Since I fell asleep right after su, it’s only natural that I woke up early.

  In this world where light is a luxury, I ’t be active in plete darkness, so it’s only natural to wake up early. But it really makes me realize how much of a luxury it is to be able to move around freely during the te hours of the night.

  I squirm around in the b, which has a peculiar texture, and mao crawl out of the straw bed that’s dented from the weight of my child-sized body.

  Opening the stable door first thing in the m is quite the heavy bor for my small frame.

  But once I mao open the door, I see the faint light of dawn gradually brightening the sky.

  "It’s cold."

  The wind sneaking through the gaps is chilly, and I ’t help but rub my arms over my clothes.

  At least it helps me wake up a little.

  "Should I wash my face?"

  But I o fully wake up my still groggy head. sidering what I have to do , I o minimize any risks as much as possible.

  I drop the bucket with a rope attached to it o the well and use the pulley to draw up some water.

  "This is tough."

  Once again, the drawbacks of having a child’s body weigh on me.

  I desperately draw the water, sweat dripping down my face.

  "Ugh, I hate this weak body."

  My skinny frame has barely any muscle. It’s so exhausting that I almost feel like I’ve used up all my energy for the day just drawing water from the well.

  "Now I have to wipe my body instead of just my face."

  At least it woke me up.

  I iece of cloth and wipe off the sweat. It’s cold, but it feels refreshing.

  "Alright."

  This should be enough for now. I put the training bracelet and the Mark of the Weakling I bought yesterday into a basket and grab the leather pouch that serves as my wallet.

  It feels like I’m carrying as much equipment as I , but there’s no helping it. This is my best gear right now.

  I goward the shop and see smoke rising from the ey. The mistress must already be up.

  "I should probably let them know."

  Leaving without saying anything might e off as rude.

  I approach the back door and knock—more like bang—to let them know I’m here. Within seds, the door creaks open.

  "Oh, it’s you. You’re up early."

  "Good m."

  "M. Did something happen?"

  "No, I’m about to head out, so I thought I’d let you know."

  "Is that so? Wait a moment."

  The mistress es out. It must be unusual for a kid like me to be up this early, as she looks surprised at first. But after I expin that I just came to say goodbye, she goes baside for a moment.

  "Here, take this. It’s just some leftovers from yesterday."

  She hands me a small bundle ed in a cloth.

  "Uh…"

  "It’s breakfast. Eat well and work hard."

  "Ah, thank you."

  "Good job saying thank you."

  As I take it, I catch a whiff of something delicious. My stomach growls, and I quickly thao cover it up. The mistress chuckles and roughly pats my head.

  Unfortunately, I don’t have any hair, so it’s just the bandana, but her kindness feels different from the shopkeeper’s.

  "Work in a way that won’t shame the gods!"

  "Yes! I’m off!"

  "Alright, take care."

  She gently removes her hand from my head aures for me to go with her . I instinctively say, "I’m off!" and she smiles again as she sees me off.

  With that momentum, I leave through the back of the shop.

  The town of Rendel is different from the game in the small details.

  But the overall yout is the same.

  I should be able to reach my destination.

  "Found it."

  Even though it’s early m, with the sun just starting to rise, the town of Rendel is already bustling with activity.

  Without the venience of electricity, people have no choice but to live a primitive lifestyle—active during the day and asleep at night.

  That’s why, when it was juat the game era, there were no 24-hour shops, but there were stores that opened early in the m.

  Following that knowledge, I find the shop I’m looking for.

  Swords and shields—in this world, the designs might vary slightly, but it’s essentially the same kind of shop: a on store.

  "Huh? What’s a brat like you doing here so early? We don’t have any ons for sy kids like you."

  As I step inside, a bald, bearded man who looks somewhat familiar gres at me with eyes that could kill.

  "I have money! I want a sharp bamboo spear!"

  He waves his hand dismissively, trying to shoo me out of the shop. I guess he doesn’t see me as a er.

  But I lift my wallet ahe s jihrough the pouch as I tell him what I want.

  "A bamboo spear?"

  Thanks to that, he seems to at least aowledge me as a er.

  In FBO, there are more ons than there are skills.

  Naturally, among them are ons made from bamboo. The bamboo spear is one of the weakest spear-type ons, alongside the wooden spear.

  Its attack power, which is crucial for on use, is the lowest among spears, and its durability is also among the worst of all ons. It’s barely passable as equipment.

  It’s no wonder he’s looking at me suspiciously, w why a kid would want such a thing.

  "You don’t have any?"

  "Nah, but I make one."

  Seeing his rea, I firm with certainty. Just like in the game, they don’t stock the weakest ons in the shop. This is part of the questline.

  This is a frugal quest, a simple errand-type quest.

  "Then, could you make one for me?"

  "Even if it’s bamboo, it’s still a order. It’ll cost you a thousand zeni."

  A thousahat’s about 100,000 yen in Japanese currency.

  If I were to sell a bamboo spear back to the shop, I’d only get three zeni. sidering that, a thousand zeni is clearly a rip-off. In Japanese yen, that’s about 300 yen, and with a thousand zeni, I could buy a metal knife.

  "...I ’t afford that."

  "Then give up."

  However, earning that much money without a on is nearly impossible. It’s irely out of the question, but it’s dangerous.

  Normally, I’d give up here.

  But for me, the sound of a bell—or rather, the g of a frying pan—echoes from the front of the shop. It’s a painful sound for the on shop owner, but for me, it’s like a gospel.

  "You! I’ve been listening to your versation. How you rip off a kid like that? Have you ?!"

