As they entered the inn, the boisterous atmosphere fell momentarily silent.

The inn was filled with guests. Their attention shifted to the two people as conversations ceased. The air was filled with whispers and muffled chuckles, and as their interested eyes landed on him, Seth noticed their mocking looks.

‘My reputation is so bad that everyone here knows about it. It’s not like Seth is famous enough for the entire world to know him. However, because the hero and he both were in the same party, the national hero's reputation rubbed off on him.’ Seth lampooned.

"The famous useless adventurer has graced us with his presence!" a voice called out, followed by uproarious laughter from a group of rugged adventurers in the corner. They clinked their mugs together, their mocking smiles aimed at Seth.

Celia caught up with their meaning and turned to look at Seth's face.

"My reputation must be well-known enough that they recognize the marquess's useless son." Seth shrugged, unperturbed. But inside, he was getting annoyed.

‘Should I act like trash and cause a ruckus right now? Heh. If I wasn’t so broke that I couldn’t compensate for the damage, I would have done so just to annoy them.’

Not all people were like Celia, who would come up to him after learning the unflattering rumor that he was a weak person.

"H-hey, don't listen to what they say. I know that you're different from the rumors that are spreading around." Celia tried hard to find proper words to console Seth.

They had only met for the first time today, so she hadn’t fully trusted him and was slightly on guard about whether he would cause any trouble.

"It’s fine. Thank you, Celia." Seth’s reply didn’t disappoint her.

‘I would soon leave the village anyway, so what they thought didn’t concern me.’ Seth stopped caring about the other people.

The two of them approached the inn counter, where the innkeeper frowned at the guests.

“Enough! Be a little more respectful. I do not tolerate any kind of harassment in my inn." She reprimanded them, and the commotion subsided before she turned to face the two guests. "So, what brings you here? I’ve seen that the hero and others left, but you remained in this remote settlement. How do you like our village?"

Seth felt surprised that she didn’t judge him. ‘I suppose not everyone cares about the rumor.’

“I think it's a nice village.”

‘It’s the place where I got reincarnated, almost got killed, and then got saved.’

Seth continued. “The people here are nice.”

Sincerely speaking, he was thinking about Celia, Jake, and Grandma Rosa. But the innkeeper thought that he was being sarcastic.

“...”

The innkeeper replied with a stiff smile. "Ah, I see. Our village may be distant, but it has its charm and warmth. Life may be simpler here than in the capital, but the people are kind and welcoming. It's a place where you can find a sense of belonging."

“So, take your time and enjoy your stay.”

"And don't mind the gossip. People love to talk, but it's your actions that define who you are."

"That's right. You treated me nicely, despite the rumor that you would make trouble and hit anyone whenever you liked.” Celia nodded in agreement as she turned to face him. "Let's head upstairs to my room. I don't think it's a good idea to talk here."

The innkeeper raised her eyebrows as she looked at the two of them.

Celia led Seth, who was reluctant, to her small rented room in the inn. The soft glow of a single oil lamp illuminated the rustic space, where a wooden bed, a table, and a messy scroll lay on top of it.

As he stood at the entrance of the room, he couldn't help but feel a bit awkward.

“I’m a man now, so…”

After noticing that Seth wasn't entering the room, Celia turned to him. "Why are you standing there? Come inside."

"It's dangerous to bring a man you don't know into your room."

"I've been treating you for three days, and now you say we don't know each other?" Celia said it with a teasing smile. “There’s nothing wrong with a healer treating their patient.”

“You’re right.” Seth agreed with her explanation. ‘Maybe I’m thinking too much.’

Celia sat on the single bed calmly. “I have to trust you, Seth, especially because we have plans to travel to the capital together.”

“Sorry, I was just worried,” Seth replied with a guilty face.

‘But your kindness would get exploited in the future, as was mentioned in The Summoned Hero.’ he continued in his thought.

As Seth knew that he wasn’t someone unscrupulous, he closed the door behind his back.

"See? You are even worried about me. Don’t worry, I can take care of myself. How else do you think I managed to cross the forest outside the kingdom and arrive here?"

