Chapter 103, Japanese Inn in Another World

Translator: Barnnn

 

The Sage’s Sigh, a long-established inn in Fuyuya…

Once frequented by one of the great Sages who helped build Fuyuya into the city it is today, this traditional ‘ryokan’ is known for its strict no-shoes policy throughout the premises. Thick, handwoven carpets of folded grasses cover the floors, muffling every footfall.

Thanks to the Sage’s ties with prominent adventurers, the inn offers discounted rates to those of B-rank and higher. Even more indulgent, certain rooms are equipped with private hot spring baths — available for enjoyment all day long.

–Excerpt from the Fuyuya Travel Guide

 

“Ahh, maybe that’s why they recommended this place — Fieda’s B-ranked,” Hal said.

“It’s definitely got that classic Japanese aesthetic,” Ize observed, eyes scanning the interior. “I’ve got high hopes.”

“Well then, no point waiting! I’m heading straight to the hot spring!”

“Shouldn’t we eat first?” Fieda asked.

“Nope! First bath. Then food. Then another bath. Then a final soak before bed. And naturally, a morning bath to top it all off!”

“You’ll scrub all the oils right out of your body,” Ize said with a wry smile. “But I’m in favor of bathing before dinner. Should we start with the outdoor bath?”

“Obviously. First soak should always be in the open air.”

“What about you, Fieda?”

“I’ll go after I eat. I’m stopping by the Guild first,” Fieda replied.

“Got it,” Hal said. “We’ll be back in an hour or so.”

 

With a loud slam, Hal dashed out the door like a child on a holiday. Ize watched him go, then began gathering a change of clothes and folding them into a small tote.

 

“…Shouldn’t you change into something more, you know, feminine?” Fieda asked cautiously.

“What exactly do you mean by that?” Ize replied, squinting at him.

“Well, if you walk into the women’s bath dressed like that, someone might think you’re — well, you know…”

“I’ll just let my hair down. It’ll be fine. See you later!”

 

This time it was Ize who flung the door open and marched out, the wooden frame rattling behind her.

 

“…She’ll probably get mistaken for a little kid and be let off the hook,” Fieda muttered to himself. If Ize had heard that, she’d likely have punched him in the face.

 

Shaking his head, he grabbed the room key and stepped out.

 

◆

 

The outdoor bath was a work of art in itself. Stones of various sizes had been placed with deliberate asymmetry, and delicate trees — thin and straight as bamboo — lined the perimeter. A small waterfall poured into the bath with a gentle murmur, catching the sunlight like shards of glass.

As she lowered herself into the steaming water, Ize let out a long sigh, perfectly in tune with the name of the inn — The Sage’s Sigh.

The bath was empty, likely because of the awkward hour. Tempted to swim, Ize instead chose restraint, kicking her legs gently beneath the surface while trying to maintain the composure of an adult.

She took her time enjoying the solitude, soaking in the peace until her skin prickled with heat. Finally, she stepped out, wrapped herself in a towel, and slipped through the crimson curtain that hung like a sentinel over the entrance to the women’s bath.

On her way back to the room, she passed through a cozy lounge filled with tatami mats and plush floor cushions — and spotted Hal sprawled out across one of them like a melted Slime.

 

“Good bath?” she asked.

“Yeah, not bad. Didn’t smell nearly as bad as I thought it would,” Hal replied without opening his eyes.

“That’s just because your nose got used to it. Wait a day — your towels and clothes will reek.”

“Ah, classic hot spring problems.”

 

They lingered in the lounge, letting their bodies cool down while swapping reviews of the water temperature, scent, and view.

Even in a fantasy world, the Fuyuya springs seemed to satisfy Hal’s self-proclaimed “onsen connoisseur” standards. Judging from how thoroughly he’d liquefied into the cushions, Ize hadn’t needed to ask.

Outside the lounge, the garden was beginning to darken. Only an hour or so remained until dinner.

 

“Wonder what’s on the menu tonight,” Ize mused.

“Hard to say. This region doesn’t really do traditional Japanese food. Maybe the Hero and the Sages lobbied for it back in the day, but…” Hal shrugged.

“Could be fun to see what kind of weird fusion dishes they came up with. Like eating Japanese food overseas.”

“Yeah, that kinda almost right but not quite stuff.”

 

Ize had never been abroad, but apparently Hal had a few times. He launched into a string of tales about misbegotten foreign “Japanese” meals — overwhelming heaps of beef, sushi rice made with wine vinegar — and they were in the middle of laughing over it all when Ize’s Perception picked up a familiar magical signature.

 

“Our fearless leader returns,” she said.

“Oh? Then we must prepare his grand welcome!” Hal declared dramatically.

