Level Eater

Chapter 27: Welcome to the town of Obsul!

"Good work!" (Ai)

"How is it good work? Shouldn't it be no pain, no gain?" (Tatsuro)

All it took was about three to four minutes of their time to finish up the bears. Though they do feel a bit of fatigue from using their skills, it was not anything to be alarmed about.

"This If we leave them here, they're gonna block the road." (Ai)

"Ah Yeah. Can't be helped, item box + 3 has an extra capacity, so I'm gonna be taking these too." (Tatsuro)

"Thanks." (Ai)

For some extra information, every time the item box's level increases, its capacity is expanded to twice its current capacity, and so on. Hence, when Tatsuro acquired the third upgrade, the 96% Free Space in his system turned into 98%.

After upgrading his item box, Tatsuro retrieved the bears' corpses. Then, he promptly repaired the broken sections of the cobblestone path using Earth Magic.

"Whooo. Those guys looked exactly like the blue ones, but finding out that they were a lot weaker really surprised me. Oh, are the horses alright, by the way?" (Ai)

"A Ahh, yeah, they're all good and w wait, DID YOU JUST SAY BLUE?" (Zendo)

"Yeah, the ones before had blue shells, not white." (Tatsuro)

"W-W-Wait a minute! Those ones you just said d-did you fight them? Blue-shelled Defurstal" (Zendo)

"So they're called Defurstal, huh? Uhh Look at these spoils of war." (Tatsuro)

To prove their story, Tatsuro took out a few pieces of crystal and showed them to Zendo. Upon taking a look at the crystals, Zendo's heart started to pound rapidly, fast enough to make him feel like falling flat at any moment. Looking at how beautiful its gleam was, he could attest that the two stories were real.

However, not knowing Zendo's current state of mind, Ai took that out from her item box and proudly displayed it for everyone to see.

"We have a gold one too!" (Ai)

"-" (Zendo)

That was the final straw for Zendo.

He fainted, falling backward onto the ground.

"IYAAAA GRAMPS IS DEAD!!!" (Ai)

"He's not dead! Don't say things that might invite bad luck! Grandpa just fainted." (Tatsuro)

"To suddenly faint like that You think he has a chronic disease even though he looks fine on the outside?" (Ai)

"No It's probably not that." (Tatsuro)

While Ai was looking at Zendo with a face full of worry, Tatsuro stated his conjecture as he stared at the shell in Ai's hand.

If he was already lightheaded upon seeing the blue crystals, then I think seeing the gold one was enough to make him faint, was what Tatsuro thought.

"In the meantime, let's try not to show the gold crystal to any random person. So put it back for now, please." (Tatsuro)

"And here I was so happy to show it to gramps" (Ai)

"That attitude might just be the cause of someone's death. Get a hold of yourself." (Tatsuro)

In response, Ai just tilted her head along with a "Huh?"

You still don't get it? Sighing internally, Tatsuro did not even bother to explain himself to Ai.

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After storing the blue crystals and agreeing to not talk about this in front of others, Tatsuro used his Life Magic to wake Zendo up.

"Hm Huh? What am I doi!? That's right! I saw a golden crys-" (Zendo)

"You alright Zendo-san? We were worried since you fainted when the white-shelled Defurstals or something came." (Tatsuro)

"Ah Really? Is that it? So I was dreaming. HAHA, of course, I am So, what happened to the Defurstals?" Zendo said as he looked around, failing to even find one of them.

To help Zendo to settle down, Ai hurriedly continued Tatsuro's story.

"Ah, those. We just did a few things, and boom, they ran away. It's fine now. They aren't here anymore, so" (Ai)

"You chased them away? Then what's that pool of blood over there?" (Zendo)

"A-AHHHH, that's That! When we did this, the bears wet themselves and ran away, y-you see." (Ai)

"HUH? Hmm I don't understand but if they're gone then all's well, right?" (Zendo)

"Y-Yeah. The horse-san over there is fine now too, right?" (Ai)

Placing his focus toward where Ai pointed, Zendo saw that both of his horses, which were tied to the wagon, had calmed down. Staring at them for a good while, Zendo finally convinced himself that he had really fainted after seeing the white-shelled Defurstals.

