Volume 18 Chapter 1 Hikikomori
"Al, if you stay in your room all the time, you're going to feel weird. Come on, let's go out for a bit."
In the afternoon, Orson knocked on Al's door. It had been a week since they arrived in the capital city, but Al had been holed up in a room at the mansion of the head of the Levy merchant guild since they got there.
"Uh, okay..."
Al peeked out of the room, looking a bit reluctant. The truth was, it was Al's first time in the capital in almost a year, and he had planned to explore a lot.
But right after they arrived, he made a stop at a shop that sold spellbooks, and that was a mistake. There, he was shown 5 really cool spellbooks.
Plus, Al had a lot of gold coins with him.
So, he ended up buying all those spellbooks and rented a room at the Levy merchant guild's mansion to learn the spells.
Of course, Al had originally planned to arrive in the capital just in time, but he got there early because Guildmaster Levy asked for his protection. And honestly, Guildmaster Levy didn't seem to mind Al staying there.
Still, Al felt a bit guilty, so he was working with Reginald, who was on guard duty, to check the results of the 'Detect Magic' spell.
He thought that once he finished learning the spells, he would go hunt some deer or boar and bring the meat as a thank-you gift.
The spells that changed Al's plans were the Strike Hard spell, Falling Control spell, Quick Shield spell, Create Water spell, and Send Mailbox spell.
Out of these, only the Send Mailbox spell was a third-level spell; the others were all second-level spells.
The Strike Hard spell increases attack damage based on skill level. It cost 15 gold coins.
Al didn't really attack without spells, so it might not matter much, but there was a good chance he would fight alongside someone against Barbarians or magic beasts in the future. Having support spells would be helpful then.
The Falling Control spell, which lets you fall slowly if you fall into a pit, also cost 15 gold coins. Orson had it as a magic tool.
Al said he didn't need it since he had the Fly spell, but he was told it would be useful if the Fly spell got canceled. That made sense; he might need it.
The Quick Shield spell can block fewer attacks than the Shield spell, but it's a special spell that can be used right away, like Spasm, and it cost 30 gold coins.
With this, even if a Magic Missile spell was coming at him, he could defend himself in time. Of course, it depends on skill level, but it would be good to have.
The Create Water spell was something he already had a magic tool for, but it only cost 10 gold coins, which wasn't too much. Plus, if he had a reference magic tool, he could easily make one himself.
A magic tool that creates water is valuable and very useful while traveling. If he plays his cards right, he might be able to make a lot of money from it.
The Send Mailbox spell was especially recommended by the shopkeeper as a third-level spell. When you use this spell, a box that is 10 centimeters on each side appears in front of you.
You put whatever you want to send inside the box, close it, and then think about where you want to send it while tapping the box's surface.
Then, the box flies up about 100 meters and heads to the place you specified at a speed of about 5 kilometers per hour.
When the box arrives, it leaves the contents there and disappears.
However, if the destination is a room with all the doors and windows closed, the box will wait outside. If the spell's effect time runs out, the box will disappear right there, and the contents will be thrown out.
The spell they just learned lasts for about 3 hours, so it can reach places in the city and nearby villages or towns.
This spell costs 50 gold coins, which is pretty expensive, but if they get their skill level up to 3, they can move 3 boxes between cities at the same time. They say it's worth it without having to do anything dangerous.
Hearing this, it sounded like a spell that could make more money than the water creation spell.
After learning all this, Al really wanted it. Of course, he couldn't resist the temptation. That's how he ended up in this situation.
"I want to check out the temple that's supposed to help with healing. I'll probably go there when I need treatment, but if I just show up and say it's my first time, the gods might be annoyed. So, I thought I'd go pray and say thanks in advance." Al paused thoughtfully.
"But, you know, I've only been to the capital a few times, and I'm not sure where that temple is. I've lived in the capital for 5 years, so I should know, right? Please help me out."
It seems the head of a wyvern is wanted for decoration in the temple of the sun god Pyros that's being built in the capital.
That means Orson will probably get treated by a high priest of the sun god Pyros. What Orson said made total sense, and Al figured he was just looking out for him.
"Got it. Thanks. But, by the way, I don't know where the sun god Pyros's temple is. Is it in the noble district? Anyway, I'll get ready to go out. Just wait a bit."
Al closed the door for a moment and transported the spellbook he was studying to a storage space in the research tower.
Before, he had to erase the illusion he marked or rewind to put it back in hiding. Now, he could just pause it as it was, which was really convenient.
After checking his gear to make sure everything was good, he opened the door again.
"Thanks for waiting. Let's ask someone in the mansion where the temple is."
"Yeah, but hey, Al?"
Orson nodded and started walking behind Al but quickly called him to stop.
"What's up?"
"Aren't you going to wear your armor?"
"Oh, well, it's a bit tight lately."
"Tight?"
Orson looked Al up and down.
"By the way, you've grown taller. You're still shorter than me, though..."
When Al first met Orson, he was about 150 centimeters tall, but he had grown over 10 centimeters in the past year. Now, he was just under 165 centimeters.
"I wear it when I'm hunting or working, but not usually. It's not as tough, but I can make a regular leather armor with a spell now..."
"Hey, that's what we call being careless. But, that's strange. Isn't that the one Dennis made? Let me see it."
Al's armor was made by a blacksmith named Dennis in the border city of Lester after Orson convinced him many times that armor was important.
Al let Orson into the room and handed him the armor that was hanging on the wall next to his jacket.
Orson examined it closely for a while, then pointed to the leather straps connecting the armor pieces.
"Ah, I knew it. Look, here, you can adjust it with this buckle and strap. Size adjustments can be tricky if you're not used to it," he explained, demonstrating the method. "I'll give you a quick lesson next time. That should make it easier."
"Al, you're taking care of your armor, but since you're earning money, it's better to have a craftsman check it regularly," he continued. "You can get proper size adjustments done then."
Is that how it is? Al scratched his head. Luckily, he hadn't had any serious injuries, but it was a matter of life and death. It's always better to be careful.
"Got it. I'll ask you again."
When Al said that, Orson nodded. He really was reliable. When they asked someone in the mansion about the sun god Pyros's temple, they found out it was on the far west side of the noble district.
After hearing the location, Al quickly figured out where it was. It shouldn't take more than ten minutes to walk there.
"Sorry, I don't really get what you mean by the street on the far west side of the noble town. Al probably knows, though. Can you show me the way? Also, I'd like to stop by a shop on the way back to buy some souvenirs. There must be some good places to eat too, right? Please tell me about them."
Since Al had been staying home a lot, Orson might have been bored without anyone to hang out with. But he thought Orson wouldn't be the type to just sit around doing nothing.
Still, maybe he wanted to walk around the capital with Al.
"Sorry, Orson. I didn't mean to leave you out. Let's go together!"
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