[IC] My Isekai Costumed Adventures

[Hammerman]

Sayu Takayomi

Sayu gave a questioning glance towards Cecilia at her insistence on splitting the proceeds between them and the adventurer girl. She wouldn't want to put off the adventurer from helping them. After all, they knew nothing about this world and having a local guide them would be a blessing beyond belief.

Thankfully, it seemed the adventurer girl wasn't offended at all by their change of mind, though she definitely noticed the sudden disappearance of her smile.

"Ah, well... You did kill them, so I suppose the mana gems are yours. Bu, wait... You said you guys were penniless? Do you mean that like, you don't have any money?" A slightly concerned look spread on Laynea's face and she looked at each of the girls. "Because, you know you'll have to pay the gate-toll before entering the city, right? I'm not sure how it works where you girls are from, but here you either need to be an adventurer, a registered citizen, a merchant or from nobility if you want to get into any big towns without paying." She paused, shuffled a bit of dirt with one foot before adding. "And you can't exchange the mana gems for money unless you actually get into the city and visit the trade post..."

"Uh…" Sayu awkwardly glanced at the others before answering. "Yes. We don't have any money. We have lost them all due to… uh… bandits.. Yes… bandits taking all our belongings… Luckily, they didn't know that these clothes were enchanted with magic so they let us go wearing them."

"Well… I suppose… we would have to rely on your kindness, Miss Laynea." She forced an awkward smile.

Why in the world do you need to pay to enter a city?! We're lucky we meet with her here or else we'll never be able to enter one without sneaking in!

Then again, with our superstrength, perhaps scaling the walls wouldn't be such an impossible feat…

But then again, do we really want to be criminals from the get go in this world?

Sayu wasn't afraid of breaking stupid rules like that. But being a criminal would be a really bothersome thing. They would be chased by guards and she would not want to hurt another human.

"Anyway, I'll at least help you harvest the materials from these guys before anything else, okay?" Laynea then said, with a smile as casual as if she was talking about picking apples.

"Thank you," Sayu nodded. She glanced at the others once more, telling them 'Guys, you better watch what she's doing!' only with her expression.

Of course, she herself watched as closely as she could at how the girl skinned the remains of the dead monster. Or rather, the process of simply gouging out their head for the gem that was embedded in them. It was gory, for sure, almost like a butcher carcassing his meat.

And yet, to her own surprise, she wasn't really that bothered with it.

"Anyway, sorry. But you can't really split these with me. I took a quest to hunt a specific number of the little rascals, after all. But if you want to head back to Krosana with me regardless, just head on out of the forest that-a-way!" She pointed in a direction. "I'll swing by and pick you up once I'm done hunting the last little vermin I need to fill my quota, alright? Bye for now, ladies~!"

And with that, before any of the other girls had a chance to protest, make a request or even reply, Laynea was off. Running at remarkable speed, seemingly heading deeper into the forest.

"W-wait!"

She was too late. The girl had already vanished behind the thick trees.

Sayu sighed, looking at the others. "I suppose we should take her advice…"

[Qia]

---

As Laynea vanished into the dense forest, Aria exchanged glances with her companions. The feeling of being left to fend for themselves in this unfamiliar realm was unsettling. She couldn't help but wonder what they had gotten themselves into. Sayu's proposition to hand over the mana gems in exchange for guidance had seemed like a reasonable idea, a way to secure their passage into the city, but now it felt like an opportunity missed- at least for now. The moon sailor warrior glanced in the direction that their newfound guide had pointed, gulping at the idea of getting lost in these woods.

Hopefully, it really is a straight path to get out of here...

Sayu sighed, looking at the others. "I suppose we should take her advice…"

"I don't think we have much of a choice," Aria replied," at least once we're in the city we can learn more about this place and how to get back home, hopefully."

The girl paused then, her eyes widening in realization.

"W-wait a second. If we need money to get into the city but need to be in the city to get money then how the hell do we get into the city!" Aria rambled, grabbing her head in frustration. Her mind whirred with frustration as the paradox of their situation sank in. She felt like a rat in a maze, trapped in an endless loop of impossibilities. It was maddening, the way the conundrum had them trapped in a seemingly unbreakable cycle.

"Do you think she'd be nice enough to...pay for us?"

