Chapter 41
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Half-Elf Adventurer
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Our pony-drawn carriage cut through the streets of Dunholm, the heart of the Winster Kingdom.
Roll, roll.
The carriage wheels cheerfully clattered over the cobblestones.
"Whoa..."
Mani and Sena pressed their faces against the window, letting out gasps of awe.
"Reti, look at that building! The windows are huge!"
"That's the clock tower! They say a bell rings out across the whole city every hour?"
The bustling main street was overwhelming. Oakwood's red-brick buildings had their own charm, but this place was on another level entirely.
Massive marble structures gleamed under the sunlight. The streets overflowed with sharply dressed gentlemen and elegant ladies trailing luxurious dress hems.
"The capital really is different."
My eyes were just as wide. You could sense the massive gears of industry meshing and turning in the streets and scenery around us.
Was this what Europe looked like during the Industrial Revolution, as I'd seen in history books from my past life? Even someone like me, used to modern civilization, couldn't help but be impressed by the scale.
The awe didn't last long.
"Let's take a shortcut. It'll take forever if we stick to the main road to guild HQ."
We checked the map, got off the carriage, and left the boulevard behind.
The moment we stepped into the narrow alley, the world flipped upside down.
No smooth paving stones in sight. Muddy filth and broken bricks squelched underfoot.
Instead of fancy display windows, ragged laundry hung on clotheslines, blocking the sky. And the acrid coal smoke and stench assaulting our noses? No need to mention those.
But above all, it was the people who caught the eye.
"Chit... I'm hungry..."
"Please, just one coin..."
Huddled shadows of small figures crouched in the shade of buildings. Most of them were ratkin like us.
Unlike the ratkin in Oakwood or rural villages, who managed to scrape by with honest work, these kin were in pitiful shape.
A girl gnawing on a moldy scrap of bread, glancing around nervously.
A little girl staring blankly into space with eyes dull as a dead fish.
Groups of ratkin rummaging through trash bins or begging passersby.
The pedestrians ignored them as if they were invisible.
[Ah... How lamentable!]
[City ratkin were supposed to be a diligent, nimble race...! Where has their pride gone? They don't even look like they have the energy to spin the hamster wheel!]
Rodentia's lament rang loudly in my ears.
To think we'd encounter the dark underbelly of the capital just minutes after arriving. I scowled.
As we navigated the alleys with heavy hearts, it happened.
"Ugh!"
"Ah, sorry! Hehe!"
A small shadow burst from the crowd and bumped my side.
It was a grubby-looking ratkin girl. She paused, pretended to apologize, and tried to slip away smoothly.
But she'd picked the wrong mark.
"Chit!"
The spirit horned rat on my shoulder let out a short squeak.
At the same time, my senses sharpened.
Slap!
"Where do you think you're going?"
I snatched the slender wrist snaking toward my waist.
Probably aiming for my silver coin pouch.
"You little thief? Got some guts for someone so small."
The girl's eyes went wide.
"L-Let go! It was just a bump!"
"Then why'd your hand go into my pocket? Don't lie!"
"It didn't!"
The rat girl struggled, playing innocent. Her eyes changed in an instant.
"Tch!"
Crunch!
"Ow!"
A sharp pain stabbed my hand.
This brat bit me!
She slipped away like a mouse from a trap the moment my grip loosened reflexively.
"Nyah!"
She stuck out her tongue and melted into the crowd. Her escape skills weren't amateur.
"Reti! You okay? Should I chase her?"
Sena looked ready to bolt after her.
I shook my head and rubbed my hand. Blood beaded on the clear bite marks.
"Nah. Wasted effort chasing her."
Bitter regret hit me before anger.
'A kid smaller and younger than me, already stealing...'
The shocked Sena muttered.
"She's vicious... How could she? The other ratkin in Oakwood were struggling too, but they never stooped that low."
I wiped the blood from my hand and replied.
"Guess it's because surviving here's even tougher."
The ratkin here had to bare their teeth just to live.
I roughly bandaged the wound and hurried on.
The adventurer guild headquarters we arrived at was fortress-like in its grandeur.
"Whoa..."
The interior was even more spectacular.
A massive chandelier hung imposingly from the high ceiling.
Tat-tat!
Dozens of reception counters echoed with the nonstop stamping of documents, like gunfire.
"Get in line! Take a number!"
They even had numbered tickets like a bank. The name "headquarters" was well-deserved.
We finally reached the counter after a long wait.
"Next."
The bespectacled clerk didn't even look up from her paperwork stack.
