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This was the first time I had wandered around the castle town like this, as I had not been permitted to leave the castle during my previous residence.

I was in the common sector, where the commoners lived.

Despite the irregular shapes of the cobblestones, the ground was well-paved and easy to walk on. The buildings were constructed with materials typically reserved for the upper class in other regions.

The town was thoughtfully divided into residential, commercial, and adventurers’ areas, making it easy to navigate.

The hooded merchant had mentioned that his store was tucked away in a secluded part of the commercial district, accessible only through back roads and alleys.

Although I was hesitant to use them, there was something intriguingly appealing about these back roads.

At this moment, the only thing I truly feared was a sword pointed at my chest. Nevertheless, I decided not to venture there today. I was headed for the heart of the noble sector, the center of the royal capital. Inside the castle, where the heroes resided.

I was enthusiastic, but infiltrating it would prove to be quite a challenge. The noble and common sectors were divided by a wall, with entry regulated through a gate.

Beyond the physical barrier, a magical barrier also separated the two sectors.

To enter legitimately, I needed a connection or a permit. I could either seek help from a noble close to one of the guards, or secure a permit from a noble in advance. There were other methods, but the general populace couldn’t enter on a whim.

Even if I attempted to physically scale the gate, I would be thwarted by a dome-like wall surrounding the castle.

While the inside was shielded from external threats, the exterior was easily accessible from within. Thus, escaping from the castle was simple but breaking in was a different story.

Although the Spy skill was useful, it wasn’t foolproof.

Its main effect was to make it harder to detect me when I was sneaking around. Since I didn’t completely disappear, I could still be caught by sensors, and if there were any magical means to capture images, I would be visible immediately.

If they were unaware of my presence, they wouldn’t see me even if I stood right in front of them. However, if they were alert to my presence, they would spot me instantly.

For instance, if I occupied an empty seat in a meeting, no one would notice until someone attempted to sit there and suddenly realized, “What? There was someone here?”

Thus, the simplest methods to breach the noble sector would be to either dismantle the magical barrier or demolish the wall itself. However, I opted against these as they would cause too much disruption.

There was also the slim chance of a hero emerging, which would complicate matters. After all, my goal was to ensure the heroes experienced their own version of hell. I didn’t want to accidentally kill them here, nor did I want them disposed of by the kingdom.

Ideally, I’d infiltrate undetected, locate the spirit, and, if possible, facilitate its escape without being noticed. Furthermore, if feasible, I’d like to check up on how the heroes and the princess were faring.

However, all of this came after finding the spirit. To accomplish this, I needed to gain access to the noble sector. In short, I needed to gather information, and what better place to do that than the Collegium? After all, I was an adventurer.

◇◇◇

“I see, so it’s going to be difficult for me since I’m an F Grade.”
“That’s right. You need to be at least C Grade to accept requests from the nobles.”
“That sucks. I wanted to see it. It’s not every day that you get to visit the royal capital.”
“Please do your best and reach C Grade. Once you do, you’ll be able to take a request and pay the compulsory fee.”
“I understand.”

I had come to the Collegium to ask the receptionist if I could take a request, but I was turned down immediately. I had anticipated this, but it seemed there was no workaround.

To gain entry, an adventurer would need to be at least C Grade, and a merchant would need recognition as a great merchant. The divide between the nobility and the commoners was significant.

The Collegium in the capital was a large building situated in the area dedicated to adventurer-related activities. Other businesses catering to adventurers, such as weapon shops, tool shops, and bars, were clustered together here.

Since the Collegium was crowded, I thought it unwise to go there just to chat, so I accepted a request as well.

As usual, it was an animal hunting request. As I approached to pick it up, I overheard a group of youngsters attempting to take some requests, leading to disputes and disagreements. Fortunately, hunting requests remained as unpopular as ever.

Rather than challenge me, they even encouraged me.

In the end, I decided I’d just hunt some good meat today and then head home.

◇◇◇

“Come to think of it, why are there even hunting requests in the capital? Not that I’m complaining, but still.”

Today, I hunted a deer that I just happened to come across. Hunting requests typically required the delivery of meat and hides, with payment based on quality and quantity.

Despite my small stature, my strength was more than a hundred times that of a normal person, so carrying the prey was not an issue for me.

Having a cart would have been useful, but it would also be too cumbersome to manage and carry around everywhere. Instead, I dismantled the deer and packed it neatly into a large backpack.

Although I had managed to hunt a deer, only about half of it was edible. By separating only what I needed, I could just about manage with my backpack. I had bought this backpack in the royal capital for about a Large Silver Coin, roughly 100,000 yen, or 600 USD.

It was specially designed to keep meat fresh. I regretted not having it back in the border town.

I continued packing the meat into the backpack, embracing this bittersweet feeling, when I suddenly remembered that there should have been livestock near the capital.

This meant that there should have been a steady supply of meat. Indeed, earlier today, I had enjoyed a delicious piece of meat from a food stand before setting off on my hunt. It was tender, fatty meat, quite different from the muscular wild animals I often hunted.

My recommendation was the third stand after exiting the Collegium.

It was a booth selling traditional skewers. One of their specialties was a mix of various types of meat on a single skewer, allowing you to enjoy and compare different kinds of meat.

When I returned to the Collegium, I inquired at the reception. However, the person who attended to me was different from the one who had taken my initial request.

“I don’t know much, but game meat is considered quite high-class. I’ve heard that rich people buy it occasionally.”
“Rich people? Does that include nobles as well?”
“There are probably some that do.”
“I see. Thank you very much.”

I couldn’t believe that the path to the noble sector was right in front of me. Once I became known to the nobility through hunting, they’d eventually start requesting me to hunt various things for them.

However, gaining such recognition would take time, so I decided to pass on it for now. But it did let me know that meals might prove to be a useful lever in the future.

Perhaps I could even take up cooking as a hobby. The only issue was that I didn’t really need to eat, which could be a future bottleneck.

Given this, I thought I might as well scrap everything and create a personal infinite storage bag. My Peerless Creator saga was about to start today. (Sadly, it didn’t start.)