 

The two of them bounded from the bath level to the lobby, then crouched in exaggerated formality as the sliding door opened and Fieda stepped inside.

 

“”Welcome back, Boss!”” they chorused.

Fieda blinked, taken aback. “Uh… yeah. Thanks?”

 

He tried to sidestep their antics, but they matched his movements. With a sigh, he gave each of them a light whack on the head as he passed.

 

“Enough of that. I’ve got something to discuss before dinner. So there’s this job where you hang out with the Fire Dragon…”

 

◆

 

After hearing the explanations, Hal and Ize exchanged a glance.

 

“Okay, just to be sure — did you just say Fire Dragon?” Hal asked.

“You didn’t mishear,” Fieda said. “I said Fire Dragon.”

“…Are we supposed to be its playmates or something? Like a game of tag? Loser gets roasted?”

“Not playmates. Conversation partners.”

Ize turned to Hal in dismay. “What do we do?”

“More importantly…” Hal trailed off, horror dawning on his face.

“If we lose our appetites, it’ll ruin dinner!” Ize cried.

“That’s your concern right now!?”

 

Fieda’s news had rattled them. The request from the Adventurers’ Guild was straightforward but intimidating: travel to the Fire Dragon’s dwelling and keep it company for a few days.

Normally, any mission involving a Dragon was strictly A-rank territory. But this one was special — no combat, minimal danger. Because of that, even B-rank adventurers were allowed to take it on.

Neither Hal nor Ize looked particularly thrilled by the honor.

 

“Relax,” Fieda said. “This quest has been going on for over a hundred years — since before the Guild even opened a branch here — and there’s been no casualties. Just head up to the Dragon’s lair once every six months and keep it company.”

“It… can talk?” Ize asked hesitantly.

“Not out loud. It uses telepathy. Seems to have a knack for it.”

“Well, that’s… very fantasy.”

“It’s sort of a rite of passage around here. Most veteran adventurers in Fuyuya have done it at least once. Since the Dragon gets bored, they try to bring in fresh faces with new stories.”

 

That earned a groan from both Hal and Ize.

They didn’t think of themselves as talentless comedians who couldn’t improvise, but stay in one place for long enough, and they’d have to run out of material all the same.

Fieda smirked, raising three fingers.

 

“Look, the quest comes with its perks. First, since this practice supports the entire hot spring town, you don’t pay a single coin for lodging.”

“”No way. Free stay?””

“Second, you get a week-long hot spring pass.”

“”One week of unlimited baths!?””

“And third, food support during your time at the Dragon’s lair — though that one’s only for adventurers with a Magic Bag.”

“”Free food!”” they both cried, eyes sparkling.

 

And just like that, their dread evaporated. The allure of free meals and endless bathing was more than enough to brighten their moods.

But then, right in front of them, Fieda suddenly thrust out two fingers.

 

“However, it’s not without its problems,” he said.

 

He withdrew his hand and scratched the back of his head with a groan.

 

“Didn’t you just say it’s not dangerous, though?” Hal asked.

“Not life-threatening, yeah. But your existences — more precisely, your true identities — will be exposed to the Fire Dragon. Without question.”

“Wait, is it because of the Telepathy skill?”

“Half right.”

“Half, huh…” Hal muttered, visibly annoyed by the vague answer.

 

Fieda gave a sympathetic glance to the sulking Hal before continuing with the other half of the explanation.

 

“The Fire Dragon is basically a mass of magical energy. Human skills don’t work on it. That includes the Camouflage skill.”

“I see… Since it has Telepathy, even forgoing Camouflage and disguising our appearances physically wouldn’t work, huh?”

Ize nodded grimly. “Our cover’s definitely blown.”

 

Fieda’s brows slanted downward in an apologetic expression that reminded Ize of a guilty guard dog. She nearly burst out laughing at the absurd cuteness of it, but managed to hold it in with some disciplined abdominal breathing.

As Ize quietly steadied herself, Hal pressed on.

 

“Still, if it’s only the Fire Dragon that’ll find out, that’s not such a big deal, right? …Unless someone else is going to be there too?”

Fieda nodded. “That’s the other problem. If a clueless adventurer says something disrespectful in front of the Fire Dragon and ticks it off, that could trigger a catastrophe. So, an A-rank adventurer will be accompanying us as an official observer.”

Hal groaned. “Yeah, that’s the worst-case scenario.”

“You can still back out,” Fieda offered, leaning forward slightly to gauge their reactions. “If you want to.”

 

Hal leaned in too, narrowing his eyes, then sniffed dramatically.

 

“Hmm… I smell something fishy.”

“Isn’t that just the hot springs?” Ize offered.

Hal shook his head. “Nope. Fieda, you still haven’t learned your lesson from that whole Sugar Mandragora incident, have you?”

