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“Please, do accept my honest apologies.” Before me, a pretty woman in her twenties bowed deeply. “Arisa” was written on her name tag.
Her response had been completely unexpected. Flustered, I managed to squeak out my own reply. “Huh? Um... Why? Why not?!”
But maybe I should explain how I got to this situation.
It was the day after I’d brought Armeria and Cosmos here from our terrible old home, the Clematis barony. I zipped out of the Lycoris estate in high spirits with the three goddesses by my side and went straight to the adventurer’s guild in the middle of town. There, I spoke with the receptionist and asked to be registered as an adventurer...
“You’re still eight years old, Hisui?” Arisa asked.
“Yes.”
“I’m very sorry, but we only allow persons aged twelve and up to join the guild.” I was shocked into silence.
Th-There was an age restriction?! I’d never imagined my plans would get hung up on my age of all things. When I thought about it, though, I realized it was pretty reasonable. In my past life back on earth, kids couldn’t get part-time jobs until they were in high school—so, at least fifteen years old. I guess this world had labor regulations too!
For the first time since being reborn, I cursed my youthfulness. The plans I’d dreamed up yesterday had just gone up in smoke. I morosely trudged away from the reception and headed outside.
“Age restrictions... What am I supposed to do about that?”
“We were completely blindsided. We don’t really have much of a concept of age, but I suppose it is true that adventuring would be a rather difficult job for a child.”
“Huey is very mature, so I still don’t get why he can’t be an adventurer!”
“He’s reincarnated, so he’s already grown up mentally. Maybe we can explain that to the guild?”
“That’s a great idea!”
I sighed and shook my head. Fouré had gotten on board way too quickly with this random idea Cult had blurted out. “I can’t tell them about my past life... I haven’t even told my family that, you know?”
Besides, if I couldn’t even trust my family to believe me, there was no way a complete stranger—and an adult at the adventurer’s guild at that—would ever buy such a far-fetched story. I would’ve been laughed out of there.
“Considering the treatment I just got, other jobs are probably out of the question too... What a headache.”
And on top of all that, I couldn’t sell monster parts without registering with the guild either! Apparently that rule was in place to prevent a criminal black market from springing up, but it was a terribly obstructive hurdle for me.
Maybe Armeria could register and sell the parts for me? She was twelve. But selling through a proxy was against the rules as well—and if we were caught, we’d both be punished. I couldn’t afford to take a risk like that.
Cult seemed amused by my plight, however. “Hee hee. Why don’t you try consulting with the marquis, then? He seems to feel indebted to you, so perhaps he’ll think of something.”
“I don’t want to bother Claus any more than I have already. I’d feel bad.”
“Since he wants to get on your good side, I think he’d actually be quite pleased to help,” remarked Aruna.
“You really think so?”
“Yes, I’m certain,” she asserted. I suppose Claus had said himself, in no uncertain terms, that he wanted to have me close at hand. Maybe it was worth consulting him, even if I didn’t intend to just outright ask for his help right now.
“Hm... I guess I could see if he has any thoughts.”
At this rate, I was going to have issues just trying to survive. It looked like I was gonna have to break some eggs to make this omelet after all. I had no choice but to swallow my pride.
Leaving the guild behind, I hurried back to the Lycoris manor.
I informed a maid that I wanted to speak with Claus, and within minutes I was called to his study. I would have been happy to see him whenever he had some spare time... At least, that’s what I’d meant to imply.
Still, it was actually more convenient for me to get this solved earlier rather than later. Following the maid to the same room I’d visited yesterday, I entered Claus’s study and saw that he was seated behind his desk. He was scrawling on a piece of paper at an impressive speed.
“Hello there, Hisui. You had something you wanted to discuss with me?”
“Yes, but it can wait until after you’re done with work.”
“I don’t mind chatting right now. You went out of your way to call on me, after all—I can always make time for you.”
“Thank you, Lord Lycoris.”
“Anyway, we can’t have you standing in the doorway. Please, take a seat and tell me what’s on your mind.” A plush sofa for guests was situated just in front of Claus’s desk. I plopped down on it and quietly studied Claus’s face for a moment.
Though he was willing to chat with me, his eyes remained fixed on the documents he was writing. I decided to get straight to the heart of my problem so I wouldn’t take up any more of his time.
“I wanted to discuss being an adventurer.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just now, I stopped by the guild—to register as an adventurer, of course. But they have a lot of rules, and I don’t think I can register without being at least twelve years old.”
“Ah, yes. It’s the same for every kind of job. If we allow children to work, some adults will take advantage of that, so we have laws in place to prevent that from happening.”
“I understand. It’s just...”
“If you can’t work, then you’ll run into financial difficulties before long, I imagine.”
I stifled a sigh before replying. “Yes, that’s right.”
I didn’t know anyone as astute as Claus. Not only did he understand my predicament, he instantly knew why I was trying to become an adventurer. Plus, he’d figured it out while he was working, so that meant he was thinking it over even as he handled his paperwork. Was he some kind of multitasking genius?
“It’d be difficult even for me to adjust our laws and regulations. If I did, people would be sure to complain.”
“I agree. I know very well that it’s pretty much impossible to change.”
“So what would you ask of me? What is it that you want me to do, exactly?”
“I don’t mean to give you any trouble—I was just hoping to borrow your knowledge; I came thinking you might have a nugget of wisdom to share.”
“Wisdom, you say...” He hummed as he considered my words, and for the first time since I’d set foot in his office, he stopped writing as he placed a hand on his chin in thought. “I’m very sorry, but I can’t allow you to work, as you’re still a child. As governor, I also cannot suggest any loopholes that you might use to bypass the law.”
“Right... I see.” This was exactly what I had expected—my problem wasn’t an easy issue to get around.