Becoming an Extra in a Trash Game

Chapter 23

Unlike Labes, where you could see the sky, the city, and the distant sea without any obstructions, here the view was filled with lush green mountains, gray cliffs, and black smoke rising from somewhere.

It seemed to be an outdoor warp gate, as there were only pillars and a roof without walls, allowing a panoramic view of the scenery.

“Wow, this is new.”

Taking a deep breath, my throat feels slightly ticklish.

While Labes was a coastal city by the sea, Norwell is a mining city, so there was a pungent smell mixed in the air.

“Ugh…”

“Uweh…”

And beside me, the sound of something slimy dropping.

Turning my head, I see all three horses staggering and vomiting, and Luna is also covering her mouth with a pale complexion.

Even Kane’s face has turned whiter… This is…

“Are you guys motion sick?”

“Y-young master… Are you… Alright?”

As Luna asks while taking deep breaths, I shrug my shoulders and speak while pulling the reins of the wobbling horses.

“I’m fine. But the horses… Are a problem. We should find an inn and leave them there for a while, right?”

Is this because of the Sense of Affluence trait?

For me, it just felt like I closed my eyes and opened them to find myself in a different place, but Kane and Luna mutter that it felt like their bodies were stretched like dough and kneaded back together.

The horses seem to be the same, as they’re no longer vomiting but are drooping and stamping their hooves as if they might collapse at any moment.

Is this a frequent occurrence, which is why they built the gate structure with only pillars and a roof?

Moreover, the floor was made of grid-like wire mesh, slightly raised from the ground.

Probably designed to allow waste to easily fall through.

I patted the body of the unwell horse and came out with Luna, who seemed to have recovered a bit.

“I see an inn right in front. Luna, Kane. Let’s head there for now.”

Did they set it up deliberately?

Not far from the gate, there’s a rather grand-looking inn.

It looks like a place that anyone would think has made a lot of money.

Good idea.

Those who use the warp are likely to have heavy pockets, and in their nauseous state, they’d prefer to rest at the nearest visible place rather than thinking about going to a distant inn.

As we come out of the gate management office, the street is bustling with people.

“Let’s have a drink after we finish today.”

“Where did Jeffrey go?”

“I heard he went deeper inside for logging.”

“Don’t think about coming out until you’ve mined a cartful from the mine today!”

While in Labes, both men and women were beautifully dressed, here there are more clothes close to achromatic colors, and people who look like miners or lumberjacks often pass by.

It’s quite a bustling place with countless ordinary residents, merchants, mercenaries, and travelers coming and going.

As I look around a bit, we’re almost at the inn, and I point and speak.

“Let’s have a meal first and then get a room. We’ll rest here for a day to recover, and then move on after checking the map. And… Huh?”

Thud.

“Ah, I’m sorry, sir!”

While walking and looking at Kane and Luna, I bumped into someone, and I raised my hand as if to say it’s okay and looked at the other person.

“Are you alright?”

A kid with a height barely reaching my chest, with slightly dry and fluffy orange hair.

Before I could even see their faces, they bowed deeply and, as if checking for companions, shouted “Hey, let’s go together!” and tried to run away, but Kane caught them by the scruff of the neck.

“Gak! W-why are you doing this? Let me go.”

“Uh… Uh… Sir Kane…?”

As the child struggles, grabbing Kane’s hand with both hands as their neck is being squeezed, Luna also stutters in surprise.

I, too, was surprised to see Kane holding a child by the scruff of their neck, dangling them, and speaking in confusion.

“What’s going on? Why are you doing this?”

“Hmph, humans.”

Hey man, what’s with the sudden racial discrimination?

Before I could say anything, Kane, with a slightly frowning face, grabbed the child’s ankle and started shaking them upside down.

And then.

Thud! Plop! Clink! Jingle!

Pouches showering down from the body.

Among them was my coin pouch which I had moved some money to avoid the subspace being too noticeable.

“Wow, when did that happen?”

This is so surprising.

