Sevens

Volume 1, Chapter 6 – Adventurer Guild

Translated by: Reiji

Dalien.

It was a city that was connected via highway to the capital Centralle. It was facing west from Centralle, but the area controlled by the royal family was the east portion, making Dalien the city closest to the capital that was still ruled by a feudal lord. It had that kind of favorable condition, but there were other well-maintained highways that lowered its importance. Because of that, apparently the place had been really deserted for a time.

But, after there was a change in feudal lords the reformation seemed to be advancing well. Construction work for the sake of expansion was being done everywhere, so it didn’t have an impression of desolateness. Rather, it felt like a city overflowing with vitality.

The city that was governed by the Baron house Rovenia was bustling. The ancestors were looking at the city as they voiced various opinions. Starting from the First, in turn,

『……It’s even livelier than what I heard. It only looked like an envious city in my era, where the money would gather without doing anything.』

『The highway is well maintained and if it connects to the center of the country, it’d only be natural for the city to grow. Looking at the map, the territory’s scale is small, but the income seems sufficient.』

『The expenses for a Baron house and above is on an entirely different level though. Around the level of a Baronet house, depending on the situation, the income can be good and the subordinates also respectful. When the territory’s scale swells up, managing it will also become more difficult. A Baronet house is able to take it more casually and have it easier.』

『Third, can you really say that after pushing me up to a Baron house…? Well, a Baron house has it heard but if it’s an area of this scale that’s been inherited through the generations, they sure also have a full set of vassals. There must be no problem for them.』

『It’s near the capital and an important place for traffic. If they had made an effort earlier, the city’s scale would’ve already been a bit bigger than this.』

『No, there’s no guarantee about that. After all, you can go to the capital from here right away, so the human resources will naturally flow there. Besides, surely this city also depends heavily on the capital. Thinking about that relationship, the feudal lord of this area might even have it pretty rough.』

『……The Rovenia House, huh. Was it the previous generation head, or the one before that? I had spoken to him a few times. He was just a spoiled young master with some really naïve thinking.』

Their opinions were all over the place due to their respective sense of values and the era they lived in.

Passing through the gate, the connecting coach stopped and the passengers went down. I carried our luggage as we walked through the narrow passage inside the coach. Then, in front of me, a man forcefully crossed through.

The man didn’t even apologize despite bumping into me. While I was watching the man in bewilderment, Novem called out to me from behind.

「Lyle-sama, there are people waiting behind, so let’s hurry.」

「Go, got it.」

In the mansion, the servants would make way for me even though I was hated, so this bewildered me a bit. This kind of side might be no good, but I could only get bewildered at the drastic change of environment. I got down from the connecting coach, and then I set the luggage down and stretched a bit.

「Finally out after several hours.」

Then Novem looked at me and smiled before picking up the luggage. The Second who was watching my actions from the Jewel warned me.

『……Lyle, there are many passersby. If you’re going to stand around, do it after you walk around a bit more. Also, don’t let go of your luggage carelessly. Try looking around a bit.』

When I looked around, there were children observing things in our direction. They had ragged clothes and a sharp gaze. Besides them, there was also a small-statured man paying attention to the surroundings.

「……Ah」

Looking there, the man that had cut me off had set his luggage down and was talking to someone else. Taking advantage of that opening, the small man crossed over and quickly stole the luggage. The city had vitality, but that wasn’t all. If I were to give my honest impression, it was a city where you couldn’t let your guard down at all.

The First was exasperated.

『Taking steps for theft of this level is the basics of the basics. This guy, he really doesn’t know anything. Aa~aa, the Walt House’s education is mistaken.』

The Seventh objected to the First’s exasperated speech. He did that, but it was doubtful what he was saying was covering for me or not.

『Lyle is the heir of a Count house with noble blood flowing through him! It’s only natural to leave something like this to the people around him!』

The Second said to the Seventh.

