Chapter 87 - Chapter 86: New Development
The Wind Day of the Second Week of the Third Month of Water.
A few days after Mika acquired the Divine Miracles of Explosive Flame and Heal, and the surroundings became somewhat noisy.
Even so, things had calmed down somewhat.
However, even inside the dormitory, the surroundings felt somewhat unsettled, so after school, Mika stayed locked up in his own room.
"It's boring..."
Leaning his cheek on his hand, he tapped the desk with his fingertips.
His roommate, Basal, was running around on the field until right before curfew every day for swordsmanship training.
If he can move that much after the afternoon exercise period, one cannot even imagine how much Basal has trained up to now.
On one hand, it makes him look forward to the strength of a future Enhanced Swordsman, but on the other, it is somewhat terrifying.
Mika had basically finished exploring District 3 and District 4 of the Royal Capital, and roughly grasped the locations of necessary shops.
Weapon shops, armor shops, tool shops, and magic tool shops.
He had also grasped the specialty shops for each weapon and armor located in the Blacksmith District of District 3.
With this, he truly had nothing to do after school.
"...Should I have them send it?"
Mika muttered softly.
If he prepaid the shipping fee beforehand, wouldn't they be able to send it?
What would he have them send?
Of course, if it's about killing time for Mika, it is that thing.
"The Cursed Object Puzzle."
He had been thinking of leaving the shipping fee with the old woman appraisal shop owner in Sarbengeal and asking them to send it as soon as it arrived.
By moving from Sarbengeal to the Royal Capital, Mika had lost his source for obtaining "Cursed Objects Puzzle."
(Well, that's probably too difficult, isn't it? I don't think that old woman would send cursed objects.)
She refused to budge on the point that she couldn't sell cursed objects.
She said her pride wouldn't allow such a thing.
(Even if I say I'll return it later, just like the previous promise, she seems to dislike the act of 'sending a cursed object' itself.)
He explored within the Royal Capital and, naturally, found several appraisal shops.
However, if he suddenly asked them, "Please resell this if you take in a cursed object," there wouldn't be any shop that would agree.
Mika himself didn't want to use such a shop.
(Thinking about it, I really did ask that old woman for something unreasonable...)
He couldn't help but smile bitterly at his own actions.
Mika, who was in the form of a child, had bowed his head repeatedly, begged, and pleaded to let him have it even to the point of prostrating himself.
He wouldn't listen no matter how much he was shouted at or admonished, clinging on with "Please~!"
(Wasn't it a bracelet at first?)
At that time, Mika had held it tightly in his hand and wouldn't let go.
The old woman was thoroughly dumbfounded and at a loss seeing Mika crouching in a prostration posture, hugging it into his body.
And thus, he succeeded in getting her to let him have it.
(Well, that method is a bit too much for now...)
Even though it was to obtain a cursed object, he hesitated to resort to such means again.
(I must find a new development. I just can't think of a method.)
He leaned back against the chair with a creaking sound and stretched his body.
Mika decided to develop a new source for obtaining "Cursed Objects Puzzle."
■■■■■■
The next day, on Sunday, Mika was at the Adventurer's Guild.
He had accompanied Rimliche in special training where she couldn't acquire Explosive Flame easily, and they finished before evening.
Well, normally it takes about half a year to finally acquire it, so Mika, who acquired it so quickly, is the strange one.
Mika doesn't understand prayer or how to offer mana at all, so honestly, there is almost no meaning in accompanying the special training.
However, when Rimliche says, "Special training is the most concentrated time," he finds it hard to say no.
If he doesn't somehow acquire Explosive Flame during his first year, he will lose his seat in the second year.
Even if it is just a rumor, hearing such a thing makes him continue the training with the thought, "Even if it's something like this, if it helps even a little."
Probably, among the Leventein Group, Rimliche will struggle the most to acquire it.
When it came to Physical Enhancement, it was acquired at a very tight timing.
If the special training were cut off and he still hadn't acquired it by the end of the first year, Mika would regret it endlessly.
Carrying such negative, unsatisfactory gloom, Mika was accompanying Rimliche in special training.
Mika looked up at the bulletin board, searching for any requests he could accept tomorrow.
(Most beast extermination requests are gone. ...Only distant requests remain?)
In the Guild, not only the branch that accepted the request but also nearby branches post request sheets.
Basically, such requests are high difficulty, and they are not first-come, first-served, but rather first-to-complete.
They are content that wants to recruit adventurers with wide-ranging skills who feel uneasy posting only at the nearest guild.
In other words, these are requests useless to Mika right now.
