Chapter 81 - Chapter 80: Epithet
First month of Water, third week, day of the Sun.
Mika went to a forest relatively close to the academy and gathered several things.
He looked at the list of fixed-fee quests he had received from the guild last week and tried to see if there were any good gathering items nearby.
However, even though it was called "nearby," the forest was more than three kilometers away from the academy, far beyond the Third District.
"None of them were quite good."
It was still too early for evening as he walked down the main street of the capital city toward the guild, reflecting on today's results.
He had no complaints about the travel distance.
It was far closer than going to the rocky outcrops where he had been mainly gathering Red Lizard Stones.
But the unit price was not as high as Red Lizard Stones, and gathering them was not easy.
Compared to the Red Lizard Stones that were available everywhere, having to search for each one individually was a hassle.
"Is it about time to graduate from fixed-fee quests...?"
Wasn't it about time to start thinking seriously about taking quests from request sheets as the main focus?
The travel distance wouldn't be much of a bottleneck.
There was the restriction of not being seen by others, but Mika had "Flight."
For example, if he flew to the forest he went to today, then flew to the quest location, and flew back to the forest on his way home, the risk of being caught would be significantly reduced.
If it was about fifty kilometers, roughly a day's ride on a shared horse carriage, Mika could probably complete the quest as a day trip.
In fact, unless he proceeded with quests on that premise, it didn't seem like he would be able to earn money as he had been doing.
"In that case, extermination quests?"
Go quickly, finish quickly, and return quickly.
Maybe it was better to focus on extermination quests where there was no need to search, like with the harmful birds.
"There is the matter of 'extermination quests are exactly what I want,' but..."
Was it okay?
A faint unease crossed his mind.
As expected, Mika's biggest bottleneck was his lack of experience.
Go, finish off immediately, and return right away.
It wasn't as easy as it sounded.
For extermination quests on request sheets, what kind of beasts or magic beasts one would fight depended on what requests were out there.
If he accumulated experience, he would be able to plan how to achieve the request no matter what magic beast extermination request came out.
But for Mika right now, until he went and actually fought, he wouldn't know the true nature of that magic beast.
No matter how detailed the information he heard beforehand.
Thinking "I can take this down" just by hearing the story was nothing but carelessness.
Unless it was backed up by experience, it ultimately couldn't be called real ability.
"...Even so, if I have to do it... I have to do it."
Arriving at the guild, he headed to the window for handing over gathered items.
After depositing the gathered items, he slung the empty bag over his shoulder and waited to be called from the counter.
Curious about what requests were currently out there, Mika turned toward the bulletin board.
A guild staff member stood next to the board, and it seemed several adventurer parties were lined up to talk to them.
(They must have tried it out right away?)
Last week, he had proposed several ideas to Chirensta-san to alleviate the congestion at the guild.
It was unknown how effective they would be, but it was better than doing nothing.
Speaking of which, he felt as if there were fewer adventurers than last week.
(Well, that probably depends on the day.)
There would likely be trends in the number of users depending on the day of the week, the end or beginning of the month, and naturally, there would be fluctuations within that.
Perhaps last week just happened to be busy, and this week just happened to be quiet.
As for Mika, since this guild branch would be his base from now on, he would like the congestion to be alleviated even a little if possible.
Just as Mika was thinking about how to cut through the crowd in front of him to get to the bulletin board――――
"Mika-kuuuuuun!"
Thud!
"Gwah!?"
He had been tackled from behind.
Looking to see what was happening, Yunressa was hugging Mika from behind.
"H-hey, Yunressa-san!? What's all of a sudden???"
As Mika blinked in surprise, Yunressa burst into tears, "Waaaaah!"
He had no idea what was going on.
The surrounding adventurers started making a fuss, wondering what was happening.
"...Sniff... The proposal you gave to Chirensta-san was amazing. My work at the counter has become so much easier..."
Hearing the story from Yunressa, who was crying her heart out, it seemed that was indeed what it was about.
When Chirensta heard Mika's proposal, he immediately went to persuade the Branch Manager.
He forcibly silenced the reluctant Branch Manager and pushed the efficiency plan through.
