Mushoku Tensei (LN) - Volume 3 - Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

The Adventurers’ Guild 

T he Adventurers’ Guild was a gathering place for some of the toughest customers in the city. Some were physically powerful; others were skilled, veteran magicians. Some favored the sword. Others used axes, staves, or even their bare hands in battle. Some loudly boasted of their prowess, while others silently sneered at the braggarts. There were warriors clad in heavy armor, but also lightly dressed sorcerers. There were pig-like men and snake-women; men with insectoid wings and women with the legs of horses. All sorts of people from all sorts of races formed a single, teeming crowd. 

That was how things usually were in the guilds of the Demon Continent. The Rikarisu branch was certainly no exception. 

Suddenly, someone flung its huge swinging doors open with a bang. 

Many of those inside turned their eyes toward the entrance, curious. It wasn’t unusual for people to throw those doors open dramatically, but the reasons why they did so varied. Had some party just returned victorious? Perhaps a group of monsters were launching an attack and the guards at the gate had called for aid? Or was it just the wind playing tricks on everyone? Of course, there’d also been some talk that Dead End was wandering around this area recently, but surely— 

Before anyone could follow this line of thought to its conclusion, three people strode through the open door. 

The first in line was a boy with an oddly confident smirk on his face. He wore grimy but expensive-looking clothes and carried a staff wrapped in cloth. Despite his obvious youth, the battle-scarred crowd of grown-ups inside the guild didn’t appear to intimidate him in the slightest. Who the heck is this kid? many wondered. He seemed completely out of place here. Might he belong to some race of demons who looked younger than they really were? 

Following closely on this strange boy’s heels, as if to hide in his shadow, was another youngster. This one seemed to be a girl. Her face was mostly hidden by a hood, but her eyes glittered watchfully from within it. There was something about her bearing that suggested she knew how to use that sword at her hip. A few veterans inside the guild instantly pegged her for a skilled fighter. 

The last of the group to enter was a tall, imposing man with a red jewel on his forehead and a scar running diagonally across his face. These were the same distinguishing features as the infamous monster known as Dead End; some adventurers nearly cried out in alarm, only to notice at the last moment that this man’s hair was blue rather than green. It had to be someone else who bore a strong resemblance to the murderous Superd. 

Altogether, these three made a strange bunch. Strange…and unsettling. There wasn’t a single ordinary adventurer among the three of them. No one could begin to guess what they were even doing here. 

The trio came to a sudden halt, and the boy shouted at the watchful crowd: “Hey, c’mon! What’s with the slack-jawed stares, folks?! Don’t you know who this man right here is?!” 

Uh, no. Why the hell would we? thought everyone simultaneously. 

“This is the infamous Superd monster, Dead End Ruijerd himself! Don’t just stand there, idiots! Make with the screaming and running for your lives!” 

Come on, do you really think we’re gonna buy that? thought everyone in unison. Everyone knew the Superds’ hair was vivid green, not some dirty shade of blue. 

“Can you believe these country bumpkins, Boss? They don’t even know the face of terror when they see it! What a joke. All those rumors flying around, but we walked right in and no one even recognized you!” 

Okay, so apparently this kid is hellbent on claiming that his pal here is a vicious, bloodthirsty devil. The more they thought about it, the more hilarious his high-pitched little tirade seemed. The unsettling aura this little band had previously projected faded away almost instantly. 

The kid’s “Boss” had the red eye on his forehead, sure. And the scar across his face. They both looked pretty convincing even. But he’d gotten some really basic details completely wrong. 

“ Snort… ” At this point, some anonymous adventurer let out the first quiet laugh of the afternoon. 

“Hey, what’s your problem?!” shouted the boy fiercely, spinning in the direction of the sound. “Did I say something funny, punk?!” 

It was just too ridiculous. Stifled chuckles began spreading throughout the crowd. After a long moment, someone finally offered a reply. 