(Well, even with the hijacking strategy, it's bad to touch such requests. I want to avoid being glared at by upper-rank adventurers too.)
Although it's called a hijacking strategy, he isn't actually hijacking anything.
It's just that he accepts requests without permission that are too low rank for Mika but remain untouched for a while after being posted.
So far, he hasn't clashed on site and has avoided trouble.
When reporting the completion of the request, he just gets a scolding from Yunressa.
He has already accepted several C-rank requests this way, with no failures and delicious rewards.
It seems the Guild will tacitly approve as long as he doesn't do something like failing requests on his own and just messing up the situation.
The only one who won't stay silent is Yunressa.
"Oh, Mika-kun. You're here. Looking for a request?"
As Mika looked at the bulletin board, Rosalinde came over holding a bundle of request sheets.
It seems she came to post requests.
"Hello, Rosalinde-san. Are those new requests?"
"Yes. ...Is there any request that Mika-kun would want to take? Wait a moment."
Saying that, Rosalinde quickly checked the contents of the request sheets.
"Hey, Rosalinde-san! Post them! If you post them, I'll look for them normally!"
"Oh? You don't need to hold back."
Mika, sweating coldly, urged Rosalinde to post them quickly.
There were many adventurers around, waiting for the posting with thoughts like, "Oh, a new request?"
If he were handed one in such a situation saying, "Ah, this looks good. Here you go," he would surely be hated by everyone.
I'm not holding back!
For my own safety, please just post them normally!
Rosalinde, told by Mika, reluctantly posted the request sheets.
As she posted the request sheets, the front of the bulletin board was immediately surrounded by adventurers wanting to take requests.
Mika felt like he was about to be crushed by the surging adventurers and couldn't even look for requests.
Helplessly, he tried to escape somehow.
"Hey! Gwee...! L-let me through! Ugh!?"
But the difference in physique was too great, and he couldn't resist properly.
While being jostled, suddenly Mika's robe was pulled, and he was lifted up.
"Puhh!?"
"Are you alright, boy?"
"E-eah... Thank you."
Kaerya was the one who salvaged Mika.
Just like last time, Kaerya grabbed Mika's robe and lifted him up like a cat being grabbed by the scruff of its neck.
"Um..."
Kaerya lifted Mika to face height and stared at him intently.
It was grateful to be saved, but he wasn't entirely happy with this treatment.
"Um, Kaerya-san."
"Kaerya is fine."
Kaerya answered with a serious face.
Honestly, it was a bit scary.
"...Kaerya."
"What?"
Kaerya left the front of the bulletin board while still holding Mika.
Kaerya walked without caring if people were in front of her, and the adventurers she bumped into stumbled aside.
Rather than yielding, it felt more like being pushed away.
Kaerya was just walking, but male adventurers who were grown men were normally losing to her.
What kind of physical monster is that.
Leaving the front of the bulletin board, the number of people around decreased.
Just as Mika was about to ask her to put him down, the entrance area became noisy.
"Hey, this is bad."
"What are we going to do about this?"
"Ah... why did I have to come to the guild today?"
Looking toward the noisy entrance, there was a blue-haired female knight.
"Again, without learning your lesson... Have you already forgotten what Yunressa told you? Ah, can't you remember even if I say it?"
Trys glared at Kaerya with cold eyes and walked straight toward them.
"If you have intelligence below that of a gorilla, I'll have to teach it to your body instead."
Saying that, she placed her hand on the hilt of her Long Sword.
Kaerya also noticed Trys, and her expression quickly turned to anger.
"Uwaa!? Already!?"
"Hey, you stop her."
"Don't mess with me! You go!"
In the blink of an eye, a crowd of onlookers formed around them, but no one intervened.
Were they enjoying it, or were they afraid?
Probably both.
He wanted nothing to do with being involved, but watching someone else's trouble was fun.
That's about it.
"I am kind, so I will at least give a warning. Let go of that child immediately. You probably won't understand anyway."
"Shut up, you whore who spreads her legs to the gods and shakes her hips! Go get a 70 (Pee) or something!"
Whoa!?
Kaerya-san, that's vulgar.
And speaking of which, does this world have such clichés too?
(Spreading legs to the gods, having a 70 (Pee) with the Virgin Mother... those are selling words for clergy. Does that mean Trys is related to the church?)
Does 70 (Pee) mean the six gods of the Church of Light plus Trys, making 70 (Pee)?
While thinking such things, the atmosphere grew increasingly hostile.
It was a state of being one touch away from explosion.
(Oh, this is bad, this is bad. If this continues, I'm the most dangerous one here! I have to do something!)
