Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Adventurer Qualification
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If I were going to live only in Larphentia, I wouldn’t need it, but if I wanted to go to another region, there was something necessary.
Yes, I’m talking about identification. They say leaving home means hardship, and that really rings true.
‘There are so many things to prepare before setting off on a journey.’
Still, I couldn’t huddle in this house forever.
Praying here alone wouldn’t make the Lord bestow blessings upon this world and protect us from that unknown phenomenon called circulation.
He might save me from danger, but He wouldn’t save Roca too.
If we don’t act, the Lord won’t either. The idea that you have to do something first to expect results applied to me as well.
‘For now, I have several forms of identification.’
The ID issued by the Church state when I set off adventuring with Yurinel.
A citizenship card I got incidentally from the capital’s government office.
And the adventurer qualification, the very first ID I received after leaving my hometown where the very concept didn’t exist. My wallet held these three forms of identification.
‘Roca has one.’
My eyes narrowed as I looked at the ID issued by the government office, which I hadn’t yet given to Roca.
Burning the slave contract only symbolized that the Lord had certified Roca’s freedom; it didn’t mean she was legally free from being my slave.
Legally, Roca was still my slave. To free her from that, I had to go to the government office, fill out various administrative forms, pay fees, and only then could the shackles of her status be removed.
However, even after shedding the shackles, scars remain. The empire treats those born free differently from emancipated slaves.
Roca’s citizenship card bore a stamp indicating she had once been a slave—a scar that would never fade.
That’s why I planned to get her another form of identification. I didn’t want that child to have to show that stamp.
“So, Kyle. Where are we headed?”
The princess now called me Kyle. At least in places where others could see.
It was entirely at my request. It didn’t matter if she thought of me as the saint, but if she went around calling me that outside, it would only embarrass me.
“A place you’ll probably need too, noona.”
Of course, it wasn’t free. The princess had made one demand of me in return.
Don’t call her princess; call her noona outside. It was only natural since I couldn’t call her princess in public either.
“You need a temporary ID too, right? Let’s stop by the adventurer guild and grab qualification cards. For our Roca too. You need something to show for yourself wherever you go.”
Getting an adventurer qualification from the guild was easy.
Really easy. You just had to pay the fee.
An F-rank adventurer qualification was truly obtainable just by paying money. They did a basic check of your details, but as long as you weren’t on the wanted list and had no criminal record, even a child could get one.
Of course, advancing to E-rank or higher was another story, but there was no need for that.
The princess would return to the capital anyway, and Roca wasn’t going to work as an adventurer.
I didn’t know much about that world myself. I’d only gotten one because I’d heard that priests like me often worked as adventurers.
The Triad Church turned a blind eye to other denominations’ priests charging for healing, but they didn’t complain about priests in adventurer parties treating their own members. So joining a high-paying party was one of the better ways for priests to make money.
Normally, Triad Church priests didn’t become adventurers and travel on their own.
“And speak comfortably, princess. I’m calling you noona, so it’d be weird if you used formal speech with me.”
“Ah, but even so, to the saint chosen directly by the Lord...”
“It doesn’t bother me. Just call me casually.”
“You’re also my benefactor...”
“That was the Lord’s doing, not mine.”
It seemed the miracle the Lord had shown still left a strong impression.
But that was because the Lord was extraordinary, not me. Even if someone else had been called by the Lord in my place, it would have been entirely possible.
“Even so, I couldn’t. How could a mere human like me treat the Lord’s chosen messenger so casually?”
“Noona.”
“The one who brought the miracle I so desperately longed for—I, Ardein, am not so lacking in discernment as to be rude to my benefactor.”
In any case, Ardein noona was someone who had far more experience looking down on others than showing respect.
I thought she’d switch to casual speech with me right away, but she was more stubborn than expected. As we talked, I suddenly felt fingers grasping the hem of my sleeve.
Roca was staring at me intently. Had she felt left out?
When I reached out and patted her, she finally smiled and looked down. What an enigmatic child.
“Adventurer qualification? I don’t need one. That little one over there might, though.”
“Don’t you lack anything to prove your identity, noona?”
“Not at all. I have the most certain, unforgeable proof. I thought it was lost forever, but the saint brought it back to me.”
A majestic golden Mana Aura overlaid her hand, shining brilliantly.
According to noona, this was the symbol of the imperial family, heirs to the gold dragon’s bloodline.
She said it was the most distinctive golden Mana Aura. I couldn’t imagine any surer proof.
