Chapter 36 As Easy As Those Things In The Tutorials, They Said...

"So they immediately approved my application as an adventurer after that." I announced to the two siblings when dinnertime came.

And just with that, both of them stared at me with surprised looks on their faces.

"Eh?! And aside from that, you managed to defeat Alisha that easy?!" Saku said with his mouth gaping wide.

"Y-Yeah...I was lucky enough that she let her guard down when she attacked." I replied with a sigh.

"I-Is that so...? Lucky enough..."

"Hm? What's wrong, Saku? Just now, when I started mentioning her name in our conversation, your body seems to start shivering lightly. Is there something between you and Alisha?"

When I asked him that question, his shoulders twitched and he looked at me with his eyes open wide. A piercing, threatening stare it is.

"Actually, Brother Ren," Saki answered for her brother. "The relationship of Big Bro and that woman, started like this..."

She then whispered to me things that happened in the past that caused her brother to act like that.

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"Ahh...well, if I were in his place I would have that trauma as well," I spoke while feeling pity for Saku.

I mean, it will surely hurt if you got rejected by a girl you like even though you went from hell and back just to muster all that courage that you need, but being beaten up badly by that same girl afterwards is just...

"I understand that he may not be suitable enough for her own standards but, isn't doing that to you is just an overkill?!" I asked as I fixed my gaze towards Saku.

"Please...any more of those questions and I don't think I could properly do my chores here anymore..." He spoke sluggishly as he slumped his face against the table.

"Don't worry, Big Bro," Saki assured him with a gentle pat on his back. "Someday, you'll find a more suitable wife than that woman."

Meanwhile Aoi, with her face showing that she's somewhat ignorant of our topic, decided to change the subject in which she was involved. "...Big brother's not the only one who became an adventurer--they also let me become one, you know?!"

"Eh? Aoi too?!"

"...That's right!" Aoi spoke proudly, letting off an arrogant aura around her. "...After I shoved to their miserable minds that big brother is really strong, they immediately made me a member with no questions asked! Hmph, as expected, puny mortals are indeed no match to my...--"

"They just allowed her to be able to go inside the Guild Headquarters as long as she's being accompanied by me. Still, children below the age of 10 are not allowed to become adventurers."

"...Big brother?!" She yelled angrily at me. "...Stop raining on my parade, if you may."

Seeing her pout because of that instantly made me realize that this girl has an ego far exceeding that of her height.

Saki then clapped her hands. "If that's the case, how about we celebrate that wonderful news? Good timing, 'cause I made samples of pastries that we're planning to add to our menu, and I actually wanted to have both of you to taste it first!"

"...R-Really? I won't hold back, then!"

Aoi's eyes sparkled as her words made her almost drool in excitement.

"Um...thank you very much, Saki..." I spoke to her with a slight tone of guilt and embarrassment in my words.

Saku also added, "Tomorrow's your first day, right? For the meantime, just allow yourselves to enjoy my sister's cooking especially when there's happy occasions like this, okay?"

"Y-Yeah." I only nodded while looking at Aoi who began following Saki towards the kitchen with a radiant look on her face.

Even though I consented, I still can't stop myself from having feelings of guilt and hesitation inside me. As soon as possible, I must return the goodwill they had given to us in some way or another.

-----

The next morning, Aoi and I woke up early in order to prepare ourselves for our first day in the Guild, especially the clothes that we're going to wear for the day. With me wearing a cheap brown leather armor that I bought with the remaining money that I had over the white shirt which Saku gave to me, and with Aoi tying her waist-long blue twintails with black (contrary to her ordinary white) fluffy flower ties along with her usual white one-piece sleeveless dress, I believe that our looks are decent enough to pass as novice adventurers despite not having sufficient gear.

When we arrived we expected that the atmosphere in the vicinity of the building was already chaotic even though it's still early, but for some reason they're acting quite weird.

"...These humans...they're looking at us with suspicious gazes ever since they saw us." Aoi muttered.

I asked myself: "Is it because of what happenee yesterday...?"

Though as compared to yesterday none of them showed any signs of intimidation or hostility towards us, it still feels unbearable to be looked at by hundreds of people around me. When we entered the building the piercing gazes are still the same, as if they are impatiently waiting for us to come.

It might be because of the incident, that everyone already had their impressions of us in their minds.

