Volume 2 Chapter 1 Nurturer Doesn't Make Money
In the town of Hyamars, a fledgling adventurer's haven.
This town is located in the Leaf territory, which spreads across the central part of the Compost Kingdom.
There are no dangerous monster zones nearby, and with stable security and a comfortable climate, people live peacefully.
I, too, am enjoying a laid-back life in this town.
Especially in the residential area of the town's East District, there isn't much foot traffic even during the day, and when I'm at home, I can't hear the hustle and bustle outside at all.
Maybe that's why I sometimes end up sleeping until the afternoon.
"Mm~."
And today, too, I surrendered to my drowsiness and indulged in a long nap.
It's already been a month and a half since I started my Nurturer business.
Compared to the tumultuous days of being in a hero party, I'm spending my days in a much more relaxed manner.
Since there are no fixed working hours for a Nurturer, my daily rhythm tends to get a bit chaotic.
If I had regular customers coming in, I might feel motivated to set working hours, but even after a month and a half, the number of customers hasn't increased at all.
It seems that the lack of proper advertising and the lingering suspicion about my services are holding me back.
For now, Rose comes by irregularly to return the curse-breaking fees I've covered, so I'm relying on that.
...Anyway, maybe I should wake up soon.
"...Mm."
As I slowly lifted my eyelids, the familiar ceiling filled my view.
...No, it wasn't just the ceiling; in my blurry vision, I saw "something black" reflected.
What is that?
As I blinked my sleepy eyes to focus, I was shocked to find a "black-haired little girl" right in front of me.
"......Huh?"
Faced with this unexpected sight, I was taken aback.
The little girl was peering at my face, which was lying on my back in bed.
Our eyes met perfectly, and we both froze in place.
The little girl had a blank expression on her face, and I probably looked just as stunned.
"...G-Good morning?"
I send a morning greeting to wake up.
Suddenly, she turns bright red, as if a 'Bam!' sound effect just went off.
Right after that, she jumps back in a panic, trips over her feet, and falls on her butt.
"Eek! Don't scare me like that!"
"...Well, isn't that my line?"
I mean, there was someone right in front of me the moment I woke up.
It was a good thing it was someone I knew.
"Why is Cosmos in my room...?"
I ask, yawning as I sit up.
Since that incident, Cosmos has become a regular visitor, showing up as often as Rose.
So, it's not unusual for her to come to my house, but this is the first time she's entered without asking.
Why is she acting like such a bold thief?
"I-I knocked, but there was no answer, so I thought something might be wrong and just came in. The 'Do Not Disturb' sign wasn't up either."
"Ah..."
Cosmos picks up on my confusion and gives a perfectly valid reason.
I see, that makes sense.
"Sorry, I didn't hear you. When I sleep in this room, I can't hear knocks at all..."
"Still, you really need to be more cautious. The door was wide open, and I could have walked in without you waking up. You should be more careful. I had no idea what to do while I was waiting."
I feel really bad about that.
It's true that even in a safe town, there are still thieves around.
Just like Cosmos said, I should be a bit more vigilant.
"By the way, if you came all the way to my room, you could have just woken me up instead of waiting so patiently."
"Well, you looked so comfortable sleeping that I thought it would be rude to wake you up..."
For some reason, Cosmos turns her face away, blushing.
Well, thanks to her thoughtfulness, I got to sleep soundly again today, so I should be grateful.
"Anyway, make sure this doesn't happen again. You should at least get a doorbell or a knocker. You might miss out on valuable guests otherwise."
"Since this isn't a mansion or anything, I feel like just knocking or calling out would be enough..."
"Well, you didn't even notice my knock at all, did you?"
In response to that sharp retort, I replied jokingly.
"Cosmos has small hands and isn't very strong, so the knock must have been really quiet, right?"
"Oh, really? Then from now on, I'll just use magic to let you know."
"This house will be gone!"
If she shot a 'Meteor' spell at this house, it wouldn't just be a knock; it would be a whole different situation.
The house would completely blow up, and worst case, the entire East District residential area could disappear.
Since she's been leveling up her skills more and more lately, that's even scarier.
While we were joking around like that, I slowly got up from the bed.
Since my guest, Cosmos, had arrived, I decided to prepare to host her, even though I had just woken up.
That said, I was only going to serve some light tea and snacks.
I sluggishly prepared the tea, and finally, when I sat down, I asked Cosmos again.
"So, what brings you here today?"
"I came to pay you again. I made a decent amount from yesterday's monster hunt, so I thought I'd pay it all off today."
Hearing that, I nodded, thinking, "I see." Currently, besides Rose, Cosmos also comes to bring me money from time to time.
That's because Cosmos still has unpaid rewards for her training requests.
'300 Flora for each level up'
That's the pricing set by the Nurturer, making it easy for beginner adventurers to pay.
However, in Cosmos's case, the reward amount has skyrocketed to an abnormal level, and paying it all at once would be a burden on her wallet.
The reason why the amount has increased so much is...
"I keep saying that I only need to pay for the job class level each time. I intended to do that from the start, and I didn't say I would charge that much when I accepted Cosmos's request."
"That's not really how it works, you know. In my case, I've had my 'skill levels' raised a lot more than my job class, so if you don't get paid for that, it would be unfair, right?"
It's true that in Cosmos's case, the skill levels have grown significantly more than the job class.
However, I don't think it was clearly stated that the skill levels would be included when taking on the request.
So, it feels a bit awkward to receive additional payment later on, like it's an extra condition.
I did say 300 Flora for each level up, but is it really okay to include the skill levels in that...?.
"I want to pay you, so you should just accept it quietly. You're already in a tough financial situation, right?"
"Ugh...!"
Well, to be honest, I'm kind of relying on the money Rose is going to return to me.
I had to dip into my savings to cover the huge curse-breaking costs to help her mom.
At first, I thought I could live a slow life with that savings, but now it's almost all gone, so I'm in a tight spot.
I hardly have any income as a Nurturer, and my adventurer rank has dropped to 5.
I guess I'll have to take on some day labor...
just when that gloomy thought crossed my mind, Cosmos suddenly said while munching on some baked goods.
"By the way, there's going to be a promotion exam in this town soon."
"Huh?"
"It's the adventurer promotion exam to go from rank 5 to level 4. Since it's happening, why don't you give it a shot?"
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Donate me
Support Me with USDC
(ERC20)
Support Me with XLM
(Stellar Lumens)