『No, right now there aren’t any people like that around him. On top of that, he was driven out of the house. That doesn’t make him the heir of anything, does it? As expected, it’ll be bad if he remains ignorant about society.』

──Certainly that’s true.

「My bad, Novem. Let’s hurry on ahead. It’s already late today. Let’s head to the guild tomorrow morning.」

I took the luggage from Novem and started walking away. It wasn’t as bad as Centralle, but the dust and the smell of the area is terrible. Novem nodded and walked diagonally behind me.

The next day.

Novem and I entrusted the luggage to the inn and searched for the adventurer guild in Dalien.

When we went to a street that had a lot of people on it and asked around, we were told that the adventurer’s guild was the splendid building visible from here. The people who told us that were a trio of two men and a woman.

One was a youth with short brown hair who was older than me, with a sword hanging on his waist and equipped with leather armor. He had an atmosphere of a refreshing, good young man, and when Novem asked him, he immediately told us the guild’s location. Novem must have judged that he was an adventurer from how he was wearing a protector on his body. At a glance, he could also be seen as a knight or a soldier, but that youth──Rondo, was together with two other people. Thanks to that, we pieced together that he was an adventurer.

「The building you can see there is the adventurer guild of Dalien. It’s relatively big for a city of this size.」

The small girl carrying a wooden staff has green and wavy hair that reached down to her shoulders. She was wearing a robe, and her appearance looked like a magician’s. Her face showed a character of determined spirit, but she was kind.

「We also came to Dalien only a few months ago. We became adventurers in our home town, but as expected, we didn’t have that much work. So we saved travel expenses and came here. You two look like rookies, so you made the right choice in coming here. There are a lot of work requests here.」

The smiling girl, Rachel, seemed to think we were rookies aiming to become adventurers. She wasn’t mistaken, so I nodded at her.

The youth, Ralph, who was the tallest among the three, carried a spear and had ill-bred looking short Mohican hair. He seemed to recall his home town and spoke with a nostalgic expression.

「This place is nice. In our hometown, even after becoming adventurers, the request we took was helping out acquaintances. The requests could be counted on one hand, and besides that, there was only going outside to exterminate some monsters. Compared to that time, being an adventurer feels more real in this place. 」

Rondo-san and Rachel-san talked about various things to us.

「Even registering as adventurers takes money, after all. Well, there is also the option of borrowing money from the guild. If you do that, remember that some of the money will be deducted from your rewards.」

Novem looked at the three and said.

「Will the three of you continue being adventurers like this in Dalien?」

Rachel-san shook her head in response.

「You can live on by staying here, but we want to aim a bit higher. Our objective here is saving money and preparing equipment. If we don’t have something like a magic tool, we’d be considered low-level adventurers no matter where we went.」

You would be considered as low level if you don’t have magic tools? I thought about getting one too, but then I saw the Jewel hanging off my neck. I recalled that this thing interfered with magic tools and made it so the carved Arts wouldn’t activate. A temptation to throw this thing out and obtained a magic tool that had some Arts attacked me. Then, Ralph-san lifted his spear to the sky with a smile.

「Yes! We are aiming even higher! After Dalien, we will head to a place where we can fight more monsters. We’ll get some more comrades, and then there’s Beim! There, we’ll aim to become first class adventurers!」

Rachel-san shyly averted her gaze seeing that, because of Ralph gathering the gazes of the surroundings. Rondo-san was watching with a smile on his face.

「That’s how it is. Our final objective is the Capital of Adventurers. However, we want to pile up some experience and grow in Dalien before that. We will prepare equipment, gather comrades……our aim is to be first class adventurers.」

Rachel-san looked at Rondo-san’s face and blushed slightly. There was clearly a difference compared to when Ralph-san was talking, even though both of the youths were talking about the same dream.