While looking at the posters on the bulletin board, a woman approached us all of a sudden.

"So you're here, huh...aren't you too excited to come here this early?"

"Ah. Good morning...Miss Alisha."

"Hmph," Alisha snorted. "After hitting me with a stool three times, you still have the nerve to call me 'Miss'?"

When she said that, I noticed that her arms are covered in bandages, and in her left hand she's holding an ice bag that she pressed against her neck. Looking at her condition, it must really hurt so bad for her to be hit a few times by a blunt object.

"S-Sorry for what happened, but you left me no choice."

"Never mind about that." She nodded. "Come, I'll give you a quick introduction for your job."

With her right hand beckoning us to come, we immediately followed suit after her towards her desk at the reception area.

"In case you aren't aware of my job as a clerk in the Guild, it is my primary duty to assess potential applicants that aspire to become adventurers whether they're fit for the job or not. With that being said, it is no doubt that you're qualified for it, especially now that my 300 beating spree has ended by you."

"B-Beating spree...?"

"Yes. Did you see all of those men behind you? I beat them up badly countless times in the past."

"Ehhh?!"

"And to think that I would have a taste of my own medicine from a cheeky brat no less, it must be a peculiar opportunity for me to learn not to underestimate people around me."

She spoke as if making fun of herself.

"Leaving those things aside, I'll tell you the basics you should need to know."

According to Alisha, the guild uses a rank-based hierarchy based on an individual's achievement as an adventurer. Starting from the lowest rank which is F3 (Beginner Rank - Early) , a person must work his way up the ladder until he reach the highest rank among adventurers, which is S. Currently, there is only one person in history that made it up to that rank.

By the way, because I managed to defeat Alisha, my starting rank is F2 (Beginner Rank - Middle). Alisha's rank, however, is A3 (Expert Rank - Early).

"Of course, your missions depend on your current rank, but you can have a mission that is one level higher than your rank. For example, with your rank being F2, the maximum level of missions you'll have for now is F1 (Beginner Rank - Late). Still, the higher the rank, the higher the rewards and the risk." She reminded me.

"I see."

"Then about the missions, typically majority of those missions are of procurement-type wherein you are requested to obtain specific materials by the person who requested. However, the Guild won't accept unreasonable requests coming from anyone in order to protect the safety of the adventurers. You'll also encounter missions where you'll act as a bodyguard to a person. Lastly, there are missions that require you to kill someone."

"What?!"

"Kidding. By that I mean subjugation, where adventurers are asked to hunt down powerful monsters that tries to cause destruction to the place they are found. That's the three main types of missions here, and you'll encounter more as you climb up in rank." She spoke with a slight chuckle.

Alisha paused for a moment, and noticed Aoi gazing at her for a while now.

"Oh why hello there, little girl. What's your name again?"

"...Aoi."

"Uwah, what a wonderful name. Tell me, do you want to become an adventurer someday?"

Aoi puffed up her cheeks for a moment before she spoke. "...Not necessarily, but because you made fun of my big brother yesterday I decided to become one too to protect him from people like you."

"Fufu, my bad." Alisha laughed. "But you see, you're not allowed to become an adventurer until you're 10."

"...Muuuuuuuuuu..." Aoi puffed her cheeks again in displeasure.

"Then, I'll give you this as a token of apology."

With that she took out a rectangular-shaped metal pin from under her desk.

"...This is..."

"This is the so-called [F4 badge]."

"There's a rank like that?" I asked her.

"Of course there's none, silly." She replied. "But technically this badge is given to children under the minimum age requirement for them to do simple adventurer-like tasks without any legal penalties. By the way, how old is she?"

"Uh...N-Nine thou...er, nine years old." I said to her.

"Then until she reached the age of 10 she would have this badge with her while inside the building premises. Understood?" She said as she placed the pin on Aoi's dress.

"...Ehhh...I still don't understand how this works but I'll do my best." Aoi spoke while looking at her badge with a light smile on her face.

"Then with you young man, your first mission would be..."

-----

After all the introductions have been given, we were told by Alisha to go to a weapons shop downtown to meet her father, who provides beginner adventurers with basic gear and equipment.

"Are you the man who hurt my precious daughter?" A super buffed-up old man asked me as soon as we entered his shop.

"U-Uh...y-yes?"

