IF YOU ARE NOT READING THIS ON SINISTERTRANSLATIONS.WORDPRESS.COM THEN I WILL BE VERY SAD AND HATE YOU FOR ETERNITY. Part 2 People always say, that for an orphan who grew up in a temple, the day the child turned 15 would be the day they entered adulthood.
In other words, the orphan would be forced to walk their own path once they reach that age.
They were given 2 choices. It was either to continue serving the god and live an ascetic life in the temple, or leave the temple and go out into the world.
Choosing the latter, the female priest headed for the Adventurers Guild.
The Adventurers Guild. āāLegend says that It was an organization formed by the people who had once gathered in a bar to support the hero. Ā Ā
Unlike other organizations, rather than a mutual aid society, they are more like a mediating agency.
For instance, in the long war between the [Enlightened Onesā] and the monsters, the adventurers functioned like mercenaries.
(TLN: Originally ?????. Direct translation would be āUsers of Wordsā or even āLanguage Usersā, so going with Enlightened Ones here.)
Of course, without strict supervision, these armed goons wouldnāt even be allowed to exist.
Entering the street, a female priest was immediately attracted by the gigantic building at the side of the street and unconsciously slowed her footsteps.
After she entered the big hall, she was shocked by the crowd of rowdy adventurers gathered inside despite the early morning.
This building consisted of a large hotel and a barāāwhich both could be considered as oneāā with a government office on top of it.
Simply put, this place was a combination of the three. Thus, the incredibly lively atmosphere was nothing short of ordinary.
There were humans here wearing chainmail, some holding magical staves, and even Spirit Shamans who were wearing cloaks.
A little further away, dwarves, with their thick beards and axes, and the natives of the plains, with their short bodies, could be seen.
The crowd consisted of men and women of different races and age as they held their weapons and talked merrily with each other in groups.
Squeezing through the gaps among the crowd, she walked towards the receiving area.
A long queue had formed in front of the desk. People had come to take requests, report progress, or even make a request.
[And? Howās the situation of the Manticore in the mountain ridge?]
(TLN: The manticore is a Persian legendary creature similar to the Egyptian sphinx. It has the body of a red lion, a human head with three rows of sharp teeth (like a shark), sometimes bat-like wings, and a trumpet-like voice.)
[It was nothing. If you want to earn more cash, it would be better off looking for ruins or something.]
[Uh-huh. But that would not count as a contribution anymore.]
[Hey, I heard that an evil spirit was stirring up trouble near the capital. It might be a good time to earn more money to me.]
[Maybe I could do it. If itās just a low-level demon, that isā¦ā¦]
A spear-wielding adventurer was talking with another adventurer clad in heavy armor.
Hearing the contents of their conversation was more than she could have imagined, the female priest gasped in shock for the third time.
Holding her mace tightly, she steadied herself and made a decision in her heart.
[ā¦ā¦In the future, I also want toā¦ā¦!]
She was aware, that the occupation of an adventurer was not as easy as the rumors say.
She had seen wounded adventurers visiting the temple to pray for Healing Miracles.
And the Earth Motherās teachings were to heal those who were wounded.
Thus, she didnāt have an ounce of hesitation even if she knew she was putting Ā herself in danger.
As an orphan who was saved by the temple, she was willing to return her gratitude.
[Hello there! What business do you have here today?]
As the female priest was pondering on her thoughts, she was already next in line for reception.
The receptionist in charge of the counter was a lady with a gentle expression that was somewhat older than her.
Her clean uniform looked neat and tidy on her, which matched nicely with her light brown hair that was tied into three braids and let down.
Just by looking at the crowd, one could already see how heavy the workload was for the receptionists.
Yet, she didnāt have a speck of the tense aura that strong women usually have, showing that she had adequate understanding of her job.
The female priest gulped as she felt her nervousness dissipating a little. Opening her mouth, she then spoke.
[Iā¦I want to become anā¦ā¦adventurer.]