On the day of the Moon the next day, staff members who were supposed to be off were made to work on their day off to create and display a 'Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)'.
As the Information department, the living encyclopedia Cafeteria Lady was placed next to the bulletin board.
They faced the new system on the day of the Fire, but naturally, there was confusion at first.
Currently, too many adventurers were gathering at the Cafeteria Lady's spot for information, causing trouble by blocking the view of the bulletin board, so they were considering moving her location.
It seemed the number of adventurers lining up at the counter had decreased by about ten percent, and the time taken per request had been significantly reduced by omitting lengthy explanations.
(There were people who just wanted to hear the story? That's why the counter was so crowded!)
Originally, the day of the Sun had fewer users, so the congestion had only decreased slightly, but for weekdays, the effect seemed to be quite noticeable.
"...I don't have to dream about being crushed by a wave of adventurers anymore... Thank you so much, Mika-kun."
She was dreaming about that...?
Looking at Yunressa with eyes of pity rather than sympathy.
Vice Branch Manager's Office.
Chirensta and Yunressa were sitting in front of Mika.
Yunressa seemed to have come to post the newly added request sheets on the bulletin board just now.
However, upon discovering Mika, who had improved her work conditions to the point where she dreamed of it, her emotions rose too high and she ended up crying.
Since Yunressa was crying and couldn't work, other staff members took over posting the request sheets.
It might be said she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
Mika's proposal had come at a timing right on the brink of Yunressa's mental collapse.
"Well, I really have nothing but gratitude to you, Mika-kun."
Chirensta thanked Mika while offering him tea.
It seemed Chirensta had pushed the efficiency plan through even by forcibly silencing the Branch Manager because of Yunressa.
"Seeing Yunressa lose her spirit day by day was painful for me too. I wanted to do something about it..."
He hadn't told Mika about Yunressa to avoid worrying him, but it seemed Chirensta was grasping at straws.
(Otherwise, even if I said I wanted to observe the business inside the counter, he might not have allowed it.)
Mika glanced at Yunressa.
She hadn't completely stopped crying yet, but she seemed to have calmed down considerably.
In the short time he hadn't seen her, Yunressa had become quite emotionally unstable.
(She's completely different from Yunressa when she was in Sarbengeal.)
She worried about Mika excessively and scolded him a lot.
She was a bit nagging, but he wanted her to return to her energetic self soon.
(But if she transferred here this month, she hadn't been working in the capital city for even a week at the time of last week, right?)
Realizing that fact, Mika trembled.
Was the guild in the capital city an extremely black workplace, or was Yunressa's mental state extremely weak?
(Rosalinde, who transferred with her, didn't seem to have changed at all... No, Rosalinde [that person] isn't a good reference.)
People like Rosalinde could keep their own pace wherever they were.
She was someone with the mental strength to expose a job offer in front of her superior, Chirensta.
One shouldn't use Rosalinde [that] as a standard.
Chirensta seemed to feel a sense of accomplishment in alleviating the congestion and spoke to Mika in a good mood.
"The other thing, the beginner lecture, is also being prepared now. Obviously, we couldn't execute it immediately, but we plan to start it within this month."
It seemed they intended to proceed with the weekly plan as Mika suggested, accepting some minor confusion among the adventurers.
Mika hadn't noticed, but an announcement notice was already posted at the entrance of the guild.
"Waiting times have decreased, and generally, adventurers welcome it. There are some minor issues, but we are considering measures to resolve them."
It seemed the length of waiting time was the biggest complaint for adventurers, so shortening the time was generally well-received.
"Until now, the adventurers using the service were irritated by the long waiting times. There were even troubles caused by small things."
Troubles regarding cutting in line or not cutting in line were daily occurrences, and such irritation sometimes turned toward the staff.
(Was that the main cause of Yunressa's mental breakdown?)
If a burly, tough-looking adventurer vented their frustration on her, it wouldn't be surprising if Yunressa bore a huge amount of stress.
It still seemed more congested than Sarbengeal, but it seemed to have settled down to a point where it didn't exceed the adventurers' limit of waiting.