"Here for rank promotion exam. Oakwood branch should've sent the recommendation telegram."
I handed over my bronze badge, and only then did she glance up. Her eyes swept over us with subtle disdain.
"Silver rank? Recommendation letter?"
"Yeah, check it."
She took the badge and smirked. Probably thought we were country bumpkin ratkin bluffing after arriving from the provinces.
"We'll verify, but there might be a mistake. Wait up front."
She waved dismissively and vanished into the back telegram room with the badge.
About five minutes later.
The telegram room door flew open, and the clerk burst out, face pale as a ghost.
"Uh... Lady Reti? Reti's party?"
"Yes, that's us."
"S-Sorry! I didn't realize... The guild master wants to see you personally! This way!"
Her attitude flipped. The earlier arrogance gone, replaced by fawning politeness.
"Guild master? For those rat brats?"
"What? What's going on? Never seen 'em before!"
The surrounding adventurers buzzed.
We were led to a lavish office deeper in the guild.
Several stern-faced executives sat there, marveling at the telegram on the table.
"Heh, well now. No wonder the old Oakwood codger vouched for you."
The man who seemed to be the guild master looked at us.
"Your record's impressive. From rescuing a silver-rank party to thwarting a demon-summoning ritual? By achievements alone, you've surpassed silver rank."
Luckily, the Oakwood guild master's letter worked.
"So we can promote right away?"
No chance. The old man said we needed a few requests for procedure.
The guild master's answer matched.
"Afraid not. Two reasons."
"Two reasons?"
I'd heard roughly, but confirmed again.
"First, procedure. Regulations require at least ten capital requests completed. With your skills, you'll knock it out quick."
We expected that.
The issue was next.
"Second... identity verification."
"Identity?"
"Silver rank and up are quasi-officer level, subject to wartime draft by law. Need solid proof of identity. Simply put..."
The guild master closed the file with a serious expression.
"Proof of stable kingdom citizenship. Fixed residence and tax records."
I was speechless. Real estate out of nowhere?
"Long-term inn stay won't work?"
"Not legally. Can't grant silver-rank privileges—including firearm permits—to those with unclear addresses! Especially with the unstable times."
Buy a house first, basically.
"Aw, we got money! Right, Reti?"
As we left the building, Mani patted her inner pocket with her wallet, smug.
"She's right!"
Buoyed, I headed to a real estate agent.
'Got about two gold left after travel. What's the problem?'
Confident, until tasting the capital's brutal housing market.
"Around here?"
"Cheapest first."
The agent heard my specs and chuckled incredulously.
"One-room with bath. Rent starts at fifty silver monthly. Security deposit three gold separate."
"Fifty... silver?"
My jaw nearly dropped.
Fifty silver was a skilled Oakwood worker's full monthly wage. Even with our fat reward, burning that much on rent monthly was insane!
"No cheaper? Outskirts fine."
To our balking, the agent pointed to the northern edge on the map.
"Hm... Given your race and wanting cheap land? Northern outskirts district."
"What's it like?"
"Undeveloped. Next to major dungeon and monster habitats, so prices low. Monsters pop up often, though..."
Slum-meets-monster-nest.
'Dungeon nearby?'
Ever the optimistic ratkin, I fired up my positive thinking.
"Perfect for commuting. Easy material runs too."
Mani and Sena looked dubious but nodded.
"Well... no choice for now."
"Yeah! Dungeon close is a plus!"
We chose the north.
Dunholm's northern outskirts were worse than Oakwood.
"Capital suburbs, and it's like this...?"
Dense woods lined the shabby roads.
Worn shacks clustered haphazardly. Nothing like Oakwood.
Sniffing, the earthy scent mixed with a musky beast stink.
[Apostle, the monster scent is strong here... Hm... Hold on.]
Rodentia's phantom sniffed along with the horned rats, her expression shifting subtly—like someone on the verge of remembering something long forgotten, gaze wandering.
[This area feels... familiar somehow. Like I've been here before!]
"Familiar?"
[It's... ugh! I forgot...]
Cat goddess's fault? Even milady's state matched the area—scattered.
At least the local guild branch was decent. Close to dungeons and hunting grounds, it teemed with people.
One wall plastered with requests: hazardous beast removal, exploration gigs.
"Hey, we had eyes on that request. Butt out!"
"What the hell, punk!"
Bickering noise.
"Cheers! To safe returns! Glory to the Warrior God!"
"Glory!"
Clink!
