63. Adventurer Registration

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63. Adventurer Registration

“――Pardon my intrusion.”

I don’t know if that was the correct thing to say, but when I entered the Adventurer’s Guild with a greeting, inside were the parent-and-child couple Moria-san and Miguel, Hoffman-san, and, for some reason, Beck was also there.

“Huh? Oro… no, it’s Edgar.
I’m sure today was…”

Interrupting Miguel who had started speaking, Moria-san said.

“Oh, what’s the matter?”

“No, I don’t really have any business here, but Melby said we should come see Miguel’s face once in a while.”

“Eh? Me… ah, I did say that.
It’s been a while, Miguel.
Have you been well?”

“Huh? Ah, yeah.
Mum’s training is tough, but I’ve slowly gotten used to it.”

Miguel said with pride.
Ignoring Miguel’s triumphant look, I started talking to Beck.

“Beck, why are you here?”

“Mn, actually, I had something to consult Hoffman-san about.”

“Consult? …Ah, no, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“It’s fine.
Hoffman-san said he also took the role of the party’s tank, so I just wanted to seek advice from him.
Because I realised that I must become much stronger.”

Beck probably also has times when he thinks back to that incident.
He did say that he can’t stay indebted to the Chrebl household forever, and previously said that he wanted to find his own independent path as an adventurer.

“I see. If it’s you, Beck, I’m sure you’ll make a fine tank.”

“Thank you.
But you’re referring to my Skills, right?”

“I can’t say that’s not also a factor, but didn’t you say so yourself?
‘After all, I am Vajra Knight Dikreos Wawn’s son!
As if I could leave my comrades and turn my back on the enemy!’”

“W-wait, stop it, it’s embarrassing!”

“It’s not embarrassing at all, you were really cool.”

“…Even though you called it an unwelcome favour back then.”

“Back then, we both felt the same way.
What I want to say is, you already have that much resolve.”

While Beck and I were having such a discussion,

“Oh…
Did you say Vajra Knight Dikreos Wawn…?”

Hoffman-san came over and asked.

“You know him?”

“Whether I know him or not… it’s said that there’s such a person in Sonoraat, a famous knight.
I heard he was betrayed in domestic warfare and died…”

“…That’s right.
Dad was killed while covering me.
Afterwards, I was brainwashed by <Yatagarasu>…”

Hoffman-san placed his hand on Beck’s head, who was muttering with a dark face.

“…He died protecting someone important.
As expected of a Vajra Knight.
Even for me, to be able to protect someone else while dying… I don’t have the confidence to do so.”

“Hoffman-san…”

There seemed to be some sort of understanding between Beck and Hoffman-san that only someone assuming the role of tank would understand.

“Then, Beck’s also aiming to be an adventurer, huh.
It feels like I’m the only one being left behind.”

When I muttered that,

“Oh my, have you still not registered to be an adventurer yet, Edgar?
…Oh that’s right.”

As if she remembered my age, Moria-san reached an understanding.

“But there’s no age limit for registering at the guild.
Adventurer parents come to register their children a lot too.
Well, in that case, the children become adventurers out of convenience, in order to make running errands for their parents easier for them.”

“Heh, so there’s something like that….”

“Since we have the opportunity, would you like try registering too, Edgar?
If it’s just the handling fee, I don’t mind paying for it.”

“Is that alright?
Well, I’ll pay for the handling fee myself though.”

“It’s fine.
After all, today is… I mean, you’re Julia’s child and Miguel’s friend, and you look like a kid to me.
Just leave things to this A-Ranked big sis.”

Saying that, Moria-san approached the guild counter.

“Ah, Miranda.
I want to register someone new…”

“Yes, it’s fine.
Is it that child over there?”

“Right, his name is…”

 

“――WAIT A MINUTEEEEEE!”

 

The one who suddenly raised his voice and cut in was――me.

“W-what is it, this isn’t anything surprising, is it?”

“Moria-san, lend me your ear for a moment.”

“What’s the matter, good grief…”

With these words, Moria-san leaned over and turned her ear towards me.
Mumbling, I told her my request.

“Ehhh…”

After entrusting the troubled-looking Moria-san with my request, I left through the guild doors and went outside.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

――I slipped through the doors of the Adventurer’s Guild.

Just as I slipped through the doors, a rude, scrutinising gaze was sent over from the bar attached to the guild.
In the bar were many men possessing the air of true veteran adventurers, and a red-haired female knight was leaning her back against the wall.

I approached the counter and,

“――I’d like to register as an adventurer.”

I addressed the receptionist.
The receptionist was the poster girl of the guild.
She was a beauty with a good figure in her early twenties, but her lack of a smile was a shortcoming.

“Well then, write your name on this form――”

It was when the receptionist started talking.

