Magey’s unexpected hobby had come as a surprise, but the real problem had been the fact that she’d announced it to the world. While I’d been frozen in shock she’d explained that she was writing down a record of all the amazing things I’d accomplished and trying to recruit more members into the fan club. Admitting her affiliation to me had seemed to make Magey bolder too, as she’d started preaching about how wonderful I was to everyone. It had taken quite a lot of effort to stop her. The whole ordeal had exhausted me, but Magey looked more energetic than ever now. It was like she’d sucked out my life force.
“It was the best session ever! As thanks I’ll work even harder to tell people about how awesome you are!”
“Please don’t.” I made a shooing motion, chasing her out of the training field. Once it was empty I let out a long sigh. “That was more tiring than it should have been.”
While Magey was going a bit overboard, her actions stemmed from her gratitude toward me. If I was being honest, it made me happy when she’d told me she’d been able to get her life back together thanks to my advice. That being said, she really was going overboard.
A fan club is just too much!
I couldn’t believe a hardened warrior had ended up like this. But while I was mentally drained, I couldn’t afford to rest just yet. Manual Arts lessons were done for the day, but I had other work I needed to take care of still.
“Next I need to go appraise people at the coliseum.” I said, slowly starting to make my way to the accursed place.
“I see you’ve been working hard, brother.”
“Recilia...”
She must have been waiting for me, since she appeared by my side the moment I left the training grounds. Probably so she could act as my bodyguard, as always. She took that job way too seriously, but I was used to it by now, so I just continued on my way to the arena.
“I’m surprised you’re taking the Guild’s request so seriously. I thought you would abandon your responsibilities once they became too overbearing.”
“Really? I can make money without ever leaving town this way. Sure, the excessive fame sucks, but otherwise this is the ideal lifestyle.”
Recilia shook her head in exasperation. “I don’t believe that for a second. You keep saying how you want to avoid danger and live a quiet life, but we both know you’re an adventurer at heart who loves jumping into danger every chance you get.”
“You make it sound like I’m an adrenaline junkie...” I said, frowning.
Recilia gave me an incredulous look. “Do you really think you aren’t?”
I averted my gaze, unable to argue back. “Anyway, like I explained before. I didn’t just take this job because it’s stable, there’s another reason too.” Recilia gave me a quizzical look and I said, “It’s so I can scout people.”
❈❈❈
“Next in line!” the Guild attendant said, and a nervous looking adventurer stepped forward.
“Th-Thank you for seeing me!”
I nodded absently to him and quickly cast Analyze. I then wrote down the stats I saw onto a sheet of paper, quickly appraising his capabilities as I wrote.
A total growth of 19, huh? He’s got a Warrior’s growths, but his Mind is pointlessly high. Hmm... Yeah, I’d say he’s average.
You see, this was the reason I’d taken on the Guild’s requests. Teaching people manual Arts and checking their stats gave me the opportunity to meet a vast number of adventurers. As a result, I could get a pretty good idea of which adventurers were strong and which weren’t. In retrospect I was the one invading everyone’s personal privacy, but I had no intention of misusing that information so hopefully these guys would forgive me.
I was hoping to find more promising adventurers, but everyone I’ve examined so far has been pretty meh.
Radd and the others were pseudo-unique characters, so they were given a better set of growth rates than the average adventurer, with all of them at a total of +21 or higher. Meanwhile most regular adventurers didn’t get higher than +20. I’d seen a few with +21 or +22, but unfortunately they’d all been higher-level.
Lower-level adventurers were much easier to raise, and since they hadn’t been adventuring for as long they’d be easier to recruit. In that sense, Radd and his friends had been the perfect group. But man, I really needed some help here. Of course, I wanted to recruit more strong people to help clear dungeons, but I also needed regular old assistants.
Most importantly, I need some pawns who can move around freely.
The world of Braves and Blades was vast, and it took days or even weeks to get from area to area. What I really needed were people willing to go to other areas and gather information for me. Recilia followed me everywhere like a second shadow, and since she was the only one who knew my secret, she was definitely my greatest ally. But she was decidedly not someone who did everything I asked. In fact, when I had asked her to gather information on the neighboring region for me, she’d rejected my request without a second thought. “I get what you’re saying,” she’d said, “but I won’t do it. I have no intention of leaving your side. It’s my duty to protect the body you inhabit.”
I couldn’t really argue with that, so I hadn’t pushed her to go. Of course, if it was absolutely essential, Recilia would be willing to act independently. However, as long as it wasn’t an emergency, Recilia likely wouldn’t leave my side. Or rather, she wouldn’t leave Rex’s body unsupervised.
Come on... Isn’t there anyone out there who conveniently won’t ask about my past or my motives, but do exactly as I say? Don’t get me wrong—I know I’m asking for something pretty scummy here, but...
Shaking my head, I stopped daydreaming for the impossible and swapped my attention back to the task before me. A pleasant high-pitched voice reached my ears.
“My name is Lily. Thank you for seeing me.”
“Wait...”
When I heard that voice, my heart skipped a beat. It was a calming voice, but one that also made you want to instinctively protect its owner.
Don’t tell me...
I looked up, and saw the perfect woman. Her features were striking, but in a way that felt familiar rather than intimidating. Her glossy black hair went down to her waist, and she had an ample bust that was visible even through her clothes. Even the way she stood was beautiful. I didn’t need to bother Analyzing her, I already knew what her growths and abilities were like the back of my hand. Our eyes met, and she smiled at me. It was an angelic smile, one that would captivate anyone who saw it.
“O-Oh!”
Oh, yes...
This was perhaps the first time I was truly grateful I’d been sent to this world. I averted my gaze, unwilling to let this person see my expression. After all, I couldn’t let her see the wicked grin spreading across my face.
“I’ve finally found the perfect pawn.”
I sucked in a deep breath and forced myself to look and act normal. I knew Lily’s stats and growth rates by heart, so I didn’t even need to bother with Analyze.
【Lily Harmonix】
Starting Level: 5
Class: Bard
Age: 19
Birthplace: Rinesta
That was what her profile looked like in the game, but that wasn’t all I knew about Lily.
While I pretended to examine her, I desperately thought of how I would recruit her. Since growths never changed, it was likely Lily would only come to get appraised this once. This was likely my only chance to win her over. Doing my best not to let my impatience show on my face, I wrote down Lily’s numbers from memory. I then walked over to Lily and held the page out. But then I purposely let the paper slip from my fingers.
“Whoops.”
Lily stared in surprise as the paper slowly fluttered down. A second later she reflexively crouched down to grab it, while I also leaned down at the same time, my face right next to her ear.