I fumbled at my suddenly empty waist, picked up the fallen pouch from the ground and reattached it, then looked at the child who was huffing as if deeply wronged.

“A-aren’t you going to let go? You’ll regret this later! I said let go already!”

Such bravado.

As the child struggles while hanging upside down, Kane doesn’t let go and sighs, looking at me.

“Isn’t summary execution possible?”

That’s something to talk about when I reveal my noble status.

I shook my head once and glanced at the child who was glaring at us while huffing.

“Over here, Patrol officer! Over here.”

“Ah! Ah! Wait a moment! Can we talk…”

Yeah. Too late.

I calmly smiled and called over a Patrol officer passing by in the distance, handing over the child and the coin pouches. I wonder how many owners they’ll find… Usually, does it become unearned income?

“Wow… Their hands are really fast…”

As the situation settled somewhat, Luna, who had come to her senses, seemed to admire not having noticed the pickpocket, and I nodded and spoke.

“Thanks to Kane, we handled it well. Thank you. By the way, I didn’t use artifacts for these small pouches because I thought it might be noticeable, but how do other people manage?”

Should I change to magical items now?

Pondering this slightly, I left the horses at the stable prepared outside the inn, gave a tip as a sign to take good care of them, and Kane spoke quietly.

“Usually, people use disposable anti-theft scrolls or have places to tie them inside their clothes.”

“Is that so? I should visit a magic tower later.”

I need to fill the Codex too.

Creak―

As I opened the door and took in the inn, it was the typical appearance often seen in games and such.

The first floor is a pub and restaurant. The second floor has bedrooms.

I scanned the area with my eyes to see if there was a place for the three of us to sit and speak.

“Let’s have a meal first and then get a room.”

“Sounds good… I wonder if they have… Carrot soup here?”

In games or movies, these kinds of taverns were usually dimly lit, and somewhat dirty, with loud voices and someone picking a fight with the protagonist.

Maybe because it’s a high-class inn, it’s cleaner than I expected.

It was mainly filled with people who looked like merchants or mercenaries, and in one corner, someone who appeared to be a bard was playing an instrument that looked like a lute.

Thanks to the music, small chatter seemed to be drowned out, and everyone was talking quietly, while in one corner, a mercenary could be seen laughing heartily.

With a large axe, and though his clothes were worn, they seemed well-maintained.

It really feels like we’ve come to a different region.

In Labes, there weren’t many people armed to that extent.

‘Plus, there’s no one avoiding me here.’

“Order whatever you want to eat, it’s a new place so the food should be different too. I’m curious.”

Somehow feeling in a good mood, I smiled and sat down at a suitable spot, and looking at the table, there were hardly any scratches and it wasn’t sticky.

I might not know much as an adventure novice, but isn’t this pretty good? It certainly seems to be a high-class inn.

I looked at the table with satisfaction and then rested my chin on my hand, flipping through the menu that seemed to be made of parchment.

“Oh, there’s something unique. Bear meat special. From head to toe, you can taste all the special parts.”

“It says you need to reserve three days in advance.”

“I’d like to… Try the mixed wild berry juice.”

“If there’s anything you want to eat, order it all.”

As the three of us flipped through the menu pages, there was more to eat than expected, so we decided to order different things.

Kane ordered the horned pig steak set with red wine, I ordered rainbow salmon grill with cheese and crackers, and white wine.

Luna ordered cream spaghetti with chicken and mushrooms, mixed wild berry juice, and for dessert, bread with berry compote, making a well-rounded meal.

“How’s your stomach? Are you okay?”

Actually, there’s something I’ve been wanting to say as soon as we got some leisure, but as our ancestors said, you shouldn’t nag at the dinner table.

I casually threw out a question while looking at the two of them.

“Yes, after drinking some water… And resting a bit, I feel much better…”

Well, her complexion is very different from earlier.

The pre-meal bread and soup come out first.

It seems they serve this even if it’s not a full course. Kane seems to have gotten what looks like cream soup, and I got what appears to be potato soup.

