“Breaking pots and confiscating drawer contents!? What’s that about!? Why do you have such a privilege!?”
“I don’t understand the thoughts of those in power. I was simply granted this privilege and am faithfully carrying it out.”
Astonished by Tia’s words, Gou calmly replied and moved on to the next room. Of course, we followed him, and Tia, with pleading eyes, spoke to me.
“Hey Ed, what’s Going on!? Why pots and chest!?”
“I don’t know either. If I had to guess, maybe it’s some sort of compensation for the low allowance given to heroes?”
“Allowance? How much is it?”
As Tia asked Gou, who was rummaging through a small chest of chest that seemed to belong to a child, he answered without looking back.
“50 copper coins and a long, sturdy stick.”
“What!? You’re a hero, Gou-san, right!? Why do they send a hero off with only enough money for one night at an inn and a stick!?”
“Like I said before, I don’t understand the thoughts of those in power. I was just told that was all I’d get, so I accepted it. Well, I did buy my own equipment afterward.”
“It doesn’t make sense! Why wouldn’t they support a hero but give him such strange privileges!? Ed, the king of this country must be crazy!”
“Hey, hey, don’t criticize royalty in broad daylight.”
I calmed down a shouting Tia with a wry smile. It’s not like you’d get arrested for badmouthing the king unless you were in a really lawless country, but still, you shouldn’t speak ill of those in power, especially the king.
Of course, Tia should know that, but she’s still far from convinced. Gou, having finished rummaging through the chest, looked at her with a puzzled expression.
“Come on, don’t keep fussing about something you can’t understand. We’re done with this house. Let’s move on.”
“You’re still going!?”
“Of course. There are still many houses left.”
“…………………”
Leaving Tia, who’s moving her mouth wordlessly, Gou left the house. After that, he invades several more houses, rummaging through pots and chests, and once he’s satisfied with a few copper coins and some dried herbs, he enters the town’s blacksmith.
“Welcome.”
“…………………”
Without responding to the old shopkeeper’s greeting, Gou looks around the blacksmith’s shop and enters the forging area in the back without permission, starting to break the pots there.
Crash!
“Ah, he’s breaking them again… huh?”
Tia, who had been watching with tired eyes, suddenly noticed that there was a pot Gou wasn’t breaking and spoke up.
“Hey Gou-san. Why aren’t you breaking that one?”
“Hm? Which one?”
“That one, that one.”
Tia pointed to various sizes of pots, but Gou quickly averted his gaze after a glance.
“Ah, those are no Good because they’re bottles, not pots. Only pots of this size can be broken; anything else isn’t a pot and shouldn’t be broken.”
“Huh…?”
“Don’t look at me like that. I don’t know everything.”
As Tia appealed with her gaze, I dodged her eyes and mumbled a response. I haven’t seriously investigated it, but I have no idea why such a rule exists. While we’re exchanging words, Gou finished breaking the pots that caught his eye and returned to the shopkeeper at the front of the store.
“I’m sorry, but I’d like you to sharpen this one,” Gou said, handing over the large sword he had been carrying on his back.
“Are you really talking like that!!!!?!” Tia retorted,
“Alright, this one has been used quite a bit,” the shopkeeper commented, checking the sword’s condition.
“Are you really responding like that!!!?!” Tia exclaimed again.
“It will cost three silver coins, what do you think?” the shopkeeper asked,
“Understood,” Gou replied, paying the silver coins.
“Are you really just paying like that?!” Tia questioned once more.
“Oi, Lunaritia. You’ve been noisy since earlier”.
“But! You’re breaking pots and searching chests in other people’s houses, yet you’re paying properly to sharpen your sword?!”
“Huh? I’m requesting a service, so of course I’m going to pay, right?”
Tia, confused by Gou’s reaction, turned to the shopkeeper. “Why are you so nonchalant about taking work from someone who broke into your shop and smashed pots?!”
“Well, it’s just business, you know? Besides, there’s a subsidy for broken pots, so I can buy new ones with that. Most people don’t complain since they’re cheap and easily breakable.”
“Subsidies!? Haaaa….., I’m sorry Ed….I can’t take it anymore…”
“Don’t worry, Tia. We’ll head to the inn and talk it over. Just bear with it a little longer.”
With tears in her eyes, Tia crouches down. While Gou finished his business with the shopkeeper, the group left the store without any issues.
“Now, let’s head to the general store. We need to replenish our supplies and sell the naughty underwear we found earlier,”
“……………………”
“Tia, keep your heart strong. Don’t worry, you’re not going crazy.”
While encouraging Tia, who had a dead fish-like look in her eyes, we stepped into the general store. Of course, even there Gou naturally broke pots, rummaged through dressers, and after stuffing what was inside into his bag, he called out to the clerk.
“I want to sell something first. Lingerie, herbs, and… this healing potion.”
“Wa-wait, that! That’s what you just took out of the dresser over there!”
“Gout it. So, all together…”
“You’re buying it!?”
At the point where the negotiation had begun nonchalantly, Tia, unable to hold back any longer, grabbed the clerk’s shoulder firmly and began to shake him as she spoke.
“Hey! It’s a recovery potion that was in this shop!? You saw it too, it’s merchandise from your own shop, right!? You’re buying that!?”
“Hey, hey, customer, please stop being rough. Of course we’ll buy it, it’s our job.”
“But then, if you put that bought recovery potion back on the shop’s shelves, Gou-san might pick it up and sell it again, right!?”
“? What are you talking about, Lunaritia? If I take items from the merchandise shelf, that would be stealing, right? I wouldn’t do such a thing.”
“That’s right. Moreover, we report the losses to the office and receive subsidies, so we don’t actually lose anything.”
“………… U, uh, uwaahh! Ed, I can’t stand this anymore!”
At the words of the two who seemed to find the situation perfectly normal, Tia started crying and clung to me. It seems she’s finally reached her limit.
“There, there, it’s okay, Tia. I’m sorry, Gou-san, but I’d like to let Tia rest for a bit. Would it be okay if we returned to the inn ahead of you?”
“I don’t mind. I’m staying at an inn called “The Three-horned Sheep.” “
“Understood. We’ll catch up later… Come on, Tia, let’s go.”
“Uweeehhhh!”
Caressing the back of Tia, who continued to cry like a child, I parted ways with Gou and headed towards the inn. The inn’s clerk stared at us, but at this point, we couldn’t afford to care about such things.
“Hic… sob… Why… I’m not crazy…”
“That’s right. Tia, you are no tcrazy. What’s crazy are the rules of this world.”
“That’s true… I’m not weird, am I…?”
“Yeah, you’re not weird. In fact, when I first came here, I didn’t know what to do either.”
“……What did you do, Ed?”
While clinging tightly to me, Tia looked up at my face with teary eyes.
“I didn’t do anything. I just kind of went along with the flow of things. Look, the world where Canal was had very different laws and common sense, right? So, I just accepted that this place is the same. In reality, none of the people there were angry at Gou-san, were they? If the losses are being compensated, then it’s just something to accept… even if it’s hard to be convinced, I think it’s best to just accept it.”
If the world changes, so does common sense. Given that we only know our own world, it’s hard to accept major differences in others, but honestly, if nobody is unhappy, it’s best not to worry about it.
“…………This is the first time in my life that I’ve felt the irrationality of the world this strongly.”
“What a coincidence, I felt something similar too.”
Upon seeing Tia finally calming down, I answered with a wry smile on my face.