“ Snort… Hehe. J-just a tip, kid…the Superd have green hair…” 

With that, an explosion of hilarity filled the guild’s lobby from one end to the other. 

*** 

Judging from the gales of laughter buffeting us from all sides, our act had gotten off to a decent start. 

At a glance, the Adventurers’ Guild seemed to be even more of a rough-and-tumble place than I’d expected. The crowd was incredibly diverse, although that was probably typical for any gathering place this deep inside the Demon Continent. I’d noticed a man with a horse’s head, a guy with the scythe-like arms of a praying mantis, a woman with butterfly wings, and a girl who was all snake from the waist down. They were mostly human in appearance, but there was always at least one strikingly unusual feature to be found. Even the people without animal body parts weren’t exactly regular human beings. I saw people with spiky thorns growing out of their shoulders, and others with totally blue skin; there were even a few with four arms or two heads. Based on what I was seeing, the Migurd and Superd were probably some of the more humanoid demons, in terms of appearance. 

“S-stupid jerks! Don’t you dare laugh at our boss! He took down a whole bunch of monsters that were attacking us out in the wastelands…all by himself!” 

Rather than flinching under the crowd’s scrutiny, I strode further into the lobby, trying to act convincingly furious. 

“You hearin’ this, guys? D-Dead End’s goin’ around rescuin’ lost kids apparently!” 

“Ahahah! Damn, I never knew the guy was so soft-hearted!” 

“Seriously though? Maybe he’ll come save my bacon sometime too! Gahaha!” 

Normally, I would’ve frozen up in the face of all this mockery, but this time it wasn’t really getting to me. Was it because I was only playing a part? Because the crowd around me was so…surreal? Or maybe…I’d actually become a more confident human being? 

Nah, let’s not get carried away here. 

They were mostly laughing at Ruijerd, not me. There was no reason to pat myself on the back until I could shrug off cruelty that was actually aimed at me. 

A quick survey of the room told me that no one in it suspected Ruijerd really was the genuine article. That meant it was time for me to trot out scene A, one of the bits of dialogue we’d worked out beforehand. 

“I’ve had enough of these morons! C’mon, Boss, teach ’em a lesson!” 

“Hmph… Let the fools laugh if they want to.” 

Incidentally, we’d also practiced a scene B, in case there wasn’t any laughter beforehand. 

“ Let the fools laugh… Oh man, what a badass!” 

“H-holy crap, he’s already actin’ like a big shot!” 

“Gahaha! Poor guy! I almost w-wanna apologize…” 

You’d probably be apologizing right now if you knew the truth, man. With tears running down your face. 

“Hmph! You idiots are lucky our boss is such a big-hearted guy!” I announced, then promptly turned to examine the room. To our left, there was an enormous bulletin board covered in pieces of paper. To our right, there were four wooden counters, staffed by a handful of clerks who were staring at us in astonishment. That looked like our initial destination. 

I strode confidently over to the right side of the lobby with my companions in tow…only to realize that they used some pretty damn high counters. 

I nodded up at Ruijerd, and he promptly hoisted me up. 

“Hey, you there! We want to register as adventurers!” 

I’d deliberately spoken loudly enough that the whole crowd could hear. There was another immediate explosion of laughter. 

“Dead End’s a friggin’ newbie, huh?!” 

“ Hack, wheeze… Agh, my achin’ sides!” 

“Oh man! Am I g-gonna have to show Dead End the ropes?!” 

“Now that’s somethin’ to write home about!” 

Okay, I think that’s enough for now. “Will you people pipe down?! I can’t hear the clerk!” 

After I shouted at them, the crowd did start to quiet down, although the smirks on their faces showed no signs of fading. 

“Sure, kid. N-no problem…” 

“G-gotta pay attention to the rules and everything, right…? Snort… ” 

“Hehehe…” 

I could still hear some quiet chuckling behind my back, but that wasn’t really a problem. 