For now, while Mika was hanging in mid-air, he patted Kaerya's cheeks.
Since the only thing Mika's hands could reach was Kaerya's face in front of him, it was unavoidable.
"Kaerya! Kaerya!"
"Guh! W-what is it? I'm busy right now, get out of the way."
If you're busy, you could put me down, you know?
For now, he decided to honestly ask her to do so.
"Put me down."
"............No."
Why?
Kaerya kept her eyes on Trys and rejected Mika's proposal.
"It seems I have no choice but to cut off that hand."
Trys lowered her waist slightly, radiating killing intent.
Kaerya also placed her hand on the hilt of the Battle Axe on her back.
(Oh my, oh my, please spare me!)
Mika looked at Kaerya and Trys in a panic.
Then, he suddenly pointed at something that entered his field of view.
"Kaerya! Kaerya! That!"
While tapping Kaerya's cheek, Mika pointed past Trys, toward the outside visible from the entrance.
There, a woman carrying a child was walking.
"That, that! Like that!"
"I said I'm busy right now."
"Just do it! Quickly!"
When Mika spoke strongly, Kaerya reluctantly let go of the Battle Axe and hugged Mika.
The arm supporting Mika's buttocks stabilized his waist with the reassuring feeling of a thick branch.
The hanging state was resolved, and he felt a little relieved, but it wasn't over yet.
The situation was too tense to persuade Kaerya to put him down.
First, he had to deal with this situation somehow.
"Trys-san, it's okay now. Thank you very much."
When Trys saw Mika smiling and thanking her, she looked slightly surprised, but quickly tightened her expression.
"Don't worry, I'll save you right away. Just wait a moment."
"No, it's really okay."
Actually, please really stop.
"Kaerya only helped me. Right, Kaerya?"
"A, ah..."
Kaerya looked slightly troubled for some reason, but Mika ignored it and made a display of being friendly.
First, depriving Trys of the reason to fight was the priority.
If he got caught up in a serious fight between superiors, Mika's life would be as good as gone.
Since his life was at stake, he naturally had to plead desperately.
As Mika smiled and made a display of being friendly, Trys, though suspicious, let go of her sword.
"Kaerya too! From next time, do it like this from the start! Otherwise, you'll be misunderstood again!"
"A, ah."
When Mika gave a warning, Kaerya, though confused, nodded obediently.
At that moment, the surroundings murmured.
"No way!?"
"That brat stopped the two of them!?"
"Seriously!?"
"Is he a Beast Tamer!?"
As the surroundings buzzed, Rosalinde came through, parting the adventurers.
"Really, why are you all making such a fuss? Ah, Mika-kun. I finished posting the request sheets."
Rosalinde waved her hands at Mika.
You're late!
Come earlier!
As Mika complained in his heart, "Do your job, Guild staff!",
"Oh, right. Come by the counter later today. Mika-kun has finally ranked up. If you update your card, you'll be D-rank from today. Congratulations."
She said that casually.
"Huh?"
"D?"
"That brat?"
A murmur louder than before erupted from the onlookers.
"Eh, wait a minute. Is that child D-rank?"
"Hey, hey, that brat. You're the same D-rank as him! Ahaha, that's funny!"
"Eh, no way? I'm the same as that guy?"
The surrounding murmur was incomparable to before.
Everyone said, "No way?", "Seriously?", "I'm below that brat...", and the situation was now uncontrollable.
(Rosalinde! Read the air a bit more! You really are like that!)
Mika held his head in frustration at Rosalinde, who still couldn't read the air.
Mika and the others, who caused a commotion inside the Guild again, were summoned for an interrogation in the reception room for the first time in a month.
This reception room is outside the counter and is usually used for consulting on requests.
There is also a reception room inside the counter, but that is a luxurious room for VIPs.
Mika has never entered it.
He passed by when going to Chirensta's room and happened to see the door open and looked inside, but it was truly luxurious with paintings hanging.
For now, the cause of this commotion was mainly Mika, Kaerya, and Trys, but originally, the commotion was heading toward resolution.
It was Rosalinde who ruined that, but Rosalinde is not here.
Once the general circumstances were understood, they were taken to Chirensta's room, and she should be lecturing her right now.
"If you don't stop, you will truly become subject to disciplinary action."
A man in his thirties, looking neurotic, looked at the three of them with a cold gaze.
"No matter how skilled you are, the reputation of adventurers goes down because people like you who disrupt discipline exist. I cannot understand why the upper echelons leave adventurers like you unchecked."
