Thorn Hut

"Burp--"

Full and satisfied, he walked out of the inn.

Gauss reconfirmed that the previous meal's bad taste wasn't Sophia's fault.

After all, how could one make the cheapest black bread delicious without seasonings and other ingredients?

He figured it would probably require some kind of Magic to make food taste good, right?

But, did such Magic even exist in this world?

Even though he was now seen as a Mage apprentice by others, Gauss, who was still fundamentally a Magic novice, didn't know.

A scorching wind blew through the small town's streets in the afternoon. Gauss walked close to the street's edge, carefully avoiding the horse-drawn carts and mule carts carrying goods on the main road.

"Widow's Alley, it should be around here, right?"

Even though his previous self had lived in this town for a year, there were still many places he hadn't visited.

Including that Widow's Alley.

He had only vaguely heard of such a place.

By asking people for directions along the way.

Finally, he navigated his way to the entrance of a deep, narrow alley.

He stepped over the gurgling, clear ditch on the outer side of the road and onto the stone-paved path.

On both sides were row houses, inhabited by all sorts of people.

There were artists, Herbalists, and small-scale craftspeople.

There were also small taverns run by residents, and some unspeakable pleasure houses.

Women dressed scantily, with heavy makeup, stood at their doorways, waving their fair arms to solicit customers.

Gauss glanced over curiously. When one of the women turned to look at him, he quickly averted his gaze and hurried past.

He had important business today.

"Thorn Hut. Thorn Hut."

"Found it!"

He was almost at the end of the alley when he finally found his destination – a hut with mottled gray walls covered in moss.

Actually, he had missed it the first time he passed by.

But the moment he walked past, a jarring sense of dissonance suddenly struck him, a feeling that something was wrong.

So he walked back, and only then did he clearly see the wooden sign nailed to the wall that read "Thorn Hut."

"Am I in the right place?"

Gauss looked at the oak door with its tarnished brass bell, covered in dust, and couldn't help but feel doubt.

It felt like this old house had been abandoned for a long time.

He hesitated for a moment before knocking on the door.

His knuckles made a crisp sound against the wood.

There was no response from inside.

Gauss waited a few seconds and knocked again.

Unfortunately, there was still no movement.

Could they have moved out?

Although Gauss hadn't spent much time at Gron's blacksmith shop, during the time he was there, Gron was basically always indoors.

It wasn't surprising that the information he got from Shopkeeper Gron was outdated.

Just as he was thinking about leaving.

"Creeeak--"

The old wooden door was slowly pulled open, the groaning of its rusty hinges like the whimpers of a wounded little animal, a grating, strange screech that made his teeth ache.

Gauss looked up. Behind the door was an empty, pitch-black corridor.

Who opened the door?

As Gauss was confused, a crisp female voice suddenly came from below him.

"Who introduced you?"

Gauss looked down, only to realize that someone had been standing in front of him the whole time.

But she was too short.

So short that Gauss, standing close to the door, wouldn't have noticed her if he hadn't looked down.

Aside from her height, her face looked like that of a woman around 20 years old, with slightly flushed skin and straight, smooth black hair.

But she was really short! Was she even 80cm tall? A Goblin would be taller than her!

Walking down the road, Gauss worried that some tall person might accidentally step over her head if they weren't careful.

A Halfling? A Gnome?

It should be a Halfling.

Gauss pondered this. He had seen these non-human races on the road before, but this was the first time he was observing one up close.

Halflings and Gnomes were both small races.

But Halflings were more like "miniature humans," their bodies shrunk all around while retaining human proportions, and their movements and posture were more agile.

About 90 cm tall, weighing 30-35 pounds (14-16 kg), small creatures with rosy skin and straight, black hair.

Gauss recalled information about Halflings in his mind and found that it matched the appearance of the small lady in front of him.

"Kid, I have a feeling you're thinking about something impolite."

"Tell me, who are you? Who introduced you?"

The Halfling seemed certain that no strangers would find her small shop and repeated the question.

"Hello, Shopkeeper. My name is Gauss. Shopkeeper Gron from the Black Anvil Workshop introduced me. Gron Bates." Gauss, afraid she might not remember, added Gron's full name.

"Gron?" The Halfling raised an eyebrow. "Then come in."

She said this while stepping aside, though Gauss felt it wouldn't make much difference whether she moved or not.

He passed through the doorway and entered the hall.

Unlike the unremarkable, old walls and doors outside, the interior hall was stunning.

Dozens of brass chandeliers hung from the vaulted ceiling, and the surrounding walls were embedded with honeycomb-like wooden niches.

Each niche displayed a variety of items, a dazzling array that was overwhelming at first glance.

Materials and organ specimens from ordinary monsters and beasts, some dried herbs of unknown use, books, statues, and eggs of unknown origin.

So many things, Gauss turned his head to look around.

Suddenly, his gaze was firmly captured by a row of neatly hung, long objects.

What were those?

Wands!!

The wands varied in length.

The shortest was about the same size as the one Priest Daphne from the Night Owl Squad used, only the length of a forearm.

The longest one, Gauss estimated, was about 1.8 to 1.9 meters long. It looked like both a wand and some kind of powerful melee weapon.

It was a large, dark brown wooden staff, its surface covered in fine cracks like snake scales. Cloth strips were wrapped around the handle area, and at the slightly enlarged top, an oval gem emitting a faint green glow was embedded.

Gauss estimated that the longest and heaviest one weighed at least ten pounds, and it would be inconvenient for most Mages without some strength.

What a shame, they all looked too expensive for me to afford.

Whether it was the heavy and imposing great wands or the slender and exquisite small wands, the inlaid gems were clearly not cheap, at least from Gauss's amateur perspective.

He reluctantly withdrew his gaze.

The Halfling lady had already climbed onto a wicker chair and lay down, paying no attention to him, an outsider.

"My name is Andeni, and I am the Shopkeeper here."

"Who are you to Gron?"

The Halfling Andeni lazily rolled over and asked Gauss with interest.

Gauss explained his relationship with Gron.

To his surprise, Andeni looked incredulous after hearing him.

"Just a shop assistant? Someone who only worked a few days temporarily?"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just didn't expect that old guy to change so much. You know, he wasn't exactly a helpful person in the past." Halfling Andeni blinked. "In fact, he was ruthless."

Gauss was taken aback.

However, he didn't comment on it. After all, Gron had been good to him, and his past had nothing to do with him.

Noticing that Gauss had been momentarily stunned before quickly regaining his composure, Andeni found it uninteresting.

"Are you very familiar with Shopkeeper Gron?"

"We were very close in the past. We were members of the same squad, but we haven't been in contact for many years. It's strange, being in Grayrock Town and all, what a heartless man." Andeni shook her head and sighed, though her face remained calm. "In all these years, Gron has never introduced an outsider to me before."