“Oho? You messed up again?” Ize asked brightly.

 

Fieda stiffened ever so slightly at the grinning pair. The shift in posture was enough to betray the truth.

 

“Aha, it’s time to spit it out!” Hal declared. “Come on, better to come clean before we eat!”

“Hey, knock it off with the gross metaphors before dinner,” Fieda snapped, though not without a tinge of exasperated amusement. “It’s not exactly a secret. This mission is what the Guild considers a special commission. It’s officially classified as A-rank. That means, normally, you two D-ranks wouldn’t even be eligible. You follow so far?”

 

Both Hal and Ize nodded. As party members under a B-rank adventurer, they assumed that was how they were going to be included.

 

“You probably forgot, but we’ve already taken on an A-rank commission once.”

“Wait, we have?” Hal tilted his head.

 

Fieda jabbed a thumb toward the window, where Sato was basking lazily in a patch of sunlight.

 

“The Sugar Mandragora collection job. That was a top-secret A-rank commission.”

“Ahh!”

“Right, we heard about that when you got promoted,” Ize added.

“And? What about it?” Hal asked.

“Well, I didn’t know this at the time either, but apparently, commissions like these — special ones from the Guild — award nearly double the standard evaluation points.”

 

Fieda, despite his B-rank, had only been an adventurer for under a year. It made sense he wouldn’t know all the intricacies of the upper ranks. Besides, adventurers typically didn’t concern themselves with evaluation scores — that was the Guild’s internal bookkeeping.

Seeing the two nod along, Fieda took a deep breath and delivered the final revelation.

 

“If you complete this A-rank commission… your promotion to C-rank will be guaranteed.”

“W-what!? C-rank!? Ggk! Gah — hack, cough — ugh!!” Hal choked violently.

“…Wait, seriously?” Ize asked faintly, her mouth hanging open.

 

Neither of them looked particularly overjoyed.

 

To consider what that really meant:

According to what they’d heard in the capital of Lazulseed, rising from the lowest F-rank to C-rank usually took at least five years. Ten, in some cases. But Hal had registered as an adventurer just last September. After completing a series of high-priority appraisal quests in Rinzuda, he was promoted to F-rank by late October, earned E-rank in the border city of Abrol, and reached his current D-rank in Jasted. All in eight months.

As for Ize, she had only been a full adventurer for two months.

 

“This is insane!” Hal cried. “Ize’s technically only two months in! You can’t just catapult someone to C-rank like that!”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Fieda said, not particularly concerned.

“And why are YOU so chill about this!? We’ve gotta turn this down!”

Fieda shook his head. “Either way, you two would probably reach C-rank in another two or three years regardless.”

“Why’s that?” Ize demanded.

“Because you’re both joining the Rank 2 Dungeon campaign.”

“And…?”

“That’s a nationwide initiative. The rewards are bound to be way above average.”

“Still! Two months and two years are not the same!”

 

Hal continued to shout, and Ize gently placated him with a hand while keeping her eyes on Fieda.

It wasn’t just Hal’s instincts that were tingling now — hers were too. Fieda was hiding something.

 

“Fieda,” she said, “did you accept this mission because you thought it would help us get to C-rank?”

“No,” Fieda replied, shaking his head. “Like I said, I didn’t even know about the evaluation points when I agreed.”

“Then why do you want us to accept it?”

“Well… you know…” He trailed off, visibly struggling for words.

 

Hal and Ize both waited silently, giving him the space to gather his thoughts. After a moment of furiously scratching his head, Fieda finally gave a heavy sigh of surrender.

 

“Meeting a Fire Dragon — and getting the chance to actually speak with it — is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, even in this world. You both told me there aren’t any Mystic Beasts in your world, right? No talking creatures at all?”

 

At that, the two of them began to nod slowly, sensing where this was going.

Fieda’s face started turning red.

 

“So I just thought…”

 

–Nod nod.

–Grin grin.

 

“I thought… if it’s not life-threatening, maybe you could even enjoy it.”

“So you wanted us to… have a fun, novel experience?” Hal asked.

“…Yeah,” Fieda muttered.

“Aww! You’re such a great dad, Fieda!” Ize exclaimed.

“What!? Dad!?”

“A once-in-a-lifetime encounter with a miraculous creature, and you want your kids to experience it too — how wholesome is that?” Hal added with a wide smile.

“We have no choice now. We have to accept this job. For the love of our Dad!”

“You — y-you little–!”

“I’ll do my best, DAD!” Hal declared with exaggerated resolve.

“I’ll do my best too, DAD!” Ize chimed in.

 

They were fully on board now, clearly having far too much fun teasing him.

The moment Fieda decided this job would make them happy was the moment their decision was sealed. There was no way in the world they’d turn it down.