Chapter 7: At the Adventurer's Guild

“Ooh, it’s pretty high…!”

I was climbing the Clock Tower, one of Sherry’s recommended spots. I wonder how high it is… maybe around a hundred meters? I was in a section right below the clock face, enclosed in glass that offered a panoramic view of the surroundings. The Clock Tower was built during the era of the first Sovereign Duke, but it was renovated about a hundred years ago to its current form. Apparently, it’s taller now than it was back then. In the observation room, there was a diorama of the capital, crafted in minute detail. I heard that it’s based on one made by the second Sovereign Duke and gets updated every year. For a king to make something like this… he must have been an unusual person.

“So that’s the ‘Academy,’ and over there is the ‘Girls’ Academy’…”

The ‘Academy’ and the ‘Girls’ Academy’ were situated in the east and west of the capital, respectively, almost opposing each other. The ‘Brunhild Machinist Academy’ to the east, and our ‘Babylon Machinist Girls’ Academy’ to the west. It’s as if even their locations are in competition. The ‘Academy’ is much older, so they probably chose this spot when building the ‘Girls’ Academy.’ Since the reason for founding ‘my school’ seems to have been a royal whim, maybe they chose this location with a feeling of ‘We won’t lose to you!’ Well, I can understand the sentiment. Having fully enjoyed the view from the Clock Tower, I decided to stroll around the main street for a bit. I was a little tempted by a miniature Clock Tower ornament sold as a souvenir, but money is tight, so I resisted. Oh, right, right. Let’s go to the Adventurer’s Guild. Even if I can’t take a request today, it won’t be a waste to see what kind of jobs are available. I should check how much I can earn. I might as well withdraw some money while I’m at it. With that in mind, I opened the map on my smartphone, checked the location of the Adventurer’s Guild, and turned onto a street that intersected the main avenue. Turning the corner, I immediately spotted the Adventurer’s Guild sign from a distance. It was the one with the mark of a sword and staff crossed in front of a shield. Entering the Adventurer’s Guild, I saw a large reception area directly ahead, a bulletin board to the left, and a tavern to the right. Although it’s called a tavern, it seems to be the common type that doesn’t serve alcohol until evening and functions as a dining hall during the day. There wasn’t a single drunkard in sight. The Brunhild branch of the Adventurer’s Guild had fewer people than I expected. It might be because it’s just past noon, but it felt like most adventurers were out on jobs.

“Let’s see, what kind of requests do they have…”

I went over to the bulletin board and checked some of the posted request forms. Blood Liger fur, Fire Lizard fang… These are subjugation requests. Probably for monsters in the dungeon island accessible via the Gate. Hmm, all the posted ones are high difficulty… Well, I guess that’s why they’re still here. What about the standing requests? These are accepted constantly, so they shouldn’t be taken down.

“Medicinal herb gathering, fruit gathering, rabbit meat delivery, iron ore delivery, Horned Wolf, Goblin subjugation…”

There are a few requests that look like they’d pay decent money. Among these, the subjugation types or medicinal herb gathering pay the most, but… Wolf and Goblin subjugation isn’t impossible, but if they come in a pack, it might be troublesome alone. For medicinal herb gathering, since I’m not familiar with this area, I’d have to search for locations from scratch. I probably wouldn’t find much on the first day. Still, if I keep searching, I might get lucky and find a cluster…

“Ah, these are manual labor requests.”

Manual labor requests are mostly odd jobs to be done within the town. Painting walls, repairing roof leaks, weeding gardens, cleaning houses, carrying luggage, helping with moving… The content hardly seems like adventurer work, but if you want to earn money safely, this is definitely the surer bet. Well, the rewards are small, though.

“I guess I could do weeding or cleaning… Five copper coins a day… It’s not that high, but maybe I’ll start around here.”

Well, I won’t do it today. Maybe after school starts and things settle down a bit.

“Hey, hey, why’s a brat like you in a place like this?”

Turning around at the rough voice, I saw four men entering from the guild entrance. Their equipment identified them as adventurers at a glance, but all of them had flushed faces and reeked of alcohol. The smell was drifting all the way over to me even from a distance. Have they been drinking somewhere?

“If you wanna play, go somewhere else! It’s annoying having a brat wandering around!”

“We ain’t doin’ this for fun here! Don’t get in the way of our work!”

“Haah?”

I got a little ticked off at these thug adventurers complaining so arrogantly. Work? What part of getting drunk in broad daylight is work?

“I’m looking for work too, you know. Unlike some drunkards, I’m actually planning to work properly.”

I took my adventurer card out of my wallet and showed it off to the drunks.

