PRSR | Chapter 3.4

“Chik.”

Jjikjjiki had safely completed the errand of buying the hat and was now returning to the alley. The hat Jjikjjiki had chosen was a wide-brimmed blue one.

“I picked a hat that would go well with your pajamas.”

“Good job, Jjikjjiki. Thanks.”

“For Soul, I can do anything!”

I placed a small slice of apple in Jjikjjiki’s hand. Crunch, crunch, crunch. The apple slice disappeared at a rapid pace, and it was the last bit of food I had brought from the Beginner Village.

‘I need to find a place to sleep and more food soon.’

I carefully wrapped my hair under a headscarf and put on the hat over it. With my pajamas and the wide-brimmed hat, I still looked ridiculous, but at least I didn’t look suspicious.

“Haah. It’ll be fine. It’ll be fine.”

Before leaving the alley, I took a deep breath and calmed my mind. Jjikjjiki swung a small fist and cheered me on.

“It’s okay! If anyone comes near, I’ll kick them away!”

“…Please, don’t do anything. It’s really fine, Jjikjjiki.”

I peeked my head out of the alley and looked around. The streets were filled with guards, warning the villagers.

“The black-haired foreigner that suddenly appeared in our Belford Village is a Demon! They are pretending to be human, hiding in our village, trying to bring us to ruin!”

“Did you hear? The reason it’s been so chaotic lately is because of the Demons. What in the world is going on?”

“Oh my gosh. I thought Demons were just a myth! To think a Demon is in our village.”

“They say they prefer drinking human blood over alcohol. How can anyone live with that?”

At the mention of Demons, the people strolling the streets went pale. But, if I had to pick, the most frightened person was none other than me.

Not only had I been dragged here as a non-awakened, but now they were calling me a Demon. Even though I grew up in a world without Demons, I knew well how the ‘Demon’ race was treated in games and comics. If someone discovered my black hair, who knows what would happen to me.

“We must capture them alive and drive them out of here! If you find someone with black hair, please report them immediately!”

“Demons have black hair, black eyes, and speak their own language! They are a race we cannot communicate with!”

Once the guards’ loud cries faded away, I cautiously left the alley.

‘This is strange.’

Why are they trying to capture Awakened people alive? If they truly thought Awakened were Demons, wouldn’t they just kill them?

‘Are they trying to capture the Awakened alive?’

When the guards first saw me, they weren’t afraid at all. They treated me like a foreigner, but rather than attacking, they simply gave the order to arrest me nonchalantly.

Could it be that they know the Awakened aren’t Demons? Then why spread false rumors?

‘…Are they trying to make it easier to capture Awakened people?’

The people who pretended to be travelers and approached me and Jjikjjiki were also lurking in the forest, targeting the Awakened. The guards in this Belford Village were clearly aiming for the Awakened, with some kind of goal in mind.

‘Did all the people who chose Belford as their second village either get game-overed or captured?’

The game difficulty was way off. Who’s ever heard of a game where bounty hunters appear as soon as you leave the Beginner Village?

‘Is there any way to find out what happened to the captured Awakened?’

I was worried about the Awakened who had been captured or those who had arrived in Belford but couldn’t enter the village and were lingering around. But my main priority was Jjikjjiki’s human transformation. Until I achieved that goal, I couldn’t afford to act rashly. I pushed thoughts of the captured Awakened out of my mind and focused.

‘First, I need to find a Beastman who can help Jjikjjiki.’

Taking advantage of the guards’ absence, I quickly moved. Some villagers of Belford, curious about the unfamiliar clothes I was wearing, stared at me. Whenever they did, I made sure to talk to them.

“Is there a good restaurant around here?”

Thanks to the guards spreading rumors that “Demons speak a different language than us!” the villagers didn’t suspect me. I had become a ‘unique person’ in their minds, not a ‘suspicious person.’

‘Thanks, guards.’

Grateful for the unintended help from the guards, I quickly found an inn and went inside. I was able to relax only after sitting on the bed in my room.

“Phew…”

I had barely managed to get a room without getting caught, but how long would this luck last? How long could I keep hiding my hair color?

Even if we communicated well, there would surely be people who would still suspect me just because of my black hair. Like the traveler kidnappers or the guards at the village entrance.

“Should I dye my hair another color?”

“Chik!”

Jjikjjiki jumped as though he had heard something he shouldn’t have.

“You want me to dye my hair a different color, like my black eyes?!”

“Should I not change it?”

“Chik!”

“Then I won’t change it.”

“Chiiik.”

Jjikjjiki let out a relieved sigh.

Does he like the black color? Even if I wanted to dye it, it wouldn’t be easy. I didn’t even know if there was a way to dye hair in this world. Plus, if someone with black hair started searching for hair dye, they would surely think I was suspicious and drag me away.

But wandering around in pajamas also made me look suspicious.

“First, I need to buy new clothes. This outfit stands out too much.”

I had to hurry if I wanted to move before the sun went down. I adjusted my hat to cover my hair and headed outside.

