New Life (3)
After the lecture ended, I was running as fast as I could.
"Hah… I'm late."
On the way out of the academy, so many people had stopped me that I was later than expected. Breaking one wooden training dummy had apparently been a big deal—everyone and their brother wanted to introduce themselves.
Of course, we would be seeing each other for the next half year, so exchanging names wasn't a bad idea. The problem was that they overdid it. The time I should already have been home had long since passed.
"Huff, huff… haah…"
So I had sprinted all the way from the martial arts academy to the house. Part of it was guilt over making Clara and Caesius wait; the rest was the knowledge that if I didn't move fast, I might miss the chance to take a request at the Adventurer's Guild today.
I paused just long enough to catch my breath, then reached for the door—only for it to swing open first.
Thud!
"Whoa!"
I planted my nose squarely into the door. It stopped mid-swing, then opened fully once I staggered back, clutching my face.
"…Albrecht?"
"Oh, you're back."
Clara and Caesius stepped out, of course. They looked at me and spoke.
"…Ah. You ran into it. Sorry…"
"You should have been more careful, Albrecht."
How was I supposed to know you two were coming out and be careful about it!?
"…Are you okay?"
"Ugh, I'm fine… More importantly, why did you suddenly come out?"
"…You were late, so we were going to go look for you."
"Ah, sorry. People kept stopping me…"
The moment I explained, Clara froze. Then her whole atmosphere darkened.
"…Stopped you? Who was harassing you?"
"Huh? …No, not like that. I was just exchanging names with the people in the same lecture…"
"…Oh."
The murderous edge in Clara's presence receded. She must have thought I was in actual danger when I said people had "stopped" me.
Caesius, on the other hand, heard the reason and lightly teased me with a smile.
"So you're popular."
"It's really not like that."
She's just trying to mess with her contractor…
"…I see."
Clara's expression softened with relief. Then she smiled faintly and spoke.
"…Welcome home."
"Hm? …Ah."
It was the continuation of the greeting we had exchanged that morning. I nodded lightly and answered.
"I'm home."
We were about to head right back out again, so the exchange felt almost pointless—yet I couldn't leave unanswered the pure smile Clara offered with those words.
It feels like being healed.
Moments like this made Clara feel very different from the usual image of a thief character. She still had her timid, withdrawn moments, but lately she had stopped apologizing over every little misunderstanding of my words…
Honestly, she was quite charming. Even that slight timidness could be called a kind of cuteness, and her true nature was so kind to begin with.
Still, I didn't let any of that show. I didn't want to stain her pure way of acting with those kinds of base desires.
I smiled back and said,
"But we do have to head out right away."
"…Yeah. We do."
Caesius asked,
"Then shall we depart at once?"
"We should. Let's eat first, then go to the guild."
"At last I shall eat my fill."
Caesius lightly rubbed her stomach as she spoke.
"I am so hungry I can no longer endure it."
"…Right. Let's hurry."
Looking at her condition, I was already worried about how much she would devour.
Is my wallet going to survive this?
With that worry in mind, we headed for a restaurant.
The moment we stepped into a place that looked decent, every eye in the room snapped toward us. At the academy everyone had been too focused on training to notice, but the two of them still drew stares wherever they went.
We ignored the gazes and took our seats.
"Order whatever you want."
"I can order everything, yes?"
"…Sure."
After that, the meaning of the stares from the other diners shifted. Food never stopped arriving at our table from the kitchen, and every last dish…
"Mmm. Acceptable."
…vanished into Caesius's stomach. While I finished one bowl of beef stew and Clara ate a single plate of potato beef steak, Caesius had already polished off more than three plates of every item on the menu.
By then people were no longer staring because the girls were pretty. They were staring with the expression of someone watching a freak show.
Tada~ Were you amazed? That was the disappearing-food magic show.
"…Are you going to eat more?"
"There is still room, but your purse is starting to look rather precarious, is it not?"
"You know me well."
"Then I shall stop here. This much should last me a week without eating."
…Her fuel efficiency seems surprisingly bad, though.
"That was a good meal, Albrecht."
