My 【Repair】Skill Became an Almighty Cheat Skill, So I Thought I’d Open Up a Weapon Shop

I went back to where Silvia and the others were seated, finished dinner, and spoke to Mareeda about hiring. We left the guild house shortly after.

On the way home, we dropped off Silvia and Sakura at the Spring Leaf Pavilion, so it was just Garnet and I heading down the main street at night.

「Man, you really ate to your heart’s fill.」

「Of course, you said it was your treat, so it’d be a waste if I didn’t eat a lot. Besides, both knights and adventurers depend on their stamina, so if I get to eat, I’m eating.」

「…Yeah, that’s true. Joking aside, it does become a matter of life or death.」

「Right?」

I knew Garnet wasn’t doing it on purpose, but she reminded me of the memories I didn’t want to remember.

The days I spent wandering in the labyrinth relying only on spring water, battling against hunger and isolation.

Back then, if I had been even a bit weaker, I’m sure I would’ve died before I could get out of there.

「By the way, White Wolf, has it always been this busy around here?」

「No. Most shops would close down during the night. Now that there are so many adventurers here, the town’s bursting with activity.」

Up until a while ago, Greenhollow Town went to sleep once the sun set, which was typical of a countryside town.

The exceptions were the large inns and the guild house, so either way, you wouldn’t get crowds of people walking around at night.

Now, there were so many people walking around despite it being late into the evening, and the many buildings around us were still open.

「Nobody knows how everything in the world happens.」

The underlying cause behind the gathering of adventurers at Greenhollow was『Sundial Forest』, since it was established that both a dragon’s nest and the castle of a demon king were beneath there.

The one who proved the existence of those was none other than myself.

If I had died before escaping from the labyrinth… Or rather, if I hadn’t been left behind in the labyrinth, then Greenhollow would’ve stayed as the quiet town it had always been.

I wasn’t sure which situation was more beneficial for the town.

As the person who caused this change, I decided I should support this town as much as I could as a way of repaying the residents.

「In that case, the bathhouse is still open, right? Let’s go wash ourselves before we go home.」

「I don’t really mind, but… Ah, don’t take this the wrong way, I’m only curious, okay… Which side are you planning to go into?」

I asked my question in a roundabout way.

Garnet was hiding her gender in order to work as a knight in the Silver Wings, which forbade women from joining.

That policy was still in effect even though she was only a regular worker at my shop, as she was hiding her knight status.

In that case, the problem now was, 『Garnet has to be clear on which bath side she planned to enter』.

Using a public bath would be one of those situations where she has to make a choice.

「What? Are you talking about when the baths are separated by gender? I’m obviously going to rent a private bath.」

「Private?」

When I repeated what she said, Garnet laughed.

「There’s a shop that offers private baths. They’re aimed at people who don’t want to show their skin to commoners and making them feel privileged, or for those who came to enjoy the water leisurely.」

「…I see. Now that you’ve mentioned it, there are places that offer them.」

「It’s a little pricey, but it’s best if I used an expensive place that would not only offer an escape path for me, but also let me silence the staff with bribes. Wait, did you forget these places exist, even though you’ve lived here for a while?」

「Well I’m sorry, but I always use the cheap bathhouse.」

Now that I think about it, Garnet is the sister of the leader of the knights.

Considering the pedigree of a knight leader’s family, their assets would rival a well-off noble.

In other words…

It was hard to believe with her thug-like speech, but this kid was most certainly an authentic rich girl. 

Seeing how she seems to be using private baths at high-class bathhouses, there must be no issues financially.

「Okay, how about this? Since you treated me to dinner tonight, I’ll pay for you to use the bath tonight. It’s going to be busy tomorrow too, so you should relax so you don’t end up hurting your back or something.」

「I’m not that old.」

I decided not to think too deeply into the fact that I was twice as old as Garnet.

In any case, it would be rude of me to decline her kind offer without a good reason, so we headed off to the bathhouse she recommended.

The bathhouse was located much closer to the spring source compared to the public one I usually went to.

The building itself was well-made, and its high-class feel alone was enough to beat out most places in Greenhollow.

「I never knew there was a place like this. I thought I knew a lot about the town, but I guess I’ve still got a lot to learn.」

「This place is aimed at tourists who want to enjoy the hot springs, so it’s not a place that locals go to. Of course, the people working here are from town though.」

We went inside, and Garnet quickly called for an employee with familiarity.

「Lend me two of the rooms I usually get. Preferably a corner room and one next to it. I’ll be paying for both.」

「Most certainly. Here are the keys to the rooms.」

Garnet and I each got a key, and we were led towards the private rooms.

「Hehe, too bad for you. Did you think we were going into a bath together?」

「Of course not. I would’ve said no anyway.」

As I replied with a bit of annoyance to Garnet’s joke, we arrived at the rooms.

…I see now why there would be people that want to use rooms like these.

Every single spot in the bathing area has been maintained, and the spacious bathtub was half open-air, meaning you could look at the scenery as you bathed. 

Since it was night time, the entire sky was brimming with stars. If it was daytime, I’m sure you could enjoy the natural beauty of the valley.

This is something a person enjoys on their own, so it was worth the high price to be able to clean oneself and relax at the same time.

「Now that I think about it, Greenhollow used to attract tourists with their hot springs. It’s no wonder that there are facilities like these ones.」

I quickly washed myself clean so I could submerge myself into the luxurious bathtub.

As I relaxed while soaking up the hot water, I heard Garnet’s voice from the other room.

「Hey White Wolf, got a minute?」

「Hm? What?」

I went towards the corner by the window side and replied.

It seemed like Garnet’s room was designed like mine, so we could strike up a conversation despite being separated by a wall.

The design was like an open space, so since the rooms were close to each other, we could converse with each other without a problem.

「You were chatting with some other adventurers before dinner. What kind of guys were they?」

「…Do I need to talk about it?」

「Of course you do.」

I thought Garnet was going to reply with laughter mixed in her tone, but instead, she spoke in a serious, knight-like voice.

「I’m your bodyguard. I have a responsibility of checking and monitoring those who could be a threat to you. Even if those people were part of the same guild as you.」

「I see… If that’s the reason, it’d be problematic if I don’t talk.」

It seemed like Garnet realized that the mood wasn’t good during my conversation with Dustin.

It wasn’t my intention to sabotage the Silver Wing Knights and Garnet’s mission. It’s a better idea to tell her the situation and to let her decide on the appropriate response.

「You’re asking about Travis and Dustin, I assume. Let’s see, where should I begin? We worked with each other over ten years ago…」

I spoke in a volume that only Garnet in the other room could hear, the stories about my past.