We’d missed the morning quest-collecting rush, and there weren’t a lot of adventurers around. Helen looked bored at her desk. “Why, Ms. Yuna, good morning.”
“Morning.”
“Another quest today?”
“Actually, I have something I want to ask.”
“What would that be?”
“Is there a place around here that we could rent to use for butchering?”
“Is this about the tigerwolves?”
“That’s part of it, but I’ve got other kinds of monsters, too. It’d be nice if I could borrow the guild warehouse or something.”
“That’s not really possible.”
“I knew it.”
“And there’s the issue of how long you’d need the space. It would be long term, wouldn’t it?”
“Well, I’m not sure about that.”
“In that case, giving you a referral might be difficult.”
“Oh, right. Are there any empty plots of land around here?”
“Plots of land?”
“Yeah, like wide open places without anything on them.”
“I believe there are, but they’re not under guild jurisdiction. I think you’d be best off consulting the trade guild.”
“Trade guild?”
“Yes. They handle transactions in goods and commodities, but they also handle land transactions, so they could point you in the direction of something.”
“Got it. I’ll hit them up.”
We left the adventurers’ guild, and I had Fina guide me to the trade guild.
Chapter 26:
The Bear House Is All Set Up!
THE TRADE GUILD was a little to the west of the town’s center. The clientele was visibly different from that of the adventurers’ guild. There weren’t any meatheads or staff-carrying sorcerers, but there were a ton of eccentric-looking merchants. They had an unwelcoming air to them, wholly unlike in the adventurers’ guild.
On top of that, my bear outfit still seemed to draw curious stares.
“Yuna, aren’t you going in?” Fina asked as I hovered by the entrance, staring inside. That changed my mind.
It was bustling on the inside. I pulled my hood down low and cut off the stares, heading straight to the front desk. Fina glanced around the place and latched onto my sleeve, sticking close to me.
“Welcome,” a woman in her early twenties greeted us. Her expression didn’t change even when she saw what I looked like, and she received us with a smile. I guessed the guild employees were cut from better cloth than their clientele.
“Umm, I want to rent some land for a short time, and the adventurers’ guild sent me here when I asked them about it.”
“Yes, we can do that. We have plots of land for rent, and some buildings, too. What kind of land would you be looking for?”
“For now, just something completely bare with nothing on it.”
“Yes, we have those.”
“I’d like to rent it for about a month. How much would that be?”
“That would vary depending on the size of the land and its location. Did you have any preferences?”
“I’d prefer something close to the adventurers’ guild, I think. It’s fine if it’s not super close. I’d also like it to be about the size of the adventurers’ guild’s warehouse, if possible.”
“A plot of land the size of the adventurers’ guild’s warehouse. I will look into it, so if you could, please wait here.”
She left the desk for a bit and came back after about five minutes with several sheets of paper.
“I apologize for the wait. I have found about five options.”
“Which one is the cheapest?”
“That would be this one. Out of the five, it is the furthest from the adventurers’ guild. One month’s rent will come to thirty silver pieces.”
“Isn’t that kind of cheap?”
“The land has no buildings on it. However, please keep in mind that we may ask you to return the land to its original condition upon returning it to us if you used it for something.”
“Could you also tell me how much the others cost?”
“Of course. The others are each ninety, seventy-five, forty-eight, and thirty-five silver coins per month.”
“Could you show me where all five of them are?”
She pulled out a map and showed me each of their locations.
“Hmm, I’m going to pass on the ones going for ninety and seventy-five—bit pricey—and I’ll also pass on the thirty coin one because of where it is.”
That left the thirty-five and forty-eight-coin spots. The best spot was the forty-eight-coin one. It was close to both the guild and Fina’s house, and not far from the inn. The thirty-five-coin place was closer to the guild, but it was further from the inn and Fina’s house.
“How would you like to proceed?”
“If you could give me a deal on this one, I’d prefer it.” I pointed at the forty-eight-silver option.
“Incidentally, how will you use the land?”
“I was thinking of building a house on it so I could use it as a place for doing monster harvesting. Oh, but I’d make sure the house is gone when I give it back, of course.”
“If you could give me a moment…” The woman scurried off, but she came back almost immediately. “Pardon me for asking, but are you the Bloody Bear?”
“…”
“Ahem, that was rude of me. Are you the adventurer Yuna?”
“I am…”
“I would like to offer our gratitude to you for provisioning the wolves, horned hares, and goblin king during your time here.”
“Um…what exactly is the trade guild thanking me for?”
“Do you not know? The materials the adventurers’ guild produces are passed along to us, and we sell them. In return, the trade guild hires escorts and guarantees that we won’t run low on monster materials. We have a mutually beneficial partnership.”
“I had no idea.”
“Yes, and our merchants have been quite pleased that there have been more wolves and horned hares in circulation recently.”
“But the stuff I’ve been selling has to be barely anything compared to everything in the trade guild, right?”
“Not at all. Because the kills you bring in are in pristine condition, they sell for high amounts. Regular adventurers tend to bring in a lot of messy or damaged corpses. But the monsters you bring in are always clean, and they’ve become quite popular, especially those
