Leave a comment

Good morning!

One day, one request. So, we’ll head to the Guild and get to work.
 
Hmm… the Guild seems quite noisy today, though it doesn’t sound like it’s about the Battle Tournament. It’s mainly Agit shouting loudly.

“Someone! Is there anyone who wants to accept this request? Cooking and dismantling skills are a must, and rank must be at least D! Somebody, anybody, please!”

But nobody raised their hand or spoke up. Everyone just gave Agit a pitiful look. A D-Rank adventurer with cooking and dismantling skills… isn’t that me? Poor Agit, let’s step in.

“Mr. Agit, is something wrong?”

“Oh, Alim… well, you see, a senior executive from a big merchant association is traveling from the kingdom to the port town of Palchini to make a major deal. A request has been made to escort their carriage. Another condition is that the escort must be D Rank and absolutely have both cooking and dismantling skills. Moreover, it’s at least a week’s work, and the departure is tomorrow. Because the tournament is coming up, everyone else is already busy preparing.”

“But why are you so troubled about this?”

“He’s an executive from a big association… all of them are connected with the higher-ups at Guild Headquarters. Just thinking about what might happen if I can’t handle it is giving me a headache.”

Oh, I get it now. Afraid of their power, huh?

I don’t have any preparations to do. I’m D Rank, skilled enough to satisfy the conditions, and more or less above average anyway. Maybe I should accept it? Well, it depends on the reward.

“I’d like to take it, since I have both skills.”
“Eeh!? Alim, really? Are you actually going to take it?”
“For now, how much is the reward?”
“It’s 32,000 bells.”

That’s reasonable enough. Let’s take it.

“No problem with the amount, I’ll accept the request.”
“Ou! I’m really thankful for this. Oh, I forgot to mention, there will be other guards as well, an A-Rank party. I hope you can learn something from them. Anyway, I’ll entrust it to you.”
“That’s fine. Please leave it to me!”

As soon as I accepted, compliments from the surrounding adventurers poured in. Was this really that bad of a job?

Well, that settles today.

I’ll make something to play with on the carriage ride. I’m free anyway.

I returned to the inn leisurely and decided to make Jenga, Sugoroku, and Othello. It’s no big deal, right? A couple of seconds and… oh wait, I’ve already finished them.

Looks like the trip will start early in the morning, so first I’ll prepare my smartphone-like device, the one that works as a clock, monster illustrator, and map. I set the alarm function on the Tozumaho (short for “tool smartphone”)…

Good night.

______
____
__

Good morning! That was a good sleep.

I didn’t oversleep, I’m fine.

I fixed my messy hair and got ready to head out. The carriage should be waiting in front of the kingdom’s gate.

Uruto was already awake this early, though he looked drowsy. What on earth is he doing? Well, for now, I told him I wouldn’t be back for a while.

The time was 4:40. There were already people at the meeting place. And there he was, a red-armored man with a striking presence. Uncle? Or maybe more like a big brother?

While I was having these mixed impressions, the “older brother” type noticed me and spoke.

“Hm? …What’s this little girl? What’s wrong? You shouldn’t be around here at this time, you know.”
“I’m here for the request.”

As I answered, he seemed to advance the conversation on his own.

“Huh? But looking at you, you don’t seem to be at the proper aptitude age yet. Is this some kind of X-Rank joke? Isn’t it hard to work this early in the morning? Adventurers should stay in the city and do their best there…”

Mm? Hey, that’s rude. I may be younger than the aptitude age, but I’m a proper D-Rank adventurer. Time to clear this up.

“Grr… I may be under the aptitude age, but I’m already D Rank. I’m here for the D-Rank request I accepted!”
“If that’s so, then please show me your Guild Card.”
“Yes… here…”
“Fumu fumu… Alim… 12 years old… five days since registering… D Rank. What—this is true!? I’m sorry… I didn’t think a child like you would really be ranked D. I’m Gabaina, an A-Rank adventurer. You and I will be companions on this request.”

He looked solid, polite, and sturdy, though his tone was a bit stiff.

“Please take care of me.”
“Ah, please take care of me too. Regardless of your age, to reach D Rank on your fifth day after registering… you’re clearly promising. I was honestly surprised.”
“That’s right. People often say that. It’s surprising.”

Once I finished introducing myself to Gabaina, I stepped into the expensive-looking horse-drawn carriage. A man in yellow clothes with a dark green necktie stepped down from it.

“Nn~… it seems everyone is here. I’m with the client’s Medial Merchant Association. Call me Grape. Best regards.”

It seemed this person was our client. Gabaina introduced us.

“Grape, I’m the one who accepted this request, Gabaina. A pleasure to work with you.”
“Oooh, Gabaina, I’ve seen you at the Coliseum and heard good things about you. Thank you for accepting this request of mine… and who might this little girl be?”
“My name is Alim. Pleased to meet you, Mr. Grape.”

I was a bit surprised. This sort of thing had already become a template lately.

“Nn~, not doubting you but just in case, could you show me your Guild Card?”
“Here it is.”
“Nn~, I see. Isn’t this something rare. Agit from the Frontier Branch sure introduced a good adventurer. Best regards, Alim.”
“Yes!”

Ah, that went well. This person seemed much better than expected. Mainly, I just didn’t want to work with someone unpleasant.

Grape began explaining the details.

“This time, since Gabaina will be the escort, we’ll be able to reach the port town faster. We’ll take a shortcut, though the area is frequented by D-, C-, and B-Rank monsters.”
“Yep, I’m aware.”
“Alim will mostly handle housework, cooking, cleaning, and assisting Gabaina. And about your dismantling skills, you’ll dismantle the monsters Gabaina defeats. Is that acceptable?”
“I understand. Please leave it to me.”

“Well, there are seven of us at the moment: myself, Gabaina, Alim, and four other members of my group. We’ve loaded enough food, so you can use that. Can you cook for seven people?”
“It’s fine. I have no problem with that.”
“Nn~, all right, you’re a reliable one, aren’t you? Everyone! It’s a bit early but we’ll be leaving now. Please board the carriage.”

And with that, we all boarded the carriage and departed, heading toward the port town of Palchini.

Support Us

Unlock Early Access ------- Select Project ------- Project Gender Bender Project Necro ∴ Support your favorite series and unlock chapters before the public release.