  "Ouch! What the hell are you doing?!"

  She’s here! It was a gamble whether she’d show up, but I wo!

  A well-built woman with the ears of a giant emerges from the back of the shop and, without hesitation, swings a bck frying pan at the shopkeeper’s head. The burly shopkeeper looks small pared to her as she gres at him, breathing heavily.

  "Even if he’s a kid, he’s dressed properly and has money! Besides, you could whip up a bamboo spear in ten or twenty minutes! With your skills, you should treat even a kid with some siy, or this shop will go under!"

  "Shut up! I don’t have time to deal with brats! Besides, I used up all the bamboo yesterday! The thousand zeni includes the fee for me to go get more!"

  This is a familiar versation. It’s a detour that you’d normally never enter if you’re just following the main story. It’s a quest that’s hard to discover because it requires specifiditions: a bamboo spear with minimal equipment ahan a hundred zeni.

  **"The Beginning of a Master Craftsman"**

  This is the first story of Ganj, the mediocre bcksmith.

  His bcksmithing skills are barely passable, he’s zy, greedy, aers those above him while looking down on those below. On top of that, his level is low.

  He’s a typical good-for-nothing, but thanks to his straightforward wife, he mao keep the shop running. That’s the fvor text for this quest.

  "Then, if I go get the bamboo, will you make it cheaper for me?"

  The quest usually stalls here as the wife and Ganj tiue. But if you make this proposal within five mihe argument stops.

  "Well, that solves the problem, doesn’t it? After all, the bamboo grove is only about ten minutes’ walk from the east gate! That should cut out the handling fee!"

  And the wife backs me up.

  "Tch, fine. Briwenty good-quality bamboo stalks, and I’ll make it for you."

  "Huh? Twenty?"

  "Deal! But I’ll make it for free!"

  He’s making o attempt to be difficult, but that’s to be expected.

  "In that case, I’d like to borrow a cart and a hatchet. I ’t carry twenty bamboo stalks by myself."

  If you try to iate poorly here, Ganj will get stubborn and refuse to listen, causing the quest to fail.

  "Hmph, take this hatchet. The cart’s in the back—take the old one."

  So, instead of iating, I agree and ask for the cart and a tool to cut the bamboo. Iurn, I get a rusty hatchet and a rickety cart.

  Of course, these are borrowed items. If I sell or break them, Ganj will demand an eous sum ter.

  "Hey, you ’t give him such shoddy tools."

  "Hmph, if some brat I don’t know runs off with them, I’m screwed. Be grateful I’m lending them at all."

  The wife frowns at the tools he hands over, but since Ganj has a point, she doesn’t push further.

  "Thank you. I’ll be off now."

  "Wait! Take this. Show it to the gate guards, and they’ll let you through without paying the entrance fee."

  I’m actually grateful to Ganj, so I thank him and head out, but the wife hurriedly hands me a wooden pass.

  This is a huge help.

  It’s a pass that I was supposed to get much ter.

  It’s quest-specific, but it saves me ten zeni every time I enter.

  Ganj is gring at the wife, but she gres back, and he quickly looks away.

  "Thank you."

  "Be careful out there. It’s he city gates, so there aren’t many monsters, but you ’t be too sure."

  I bow in gratitude for the savings, but she seems uneasy about sending a kid outside, even if it’s he safe capital.

  "Yes, I’ll be careful."

  But seeing my skinny frame, she probably thinks I have to work to survive. She gives me a sad smile but doesn’t say anything more.

  She pulls out a rickety two-wheeled cart from the back—the kind that makes you wonder how it even moves—and hands it to me.

  I start pulling it toward the east gate.

  By the time I finish all this, the sun is fully up, and the m market is in full swing.

  I pull the cart through the noisy crowd, but no one says a thing.

  I guess it’s normal in this world for kids to work.

  I see a few kids helping their parents with their work at the market.

  That works in my favor.

  The protagonist usually moves around the town as an adult.

  I’d hate to be stopped by the guards like in Japan, where kids moving around alone would be questioned.

  I avoid the main streets.

  Those are for people using carriages and horses. For someone like me with a hand-pulled cart, I take the narrower paths toward the east gate to leave the city.

  "What’s your reason for leaving?"

  "I’m going to get some bamboo outside."

  "I see. The gates close at dusk, so make sure you’re back by then."

  "Yes."

  "Be careful."

  "Yes."

  In isekai novel , this is where some trouble would usually happen, but thankfully, there don’t seem to be any adults who’d bother a kid. As long as I don’t stick my nose where it doesn’t belong, the guards let me through without issue.

  There are some noble-looking people around, but it’s the guards’ job to keep them from iing with a kid like me. It takes a while to get through the gate, but…

  "Ah."

  Finally, I’m outside the city, and the untouched natural ndscape feels like the start of an RPG adve’s not a bad feeling.

  "But it’s different."

  Even though there were differences iown, the outside world, with its natural enviro, feels distinctly different. The pt of trees, the growth of grass in the fields, the wildflowers, and the clouds—there are too many differeo t.

  It’s refreshing, and the walk to my destination is enjoyable.

  "This pce is pretty different too."

  With an adult’s legs, it would take about ten minutes, but with a child’s body and a cart, it takes about thirty mio reach the destination.

  It’s a bit odd to find a bamboo grove in a Western-style world, but si’s on a slightly sloped hill, it makes sense.

  "Alright, if I bring this back, they make it."

  I feel relieved to see the objey quest right in front of me. I pull the rickety cart as close as possible and grab the rusty hatchet as I approach the bamboo grove.

  "The unbreakable bamboo spear…"