The spring was coed. Of course, I would have been more surprised if the spring had a partition that divided itself in half to accommodate males and females separately. I’m sure chivalry would have dictated that us men waited until the ladies finished, but the female, mage-looking adventurer nonchalantly gave her approval for coed bathing.
“Just don’t stare, all right?” she added.
How laid-back. Tiamat, the other lady of the group, had no qualms since she already walked around everywhere naked.
Wait. Are her scales like a layer of clothes?
With inconsequential thoughts like that, I washed up with the clear spring water. The water temperature was quite low. Although it was early summer, it felt like I would be chilled to the bone if I stayed in too long.
“Whew. I can’t wait to go back to town and take a hot bath,” the swordsman-looking man said, as he cleaned himself beside me. I noticed his handsome face, along with his well-toned, sabre-like body. Urgh. No, I wasn’t jealous, dammit! I was an office worker!
“Oh, do Hermits take baths, Sir Eiji?”
Noticing my glance, the man asked a question with a dimpled smile. It was too bright. His cool guy aura was too much for me.
“We do, but no need for all the formalities. I’m just an F-rank.”
I reciprocated the smile. Tiamat and I were both newly registered F-rank adventurers. In other words, we were barely out of orientation. On the other hand, I was told that the team that came to rescue us was solely comprised of A-ranks.
A bona fide A-Team. A certain theme song sprang to mind. In any case, it seemed like an occupation that seniority had no place in. No sense for an ace player to address a rookie with honorifics.
“Oh, no! I wouldn’t dare risk offending a Hermit!” Mister Swordsman waved his hand in denial. “Besides, I don’t like this ranking system. Doesn’t feel right for a kid like me to act all high and mighty just ’cus I got a higher rank.”
“Is that so?”
Exchanging some vague smiles, we stepped out of the spring. While the man was shorter than me, he was almost six feet tall, which made him taller than most in this world. He quickly put on his clothes and extended his right hand.
“I’m Syfer.”
“Nice to meet you. Eiji.”
Charming, down-to-earth, didn’t let his rank get to his head, and had a handsome face and well-toned body. To top it off, Syfer had blonde hair and blue eyes. What a protagonist-type. He must have been quite the lady killer. Like I said, I wasn’t jealous, dammit. I was engaged myself.
“You said you don’t like the ranking system?” I asked, glancing at the rest of the party still in the spring. It seemed like we would have a few moments to talk.
“I’m only seventeen. I’m just a kid with a few more muscles than most, and I know how to swing a sword. But since my abilities on my registration card were high, I got a lot of sweet gigs.”
“Really?”
“Lucrative stuff, both in pay and glory. Went through a bunch of those, and I’m A-rank before I know it. Just two years into the business. What do you think, Mister Hermit?”
“Hm...”
I had to think about this. In the world of bureaucracy, it’s uncommon to see anyone climb a ladder much faster than others. In most cases, seniority rules. No matter how much talent one displays on the job, no one is promoted based on accomplishments.
What about in private corporations? While connections must matter anywhere, I’m sure some private businesses promoted people based on their performance. In two years, though? Not a chance. It’s hard to imagine that someone would be anywhere beyond a step above a rookie after only two years in the business. They wouldn’t even be self-sufficient at that point.
Perhaps I had to compare this to a much more performance-oriented career than a 9-to-5, like professional sports. How about a professional baseball player? Could a star player get away with talking down to someone in the Minors? Of course not.
From what I have heard, people in those career paths are even more particular about etiquette. There are players straight out of high school, and players out of college. Some are drafted later in life, and some people join the team through trades or free agent negotiations. Their time spent in a particular team varied, too.
The only thing they could use to set up a hierarchy in such a situation is age. Regardless of their time spent on the team and their position in it, older members are respected and younger members are looked after. A nicer way of putting this would be to say that one’s experience in life matters more than their experience in the business.
In Syfer’s case, he would have still been a high-schooler in Japan. It was only natural that he was unsure of what to do with the sparkly title given to him.
“I see. I am fourteen years your senior, Syfer. You don’t mind if I speak frankly with you?” I said, speaking frankly already.
“Of course not! Wait, you’re 31, Sir Eiji!?” he replied with joy and surprise at once. This young man was a multitasker.
“You’re almost my father’s age! Do Hermits not age!?”
“No, no. Of course we do. I’m not even fit. My whole body hurts from walking all day yesterday and today.”
Sadly, it was true. I wondered if my muscles would ever be released from soreness.
“Perhaps you just need to train better, Sir Eiji?”
“Maybe I’ll start working out once we’re back in town.”
I shrugged. While a tireless body might have been unachievable, I wanted to be better than spending two days one-way on a journey the average citizen of Azur could make round trip in a single day.
“Oh, I can help you with that. Even just doing the basics would make a big difference, I think.”
Apparently, Syfer was willing to get me into shape. While grateful, I turned down his offer with a smile. Carrying on the baseball comparison, that would be like a little leaguer taking private lessons from a major league star. There would be nothing the little leaguer could learn if the star had any prowess at all. I would have felt too much guilt to use up Syfer’s, or any A-rank adventurer’s, valuable time for such a fruitless activity.
“A nice excuse. The real reason, if I were to put money on it, is that you don’t want to get yourself into what must be rigorous training led by an A-rank adventurer.”
Coming out of the spring with immaculate timing, Tiamat spouted some accurate nonsense.
Come on, you’re making me blush. I’m just a feeble bureaucrat.
In a Japanese period drama, I would have been the one killed three minutes into the episode, or a face in the crowd killed in the climactic sword fight.
“It’s true that I can’t argue any part of the assessment you’ve just made, Tia, but it’s also true that I wouldn’t be able to stand taking time away from Syfer’s life.”
Time is a precious commodity. On top of that, the people of Azur lived much shorter lives than I would.
“Then pay Syfer for his time. You can’t deny, also, that you should get some sort of training.”
Dammit. My partner seemed dead set on getting me to exercise, but I wasn’t done. My heart remained yet unbroken.
“I have no money to hire an A-rank adventurer.”
“How do you know without asking the price? What do you say, Syfer? Just for two hours, each morning. How much would it take to occupy you for that long?” Tiamat asked, with a half-grin on her face.
“How about three silver coins a day?”
That was the equivalent of paying him about 1500 yen an hour. Maybe doable for a couple of sessions, but that wasn’t a price I could afford day after day.
“I can’t afford...”
“Now, now. Don’t rush to conclusions. Let’s ask Syfer’s comrades if that price is adequate. What do you say, adventurers?” Tiamat asked the adventurers as they emerged from the spring.
“Way too high. You kidding me?” said the rogue-looking man.
“I would ask if he didn’t mean to say a different type of coin.” said the mage-looking woman.
“Rip off...” said the hunter-looking, older gentleman.
It was unanimous.
“Wrong coin, huh? Fine. Three bronze coins it is.”
Syfer corrected his price. To 300 yen. Only 150 yen an hour. Despite the ridiculous price-slash, he was sitting there smiling.
“Hm. It’s done, then. Aren’t you glad, Eiji? You now have a combat trainer,” Tiamat declared, as cheerful as ever.
I could smell the corruption from a mile away!