“Make money.”
That’s right, the next thing to do was make money.
Whether it was raising the travel expenses to reach the next town, upgrading her equipment, or simply covering daily living costs, everything required money.
Before leaving Anvil City, at the very least, she needed to earn enough for the journey.
As for the fastest way to make money that Yukari could think of right now, it was through the black market. But after what happened yesterday, that route was temporarily blocked.
There were bound to be a lot of knights lying in wait in the black market now, just waiting for her to walk right into their trap.
Aside from the black market, the other place to make quick money was the Adventurers’ Guild inside the city.
Back when she was still Shiri, she could only take on commissions that weren’t too dangerous and had a low level of difficulty. But things were different now. After becoming Yukari, not only had her physical abilities improved, but she had also learned how to use magic.
This had greatly increased her combat strength, so those dangerous commissions she never dared to accept before were now possible for her to try.
Before heading to the guild, Yukari planned to buy two loaves of bread for breakfast.
By the time she walked to the guild, she’d probably be almost done gnawing through the bread in her hand.
She found a bakery near the inn and, as usual, bought two loaves of black bread.
It wasn’t that Yukari particularly loved eating the stuff, but black bread was truly cheap. For someone whose pockets were emptier than her face was clean, it was undoubtedly the best choice.
It was certainly cheap, but the taste was hard to describe. And it was as hard as a rock.
Aside from filling her stomach, she could even use it for self-defense. If she smacked someone on the head with it, the effect wouldn’t be any worse than a brick.
Of course, if the enemy was far away, it could be used as a throwing weapon.
To think something with three uses only cost a single copper coin.
For adventurers with barely a coin in their pockets, it was definitely the best choice.
Suddenly, Yukari felt a gaze settle on her.
Was it Elise?
She looked around, only to find Elise pressed up against the bakery’s glass display, staring longingly at the bread and drooling.
Hmm… not her.
Gnawing on her bread, Yukari looked around again, but didn’t find the source of the gaze.
Strange. Was it because she wasn’t wearing her cloak today and felt less secure, making her overly nervous?
At the same time, in a shop across the street from Yukari, a tall woman stood quietly watching her.
The woman wore a neat, well-fitted traveler’s outfit, and what caught the eye most was the silver-white mask that covered only the upper half of her face, finely crafted to accentuate the graceful lines of her jaw. The corners of her lips curled slightly, forming a faint, elusive smile.
Her golden hair flowed like molten gold, falling naturally down her back. Her gaze passed over the pedestrians and landed unerringly on Yukari.
Just as the golden-haired woman was about to leave the shop and cross the street toward Yukari, a commotion broke out on the street.
“Make way! Move aside!”
It was a group of knights in gleaming silver armor, appearing from a corner of the street and heading straight for the shop.
They were knights of the City Lord’s manor. Realizing that she was their target, the golden-haired woman stepped back, her figure instantly becoming indistinct.
“How unlucky. Well then, see you next time.”
Before her words had even faded, her figure vanished completely inside the shop. By the time the knights surrounded the shop, she was already gone.
“Search! She can’t have gotten far!”
Having come up empty, the frustrated knights could only fan out and search the area.
Meanwhile, Yukari, across the street, naturally noticed the disturbance.
“Knights of the City Lord’s manor?”
Watching the knights questioning people outside the shop across the street, Yukari raised an eyebrow. Although she didn’t know what they were after, this must be what the coachman uncle mentioned before—the periodic searches conducted within the city.
The moment the knights appeared, Yukari instinctively thought they were after her and was already prepared to run.
Fortunately, the knights charged straight toward the shop and didn’t pay any attention to her across the street. Yukari subconsciously touched the scarf around her neck—just a strip of cloth to cover her mark.
With no cloak for concealment, this was the only way she could hide it. For someone used to wearing a cloak, walking openly through the city as a girl felt rather strange.
Luckily, the knights weren’t after her.
Still, to be safe, it was best to leave quickly. If she watched the excitement for too long, the knights might suddenly change direction and charge at her, making her the center of attention.
*****
After finishing the last bite of bread, she saw the crossed sword and shield insignia on the door ahead, marking the Adventurers’ Guild.
She pushed open the door. Inside, the guild was as lively as ever.
Adventurers clustered in groups, discussing the quests they planned to take. Some solo adventurers scanned the room, considering whether to join another team to complete a task.
By the counter where commissions were accepted, there was a bulletin board taller than a person, covered with all kinds of commission notices.
At the moment, a few adventurers stood in front of the board, pointing at the notices and discussing which mission to accept next.
Not wanting to draw attention, Yukari waited in the corner for a while. Once the board was clear, she approached.
Most of the jobs were ordinary D-rank tasks, such as finding lost items, collecting herbs or minerals, or hunting low-level monsters. The pay for these was low and, for someone like Yukari who needed to make money quickly, not worth considering.
Scanning the commissions, she also saw a few C-rank ones. These were mostly about clearing out monster nests, exploring abnormal areas, or escorting merchant caravans.
C-rank commissions usually paid a dozen or so silver coins, and in the past, these were the kind Yukari took on the most.
If there weren’t any better options, she’d pick the C-rank mission with the highest pay.
Some of the more dangerous C-rank commissions could even pay several dozen silver coins. For someone short on money like Yukari, those were perfect.
After browsing, Yukari was just about to accept a C-rank commission that paid a full 20 silver coins when something caught her eye—a different commission on the side.
[Urgent Subjugation Commission – B Rank]
Reward: Five Gold Coins.
Five gold coins… The moment she read that, those four words thundered in her mind.
No matter what the details were, she was definitely taking this commission today!