Chapter 10
Chapter 10
The Adventurer Recruits New Members
One day after posting the recruitment notice for new adventurers, unexpected visitors arrived at our office.
“Why the hell are you two here?”
The first to react was Elain.
The stupid, smiling face she usually had in front of me was gone.
Her hand slid under her skirt, grabbing a hatchet strapped to her thigh garter.
Weren’t these the same people who ran away without even saying thank you after we saved their lives?
Her reaction was completely understandable.
Well, whether “coward” is a fitting word for adventurers is something to think about later.
“Ah, please calm down…”
“I told you we shouldn’t have come. It’s not like we have nowhere else to go.”
Their reactions were all over the place.
Gye Rinshua, the swordswoman, tried to calm Elain nervously.
Meanwhile, Rose sat on the sofa without permission, crossing her legs and acting completely at ease.
My grip on the hatchet tightened.
“Should I split your heads into three pieces?”
Her red eyes grew sharper.
If I didn’t stop her, my already tiny paradise might get painted with fresh minced meat.
“Elain, stop. No killing people outside dungeons.”
“But, Commander—”
“Tch!”
“...Understood.”
Elain reluctantly put the hatchet down.
“What, she listens to you but not us? Are you her master or something?”
“Watch your mouth.”
“...Hehe.”
Why are you blushing?
Anyway.
I made them sit down.
“Please excuse us.”
Rinshua politely bowed before sitting down.
She seemed extremely formal.
Rose, on the other hand, was already yawning and inspecting her nails.
I placed two cups of lukewarm barley tea in front of them.
“We don’t have much, but please drink this.”
“I’ll accept it gratefully, benefactor.”
“What is this? No herbal tea? I don’t drink anything else.”
“We don’t have herbal tea. This is all we can offer.”
“Ha… my luck is really something.”
Rinshua quietly accepted the cup with both hands and sipped.
“So, as you probably know, you’re here because of the adventurer recruitment notice, correct?”
“Yes! I, Gye Rinshua, have come here giving up everything to follow my benefactor!”
“….”
Unlike her enthusiastic response, Rose stayed silent.
“And you too, Rose?”
“…Yeah.”
A blunt answer.
We’d figure out the details later.
I signaled Elain to bring the contract papers.
Of course, I didn’t hand them over immediately.
Now it was the commander’s turn.
Time to strip them bare.
Let them feel exactly what kind of hell they walked into.
“Thank you for coming. However, I understand you were recently part of the Camomile Party?”
“Oh, that’s… personal reasons.”
“Mind explaining?”
“I said it’s personal. Why do you care? It’s not like this is some big, fancy party anyway. You should be grateful I’m even here.”
…She wasn’t wrong, but still.
What a rude bitch.
But I could guess the situation anyway.
Adventuring isn’t some romantic job.
It’s an industry driven by profit and survival.
A party has no reason to keep an incompetent member.
They probably kicked her out with some compensation.
And judging by Rose’s personality, she just didn’t want to admit she failed.
“We were asked to leave by Sir Kaoli. He said we were not useful to the party.”
“Hey! Why are you saying that?!”
“Truth must be respected.”
Rinshua calmly exposed everything.
This girl really had no filter.
So they’d been rejected from multiple parties already.
I sighed slowly.
Sometimes silence does more than words.
The room grew heavy.
I made my decision.
Personality wasn’t a major issue.
Adventurers don’t need to be polite.
What matters is ability.
Time to check their status.
Name: Rose
Level: 13
Class: Shooter
Weapon Aptitude: Gun
Strength: 7 Agility: 14 Intelligence: 5 Stamina: 7 Charisma: 3
Skill: One Shot, Double Kill
Skill: One Shot, Double Kill LV.1
Grade: Normal
Effect: Fires a bullet dealing agility-based damage. The bullet also strikes a nearby enemy.
Rose’s stats were surprisingly solid.
Her main stat matched her class perfectly.
Her skill also fit her role well.
At this level, having proper class-stat-skill synergy already made her valuable.
“See? Pretty impressive, right? A fortune teller said I’d become a legendary marksman.”
That made sense.
Fortune tellers in this world didn’t give exact data like I did.
They only spoke in vague impressions of talent.
