Off to the Adventurers' Guild!
A week had passed.
Finally, freedom!
Dad's sword was just so fast, and so terrifying. Thank goodness I can use healing magic — if I couldn't, my hands would've been one giant callus by now….
"Marten!"
"…Pwee."
I perched Marten, who always answered with the enthusiasm of a wet sock, on my shoulder.
I'd learned swordsmanship, my house arrest was lifted. Today, I was going to go smack down some monsters!
"Adventurers' Guild, let's gooo!!"
"…Pweeeu."
I opened a portal and hopped right in.
Whooooosh!
And there it was — an enormous building looming in front of me.
"Still suuuper huge!"
I marched right through the front doors without a shred of hesitation. Strolling in, I gave the request board a leisurely scan.
[C-Rank / Goblin Extermination]
Yes. This is the one.
I ripped it off the board with a satisfying shwick, carried it over to the receptionist, and slammed it down with maximum drama!
Thwack!
"Here. I'll take this request."
Hehe, how cool did I look just now?!
"My lady, I'm afraid that won't be possible."
"Whyyy not?"
The receptionist wore a deeply troubled expression.
"By special order, subjugation requests are prohibited for you, my lady."
"…That rule is still in effect?"
"Yes. There's been no word to the contrary since."
"Tch…."
Apparently, Dad had anticipated I'd wander into the adventurers' guild one of these days and pulled strings in advance.
Which is why I can't even take a simple request like this. Ugh! Then why make me train with a sword in the first place?!
"Honestly, this is overprotective, don't you think?"
"…I shall make no comment."
My family really must be strong, huh. The adventurers' guild is literally tiptoeing around us.
"Huh? Who's this brat?"
"Hm?"
"Get lost, pipsqueak. This place is our playground… hurk?!"
Stumble.
Crash! Clatter!
Oh no, someone tripped me. And here I was just deciding how best to scold them!
"Kgh… which son of a—!"
"Heh heh, hey buddy, you should be thanking her."
"The hell does that…!"
"You're new here, aren't you? Come here a second."
One of the older adventurers beckoned, and the man walked over. More whispering. Always with the whispering.
"That young lady is the princess of House Erdian."
"…What?"
"And she could wipe the floor with any mid-rank adventurer here."
"???"
"If you don't believe me, go pick a fight and find out."
…Tch. That old man is off the play list now. Fine, I'll just sell my mana stones instead.
"…Strong or not, whatever — what's a noble's kid even doing in a place like this?"
"Who knows. But she's quite popular among us adventurers, that I can tell you."
My ears perked up.
"…Why, exactly?"
"Well, for one, isn't she adorable?"
Hehe, come on, that part you could've said out loud instead of whispering.
"Just having one cute kid like her in this dreary guild changes the whole atmosphere."
"…So she's a mascot."
"Oh, it's not just that. Watch."
Hmph. He went to all the trouble of setting the stage like that — the least I can do is deliver.
I promptly pulled out the mana stones I'd gathered from all the monsters I'd caught before.
"I'd like to sell all my mana stones!"
"Good heavens, this purity is…?"
"I gathered them from that forest over there!"
There was exactly one forest in the direction I pointed. The sacred forest of Arvela.
The receptionist shot a sidelong glance that way, gave a small nod, and disappeared inside. A moment later, she returned with a pouch of gold.
"That comes to 2,320,000 gold in total."
"Two million three hundred thousand?!"
That old man's jaw dropped to the floor. Hehe, but this isn't even the finale!
"Give me 100,000 gold, and use the rest to buy everyone here food and drinks."
"Yeaaahhh!!! Thank you, my lady!!!"
"No wonder I didn't feel like taking a job today!"
"Kyaaaaa, free beer for the first time in ages!"
Teehee. This is what they call noblesse obli… something or other!
It's not like money matters much to me anyway. If the old-timers are happy, that's all that counts.
"Everyone! Eat well, drink well, and don't get hurt!!"
"My lady! Getting hurt is just part of being an adventurer!"
"Are you telling us not to earn a living right now?"
Honestly. When I first revealed my identity, they all trembled like leaves — and now they're cracking jokes at me.
"If getting hurt is your daily life, what does that make you healthy ones?!"
"If we rested, we'd be a mercenary company, wouldn't we!"
"BWAHAHAHAHA!"
Laughter rolled through the entire guild. Honestly, these old-timers are a cheerful bunch.
Meanwhile, the guy who'd picked a fight with me earlier was staring holes into my back.
Hmm. What's this? Has a sudden wave of respect washed over him?
"…My lady, are you really that strong?"
Uh-oh.
Is this guy about to become a problem?
"Ugh, here we go."
"You did give him that advice, sir."
"Tsk, tsk…."
Everyone's clucking their tongues and worrying. Anyone watching would think I'm the bully!
"For the record, I'm a B-rank adventurer."
"So jealous! I'm only D-rank."
"…Regardless, it seems you're regarded as quite formidable, my lady?"
Grin.
Oh, I know the rules of the adventurer world all too well.
"Then let's take off our rank badges and have a go, shall we?!"
"With pleasure."
"Great. Follow me to the training hall."
"Oh no…."
"May the gods have mercy on his soul…"
Hey! Why do the surrounding adventurers keep sighing like that?! I said this isn't bullying!
The guild training hall.
"My lady, why do you keep tormenting innocent adventurers?"
"He's the one who asked to fight!"
"…You did issue a rather pointed provocation, I believe."
"Says who?"
"Haah…."
The vice guild master had done nothing but sigh since we arrived.
"Please, I am begging you — moderate your strength. Do you have any idea how much trouble we had repairing the training hall after you destroyed half of it with magic last time?"