Luna got a clear soup, probably because she ordered cream spaghetti, and at a glance, it looked like vegetable soup.

“As expected of a place that caters to wealthy travelers suffering from gate motion sickness, the variation is quite good.”

Well, their main customers are likely those who are short on time but have plenty of money, so it makes sense to focus on service.

I tasted the potato soup, which focused on a simple and savory flavor, and while it wasn’t as good as the original, I was impressed by its decent taste.

Adventure is all about food, after all.

It’s not like we’re on a completely carefree trip, but you should enjoy what you can when you can.

The pre-meal bread, cut into small pieces, is quite delicious when dipped slightly in the oil that came with it.

It seems like red wine was reduced and mixed with the oil of tree fruits, and the slight acidity and the unique, not overwhelming green scent of the oil blend very well.

“It’s delicious…”

“Indeed, let’s always go for high-end accommodations from now on. It seems worth it.”

It’s not like we don’t have money, and if we do, there’s no need to be stingy, right?

The main dishes that came out were of good quality too.

Kane’s horned pig steak was quite thick, and the sauce was also rich, suggesting a rather heavy taste.

“Hmm.”

Kane let out a low breath and cut into the thick meat with his knife. It seemed to cut smoothly as if all the tendons and fascia had been removed, and it looked quite delicious.

“Let me have just one bite.”

I quickly snatched a piece of the steak Kane was cutting with my fork and put it in my mouth, chewing a few times to savor the taste.

Unlike its smooth cutting appearance, it wasn’t as tender as expected, giving a good texture while releasing rich meat juices with each chew. It tastes quite good.

There was no gamey smell at all.

Moreover, the rainbow salmon I ordered wasn’t too greasy, nor was it too dry and tough. The fishy smell seemed to have been removed with something like lemon.

Especially the skin, which still had a slight rainbow color even after grilling, was chewy yet tender, and its unique fat taste melted slightly on the tongue, adding sweetness.

I said “it was delicious” repeatedly and shared a piece with each of them, then cleansed my palate with white wine. The wine, despite not being very sweet, had such a rich fruit aroma in its fragrance that it created an illusion of sweetness.

Luna also shared her spaghetti, saying to try it, and it had a savory taste without being greasy, with a rich mushroom aroma. The occasional pieces of chicken were also delicious without any dryness.

The bread and compote were also good, with slightly salty bread topped with various reduced wild berries, creating a refreshing and sweet taste that made my mouth water even more.

“It was a satisfying meal. It’s as good as the original, isn’t it?”

“Yes… They said it was made with local specialties… It was delicious.”

After the meal was mostly finished, I smiled while wiping my lips.

“Ah, right. There’s something I wanted to say.”

“Ugh…”

“Don’t act like you just thought of it now. You’ve been wanting to say something since earlier.”

“Was that obvious?”

Luna makes a small distressed sound and hides the menu, seemingly worried about something due to my sudden actions.

It’s not that today, Luna…

“First, this is for both of you. Actually, Luna is unlikely to cause trouble, so Luna, you just need to listen.”

With a full stomach, my body naturally leans back.

I lazily leaned back in the chair and threw a glance at Kane.

“You might not believe me saying this after coming all this way, but I won’t interfere with anything you do. I won’t touch on it much either.”

I crossed my legs leisurely, drank the remaining wine, and smiled.

“Even if you commit a crime, I won’t order you to stop forcefully. Well, I might try to dissuade you, as your companion. But.”

I took a breath and looked at Kane, who was silently watching me.

“I’m saying I won’t wield my authority as your master. It might seem like neglect in a way.”

I don’t think Kane would listen even if I said anything, but the most important thing for him is autonomy.

Thinking, acting, enduring, and taking responsibility for himself.

I’ll act like an extra.

Kane will act like the protagonist.

“Don’t you like it?”

At my playful words, Kane smiled slightly.

What, I thought that guy had lost his smiling muscles?

“Of course not. Rather, that’s what I was going to say.”