[Iā¦ā¦see.]
Yet, the female receiptionistās reply was different from her expression.
An indescribable look appeared on her face for a brief moment, as she answered ambiguously.
The female priest felt like she was being evaluated from head to toe and couldnāt help but lower her head in embarrassment.
But then, the female receptionist put on a professional smile to smooth over the awkwardness from before.
[Alright then! Can you read and write?]
[Uhh, yes. I learned someā¦ā¦in the temple.]
[In that case, please fill out this adventure sheet. If you have something you donāt understand, please feel free to ask.]
Adventure sheetāāThe brownish parchment that had golden-coloured squiggle-ish words written on it.
āIs that all I have to do?ā thought the female priest in curiosity.
[Ah, please leave the Ability Points and Past Adventures section blank. Weāll fill it out after we assess you.]
[O-okay.]
The female priest nodded her head and held the pen with trembling hands.
Dipping it into the ink pot, she started filling the form word by word.
Passing the completed form back to the female receptionist, the female receptionist then started checking through it and nodded from time to time.
Afterwards, she took out a silver sharp-edged pen and started engraving words on a small piece of white porcelain.
When she had finished, she passed the small porcelain tag to the female priest.
Receiving it from her, the female priest looked at the porcelain tag and realized that the words engraved on it was what she just wrote on the parchment.
[This is for your skill appraisal, as well as a proof of identity.]
The female receptionist then said something again with a cheeky tone.
[Of course, other than the words engraved on it, itās not something really special]
Seeing the female priest blink her eyes in confusion, she couldnāt help but let out a laugh.
[Just in case anything happens to you, it will be used to corroborate your identity. So please, try not to lose it.]
āāIf anything happensā?
The female priest briefly didnāt understand what she meant, but realised a moment later.
She understood that the porcelain tag would be used to identify who she was, should her corpse be mutilated beyond recognition.
She hoped that she didnāt tremble when she said āYesā.
[But still, this is all it takes to become an adventurer, huhā¦ā¦]
[About that, if itās just [Becoming] an adventurer, it really is this easy.]
The female receptionist had an ambiguous look on her. Was she worried, or is it that she had given up?
The female priest couldnāt figure it out.
[We will look into the monsters you have beaten, contributions to the society and your personality to define whether you are fit for a rank up. Itās quite strict, you know?]
[Personality?]
[Occasionally, there would be people with thoughts like {Iām strong, so I donāt need anyone else!}]
And some even weirder peopleāāthe female receptionist mumbled softly, but then immediately put on a bright smile.
The smile was so gentle and warm, it was one that would only appear when you are nostalgic of something.
The female priest thought shockedlyāāSo even she can make such an expression.
Realizing she was being stared at, the female receptionist immediately coughed a few times embarrassingly.
[Requests are pinned onto that board. Normally, you would choose a request that is compatible with your own rankā¦ā¦]
She pointed to the large board that almost took up the whole wall behind the female priest.
But due to the large crowd of adventurers from before tearing large number of requests off, the requests on the board was few and scatteredā¦..
Still, to be able to use such a large board was a sign that the number of requests must be quite the number.
[But, I personally suggest you start by cleaning the sewers and drains to get yourself used to your job.]
[Eh? Werenāt adventurers supposed to hunt and battle monstersā¦ā¦]
[Hunting down Giant Rats is also considered to be exterminating monsters. Itās quite a large contribution to the society you know~]
After all, all newbies can do is either this or exterminating goblins anywayāāthe female receptionist mumbled softly again with a complicated expression.
[Alright, thatās it for registration. Good luck!]
[Ahāāyes! Thank you very much!]
The female priest bowed her head in gratitude and left the reception counter.
With the white porcelain identity tag over her neck, she breathed a sigh of relief.
In short, the registration was completeāāAlthough the process was somewhat disappointing, she was finally an adventurer.
āā What was she going to do, from now on?
