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A well-rounded man jauntily made his way over to one of the counters at Elunheine Adventurer’s Guild.
“Ha~ha~ha! What wonderful weather we have today! The morning sun fills me with energy and vitality. Come now, let’s give our all in completing quests today too!”
This man who was swaggering brazenly while half talking to himself was none other than—
“Oh, it’s the loner uncle.”
“Ditch Cleaning Master!”
“Sup, uncle!”
“I am no uncle!” While being teased by the surrounding adventurers (all of who were older than him), he—Sharlo—widened his eyes in intimidation.
“So you’re going to let the loner part slide?”
“You tell them, Master.”
“Loner-san, way wild.”
Although at first glance it might seem like he was being made a fool of, in actuality all the comments were filled with affection. Both adventurers and townsfolk had come to hold this man who proactively took on jobs that nobody else wanted to do in high regard.
“Hmph, a job is a job, even if it is ditch cleaning. There’s no discrimination when it comes to quests. If you’re jealous, then put in enough effort until you earn the title of ‘Master’ like I have!”
However, the arrogant front that Sharlo put up made it hard for everyone else to praise him honestly.
“Well then, leaving aside all those who are jealous of me, today too shall I display the techniques that I had polished and gallantly go forth to complete my duty. Come, bring me my ditch cleaning quest!” With that proclamation, he thrust out a hand in a dramatic fashion.
But without missing a beat, Moko, who happened to be in charge of reception, simply said, “There’s none.”
“What did you say?!”
“All the ditch cleaning quests have been taken already.”
“How can that be?!”
“Probably everybody saw how easy you made it look and thought ‘oh I can earn easy money too’? After all, ditch cleaning quests are priced higher based on their unpopularity.”
“Grrr...... Those copycat amateurs, doing as they please. My ambition of cleaning every inch of side ditch in Treia......”
“You planned to do it all yourself? Isn’t that a bit unrealistic?”
“Hmph, then fine. I shall go try another adventurer’s guild.” Sharlo was about to turn his heels, but then froze at Moko’s nonchalant comment.
“I think every place is out of them now, though. It’s the same for us too, but we are receiving requests to take down the multiple posted quests due to them already being taken up somewhere else.”
Sharlo was at a loss for words.
Then Moko dealt him the final blow while giving him her very best smile. “So do you want to do another quest? If not, then you’re in the way of the other customers, so please stand aside to make way for them, nya~”
“Th-The nerve...... No, wait a moment. I can’t be taking the same quest every time. My goal is to become an older brother that she can be proud of. To that end, I must now challenge myself to a new quest, one that is more suitable for the me that has grown this far.”
“Oh yeah? You feeling up for it? Well, if it’s a quest that even a loner without friends can accept, let me see......” Moko flipped through the list of available quests.
“Oi, you’re making me wait. Hurry it up,” said Sharlo in an irritated tone.
Right then, a voice called out to him from behind, “Heeey, Ditch Cleaning Bro. You sure are in a foul mood, eh?” It turned out to be a well-built guy in his twenties.
Sharlo recognized him. He was the leader of the three-person party that Sharlo approached about joining on his first day as an adventurer. “What do you want?”
“Pretty big attitude as always, eh. Well, no matter. So thing is, if you haven’t decided on today’s quest yet, then what do you think about doing one together with us?”
“With you guys?” Behind the man stood another man wearing priest-like clothing who had a smile on his face, and a girl who waved her hand slightly.
“Yep, it’s a quest to deliver some cargo to the royal capital. The amount turned out to be a bit more than expected. Among us three, I’m the only one who can do heavy lifting. Bro, you’ve gotten pretty buffed up from all the ditch cleaning, right?”
“Hah, of course. Underneath all this fat are muscles of steel.”
“Uh, you should probably lose the fat though.” After the light retort, the young man flashed a refreshing smile as if to prompt an answer from Sharlo.
“Mmmm...... I don’t exactly don’t want to do it, but......” Rather, he was so happy about being invited that he wanted to accept on the spot.
However, the location was inconvenient. If he just nonchalantly strolled into the royal capital when his Father King had yet to grant him permission to come back home, would he get scolded for it? (But when he said “don’t come home” he meant the royal palace, right? And in the first place, if it’s for a job, then he won’t say anything... I hope......?) As a last resort, he could just go crying to Shouzou. Sharlo had grown tough enough mentally to make such a judgment call. “Very well. I accept.”
“All right, so then you fine with splitting the reward three ways and you get one? Then two go to us three. How’s that sound?”
“Sure, I don’t mind.”
“Then we’re decided. We’ll be in your care then, Bro. Ah, sorry, your name is Sharlo, right? I’m the leader of the party, name’s Rosshi.”
“Sharlo Aashu. Same here.” The instant they exchanged a firm handshake, Sharlo’s breathing turned erratic from being excited about his first time partying up with someone else—