Chapter 4
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: 2. Got a Job at the General Store
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The day after kicking Edin out.
Claude led his party straight to the Adventurer Guild.
An enormously massive guild building.
It was one of the largest structures even in Preta, the capital city that ranked among the most developed on the continent.
Its grounds and scale were so grand that you could easily mistake it for the mansion of some high-ranking noble.
And that place was bustling with adventurers of all sorts and styles.
People from the Empire, foreigners with black hair or dark skin, sub-species like elves and lizardmen, and more.
Individuals from countless nations and even sub-species mingled casually as they came and went, a sight that truly befitted the Preta branch—the headquarters of the world's largest Adventurer Guild.
"It's Claude."
"Oh... Hero Claude."
Even amid that huge crowd, Claude stood out unmistakably.
Because he was a top-class adventurer bearing the Hero title—and because he proudly boasted about it everywhere he went.
No adventurer in Preta didn't know his face.
'Heh. Pathetic fools.'
Basking in the envious gazes of the other adventurers, he strode into the guild building with his shoulders squared even higher.
"Any A-Rank quests available?"
Once inside, Claude marched up to the guild reception desk and bluntly asked the staff member in a rude, familiar tone about A-Rank requests.
He shoved aside those who had been waiting and stepped forward as if it were his right to go first.
"......"
"......"
The adventurers clicked their tongues in annoyance at the sight but quietly stepped back upon realizing he was the Hero, a skyrocketing adventurer who had recently earned that title.
Not only had he received the Hero title, but rumors said he might climb to S-Rank within a year or two—a comet of the highest caliber.
No one wanted to get on his bad side here for no reason.
"Ah, Hero Claude. Welcome."
Despite his brazen rudeness, the receptionist named Semy—a staff member quite popular among adventurers at the Preta branch—bowed politely to Claude and his party members as if it were nothing new.
This was routine whenever Claude showed up, so she just accepted it by now.
With her charming brown bob haircut and freckles, she drew flirty advances from male adventurers—and occasionally even female ones—thanks to her cute looks.
Claude secretly had a soft spot for her, so he always sought her out when picking up requests at the Preta branch.
Of course, that meant shoving everyone else aside, just like now.
"Are you finally taking on A-Rank requests for real?"
"Yeah. Things are starting to click well with the new party, you know."
As he spoke, Claude shot a lecherous glance and slithered his hands like snakes to suddenly pull Mary and Sophia into a tight embrace.
"Oh my."
"Eek..."
Caught off guard by the sudden hug, the two blushed—not seeming to hate it one bit—as they turned their heads away.
It was obvious that his talk of "things clicking well" wasn't just about adventuring as a party.
Their expressions and reactions made that crystal clear.
'Ugh... Do I have to witness this crap first thing in the morning?'
Semy felt irritation bubbling up from deep inside as she watched.
A-Rank adventurer and Hero or not, putting on such a blatant display in front of everyone...
He was probably doing it to show off what a stud he was.
And... to impress her.
Her mood soured completely right from the start of her day.
'Poor Edin. Blazing Mary and White Angel Sophia don't have the best reputations either... Huh?'
Then it hit her—Edin, who always tagged along with Claude, was nowhere to be seen.
He should have been glued to his side as usual.
His low presence meant it had taken her a moment to notice.
"Here it is. A request from Clamp Village under the northwest capital branch. It involves exterminating a wyvern pack nesting on a cliff a bit away from the village."
She was curious about Edin but figured asking directly would look weird, so she probed indirectly.
"...As usual, your party for the request will be four members, right?"
If Edin was off handling something else, then four it was.
But if not...
"Huh? Can't you see? It's three. Me, Mary, Sophia."
"...I see."
That confirmed it.
The jerk had kicked Edin out of the party.
'Well, can't be helped. Edin's only a C-Rank adventurer. Even factoring in his alchemist specialty, he's not frontline material for A-Rank requests.'
It was a shame, but what could you do?
Claude had probably ditched him for being useless.
Semy actually felt relieved for Edin.
It seemed better for him to adventure separately or find other work away from Claude.
She always pitied him, running Claude's errands like that.
'Hope he does well wherever he ends up.'