「You two do your best as well. Look, you can see the entrance there.」

The large building had three floors. Furthermore, its grounds were wide. There was a large entrance, and horse carts and so on could be seen coming and going repeatedly. The appearance of the people walking around actually looked more along the lines of merchants. Besides, the first floor area of the building──how to say it, it seemed to be a market. It looked like the adventurers and merchants were buying and selling monster materials. I pointed out the first floor area and asked a question.

「Err, why is the first floor like a market, or a warehouse?」

The four there stiffened hearing my words. And then, there was also a sigh from inside the Jewel. Did I ask something strange?

.

Inside the guild.

After entering the second floor, we received various explanations from Rondo-san there.

「Monster materials are a precious resource. But, the guild isn’t directly buying and selling it. I guess there are sometimes requests asking for a specific kind of material, though. What the guild is actually managing is the red stone inside a monster’s body, which is called the magic stone.」

Rachel-san puffed out her chest and explained to me.

「Magic stones are useful for various things. Let’s see. Putting it simply, it’s an energy source. There are magic tools that use magic stones, and even craftsmen use them. It also became necessary in the process of creating magic tools, so the rate of consumption for the stones is high. It’s one of the main sources of income for adventurers.」

Ralph-san also looked at me and explained even while feeling slightly astonished.

「That’s why what the guild wants is only the magic stones. Speaking bluntly, the guild is the organization that manages the magic stones. I wouldn’t go as far as saying that the management of adventurers is just an extra, but it isn’t actually the essential part. The adventurer guild holds the rights for the magic stones, which is one of the reasons it became such a large organization. But, because of that, adventurers have to process the stones separately from the monster’s meat, bones, and skin. That’s troublesome, so that’s why the guild provides the market place. Also, did you notice the bathhouse next to here? It’s better to not come back here immediately after returning, what with all the mud, sweat, and blood. Because of that, most guilds have a bathhouse nearby.」

Hearing Ralph-san’s explanation, the Fourth corrected a slight mistake.

『Perhaps it’s fine for the small fry to have a perception of that level, but it’s a bit different. There are adventurer guilds throughout the continent, but they aren’t all the same single organization. Lyle, remember this. The countries and the feudal lords wouldn’t allow something of that level. After all, it’s already holding something huge like the rights to the magic stones. It’s a troublesome existence. But, no matter what, an organization is required to manage the adventurers, and the management of magic stones is also necessary. What one would call the adventurer guild is an organization with branches independent from each other, but still cooperate with their surroundings. They simply have a shared rule.』

In other words, the adventurer guild wasn’t something like a monolithic organization, but was instead an assembly of independent organizations that cooperated with the surroundings and acted in concert. However, the Seventh, irritated, carried on.

『I hate the adventurer guild though. Adventurers are just a gathering of bandits and mercenaries. Even though the guild asked for the cooperation of feudal lords, they did as they pleased with the rights for magic stones as a shield, saying they had to be managed. Sh*t, how could my cute grandson Lyle join such a gathering of ruffians!』

Novem was looking around while receiving the explanations. Three members of the guild staff were working as clerks and sitting side by side at the reception counter of the second floor. Each of them seemed to have their own individual quirks, but there was also a difference in the length of adventurers queuing before each clerk. Rondo-san asked me a question.

「Lyle-kun doesn’t have any weapons? It looks like you didn’t even bring a knife 」

I scratched my head with my right hand while,

「My weapon is a saber. But, I don’t have it right now. I’m thinking of buying one here.」

A third of the money that I received from Zel had been used for traveling. Most of the time it was Novem who paid, so if it weren’t for that, I would have nothing left. It was unthinkable for me to buy a weapon with the remaining money in my possession.

Ralph-san nodded. He must have guessed my feelings.

「I understand. I understand you. Weapons are expensive after all. It’s luxurious to have a weapon right from the start like Rondo.」

Rondo-san made a slightly troubled face while speaking to Ralph-san.

「I received it when leaving my house. It was a parting gift. Besides, I prepared everything other than that by myself so isn’t it fine? Your spending is uncontrolled, so you weren’t able to afford anything besides weapons.」

Rachel-san looked at me while putting her hand on her chin.