*whooooosh*

Suddenly an axe flew towards me and hit the door, just a few inches above my head.

"Take these equipment and leave this place as soon as possible." He said, after presenting to us a pair of leather gloves, two pouches, a small knife, some medicinal herbs, and a cheaply-made steel sword.

"Uh, what about the payment--"

*whooooosh*

Another axe flew towards me, this time aimed just below my crotch.

"Just take these things and leave." The old man spoke while trying to contain his anger.

"O-Okay..."

We received the equipment and left in hurry before his rage would consume his rationality and cause chaos. It's obvious that he loves his daughter very much that he started to act like that in front of us.

"...Don't worry big brother, he's just trying to scare you down. I can't sense any killing intent coming out from that man." Aoi spoke in a gentle voice.

I looked at her face in disbelief. "You're saying that, although you saw that he missed cleaving Junjun on purpose?!"

"...Junjun...?" Aoi tilted her head in wonder.

"Ah, never mind about that. Let's hurry to the forest instead."

It took us about an hour before reaching the forest. Contrary to the tropical forest that I've always seen before, the forests here is less dense due to lesser shrubs and vines on trees, with only a few areas penetrated by sunlight. Aside from the insects crawling on the leaves and bark of trees, I couldn't see any animals nearby. The earthy scent of detritus also lingers around the place.

"...Is this the place?" Aoi asked me.

"I think so."

We were told to go the part of the forest where the sunlight still touches the forest floor. Well, from my position I could see the sun directly overhead us, so this might be it.

"For now, let's see the contents of the mission."

Alisha gave the two of us two separate missions to be done here in the forest.

For Aoi, she needs to pick up a piece of shiny rock that is commonly found here in the forest. Pretty easy.

As for myself, I am required to gather a bunch of flowers called flame comfrey. These flowers, she said, are effective in treating broken bones and bruises, which she specifically requested from me for her own consumption.

Comfrey...what in the world is comfrey?

"...Ah, that woman gave me a drawing of that plant, big brother." Aoi said as she gave me a piece of paper from her pouch.

"She did? Let's see..."

Based from the drawing, it appears that the plant has elongated leaves, with flowers the color of deep purple. Owing to the 'flame' name is its purple flame-like hairs on its branches and leaves, that is said to have a warm sensation to the touch.

"Hmmm...based from what it said...isn't that shrub over there the plant we're looking for?"

In front of us, just a few meters away--there's a plant that matches the descriptions on the paper.

"...You're right, big brother." Aoi nodded.

"Okay, let's do our job here quick."

With a knife in one hand and a small bag in another, I started cutting the flowers from the plant.

"Is this enough, Aoi?"

"...Hmm...too few."

"What about now?"

"...Still not enough." Aoi shook her head.

"Ehh... do you have any idea how much we're required to get?"

"...No idea, big brother!"

I flicked her forehead in irritation.

"I think this is already enough, we already filled the bag with just the flowers alone." I told her

Aoi nodded as she looked at me with teary eyes. "...Uuuuu...okay..."

Looking down, I noticed a strange looking-rock under my feet. "Aren't we lucky? Look, there's a shiny rock just beside the plant."

"...It really is, big brother! Lucky!" Aoi's mood brightened up instantly.

"With this we're done, right?"

"...Yes!"

After picking up the rock from the ground, Aoi then presented it to me.

"...Isn't this rock pretty, big brother?"

"Nn. Pretty."

"If we manage to find another rock, I'll give it to you." She said in high spirits.

"Gee, thanks.: I replied.

While walking back to the forest entrance, we saw another patch of flame comfrey plant.

"...Look, another plant!"

"Hm? you're right."

Upon a closer look, it really is a cflame comfrey plant.

"...Big brother, can I pick up those flowers?"

"Eh? But you need a knife to cut those flowers. it's dangerous for you to do it alone."

"....Muuuuuu..." Aoi pouted her lips. "...Danger means nothing to me!"

"Fine. But, if you need help just ask me, okay?" I reluctantly said to her.

"...'Kaaaaaaayyyyyy!!!" She said as she happily took the knife from my hand.

As I watch her hop and skip her way towards the plant, I couldn't do anything but to sigh.

"Well, it's not like nothing bad will happen, right...?" I asked to myself.

Nothing will happen, yes...

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