Mika told Chirensta a few simple tips for efficiency.
Thinking by breaking down the one task being done now, dividing labor, grouping a series of flows, arranging layouts considering traffic flow, and so on.
It wasn't professional advice like consulting work; it was just common sense to Mika.
Nevertheless, Chirensta listened seriously and asked various questions.
Mika explained each one carefully.
Before he knew it, they had been talking for nearly an hour.
Yunressa seemed to have calmed down completely and was listening to Mika's story with a surprised expression.
When the conversation came to a pause, Chirensta leaned back on the sofa and let out a long breath.
"...Indeed, if I can just grab some budget, we should be able to get this running soon."
"If there is a budget surplus, we could separate other tasks from the counter work too. For now, the top priority should be alleviating the counter congestion, so please do your best, Chirensta-san."
Next, Chirensta might collapse from overwork, but he really wanted him to complete the efficiency plan to the end.
After all, this was the branch where Mika would be relying on for the next six years.
Rather than being bored waiting for a long time every single time, lending a little bit of wisdom like this was nothing.
(Do your best for my comfortable adventurer life, Chirensta-kun.)
He didn't care how congested facilities he didn't use were, but he intended to use the adventurer guild almost every week.
He wanted it to be reborn as a comfortable guild as soon as possible.
Mika moistened his throat with the now completely cold tea.
At that moment, the room door opened with a bang.
"Yo-ho, Mika-kun. I came to deliver your card."
Rosalinde had entered.
Taking the failure of last week into account, Mika had left his guild card with a staff member before being led to this room.
"Please process it," he had said.
Since Chirensta had agreed to it right there, the staff member had straightforwardly accepted it.
He had thought he would get it back on his way, but it seemed Rosalinde had come to deliver it.
"Rosalinde, what about your work!"
"I'm off for today. You two talk for too long. I came to pick you up."
Came to pick him up?
What did she mean? As Mika stood there dazed, Rosalinde pulled on Mika's arm.
"Well then, let's go eat. Big sister found a delicious shop. Yunressa is already ahead. The shop from before."
"Wait, Rosalinde-san!?"
Rosalinde forcibly stood Mika up and dragged him out of the room.
Voices of Yunressa and Chirensta could be heard from the Vice Branch Manager's office, but it seemed they didn't reach Rosalinde.
(Really, she keeps her own pace. This is basically kidnapping.)
Mika gave up on useless resistance and decided to obediently follow Rosalinde.
The place they were brought to was a tavern.
Most of the seats were already filled, and the table where Mika and the others arrived was the last one available.
"........................Rosalinde-san?"
"What, Mika-kun."
Mika looked at Rosalinde with a glare, but she wasn't the type to care about such things.
Immediately upon entering, she had finished a glass of a fruit wine called Red Wine, and was now happily drinking her second glass.
By the way, in front of Mika, there was a greenish, unidentifiable fruit juice.
"I feel like it's bad to be in a tavern while still a student."
"Is that so? I don't know the academy's rules."
No, I don't know if there are such rules either, but it's normally a no-go.
...It's a no-go, right?
(As for the laws and common sense of this world, what is the situation?)
Diego, who tried to make Mika drink alcohol, was being beaten up by Ninetiana, so he thought there must be a legal drinking age.
Well, leaving that aside for now.
"So?"
Mika asked Rosalinde.
"That was quite a forceful invitation, but what was the intention?"
Even for Rosalinde, this time was a bit too forceful.
If they had eaten together before, he could understand.
But that had never happened before.
Just an adventurer and a guild staff member.
If the conversation had flowed to "Let's eat sometime," he would understand, but there must be a reason for such a forceful dragging away.
"It's not such a big deal. Just a thank you, a r-e-w-a-r-d. Ah, Big Brother, another Red Wine~."
She ordered more alcohol from a passing staff member.
That's fast, hey.
"A thank you? For what?"
"For making Yunressa energetic again."
Saying that, Rosalinde winked.
"Well~ I heard the capital city guild was on fire, but I didn't think it would be this bad even for me~. If I had known, I would have run away."
