Scratch that. Before he realized what was happening, Taichi was relieved—until the receptionist led him into a private room. This was apparently necessary because all of the materials he’d sold were of such high rank. After leading him inside, the receptionist disappeared back out the door, leaving him alone with Luke.
“Oh crap, what do we do? What if they ask a ton of questions?” Taichi’s voice cracked with worry.
“Hmph. You humans are so frail,” Luke said with a snort of derision. “It’s pitiful that your kind expresses such surprise over the death of such weak monsters.” He didn’t seem the least bit bothered by these developments.
Must be nice for him. Meanwhile I’m worried they’re about to interrogate me.
While Taichi was busy imagining the worst, a knock came upon the door before the receptionist from a moment ago slipped back in. She wasn’t accompanied by a stern-looking superior as Taichi had feared. That gave him a bit of relief.
“My apologies for keeping you waiting. The price for the materials you provided are so substantial that I brought you to this room to settle your account privately.”
“Oh, okay.”
So that’s the reason for all this secrecy. Now I get it. When a person won a substantial sum from the lottery, they were given the same treatment. Taichi’s whole body sagged with relief.
“Now, then,” said the receptionist. “All of the materials you’re selling us are from high-ranking monsters. You claim that your tamed Wolfking defeated them all by himself, correct? But this is the first time you have ever used the Adventurers’ Guild, unless I am mistaken.”
I knew it! She is interrogating me!
“Um, uh...” Taichi stammered.
“What is your name?!” the receptionist demanded, voice booming.
“Taichi Arima, ma’am,” he squeaked back.
“And your Adventurers’ Guild card?! Are you even registered with us?!”
She was being awfully intense about all of this. Taichi quickly explained that he was a Tamer, registered with the Tamers’ Guild. He reassured her that he was telling the truth about Luke defeating the monsters on his own.
“Interesting,” she murmured. “You only just registered yourself with the Tamers’ Guild. And here I thought high-ranking Tamers were a myth. I suppose they must exist after all.” The receptionist nodded to herself. “Excuse me for saying this, but you don’t look particularly strong.” She didn’t hesitate to give him her full scathing assessment.
Taichi choked out a dry laugh. Yeah, I guess I am a weakling. “Anyway, that’s why I came here: to sell the materials I have.”
“Yes, I understand. I simply didn’t expect you to be such an exceptional person. Since you already registered with the Tamers’ Guild, I hope you’ll show our Adventurers’ Guild the same patronage.” She clapped her hands together and thrust a jingling bag of coins onto the table in front of him, presumably his fee for all of the materials he’d brought. “Ten thousand Chel per Red Wolf, which you brought three of. The Wild Raptor is worth thirteen thousand Chel, and the Platinum Golem is worth three million Chel. Altogether, you have earned 3,043,000 Chel.”
“Huh...” Taichi was so stunned by the final sum that he was speechless. His jaw hung open.
When he peeked inside the coin bag, he found three large gold coins, four small gold coins, and three large silver coins. All of a sudden, Taichi was rich.
“I’ve got more than enough savings now!” Taichi pumped his fists excitedly, which earned him a giggle from the receptionist.
“Planning to buy equipment or something?” she asked. A reasonable assumption—his earnings would easily pay for a full set. Little did she know, Taichi planned to use his savings for something else altogether.
“I’m actually planning to open my own fluffy café.”
“A what?”
He nodded vigorously. “It’s a café where you can pet all sorts of monsters.”
She stared blankly at him, which was all the confirmation he needed to know that—as he’d suspected—this world had no concept of animal-type cafés. Perhaps he could have explained his vision better if he had an adorable cat with him. Instead, Taichi was accompanied by an enormous wolf.
Thoughtful, the receptionist finally said, “Why not? It’s a shame you aren’t an adventurer, but it would be reassuring all the same to have a strong Tamer running a café in our city!”
“Oh. Yeah, I guess so.”
She was thinking of it from a defense standpoint, as though he would provide extra security for them. The city already had its own guard, but if something as vicious and powerful as a dragon attacked, those guards might not be able to protect everyone.
“If you’re going to be doing business, you’ll need to contact the Commerce Guild,” said the receptionist.
“I’ve never been there before. Could you give me directions?”
“Certainly.”
Although he had the necessary savings, Taichi knew nothing about business, nor the process involved with creating one. It was lucky for him that the receptionist was willing to fill him in. According to her, the Commerce Guild was along the main thoroughfare and oversaw all manner of businesses.
“Make sure to let me know once you have your fluffy café up and running. I’ll swing by and visit.”
“Will you?! I’d love that!”
And with that, Taichi had secured his first customer. He still had a steep hill ahead of him, but he couldn’t wait to make his dream a reality.