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Unlike the sharp-eyed, silver-haired youth who avoided the lively and crowded tavern attached to the guild and headed straight to the bulletin board where commissions were posted, the little fox perched on his shoulder restlessly looked around the room.
“Wafaaaouu, kuon.” (It’s very loud in here, isn’t it, big brother?)
Although his sister was talking to him, he couldn’t just speak to her in their language inside the guild, so he settled for a slight nod as he patted her on the head.
“Kyu~n♪”
While we were still on the outskirts of the city, I already told Dagger that I would ignore her if she spoke to me. It was the same when I went to the town of Zelgra before, so there shouldn’t be any problems.
This time, however, I planned to stay for a few more days and I’ve rented a room in an inn called the “Four-leaf Clover Pavilion” which is three buildings away from here, so I can have a space to have non-urgent conversations.
(Maybe I’ll just accept a suitable commission and get some food…)
As I glanced around and took in the smells of the connecting tavern at dinnertime, I spotted a young woman with an attractively cheerful smile who was clad in better equipment than the other Adventurers.
Her golden hair was tied in a red ribbon and she appeared to be a Swordswoman, but instead of a staff, she wore numerous ornaments that would aid her in casting magic which made her look a little uncomfortable.
The large man sitting in front of her also stood out because of the massive Middle Shield that was propped up on the chair beside him along with the Greatsword that had a pointed, isosceles triangle-shaped back blade.
(So that’s a Magus Sword and a Defense Vanguard…)
My wild instincts tingled at the unexpected presence of a stronger person, but since I had no reason to be concerned, I immediately took my gaze off of them and looked at the bulletin board where the requests were posted.
“Hmm, a Steppen Kobold living in the northwestern side of Dresde Town… Rejected.”
The quest was to reduce the number of Kobolds living in the grasslands before they starve and start attacking livestock in winter, but I’d feel bad exterminating my brethren…
Anyway, my pack was fortunate enough to live in Easteria forest which was abundant in food and prey, so as far as I know, we had never done something so risky as to lay our hands on the humans’ livestock animals.
However, I remember we beat up a couple of Adventurers in early spring, so just to be sure, I checked if there were any subjugation requests to “exterminate the Kobolds in the central part of Easteria forest”, and sighed in relief when I didn’t find any.
“Kyuou?” (What’s wrong?)
“It’s nothing.”
I patted the head of the little fox who tilted her head and peeled off a commission from the bulletin board which was from an Apothecary who requested to “collect 10 Black Rabbit horns” and took it to the receptionist at the counter.
Black Rabbits are black horned rabbits that are about 1 meter long and have silver horns that are processed to make medicines for natural diseases that couldn’t be treated by magic like liver disease and gastroenteritis.
Since the encounter rate of these particular monsters is much lower than the ordinary Big Horned Rabbits’, it’s hard for Humans to collect those horns so the prices of these materials tend to go unbelievably high especially in desert countries where they couldn’t be found.
After I’ve confirmed that the reward was reasonably good, I thought that we could find at least 1 in a few days with our excellent sense of smell and experience living in the forest.
I calculated how much we would get for the elusive black rabbits’ horns and if all goes well, we’d be able to buy souvenirs for everyone in the village as well, so with that thought in mind, I presented the request to the receptionist in a good mood, but…
“You do know that the territorial lord has issued a special commission, right?”
“… What?”
“The guild can only accommodate requests related to the Valley Ants right now, but can you show me your guild registration card?”
As requested, I took the small, folded parchment from my waist bag and handed it to her.
“Archer, specialty weapon is a bow… I see, so you only have a first name.”
“… (Maybe I should have chosen a simpler name after all?)”
“Eh? Even though you’re an archer, your aptitude says you’re a vanguard!?”
The aptitude test I took when I registered at the guild assessed my basic physical abilities as well as my skill with the weapons I was using, but reluctantly, it seems my aptitude as a vanguard was higher than my aptitude as a rearguard.
Of course, I can’t say that I don’t have an idea since I took down the Goblin double swordsman and communicated with my brethren using my fists according to Kobold tradition, but… Agh, I feel like I haven’t grown at all since my days as a mercenary.
While I was idly recalling my memories of the distant past, the receptionist finished checking my information and timidly handed my registration document back.
“I’m sorry, but you belong to the guild in Zelgra, so…”
According to the receptionist who explained to me while slightly frowning, Adventurers who visit an area where the territorial lord has issued a special quest are obligated to participate in it too.
(I might know a lot of things, but I guess there’s still a lot more that I don’t…)
As I was about to open my mouth to confirm some things about the special quest, I felt a presence behind me and I turned around.
“Hey there, sorry, but can I talk to you for a bit?”
A chestnut-haired man smiled as he pulled back the hand which was about to touch my shoulder that my sister wasn’t perched on.
“Sure, no problem…”
“See, I saw you enter the guild alone earlier… Are you a loner?”
For someone that has such a refreshing smile, this guy sure says rude things while being subtle about it.
“You see, there was a Valley Ant subjugation nearby, and our archer was injured during that encounter… so we’d like to ask someone to temporarily take her place if possible.”
Hmm, a temporary party member, huh… I’m not really interested so whether I join them or not is fine, but as I looked towards the table that the chestnut-haired man was pointing to, I saw a familiar red-haired Mage that was quietly sitting in one of the seats.
“… Well, I guess we can discuss it.”
“Really!? Thank god!”
I thought it was a good opportunity for us to meet like this so I agreed, and as I was guided to their table, Muriel began to repeatedly shake her head.
At that point, I noticed it too.
I noticed that she was staring fixedly at my sister who had begun grooming herself while sitting on my shoulder… Then, after my sister finished, she raised her white fur-tipped paw to her.
“Kyua~n♪”
“!?”
Immediately, the red-haired Mage froze in shock.