"AHHH PATHETIC! Sleeping like a baby in front of two kids while they do all the work I'm such a great grandpa aren't I? Really, this is what age does to the" (Zendo)

His voice eventually trailed off as he did not want to sound like a senile old man.

"Uhh About that. It c-can't be helped, right? The uhh timing? Yeah, that's it! Those guys just jumped in at your faint-head timing and managed to make you lose consciousness, right?" (Tatsuro)

"Y-Yeah. That's true, it was just your faint-head timing, Grandpa!" (Ai)

"And what kind of bullshit is that?" (Zendo)

""Sorry.""

No need for that, I just reaped what I sowed was what Zendo thought when they apologized, but the perfect words to salvage the situation did not come out of his mouth.

However, the fact that he grew angry at the comforting words of these children was, in itself, a sign that he was really starting to turn senile.

After the exchange, Zendo moved to stand up. Life really is

"Well, it's not like we can do anything if we stay like this, right?" (Zendo)

"Yeah." (Tatsuro)

"Un." (Ai)

"Let's get back to Obsul before it turns dark, then!" (Zendo)

So the three went back to the cart and resumed their journey to town.

When the group finally managed to see the figure of Obsul, the sun had almost completely sunk into the horizon. Though Tatsuro and Ai were unable to see anything beyond the huge white walls that surrounded Obsul, that itself was already a sight to see.

"Whoooa The walls are huge!" (Tatsuro)

"There isn't even a single speck of dirt in it. It's beautiful, right!" (Ai)

Zendo, who heard the two's impressions on the town's walls, couldn't help but show them a broad smile.

"Y'know? Those walls are made up of salt too!" (Zendo)

""EH!?""

"GAHAHAHA, did you really believe that?" (Zendo)

"O-oh. So it was a joke" (Tatsuro)

"Hey! Why'd you say stuff like that?" (Ai)

"My bad, my bad. You see, the people of Obsul would usually say this to newcomers. Because when we do, most would react the same way that you kids just did. You could say it's one of the local jokes around here. GAHAHAHAHA!" (Zendo)

"Stop laughing at your own joke. This old man" (Ai)

Ai feigned an angry stare at Zendo but thinking how she'd be able to do the same thing one day, she couldn't help but chuckle too.

Throughout their entire conversation, the cart continued to move closer and closer to the town. Zendo gradually slowed the cart down and completely stopped it when they reached the guard post stationed by the town gates.

At that time, the three of them got down the carriage and met with a young brown-haired guard.

"Welcome back, Zendo-san!"

"I'm back. Thanks!" (Zendo)

After exchanging pleasantries, the young man laid his eyes upon Tatsuro and Ai.

"Uhh May I ask who these two are?"

"Tatsuro and Ai. I met them on the road earlier so I took them with me." (Zendo)

"Ah, is that so? Then, can you please present any identification documents that you may have with you?"

""Eh?""

The two that came from Earth, obviously do not have any kind of this world's IDs.

"So about that" (Ai)

"Are we not allowed to go in if we don't have them?" (Tatsuro)

"Ah, so you didn't bring them with you, is that right? If that's the case, then letting you into the city will be a bit"

"Eh? So we really can't go in?" (Tatsuro)

"It's not that you can't go in but you will have to undergo a lot of inspections to be granted a temporary identification document. This naturally consists of various processes which will take a lot of time, so I will have to ask you to come back tomorrow"

"No way" (Ai)

The guard explained the procedure to them with a heavy heart. Still, as the two thought that this town would be their final stop and had rationed their resources accordingly, they had already run through their food supply and both their body and mind were tired from the prolonged exposure to uncivilized lands.