Still, seeing her smile in satisfaction made me feel it had been worth treating her. Clara had finished as well, so I stood and went to settle the bill.
The server who had been running nonstop wore an exhausted expression as she forced a smile.
"Hehe… That will be six silver and forty copper, sir."
"…Ah, I'm really sorry."
She looked so worn out that I felt I had to leave a tip. I held out a silver coin.
"You went through a lot because of us. Please take this as a tip."
"Oh my, thank you!"
Her face brightened instantly. Financial therapy really was the answer when someone was tired.
"Ah, by the way—do you know where the Adventurer's Guild is around here?"
"Of course. When you leave, head right and you'll come to a large intersection. Once you reach it, you'll know right away. People are constantly going in and out."
"Thank you for telling me."
I bowed in thanks and stepped outside. Clara and Caesius, who had come out first, turned to look at me.
"Did a lot come out?"
"Quite a bit. We ate that much, after all."
"Then we had best go earn that money back at once."
"We need to earn even more. We still have to buy furniture."
"Ah. That is true."
I should also find out where the Aurum Aquila trading company's building was, just in case our money ran out later. A multi-national firm like that would almost certainly have a branch in Parvata.
We left the restaurant and headed straight for the Adventurer's Guild. Just as the server had said, the moment we reached the large intersection I knew exactly where it was.
People in all kinds of gear were constantly entering and leaving a large building.
"That must be it, right?"
"…Yeah."
"Let's go."
As we drew closer, the atmosphere grew noticeably harsher. The raw, unfiltered gazes unique to adventurers stabbed into us.
Curiosity, wariness, contempt—there were all sorts of looks, and none of them were particularly pleasant.
If I had never experienced this kind of attention before, I might have flinched without realizing it. But having already gone through it while traveling with Erinn, it no longer bothered me.
But why are they so wary?
When I used to walk around with Erinn, at least there was the excuse that we were part of the Hero's party. That wasn't the case now. And "they're just strangers" didn't make sense either—people from all over the continent came to an Adventurer's Guild. New faces were nothing special.
I was still wondering when we stepped inside and overheard the conversation that explained everything.
"That woman…"
"Is she a dragon?"
Ah.
It was because of Caesius. She normally hid the unusual parts—horns, pupils, tail—but adventurers who regularly clashed with monsters and occasionally even dragons could still tell.
Realizing the reason for the wariness, I gave a wry smile.
Looks like I should leave Caesius behind whenever I come to the Adventurer's Guild.
It would be better for the adventurers who used this place. Making a mental note for next time, I walked over to the reception desk.
"Hello."
"Welcome. How may I help you?"
"I'd like to register as an adventurer."
"Ah, is this your first time with a guild?"
If she asked whether it was my first guild, the answer was no. Back when I was in the party I had stopped by a few times to gather dungeon information.
As a member of the Hero's party I had never needed—or had a reason—to register as an adventurer. That was why I was registering now.
"Yes."
There was no need to launch into a long explanation, so I simply said yes. Claiming it was my first time might get me more thorough guidance.
"You know that adventurers are given ranks, correct?"
"Yes, I know."
Rank was essentially an adventurer's rank and title. The level of requests you could accept—and the rewards that came with them—changed according to rank. That was why adventurers were so desperate to grow stronger and build a record.
"We'll need to run a simple test, then. Is that all right?"
"Yes."
So there was a test after all. I turned to Clara.
"That okay with you, Clara?"
I figured it would be better if we all took it together. But the answer I expected from her was different.
"…I'm already registered as an adventurer."
"Oh? You are?"
"…Yeah. Before I joined the party."
"Ah…"
Clara had told me she was abandoned at birth and grew up in the slums. With her outstanding talent as a thief, it made sense that she had made a living as an adventurer before joining the party.
"Then what's your rank?"
Clara didn't answer right away. She hesitated a little. Why? Was her rank so low she was embarrassed to say it?
I floated a gentle suggestion.
"Did you only work for a short time, so the rank is low?"
"…It's not that. It's just been a while…"
"Ah."
She had forgotten.
I smiled lightly.
"Then we can just look it up. Registered adventurers can be checked right away, right?"