Kaerya responded with a yawn to the man's sarcastic words, Trys nodded with a hum-hum, saying, "There are terrible adventurers too," and was completely detached.
Mika, listening seriously, looked foolish.
"Hey, are you listening! You people are truly————"
Knock, knock.
Just as the neurotic man raised his voice in irritation, the door was knocked on.
"Yes, come in."
Instead of the man, Mika casually permitted entry.
Mika was honestly tired of the man's boring scolding repeating the same thing over and over.
The man in front of him glared at Mika, but Mika pretended not to notice with a cool face.
Entering through the opened door was a female Guild staff member, followed by Chirensta.
"All three of you, that's enough. But it would be helpful if you could be a bit quieter from next time."
"Vice Branch Manager! These guys aren't reflecting at all! This time, please impose strict disciplinary action————!"
"Unnecessary."
Chirensta said firmly, and the neurotic man twisted his face in regret.
"Sorry, Chirensta-san."
When Mika apologized honestly, Chirensta smiled bitterly.
"Last time and this time, Mika-kun was almost involved. There is no need to worry. Moreover, it seems you calmed the commotion this time. I look forward to it from next time too."
Chirensta smiled broadly.
Now that he thought about it, he had been consulted before about whether something could be done about Kaerya and Trys.
In the previous commotion, Mika was sent home quickly after just an interrogation.
It seems at that time, Mika's situation was explained somewhat to Kaerya and Trys.
Before, Kaerya called him "girl," but today it was "boy."
That Mika was a boy.
That he already had two years of experience as an adventurer and had fought monsters.
That he had become E-rank because of that.
It seems Yunressa explained that although he was still a child, it was rude to treat him like a child too much.
Although it seems he was told that...
"Kaerya."
"What?"
Just as they left the reception room, Kaerya naturally hugged Mika.
"Why are you hugging me again?"
"Earlier, you said to do it like this from now on."
Ah, she said that.
Yeah, she definitely said that.
But unfortunately, that's not what she meant.
"Put me down."
"............"
Mika told her to put him down, but Kaerya didn't move.
Trys started to emit an uneasy atmosphere, but Mika shook his head to stop her.
Please stop making things more complicated.
Mika sighed, "Haa...", and pointed to the bulletin board.
"I came to look for a request today. ...Actually."
Due to an unexpected accident, he wasted time and was significantly delayed.
Even now, he must check the remaining requests and accept tomorrow's quota.
(But, I see. Becoming D-rank means I don't need to accept without permission like before.)
It took nearly two years since becoming E-rank, but he started doing request quests properly after coming to the Royal Capital.
Considering that, maybe he should say it was luck that his rank went up here.
Now he can openly accept C-rank requests.
He asked Kaerya to take him to the front of the bulletin board and look at the newly posted request sheets.
(Still, most of them are taken. This means tomorrow might be a closed shop?)
Until now, there were times when he couldn't go on quests in the daylight because there were no good requests.
However, since the reward for one request is large, if he can accept a request once every two or three weeks, he can earn more than before.
He now understands well why normal adventurers show little interest in fixed-amount quests.
"...Ah?"
Mika found a phrase on one of the request sheets posted on the bulletin board that caught his interest.
He instructed Kaerya with his finger to go to the front of that request sheet.
"C-rank. ...Identify and eliminate the cause of the curse. ...Reward, five gold coins."
It was a house in the Royal Capital.
Necromancy-type monsters gathering due to a curse?
If the cause of the curse is removed, the request is completed.
Eliminating monsters is not included in the completion conditions, huh.
"I'm not saying this to scare you, but it's better not to take requests like that."
As Mika stared at the request sheet, Trys, standing next to him, gave him a warning.
"Without the Skill Appraisal, you can't even tell if it's a cursed object, and even if you know, it doesn't mean it can be eliminated. If the land or house is cursed, elimination itself is impossible. Even if not, dealing with 'the Unclean Ones' is quite troublesome. The high reward is not for nothing, and the fact that it remains implies there is a reason for it."
Mika could tell from her eyes that Trys was seriously worried about him.
Her image regarding Kaerya had plummeted, but she was originally a person who kindly answered Mika's questions about monsters even when he murmured them slightly.
But————.
Mika peeled off the posted request sheet.
"Hey, that is truly dangerous————."
Mika looked at Trys, who was trying to stop him, with a serious gaze.
Trys, sensing the pressure transmitted from Mika, could not continue her words.
(The reward is attractive, but more than that...)
He might be able to get a "Cursed Object Puzzle."
Mika, with somewhat inappropriate motives, quietly burned with fighting spirit.