"You are right."

Seth walked into the room and decided to sit in the chair, far from her, where she sat on the bed.

Celia stared at him blankly. "What are you doing? Come here. You don't expect me to heal you from there, do you?"

"I think I already feel better."

"Come here."

Celia showed a scary smile, just like how she would intimidate her younger siblings, who would immediately get obedient to her.

Seth was scared and immediately sat next to her on the bed, keeping a distance. Celia went closer, and they found themselves facing each other.

For the past three days, she has been treating me while he was unconscious. This was the first time they had been this close, so Seth was uneasy.

‘It feels uncomfortable if anyone is too close to me,' he thought.

She stared at his hands, which were turning purple. It had been aching the entire time, but Seth was trying to hide his discomfort from others.

"Anyway, can you tell me what happened to your hands?"

"I couldn't remember how to fight with a blade after I woke up." Seth quickly made an excuse. "But then I discovered that I could use magic. It's easier to control than the dagger, so I've been focusing on honing my magic abilities instead."

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"It's quite unusual for someone who couldn't use magic to gain the ability suddenly." Celia frowned in thought.

She held his fingers and examined them closely.

"What happened to the dagger I gave you?"

"Well, I've realized that I'm more suited to be a long-range fighter. So, I've been practicing with magic attacks instead of relying on close combat."

"I see… So, when you materialize a magic attack, your hand isn’t used to it. Concentrating your mana in one location rather than spreading it uniformly throughout the body is better for fighting, but using too much will result in a backlash."

"You're quite knowledgeable about this."

Celia smiled softly. "I've studied magic extensively. It's important to know how to harness your abilities without putting yourself in harm's way."

“Even though it works well, you still need to look after yourself. Plus, you are still hurt. The core of your body is in a mess.”

Mana, a force, was the source of all magic. A mana core would be located inside the body of anyone who could use magic.

Celia held both of Seth's hands and started to heal them. Her hands had a green glow to them. As a warm current moved through his veins, the pain he was experiencing grew less intense.

“Grandmother Rosa brought you to me out of worry. You ought to have reached out to me right away. I'm happy to help whenever I can.”

“...”

Seth didn’t agree or refuse, as he kept quiet. In the world he previously lived in, there were a lot of good people like her, but the civilization in medieval fantasy was different, as there was more evil, greed, and bloodshed.

Celia's hands were glowing, but suddenly her face went pale as if she were about to pass out.

Seth quickly pulled his hands away from her. “Enough. You don't need to exhaust yourself.”

Mana was needed for healing. If it was depleted, it would make the user tired. If the mana was exhausted fully, it could, at worst, lead them to death.

His limbs still had bruises, so the healing wasn't complete, but it would get better. Seth felt like it wasn’t worth letting Celia get too tired.

“You already used your power to heal the child previously. I keep on troubling you," he mumbled.

"You'll compensate me when we arrive at the capital, though?" Celia was smiling with a tired face.

Seth was affected by her bright personality and felt touched. "Yes, I will."

‘I’ll make sure to repay her debt.’

The journey back to the capital was dangerous, especially because of the potential for encountering bandits along the way.

"We should hire mercenaries to accompany us back to the capital," Seth suggested.

The healer considered his words carefully, nodding in agreement. "Originally, I was planning to hitch a ride with a merchant."

"It's not safe to travel without any protections."

"That's true."

"Do you know of any reliable mercenary groups in the area?"

"We can ask the innkeeper."

“Alright, rest first. I’ll go downstairs.”

Seth left Celia and proceeded downstairs, where the inn was less crowded than before.

He spoke to the innkeeper when he saw her, who had just finished washing a table, about hiring mercenaries for their journey back to the capital.

"We need people who can both protect and cook for us."

Delicious food was essential to survival. Although Celia could cook, Seth didn’t want to bother her the whole time.

"Hm, that could be arranged. How much will you pay?" The innkeeper asked, curious about his offer.

The son of a noble usually wouldn’t care about the amount of payment, and they would give more than necessary.

"Three golds," Seth replied. "The remaining payment will be given once we safely arrive at the capital."