And now, even though there's the town right in front of them, they couldn't enter it. Learning that they would have to spend another night outside the veil of civilization made the two frown in despair.

Seeing the two's expressions, Zendo recalled that they had run away from their parents' homes with nothing but the clothes that they were wearing. In that case, it's natural that they wouldn't have any identification with them.

In addition, looking at Ai's face who looked like she was about to cry, Zendo felt like it was his own grandchild getting bullied and flared up in anger.

"DaMNEd BAsTaRD! DO YOU NOT HAVE A SHRED OF HUMANITY IN YOU!?" (Zendo)

With a fist containing his full body weight, Zendo threw a punch straight at the guard's face.

"W-W-Why would you do that? Even if you say you're the Zendo of town, doing this will"

"Come here, kid." (Zendo)

Cutting off the young guard's speech, Zendo grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and entered the guard post.

The two earthlings were left dumbfounded as they stared at the scene unfold right before their eyes.

After Zendo got into the post, he finally released the young guard and forcibly sat him down on a stool.

"What is the meaning of this?! Such violence will never be tolerated!"

"What's that, but listen to my story first, kid. You see, those two" (Zendo)

Finally, the story of the two lovebirds that Zendo made up in his head, a dramatic play with a plot that would make anyone cry, found its debut.

"Hick To think that those two experienced such a thing Hick And they were so youuuuuung. Hick"

"Hup. Ahhhh, so would you let them in for me? If the two were to ever cause trouble around here then I'll even offer my head as compensation!" (Zendo)

"Zendo-san, such kindness!"

With only a few words from Zendo, the two got their temporary IDs without going through any more trouble.

This all happened without the two ever knowing about it.

"Zendo-san, did you ask them to let us in?" (Ai)

"Ah, yeah But I did hit that guard so they might take me to jail" (Zendo)

It's all our fault As the two worriedly thought so, they were finally allowed to leave the guard post with their eyes still teary red.

"You two will be allowed to enter Obsul! Here are your temporary IDs. If you will be registering to the adventurer's guild, then they will be your guarantor by then. However, if these IDs were to expire before that, please come back here to renew their duration."

As the guard was carving the seals onto the metal slates which were supposedly their IDs, he explained the important details to the two of them.

"Then, once we get the IDs, we will be able to go in, right?" (Tatsuro)

"Yes. But please keep in mind that if you two were to get into trouble while you're still holding these, Zendo-san will be punished by the law as well. That's why, please do not, in any case, and get into shenanigans that might ruin his reputation. Well, if it's you two, then I believe you will be alright."

(Why does the guard look like he's trying to make an impossibly bright smile?) (Tatsuro)

Tatsuro could not even utter a simple yes in reply.

Ai had it worse with tears in her eyes as she instantly let go of all the worries she had earlier. The amount of pressure she felt when they were denied entry into town was more than what she could handle.

"Grandpa, it's all thanks to you!" (Ai)

"Don't mind it. Think of it as payment for saving me from the Defurstals earlier."

Zendo himself, also broke down, as if crying out all the tears he had for the rest of his life. The young guard, upon seeing the scene, also broke down into a sobbing mess, creating a spectacle in front of the town gates.

"Eh? What? Why?" (Tatsuro)

Tatsuro, the only one disconnected from the chaos, could only stand there confused until the three stopped crying.

Once they were done, the two were formally allowed to enter town. Zendo made the horses drag his cart through the gate and the two followed them from behind.

"Welcome, kids, to the Salt Town, Obsul!" (Zendo)

Zendo looked back from his cart and gave the two a warm welcome.

The two faces full of smiles, looked back at him before their eyes explored the civilization which lay before them.

"So this is the town of Obsul!" (Tatsuro)

"We are in! We are finally here!" (Ai)

At last, after a long and arduous journey, our protagonists have finally found their way to the town of Obsul.

-

And now ends the first volume of the story.

May we all enjoy the story together in future chapters!

Akake Chiyo: Author