So far, so good. 

*** 

And so, after roughly forty-four years of obstinate struggle, I finally realized my long-cherished dream of setting foot inside an employment office…sort of. 

I had my “credentials” as a Water-Saint-tier magician up my sleeve, a trusty new companion who hadn’t worked in centuries at my side, and a somewhat spoiled little lady behind me who I needed to provide for. At the end of the day, a man’s gotta work if he wants to eat… 

But anyway. Let’s get started. 

“I’m sorry for the commotion, miss. Mind helping us out?” 

The clerk across the counter from me had orange hair and a striking pair of fangs protruding from her mouth. Her top was also rather low-cut, and she happened to have three breasts, which meant two times the cleavage. What an efficient innovation. 

“Huh? Oh, of course. You want to…register as adventurers, correct?” 

The clerk seemed a bit taken aback by my tone suddenly becoming much politer. Still, it probably wasn’t wise to try and keep up the belligerent act forever; it’d be much too easy to slip up and give myself away at some point. She’d probably assume I’d just been trying to show the crowd I wasn’t a pushover. “That’s right. We’re totally new to this actually.” 

“In that case, would you please start off by filling out these forms?” 

The clerk reaching under the counter and retrieved three sheets of paper plus three slender sticks of charcoal, which she handed to me. The forms all looked identical. There was a line for your name, a line for your profession, and some text describing the guild and summarizing its rules. 

“I can read that out loud for you, if you can’t read it yourself,” offered the clerk, just as I was starting to wonder how some illiterate warrior from a backwoods village would deal with all this. 

“Thank you, but we’re fine.” 

I picked up one of the papers and read it out loud in the Human tongue for Eris’s benefit. 

*** 

1 — Use of the Adventurers’ Guild 

Registering with the Adventurers’ Guild (“the guild”) entitles you to the use of its services. 

2 — Guild Services 

Registered adventurers may visit any of our branches—found all around the world—to take on jobs, receive payment for completed work, sell raw materials, and exchange currencies. 

3 — Your Registration Record 

All information related to your registration with the guild will be recorded exclusively on your Adventurer Card, for which you are personally responsible. 

Should your card be lost or destroyed, a new one can be issued. However, your rank will be reset to F, and a region-specific fee will be imposed. 

4 — Leaving the Guild 

Registered adventurers may withdraw from the guild at any branch. 

Re-registration at a later date is permitted, but your rank will be reset to F. 

5 — Prohibited Conduct 

Adventurers are strictly prohibited from: 

Violating local laws 

Taking any action severely prejudicial to the reputation of the guild 

Obstructing another adventurer from carrying out their tasks 

Buying or selling guild jobs 

Any violation of this policy will result in the assessment of a fine and the revocation of your status as an adventurer. 

6 — Breach of Contract 

Any adventurer who fails to complete a job they undertake is required to pay one fifth of the listed reward as a breach-of-contract penalty. 

This fee must be paid in full within half a year. Failure to pay by this deadline will result in the revocation of your status as an adventurer. 

7 — Rank 

Adventurers are ranked in seven tiers based on their experience and abilities, beginning with Rank F and advancing to Rank S. As a general rule, adventurers can only undertake jobs rated within one rank of their current rank. 

8 — Promotion / Demotion 

By completing a preset number of jobs (based on their current rank), adventurers can secure promotion to a higher rank. 

If an adventurer does not feel ready to take on a higher rank, they may decline promotion. 

In addition, failing to complete a certain number of jobs consecutively may result in demotion to a lower rank. 

9 — Duties and Responsibilities 

Should the local authorities call for aid in the event of a monster attack or similar crisis, all adventurers are obliged to offer their assistance. 

In addition, adventurers are expected to obey any orders issued by their local guild in the event of an emergency. 