"It'll be fine, it'll be fine. I'm not fighting with magic today."
I picked up a wooden sword. Yep, this should do.
"Ready?"
"…The entire guild staff has lost their minds. All this fuss over a child."
"Okay, here I come!"
Tak— whoosh!
For the first strike, a light probing attack… I raised my sword high and simply brought it down!
KRA-KOOM!!
Whoa, what the — why was that so much louder than expected?
"…My lady."
"Ahaha, that's so strange~ it's never been this bad when I spar at home…."
"You may have noticed the Sword Master's training hall is not built to the same standard as ours."
"Hehe… sorry."
Anyway — where's my opponent? Oh, he dodged it?
Good, then this time I'll just pick up the pace a little…!
"I SURRENDER!!!"
Thud.
"…Eh?"
"I surrender! My lady, I was blind — blinder than a bat!"
"Hold on, I haven't even properly started ye—"
"I surrender! I surrender, I say!"
"…."
I turned to the vice guild master with an expression of utter disbelief. He shook his head wearily.
"I told you, did I not? Leave the adventurers alone."
"…But he's supposed to be B-rank?"
"Yes. He is B-rank, indeed."
"And I'm only D-rank?"
"That is correct."
I blinked, both eyes wide.
'THIS guy is… B-rank?'
Somehow, that felt deeply unfair.
"So if he's B-rank, he can take A-rank requests and all that, right?"
"Yes, he can."
"Then how come I can't even take a C-rank one?!"
"I'm afraid that's not a question for me… we merely follow the lord of the house's orders."
"Grrr…."
That settles it — I'm going to have a long talk with Dad sooner or later. I've learned swordsmanship now, so surely he'll give me at least a little leeway.
"Um… my lady, if you'll excuse me then—"
"…I know. Bye-bye."
It'd be cruel to keep hounding a man who already surrendered.
Hmm… so who am I supposed to test this sword on, then?
Sneaky…
"My lady, I don't do sparring matches."
"Whyyy not? Come on, just one round?"
"It would be far beyond my capacity to handle you, and besides…."
The vice guild master pointed at the crater I'd just created.
"Someone has to clean that up."
Oh.
Uh… yeah. Fair enough, actually.
"…Right. Sorry."
"Think nothing of it. It's my job, after all."
So sneaky! The moment he plays that card, I can't very well cling to him and beg for a match, can I?
"…Fine then. Marten, dear."
"Pwee?"
"Got any friends of yours who are a bit on the strong side?"
"………."
Ooh, he's thinking. So there are some?
"Or how about you fight me instead?"
"Pwii?! Pwee— pwepwee—!"
"Aw come on, I'll give you back some of the mana you ate last time."
"Pwee! Pwee! Grrrrr!"
"…Geesh, is that really worth getting this angry about?"
Tch. And here I thought he'd fight me if it was giant-Marten mode. Sharp little thing.
"Then at least tell me where your other friends are."
"…Pweeu, pwepwee."
"They're far away? How far?"
"Pweeut."
"The Demon Realm? Ah, that place is…."
Come to think of it, Dad did give me a very strict warning. No matter where else I went, I was absolutely, absolutely never to set so much as a toe in the Demon Realm.
Hmmmmm….
My dad is so clever.
If it weren't for that one rule, I'd have bolted off right this second.
"Tch. Fine, I guess I have no choice…."
"My lady, forgive me if this is overstepping."
"Hm?"
"Couldn't you simply spar with your father?"
"That's a desperate struggle for survival, not playing."
"…I see."
Does he have any idea how brutal it is to spar with a Sword Master? Seriously, he should try it himself sometime….
"I'm heading out."
"Yes, my lady. Do take care."
Having bolted from the training hall, I popped back into the adventurers' guild.
The place was in an uproar — free booze and free food had everyone's spirits through the roof. Hmm? But why did those two over there look so gloomy?
"What's got you two so down in the dumps?"
"Oh? Ah… my lady. Good to see you."
Let's see. The man looked like a warrior with a sword, and the woman… a rogue, maybe?
"What's the matter?"
"Well… we can't seem to recruit a fourth member."
"Hm?"
"Our mage got injured, so we need a replacement — but we can't find a mage who matches our level."
Oh?
Ohhhhh?
"Gee, that's really too bad."
"It is. We just sank a fortune into new equipment and took on debt, and…"
"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm."
"If we sit idle like this, the interest will pile up, and we'll barely be able to pay it off…"
"Then come along with me!"
"…Excuse me?"
It was the rogue sister, who'd been quietly listening, who spoke up.
"My lady, that won't do."
"Hm?"
"What we do is dungeon delving. That's not possible for you, my lady."
"What are you talking about? It's not like I'm joining your party."
I flashed them my sweetest grin.
"You two head out on schedule, and I'll just tag along doing whatever I please."
"…."
"You don't like it?"
Ugh, so inflexible! All they had to do was nod and go along with it.
"…W-well, my lady, we'd rather not get shaved to ribbons by the Sword Master, you see."
"Don't worry, I'll shield you!"
"…."
"It's not like this is my first rodeo, you know."
After all, dungeons are perfect for power testing.
The only problem is getting in.
Space magic doesn't work on them.
And the guards at the dungeon entrances are so strict they'd never let a lone child through!
Which leaves me no choice but to occasionally slip myself in among parties of adventurers like this.
Anyway, the two of them exchanged a glance, then nodded.
"…Then, if you'll allow us the presumption—"
"We'd be honored to have you, my lady."
"Yay!"
I thought I heard the vice guild master sighing somewhere behind me, but that must've been my imagination!
Hehehe, a dungeooon! A real dungeon!