4.12

Thirdly, I haven't a clue how much alcohol I could drink without getting shitfaced. I know that I am still technically a minor so I absolutely shouldn't drink even a drop of it… but that was before I was transported here. As far as I know, this world does not have any limits on how old you should be before you're allowed to drink, so one of these days I might as well give it a go to see why everybody is so gung-ho about it. Besides, getting information at the bars is always much easier when the other party you want to extract information from gets drunk sooner than you, so learning my limits will be to my benefit. I just have to wait until I don't have so much money on me. And there's no telling how much of a blabbermouth I might become when the good stuff starts getting into my head. Just imagine, a young lad screaming some drunken nonsense about Earth, Japan and all the things the denizens of this world haven't even heard off while swinging his beer mug around with a beet-red face. Yeah, I'm sure that a spectacle like that would guarantee me a nice round of questioning at the guardhouse at the very least.

On the other hand, all those alcohol-related musings of mine are based on the assumption that I am the same as I was back in Japan, while that might not be the case at all! Who knows, maybe after I was brought here my physiology and metabolism have been altered to my new reality, so maybe I could drink a small waterfall without the side effects kicking in? Or maybe the alcohol here is pretty weak in comparison to that served on Earth? Be that as it may, as long as I don't have any way to turn all those question marks into solid evidence, the wisest course of action would be to avoid any and all alcohol altogether.

Fourthly, all I need for now is the information on how I can make money quickly and effortlessly. All other information, such as what is considered common sense in this world and the general laws that govern it I can ask Roxanne about once I finally have made her mine.

If I went to a random bar right now, I wonder if I'd have been able to hear some nice, juicy stories? If not, I could just sit around and try listening to the conversations of others. That way, maybe I could pick a thing or two in the art of weaving ridiculous stories and honey traps meant to trick others? Then again, that would require me to have one hell of a silver tongue and a deep understanding of how this world works. Without those two someone like me, an outsider without an ounce of common sense, would just make a perfect sitting duck.

Ehh, in the end, information gathering looks like it's going to be more butthurting trouble than it's worth. Maybe I should just quietly go back to sleep again?

It was just a precaution, but last night I slept with a Scimitar under my pillow in case someone tried to break in and rob me of my belongings. Maybe it's just me being overly paranoid again, but I also have to admit that doing so made me feel like one of those samurais from old historical dramas who even took their katanas to bed with them because they needed to be combat-ready at all times.

Now that I was completely awake, there was no way I'd be able to fall asleep again, so I might as well get up, even if the outside is still pitch black. Unfortunately for me, the rooms in this inn didn't come equipped with their own toilets, so in order to use one, I had no choice but to go out of my room. After finishing my business there, I decided to go down to the lobby. The corridors and the stairs were all lit with candles placed at regular intervals, making the inside of the inn lit just enough to avoid tripping over your own feet.

「You headin' off to the Labyrinth?」

When I got down to the inn's ground floor, I heard a voice talking to me from behind.

「Uwah!」

That scared the living hell out of me! I legitimately thought I was going to have a heart attack there for a second! Taking a look behind me, the one to call out to me so suddenly was the Lv. 28 Innkeeper.

「If you do want to head out there now, just mark my words and be careful, ya hear me?」

「So I'm not breaking any rules by going to the Labyrinth at night?」

「Of course not. Truth to be told, many Adventurers choose to go to the Labyrinths during the night hours. That might not be the case here yet since the Labyrinth has been discovered only recently, but normally that's what you'd do if you want to avoid stumbling upon too much traffic during the day.」

I see. That certainly makes a lot of sense. Inside the Labyrinth, the concept of night and day does not apply. Many people were going into them at night, taking advantage of the fact that the inns for Adventurers were open practically 24/7.

「Isn't it hard on you? Having to be at the front counter here at all times I mean?」

「Not really. You see, I am one of the Emaro. I guess you can say that we are kinda special, because we don't require as much sleep as normal humans to maintain our health. Explaining it to everyone who asks about that is kind of a pain in the ass, so let's just say that I require very little sleep a day and just leave it at that, alright, kid?」

「Sure, but that sounds pretty rough.」

That has to have something to do with how the brains of those Emaro fellows function. I remember that some animals on earth are like that too. Dolphins, for example. It is said that the left and right halves of their brains take turns sleeping, because if both of them fell asleep at the same time, they would straight-up drown.

「That's why I said that it'd be best to just leave it as it is. You get it?」

「I'm not that bright of a person so I might not be able to grasp the finer details, but I think I understood the gist of what you wanted to say.」

「You don't say? That's gotta be the first time a human has dropped the subject when I asked them to.」

The Innkeeper seemed to be happy with me not being too pushy regarding his race. Can't say that I blame him for being fed up with questions, but I don't think that many people in this world would know that a brain has left and right halves and how each of them works, so it's not totally their fault, but still… if someone does not want to delve too deeply into any given subject, you shouldn't grill them about it against their will. Only total douchebags do that.

On a side note, following my dolphin digression, I wonder if Emaro have something to do with the creatures of the ocean, like mermaids, or should I say merfolk?

*Glance~~~~*

Nope, he has a pair of two perfectly normal-looking legs.

「I'm glad to hear that.」

「And that is why I'm going to do you a solid and willingly talk about some things, so be sure to listen carefully because I'm only going to say this once. Emaro people hate settling and being tied down in one place for too long, and that's why most of us will choose to become Innkeepers and work in the establishments run properly by the Guilds. I guess you can call it our race-specific Job. Since we can always be ordered to transfer to another place if need be, this is a perfect Job for us.」

「It would really seem so.」

Maybe his race really did evolve from some seabound species if the very concept of settlement appears unattractive to them. Anyways, I left the key to my room at the reception desk after I briefly went back upstairs to get my backpack and prepared myself for another round of money-hunting in the Labyrinth. If I am to just sit around doing nothing, then I might use that time to do something productive.

「Hey kid, maybe you should consider taking a lantern with you, huh?!」

「It's okay, I think I'll manage without one just fine!」

I left the Inn, shouting that to the Innkeeper. I mean really, what's a little darkness going to do? I'll be fine.

Except I wasn't.

It was so dark that to say that I wasn't able to see shit was an understatement of the century!

「Oh fuck me!」