*** 

By the time I was halfway through the list, Eris was looking increasingly fed-up. This sort of stilted, formal writing wasn’t exactly her forte. I didn’t enjoy it much either, but this stuff seemed like it could be important. I hadn’t noticed any particular problems yet, but… 

“Uh, miss? I have a question…” 

“What would that be?” 

“Is it all right if we fill out this form in another language?” 

“Another language? Such as…?” 

“The Human tongue, maybe?” 

“Ah. In that case, it won’t be a problem.” 

Based on her first clause, it may have been a problem if we wanted to use a more uncommon language. Japanese was definitely out, of course. I decided to go with the Demon-God tongue; it seemed like a good idea to give them the impression that I might be some sort of youthful-looking demon, rather than a human child. 

“Go on, Eris. You should fill yours out too.” I could have done it for her, probably, but it was usually best to personally sign documents like this. 

In any case, all the conversations inside the guild so far had been in Demon. That was probably the only reason Eris had pouted silently instead of getting into it with the crowd; if she’d actually understood what they were saying, she might have drawn her sword and gone charging after someone. 

“Not that we’re planning to do so, but…what would happen if we used a false name on these?” 

“We don’t have any particular rules about that. Use whatever name you want to register.” 

“Don’t you get criminals signing up under made-up aliases or anything?” 

“Well, the definition of a ‘criminal’ isn’t the same on the Demon Continent as it is in other places. So long as someone isn’t causing trouble for the guild, it isn’t much of a problem. However, if you’re ever stripped of your status as an adventurer, you’ll find it impossible to register again…on this continent at least.” 

“That seems very…lenient.” 

“It does cause us issues of course. But many people on this continent weren’t named at birth, and a stricter policy would prevent them from registering at all.” 

Interesting. It sounded like the guild on this continent had a certain level of independence from the broader organization, if it could set its own policies like that. I’d come up with the whole “Royce” thing in case they wouldn’t let a Superd register, but it seemed that wasn’t going to be a problem. 

“If I register here then head to another continent, will I need to re-register with the guild over there?” 

“That won’t be necessary.” 

Figured as much, but good to know. 

“If you’re finished with that form, please place your hand on this.” 

This time, the clerk took out a transparent board about the size and shape of an erotic game box, with a magic circle engraved at its center. I could see a small metal card sitting underneath its surface. 

Hmm. What’s all this then? 

“Like this?” 

As I pressed my hand flat against the center of the plate, the clerk tapped the button on its far edge. 

“Name, Rudeus Greyrat. Profession, Magician. Rank F.” 

After reading out the contents of my form in a flat, steady voice, she pressed the button a second time, and the magic circle glowed faintly red for just a moment. 

“Here you are. This is your Adventurer Card.” 

The ordinary-looking metal card was now marked with faintly glowing letters: 

NAME: Rudeus Greyrat 

SEX: Male 

RACE: Human 

AGE: 10 

PROFESSION: Magician 

RANK: F 

For some reason, it was all written in the Human tongue. 

Ah, I see. So that thing’s basically some sort of magic printing press, huh? Hmm. Wouldn’t it be really convenient to use it for books too? If they’ve got ’em in public facilities like this, I wonder why they’re not all over the place… 

Then again, maybe the upper plate and the card itself were special items too. It sounded like the clerk had manually input my name, rank, and occupation, but the device seemed to have sensed my race, age, and sex from my hand somehow. That was kind of a bummer actually. So much for hiding the fact that I was a human. Well, whatever. I’d just have to roll with it. 

NAME: Ruijerd Superdia 

SEX: Male 

RACE: Demon 

AGE: 566 

PROFESSION: Warrior 

RANK: F 

For a second there, I was seriously worried this thing might reveal that Ruijerd really was a Superd, but his card went with the nicely vague word “Demon” instead. Definitely a relief. The device had exposed his actual age, but the clerk seemed to take that in stride. Maybe absurdly long lifespans weren’t that rare among demonkind. 

