Chapter 9:
Headache Relief and the
Rainbow Grasshopper
AT FIRST, the adventurers from Lahmu seemed to lose interest in teasing me. Instead, they started grilling me about how I made the Stone Bullet bigger. Of course, I wasn’t about to tell them. This prompted them to hurl their most pathetic insults yet.
“You’re such a stupid dummy, we hope you get eaten by monsters!”
I didn’t even know what to say. I mean, how do you respond to such a childish insult? At any rate, they flounced away shortly after, and I was left to roam the plains on my own. It wasn’t long before I defeated a second and third goblin. For both, I fell back on my tried and true strategy of knocking them down with a Stone Bullet and finishing them off with my sword.
“And that’s all six I need for the request!”
It really was easy to take out low-level enemies with my current skills. If they had been even a little more powerful, they probably could have dodged. That was the thing about leveling—it didn’t just make individuals physically potent. Higher levels meant a wealth of experience and knowledge too.
“Ms. Lola! I’m back!”
“Oh! I just knew you’d make it, Mr. Noir.” Lola stood up to greet me as I walked into the guild hall and gave me the 8,000 rels reward. Then, curiously, she picked up a bell and started ringing it. “Mr. Noir Stardia has completed his first request!”
Even though it was evening, there were still a number of adventurers in the guild hall. At the sound of the bell, all of them stood and started clapping.
“Congratulations!”
“Now you’re really one of us.”
“We’re here for you if you ever want to form a party!”
I was unexpectedly overwhelmed with a sense of warmth. I had joined the guild to make money for my tuition, but now I was genuinely happy to be part of it.
“Thank you, everyone! Your support means a lot!”
I bowed and greeted the senior members of the guild. Being recognized as a proper member felt even more amazing. As though I really belonged here.
I assured Lola I’d be back the next day and headed out. The money from completing my first request jangled in my purse. I knew I should save it, but I decided to treat myself just this once and buy something delicious on my way home. But as I was browsing the food stalls on the market street—
“Have you seen Noir?!”
I overheard three people going around begging for news about me. As I approached, I realized they had unusually serious expressions on their faces.
“Father, mother, and even you, Alice? What are you doing here?”
“Whoaaa! Thank goodness, you’re alive!”
“Huh? Whoa!”
The three of them embraced me, stopping the conversation dead in its tracks. When I finally got them to respond to my question, the answer surprised me.
“You never came home!”
“Yeah, we were worried you failed the entrance exam and the shock might have…”
“Made you remove yourself from this world…”
“Why the hell would I do that?!” I thought my family knew me better than that. I wasn’t the kind of person to off myself. As unflattering as it was to admit, I’d rather live a miserable, pathetic life than die. That said, people have died over less, I suppose. Honestly, I was kind of happy they were so concerned for me. “Don’t worry,” I reassured them. “I passed. I ranked third, even.”
“Wooooow! N-N-N-Noir, you’re kidding, right?!”
“No father, I’m telling the truth.”
“Tomorrow I’m bragging about this to everyone I know!” My father cheered and threw his fist up toward the sky.
Forget tomorrow, he immediately caught every person who passed by to tell them. I was so embarrassed, I asked the nearby butcher for some chicken as a distraction to try to get my father to calm down.
“Wait, isn’t that the top-grade stuff that costs 5,000 rels?!” my mother asked, beginning to panic.
“Rest easy, mother. That’s not the only news I have for you. I’ve started work as an adventurer, and today, I completed my first request and earned 8,000 rels as compensation. That’s why I was so late getting home.”
“Goodness, you’ve surpassed father’s earnings in a single day, brother dearest!”
“Aliiiice stop! Don’t destroy your poor father’s dignity!” my father cried, deeply wounded.
Normally, the nobility owned land or had a village somewhere that they could use to generate income, but we weren’t so fortunate. If we didn’t work, we didn’t eat. But my father was a proud man.
“This windfall is all well and good, but I’m still your father and it’s my job to ensure that my children are properly educated. Noir, how much is your tuition?”
“I need 300,000 rels next week.”
“How about…in a month?”
“Father, please. Don’t worry about it. I’ll pay my own way.”
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…”
Despite my father’s regrets, the four of us returned home in good spirits and I was able to treat my family to a delicious chicken.