The Protagonist Worth Three Copper Coins

Shimada Yousuke's display alone left Yoru Machi utterly astonished. After all, when he first met Shimada Yousuke ten days ago, the guy was nothing more than a weakling, literally bent over and getting screwed.

Yet, in just about ten days, not only had his appearance changed drastically, but his strength had undergone a complete transformation?

"Yousuke, what happened to you in these past ten days? Why does it feel like you're different from before..."

While the previous Shimada Yousuke might have been unremarkable in appearance, he still looked like a spirited youth. But to Yoru Machi, the current Shimada Yousuke appeared to be a man who had experienced countless hardships—an uncle who had seen it all.

Yoru Machi was very curious about what kind of experiences could cause such a drastic change in the other's demeanor in a mere ten days.

As he spoke of this matter, Shimada Yousuke actually broke into a confident smile and said to Yoru Machi, "Yoru Machi, I've finally managed to get a good start!

Although the process was a bit bumpy, all in all, it's a decent start."

Seeing Shimada Yousuke's reminiscent expression, Yoru Machi also adopted a posture of eager anticipation, ready to listen.

Initially, Yoru Machi's expression was normal. But as Shimada Yousuke continuously recounted his experiences after they parted ways, Yoru Machi's expression grew increasingly bizarre. He kept thinking to himself, This guy actually considers this a "decent start"? What the hell?

After parting with Yoru Machi, Yoru Machi headed to the Adventurer's Guild, while Shimada Yousuke went to a tavern in town.

Compared to Yoru Machi, who possessed some strength upon arriving in this world and could sustain himself by hunting Demonic Beasts, Shimada Yousuke had clearly been starving in the forest for a long time.

So, after receiving half a bag of copper coins from Yoru Machi, Shimada Yousuke's first thought was to fill his stomach.

There was a reason for choosing a tavern. Generally, in games, places like taverns are the best places to overhear important gossip and gather information.

Since they had just arrived in this other world, information gathering was crucial in the early stages.

Thanks to Yoru Machi's reminder, Shimada Yousuke had also taken measures to conceal his appearance before entering the tavern.

When he entered the tavern, although others were curious why he was covering his head and face, they weren't overly surprised or demanding.

Unaware of the world's currency exchange rates and cost of living, Shimada Yousuke, like Yoru Machi, initially believed that the large bag of copper coins was a considerable fortune.

With that in mind, he generously ordered a large table full of food. After all, the more he spent, the more polite the tavern owner would naturally be, and the more information he could extract from him.

Up to this point, Shimada Yousuke's actions and logic were sound. With his extensive gaming experience, he was quite satisfied with how he had handled his starting situation.

However, the only flaw was that during his casual chat with the tavern owner, Shimada Yousuke finally understood the cost of living in this world.

Realizing that the money he had on him was not enough to pay for the table full of good food and drinks, Shimada Yousuke thought about negotiating to pay on credit...

Running away without paying was out of the question. He had already experienced the combat prowess of the inhabitants of this other world.

Even though the tavern owner in front of him wasn't an adventurer, he was still a burly man with arms thicker than thighs. As a shut-in, weakling teenager, Shimada Yousuke was clearly no match for him.

However, when Shimada Yousuke indicated that he might not have brought enough money and wanted to pay on credit, the tavern owner's face, which had been smiling like a blooming chrysanthemum, instantly contorted.

"If you don't have money, why the hell are you acting like a big shot! I never accept credit here. Even those adventurers, once they've eaten, have to pay up!"

The tavern owner had been chatting so much with Shimada Yousuke earlier because he saw him spending lavishly and thought he might have a wealthy regular customer in the future.

But he never expected the guy to be a poor person just pretending to be rich. Naturally, the tavern owner's demeanor changed.

Looking at Shimada Yousuke, who was as weak as a chick and indeed was a weakling, the tavern owner directly lifted him up and searched him thoroughly. In the end, he found all his possessions—a total of 27 copper coins...

When the tavern owner saw the 27 copper coins scattered on the floor, his face turned green with anger. He had initially thought that since Shimada Yousuke had ordered so much food with confidence, even if he didn't have enough money, the shortfall wouldn't be too significant.

But now, looking at it, the guy only had 27 copper coins but dared to order a table of food worth at least 1 gold coin!

And after gorging himself, he had the audacity to shamelessly say he was a little short? Was this what he called a little short?

According to their currency exchange rate in Gran Bahamar, 1 gold coin was equivalent to 10,000 silver coins, which was equivalent to 1,000,000 copper coins. With the 27 copper coins Shimada Yousuke had, it probably wasn't even enough to pay for washing dishes.

Having the nerve to dine and dash, getting beaten was naturally inevitable. And during the scuffle, Shimada Yousuke's homemade wooden mask, which he had been using to cover his face, was also accidentally knocked off.

The tavern owner was already quite displeased with Shimada Yousuke for trying to dine and dash. When he saw the mask fall off and realized the guy was a "Half-beastman," he became even more furious.

In this world, regardless of race, people were not very friendly towards mixed-blood demi-humans. This was especially true for savage Half-beastmen who lacked much intelligence. Although they were demi-humans, they were no different from ordinary Demonic Beasts and monsters.

However, while feeling angry, the tavern owner soon realized that Shimada Yousuke, as a "Half-beastman," could speak human languages and seemed to have a much higher IQ than ordinary Half-beastmen.

Thus, an idea, similar to what Rex and the others had thought before, quickly surfaced in the tavern owner's mind.

"Kid, don't blame me. Whether you're a Half-beastman or not, you have to pay when you eat out. That's only natural. Since you don't have money to pay the bill, I'll just sell you to a merchant guild as a slave.

Talking Half-beastmen are rare, and the money from selling you should be enough to cover this meal."

Despite Shimada Yousuke's constant protests that he was not a "Half-beastman," the outcome was clearly useless.

Poor Shimada Yousuke had just escaped danger from an adventurer, only to be sold to a slave merchant. The only difference was being sold by an adventurer versus being sold by a tavern owner.

Talking Half-beastmen were indeed a rare species, but what surprised the tavern owner was that the slave merchant only offered a price of a mere three copper coins for Shimada Yousuke.