After that, we all had dinner together and called it a night.
There is only one tent, and we were offered to use it as we are their guests and also a token of thanks for our help earlier, but we didn't want to monopolize the tent, so we took turns doing the night watch.
First, Nemumu and I would use the tent, Erio and Miya would sleep outdoors. Gimra and Wardy would be in charge of the first night shift.
Erio and Miya will switch turns with Gimra and Wardy on the 2nd shift.
Lastly, Nemumu and I will switch turns with Erio and Miya.
Gold declared, "I don't need to sleep for a couple of days. I'll be up all night tonight."
Three of us, including him, would take charge of the night watch.
☆ ☆ ☆
The night shift ended without any problems, and morning arrived.
We don't want to trouble them too much, so we leave before breakfast.
Erio and the others will stay in the dungeon for a couple of days to hunt goblins.
"If there is an opportunity, let's fight in the dungeon together again. It would be great if Gold-san could teach me how to use the sword and shield." [Erio]
"Sure, we'll be glad to fight together with you again." [Dark]
I shook hands with Erio, made a promise to him, and we set off for the entrance.
We increased our distance from Erio and the others, made sure there was no one around, and started moving again with SSR, Presence Concealment, and SR, Flight.
We arrived at the dungeon entrance in less than an hour.
In this early morning, more adventurers are entering than leaving the dungeon.
Thanks to this, we were able to get out quickly.
"My Lord, what do we do now? Are we going back to the inn? [Nemumu]
"Before we go back to the inn, we'll go to the Adventurer's Guild and exchange the magic stone for cash. I don't want to carry it around any longer." [Dark]
I went to the guild against the flow of adventurers heading for the dungeon.
We show up at the guild just a day after I made my adventurer tag.
There is a board on the wall with request posters on it.
"Request: 10 bundles of medicinal herbs growing on the riverside of the 1st floor of the dungeon."
"Request to collect crystal from the volcano on the 5th floor."
There are requests not only for dungeons but also for the inside and outside of the city.
There are many different kinds of requests.
Despite it's just early morning, there are a surprisingly large number of adventurers.
Everyone wakes up early to get the more rewarding quest jobs posted on the bulletin board.
Some adventurers ignore the quests and explore the dungeons, but they have their own reason.
We head to the receptionist's counter across the bulletin board.
The receptionists of the adventurer's guild are standing at each counter, separated by a partition.
The receptionists are Dwarf women. Perhaps it's because the guild is located in the Dwarf Kingdom.
I go to one of them.
"Good morning. Are you here for a quest?" [Receptionist]
"No, I just came back from the dungeon this morning, so I need you to exchange magic stones." [Dark]
The Dwarf race is short in stature, but they do not seem weak because of their muscular physiques, both male and female.
When they are children, their physique looks normal, but as they get older, they become more muscular.
The receptionist in charge of us was also a little taller than me but had a solid body.
I handed her a bag full of magic stones from the first, second, and third levels.
She took it and checked the contents.
Immediately, her eyebrows furrowed.
The colors indicate that these are magic stones from the three levels, but you guys just enter the dungeon the day before yesterday, right? I remember seeing you come here to register as adventurers."
"I've been exploring the dungeon since yesterday early morning, is there a problem?" [Dark]
I've been collecting magic stones, mostly from trolls on the third level, to raise my adventurer rank.
During the Race Union days, I had heard that some dungeons prohibit excessive overhunting to maintain the purchase price of magic stones.
Could it be that this dungeon had such a restriction, and we accidentally hunted too many?
The receptionist looks at me as if I'm a thief.
"It is impossible for a human to go through two or three levels of a dungeon in one day and get this many magic stones. The guild does not exchange magic stones obtained through criminal or illegal activities for cash. Therefore, we cannot buy these magic stones from you!" [Receptionist]
I couldn't help but frown behind my mask.
She basically said, "it is impossible for the human race that is generally inferior to other races to collect this many magic stones in a single day. You must be doing something criminal."
I thought that if I brought in a large number of magic stones from the three levels, I could raise my rank quickly...
I never thought that I would be suspected of criminal or illegal activities.
The racial prejudice against human race is really deep-rooted.
I sensed that Nemumu was about to yell in anger, so I raised one hand to stop her.
While holding my anger at the irrational accusations, I opened my mouth.
"I swear that we didn't do any crime or illegal activity. All we did is enter the dungeon, defeat the monsters, collect the magic stones, and return. Also, what kind of crime or illegal activities do you think we used to get these magic stones?" [Dark]
"Well, something like... robbing another adventurer in the dungeon..." [Receptionist]
"Please stop accusing people without evidence. We never attacked other adventurers. We're going to continue supply magic rocks like this to prove our abilities." [Dark]
"......You will continue supplying us? Tsk... Indeed, accusing without evidence is bad. Since no problem has been found in the rules, we will buy your magic stone this time. But don't forget that the guild will not overlook any crimes or illegal activities." [Receptionist]
It was difficult to refuse to buy it because there is no evidence, and the receptionist backed down in frustration.
Although she seem to imply, but then she said, "We'll let it go now because we don't have any evidence, but if you show your tail, we'll crush you thoroughly".
I respond to her words politely.
"Of course. I'd like to be an honest adventurer so as not to cause any trouble for the guild." [Dark]
Maybe she took my answer as sarcasm, since the receptionist handed the money for the magic stones to us rudely.
☆ ☆ ☆
"How dare she speak so rudely to Dark-sama...? If you give me an order, I'll erase her from this world without leaving any trace." [Nemumu]
"I'm glad you're angry for me, Nemumu, but please refrain from making dangerous comments like that. If the receptionist disappears, we will be the first ones to be suspected. That's why I want you to forget about it." [Dark]
"I, I'm sorry! I didn't think that far ahead! I didn't mean to cause any trouble for you, Dark-sama..." [Nemumu]
"It's okay, I understand. But you should be a little more careful about what you say and do." [Dark]
"My Lord..." [Gold]
As we leave the Adventurer's Guild, I warn Nemumu to be careful about her words and actions. Suddenly, Gold whispered.
"I know. Nemumu, how many?" [Dark]
"Three. It seems that there are two more who are moving quickly to block our way." [Nemumu]
"UR, Level 5000 Assassin Blade Nemumu". She knew exactly how many people are following us, and even the number of people ahead of us."
"I want to see what kind of person we are dealing with. They might have some useful information. I'd like to make contact with them in a quiet place. Nemumu, can you lead us?" [Dark]
"No problem. Please do not proceed to the inn, but turn left to the small path." [Nemumu]
We left the Adventurer's Guild and headed straight back to the inn, but on the way, I followed Nemumu's instructions to take a path that led to a small back street.
I could sense that our followers hurriedly following us.
"Dark-sama, one person has moved from the back to join the two who were in front of us. Please slow down a bit." [Nemumu]
"Roger that. And Gold, I count on you." [Dark]
"Of course, my Lord." [Gold]
I followed Nemumu's instructions to slow down my walking speed.
She also leads them to an unpopulated area, where they can easily block our way.
Our followers move as if they are being controlled by Nemumu.
They appear in front of and behind us at places and times that are convenient for us.
"Wait a minute, human. Let's have a chat with us." [Bear]
A voice called out from behind.
When we turned around, we saw a bear beastman, over two meters tall, standing there with one of his men. He has a smirking smile on his face.