Unlike Claude, she quite liked Edin—he was kind and decent.
Not romantically, but he was someone she genuinely respected as a person.
So she hoped he'd thrive, no matter where life took him.
'The application forms are at the gate guard post. Fill one out and hand it to the guards!'
Just as Lunarin had instructed, I arrived at the guard post by the entrance to the Adventurer Academy.
Since applicants were outsiders—and some might try sneaking in disguised as such—they handled applications right there at the guard post.
"What brings you here?"
As I approached the academy entrance, two burly men with fierce looks loomed down at me.
And it wasn't just their appearances.
From what I could tell, they exuded the aura of at least B-Rank adventurers.
Weaker than Claude or the other A-Ranks, maybe... but plenty strong to guard the academy gates.
If regular guards were this level, the captain and inner guards had to be even tougher.
What a fitting reputation for one of the world's top educational institutions.
"Ah, I heard you're hiring for the academy general store... I'm here to apply."
"Understood. This way, please."
I stated my business, and despite their intimidating looks, the guards courteously guided me inside.
Once in the guard post, they handed me a pen and a single sheet of paper.
"Fill out your personal info, history, motivation for applying, and a self-introduction here."
A practiced explanation, as if several applicants had come before me.
I nodded, took a seat, and started filling out the form.
Name, age, current occupation, history, self-introduction, etc.
The form was neatly formatted, making it easy to complete.
Alright. Name: Edin.
Age: 27...
C-Rank adventurer, alchemist.
Specialty... Potion-making?
Next up, motivation for applying.
A friend recommended it?
Unemployed and job-hunting?
Hmm... Not much to put here.
My history boiled down to being a C-Rank adventurer, my motivation was Lunarin's recommendation, and my self-introduction... just a guy from a rural village who came to become a cool adventurer and was scraping by?
Yeah, if I were on the review board, I wouldn't pick myself.
And I didn't have the writing chops to turn this into some epic novel of a self-intro.
'It's just the application—they pick based on the test, so scribble whatever!'
Lunarin had said that, but I was still a bit worried.
...Would I even pass the paperwork screening?
Eh, whatever.
If not, no big deal.
I could always get a job at a general store in the shopping district, work hard, and save up enough to open my own someday.
Just go for it.
I filled in what I could and submitted the application to the guard.
"No other documents to submit?"
"...Huh? Oh, right. No."
"I see."
What? Were there other papers I was supposed to bring?
Like certifications or award records for my history?
Everyone else must have brought them.
"......"
Suddenly, I felt even more anxious.
"C-Rank adventurer Edin. This the guy?"
"Yes, that's him."
The day after meeting Edin, Lunarin Brettis headed straight to the academy chairman, Mureos Avantredin, upon arriving at the Adventurer Academy.
A former S-Rank adventurer and, naturally, a Hero in her time.
Even in retirement, she was hailed as one of the continent's top five grand archmages—a ridiculously powerful mage.
Despite being over 70, she looked like a woman in her early thirties.
Her hair had turned pure white with age, but it only added to her mystical allure, giving her the air of a mature, enigmatic beauty.
She now served as the academy's chairman, overseeing its overall operations.
In other words, when it came to hiring any academy staff...
She wielded the greatest influence.
That's why Lunarin had come to her.
"This guy's that impressive?"
"For real. Talent-wise, he's honestly better than me or you, Chairman."
Lunarin casually ranked herself and Mureos lower without a second thought.
One might expect offense at that, but Mureos showed no sign of it.
'For her to say that much?'
And rightly so—Lunarin's pride in her own talent outstripped even Mureos's.
She dismissed rising stars like Hero Claude and active S-Rank adventurers as nothing compared to her potential.
She brimmed with such confidence.
She didn't compete with them simply because her goals differed, but she claimed she could beat any of them if she tried.
That was Lunarin.
And among the rare few she acknowledged and respected as geniuses was Mureos.
Yet here she was, placing this Edin on par with that great figure—and even downplaying her own prodigious talent to praise him?
That piqued Mureos's interest.
"Alchemist Edin, huh."
And right on cue, an application arrived for her from another general store owner candidate that day.
The applicant's name was Edin.