Rosalinde received the delivered Red Wine and something like stew and paella.
She divided it onto small plates and placed them in front of Mika.
"Here, today it's big sister's treat. I won quite a bit during my day off the other day."
Saying that, she made a gesture like rolling dice.
Hey hey, does this world have craps or something?
Surely not Chin-Chi-Rin, right?
(Well, playing moderately is fine...?)
It was a common story to relieve work stress with gambling.
In many cases, it resulted in accumulating more stress.
If he could enjoy it including that, it wasn't something Mika should comment on.
"Well, so Yunressa got panicked. She was really depressed."
Rosalinde also put some of the paella-like food on her own plate and ate.
Mika also said "Itadakimasu" and ate the stew.
It was slightly sour, like a Hayashi sauce.
It was quite delicious when eaten with paella.
"I tried to take her drinking too, but it didn't work. But the other day, you gave Chirensta-san various advice, right? That really helped us."
While listening to Rosalinde's story, Mika ate the stew and paella hungrily.
He had been running around gathering in the forest all day.
He needed to put something in his stomach to calm down.
"When Yunressa found out that the improvement plan came from you, Mika-kun, she seemed to get a bit energetic. And since it actually worked, she was moved."
It seemed that led to the tackle today.
"Among the staff of the Second Branch, you're almost a celebrity, Mika-kun. You're one step closer to having an 'Epithet'."
Rosalinde said happily while drinking Red Wine.
Epithet.
Most elite adventurers had this epithet.
It felt like a pronoun representing an individual, or a nickname, but in the adventurer guild, it was treated almost equivalent to a name.
Actually, it was the adventurer guild that certified these epithets.
Even if you didn't know an adventurer's name, you could make a request by specifying their epithet.
Even if you didn't know the name "Yaroibarov," you could make a request saying, "I want to ask 'Shuzen'."
There would surely be many nicknames that were similar across the country.
But epithets would not duplicate even in guilds across the country.
There might have been someone with the same epithet in the past, but as long as Yaroibarov is alive, "Shuzen" will absolutely not be used by anyone else.
And the guild card is updated, and the epithet is embedded as information, and amazingly, it is even engraved behind the name on the card face.
Like Yaroibarov "Shuzen".
I wonder if I'm the only one who thinks it would be embarrassing to show the guild card and wants them to stop?
Listening to Rosalinde's story, Mika shook his head vigorously.
"I've never wanted such a thing."
He thought it was amazing, but he never thought he would become someone like that.
"Oh my, if you're an adventurer, you should aim for that. So that hero tales can be made."
"No, I don't want that."
Embarrassing.
I want to be an adventurer casually and freely.
There was certainly a part that admired heroes, but he had never once thought he wanted to become one.
While talking like that, Yunressa entered the shop, breathless.
When Mika raised his hand, Yunressa looked surprised and walked straight to the table.
"Wait, Rosalinde! What's going on with a tavern when Mika-kun is here! I thought it wouldn't be this place, so you went to another shop!"
"I clearly said 'the shop from before'? Never mind that, here, you drink too. Give Mika-kun a little pep talk."
"...Why can I give him a pep talk?"
Rosalinde ordered two glasses of Red Wine from the shop's young man, including her own.
"Mika-kun says he doesn't want an epithet. I'm going to lecture a kid with such low ambitions!"
"Stop it, Rosalinde. Mika-kun is in trouble."
Could it be that Rosalinde was starting a drinking brawl?
The ordered alcohol arrived, and Mika toasted with Yunressa.
"Mika-kun, I'm sorry today. Doing something like that suddenly. I must have startled you."
Mika shook his head.
Well, he was startled, indeed.
"You don't have to worry. I heard it was very tough since you came to the capital city [here]. If you do what we talked about today, I think it can be improved a bit more."
He smiled at Yunressa, saying it was okay.
After that, Rosalinde started bothering Yunressa, and Yunressa lightly brushed it off as usual, while Mika greatly enjoyed the atmosphere of the izakaya after a long time.
And when he remembered there was a curfew, it was already a time where he would have to run at full speed to make it.