Gather Divine Coins and Gacha! - Chapter 4

 【Hideout】 greets you from within.

It has been ten days since I hid in the carriage and left the town where I had been staying.

The day after I left the orphanage and snuck into the carriage stop, people from the church arrived, and we departed that very day.

Apparently, the weather was looking a bit suspicious, so they decided to hurry, even if it meant pushing themselves a little.

That was a close call.

In these ten days, we have passed through five villages and two towns, experiencing one bandit attack and four monster attacks.

Both were small-scale incidents, but if I had been traveling alone, I would have undoubtedly died.

That was a close call.

I watched those battles while lazily lying on the living room sofa.

No, it was truly amazing.

The sight of swords and spears swinging and cutting down enemies was impressive, but more than anything, the magic was extraordinary.

The mage wasn’t dressed in the stereotypical robe and pointy hat but rather in light armor—just like an ordinary adventurer. So I hadn’t noticed at first, but there was a magic user in the group.

They launched glowing spheres that exploded upon contact with the enemy.

They seemed a little faster than baseballs from a batting center, probably around 130–140 km/h.

While a single hit wasn't enough to kill, it definitely inflicted damage and created a huge opening.

It should have been a pretty gruesome sight, yet I was so captivated that I watched it over and over again.

One of the reasons I had chosen this room in my previous life was its advanced security system.

There were security cameras at the entrance, in the lobby, and in the parking lot, all of which could be viewed on the room's TV or PC monitor, with recording capabilities.

I rarely used them—mainly just to check when calling a taxi—but who would have thought they would be so useful now?

I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Now, about this group.

They are one of the church's multiple Holy Coin recovery squads, responsible for the region that included my former town.

Having finished their collection, they are now heading to the domain’s capital. Along the way, I observed the towns and villages we passed through, but most of them seemed quite difficult for a child to survive alone.

If worse comes to worst, I could make a living through thievery using 【Hideout】, but I’d rather avoid that if possible.

Since the capital is the largest city in this territory, it should be easier to blend in there than in the smaller towns.

From what I overheard, we should arrive before nightfall. Once we reach the church, I’ll slip away when the timing is right.

I mulled over these thoughts while organizing the contents of my box.

◇

Beyond the massive city walls, a church stood a little past the city center.

As usual, I used 【Hideout】 and concealed myself in the carriage stop there.

This is seriously convenient.

After arriving at the church and unloading the cargo from the carriage, I managed to sneak out unnoticed once the people thinned out.

However, there were so many people around.

On top of that, a commotion broke out when the Holy Coins recovered by the returning squad suddenly went missing.

This country's currency consists of copper coins, large copper coins, silver coins, large silver coins, and gold coins, each increasing in value tenfold.

Above that, there's also a large gold coin, but it's mainly used for merchant transactions and not for everyday use.

One copper coin is roughly equivalent to 10 Japanese yen, while one Holy Coin is worth 20 gold coins.

This squad had collected a total of 38 Holy Coins.

That’s about 76 million yen.

Enough to buy a pretty nice house with land in a rural area.

I have some doubts about the actual value of Holy Coins.

After all, my 【Hideout】 is absurdly cheap at just 20 gold coins.

There might be some reason for a fixed upper limit, and its actual worth could be far greater.

If that’s the case, then the uproar outside makes perfect sense.

On the table before me, the supposedly missing Holy Coins are neatly stacked, alongside a 30-centimeter-tall goddess statue that was also inside the same box.

"I might’ve done something a little bad…"

Just before reaching the church, I had stepped out of 【Hideout】 and, on impulse, swiped the box containing the Holy Coins.

I do feel a little guilty since I owe my safe arrival in this city to them, but oh well.

They’ll just have to accept it as if they encountered a Fire Dragon.

By the way, “encountering a Fire Dragon” is an adventurer’s phrase for an unexpected disaster.

I had been wanting to use it someday, and now that wish has been granted.

Speaking of which, from the moment we entered the city until we reached this place, I saw a lot of people dressed like adventurers.

Heh heh heh, maybe aiming to become an adventurer wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all!