The name “Ruijerd Superdia” also didn’t get much of a reaction. She probably just assumed it was a pseudonym. Talk about rude… I’d just told her we weren’t planning on using those. Then again, maybe it wasn’t common knowledge that Dead End’s real name was “Ruijerd.” I’d heard the words Dead End thrown around a ton in here, but not his actual name. 

Incidentally, his card had come out in the Demon-God tongue… 

NAME: Eris Boreas Greyrat 

SEX: Female 

RACE: Human 

AGE: 12 

PROFESSION: Swordswoman 

RANK: F 

But Eris’s was written in the Human tongue as well. 

“Is there a reason why his card is in a different language than ours, miss?” 

“Yes. It changes depending on your race.” 

Ah. So humans just got Human tongue by default, no matter what. 

“What happens if you’re mixed-race?” 

“Sometimes it might use a bit of both the relevant languages, but typically it would pin you as the race more of your ancestors are from.” 

“Hmm. But what if you’re a Human who can only speak Demon-God or something?” 

“In that case, you can just press your finger against the center of the card and speak the name of the language you’d prefer.” 

Just to try it out, I pressed my finger to my card and said, “Beast-God tongue.” 

The words on my card changed instantly. 

This is kinda fun. “Demon-God tongue. Fighting-God tongue—” 

“Try not to do that too often,” the clerk interjected. “You’ll use up the card’s magical energy more quickly.” 

“What happens if it runs out?” 

“You’ll need to have it recharged at a guild branch.” 

Right. So the card itself was definitely a magical implement as well. There was probably some tiny crystal embedded inside it or something. 

“Would the information recorded on it disappear?” 

“No, fortunately.” 

“If you keep using the same card for a long time, does the battery start draining faster or anything?” 

“The battery…? If you’re referring to its magical energy, then no. The supply is usually good for about a year, but we’ll replenish it every time you stop by to report a completed task, so it typically won’t run dry at all.” 

“How much does that service cost?” 

“Well, there’s no fee of any sort…” 

Okay, so why did you tell me off for playing around with it? Hmm. Maybe people had been known to storm in and yell at the clerks when their cards ran out of juice? Customer service jobs always sucked, no matter what world you landed in. 

“Okay, got it. I’ll be more careful from now on.” 

I had no idea who invented these things, but it was an interesting little system. I felt like there were probably all sorts of other applications for “rechargeable” magic tools… But maybe the guild was monopolizing the technology? 

Ah well. No point thinking about it right now. 

“Hehe…” Eris, meanwhile, had been gazing at her little card with a big smile on her face for some time now. 

I know you’re happy, but don’t lose that thing, okay? 

“Would you like to register a party as well?” asked the clerk. 

“A party? Oh! Yes. Please.” Somehow, that part had slipped my mind completely, probably because there wasn’t anything about it on the initial paperwork. We’d been intending to set ourselves up as a party from the very start. But— 

“Before that, would you mind giving us a rundown of the party system?” 

With a polite nod, the clerk began explaining the nitty-gritty details: 

A party can have a maximum of seven members. 

Only adventurers within one rank of the party’s leader can join the party. 

Your party rank is the average of all your members’ ranks. 

For rank promotion purposes, all party members receive credit for any jobs completed as a party. 

Individual party members can still take on jobs independent of the party. 

To join a party, you need approval from both the party leader and the guild. 

To leave a party, you only need approval from the guild. 

The party leader has the right to eject any member from their party. 

Should the party leader die, their party is automatically disbanded. 

Two or more parties can join together to form a clan. 

High-performing clans are eligible to receive a variety of special rewards from the guild. 

The clan parts didn’t seem especially relevant right now. We were going to be a small-scale operation for the foreseeable future. 

“Now then, what would you like to use for your party’s name?” 

“We’ll go with Dead End .” 

The clerk’s face twitched a little, but she managed to paste a smile back on in no time. The woman was clearly a pro. “Very well. Let me have your cards for a moment, please.” 