「Saber, huh? I won’t say that it’s bad, but why are you so fixated on it? If you are only buying, then even a short sword will be fine. I also recommend weapons like a spear, or even a sword if it’s a double-edged sword like Rondo, since it can also be used as a blunt weapon. It that type of weapon no good?」

I had experience using other weapons before, but I was fixated on a saber no matter what. The main reason was that it felt like the only thing left for the current me. The memories with my family, and the matter of grasping it everyday and hoping to be recognized by them someday. The ancestors inside the Jewel didn’t really understand that feeling. The first spoke disinterestedly without any sign of following the decided rules.

『There isn’t any big deal monster in a place like the surroundings of a city right? It’s enough to just use some wood or rocks lying around, or even your bare firsts. This guy, even if there is a great sword, he wouldn’t be able to swing it around.』

The Second was dressed like a hunter, so as expected his weapon seemed to be a bow. He strongly recommended a bow to me.

『Lyle, bows are great. If you get used to handling them you don’t even have to gear near the enemy to fight them.』

The Third spoke nonchalantly.

『Is that so? It’s best using the weapon you are used to.』

The Fourth told me to stop using a saber from the financial aspect.

『Thinking of the price, how about a shortsword? There’s no need to suddenly prepare a saber.』

The Fifth seemed to be not interested and didn’t say anything. The Sixth recommended a spear.

『A spear is a safe choice. If possible, a halberd would be even better.』

The Seventh spoke in disappointment.

『If it’s in the mansion, I’d tell you to take a gun from my collection, but…good grief, no one understands the usefulness of a gun.』

Now that he mentioned it, several types of guns were hanging on the wall of the Seventh’s room. Were they usable even now. Even if they were, where should I go to procure the bullets? There is no doubt that it was a weapon with various problems. But, there was something that I noticed here.

The sense of values of the ancestors were too different from each other, and it was doubtful whether their opinions were the optimal one. Even if I consulted them the reply that came back was different for each one, making it troublesome and annoying.

I replied to Rachel-san.

「……E, err, I’ll think about it. First of all, money is also necessary.」

Then Rondo-san smiled at me.

「That’s fine. It’s fine to decide based on what others told you, but it’s also important to make a decision that you can accept yourself. Well, it will be even better if it can also match reality.」

And then while we were talking, climbing the stairs, vulgar looking adventurers──a bunch of guys who looked like the thugs the Seventh mentioned glared at us as we passed through. Ralph-san got into a bit of a bad mood, but Rachel-san noticed it and he shrugged his shoulders.

Rachel-san looked at them and spoke.

「Those kind of guys weren’t here when we first came, but recently they are increasing in number. One person became two, and now it looks like they are accepting requests with five people. Oops, Rondo, Ralph, let’s go take a request too.」

Told that by Rachel-san, they headed towards a display board that had papers put on it. Rondo-san raised and waved his right hand at me and said,

「You two, do your best too.」

Novem bowed her head to the three then she turned to me.

「Lyle-sama, let’s go take care of the procedure. It seems it will be fine if we register at the counter.」

Among the three people at the counter, from where I’m standing there was a blonde haired and blue eyed lady with a radiant smile on the left. A plate with a name written on it could be seen at the counter. Santoa Maillet──she had a surname, so she must be a daughter from a relatively good place.

The adventurers lining up in front of her were mostly young males. The queue there was the longest.

In the middle was a portly middle aged woman named Marietta. She was taking care of documents briskly. The line of adventurers advanced forward one after another. There were also females among the adventurers there, and also many males with an ambience to them lining up there.

The queue there was the second longest.

And then the right clerk’s queue was the shortest. The name plate was carved with the name Hawkins. His body was big and trained, obvious even from above the clothes. Tanned skin. Red hair, cut shortly. Hard face. Looking at the situation, I thought that the middle-aged woman at the center would be good and stepped in that direction. But, the second stopped me.

