The Labyrinth City Seems Really Friendly with Anna! (1)
Leon guided us with complete confidence.
If there was anything fantasy about the place, it was that the doors weren’t automatic glass ones.
It looked nothing like the magical medieval image I’d pictured. This wasn’t some adventurer’s guild reeking of cheap liquor and thick with cigarette smoke—it was exactly what it had looked like from outside: a government office. If anything, it felt familiar. Genuinely modern.
Leon’s self-assured guidance only got us as far as the machine labeled “New Registrations.”
“Just take the slip that comes out here and wait.”
And just like that, Leon’s usefulness was spent!
I pulled a waiting number with practiced ease, but Miss Isili seemed fascinated even by this; she pressed the button with a little start of surprise and took her paper.
J-just… the Middle Ages aren’t s-supposed to be like this, right?
The sheer injustice of everything I’d lived through until now tore at my heartstrings.
「Daughter. Are you all right? Even this mother finds the sight rather unfamiliar.」
No, I just mean…
Dark, hairy adventurers fully kitted out in armor and gear sat waiting their turn, scraps of paper clutched in their hands. The scene looked both oddly familiar and strangely out of place.
Leon offered me and Miss Isili a light rundown, but it was all common-sense stuff anyway. If this were the modern world, that is.
Th-they even take photos.
They really have everything!
Well, that was how IDs were made in the first place. I had several myself, so I’d just mix and match as needed. Was there even a way to check the ones I already carried?
「Ding-dong.」
Just as Leon had explained, my number lit up on the electronic board. I gave a light greeting and headed for the counter displaying the call number.
“Uh… Number seventy-two.”
A woman in glasses, steeped in exhaustion, spoke in a dry voice. She looked basically pretty, but the dark circles and blank expression born of pure fatigue completely buried her natural face and cut her looks in half.
“Hello.”
I smiled naturally and handed over the ticket.
“Uh… Customer. New adventurer registration, right? Need a scribe?”
“I’m fine.”
“Then fill out this form, please.”
Even my smiling greeting got only machine-like efficiency in return. She passed me a pure white sheet. The form didn’t demand anything detailed. According to Leon, all you needed was name, age, and desired aptitude.
Weirdly sloppy. There’s probably a reason.
“Uh… Then look this way for a moment.”
She shone something with a lens on me for a second. When our eyes met, her cheeks colored faintly.
「Click.」
The photo was taken more quietly than I expected.
“Uh… This photo will go on your adventurer card. Is that all right?”
She held up something like a tablet. There was my face in rather low resolution. I’d thought I was smiling a little, but it came out almost expressionless.
Whatever. I’m pretty, so it doesn’t matter.
「Amazing! To capture my daughter’s beautiful face so quickly…」
Auntie doesn’t seem to feel the technological progress either. Well, the divine bloodline has been cut off for ages, so of course.
I nodded and smiled. She quickly worked something, and before long an ID of a very familiar shape slid out.
Huh? Mine’s wood?
A short wooden block with a single small gem set into it.
“Uh… 0-class adventurer card. Fee is one silver. Uh… reissue is five silver.”
“Here.”
I opened Black inside my clothes and paid. It looked shabby, but one silver for an ID was cheap.
“Uh… If you’re aiming for guide, do you know about the test?”
“I came up from the countryside, so I don’t know the details.”
“Uh… I see.”
She tilted her head, then pulled something like old parchment from under the desk and handed it over. The regular forms were perfectly normal paper—why did this one feel like that?
“Uh… First, look at that map and find your way to the Guide Guild. That’s the test. Uh… Good luck.”
The so-called map had no writing at all, just pure symbols and lines. It looked a bit messy.
Hmm. A kind of orienteering test?
“I see. Thank you.”
She stared at me with a vacant expression, as if worried I was about to turn into a little thief. This level of map was nothing. Anyone aiming to be a guide ought to be able to handle it as a matter of course.
I politely took my leave and returned to Leon.
“Finished registering?”
He was sitting properly in his chair, beaming at me.
“Yes. Seems there’s a test.”
“Ah, right. Except for the Porter Guild, they all have simple tests.”
Huh? There’s a Porter Guild too? Shouldn’t I go there if I want to become the strongest?
After a short wait, Miss Isili came over trembling. Communication must have been rough. Leon was stricter than he looked.
“I-I… ca-came…”
She stood more deflated than before, hands clasped, posture crumpled. The adventurer card she clutched tightly was bronze metal, unlike mine.
What! Discrimination because she’s a noble? Should I have flashed the ID that pig gave me? Wave the flag! Red flag!
