Chapter 2 The Party of Novices and a Level-1 Veteran Part 1: Reward and a Toast We gathered up the bows of the dead archers and the hobgoblin’s metal earring as proof that we’d managed to fight them off. One characteristic of monsters was that when they lost a fight, the border of what was considered their territory would retreat, effectively distancing them from the nearest human settlement. Thanks to this, the hobgoblin we fought wouldn’t be approaching Fortune again anytime soon. When we gave our report at one of the guild counters and turned in the things we’d picked up, we received forty-two silver coins in exchange. “Wha—? Do we really get this much?” Lystie asked. “This hobgoblin has been seen close to Fortune before and has therefore been assigned a bounty,” the receptionist explained. “The breakdown of the payout is as follows: thirty silver for the hobgoblin, and three silver for each of the four goblins.” That made the reward a little over four gold coins. It was a small fortune when combined with what had been in the treasure chest. The girls’ reactions told me how little they had earned as adventurers so far. “I also recommend that you check out the requests on the bulletin board,” the receptionist continued. “When you clear those, you earn completion points, and when you have enough completion points, I’ll be able to introduce you to better jobs.” “Mm, we plan to,” Platinum replied. “It’s just that so far, we’ve struggled with finding the target for subjugation requests or failed to take them down for one reason or another. Today has given us a large boost in self-confidence.” The receptionist smiled. “Looks like getting a fourth member was the right call after all.” The three girls all turned to look at me at the same time. “…Oh? So he isn’t a member of your party yet? I’m very sorry for misunderstanding… That was certainly the impression I got.” “Huh? Oh, um, Might is just someone we asked for help this time,” Lystie explained. “Her feminine intuition was right on the money,” Platinum quipped. Seeing the confusion on the receptionist’s face, Nanase said, “You can ignore about half of what Ms. Platinum says. We’ll see you again, Ms. Receptionist.” After forcibly ending the conversation, our group left the counter, only to be mobbed by the nearby adventurers who had heard how much we’d been paid. People were always scouting in guilds for new party members, so big earners always drew a crowd. “Y-you girls, would you be interested in joining our party?” “Wouldn’t you rather join a party that’s all women instead of one that’s full of men?” “Now hold on. I had my eye on them first!” In the blink of an eye, a fierce scramble had broken out around us. I’d heard about how popular Lystie’s group was, but seeing it in person was something else entirely. I wondered how they felt about being so hotly sought-after. “Um…I’m sorry, but we have something to discuss with him after this.” Exclamations of surprise went up as everyone turned their attention to me, followed by murmurs of “Who’s that?,” “I saw him earlier,” and “That’s the newbie mage.” “What’s more, we have no interest in joining other parties,” Lystie continued. “We’re doing just fine on our own.” “I see… Honestly, that’s a real shame, but if you ever need help, feel free to come to me for advice.” “No, thank you. We already have someone for that, too.” “What…?! You went to someone other than me for advice?!” The speaker was a swordsman with blond hair. Out of everyone who had approached, he seemed the most self-assured, but now he looked shocked. Then he noticed me and scoffed for some reason. “Hah! You look upon Brandt Schwaig, the strongest adventurer in all of Fortune. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone as reliable as I! Hear this: You will ask for my help sometime in the near future!” “Uh…sure.” Unfazed by Lystie’s tepid reply, Brandt swept out of the guild. He was followed by an excessively muscular old man and a woman in a Maid uniform who were likely his party members. “Lystie and Platinum tend to draw all the attention, so let’s sneakily make our exit,” Nanase whispered to me, tiptoeing to reach my ear. Man, her sense of personal space is as close as ever. “Ugh, what I wouldn’t give to have a quiet girl like her whisper in my ear!” “I hear she makes potions and stuff. Her smarts are just one more thing to love about her.” Although Nanase thought she didn’t draw any attention, it turned out she had an appeal that spoke to a different bracket of fans. After leaving the guild, I joined Lystie’s group for a meal. Being the City of Pleasure, Fortune had restaurants ranging from super high-end to ridiculously cheap. The place that Lystie chose was the tavern run by the inn where she was staying, because it was already open despite still being light out. We ordered a meat dish the proprietress recommended, and our drinks arrived while we waited for it to arrive. Everyone had gone with apple ale, which turned out to be pretty much juice. This country had no law limiting what age someone had to be to drink, but some establishments refused to serve alcohol to underage customers. I had no idea how well Lystie’s group could hold their liquor but figured they should be fine with something this weak. At least, that’s what I hoped. “First, a toast to thank Might for his help and to celebrate our success! Cheers!” “Cheers!” the rest of us echoed Lystie. After knocking my wooden mug against the others’, I tried a sip. “Ahh… This is actually pretty good.” “Isn’t it?” Lystie agreed. “I had it for the first time when I arrived in Fortune. I love drinking it after finishing a job.” “It’s one of the perks of being an adventurer!” remarked Platinum. “Did you know that making alcohol is similar to making potions?” Nanase said. “I tried it once and had a terrible time when I drank it myself, though.” “Did you try the potion you threw at the hobgoblin earlier on yourself, too?” I asked. “My level as an Apothecary is still low, so even I don’t know what effects my potions have sometimes. But don’t worry—I can at least tell when something is too dangerous to put in my mouth.” “You didn’t really have to test that potion that makes you hungry on yourself, though, did you? Not with how little we’ve had to eat recently,” Lystie commented. “We got really unlucky