“Hey, hey, are you serious?
As if a tiny kid like you is fit to be an adventurer!
Brat, go home and suck on your mama’s breasts or somethin’!
Gyahahaha!”

The one who said that, coming to pick a fight, was a red-faced adventurer who had been drinking with his companions until just then.
He had a large build and a large scar on his face.

I coolly ignored the man’s words and asked the receptionist.

“…Hey, someone’s trying to pick a fight with me.”

“The guild will not participate in a quarrel between fellow adventurers.
Please resolve this matter among yourselves.”

“Huh? Then it’s okay to do as I please, right?”

When I say that with a smile, the scarred man seized my shoulder.

“Hey, you shitty brat!
Whaddya say just now?”

“What, are you deaf?
That’s fatal for an adventurer.
Isn’t it better for you to retire before you lose your life, old man?”

“WHAT. DID. YOU. SAY!?
Unforgivable!
Don’t think you can just make fun of C-Rank Adventurer 《Hunting Dog》 Andrew Joe!”

The man――Andrew unsheathed his sword.

“Wait, Andrew-san!
Bloodshed inside the guild is――”

“Shuddup!”

Using [Discern], I bypassed Andrew’s slash by a paper-thin margin. I then leapt at his chest, casting [Psychokinesis] on Andrew’s vest and forcibly blasting him into the wall.

“Guaaaah!”

Andrew groans.

“H-hey, 《Hunting Dog》 Andrew’s been done in by a newcomer…”
“That kid, he’s so cool… I’m in love! I just want to hug him!”

I could hear such murmurs drifting over from the direction of the bar.

“Anyway, I’d like to register soon.”

“Ah, y-yes! I-it’s this form!”

I nonchalantly took the pen, wrote my name and field of expertise on the adventurer registration form, and handed it to the receptionist.

“With this, your registration is complete.”

Nodding at the receptionist’s words, I――had a fist land on my head.

“Ouch!”

“How long are you going to continue acting, geez!”

The one whose fist landed on me was, naturally, Moria-san.

“Hey, Andrew, don’t keep lying there forever!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

The man who had been blown into the wall (or at least pretended that he had) got up.

“Hey, kid, I acted along with what I was told, so won’t you get me some alcohol?”

“Yeah, thanks, Mister.
――Ah, Miss Waitress, send some alcohol to that guy’s table for me! Here’s the money.”

I handed a single silver coin to the waitress who was passing by, and treated Andrew-san, who cooperated with the play, as well as the other extras, to some alcohol.
By the way, this silver coin was not part of the allowance given to me by Julia-kaasan. It was something I swiped from the executives’ rooms when we left <Yatagarasu>.

“――Let me add this just in case, when fellow adventurers affiliated with the guild have a dispute, a general rule is that both parties are to blame.
In order to preserve the nature of our adventurers, a strict punishment is applied to fellow adventurers who quarrel.
For example, when one party draws their sword like what happened just then, they would almost certainly be expelled from the guild.
The challenged side would be deemed to be acting in self-defense at the minimum necessary level, but would be punished if they overdo it, downgrading in rank, or even being expelled in the worst case scenario.
This is because there have been incidents in the past where people have picked a fight, making the other party draw their swords first, and giving the hollow excuse of it being legitimate self-defense.
Adventurers are free beings, so we’ll be troubled if they become outlaws.
I sincerely ask you to act with more discretion.”

Regardless of whether this was a performance or not, having remained expressionless since the start, the receptionist said that.
She was expressionless, but she might unexpectedly be someone who gets into things easily, as someone who had been enlisted to help with the act.
By the way, the adventurer registration form I submitted to the receptionist was genuine.

“…So, what exactly was this farce about?”

Glaring at me with reproachful eyes, Miguel asked.

“But, when talking about registering as an adventurer, this comes to mind, right?”

“Well, this is certainly a common development in adventurers’ sagas.”

Moria-san said, shrugging her shoulders.
Ah, so they had those in this world as well.

“So, if we’re talking about the continuation of this scene, the boss of these delinquent adventurers you knocked down would make his appearance and come attack the protagonist, a new adventurer, in a back alley.”

“Hmm, so that’s the way things are, huh.”

While I was honestly admiring that,

“――Let’s try following that route once, shall we?”

Moria-san said, keeping a watchful eye on me.

“Oi, you! I heard you were quite rough with my younger bros earlier.
I guess I’ve gotta teach an impudent newbie about the laws of this town!”

Talking in high spirits, it seemed like Moria-san was a fanatic about those kinds of sagas.

“Heh, bring it on if you can!”

…Is it something like this?

And like that, me, Moria-san, Hoffman-san, Miguel, and Beck decided to head to the training area behind the guild.
Incidentally, Andrew and the others, even the drunk adventurers, also came along but… well, it’s fine.

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