[Xaltwind]

@Click This, @Crusader Lord, @Hammerman, @Qia

---

Some Forest.

There was a nice breeze blowing gently through the clearing now. Not too strong, but not too weak, gentle but pleasant. The leaves of the trees, both those with brown and those with green bark, swayed and rustled carefree. The birds kept singing their various melodies, chirping, tweeting and some squawking obnoxiously. All the while the girls kept on standing there, alone in the woods, with three corpses of ratlings at their feet and not a single coin to their names. They hadn't decided what to do next just yet, but surely they'd come to decision soon.

After all, standing around where they were wasn't going to get them anywhere. In fact, considering what Laynea had said about going to hunt more ratlings, chances were that remaining here might draw more of those filthy little critters to them... Or perhaps even somehting worse if they were unlucky. Still, it wasn't like they had a lot to go on; without a map or even a vague idea with their immediate surroundings, all they had to go on was the general direction in which their brief acquaintance had pointed them towards, and who knew just how deep or dense this forest really was? Well, Laynea probably knew, but she wasn't around aymore now was she?

So, their choices boiled down to either standing around and sicussing things more, or getting the lead out boogeying their little tushies somewhere else.

[Click This]

Cecilia Feilding

---

Cecilia didn’t have much to respond with on how the rat creature was killed. As far as everyone had been concerned at the time, not being killed by the evil fantasy creatures was a far bigger priority than wondering if the weird beasts had cool gems to harvest in their noggin, or something like that.

She watched with a muted expression as the adventurer girl harvested said gem thing from said noggin, reluctantly taking the present of gem and rat tail with a mild expression of disgust on her face. Hey, you couldn’t fault a girl for not wanting to touch rail tail and brain bits, after all.

And then the girl was gone.

“I’m not really sure what happened there,” she muttered, before looking around at the other girls, intending to pawn off the hot potatoes that were the rat parts to someone else. “Would anybody else like to carry the rat bits?”

Nonetheless, she wanted to continue on. At least making it to the outside of the city would at least give them some options.

“Not necessarily. It’s possible there are smaller towns, establishments, or even a market outside the city walls,” Cecilia pointed out, drawing on her historical knowledge. “I’m sure there will be ample opportunities to get some kind of money or accommodation before the gates…”

[Hammerman]

Sayu Takayomi

@Click This

“I’m not really sure what happened there,” she muttered, before looking around at the other girls, intending to pawn off the hot potatoes that were the rat parts to someone else. “Would anybody else like to carry the rat bits?”

"D-don't look at me!" Sayu quickly protested. "I'm… I'm not good at that kind of stuff!"

“Not necessarily. It’s possible there are smaller towns, establishments, or even a market outside the city walls,” Cecilia pointed out, drawing on her historical knowledge. “I’m sure there will be ample opportunities to get some kind of money or accommodation before the gates…”

"Hmm, I suppose that's true…" Sayu stroked her chin. "We can try looking for a village instead… But I doubt they would buy magical cores unless they had an alchemist that could use them… What, that's how it goes in this kind of setting, no?"

[Crusader Lord]

Charlotte

They certainly were still in a situation of sorts, primarily that being in the middle of the woods without cover, help, or civilization nearby. Not unless one counted their chances of running into more ratmen anyway. On top of that the adventurer who had found them left once more after giving them a direction, which was a bit helpful at least despite the fact they were being left alone. Again. Albeit they did seem to handle themselves well enough thus far at least, but that was no guaruntee at all for the future either. No guaruntee that a dragon wouldn't ambush them off back to some dungeon either, for all she knew, but this was at least 'similar' to Earth in some capacity. How else this world different from it had yet to be seen, outside of the things that had been made obvious at least....like magic. Did she mention magic? Because that was a thing now.

Though before she was done being lost in her own thoughts about their current situation, Charlotte was snapped out of her focus by one of the others talking.

“I’m not really sure what happened there,” she muttered, before looking around at the other girls, intending to pawn off the hot potatoes that were the rat parts to someone else. “Would anybody else like to carry the rat bits?”

The Bikini Babe Bandit

"D-don't look at me!" Sayu quickly protested. "I'm… I'm not good at that kind of stuff!"

