The Exiled Knight Takes Up Life as an Adventurer — A Former Captain's Secret Power and His Carefree Days in a Distant Land - Chapter 14

Two days had passed since I accepted the quest.

That morning, I headed to the Fishermen’s Guild, located right in front of the port.

It was a sturdy, two-story stone building, with wings stretching out from either side of the central entrance.

Its long, breakwater-like design was apparently intentional—built to protect the port market from sea winds and ocean spray.

It used to be a much smaller building, but after the fishing industry flourished, it was expanded.

Now, it was even larger than the town hall and considered one of Tirkoa’s tourist landmarks.

At the entrance, I showed my Adventurer Card and stepped into the main hall.

The auction had already begun.

“Looks like things are heating up.”

About a hundred people sat in rows of chairs, shouting bids toward the items displayed on the front table.

“Two gold coins!”

“Three!”

“Sold! Three gold coins!”

I stood by the wall, observing the auction when a hand clapped down on my shoulder.

“Morning, Mardin.”

“Oh—Grek. Morning.”

It was Grek, the fisherman I knew well.

“You just here to watch?”

“Yeah, that and… I took on a caravan escort job for some of the salvaged goods. I figured I’d get a feel for the atmosphere.”

“Got it. The wine’s already been bought up, so now they’re auctioning off furniture, weapons, and oddities.”

One item after another was brought to the front—pots, plates, even pieces of furniture.

They were probably fixtures from the sunken ship.

Eventually, weapons and armor started coming up for bid.

As an adventurer, those naturally caught my attention—but items that had sunk into the sea were rarely usable.

The merchants who bought them would just clean them up, tack on a dramatic backstory, and sell them for a profit.

If you didn’t know what to look for in a weapon, you’d be an easy mark.

Not all merchants are honest.

“Next up—a rather unusual item! Material unknown. Thread reel! Perfect for fishing!”

“Thread reel, huh?”

I use Raphil thread as a tool.

Back in my knight days, I was embarrassingly nicknamed “The Thread User.”

It was rare in my homeland, but in this fishing town, you could find Raphil easily at any equipment shop.

A staff member held up a wooden box, revealing the Raphil inside.

It was coiled into a loop, and true enough, the material was unidentified.

“Could that be… monster material?”

It wasn’t certain, but it looked like it came from some kind of arthropod-type monster.

Maybe it was spun by a Fang Spider Denefis.

If so, it’d be a rare find.

“Three silver coins!”

I raised three fingers and held up my hand.

I was joining the bidding.

“Oh, you’re going in, Mardin?”

“Yeah, I actually use Raphil thread.”

“But some of the fishermen are eyeing it too.”

Just as Grek said, more bids flew in.

“Five coins!”

“Seven!”

“Nine!”

The numbers kept climbing.

“Hey, Mardin. Next one’s in gold.”

“Yeah… what to do…”

My budget capped at one gold coin.

I couldn’t go beyond that.

At auctions, once the unit moves up—from silver to gold—you can no longer use smaller denominations.

Once it hits gold coins, it’s just a battle of who can pay more.

“One gold coin!”

I steeled myself and shouted my bid.

“Two!”

“…Seriously?”

My bid was instantly beaten.

“Tch. Guess I’m out.”

“Ha! You’re up against rich fishermen, after all. The guy who just outbid you? He hauled in a massive Unicorn Tuna Grarda yesterday. That alone’s worth several gold coins.”

“Fishermen, huh…”

“If only you could swim.”

“Shut it.”

Grek wasn’t wrong—fishermen in this town were making good money.

If it were just about income, I’d be better off doing that. People from other regions even came here to work.

But I couldn’t swim.

And more importantly, I wasn’t here just to earn gold.

I just wanted to live quietly as an adventurer.

The auction continued, featuring one rare item after another.