Gather Divine Coins and Gacha! - Chapter 31

 "Fuhe~..."

A weird, deflated sound slipped out of me before I realized it.

After a few rounds of combat, we were finally outside.

We’d been down there since morning, and it should be just past noon now… but I was exhausted.

Individually, the enemies weren't much of a threat, but when they came in groups—and with more jumping in halfway through—it really drained your nerves.

Especially for me, even a graze could turn into a fatal injury.

…Why am I still wearing a maid outfit, even here?

"I'm going to sell off the relics before heading back. What about you guys?"

Sometimes, when you crush a core, a relic drops.
They vary—tiny magic crystals, concentrated magical beast parts, and so on—and are used in places like workshops in the city.

Apparently, some places buy them individually, but they’re rare drops and not really efficient to target, so they’re usually sold in bulk to the guild.

"I want to see how trade works in the royal capital, so I’ll tag along."

"Me too~"

I’ve used the service a few times when I was exploring solo in Zelkis, but since we’re here, I’d like to check it out.

"Alright. Well, it’s not exactly thrilling… this way."

Saying that, Alec started walking, and we followed after him.

◇

Since only demon-type creatures appear in the Zelkis dungeon, their bodies are always destroyed by crushing their cores.
But for beast-type or insect-type monsters, their corpses can be used.

Unlike relics, these are requested by the guild with specified parts, so we intentionally avoid crushing their cores, bring the bodies out of the dungeon, dismantle them, and extract the requested parts for sale.

"You could’ve told me that sooner…"

I must look awful right now.

I let my guard down.

Seriously though—this is wild.

The royal capital’s guild—it's about the size of a soccer field. I thought it was unusually huge.

Yet the reception and the stairs leading to the dungeon were right near the entrance.

So this is why...

A fish market…?

Tons of monster corpses are lying around.

And since they’re not for eating, none of the blood or organs have been removed.

In other words—it reeks.

"…I’d heard, but the stench is awful."

Looking at Elena, she was covering her nose and mouth with her hand, her face twisted in discomfort.

"I’ve been through war, so it was a bit easier for me. Still, it was rough until I got used to it… Hang in there until you do."

While we were suffering from the smell, Alec—unbothered as ever—walked straight toward the buying counter.

Is it really okay to have the same window for both relics and monster parts?

Couldn’t they have separated them?

"Let’s go."

As I tried to flee from the stench upward, Elena grabbed me, refusing to let me escape, and dragged me along after Alec.

There were a few windows at the buying counter, and a handful of other groups, but it didn’t look too crowded.

Looks like we won’t have to wait.

"It’s not crowded, but do you think it’ll be quick?"

"When it comes to monster parts, they have to be dismantled first. You usually just leave them and come back a few days later for payment.
But for us, we only have relics. They just count and weigh them, so it'll be over fast.
Also, the time of day matters. Since it’s still early, most people are still out exploring, so there aren’t many bringing in relics yet."

As he processed the paperwork, Alec explained how things worked in the capital.

The procedure itself was simple.

When you return from exploration, you submit the exploration report you handed in beforehand along with your permit to the buying counter.

Apparently, they don’t buy items from other dungeons.

They do buy monsters from outside the dungeon, though—since those don’t have cores, they’re easy to distinguish.

Then they hand you a numbered tag, and once the appraisal is complete, your number is displayed.

It’s similar to systems I’d seen back in Japan.

I guess some things are the same no matter the world.

"It’s done."

Looking toward the window, I saw our number had been displayed.

Took about ten minutes, maybe?

The payment was five gold coins.

That’s a lot for three to four hours of work… but we were a party of three.
Others come in much larger groups.

Considering how dangerous the job is, maybe it’s a bit on the low side?

Thinking about it that way, selling monster parts might be more profitable.

Well, other groups are other groups.

Let’s just get out of here already!

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Sera ・【Hideout】・【Prayer】・【Floating Orb】・【Shadow Sword】・5 cards

Seriana ・【Area Recognition】・【】・4 cards

Elena ・【】・【Green Fang】・0 cards

Alec ・【】・【Red Shield】・0 cards