“I’m over thirty now, and I no longer have the sharpness of my youth. Learning and mastering things quickly is a privilege of the young and immature. Without the saint’s miracle, it would have taken my entire lifetime just to regain my original realm.”
She was right. People have their prime.
Even if you seize it quickly, once your twenties pass, you gradually age. Your body is no longer what it used to be.
...Or so I’d heard. It was what the village elders always said.
Roca went without saying, but at twenty-five, I didn’t feel it much myself.
The princess was thirty-two, so with ten more years of training, she’d be entering her forties now.
Regaining what was lost without a Lineage Sapling would never have been easy.
“And I’ve been thinking: we don’t need to rent a carriage all the way to the capital. If we push a bit further from Larphentia, we’ll reach the Vlad Ducal House.”
“Ah, I’ve heard the name.”
“Duke Vlad Schmi ra knows me too, so she’ll probably recognize me. It’d be more convenient to go to the capital with her help.”
‘Duke Vlad Schmi ra... Schmi ra Ducal House...? Ah, no. Vlad Ducal House. Vampires reverse their given and family names. Now I remember.’
Vlad Ducal House. A rare case where a non-human, a demi-human, held a noble title.
Now I recalled. Yurinel had once casually mentioned that although the duke held a high title, it wasn’t anything special.
The title was lofty, but that was all—no real power to speak of.
How else could I, living in this small city of Larphentia not far from Vlad territory, have never even heard the duke’s name? It meant their influence didn’t reach here.
“The Vlad Ducal House isn’t famous for wealth or power, but it does have deep history. They wouldn’t refuse a carriage to an imperial princess if I asked. They’d have to, fearing repercussions.”
Indeed, ever since using the Lineage Sapling, the princess brimmed with confidence.
This must be her true personality, suppressed by illness until now.
In any case, she surely knew more about nobles than I did, so we set our destination as Vlad Ducal House for now.
As we walked while talking, the adventurer guild came into view before long. Larphentia rarely saw monsters, so few people were around the guild. The guild office itself looked small and modest.
Ding-a-ling.
Pushing open the door with its bell, we entered a strikingly empty space.
On the wall to the right of the door hung a single sheet of paper, naturally drawing the eye. I couldn’t help but read it.
—To the adventurers and residents of Larphentia City: Thank you for always using the Larphentia branch of the Adventurer Guild. Due to declining revenue and fewer clients, our office plans to relocate to the neighboring city of Henes before this summer. We promise to serve you with improved service and ask for your continued interest and patronage.
By the time I finished reading, someone spoke up.
“Hey, you there. Aspiring adventurer? But why’s only that young lady with you carrying a weapon? Or are you a client? If so, you’ve come up empty.”
An elderly man, who looked too old to wield even a club let alone a sword, leaned against a table in a chair with a friendly expression.
“This town lacks both clients posting requests and adventurers to take them. Peace isn’t always a good thing for those who eat sword rice. So everyone’s left for better prospects.”
“I’d like to get adventurer qualifications. Is that not possible?”
“We can do that. If you have the fee.”
The price wasn’t particularly expensive,
nor particularly cheap. In any case, it wasn’t unaffordable.
I took out my wallet and paid. He counted the amount and asked,
“Looks like just one person to register. So, which one? You?”
“It’s for this child. She doesn’t have any official identification yet.”
“Name and age?”
“Roca. Sixteen.”
Before I could speak, Roca smoothed her hair and replied.
I say replied, but her tone wasn’t impolite yet not exactly polite either. Cool and detached, perhaps? It was the first time I’d seen Roca speak like this, so I was a bit surprised.
“Wait a moment.”
But Ardein noona neither seemed surprised nor flustered; she just stood there blankly.
The guildmaster grandpa, who’d seen all sorts, didn’t bat an eye either. After hearing Roca’s name spelled out, he went inside briefly and returned with an F-rank adventurer qualification.
Normally they’d verify identity and basic skills, but since the branch was closing anyway, he didn’t ask questions and just handed it over. F-rank was issued for money alone, but this felt a bit too lax.
“So, is this for eating?”
What comes easy has no value. Roca stared at her qualification with a sullen expression.
In truth, it might be less useful than food. Bribing guards with a few coins was easier, faster, and simpler than showing ID. It just cost money.
But someday, when someone meets this child,
I wanted them to remember her not as Roca, once someone’s property, but simply as the adventurer Roca.
The fee paid and a bit of time spent were nothing compared to that.
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