Mile agreed to go to the capital of this country and enter the Hunter Training School. If she didn’t, it seemed that the receptionist, Laura, would have been fired, and the Guild Master, while not being fired, would have faced some kind of punishment.
Thinking that if it weren’t for the irregularity of Mile, Laura could have continued working without any issues, it was rather painful for her, being a former Japanese person.
Laura might have made a mistake like this eventually, but with this lesson, she would probably be more serious about following the rules from now on.
To be honest, it didn’t really matter to Mile either way.
Since she would eventually become a C-rank Hunter anyway, it wouldn’t be a big problem even if it happened a bit earlier. After all, just because she had a storage magic, being a C-rank Hunter was still within the realm of "ordinary C-rank Hunters."
Even if she remained an F-rank Hunter, the fact that she had storage magic would make little difference.
If she went to a distant place to re-register, it would still be C-rank if she followed the normal procedures, and if she lied and registered as an F-rank, she wouldn’t be able to use her storage magic and would have to limit her income to that of an F-rank Hunter.
That was outside Mile’s tolerance.
She didn’t want to live in poverty by choice.
In the end, it was just a difference of whether she would spend half a year as a student or not.
And Mile wanted that "student life."
She really wanted it!
The student life at Exland Academy, which ended halfway, was fun.
Everyone talked to her normally.
She made friends.
They played together.
She wanted to stay longer.
She wanted to stay with everyone until graduation.
She was reluctant to leave.
She had lingering feelings.
And she said it reflexively.
"I’ll go! I’ll enroll!!"
Three weeks after Mile decided to go to the capital.
Mile earned money.
She earned a lot of money.
According to the knowledgeable Hunter, the training school was free for tuition, dormitory fees, and food, and it seemed that she could still earn money as a Hunter while attending, but it was better to have some money just in case.
Since the next enrollment period was about a month away, she spent three weeks earning money, eight days traveling by stagecoach, and the remaining ten days as a buffer, during which she planned to explore the capital and get familiar with the area if nothing happened.
Since a week was six days and a month was six weeks, the number of days was convenient for calculations.
Mile, who was hunting and gathering in the forest, used magic and a sword this time, not small stones, to practice her strength control for the training school.
While she had practiced strength control at Exland Academy, the strength control required for a C-rank Hunter who would fight after graduating in half a year was completely different from that of a normal ten to twelve-year-old.
There might even be mock battles with real swords and magic duels.
Mile thought that the other students were probably older than her.
She used magic for birds, a makeshift spear for horned rabbits and foxes, and a sword for boars and deer.
While being careful not to take all the prey from other new Hunters, she continued to hunt enough to make the old man at the submission office look resigned, and by the day of departure, seven gold coins had been added to her item box. Combined with her previous savings, she had ten gold coins, equivalent to about one million yen in Japanese currency.
It was sufficient for travel expenses to the capital, accommodation until enrollment, and immediate needs.
With this, she could finally buy hunting equipment and clothes other than the school uniform.
Three weeks after the meeting in the guild’s conference room.
Mile left the town by stagecoach, accompanied by the Guild Master, guild staff, and Hunters.
Eight days to the capital.
Mile could move faster, but she didn’t do so unnecessarily.
After all, Mile was an ordinary F-rank Hunter.
The travel and food expenses were split and paid out of pocket by the Guild Master and Laura. It was only natural.
"She’s gone..."
"She’s really gone..."
The Guild Master muttered, and Laura responded.
"If she returns as a C-rank Hunter in half a year, she might become a B-rank in a few years. She’s still young, so even A-rank is not out of the question.
It would be great if she became the town’s star Hunter..."
"Will she come back? Maybe she’ll settle in the capital?"
"Since she has a family, she’ll come back, right?"
"Huh? Mile said she came here to live because her parents died in a remote mountain village. She’s not from around here and doesn’t have a family."
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
"Whaaat!?"
The Guild Master collapsed.
"At least, graduate with excellent grades from the training school and boost my credibility..."
The Guild Master was genuinely crying.
Behind him, several Hunters who had heard the conversation also collapsed.
Mile’s journey to the capital went smoothly.
Her new clothes were simple and cheap, making her look like an ordinary town girl.
She provided unlimited hot water to the passengers during camping, and they were very grateful. Mile seemed to have learned a bit about "service."
However, because of this, and the fact that she used her storage magic to retrieve food, it was obvious that she was not ordinary, despite her plain clothes.
"Are you going to the capital, Mile? To work?"
