A Gentle Noble's Vacation Recommendation

The early morning in the Capital City (Parteda) was gradually becoming livelier as the day began.

The voices of people increased, the sounds of footsteps grew louder, the clatter of horse-drawn carriages filled the air, and it became a pleasant awakening. It had a different charm from Astarnia, where many fishermen worked best at dawn and the town burst into life as the sun rose.

Rizel walked through the town, deeply feeling that sometimes you only notice things after stepping back.

“Did you go straight to the labyrinth yesterday?”

“No, various things.”

Jill, walking beside him, glanced over and said.

Rizel nodded, guessing he might have gone to buy some tobacco, and figured that today would be the real start. They were heading to the guild.

“Jill, you’ve already cleared all the labyrinths in the Capital City, right?”

“Probably.”

“Don’t you get bored?”

“Not really. They change every time you enter.”

“That’s true.”

Jill added that it had been a while, and Rizel nodded, understanding that was how it was.

The two of them still caught the eyes of passersby, even if only for a moment. The difference from when Rizel walked alone was that many of the curious gazes came from adventurers.

Those who had heard rumors of the strongest adventurer were filled with curiosity, envy, or even hostility. But since neither of them paid any mind to the stares, it was as if they didn't notice them at all, and they continued chatting casually.

“I went to Judge-kun’s place yesterday.”

“Oh?”

“I had something appraised.”

“What about that black magic stone?”

“Couldn’t really figure it out.”

It was rare for such things to happen, and both trusted Judge’s appraisals deeply.

Even Jill brought items to Judge’s shop while in the Capital City, and if Rizel hadn’t found it on his own, he would have introduced the shop.

“But we figured out the monocle.”

“Oh, that one.”

“I thought it was an art piece, but it was a magical tool.”

Jill gave him a puzzled look upon hearing this.

That was understandable since after defeating the spider boss, the three of them had already confirmed that the monocle and the thread were magical tools.

The floor where the boss was defeated became the only completely safe zone in the labyrinth, so the three usually checked the materials there. The monocle was no exception—they had confirmed it by charging it with magic power.

“There was nothing strange, right?”

“It seems the lens was just facing the wrong way.”

“Ah...”

“When looked at from the correct direction, it was like my clothes disappeared.”

Jill looked at Rizel seriously.

“I think its effect is to see through a single obstacle. For me, it was like one piece of clothing disappeared; for a book, the cover; for a pot, just the surface vanished.”

Jill felt great sympathy for Judge, who must have been quite shaken by Rizel’s reaction.

If it had been anyone else, they might have just jumped back a little, but the timid shopkeeper probably ended up feeling unnecessary guilt thanks to this overly upright man.

“Useless, huh.”

“Seems so.”

There would be plenty of nefarious uses for peeping into confidential letters or similar.

But both agreed that as adventurers, it had no practical use. Neither planned to abuse it nor hand it over to someone who would. They even had two of them—what to do?

“Jill, want one?”

“No.”

They exchanged this casual conversation about dungeon items worth a fortune as they nonchalantly passed through the guild’s doors. Compared to Astarnia, the guild’s appearance was more prestigious, but inside were only the usual rough-and-tumble adventurers, no different from any other country.

Those adventurers stirred with a buzz.

“One Sword, huh...”

“Oh, so the noble really has returned.”

Mostly, those who reacted to Jill were people who had come to the Capital City while Rizel and Jill had been away.

Those who looked for Rizel were the adventurers who had stayed for some time. Since it wasn’t uncommon for adventurers to shift bases over years, some familiar faces appeared in the crowded early morning hours.