『Lyle, let’s go to the right clerk. That hard-faced clerk. Don’t go to the left even by mistake. Don’t ogle the beautiful clerk even though you’ve got Novem-chan, that’s not what I’m saying. That girl’s no good. The woman in the center is fine, but the one on the right is the best for the current Lyle.』

Told that by the Second, I pondered for a bit and chose the right clerk. There was also the advantage that the queue there was the shortest, but the biggest reason was that the other ancestors didn’t deny the Second’s opinion.

Novem was a bit surprised seeing me.

「How unexpected. I thought that Lyle-sama would choose the middle clerk.」

「I guess. At first I was thinking that.」

Novem looked at me and smiled.

「I also intended to recommend the right clerk. He seems the most polite and will be a help to us beginners.」

When I looked at the right counter, certainly the person was hard-faced, but he carried his work out with a smile. Surely his reception would be polite.

「Then it’s decided.」

We lined up at the right clerk. The queue was the shortest, so at a glance I thought there was some kind of problem. But the most no-good was the beauty on the left, Santoa-san.

When I turned my gaze there, Santoa-san was dealing with an adventurer with equipment of bad quality. I couldn’t see whether his face was good or bad, but apparently the person wasn’t Santoa-san’s preference. Even though before this she was doing her job with a smile, her attitude suddenly became disinterested.

「So you accomplished the request. I’ll prepare the reward. Your tab in the guild is piling up isn’t it? I’ll deduct that amount from the reward, then.」

It seemed the man had some kind of debt in the guild. He panicked a bit.

「Please wait a bit. My comrade was hurt and needs a treatment fee. I’m begging you, can’t you just deduct around ten percent from the reward this time?」

The male adventurer talked with a flattering voice and gaze. But, Santoa-san gave a disinterested look. She wrote something on the document and said,

「Geez, I’ve written it down already so it’s impossible to correct it. So, here’s your reward.」

Silver coins and a silver colored plate came out. But, the man doggedly asked if something could be done somehow. Then, the adventurers behind him yelled at him.

「How long you’re gonna take huh. Santoa-chan is troubled because of you!」

「Leave right away.」

「Santoa-chan, you okay?」

The adventurers behind became noisy. The man looked frustrated as he took the reward, and left as if he were escaping the place. The next adventurer was probably Santoa-san’s preference, since her attitude was clearly different. It was an adventurer wearing high-quality clothes with a proper getup. He said that he wanted to accept a request and handed the paper from the display board to Santoa-san.

「Santoa-chan, you have it hard with strange people picking trouble with you right from the morning. Tell me if something happens. I’ll immediately come running.」

「Thank you very much. Ah, this request……it’s better to not take this one. The reward is a bit cheaper than the market price after all. There’s a similar kind of request with a higher reward than this.」

「Is that so? Haha~, I always get helped by Santoa-chan every time.」

A laughing voice could be heard. Seeing that I thought that woman was scary.

The Second’s voice came from inside the Jewel.

『That girl called Santoa is no good. Her work is slow, and her reception is also bad. If we’re talking about the face then she’ll surely act kind to Lyle too, but that girl feels like she’ll bring trouble. It’s better to not get near.』

The Third chuckled.

『I think that beginner adventurers and beautiful clerks are the golden road of a tale though. Well, reality is like this. Lyle, it’s your turn..』

My reality. That was the hard-faced male clerk who was clad in an armor of muscle that was obvious even with his clothes. He received Novem and I with a smile

「Oh, you two are beginners? Are you two thinking to register as adventurers today?」

「Ye, yes.」

The smiling Hawkins-san nodded and began to take out several documents and tools. He was making preparations while talking to us.

「If both of you are registering together, then you should apply for a party formation while you’re at it. Do you have any objection to that?」

I titled my head hearing him mentioning a party application. Novem took a step forward to stand beside me and requested Hawkins-san.