“Hah!? Green!?”

“You sayin’ this shrimp is the same rank as us!?”

“You little… where’d you steal that!”

“Is it a fake!? Forging a guild card gets you dropped to slavery, you know!”

All four of them started saying whatever they wanted. Ignoring the drunkards, I walked briskly to the reception and presented my guild card to the cat beastkin lady.

“I’d like to withdraw five silver coins, please.”

“Um… Certainly. Nero Silhoueska-sama, correct? Welcome to Brunhild.”

The receptionist took my card and held it over a magic device on the counter. My photo and personal information were displayed on the screen, confirming my identity. Without any issues, five silver coins were withdrawn from my account and placed in front of me. I collected the silver coins and turned around with a smug look at the dumbfounded drunks.

“You shouldn’t judge adventurers by their appearance. I hear people like you, who don’t think things through, are the first to die.”

“You damn brat! Just ’cause we let you talk, you’re getting cocky!”

One of the drunks wound up and threw a right punch. I know I provoked him, but seriously trying to punch a child… this guy is hopeless. I stepped into the attacking man’s guard in an instant and drove a rising right body blow into his solar plexus.

“Oogh, goh…! Ugh, bleeeech…!”

“Gross!?”

I dodged with all my might as the man fell forward while vomiting. That was close! Bad, bad, bad! A body blow was a mistake! It stinks! Ah, jeez, this is the worst!

“You bitch! What did you do!”

“He tried to punch me, so I just punched him back. Was that wrong?”

If you’re going to punch, let the opponent make the first move. That’s my master’s teaching. Yep, I’m not in the wrong.

“Don’t screw with us!”

“I’ll kill you, dammit!”

“Die! You shitty brat!”

The other three drew their weapons and attacked simultaneously. What a pain. I’ll finish this all at once.

“[Boost].”

Non-attribute magic, [Boost]. It’s one of the body enhancement spells, and one of my personal magics. I dodged one of the charging thug adventurers and landed a blow on his chin. Passing by another one behind him, I delivered a spinning kick to his back. For the last one, I chopped his neck with a knife-hand strike, reaping his consciousness. Thud, thud, thud, the three of them collapsed. Hmph, is that all? Suddenly, I realized the few people in the guild were staring at me, dumbfounded. Uh-oh? Did I overdo it…?

“Um, this counts as self-defense, right?”

Feeling anxious, I timidly asked the receptionist. At least in the Elfrau Adventurer’s Guild, this would be safe, but… is it different in Brunhild?

“Eh? Ah, yes. Since those four attacked first, it is considered self-defense. Furthermore, using weapons with intent to harm inside the guild carries a heavy penalty. Being drunk is no excuse. It’s unfortunate, but they will undoubtedly be demoted in rank.”

I sighed in relief at the receptionist’s explanation. Thank goodness, no penalty for me. As I was feeling relieved, some burly men came from the back of the guild, dragged the four away, and took them somewhere. The receptionist made a disgusted face and used a cleaning magic tool to clean the floor.

“Um, well, I’m sorry…”

“No, no, those men are the ones at fault. Drawing weapons on a child… no matter how you think about it, they are in the wrong.”

Well, that’s true, but I did provoke them…

“Still, you are quite strong for your age. Do you have training in martial arts?”

“Eh? Yes, well. There was someone in my neighborhood who was good at that sort of thing. I learned a little.”

I gave a vague answer to the cat beastkin lady. My master warned me not to talk about him too much. He probably did something… Like breaking out of jail, or dining and dashing… I don’t want to be looked at with suspicion, too. I’ll keep quiet… I apologized to the receptionists one more time and left the Adventurer’s Guild. Whew. Drunkards really are everywhere… I honestly don’t understand what’s so tasty about alcohol. I started walking briskly down the street as if to shake off the smell of alcohol. When I arrived at the Genbu Dormitory, the atmosphere was lively and noisy, completely different from the morning. Many students were hanging out in the first-floor lobby; it was almost too loud. The upperclassmen must have returned. There are students who look more mature than Sherry and the others. Compared to yesterday, the number of people suddenly multiplied by five, so of course it would get noisy. Over two hundred students live in the Genbu Dormitory. I wonder if I’ll be able to get along… Several students with large bags were lined up in front of the matron, Liora-san. Those must be new students. Just barely making it in time to check in. According to Carrol, there are apparently a few students every year who don’t make it in time for the entrance ceremony. There’s no penalty for it, but it’s a shame to miss such a grand occasion. Tomorrow is the entrance ceremony. School finally starts. I’m looking forward to it.