On the other side, rough adventurers clashed mugs raucously.
"Whoa... wild! Feels just like Oakwood!"
"Yeah? All adventurers the same?"
Mani and Sena whispered behind me, scanning around.
That was when we entered the branch proper.
Bam!
"You filthy lowlifes! Do you know who I am?!"
A scream tore through from the counter.
There stood a blonde girl in a fancy but dust-caked uniform.
"I'm nobility from Adlerheim... ahem, a prestigious house! You dare take my advance and ghost?!"
Hard to believe that tiny frame held such ferocity as she slammed the counter.
The receptionist sweated bullets, flustered.
"W-We... Hilde, calm down! Those adventurers are blacklisted and being tracked..."
"Tracking my ass! Deadline's tomorrow! You'll cover the penalty?!"
"Regulations say you would..."
"Ridiculous!"
Overheard snippet: She'd hired a party for a four-man minimum request; they took the advance and bolted.
Scammed, facing penalties—desperate straits.
The fuming girl whirled, scanning wildly.
Her eyes locked on us.
They lit up.
"You lot there!"
"?"
"Yes! You! Gray-haired rat!"
Hilde strode over.
"That on your necks! Bronze badges, right?"
"Bronze, yeah. Why?"
She nodded exaggeratedly.
"Hehe! You're in luck!"
"What're you on about?"
"I'm granting you the honor of partying with this noble lady from a prestigious house to take my request! Be grateful!"
I stifled a laugh at the absurdity.
'Prestigious house? Nobility?'
Obviously a cosplaying adventurer. No real noble would be dust-covered in this backwater branch.
Just an oddball, I figured.
Until I saw what was slung on her back.
'What the...?'
I froze at the long object on Hilde's shoulder.
Clumsily wrapped in cloth, but that silhouette was unmistakably...
'A gun? How's a non-silver-rank carrying one?'
Mani whispered in my ear.
"Reti! She's not just any elf. Check the ears!"
Pointed ears, yeah.
"And that tiny build... half-elf?"
"Half-elf?"
I alternated between her pointed ears and short stature, tilting my head.
Her features were rounder than typical elves, like ours.
Anyway, attitude sucked.
"Pass. We'll find grunt work we can handle ourselves."
I flat-out refused and turned away.
"What?! H-How dare you refuse this body's offer?!"
Hilde shrieked in disbelief.
"You'll regret it! Beg later, no mercy! I'll give this honor to others!"
Sena whispered, baffled.
"Weird one. Like Camilla, all elves like that?"
As we ignored her for the board, Hilde yelled at other adventurers behind us.
"Listen up! The honor of joining this noble body's request...!"
Adventurers glanced and turned away.
We grabbed a suitable [Goblin Den Cleanup] request from the board and headed to reception.
"This one. Quick and now."
"Goblins? Easy!"
At the counter for stamping, someone paced anxiously.
Hilde again.
No party members, not even an ant in sight.
'Who'd party with that weirdo?'
As we passed, she startled and scurried over.
"W-Wait! Hold up!"
The half-elf blocked us arms wide.
Chin high, but eyes darted nervously.
"Y-You! No request yet? I'll graciously offer again!"
"We got one. Goblin hunting."
I waved lazily, stepping away.
Hilde grabbed my hem desperately.
"W-Wait! Goblins pay peanuts! Mine's way better!"
"Your problem. We're busy."
"Urk...!"
Her face twisted. She bit her lip, then pulled a hefty pouch from her bosom.
"M-Money! I'll pay!"
Jingle!
The clear metallic chime hit my ears.
My feet stopped.
'That's no chump change!'
That crisp sound. Solid silver coins. A lot.
I turned slowly, smirking.
"Oh?"
Hope in her eyes, Hilde shouted.
"Yes! Besides my request pay! Party with me, this pouch as advance! Now you get the noble intent..."
Snatch!
I yoinked the pouch before she finished. Untied, checked contents.
Gleaming silver. Real deal.
"Now we're talking. Should've led with this."
I pocketed it, grinning.
"Deal. We'll do your request."
"Hmph! Money talks! You greedy rats! Fine, now follow my lead..."
"Hold up."
I wagged a finger.
"Money taken, we'll go. But I'm leader."
"What?!"
Hilde jumped.
"I paid! I'm the employer! I lead!"
"No thanks. Goblin time then..."
I turned; pale Hilde yelled.
"F-Fine! You lead! Happy?!"
Got control.
Still, why half-elf? Curious.
'Gotta check the Slate encyclopedia.'