Seeing me tilt my head, Leon explained.
“Ah, we’re Academy students, so we start at 1-class. Haha. I forgot to mention that.”
“Oh my, is that so.”
I answered calmly, wooden tag in hand.
Cheap flower-field preferential treatment!
“Then I’ll go find the Guide Guild. See you later at the lodging.”
“Ah! Will you be all right?”
“Of course.”
I demurely took my leave of Leon and waved lightly to Miss Isili.
Outside, I compared the map to the streets and built the layout in my head. Since it was a test, they wouldn’t have handed me complete nonsense.
Ah. Here it is.
Messy as it looked, the map was extremely simple and model-perfect—only the necessary information. I memorized it on the spot and followed the path I’d already input. Seven minutes of walking brought me to a clean, unmarked building tucked in an alley.
No windows. Doesn’t that make it less suspicious, somehow?
I slipped closer and tried the door. Locked.
Heh. Is even this part of the test?
I fed Black into the keyhole and checked. No traps attached. Easy enough. Ah—someone was watching from inside. Looking carefully at the side, I found a small hole covered in black. I thinned Black to the width of a hair and slipped it through; a mirror arrangement inside formed a simple periscope.
I dropped low in an instant and used Black to open the door exactly as if I’d inserted a perfect key.
「Da-daughter? You look far too familiar with this.」
Previous-life job was a bit like that, Auntie.
I carefully cracked the door and peered in. Inside was another ordinary government-office vibe, same as before.
“Please come in.”
A bright woman’s voice rang out.
Somehow… not the thief den I imagined?
Feeling a little awkward, I rose and greeted her.
“Hello. Is this the Guide Guild?”
“You found it well. You opened the door remarkably quickly. Welcome to the Guide Guild—Silent Lantern.”
The bright brown-haired woman smiled sunnily and praised me. So she had been watching from inside after all. When I closed the door, it locked again on its own. I’d guessed as much from the design. Those who can’t even open this have no right to enter. Now that was thief-like.
“Registration is further inside.”
“Thank you.”
I gave a light bow and drifted in. Fewer people than the central Adventurer Guild. The building itself was clean, but the humans occupying the seats had that classic thief look—short weapons, light clothes, the works. Not much different from me, honestly. Yes, thieves ought to look like this. Though when it comes to looks, I’m still number one!
「Of course you are.」
No, th… that was a joke.
Sunk in a strangely nostalgic mood, I was heading toward something that looked like a reception desk when a man with long light-green hair casually drifted closer. He brushed past me naturally, hand already slipping under my cloak. Fast enough, but far too obvious. And I didn’t even have pockets.
I tilted my head, smirked at him, then lightly stepped back and snared the hand.
“Huh?”
A dazed sound spilled from him. With a casual motion I twisted his wrist outward and took one step forward.
“Gyaah!”
He screamed in pain and dropped to his knees. Looking for all the world as if he were worshipping me. The employee who had guided me earlier shouted.
“Mr. Jake! I told you not to haze the new arrivals!”
“Oh my? So this wasn’t a test.”
I smiled sweetly, rested my free hand lightly on Jake’s arm, and applied pressure.
「Crack!」
“Gyaaaaah! Fuck! Crazy bitch!”
The wet sound of joints grinding filled the air as Jake rolled on the floor howling. The loafers who had been lounging in the quiet guild snickered and jeered at him. I tilted my head at his pitiful state and gave him a gentle smile.
「Well done! Anyone who dares lay a hand on my daughter deserves a proper lesson.」
“Puhaha, that moron. Knew he’d pull this someday.”
“Oh dear, clumsy little pickpocketing on newbies, and look where it got him.”
The employee pressed a hand to her forehead at the spectacle.
Yes. This is the proper atmosphere for a thieves’ guild.
“Oh my, Mr. Jake. Does it hurt terribly?”
“Kuuuh…”
His face twisted scarlet. Our eyes met; he immediately dropped his gaze.
Shy little thing, aren’t you, Mr. Jake.
I ran my tongue along the roof of my mouth and lightly smacked my lips. The employee hurried over and bowed deeply.
“I’m so sorry. I’ve warned Mr. Jake countless times, but—”
“Not at all. I’m more worried I overreacted.”
“It’s fine. Mr. Jake has surely learned his lesson. Right?! Mr. Jake?”
“S-sorry… sorry…”
“Oh my, how polite of you, Mr. Jake.”
Jake couldn’t meet my eyes, cold sweat pouring as he apologized. The employee helped him withdraw.
Hmm. I’m a little looking forward to seeing Jake again later.
I lightly licked my lips.