“Look, there’s a clothing store. That outfit looks really good on you, Soul.”

Jjikjjiki stretched his hand out of his pocket and pointed at the clothes on display inside the store. It was a white leather outfit with gray patterns. I felt like I had seen something similar before…

“Couple clothes!”

Jjikjjiki proudly patted his chest, showing off his gray-patterned white fur.

“Couple clothes? This isn’t clothes, it’s fur.”

“But it matches mine.”

“…”

I walked into the store and picked up a brown outfit that had nothing to do with Jjikjjiki’s fur color.

“Couple clothes?”

“That one’s too expensive. Who knows when we’ll be able to make money again, we should save it.”

It stung to buy new clothes when I couldn’t even wear decent ones, but I couldn’t spend more money just to match Jjikjjiki’s fur color. Instead, I bought a handkerchief in a similar color to the new clothes and tied it around Jjikjjiki’s neck like a scarf.

“There, all done.”

“Couple clothes!”

Excited, Jjikjjiki bounced up and down as I carried him on my shoulder and stepped into the street.

Now that I was free from the pressure of being wanted, I started to notice the scenery around me. Belford was much larger than the Beginner Village. There were more people, and the streets were bustling. The smell of various foods wafted from the stalls lined along the streets. Jjikjjiki stuck his head out, sniffing in the direction of the greasy smell.

“Smells good.”

Can a Beastman mouse eat greasy food? Probably not. I bought some lettuce instead and fed it to Jjikjjiki piece by piece.

“How’s the quest to move to the next village going?”

“I cleared it.”

“What’s your new quest?”

“Hunt five Red Goblins.”

“Good. Let’s gather information on Beastmen while we do the quest. If a quest to move to the next area shows up, we’ll head there right away.”

“Okay.”

I had heard that information from the information guild or merchants would be the fastest. The old shopkeeper had told me that. I hid in the crowd, trying to avoid the guards’ notice, and made my way to the merchant caravan.

“Where is the Brown Caravan’s Belford branch?”

“Follow this road straight.”

“Thank you.”

The Brown Caravan was the very one that was supposed to pass through the Beginner Village. After hearing its name a few times, I felt a sense of familiarity, and since it wasn’t a large caravan, I decided to use it for gathering information. The reason I chose a small caravan was that it might prevent information about me from spreading quickly.

“Welcome to the Brown Caravan, where we only handle the finest products. How can we assist you?”

“Hello. I’d like to buy some information. Is that possible?”

“If you want information, you’ve come to the right place. Normally, information is obtained through the Information Guild, and goods are bought at caravans, but in small villages like Belford, caravans serve as blacksmiths, magic shops, and information guilds. So, what kind of information do you need?”

“How much for information on Beastmen?”

“Beastmen…”

The merchant’s face twitched slightly.

“As you know, Beastmen are a mythical race.”

“Chjik, chik!”

“We’re not mythical. I’m real!” Jjikjjiki protested loudly from my pocket.

“Because they’re such a mysterious race, people often make up lies and spread them. For example, I once had a cat that was actually a Beastman. One morning, I woke up and it said, ‘Hello?’ Such ridiculous stories are usually just lies.”

Having had a similar experience with Jjikjjiki, I felt guilty and quickly covered the pocket where Jjikjjiki was.

“Because there are so many lies, information on Beastmen tends to be expensive.”

“How expensive?”

“Well, it depends on the type of information. What exactly do you want to know?”

“I want to know where the Beastmen are.”

“For that kind of information… about this much?”

The merchant spread his fingers.

“5 silver?”

“50 gold.”

50 gold. That was an outrageous amount.

‘That’s nearly double my worth!’

The bounty on a vicious criminal hiding in the village is cheaper than this information! It didn’t make sense.

“Each piece of information costs 50 gold. The price includes a guarantee that it’s true, which is why it’s so expensive.”

“……”

I couldn’t even negotiate, let alone say anything, as the merchant stood up and went to serve another customer.

‘What should I do? I need to make money…’

The daily wage I earned working at the general store was 5 silver. If 1 gold is 100 silver, 50 gold meant I’d have to work at the store for 1,000 days just to gather that amount.

On top of that, just knowing the location of the Beastmen wasn’t the end. I’d need more money to go find them, and to buy fresh vegetables and fruit for Jjikjjiki to eat.

‘What do I do? Am I going to end up just making money here and grow old before escaping the Tutorial Field?’

I opened my money pouch and checked how much I had left. 1 gold and 20 silver. I had thought I was doing well after picking up the kidnappers’ money, but… it wasn’t nearly enough.

“Excuse me.”

Just then, a man wearing leather clothes with a bow slung over his shoulder walked into the shop.

“Welcome. We only deal with the finest products here at the Brown Caravan. How can we assist you?”

“I want to sell some Red Goblin hides.”

The man pulled out a few thick hides and handed them to the merchant. The merchant carefully examined the hides and said,

“How about 30 silver per piece?”

“Sounds good.”

30 silver!

‘That’s it!’

I jumped to my feet.