「Yes. Please do. Also, about the registration fee.」

「It’s five silver coins, so for the two of you it’ll cost a gold coin. Even if you can’t pay it right away, you can also take a loan from the guild. At that time, there’ll be interest, so you’ll end up having to pay six silver coins per person with that option.」

Novem took out a gold coin from her wallet and paid it right on the spot.

「We will pay upfront.」

「Thank you very much. Then, first there are columns you should fill in this paper. I want you to write on it, but can you write? If you can’t I can fill it out in your place.」

I accepted the form together with Novem and we wrote our name on it using ink and pen. We wrote general information like our birth place and so on.

After we handed the forms to Hawkins-san, he confirmed the contents while nodding.

「Both of you have beautiful writing. Lyle Walt-san and Novem Forxuz-san is it? You came from Weihs? Ah, that place.」

Hawkins-san began to write something on the forms. I was nervous wondering if he would say something about my family name. But, there wasn’t anything like that and Hawkins-san began explaining.

「Then, I’ll start. From here on both of you will become adventurers with Dalien as your home base. If you want to change your home base, please submit a moving out notification. And then, show the moving in notification that we prepared for you at your next home base without fail. There are also some exceptions, but fundamentally the rule is that you can only accept requests in your home base.」

Hawkins-san courteously explained while looking at our faces. He confirmed whether we understood or not as he continued his talk. It was just as Novem and the Second said, I’m glad that I chose Hawkins-san.

「Next, I’ll explain the guild cards. This here is a plate made from rare metal. Even if it’s dropped inside a dungeon, there’s no concern about it being eaten. The personal record of the adventurer is carved on it. It’s a loan from the guild to the adventurer, so please don’t sell it as you please. You will be penalized if you do so. Also, in case you lose it, quickly go through the procedure to reissue it. You will be charged a fee, so please don’t lose it if at all possible.」

A rectangular silver plate was prepared in front of us. When I asked, apparently the registration was done by putting our blood on two pieces of guild card. One card would be carried by ourselves, while the other one would be kept by the guild. And then, information was written on that guild card. It seems that when the holder died, the adventurer’s name would be crossed out with a horizontal line. By looking at that, the guild could confirm the death of an adventurer. The Fourth showed a great interest from within the Jewel.

『This is a really convenient tool. Is it a type of magic tool……if it is, spread to a wider range, I believe it will be really convenient for various things.』

That the Fourth held interest in it must mean that it didn’t exist in his era. But, it seemed the First didn’t understand what was so amazing about this guild card.

『Is that so? It’s only convenient for confirming the holder’s death, right? Or rather, even if various things are written on it, it’ll eventually run out of space』

The writing apparently wasn’t done on the surface of the palm-sized guild card, but instead came from inside it. Even if that was explained, the First couldn’t really understand it.

Hawkin-san’s explanation continued, and then he handed two needles to us.

「Please prick your finger lightly and put the blood on the guild card. Things like your name will be written by us. Ah, please wipe the blood with this and then apply this medicine.」

Novem lightly stabbed her index finger with the needle she received, and then blood welled up and came out as a drip that was rubbed on the silver guild card. I also copied her. After we put the blood on the two guild cards, the cards emitted a seven-colored light. Hawkins-san confirmed that and spread the forms we willed out on a tray. He put the guild card on it and stood up from his chair before he brought them to the other side of a door. We talked about Hawkins-san as we cleaned off our fingertips.

「How should I say it? He is mild mannered and courteous despite his appearance.」

Novem also agreed with my impression. After she finished wiping her finger she applied the medicine, and then she looked my way and reached out. She wiped off my fingertip again until it was completely clean of blood, and applied the medicine once again. It seemed my way was sloppy.