All she had was the mace in her hand which also served as her holy mark, a luggage bag where she kept a change of clothes, and a little gold.
The second floor of the guild looked like a hostel built specially for low-ranked adventurers.
Now, Iāll just look for a decent room and see what kind of requests there is for todayāā
[Hey, want to go on an adventure with us?]
[Huh?]
The one who suddenly called out to the female priest was a young man. Although his chest wasnāt wounded, it was bound tightly with bandage with a sword hanging off Ā his waist.
A brand-new white porcelain tag hung on his neck, just like the female priestās.
There were 10 ranks of adventurers. With the highest being platinum, and porcelain being the lowest rank.
In other words, he was also a newbie who just registered just like her.
[Youāre a priest, right?]
[Uhh, about thatā¦yes, I amā¦ā¦]
[Perfect! Our party is lacking just a clericā¦ā¦]
Looking over him, she realized that there were 2 more girls behind the swordsman.
One of the girls wore a battle outfit with her ponytail tied high, exuded an aura of a strength.
While the other girl was bespectacled and held a staff while looking coldly at her.
Just by looking, you can tell that they seem to be a martial artist and a mage respectively.
Noticing the female priestās gaze, he nodded and said [Both of them are my allies.]
[Still, the request is a very urgent one, so we want to at least recruit another person. Are you willing to join us?]
[What urgent questā¦ā¦?]
[Goblin slaying!]
Through his explanation, it seems that some goblins had moved into a nearby cave near a village without anyone noticing.
GoblinsāāOther than their massive numbers, they are the weakest and plainest among the monsters.
They only have the size, strength and the intelligence of a small human child. Their only strength is the ability to see in the dark.
Other than that, they do the same things as all the other monsters, threatening humans, attacking their villages, kidnapping women, and so on.
No matter how weak they are, they are still monsters in the end.
At the start, the villagers didnāt really mind goblins, but the situation worsened gradually.
At first, the grains that the villagers stocked up for winter were stolen.
Because their food and seeds were stolen, the angry villagers rebuilt their fences and started patrolling around with torchesā¦ā¦
Then, when the villagers let their guard down, they stole their sheep. Even the shepherdess and a girl who came out to see what was the fuss about was taken away.
The situation left the villagers without a choice.
They gathered what little money they had and payed a visit to the Adventurer Guild where the adventurers gathered.
They believed that leaving this matter to the Adventurerās Guild hands was a right choice.
āāHmmā¦ā¦
After she finished listening to the swordsmanās never ending explanation, the female priest put her fingers against her lips and thought hard.
It wasnāt uncommon for a newbieās first mission to go and slay goblins.
And now, she even got an invitation to go on this adventure. This was fate, so she believed,
She had never ever thought that she was able to do everything herself.
For a priest like her to go on an adventure alone was tantamount to suicide.
Sooner or later, sheāll have to party up with others anyway.
Yet, to go with strangers she had just met made her heart uneasy.
Even so, to go on an adventure with people that invited her should make her feel a little more reassured.
Even if this was the first time she was invited by a maleā¦ there were still two other females in the party. Soā¦ā¦
āāIt shouldnāt be a problem.
[Understood. If you donāt mind meā¦ā¦]
The female priest thought a little more and nodded her head.
Seeing that, the swordsman became extremely happy.
[Really? Everyone, I got good news! Now we can start our adventure!]
[About thatā¦ā¦Is it just the four of you?]
The female receptionist couldnāt endure it anymore and interrupted him.
Yet, the swordsman didnāt think that anything was inappropriate.
[If you wait a while, I think another adventurer will come alongā¦ā¦]
[Itās fine! 4 of us are enough if itās just goblins!]
The swordsman looked at his party members and said with a cheerful smile.
[Right?]
[Thereās no time to lose! Those abducted girls are waiting for us to go save them!]
Yet, the female receptionist who heard that still had a complicated look on her face.
[ā¦ā¦]
With that, a feeling of an extreme uneasiness formed within the female priestās heart.