We retrieved the cards we’d just tucked away and passed them across the counter to the clerk. She stepped into the back for a moment, then returned. “Here you are. Please make sure everything’s in order.” 

I looked down at my card and saw a new line had been added to the bottom: 

PARTY: Dead End (F) 

The “F” was presumably our party rank. 

For some reason, it was a little embarrassing to see the words “Dead End” actually written out like that. It sounded intimidating when you said it aloud, but it was definitely a different story in print. 

“At this point, we’ve fully completed the registration process. Congratulations.” 

“Thanks for your time, miss.” 

“If you want to take on any jobs, simply tear the relevant paper from the board and bring it over to our reception counters.” 

“Got it.” 

“Also, we handle purchasing behind the building, so make sure to head back there when you have something to sell.” 

“Out back. Got it. Thank you.” 

Phew. Finally done with the paperwork at least… 

*** 

With our registration completed, the three of us headed over to take a look at the bulletin board. Unfortunately, that meant making our way through a gauntlet of smirking adventurers. Almost everyone looked at us like we were a bunch of monkeys in a zoo. But there were a few in the crowd who seemed more hostile than amused. Those were the ones I’d need to watch out for. 

I’d told Ruijerd it was okay to scrap if he needed to, but I wasn’t expecting much from him as an actor. There was no guarantee we’d be able to turn trouble to our advantage the way I wanted to. All said and done, I didn’t want to get into any fights today. 

“Uh…” 

All of a sudden, a leg stretched across the aisle we were walking down. The leg in question belonged to a frog…or frog-man. He had a blue body with black spots and the smuggest face I’d ever seen. His bulging cheeks inflated and deflated rapidly; it was obvious he was suppressing the urge to laugh. 

Was the guy inviting us to trip over his leg or what? It brought back some unpleasant memories, but I pushed them out of my mind and stepped carefully over the obstacle. 

“Gyahahaha!” 

“Eeheeheehee!” 

“Ghuh, ghuh, ghuh!” 

For some reason, this prompted a burst of laughter from all around me. I flinched slightly at the noise, which only made them chortle harder. Stay calm. It’s no big deal. They were going to laugh at you no matter what you did. I’d experienced the exact same thing in my previous life. This was classic, cookie-cutter bullying. 

Following my lead, Eris tried stepping over the frog-man’s leg as well; but he suddenly jerked it upward, catching her by the tip of her toes. 

“Gah!” 

Eris started pitching forward, but managed to catch herself at the last moment by slamming her leading foot down hard against the floor. Of course, this prompted more raucous laughter from everyone in the vicinity. 

Her face bright red, Eris stared furiously back at the frog, her hands squeezed into fists and her teeth grinding loudly. 

“Ooh. Sorry ’bout that, kiddo! My legs are so long an’ thin I can barely keep ’em under control sometimes!” 

The man did offer an apology of sorts. Not that she understood a word of it. Crap. Is this going to turn into a fight? If she throws the first punch, things might get ugly fast… 

But to my surprise, Eris just snorted haughtily, turned on her heel, and strode over to join me. Her face was terrible to behold, but she’d managed to control herself. Good girl, Eris! Way to be the grown-up in the room! I’m giving you a fighting spirit prize! You just received 100 bonus points! 

Unfortunately, it was now Ruijerd’s turn to face the frog-leg menace. Stretching his leg out like that really drove home just how long and skinny it was. Should he really be out adventuring with sticks like that for legs? Maybe they let him jump really high or something…? 

Uh, focus, please. What’s Ruijerd gonna do here? 

Lifting his foot high, Ruijerd began stepping over the obstacle in his path. Just like with Eris, the frog-man jerked the leg up to trip him… 

“Wh-wha?!” 