"Um, to a place called a training school..."
"Oh, as a servant there. It’s an elite course for Hunters, so if you catch a promising young man, you’ll be set for life! You’ll be fine, Mile. In a few years, no man will be able to ignore you!"
Mile smiled wryly at the words of the dazed older sister, who had enjoyed the luxury of daily hot showers and venison, which even nobles couldn’t experience.
The other passengers, who had heard this, thought to themselves.
(There’s no way someone who can use storage magic and produce that much hot water is a servant! She’s definitely going to enroll!!)
Nine days after departure, the stagecoach arrived at the capital, one day later than scheduled.
The delay was due to rain causing the road to become muddy and the axle breaking from the strain of the wheels getting stuck in the mud, but considering the accidents, it was a relatively quick arrival.
Except for those who got off along the way, the remaining passengers dispersed at the final stop, a large square in the center of the capital.
"Thanks for the hot water, Mile!"
"Come with us again next time!"
The passengers, especially the women who had enjoyed the luxury of daily hot showers, which even nobles couldn’t experience, were very grateful and shared their leftover food and souvenirs from their hometowns.
"I’ll put in a request for you when you become a full-fledged Hunter!"
(Oh, some people knew she wasn’t a servant...)
Of course.
"The capital, huh..."
It seemed slightly smaller than the capital of her home country where Exland Academy was located.
There might be a school for the children of nobles and the wealthy here as well.
In any case, she would be living in this city for at least half a year.
She could enter the dormitory three days before enrollment, so for the next six days, she planned to stay at an inn and explore the capital. Knowing the area could mean the difference between life and death in an emergency.
However, first, she needed to secure an inn. Since it was still early, she decided to ask some friendly-looking elderly people for recommendations and check out a few good inns herself.
(Darn! I should have asked the passengers! There were more people who lived in the capital and were returning than those who were just visiting!)
As always, Mile was rather absent-minded.
In the evening, just before sunset.
Mile stood in front of an inn.
After asking around and narrowing down the options to three inns that were safe for a girl to stay alone, had reasonable prices, and served good food, she chose one based on its location, the type of guests, and the cleanliness of the entrance. She was very serious about this decision, as it would affect her comfort for the next six days. If it turned out to be a bad choice, she would have to accept her bad luck and lack of judgment.
"Excuse me, do you have any rooms available?"
"Sure, we do!"
In response to Mile’s voice as she opened the door, a lively girl’s voice answered.
Inside, a girl around ten years old was sitting in the counter near the entrance.
It seemed she was helping out because it was dinner time and the inn was busy.
"Um, I’d like to stay for six nights..."
"Sure, the room is 5 silver coins per night, breakfast is 3 small silver coins, lunch is 5 small silver coins, and dinner is 8 small silver coins. A basin of hot water is 5 copper coins, and a bucket is 2 small silver coins."
"Hmm, I’d like to try different places for dinner, so just tonight, and breakfast every day. I can get my own hot water, so that’s fine."
"Ah, you’re a magic user! That’s so cool..."
The girl looked genuinely envious.
If the inn’s daughter could freely produce hot water, it would be very convenient.
Mile realized again how fortunate she was.
"You can have your meal anytime. But it’s only until the second bell of the night."
The second bell of the night is equivalent to 9 PM on Earth. The bells ring at 6 AM (first morning bell), 9 AM (second morning bell), 12 PM (first noon bell), 3 PM (second noon bell), 6 PM (first night bell), and 9 PM (second night bell).
"Okay, I’ll eat now."
Mile decided to eat right away to avoid the hassle of going back down the stairs after settling in.
It seemed she could choose from a menu, and looking at the menu posted on the wall...
Mile looked at the girl with a deadpan expression.
"Hehe, I accidentally ordered ten times the amount of meat..."
The girl scratched her head and laughed awkwardly.
If that was the case, there was no choice.
Actually, Mile had never eaten monster meat before.
Many nobles didn’t, and it was never served at the Ascam family’s table.
Even at the academy, where there were many noble students, they avoided serving monster meat out of consideration.
It wasn’t poisonous or anything, and Mile didn’t mind. She would be eating it frequently from now on, so it was just a matter of not having had the opportunity before.
Since she was going to eat it anyway, she decided to try a cooking method she would likely encounter often during hunts. Mile ordered the orc steak.
The dish that came out was orc steak, orc soup, bread, and salad.
The amount of meat was excessive, probably because they couldn’t use it all.