「It’s appreciated that he was polite and easy to understand. I wish to ask him various things. After all, there are also many things about adventurers that I don’t know about.」

Novem had received a varied education, but even so apparently it wasn’t as far as detailed knowledge about adventurers. The Second listened to my conversation with Novem while talking.

『What a good girl. Besides, she is really cautious and thoughtful about many things. She passed even the qualifications as a wife like this, isn’t it?』

The word wife caused the other ancestors to react slightly too. After all, the Walt House had family precepts. A woman couldn’t marry into the Walt House if they didn’t pass them. Each of the successive heads had protected these precepts until now.

Then, the Third seemed to see a small plank that was placed on the counter.

『Oh, that’s interesting. It’s written there, want to try receiving guidance from a veteran adventurer?』

When my gaze turned there, Novem also seemed to notice.

「Lyle-sama is also interested? I’ve also been curious about it for a while. Receiving guidance from a veteran adventurer is important for us right now, after all.」

On the small plank that was placed on the counter, it was written that a veteran adventurer who was recognized by the adventurer guild could be dispatched as an instructor for beginner adventurers.

The contents could be classified into two. Both had the time period of three months, but mainly it was two types where one was an instructor that would give basic guidance in Dalien──a type that dispatched a common instructor, and a type that dispatched a specialized instructor who could also be relied on in battle.

The former would deduct a fee from the reward of each job as a teaching fee. It was written that the instructor would receive half the reward. But, for us who didn’t know anything, receiving instructions from an adventurer recognized by the guild would be helpful.

Receiving instructions from a specialized instructor would go on for the same period of three months. Even so, we would need to pay in advance the entire free of 20 gold coins. I was a bit shocked that it was so expensive. Surely that price was set with the thinking that it was just that valuable, but as for me, I didn’t know whether or not it was a reasonable price.

「Because we don’t know anything, it’s important to be taught various things from someone knowledgeable. Let’s try asking.」

Then, the opinions inside the jewel were split. The First looked disinterested.

『It’s fine even without doing something like that isn’t it? It’s just going outside, defeating monsters and bringing the stuff back, right?』

The Second objected. He thought that this chance should be used.

『It will be helpful to receive instruction. After all, it’s stupid to try and solve everything with brute force like a certain idiot somewhere.』

The First raised his voice with a 『What!』, but the Seventh who hated adventurers basically had a different opinion from the two.

『Getting instructions from an adventurer……even if it said that it’s an adventurer who is recognized by the guild, it will just be someone who is only slightly better among the good-for-nothings anyway. Their insides will still be good-for-nothing.』

It was the Fourth who summarized those opinions.

『Please stay quiet. We had discussed just yesterday about refraining from talking. Also, I think it won’t be too late to decide after listening to the explanation. Lyle, confirm the details and whether or not you can cancel in the middle.』

I touched the Jewel and looked at Novem.

「Let’s try asking Hawkins-san.」

「That’s right. It’s better to decide after properly listening about what kind of program it is.」

Then, Hawkins-san returned to the counter. On the tray were two guild cards with the names Novem and Lyle written on them. In addition, there was a booklet with the title ‘Adventurer Regulations for Beginners’ written on it.

「Sorry to have made you wait. These are the guild cards. And, this one is a booklet filled with adventurer regulations. Please take a look at it first, because it has things like how to receive requests and material on manners in it.」

After taking the guild cards and booklet from the smiling Hawkins-san, I pointed at the plank on the counter.

「Say, what kind of things will be taught by this general instructor?」

Hawkins-san explained without breaking his smile.

「It will be basic knowledge. It will teach the way to receive requests that came to the guild, and then things like preparedness in regards to the job. It will also properly teach you how to make your preparations, going outside to defeat monsters, and even how to strip monster materials.」

It seemed that it would teach the fundamentals as an adventurer for three months. Regarding the instructor, it seemed most of them would be around thirty years in age. Most of them would be local adventurers who had raised a family with their livelihood based in Dalien. Because of that, apparently they wouldn’t be adventurers who would be stupid enough to turn the guild into an enemy, or take action without thinking. Then, Novem asked for the explanation regarding the specialized type to Hawkins-san.