Still, her alignment was rare enough to stand out.
“Well, it’s not bad.”
“Not bad?! I’d be top-tier in a tiny party like this!”
Too bad.
There’s already a crazy woman here working for 50 gold.
You’re not exactly special.
Still, her skill was useful enough.
Now I checked Rinshua’s sheet.
Rinshua straightened nervously.
Name: Gye Rinshua
Level: 10
Class: Mage
Weapon Aptitude: Staff
Strength: 0 Agility: 0 Intelligence: 27 Stamina: 3 Charisma: 0
Skill: Kirin Sword (Inherited), Body Slam
Skill: Kirin Sword LV.1
Grade: Inherited
Effect: Allows use of Kirin Sword. Requires a sword-type skill to activate.
Oh, dear god.
My mind nearly blanked out.
I could hear Rose talking in the background.
“She’s trash, right? Totally trash compared to me.”
“Shut up. I decide.”
“…!”
Then I spoke without hesitation.
“Contract her.”
“Eh?”
I handed Rinshua the contract and a pen.
“What salary do you want?”
“Ah… m-me? I don’t really know this field…”
“How about 70 gold per year?”
“Se-seventy?!”
“Want more?”
“N-no! That’s…”
Before she could finish, Rose shot up.
“Hey! Why her first?! I’m clearly better than her!”
“Sit down. I’m talking to Rinshua.”
“Grrr!”
Rose’s pride was clearly wounded.
Rinshua looked deeply moved, trembling as she held the pen.
“I-I will do my very best for you!”
“Good. Sign here.”
She carefully wrote her name.
Gye Rinshua.
I folded the contract and stored it away.
“Welcome aboard, Rinshua.”
“T-thank you, Commander.”
“From now on, call me Commander.”
“Yes… Commander.”
Only after finishing Rinshua’s contract did I turn to Rose.
She was clearly fuming.
“You’re giving me only 50 gold? And her 70? Are you serious?”
“Don’t like it, don’t join.”
“…!”
The contract I placed in front of her was 50 gold for 3 months.
Short-term. Trial-like.
She gritted her teeth.
“100 gold minimum. That’s basic respect.”
“There’s no respect in this line of work.”
She flinched slightly.
She had no rebuttal.
“Take it or leave it. I don’t force anyone.”
Rose’s shoulders slowly sank.
“…Fine. I’ll do it.”
She signed.
Reluctantly.
“Good. You’re both part of Siu’s Adventurer Party now. We depart next week. Prepare properly.”
“Where to?”
“Mind your manners. I’m your commander now.”
“…Where are we going, Commander?”
“Goblin Plains Orc Village.”
“…That Red dungeon the scouting party is still clearing?”
“Not anymore.”
I handed them the parchment.
“Tomorrow, it becomes a Yellow dungeon. And we’ll be raiding it with the Carlos Guild.”
“…What?!”
A Yellow dungeon.
With a major guild.
Rose suddenly stood up.
“Fine. I’ll prepare. I’ll even wear new underwear!”
And just like that, they left noisily.
After they left, Elain studied the contracts.
“Commander.”
“Yes?”
“Why is Rose’s salary so low? And why is Rinshua paid more than her?”
“Because Rinshua has more potential.”
“That doesn’t make sense from these stats…”
“I know.”
But I didn’t explain the real reason.
I had the dice.
Instead, I said something more acceptable.
“I believe in potential. Rinshua hasn’t found the right guide yet.”
“Commander…”
I smiled.
“I’ll be her tall guardian.”
Elain’s expression suddenly changed.
“Doing what?”
“…Huh?”
“Being Rinshua’s what?”
Why are you holding an axe again?
And why are your eyes red again?
“I mean… guiding her growth…”
“Just that?”
“Of course. What else would it be?”
The axe lowered.
Her eyes returned to normal.
“Whew… I thought you said something weird like ‘elephant uncle’ or something.”
What the hell is an elephant uncle…
“Anyway, Commander. Do you think Rinshua can really do it?”
“I have a plan.”
“A plan?”
I looked at the skill window.
Skill: Fate Dice LV.2
“You can reconstruct a target’s fate.”
“You can now reconstruct skills.”
I was going to turn Rinshua into the greatest swordswoman.