Chapter 212 - 211: Roaming
"You say that as if you have a great reputation..."
Gray grumbled, but he relented.
"Alright, alright. I’ll do my best not to get drunk. I won’t be late."
"That’s more like it." Maki patted his shoulder, satisfied.
"So after you leave Black Stone Town, where are you planning to go?" Zelir asked, intrigued.
"South."
Maki answered simply.
"I’ve gone as far north as I can. Next, it’s time to head somewhere warmer."
"My journeys are always like this, anyway. First north, then south..."
"In between, I might hitch a ride with a caravan and head west to see the Endless Sea of Sand, or maybe head east to check out the Storm Coast."
"I don’t really have a set destination, anyway. I just go where the road takes me," Maki said with a shrug.
"Wandering around here and there with no fixed home—is that fun?" Valles glanced at Maki.
He had always sought stability and order, so he couldn’t quite grasp the appeal of a nomadic adventurer’s life.
"Of course it’s fun. Otherwise, I wouldn’t bother running all over the place."
A genuine smile spread across Maki’s face. "I just can’t stand staying in one place for too long."
"In the City of Thousand Sails, I witnessed firsthand the miracle created when the great artisans joined forces. They showed me the very shape of the wind."
"And in the Wind Singing Land of the Lost City-State, they say the Minstrels can summon true Elemental Spirits just by strumming their harps."
"In the western desert, I even saw a ’Phantom City’ made entirely of quicksand that only appears at night. It was filled with shambling skeletons and all sorts of Demons."
Maki recounted the various sights and sounds of his travels with vivid detail.
The fantastical sights, which had previously existed only in legends and books, sounded so real and alluring coming from him.
Even Marcus hadn’t seen so much.
"Now that you put it that way, traveling all over does sound like fun," Gray mused.
"Alright. I hope we can have a few more good jobs together before you leave. It’d be nice for all of us to earn a bit more money," said Zelir.
"Of course. Me too," Maki said with a smile.
After bidding farewell to his teammates, Zelir left the Adventurer’s Guild.
The sun was about to set.
The afterglow of the setting sun painted the sky in shades of orange.
Unlike the hurried hustle and bustle of the daytime, the pace of life suddenly slowed as evening approached.
The atmosphere grew light and cheerful.
Shops along the street began to light their lanterns. The tempting aroma of wheat drifted from the bakery, and the first cheers of the evening erupted from the tavern.
Instead of rushing back to the Night Flower Inn, Zelir first made a stop at a clothing store.
He bought several sets of well-made clothes in his size.
A short, gray jacket, clean and simple.
He also bought black trousers and some comfortable everyday clothes, spending Ten Silver Coins in total.
He hardly cared about such small expenses anymore.
After tucking his new clothes into his Storage Pouch, Zelir ambled over to the public bathhouse.
There was no helping it; he smelled awful. He could clearly detect the reek of blood on himself.
He could have bathed at the Night Flower Inn, which provided wooden tubs and hot water.
But it was nothing compared to a good, long soak in a proper pool.
’This should be... the place, right?’
Zelir found himself before a sprawling wooden building.
Several skylights on its roof continuously billowed out clouds of white steam, making the building particularly conspicuous.
A steady stream of people flowed in and out of the entrance, most of them miners just getting off their shifts or Adventurers who had finished their tasks for the day.
They went in with arms slung over each other’s shoulders, laughing and talking loudly, and came out looking refreshed and content.
Zelir followed the crowd inside. The temperature was noticeably warmer.
He went up to the front counter, where an old man was selling tickets.
Zelir glanced at the prices carved on a wooden sign:
[Grand Pool] (Public): Ten Copper Coins per person.
[Private Bath] (Single Room): One Silver Coin per person, complimentary cleaning supplies.
’Hmm... a private room is probably better.’
Zelir had no desire to bathe crammed in with a bunch of other people.
’It’s a little weird.’
Just as he was about to pay, the old man seemed to catch a whiff of something and boomed,
"Whoa, son! For such a handsome young fella, you sure do stink!"
’None of your business...’
Swallowing his anger, Zelir ignored him and took out a Silver Coin. "I’ll take a private room."
"Alrighty!"
The old man immediately pocketed the Silver Coin and launched into an enthusiastic sales pitch.
"By the way, for an extra twenty Copper Coins, you can get a back scrub. Our attendants are real pros."
"No, thank you..."
Taking the wooden tag the old man gave him, Zelir entered the bath area.
He walked past the public pool and found the private room matching the number on his tag.
He opened the wooden door. The space inside was quite spacious.
A pool hewn from the bluestone floor took up most of the room, more than two meters long and wide.
The surrounding stone was polished smooth, and the pool was filled with pleasantly hot water.
Beneath the surface, a small stone bench had been thoughtfully built in, allowing one to sit comfortably while soaking.
On a stone ledge next to the pool sat several small bottles filled with colorful liquids.
Zelir curiously opened one and sniffed it.
Hmm...
The fresh scent of lemongrass wafted out.
’It was probably some kind of bath oil, similar to a body wash, made by crushing fragrant plants and mixing them with a simple process.’
Zelir chose a mild, pine-scented oil, stripped off his clothes, and submerged himself in the water.
"Aaaah..."
The moment the warm water enveloped his shoulders, an indescribable sense of comfort washed over his entire body.
It was as if all the fatigue and grime from the past few days were being completely washed away.
He rested the back of his head against the edge of the pool, closed his eyes, and let his mind wander.
’Counting the days...’
’It’s been almost half a month since I made the down payment to Barrett.’
’I wonder if the Magic Robe is almost ready?’
’I should find some time to go ask Barrett about it.’
’A Magic Robe that significantly reduces Mana Consumption is exactly what I need right now.’
During today’s battle, he had cast Fractal Fire nearly ten times and fired three Aurora Energy Beams, causing his Blue Bar to drop below half.
If an unexpected situation had arisen that required him to buff his teammates or use his Healing Skill, his Magic Power reserves would have been insufficient.
’I need to take care of that vulnerability.’
’I have 265 Gold Coins on me right now.’
’Once I pay the remaining seventy-seven Gold Coins for the robe, I can probably make an advance payment of about 150 Gold Coins on my loan.’
’That’ll take a lot of the pressure off later on.’