"Good morning, Master Masayoshi! Thank you for allowing me to guide you today!"

"Thank you for guiding me."

After dinner last night, I stayed over at Sara's mansion. Being such a large residence, it has plenty of guest rooms. Since it's Saturday in my original world, I need to be back by tomorrow evening at the latest.

Today, Sara offered to show me around the city. Unlike the elegant dress she wore last night, she’s now dressed in lighter clothing suited for going out.

She’s also wearing a hat to hide her long elf ears. Perhaps elves are targeted here? Yesterday, as I looked around the city from inside the carriage, I saw beastmen and dwarves, but no elves.

"Master Masayoshi, it’s an honor to serve you today."

"We’ll guard you with our lives."

"Thank you, Mr. Darga, Ms. Gina. I appreciate your protection."

Of course, this isn’t a date with Sara. As a princess, she’s accompanied by her guards, Darga and Gina. I expected this; it’s not like I was hoping for a one-on-one date with a woman for the first time. Definitely not.

"So, where shall we go first?"

"Well, I don’t have this country’s currency yet, so I’d like to stop by the Adventurers’ Guild and sell some weapons or materials I have."

"Oh, that’s right. You mentioned it yesterday. Actually, since I haven’t had a chance to properly thank you for saving me, I’d like to cover all expenses for today."

"No, I can’t impose on you that much. Besides, I might be staying here for a while, so I need some cash regardless."

I can’t exactly borrow money from a princess, even if she’s grateful for saving her life.

"Understood. Allow me to guide you."

"By the way, Mr. Darga, did you learn anything from the bandits you captured?"

"Yes, after interrogating them with the gendarme, we obtained testimony from an infiltrator in our ranks. It seems they were sent by the second prince."

It took them a year to infiltrate. If I hadn’t encountered them by chance, everyone might have been killed.

"That’s a relief. What will happen to the second prince?"

Attempting to kill the third princess should warrant punishment, if not death, like stripping him of succession rights or imprisonment.

"Unfortunately, there’s suspicion it was staged, so we can’t pursue it further without more evidence than mere testimony."

Wow… Without forensic science in this world, gathering physical evidence must be tough.

"Still, this incident should deter them from targeting the princess for a while. There have been other assassination attempts before, and His Majesty is conducting his own investigation."

Even after something like this, there’s still a chance more assassins will come for her just because her mother is an elf. It’s unfair.

"Master Masayoshi, please don’t worry about it. You saved us, and the rest is our problem. Look, we’re almost at the Adventurers’ Guild!"

Sara tried to reassure me, which was kind of her. She’s so kind, even while being targeted.

*Ding-ding*

As I opened the door, a bell chimed above it, drawing the attention of everyone in the guild. But there was no stereotypical rough adventurer causing trouble, and we went straight to the counter.

They probably assumed I was a client since I was with a young woman dressed in ordinary clothes. I intended to go in alone, but Sara wanted to join me, and it worked out fine.

"Welcome! Are you here to make a request?"

The receptionist smiled warmly, thinking I was a client.

"Actually, I’m not an adventurer, but could you buy some materials?"

"Yes, we do buy materials. May I ask what kind of materials you have?"

"Along my journey, I found something like monster scales. They looked valuable, so I wanted an appraisal."

I pulled out a monster scale from my bag. To avoid drawing attention, I had already taken the items I intended to sell out of my storage magic and packed them.

"This is…"

Now, let’s see how valuable these monster scales are. I was hesitant about selling some of the high-quality weapons and armor from the great mage’s house, fearing they’d draw too much attention.

Instead, I decided to sell some monster materials I found while traversing the Forest of Destruction. I later learned that the monsters there are infamous, but they’re less alarming than items crafted by a great mage.

The second option was the weapons and armor from the orcs and goblins I fought. They were quite impressive, so I hope these scales aren’t too rare and fetch a decent price.

"Excuse me, I’ll call a senior staff member."

...Ah, looks like they’re rare after all.

The receptionist returned with a man in his 40s wearing glasses—likely a materials specialist.

"I see… If you don’t mind me asking, could you tell us where you found this?"

"Yes, though I’m not certain of the exact location. I found it in a forest on my way here. Later, I learned it was near the infamous Forest of Destruction."

"I see, near the Forest of Destruction. This is most likely a scale from a magic iron lizard. You’re quite fortunate; others have found materials around that forest, but none as high quality as this. Would you accept a purchase price of 2 million G?"

"2 million G…"

Sara explained the currency yesterday. An inn here costs about 20,000 G per night, and a cheap meal is around 1,000 G. So, that’s roughly a million yen…!

"...Excuse me, does the amount not satisfy you? I apologize, but guild regulations prevent us from offering more."

Oh, I must have looked unsatisfied.

"No, I was just shocked by the price. I’ll happily accept it!"

"Thank you. If you register as an adventurer, we could increase your payout by 5%. Would you like to register?"

Becoming an adventurer… not a bad idea.

"Is there a test?"

"We just need to confirm that you can handle basic tasks. With your equipment, I doubt there’d be an issue."

Hmm, I’ll hold off on adventurer registration. I’m not familiar enough with what adventurers do in this world yet. I’ll skip the 5% for now. At least I won’t have to worry about money with the materials I’ve gathered.

"I’ll pass for now."

"Understood. Please wait a moment."

"Thank you for waiting. If you find any other rare items, please bring them to the guild. And since you have a large sum, please be cautious on your way back."

"Thank you."

In front of me lay a mountain of gleaming gold coins, with some silver mixed in for convenience. The staff were very considerate and professional.