Kotori and Amelie stayed at an inn nearby. The inn was much more expensive and the owner was also not as nice as Brom was. It was in some seedy part of the town but the beds were warm and free of bugs so Kotori didn't complain that much
The man, whose name was Georgio had told them they would be helping in three days. The plan was rather simple, they would help him bring in contraband and Georgio would lead them to a dungeon the next day.
Since they had nothing really to do all day they spent it exploring the city and getting information from the adventurers guild. The receptionist lady was right when she said that the adventurers guild was full of idealists. Just about every adventurer at the guild was new and didn't really understand that adventuring was a dying profession. Apparently, most of them would quit within their first year.
Still, they ended up meeting the few people who still wanted to be adventurers regardless and hoped that conditions would get better.
Most of them were quite young as well, only about 16 years old which meant they just barely qualified as adults in this world.
"So what are you planning on doing once you become famous," The boy and girl asked Kotori. Their names were Shun and Anya respectively and they were at a party in the same village who came to the city on a dream that they would someday become big adventures. They seemed disappointed in the lack of adventuring jobs but kept a useful optimism that they would someday grow famous.
[Still, anyone that grows even a little bit famous just gets hired by the kingdom anyway]
Kotori had learned this from the lady at the desk. Adventurers were on the decline as a result of the fact that anyone worth their salt would just be hired by the kingdom. Apparently, the benefits were quite good and you would get access to any dungeons you wanted. Thus, for the most part the adventure's guild was about to close as a result of the kingdom's policies
These kids though seemed to have naive optimism and thought that adventurers would come back eventually
[Like that'll happen] Kotori thought while listening to them
"I want to be like the Gildron Legue! He smote down two dragons with 1 blow of his hammer." Shun said a shining look in his eyes
"Well, that sounds impressive," Kotori said absentmindedly
Kotori was listening to their tales about adventurers she herself, was unsure of the truthiness of these claims but if they were true then Gildron Legue did sound like a formidable opponent indeed.
[I wonder how he tastes?]
Now that Kotori had gotten to eat a vast assortment of humans since the bandit attacked the village she had grown a bit of an appetite for the human balls. She began to call them "Ningmochi" and "MonMochi"*
*"Ning" is the japanese romanji for human hence "Ningmochi" is "human mochi" Monmochis is a shorter version of "monster Mochi"
She thought about calling them "mofumofu mochi" but it was a bit of a mouthful. Thus, she settle on "ningmochi"
Amelie had listened to these tales with a lot of intrigue. Which was likely due to the fact her mother was an adventurer back when adventurers still exist.
[Still, She can almost be like a kid when it comes to things like this] Kotori thought watching Amelie was listening to the stories with a childlike enthusiasm.
Apparently, Shun and Anya were also a part of this "illicit" activity that Kotori and Amelie had agreed to do. Thus, as a result, they were technical "associates" which was also the only reason they were talking in the first place. They themselves thought it would only be a small little stunt and they would go back to finding someone's cat the next day and hoping that they would get hired by the kingdom.
[Dontcha know smuggling is highly illegal.] Kotori thought while smirking.
Indeed, among many of the rules that Kotori was taught before entering the city, smuggling was a very big problem. There were many things banned by the city and thus having them brought in would be automatic grounds for expulsion or even legal ramifications.
Among some of them were the obvious illegal drugs and other similar contraband. But also some interesting things like "monster drops." Apparently raw and unprocessed monster drops had to be separately marked and noted. Upon entry to the city, this is how the city makes sure that no one is hiding a dungeon. Since adventurers would've made money off selling these drops then meticulously marking them down and tracking them ensures you have a monopoly over the dungeons. While they could still hide the dungeon by not selling any drops it would essentially be pointless to do so
[Though, not for me] Kotori didn't really care about money that much and she was more interested in killing strong monsters. The MonMochi she would get would be pretty tasty as well.
Shu and Umi seemed to be very ravenous. Even in the forest, they would greedily beg Kotori for more of the MonMochi.
She gave them what she could kill but honestly, it felt like being a mother bird. Ever since reaching the city both Shu and Umi seemed a sulk a little every since they haven't been able to eat anything. It was a little weird especially considering Shu and Umi didn't need to eat much in the first place. Occasionally, Kotori would have to give Umi some water or grab some dirt/biodegradable material for Shu's body but overall they were low maintenance pets.
Apparently, Kotori and Amelie would be helping transport monster materials into the city. It was a pretty simple job but she wasn't sure how they were going to have it happen in the first place. Giorgio had told them a location to meet and a time but didn't specify much else besides what material they were going to be transporting.
Still, the three days passed very quickly and Kotori and Amelie found their way to the building that Giorgio had directed them to.
It was in another seedy streety to the north of the city. The buildings were ramshackle and many beggars sleeping out in the streets. Overall it was a dismal place.
The place they were directed to was a bar in this city. It was called the "bubbly elf" it had a worn sign with a rather voluptuous elf as the mascot.
"This is the place right?" Amelie asked
"I hope?" Kotori said before knocking on the door.