on that request,” said Platinum. “The cat we were hired to find ended up coming home by itself, so they didn’t pay out the reward… If we’d gotten just one silver, we could have bought something other than that rock-hard bread.” Without completing requests, successfully finding things, or killing monsters, adventurers had no source of income. This was especially true in a city as large as Fortune, where it was tough for beginners to secure regular jobs that would pay out. “That rock bread actually had flavor once you chewed it enough. I didn’t hate it.” “Did you hear that, Mr. Might? Ms. Lystie is so pretty and seems so highborn, but she scrimps and saves like it’s her life motto.” “Wha—? Highborn? Me? Of course not. I’m simply a run-of-the-mill adventurer who wanders the land.” “Indeed, Lystie is telling the truth. And I’m just Platinum the Silver Flash.” “I don’t think bringing up your alias there helps make your point, but never mind. So, Lystie, Platinum, you two knew each other from before and came to this city together?” “You can say that. And Nanase came to Fortune in search of work and registered with the guild on the same day we did.” “I was looking to join a party, so I approached them. Ms. Lystie had a fancy sword, and Ms. Platinum had a shield, so I thought they seemed strong. I’m level 2 and they’re both level 3. What about you, Mr. Might?” “As I told Lystie before, I’m level 1.” “…What?” Nanase froze in shock, so I showed her my white card. When she saw the field that read Level 1, she blinked a few times. “Are all Sages just really powerful even at level 1?” “I have a feeling that Might’s a special case,” Lystie replied. “Speaking of, since you’re a Sage, can you use other spells, too?” “I don’t know if it’s because I’m only level 1 or because I’m different, but you know the key I used to open the treasure chest earlier? I made that with magic.” “Would that be the Unlock spell, then? I’ve heard of it being used in parties that don’t have someone with a vocation that can open locks.” To my knowledge, only high-level mages could use that spell. I wondered if my history of once being a Thief had something to do with my ability to create keys out of mana even at level 1. “By the way,” Platinum continued, “I’m eighteen, Lystie is fifteen, and Nanase is fourteen. How old are you, Sir Might?” “I’m…fifteen, apparently.” “Well, there’s no way to lie on your white card,” Lystie said. “Might… You really are the same age as me, aren’t you?” “So you’re older than me by a year,” Nanase commented. “I’ve been calling you ‘Mr. Might,’ but it seems like it fits.” I was pretty sure Lystie had called me “Mr. Might,” too, when I opened the chest, but that was likely because she’d been surprised by the contents. Normally, she just called me “Might” without any title or honorific. “It’s really good motivation having someone as strong as you around our age,” Lystie said. “I’m sure we’ll see you around town in the future, so I hope you’ll stop and have a chat with us.” “Of course. It would be my pleasure.” I was already planning on staying in Fortune for a while, so there was nothing better than having people I knew here. Our food arrived while we were still chatting. Slabs of meat sizzled tantalizingly on hot metal plates. One glance was all it took to discern that the chef here was a master. “Is this really okay?” Nanase seemed to ask herself. “It’s so luxurious that if I actually eat this meat, I’ll turn into a contented puddle and be of no use to anyone anymore.” “As long as you carry out your role when we need you to, feel free to indulge yourself now,” Lystie replied. “Eating properly is also an important part of preparing yourself,” Platinum advised. “There’s no telling when we’ll get another official job.” “Very true,” I said. “And hey, if you find something good, let me know.” I cut into my meal and took a bite of meat for the first time in a long while. Being an elf, Sheska didn’t eat meat, and we’d always eaten together as a party whenever we found a place that served delicious vegetarian food. Remembering her also reminded me of Falina and Enju. I wondered where they were at the moment and what they were doing. When I looked at the three girls in front of me, I just couldn’t help thinking about my old party. Part 2: Commotion at Night After sunset, the tavern started to fill up and grew quite rowdy. At our table was Lystie, who was clearly highborn, Platinum, stalwart and sincere, and Nanase, the intelligent herbalist. It seemed logical, therefore, to assume that this wasn’t a table that would contribute much to the noise and clamor of the establishment. “…So the man said he’d introduce me to a job. I thought it would be as an adventurer, but then I got handed this beautiful dress. I came here to be an adventurer, though, not to wear pretty outfits, so I turned it d—Hey, are you listening?” “O-of course I am. Good on you, Lystie. I think you made the right call.” “Well, I think so, too! The pay was much more generous than normal adventuring jobs, but an adventurer has to earn their living from adventuring!” For a while now, I’d been forced to sit through stories of the rocky first days that Lystie’s group had experienced in Fortune. The more Lystie drank, the more she started rambling—but I was a practiced hand at dealing with girls in this state. It was simple: I listened and made noises to show that I was paying attention every once in a while. That was it. “Thing is, the person who offered us that job wasn’t even looking at me. If the other two wanted to do it, I was willing to do it, too. We pro—hic—promised that we would share all the ups and downs together, after all.” “I—I see. That must have been tough.” True to its reputation as the City of Pleasure, Fortune had establishments offering all sorts of different forms of entertainment. Although it attracted its fair share of visitors from out of town, many residents also went to the nightlife area when the sun went down, hoping to wash away their troubles. The guys at the tables near ours were also getting worked up, raring to head out to the pleasure district. “Tch, look at that guy, showing off the fact that he’s with three girls. Sure, I’m jealous, but it feels like he’s just rubbing our faces in it.”
Chapter 7
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