Instead of Ruijerd, it was our slimy friend who took a tumble. Ruijerd had slipped a foot under the frog’s leg as he raised it, then kicked upward to throw him totally off-balance. Flipped backward out of his chair, the man landed flat on his stomach in a classic squashed-frog pose. 

Once again, everyone around us burst into laughter. 

“Ghuh, ghuhuhuh!” 

“W-way to get knocked down by a newbie, man!” 

“Th-that’s what you get for messing with a Superd! Hilarious!” 

Froggy’s bright blue face immediately shifted colors to a vivid shade of red. Very interesting. Was he actually cold-blooded? 

“Bastard!” Hopping to his feet in a very froggy fashion, our new friend pulled a knife from his hip and pointed it threateningly at Ruijerd. 

Huh? Seriously? You really want to go all life-or-death over this? 

“Ya got a lotta nerve messin’ with me like that, buddy!” 

“…You should back down now, if you know what’s good for you.” 

Ruijerd. Please. That’s the sort of thing you say when you want to fight. The guy’s got a knife, right? That’s kind of… Hmm. Maybe this would still qualify as a scrap? Just barely…? 

“Hey. C’mon, Perutko. Give it a rest.” A horse-headed man suddenly stepped in from the sidelines to intercede. “Pickin’ on newbies went outta style years ago, man.” 

“But this guy—” 

“Ya just lost yer balance and fell, right?” 

“Come on, Nokopara, the bastard’s scowlin’ at—” 

“Ya lost yer balance and fell . Right?” 

When Horseface repeated himself, Froggy paused, clicked his tongue bitterly, then stomped straight out of the guild. The crowd of onlookers promptly lost interest and began dispersing in groups of two and three. 

Man. I’d given some thought to the possibility that we’d get into a fight here, but that was more nerve-wracking than expected. 

With the crisis past, I turned around and made for the guild’s bulletin board…totally oblivious to the ominous gaze of a certain horse-headed man. 

*** 

The board was absolutely covered with dozens of pieces of paper. There was a mountain of work that needed doing apparently. 

As a brand-new party, however, we could only take jobs ranked F or E, and there weren’t any particularly epic-looking quests in those categories. The majority were just odd jobs around the city—stuff like organizing a warehouse, helping out in someone’s kitchen, basic bookkeeping, looking for a lost pet, and exterminating insects. 

None of them looked especially challenging, but the rewards were also low. 

The actual forms looked like this, for example: 

*** 

F 

TASK: Warehouse Organizing REWARD: 5 stone coins 

DETAILS: Manual labor, heavy lifting 

LOCATION: Rikarisu Block 12, the warehouse with the red door 

DURATION: Half a day to a day 

DEADLINE: N/A 

CLIENT: Dogamu of the Orte 

NOTES: I’ve got a ton of stuff to move around, and not nearly enough manpower. Someone help me out. Ideally, someone strong. 

*** 

F 

TASK: Kitchen Help REWARD: 6 stone coins 

DETAILS: Dishwashing, carrying food, etc. 

LOCATION: Rikarisu Block 4, the Footfall Restaurant 

DURATION: One day 

DEADLINE: Before the next full moon 

CLIENT: Shinitora of the Kanande 

NOTES: We’ve been getting a ton of reservations lately. I need some extra hands in the kitchen. If you’re up for a little taste-testing too, I’d appreciate it. 

*** 

E 

TASK: Lost Pet R EWARD: One scrap iron coin 

DETAILS: Find and catch a missing pet 

LOCATION: Rikarisu Block 2, Kirib House, room three 

DURATION: Until the pet’s located 

DEADLINE: None in particular 

CLIENT: Meicel of the Houga 

NOTES: My pet vanished and won’t come home. I’m using up all my allowance money on this request. Someone please help. 

*** 

They didn’t seem like the sort of jobs you’d undertake as a party really. It looked like low-rank jobs tended to be “solo quests” for the most part. Any jobs we completed would count for all of us for rank promotion purposes… At lower ranks, maybe people tended to take on a whole bunch of jobs as a party, then divide the work up among the members. 