「What kind of instruction will be given in the other type?」

Hawkins-san politely explained.

「Naturally the adventurer in this one will be someone recognized by the guild, but the instructor will be someone excellent even among the adventurers. Its sphere of activity won’t just be around Dalien, so this type of instruction is intended for adventurers who have been able to earn money at a place slightly further away from the city.」

Novem seemed to be planning to thoroughly confirm the difference between the two instruction types.

「Why is there so much of a difference in the price between the two types? Even though the time period is the same.」

Hawkins-san didn’t make any reluctant expressions and explained to Novem.

「The big difference is in the strength and the specialization of the support. The instructor adventurer will surely be someone excellent. They’d be even able to face threatening monsters like orcs. Because such high-level adventurers will be the ones giving exclusive instruction, the price is set this high. As for the type where the fee will be deducted from the reward, the instructor might change from day to day.」

Fundamentally, after a beginner learned the basics, they would work to earn money by themselves while gathering comrades. They would then prepare the fee by splitting the cost among the gathered comrades to receive instruction from an exclusive instructor that was recognized by the guild. That would be the case most of the time. Hearing those explanations, I was convinced and requested for the general instructor.

「Then, this general instructor──」

Before I could finish speaking, Novem took out her wallet and pulled out 20 gold coins. She put it on the tray on the counter. Undoubtedly, there were 20 gold coins right there.

「……Eh? Err, Novem?」

Hawkins-san was also bewildered just like me.

「E, err, Novem-san? For beginners, the general type will be better, don’t you think?」

Even after hearing the words of me and Hawkins-san, Novem shook her head.

「No. We won’t be able to communicate well if the instructors change frequently. Besides, if the instructor is an excellent adventurer, surely that’ll become a source of growth for Lyle-sama. This is an investment for the future. But, can we cancel if the instructor doesn’t seem excellent?」

Hawkins-san nodded even while looking bewildered.

「If there is a justified reason then the money will be returned. Well, we will prepare the right adventurer so that won’t happen. Err…..is this really alright?」

Before I could say that we will think about it for a bit more, Novem nodded decisively.

「Yes. This is a necessary expense for me and Lyle-sama.」

When Hawkins-san realized that Novem’s determination was firm, he stopped trying to persuade her and filled out the procedure. He explained several points to note to us.

「I will receive the fee. With this it will be taken as both of you “requesting for exclusive instruction from a veteran adventurer”. At the end we will ask both of you to evaluate the instructor. Well, the explanation for that will be told to you along the process from here on. Please confirm it later.」

Apparently we would have to evaluate the work of the instructor at the end. Certainly, if it was like that then the instructor wouldn’t be able to do a bad job. But, I wanted to speak to Novem.

「Novem, isn’t this a bit too reckless? Didn’t you say to be careful with money?」

「Lyle-sama, our knowledge as adventurers is lacking, and there is only the two of us. It’s important to receive instruction from someone skilled and strengthen our basics. Besides, thinking about Lyle-sama’s future, just this much is nothing more than a prior investment.」

Certainly, it was greatly insecure with only me and Novem. Argued down by Novem, I nodded. Hawkins-san looked at us as he spoke.

「That’s a reliable thinking you have there. Then, we will choose an adventurer who will suit the both of you. There is also a need for preparation so please come back again to the guild the day after tomorrow. The time will be at eight. You will meet the instructor there, and if both sides are in agreement then the instruction will begin from that day.」

The process was advancing while I was bewildered and flustered. Novem and Hawkins-san were talking to each other about the details and I could do nothing except watch them. Then, the Third’s voice came from inside the Jewel.

『……Hey, Lyle right now, don’t you think he is terrible? He really does look no good to me.』

And then the First too towards me,

『……He only looks like a gigolo that’s depending on Novem-chan.』