"Three golds?" She repeated, raising an eyebrow.

‘I’m planning to keep my life here so three gold won’t be much.’

One hundred copper coins equaled one silver coin, and ten silver coins equaled one gold coin.

The three gold coins could supply an ordinary family of three with enough to live for half a year. For a trip that would only last two weeks, it was more than sufficient.

Seth was worried that the innkeeper wouldn’t believe him, so he said confidently, "Yes, of course. You know I'm the son of a marquess, right?"

The innkeeper chuckled. "Of course! I wasn't skeptical that you couldn't pay or anything, but I guess it's something that only nobles would do to spend money casually."

“It’s because I’m a noble that I have so many valuable belongings with me. I have to ensure my safety from bandits.” Of course, he was bluffing.

"I see. Then I will do my best to find capable mercenaries for your journey. It might take some time, but I'll make sure they are trustworthy."

“I'm also looking for information about adventurers and any maps they might have."

‘Why would he ask about other adventurers and the maps? Shouldn't he have it already since he’s an adventurer himself.’ The woman's eyes lit up with curiosity but she didn't say her thoughts. "We have a few seasoned adventurers who frequent this place. Let me introduce you to the regulars and see if they can assist you."

With her guidance, Seth followed the innkeeper to a corner table where a group of three men sat, talking with each other while drinking beers.

"Here we are. These are some of the regular adventurers who frequent this inn."

"Ho… I heard you're the hero's party leftovers. What brings you here, kid?"

"If it isn't the son of the marquess."

"Yes, that's me." Seth replied curtly.

He wasn't in the mood to converse with these people who were looking down at him with amusement on their faces.

"He’s seeking information and a map to go back to the capital, so I brought him to you guys." The innkeeper's explanation caused the men's faces to shift as if they had heard something absurd.

“You came from the capital, how come you didn’t know the way back?”

‘Can’t you just be an NPC for once? Don’t use your brain and ask questions!’ Seth quickly made an excuse. “I lost the map.”

"Alright, alright. We get the point. But don't expect it to come for free."

After a brief exchange, one of the adventurers reached into his bag and pulled out a weathered map. He spread it out on the table, revealing a network of lines and markings that represented various regions, dungeons, and hidden treasures.

“This here is the Adventurers' Map. It's been passed down through generations, and it's constantly being updated by those who dare to venture into the unknown.”

Seth tried to look at the map closer, but the man snatched it away.

"Information doesn't come cheap, you know."

"How much is the map?"

"One gold coin, take it or leave it."

"One gold coin? That's quite steep." Seth replied.

His identity might be the son of a marquess, but he was also someone who knew that the price of a map wouldn't be that much. ‘Are you trying to rob me in broad daylight?’

"You won't find a better deal anywhere else, kid. Take it or move along." The man shrugged and pretended to clean up the map, as though he wouldn’t sell it again if I didn’t buy it quickly.

"I’m not paying one gold coin for an old map."

The man stopped his movement and was stunned. "Haha, looks like you have some guts. Alright, how about this? Nine silvers, and that's the final offer."

"Nine silvers? That's still too much." Seth felt like he was losing his patience as he thought about refusing the offer and finding other reliable adventurers.

"You drive a hard bargain. Fine, nine silvers and ninety coppers, but that's the lowest we'll go."

Out of nowhere, someone suddenly slammed the table which startled him and the others seated at the table.

Celia stood next to Seth with a scary smile on her face.

The expression on her face remained unchanged as she said, "At most, the map only cost fifty copper coins."

"Are you two together? I forgot that Miss Healer is here." The man laughed stiffly.

They didn't dare offend a kind healer who treated anyone for free. She was someone valued by the villagers. What if after knowing that they had offended her, the villagers would come knocking on their door and kick them out?

"Were you trying to trick me?" Seth glared at the man who had done all the talking.

"Hahaha, how dare I?" While hooking his arm around the person next to him, the man was laughing nervously. Then, to lighten the mood, the other joined in on the forced laughter.

"Here's the money." Celia placed the coins on the table. The adventurers reluctantly agreed to hand over the map.