“Well, I guess we’d want to start with something nice and simple…” Still, why’s the lost pet one E-rank? Oh, right. I guess the city’s pretty big… The whole “until you find it” thing could also be a little awkward. There was a possibility the thing was dead after all. But that bit about the “allowance” had to mean that the client was a sweet, adorable little girl, right? It’d be pretty sad if no one helped her out… 

“Aren’t there any about fighting dragons or something?” 

“There is one, but it’s S rank. Over here.” 

“Ooh, really?! Wait…I can’t read this.” 

“It says a stray dragon’s taken up residence to the north of the city.” 

“Think we could take it down?” 

“It would be best not to try. Dragons are fearsome foes.” 

“Right, right. Still, I kind of want to try slaying something …” 

“The monster-hunting quests start at Rank C, I’m afraid.” 

“There aren’t any ranked lower than that?” 

“So it would appear.” 

“But I heard you’re supposed start off by fighting goblins and stuff…” 

“You won’t find any monsters that weak on this continent.” 

As I looked through the low-level jobs, Eris was having a somewhat alarming conversation with Ruijerd, who handled all the reading for her. That guy really was a patient soul, wasn’t he? 

“Whoa there, my D-Dead End friends! Those are a little, uh…hehe… high-rank for you guys, ain’t they?” 

One of the guys who’d been laughing at us earlier sauntered over to the two of them with a big smirk on his face. It was a muscular man with the head of a horse…the same guy who’d stepped in to break up that fight a minute ago actually. 

I moved fast and managed to get myself between him and Eris before he got too close. “Mind your own business! We’ll take an F- or E-rank job, just like we’re supposed to!” 

“Hey, calm down, buddy! I just wanted to give ya a little advice, okay?” 

“No kidding. Like what?” 

“Here, ya see this job? The lost pet one?” Reaching past me, Horseface ripped down the paper I’d been looking at only a few moments earlier. 

“Yeah, I saw that one. Seemed like it might be kind of tough, since this city’s so big.” 

“Huuuh? Hey, come on, kid! Ain’t your boss the one an’ only Dead End? Like, a Superd?” 

“So what if he is?!” 

“Is that eye on his forehead just a decoration or what? It doesn’t matter how big the city is! He’ll track that thing down in a single day, no sweat!” 

Oh. Come to think of it, he’s got a point. Ruijerd could locate living things with pinpoint accuracy. Even if we were looking for a lost cat or something, he’d probably manage just fine… Of course, Horseface here was clearly convinced that Ruijerd was a phony, meaning that his thoughtful “advice” was really just intended to provoke us. I needed to react accordingly. 

“Shut up! Leave us alone!” 

Still, I’d have to keep that missing pet job in mind. It seemed like a good chance to take advantage of Ruijerd’s abilities. 

“Let’s go, Boss!” 

“Hm? Aren’t we going to take on any jobs?” 

“Forget it! We’ll come back when there aren’t a bunch of jerks waiting around to sabotage us.” The goal of this visit was to make our big appearance and get ourselves registered; I’d only looked at the board to get a sense of the type of jobs that were available. We’d get started in earnest tomorrow morning. “Come on. We’re done here.” 

As the three of us left the guild behind, I heard another huge burst of laughter from inside. 

“They’re going home without even takin’ a single job?!” 

“Dead End ain’t in no rush, man! What a cool customer!” 

“Gyahahahaha!” 

I could see the bewilderment on Ruijerd’s face. It was hard to blame him for wondering if we were really on the right track here. As far as I was concerned, though, the afternoon had been a success. The people in that building were laughing at the words “Dead End” instead of flinching or grimacing. That wasn’t what we were shooting for in the long-term, but it was definitely a step in the right direction. 

At the very least, I was convinced of that. 

One way or another, the three of us were now full-fledged adventurers.