“What’s wrong? Why’d you stop all of a sudden?” the red-haired girl asked, puzzled.
None of them had noticed that the lock was glowing, but the blue-haired girl did spot the key in my hand. Regardless, there was no reason why it would have anything to do with their treasure chest. Even I didn’t know how long I’d been holding the key. I hadn’t done anything—at least, not on purpose. Maybe I’d done it unconsciously.
“…Something caught my attention, but I’m not sure what it is.”
“Oh, that happens to me, too, sometimes. It’s called déjà vu, right?”
“Hmm. Is that like the sudden feeling you get when you’re not sure whether you locked your door?”
“That’s…a bit different. In any case, do we know that person over there?” The blue-haired girl examined me from head to toe. Well, maybe not quite, but she did study me quite intently. It seemed like she was about to talk to me, then thought better of it at the last moment.
“No, I don’t think so.”
With that, the three of them exited the building.
“Hey there. I don’t remember seeing you around,” a middle-aged man said, walking up to me. He didn’t look like a bad person, but there was a faint waft of alcohol on his breath despite it being daytime. “Since you look curious, I’ll tell you. Those three came to this city a month ago.”
“Ooh, I see.” It didn’t look like he knew who I was. For my part, I had no intention of spreading the word that I had defeated the Demonic Dragon and changed vocations, so I decided to talk to him like I really was someone just starting out.
“All three are absolute beauties, so all the young’uns are losing their heads over them. They’ve tried all sorts of things to recruit those girls to their party, but… You wanna hear what happened?”
“Stop grandstanding, Gotts. You did the same thing!”
“I’ll be speaking from experience, then. All beautiful flowers have thorns. Don’t you ever forget that, lad.”
I never did get to hear what happened, but I could guess. The three girls were extremely popular in this guild and had received a huge number of invitations to join parties. It wasn’t like I didn’t understand why the other adventurers had such trouble controlling themselves, but personally, I only saw them as young, unseasoned beginners.
“Thank you for waiting… Oh, a newcomer?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“The way you talk makes people misunderstand you sometimes. But you’re not as bad as people make you out to be.”
“I also thought you had a prickly personality when I first met you. I know what you’re really like now, though.”
✦ ✦ ✦
A few comments from Falina and Sheska popped into my mind. At the time, I’d been a little miffed by the jabs at me, but now I could speak in a respectful way without much problem. Unlike when I was a Thief, I wanted to settle situations in a peaceful manner as much as possible. Perhaps having a different vocation was affecting my personality.
“First, may I have your name, please?”
“Um… Might Slade.”
“Thank you. I will address you as ‘Mr. Might,’ then. Next, we’ll test your vocation and level. Please touch this card.”
It was a guild card. The one I used to have was a black card—the highest rank—but that could only be used by those at level 90 or higher. Feeling a wave of nostalgia, I reached for the white card used by novices.
“…A level-1 Sage. Would you like to proceed with your registration?”
I almost let out a cry of joy. Now that I had confirmation from a guild, there was no doubt about it: I had turned into a Sage.
“Sir? Is there a problem?”
“Oh… Uh, no, sorry. Yes, I’d like to register.”
Being excited for no apparent reason would make me seem like a weirdo, but I had a burning question that I just had to ask.
“Um, sorry. I have a bit of a weird question…”
“Of course, feel free to ask me anything.”
“Can Sages use magic even at level 1?”
“…I’m sorry?” The woman looked confused, as if she couldn’t understand why I’d just asked that. “Everyone’s vocation is determined at birth—including magic-based roles. This city, Fortune, is also called the First Town because the area is for people who are level 10 and below, but most applicants who come to our guild are at least level 3. By that stage, they have already gained a rudimentary understanding of how to use their skills and may even have a little battle experi… Oh.”
Partway through her explanation, the receptionist seemed to realize something.
“I’m guessing you don’t get a whole lot of level-1 applicants,” I said.
“Th-that is correct. Forgive me for saying this, but it is a rare occurrence of late.”
“Hm, that means I’ll probably have some trouble finding people to party up with.”
“I’m afraid so… Oh dear, what to do? I can’t exactly accompany you, but I’m also worried about letting someone as young as you take on requests all by yourself…”
I almost reflexively protested at being called young, but my age had been clearly stated on the guild card when I touched it. Apparently, I was now fifteen. I had no idea why, but one possibility that crossed my mind was that the goddess I met had lowered my age, too, so it made more sense for me to be level 1. I’d probably have to meet her again to know for sure.