Night fell over the town. Apart from the castle where royalty and nobles lived, the streets were plunged into darkness, illuminated only sporadically by scattered lights.
The inn was one of these places.
Brightly lit, the town inn bustled with activity and noise.
Its first floor served food and drink, while accommodations were located upstairs.
The cost per room was 30 copper coins; dinner was an extra five.
Kiriko used the King's aid money to pay for dinner and lodging, then found an empty spot to sit and wait.
All the gold was safely stored in her Dimensional Bags. She'd sold the wyvern meat to merchants specializing in monster materials, exchanging it for some additional silver coins.
Currency exchange here was straightforward: one gold coin equaled a hundred silver coins; one silver coin equaled a hundred copper coins.
Within town, citizens and merchants primarily used silver, while copper coins were common in villages outside town.
It made sense why the King had given them hundreds of silver coins rather than a few gold pieces.
The food soon arrived. Kiriko hadn't expected much for five copper coins, but it wasn't bad at all—meat, vegetables, and bread.
In her previous life, Kiriko hadn't eaten well. Due to her job and financial constraints, she mostly lived off fast food.
Otherwise, she'd just cook noodles at home.
Just as Kiriko finished off the vegetables and was gearing up to attack the meat dish, a voice spoke beside her.
"Are you the Zero Hero-sama everyone's been talking about?"
Kiriko turned, noticing a man standing next to her.
He was unremarkable-looking and clearly an adventur—no, rather than an adventurer, he resembled a thug or street punk.
"What is it?"
Kiriko put down her meat. Out of habit, she reached for a napkin to wipe her mouth, grabbing air instead. Only then did she realize that in this world, paper probably wasn't so abundant as to be casually used for cleaning.
"I heard about your heroic deeds and specifically came here to join you. Please, Hero-sama, allow me to serve you!"
As the man spoke, his face wore a fake, ingratiating smile, but his eyes occasionally betrayed a cunning glint.
Kiriko glanced over his clothing. Although judging people solely by appearance wasn't right, it could still provide some clues.
For example, in the modern world, genuinely wealthy people didn't necessarily flaunt gold or silver jewelry, but their clothes were always neat and well-fitting. No truly wealthy individual would intentionally dress like a beggar or vagrant.
But this man's leather armor was dirty, worn, and ill-fitting, clearly not something bought at an armor shop.
Apart from a dagger hanging at his waist, he had no other weapons or gear.
Unless he possessed the skills of Uchigatana-guy from Dark Souls III, it was uncertain who would protect whom in battle.
"Sorry, I'm not looking to recruit adventurers. I'm still eating, so please leave."
"Won't you reconsider? I'm really strong—I just need you to buy me some proper equipment."
After hearing this, Kiriko instantly realized what this guy was after.
Ahh… I see how it is.
Under the guise of joining a hero's party, scammers would trick heroes into buying them expensive equipment, then slip away.
There was no magically binding contract between heroes and adventurers. If the other person decided to run off, she'd have no recourse.
Even if she caught him, he wouldn't willingly return the gear. Instead, he'd insist that she bought it for him voluntarily.
Calling the guards or asking the King for justice would be useless too.
In this world without cameras or surveillance networks, how could she possibly provide proof?
As for magic…
Not everything could be solved with magic.
This was a world of swords and sorcery—not Harry Potter.
Even if she did get scammed, the loss wouldn't matter. Buying someone basic gear wouldn't cost much money at all.
But being deceived felt awful.
Especially when you trusted someone and willingly helped them, only to find out you were worthless in their eyes. If possible, it was better never to experience that feeling.
"Hey, can't you see you're bothering her?"
At this moment, another voice cut in.
Naofumi Iwatani stepped forward, pushing the man aside. His follower, Myne, stood next to him.
The thug clicked his tongue, realizing he wouldn't get a free ride here. He left the inn, muttering something generic under his breath.
"You alright?"
Only then did Kiriko notice Naofumi's appearance had changed significantly from earlier in the day. He now wore chainmail armor. His follower, that woman named Myne, was equipped in an expensive-looking white armor set and carried a high-quality sword, completely different from earlier.
The Shield Hero really went all-out, huh…
Normally, even the attack-oriented heroes like Motoyasu Kitamura wouldn't raise their levels too high in just a single day.
Low levels meant hunting weak monsters, whose materials sold for copper coins at best.
The lowest-level balloon monsters took two kills just to earn a single copper coin.
Naofumi aside, Myne's flashy equipment was clearly purchased using Naofumi's aid money from the King.
Tsk, tsk, tsk… Men, huh…
Afterward, she chatted briefly with Naofumi.
The guy knew how to act cool, saying stuff like "Kiriko-san is just a girl—leave the fighting to a man."
He was only Level 2 after a whole day of training, yet he sure could talk big.
Kiriko quickly finished her meal and excused herself, leaving Naofumi and his female comp—…companion downstairs.
After spending so lavishly, the Shield Hero might just throw his back out tonight. Hopefully, he wouldn't end up like Shi Jin, using so much strength that it affected tomorrow's leveling.
Returning to her room, Kiriko closed and locked the door.
She placed her Intermediate Dimensional Bags and clothes on the bedside table. Her magic iron sword was propped within easy reach by the head of the bed.
Wearing only her underwear, Kiriko crawled into bed and wrapped herself in the blanket.
She lay on her side, but for some reason, sleep eluded her tonight, unlike her first night in this world.
She tossed and turned without feeling remotely tired. Eventually, she lay flat on her back, eyes wide open, staring blankly at the ceiling, random thoughts drifting through her mind.
She didn't know how much time had passed. Only after the noise downstairs gradually faded did she start feeling a hint of sleepiness.
But just then, Kiriko faintly heard a strange noise!