Super Skimpy Sayu

"We should try to get the gems or something like the tails as well before we go. Less stuff that way.

So instead of hauling all of this crap, I'll do the dirty work."

Why did she get stuck with the girly-girls in all of this? Seriously? No one wanted to touch the dead bodies, and based on what they'd seen from Laynea this sort of stuff was potentially retty normal for those taking up merc or adventuring jobs. Had to be willing to get dirty to live, and you had to live to be able to find out where they could take a bath anywho. So yeah, she'd apprently have to get her hands dirty because she both didn't mind it and no one else seemed to want to so far.

Besides, even if they couldn't get inside the walls, the chances of peddling outside of it or making camp next to the main gate could perhaps be sucessful in at least keeping them alive for the night. But whatever the case, the bunnygirl walked over to the dead ratmen and began trying to get to work. If she could tear off their tails in one piece she'd try her best to do so, since it seemed logical enough, despite having no idea if the minority of her abilities regarding crafting gave her any knowledge that would help in this. Hunting? Harvesting parts? Either way she was after the tails, and if she could dig into the mess of these corpses she'd try to look for something carefully that felt or looked like a 'gem'.

Though as something came to mind as she tried to get started, causing the girl to let out a sigh, she would turn her head back toward the others to-

“Not necessarily. It’s possible there are smaller towns, establishments, or even a market outside the city walls,” Cecilia pointed out, drawing on her historical knowledge. “I’m sure there will be ample opportunities to get some kind of money or accommodation before the gates…”

The Bikini Babe Bandit Beauty Bounces Back Bountifully

"Hmm, I suppose that's true…" Sayu stroked her chin. "We can try looking for a village instead… But I doubt they would buy magical cores unless they had an alchemist that could use them… What, that's how it goes in this kind of setting, no?"

Super Skimpy Sayu Supposes Something

Well, at least they were trying to think ahead or something. Depended on how this world worked in one way or another compared to 'medieval Earth' or something. Either way she had something to ask about, and she was going to before continuing things. Even if the chances of each others' stuff not working magically was one thing, maybe something as simple as a sharp sword would still work like a basic cutting tool in application. It was in that vein her question was aimed at Cecilia in particular.

"I'm going to need to borrow something sharp to cut things with to hurry this up, something like your sword, unless we want to be stuck around here all night before get start heading in the direction of civilization in any case. Can I borrow it?"

She was not going to sugar-coat it, a blade or something would be helpful right now. Besides, she'd be giving the blade back after wiping it off or something with leaves and the grass in the clearning. Not that she was saying more than she felt nessecary right now anywho. But she was not going to haul entire dead rats along with them. So in that vein....a tool, please?

@Hammerman@Click This@Xaltwind

[Qia]

---

Aria's agreement with Cecelia's sentiment was silently expressed through a nod. However, the prospect of lugging around severed rat parts was far from appealing, and the sensation of their macabre nature sent shivers down her spine. The moon sailor warrior hesitated to voice her reluctance, hoping that one of her companions would offer to shoulder the unsettling task instead. It wasn't just the gruesome nature of the items that gave her pause really; it was the reminder of the perilous situation they now found themselves in, forced to consider how these gruesome trophies might be their only means of survival in this unfamiliar realm.

"We should try to get the gems or something like the tails as well before we go. Less stuff that way.

So instead of hauling all of this crap, I'll do the dirty work."

"Thank you, Charlotte," Aria said with genuine gratitude in her voice. The moon sailor warrior then offered to assist in the process. While she had no desire to carry the nasty thing, she could at least make things easier for the other girl.

"I can help you search for these 'gems.' Let's try to make this as efficient as possible," she said as she began to examine the ratmen's remains, delicately probing for any valuable items that might have survived the skirmish.

“Not necessarily. It’s possible there are smaller towns, establishments, or even a market outside the city walls,” Cecilia pointed out, drawing on her historical knowledge. “I’m sure there will be ample opportunities to get some kind of money or accommodation before the gates…”

In contrast to her unnerved feeling from before, Aria couldn't help but sigh in relief at the prospect of smaller towns or markets being outside the city walls. It was a reminder that, in unknown lands, possibilities were endless, and if one path was blocked, another might yet lead them to their answers.

There was absolutely nothing to panic about, right?