Chapter 15…
Greed Arc
Two Heroes!
— A few days earlier —
The carriage was shaking.
I’d never ridden in one before.
Of course I hadn’t — there were cars where I came from.
There were hardly any horses in my world anyway.
Well, not that the creature pulling this carriage is actually a horse…
“Come to think of it, I never asked—what’s your name?”
The good-looking guy sitting across from me, probably around high school age, spoke up.
“…Hiroyuki.”
I wasn’t used to talking with people outside my family, so my reply came out blunt—but I didn’t care.
I’d never really wanted friends, and since I had my older brother, that was enough for me.
“I’m Ryuto. Nice to meet you!”
He held out his hand, so I shook it. …He’s pretty friendly, huh.
“Still, this is crazy, right? We’re heroes! I remember being at Animate before a truck came crashing in… so maybe I’m just in a coma and this is all a dream?”
He sure talks a lot, even though I never asked…
“…”
I gave off every possible sign that I didn’t want to talk, but—
“I get it… You don’t want to remember the moment you died, huh? Sorry.”
He didn’t get it at all…
“So, what now? We got summoned and all, but there’s no Demon Lord, so apparently we don’t have anything to do.”
“…”
No Demon Lord, no purpose.
That much was true—heroes like us are supposed to defeat the Demon Lord.
But apparently, this world doesn’t have one.
In other words—we’d been summoned into a perfectly peaceful world.
“So, like the king said, are we gonna become adventurers?”
“…”
During the castle briefing, both of us were advised to become adventurers.
Apparently, it’s a job you can do even without much knowledge, and the royal palace offers support.
Still… being an adventurer sounds dangerous.
It’d be better to live quietly as a merchant.
So—
“…I’ll be an adventurer ‘for now.’”
I didn’t care about climbing the ranks. I just needed some money and experience before becoming a merchant.
“Huh? ‘For now’? Well, whatever! I’ll be an adventurer too! Let’s do this!”
“…”
“Ahaha… there’s one more thing I wanna ask.”
“…?”
His tone suddenly turned serious—his eyes fixed on me. What now?
“It’s about the other hero.”
Oh, he means her—that ridiculously sexy woman in a T-shirt and men’s boxers.
“…What about her?”
“Um, well…”
“…?”
He started blushing and fumbling for words, even though he brought it up.
“It’s kinda hard to say, but…”
“Spit it out.”
“D-Don’t tell me, Hiroyuki—you don’t like her, right!?”
“…What?”
“I-I think I’m… in love with her! I’ve never felt this way before, but—I just know! I love her!”
“…?”
What is this idiot talking about? He’s never even spoken to her.
Though, thinking about it, she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.
But for some reason, I didn’t feel anything romantic.
Instead, she gave me a strange sense of comfort… a weird familiarity. Why?
“So?! If you fell for her too, then we’re rivals in love! I have to know!”
“…Relax. I don’t.”
“You don’t?! So you’re saying you don’t like her, right?!”
“…”
“Alright! But don’t blame me if you fall for her later!”
“…Yeah, sure.”
“YESSS!!!”
Guess that’s all he wanted to hear.
After that, he dozed off while I stared out the window.
With his energy, he’d probably get along great with my brother…
“…Brother…”
— — — — — — —
— — —
—
Queens Town
Queens Town looked like something straight out of a video game.
The open fruit stands sold some familiar produce, but also strange, otherworldly ones.
People walking by wore armor or robes that looked like something out of a fantasy RPG.
Even monsters were pulling carriages through the streets—it really drove home that this was another world.
“Whoa… this is awesome.”
“…Yeah.”
For once, I agreed with Ryuto.
“Let’s head to the guild first, yeah? We’re going to the same place anyway—come with me?”
“…Sure.”
I didn’t see any reason to refuse, so we walked together through the lively streets.
“Oh, this must be it! The sign literally says ‘Queens Guild.’ Real creative.”
“….”
He pushed open a pair of saloon-style doors, and suddenly every eye in the place turned toward us.
“Hi there! How’s it going?”
“…”
How can he act so casual?
We made our way to the counter, and Ryuto spoke to the receptionist.
“Uh, I’m Ryuto, and this guy’s Hiroyuki. The castle told us to come here…”
“So you’re the two heroes we were expecting. We’ve already been notified—please head through that door.”
We opened the door marked Authorized Personnel Only and entered a room with a desk, a couch, and a middle-aged man waiting.
“Welcome, heroes. I’m the guild master of this town. These are your special hero guild cards.”
He handed us sleek, black cards about the size of a license.
“Did you receive an explanation about guild cards back at the castle?”
“Yes, but… mine and Hiroyuki’s cards don’t show any currency value.”
“Excellent question! Normal guild cards have numbers showing your balance. But yours—well, they show ‘∞’! You can buy anything you want! Of course, you can’t go overboard—like buying a dozen houses or opening a massive business.”
“Wha—!? No way!”
Ryuto’s hand was shaking as he held the card.
Understandable—at this moment, we were basically the richest people in the country.
This must be one of the royal “support measures” we were told about.
“Also, your identities as heroes must remain absolutely secret. The guild, and the nations themselves, wish to avoid war at all costs. Please, be careful.”
“Yes, sir!”
“…Understood.”
“Then, I wish you both a wonderful adventurer’s life.”
“Thank you very much!”
“…”
I bowed slightly and left the room.
That went faster than expected—but the quicker, the better.
Once outside, Ryuto started talking about our next move.
“I’m gonna explore the area, maybe check out the weapon shops. What about you?”
His eyes sparkled—he was genuinely excited about this world.
“…I’ll look for an inn.”
I decided not to go with him. I wanted some time alone.
He looked a bit disappointed.
“O-oh… I guess this is goodbye for now, then?”
“…Yeah.”
“Let’s both make the most of this world! See ya!”
And with that, Ryuto disappeared into the crowd, full of energy.
He didn’t even think to look for an inn first… oh well, that made things easier for me.
“…Alright, then.”
I started walking slowly down the street, looking for a place to stay—