"Yes, that's possible. The name is… Miss Clara?"
"Ah, that…"
That was the name I had given her, so of course it wouldn't be. While I was thinking that, Clara spoke quietly.
"…No Name."
…No Name. I had heard it before—the meaningless name she used to go by.
Every time I heard it, I could faintly imagine the kind of life she must have lived, and my chest tightened without meaning to.
"No Name… Ah, yes. Found it. Let's see… Wait?"
The receptionist looked into the magic tool used for record searches with a startled expression, then turned back to Clara.
"Slayer-rank? Is that correct?"
"…Ah. Yes."
"…Slayer-rank?"
The last words weren't mine. Another adventurer standing near the desk had overheard and repeated them. He was as shocked as I was.
"That woman is a Slayer-rank adventurer?"
Slayer-rank. The highest rank of adventurer, commonly shortened to S-rank.
At the same time Albrecht was heading to the Adventurer's Guild with Clara and Caesius…
In the training grounds of the Kalari Payat Martial Arts Academy that Albrecht had just left, a massive magic circle had been laid out. The academy had installed it, but not for any purpose of their own.
Vishal, the academy's magic instructor who had set up the circle, chanted nothing at all—yet the formation activated on its own.
A moment later a man and a woman appeared. The woman, apparently higher in rank, stood slightly ahead; the man followed behind carrying her bag.
"…Thank you for coming all this way."
Vishal bowed politely to her.
"Section Chief Raynes."
"No need for thanks. You even prepared the coordinates so carefully for us. I should be the one thanking you."
Raynes, a magic-engraving section chief of the Red Magic Tower, returned the polite greeting with a bright smile.
"So—may I take a look at our broken product?"
The reason the Red Magic Tower offered such long warranty periods was simple: they were certain their products had no defects. Whether the warranty was ten years or twenty, nothing would go wrong until the product's natural lifespan ended.
Training wooden dolls in particular almost never developed faults on their own, so extremely long warranties could be offered. Stretching a meaningless warranty and raising the price accordingly was simply good business.
And yet—something that had worked perfectly for the past ten years had suddenly failed with five years of warranty still remaining.
It was a problem that had never once occurred since the Red Magic Tower perfected its magic-engraving and magic-tool craftsmanship. Before departing, Raynes had therefore received strict orders from the Tower Master to conduct a thorough investigation.
"We've stored it separately in the warehouse."
"You moved it in the exact state it was broken, correct?"
"Yes, just as instructed."
"Thank you. Then let's go see it at once."
"This way, please."
Guided to the warehouse, Raynes soon examined the wooden doll. Both she and her secretary Johan, who had come with her, grew grim.
The completely shattered training doll was clearly abnormal. The engraved magic circuits were not functioning properly—almost as if they had been hacked by some form of interference.
"…Who did you say broke this?"
"A new student who just entered the academy."
"Is his skill perhaps at high-ranking knight level?"
Even as she asked, Raynes thought the idea absurd. Instructor Vishal shook his head just as she expected.
"Absolutely not. According to the instructor in charge, before he put mana into the strike it left no mark at all, just like usual."
"So it only happened when he channeled mana?"
"That is what I was told."
At Vishal's answer, Raynes narrowed her eyes. The moment he raised his mana, this was the result. There was only one possibility: the man had already completely understood the Red Magic Tower's engraving structure, reverse-engineered it with his own mana, and neutralized it.
"…There doesn't seem to have been any defect in the product itself."
"Then why did it break?"
"We'll have to ask to find out."
"Ask whom?"
Raynes answered simply.
"The person involved. Do you know where that new student went?"
"Hmm, I'm not sure either… Ah—if we ask the students who took the same lecture, we might find out."
"Let's go ask them right away."
Just as Instructor Vishal suggested, word of mouth among the students quickly produced an answer. The incident had already become famous among them.
"Albrecht? Well… after the morning lecture he went straight home…"
"Ah, he said he was busy today. I think he mentioned going to the Adventurer's Guild?"
"The Adventurer's Guild."
Raynes inclined her head lightly in thanks.
"Thank you for telling us. Johan, let's go at once."