adventurers rather than guards. They were pulling two carts similar to Al's.
"Oh, isn't that Orson? You're out hunting large lizards with some young ones, huh?"
The man at the front greeted Orson casually, clearly familiar with him. The large lizard on Lippi's cart was covered with a rag, but its tail was sticking out, catching the man's attention.
"Hey, Blair, yeah. With this, I can manage on my own feet."
"Heh heh, you gotta make money somehow, right? You look like a mess, all covered in mud. Good luck with that."
"Thanks."
Blair's voice had a mocking tone, but Orson smiled and thanked him as he walked past.
"Hey, Mr. Orson, who is that Blair guy? Was it okay for him to say that?"
"We used to work together. It's the truth, so there's no helping it. Just let him say what he wants."
Al shrugged, and next to him, Lippi pouted, looking unhappy, but after Orson patted his head, he nodded as if to say it was fine.
* * *
The place Orson took them to was likely a building specializing in butchering and processing monsters they had hunted. Surprisingly, it didn't smell as bad as they expected.
"I usually go to a shop run by a guy named Cody. Look, there's a sign with 3 crossed knives at that corner."
Orson pointed, and sure enough, there was a sign hanging there. Lippi nodded lightly, as if he had been there before.
"Excuse us."
As Orson parked the cart near the building's entrance, he took Al inside. The large structure had walls divided into sections, with something resembling a hook hanging from a chain in the center. The floor was smooth stone, featuring a groove in the middle for water to flow.
"Welcome! Hey, Orson. It's been a while."
The greeter was a woman in her late twenties, dressed in black with a white apron. Her long golden hair was tied back, and she stood about 170 cm (� 5 feet 7 inches) tall, slightly taller than average, with a slender build.
"Hey, Cody. I brought a large lizard today. Can you take care of it?"
"Oh, I figured as much. If you brought it, it must be in good shape, but let me check just to be sure."
"Really? Oh, so Blair was here."
"Yeah, but the large lizard you brought in is pretty beaten up, like it was hit or stabbed hard. My craftsmen are disassembling it now, but in this condition, we can't offer a good price. I was wondering why this happened when you were supposed to be with him. I guess you stopped working together."
"Yeah, we parted ways after he got hurt."
"I see. I thought you were bringing in fewer catches lately, but it wasn't just because of the injury. You must have taught Blair a lot, huh? That's cold."
"With this leg, I can't do the job of guarding the caravan. It can't be helped."
Orson nodded and approached the cart with Cody, pulling off the rag covering the large lizard. After examining its wounds and eyes, Cody nodded several times.
"Wow, impressive. The wound is just a single stab from the side, and the skull seems fine since the head isn't crushed. It looks like it died about three hours ago. Plus, this size is pretty rare. Are you okay with buying it all?"
"No, I want to use the skin for its leather armor. Please buy everything else."
Then, Cody stared at Al as if noticing him for the first time, then took his hand to check the muscle on his upper arm.
"Wow, so you're Orson's new partner. You're not a warrior, right? A scout? No, you don't seem like one either."
"I'm a scout, but I can use magic too."
"I see, I see. So you want to make leather armor from the large lizard. Orson, what about the armor craftsman?"
"I was thinking of asking Dennis, but is he free?"
"Yeah, Dennis should be just right. It might be tough for him, but definitely ask him. So, you can check with him about the size of the leather you need, right?"
"--No, before that, can you tell me what kind of size we're talking about?"
The conversation was moving along smoothly. Al couldn't help but jump in.
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