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nI was still very interested in Haggle, so I decided to order a dessert as well.

n“Ah… the desert is a fruit parfait. Best in town?” The girl smiled at me, my one true weakness.

n“Yes, how much is that?”

n“It’s five copper. I know it’s pricy, but it’s really delicious!”

n“Then, I’ll take one of those.”

nThis time I only thought to use the Haggle skill rather than say it. I wasn’t comfortable even mumbling Haggle in a room full of adventurers. Skills probably would activate without me yelling them out like I was in some kind of shonen. She brought the desert back, and it did look like it was worth the money. It was a mountain of various fruits, some I recognized, some I didn’t, and a mountain on top of that of whipped cream.

n“That’ll be 4 coppers.” She said with a wink.

nI gave her the coppers. Haggle seemed to work. Well, I was the town hero, so I was staying here for free now, and food came with the board, so only extra things like desserts and alcohol cost money. I ate my fruity parfait but was occasionally bothered by other adventurers wanting to chat with me. After I had my fill of social activity for the evening, I headed up to my bedroom. We had to get up really early tomorrow, earlier than I was used to getting up even for school, so I decided to take an early rest.

nThat night, my dreams contained an image of the catgirl who had been the Lord Tibult’s packrat. Calling her a pack-mule would be too generous, as she was a very petite girl. Some of the dreams were lewd. She was naked, and I had her leash in my hands. Other dreams seemed to center around her, cold, scared, and in pain somewhere dark. I had a nagging feeling like I needed to go rescue her.

nThe dreams only ended when I woke up. I overslept just enough that I didn’t have any time for breakfast. I pulled a hard biscuit from the food rations and nibbled it. After leaving the inn, I was still about five minutes from the town center. That was where the group was meeting and also where my stuff was being delivered. I’d be a bit late if I headed there now. Well, I could run, but I wasn’t the kind of guy who’d embarrass myself puffing along through town.

nI had already predicted I knew what Return was, just by logically reasoning things out. I found somewhere with a bit of privacy, and then I cast the spell.

n“Return!” Well, sometimes it was still more comfortable saying the words.

nA glow went around me, and a moment later, I was standing in the square. This was also the same spot I had appeared when I first entered this world from my own. It was the dead center of Chalm. That would be what Return did. It returned you to the center of Chalm from wherever you were. I felt a bit dizzy from mana depletion, but only a bit. Hero job seemed to have a good chunk of mana, I reasoned. It was hard to define, mana, especially since every job had its own unique spells, so I could just call it a hunch.

nAnyway, I was thinking, what was the one most crucial role a hero would perform for a city? That was, being able to return to it when needed. So, it stood to reason that the first skill one would unlock would be a teleportation skill that allowed me to get to Chalm fast from anywhere in the world. Strangely, no one seemed to give me a second look.

n“Ah, you’re here!” The guild leader said excitedly. “Just in time too. The stuff you ordered yesterday is over there.”

nI headed over to my pack. It now had a strange feeling about it, like it was more than a simple backpack full of supplies. I also could see a runic inscription written on the front. I picked the backpack up and made a noise of surprise. It was indeed a lot lighter. It would still be challenging for me to carry it long distance, but I at least felt like I could carry it.

nI realized the backpack had also been repacked, and now contained my armor and clothing as well. I was too shy to change in the middle of the town square, so one of the shop owners let me duck into his shop while the party waited for me. There were about ten men in this party, including the guild leader himself. They all looked big and intimidating, including the single woman who was coming along, who had a massive cleavage and a gigantic sword.

nWhen I came out, the group all looked at me appraisingly, and a few even shouted encouragements. With the robe and the armored clothing, I did have a bit of a wizened wizard look, actually. I felt a few years more mature. Perhaps I should grow a beard?

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