[Adventurer, Anastasia - 01]
[Adventurer, Anastasia - 01]
Two years passed like that.
I turned seventeen and matured even further.
I liked it very much.
To be honest, I didn't know for sure, but judging by the reactions around me, I was able to deduce the fact that I was a 'beauty', 'cute', and at the same time 'gorgeous'.
And I also learned that men are generally more attracted to women with big breasts. In other words, having grown beautiful with larger breasts meant that I was remarkably attractive as a woman.
On top of that, the position of Saintess.
Rumors about a beautiful character.
Literally perfection itself.
My reputation was piling up to the point where I was getting proud of myself.
Fufu, I really can do anything if I put my mind to it.
Everyone praises me.
Of course, there was a minority everywhere that was not included in that "everyone," and though there were times I felt like snapping, I was enduring it well.
Today, as well, when I healed a noble, he tried all sorts of cheap tricks to make me his woman, so I couldn't hide my displeasure.
As Ed said.
He said there are moments when one must feel rage, and failing to express rage when it's necessary is also considered a 'sin.'
He meant that if you only act calculatedly and maintain purely rational judgment even upon seeing your own family suffer, that can also become a problem.
Humans were truly difficult.
Anyway, if I feel displeasure or anger and pretend to endure it, those around me construct an image for me all on their own as 'the Saintess-nim who endures even when feeling displeased.'
Convenient.
This was why, whenever I worked, I tended to keep a few aides around me.
No matter who it was, they would stay by my side as if it were an honor, watch me work, and spread rumors, and those rumors would generate even more favorable reviews and praise for me.
For those who wanted to use me, they would judge me as 'having flowers for brains' and look down on me, which was actually better for me.
"Ed."
"Yes."
"Sometimes I want to blow people's heads open."
"Me too."
"Really?"
"The phrase 'a million thoughts' didn't come out of nowhere. People don't live having only pure thoughts like Saintess-nim thinks. Innumerable thoughts surge inside them, and among those are thoughts so ugly you wonder, 'Is this really okay?'"
"Complicated."
"It is complicated. That's why I don't really like the saying that one must be perfect even in their innermost thoughts. You can't actually look inside them, yet they deny the good deeds and sacrifices made up until now simply because they weren't genuine."
"......."
I used to think Ed chose such methods as his way of educating me.
However, it might not be that, but rather that he originally possessed such a mindset and ideology to some extent, and coincidentally happened to hold a way of thinking suitable for educating me.
Well, as far as I was concerned, it wasn't a bad thing.
"A lot of letters arrived today as well."
"They're persistent lately."
"You are of that age, and lately you've been making frequent appearances at gatherings and the like. There are some nobles who misunderstand Saintess-nim's kind demeanor, wondering if you have feelings for them."
"They don't even seem to know what a social mask is, those nobles who are even more insensitive to human hearts than I am. If they don't know, they should at least make an effort to understand and memorize it."
"Normally, people don't."
I don't like gatherings.
In truth, acting like usual wasn't a problem in itself, but there were far too many people who mistook my kindness and gentleness for affection and courted me.
Not a single one of them was to my liking.
Even so, recently I thought I had escaped all kinds of courtship a bit, being called an iron wall or a flower on a high cliff, but perhaps precisely because of that, they wanted to claim me all the more, and the letters only kept increasing.
"You are quite popular."
"It's unnecessary popularity."
"There's also one that arrived from my grandmother. It seems she likes Saintess-nim much better than her younger grandson."
"Give me that one."
I received the letter from Ed.
We had started exchanging letters ever since I went there two years ago.
It wasn't heavy stuff; she shared simple small talk or stories from Ed's childhood with me, and I shared my current situation and my relationship with Ed accordingly.
I didn't strictly have to, but getting along well with Aria was important.
Because there was absolutely nothing bad about getting along with the family of the person who would become my husband.
Rather, there were many disadvantages to having a bad relationship.
Since among noble marriages, there were quite a few men and women whose families opposed them, ultimately ending in ruin.
"Good morning, Saintess-nim. And Master."
"Eris, welcome. Would you like some black tea or coffee?"
"I hate them because they're bitter....... Please give me something sweet. Or just water."
"It's fine if you add sugar."
"Hmm."
I spoke while reading the letter.
"Ed."
"Yes."
"What kind of profession is an adventurer? I've heard a lot about them in stories, but I don't think I know exactly what they do. Can you explain in a bit more detail?"
"......."
Ed looked back and forth between me and the contents of the letter for a moment.
Well, it wasn't anything worth hiding.
There was some talk about adventurers in the letter, so my interest was simply piqued all of a sudden.
"Adventurers refer to people who fulfill requests from the guild."
"Is that different from mercenaries?"
Eris put some fruit from the dining table into her mouth.
"Unlike mercenaries, adventurers only handle requests from the 'guild.' They must go through the guild, and if they handle requests personally, it is considered a violation of the rules, which can lower their rank as an adventurer or, in the worst case, result in revocation of their license."
"I see."
It was a bit surprising that Eris knew this.
At any rate, mercenaries were people who handled jobs personally, while anyone who handled requests through the guild was called an adventurer.
"Normally, not going through the guild yields higher earnings. Because when taking a request from the guild as an adventurer, a portion of the reward is naturally shared with the guild."
"Of course, for slightly more important missions, one can negotiate with the guild to take a larger portion of the reward. Though in this case, it's because they are high-ranked adventurers, so the guild grants them a certain degree of accommodation."
"......Then why not work as mercenaries? Isn't it better to work as a mercenary?"
"There are complex reasons, but broadly speaking, there are two."
Ed set the black tea down in front of me.
As expected, the black tea Ed served seemed to be the best.
When other people made it, this subtle, deep flavor didn't come out.
They clearly used the exact same product, yet I didn't know the reason.
"First is the convenience of receiving requests easily. Working as a mercenary means handling everything yourself, starting from advertising your work location. But as an adventurer, going to the guild allows you to immediately check currently available requests and pick among them."
"I see. For a renowned mercenary it might be fine, but for a novice, there might not even be any requests at all."
"Second is security. Depending on the details of a request, the requester might lie, or refuse to pay after the job is completed. But when a massive organization like the guild gets involved, they have no choice but to pay up."
"Is the guild really that amazing?"
Eris then stuffed bread into her mouth.
Stop eating, you pig.
I couldn't tell if this was a wolf or a pig.
Over the past few years, it felt like Eris ate more than Ed and I combined. She seemed to eat three to four portions all by herself. It was no exaggeration to say that most of her salary went toward food expenses.
Munching on the bread, Eris spoke.
"It's not that the guild itself is amazing, but that the current Grandmaster of the guild is amazing."
"Grandmaster?"
"The person who oversees all kinds of guilds. Simply put, the highest-ranking person among everyone in the guild."
"Aha, a person like the Pope?"
"Similar. It's just that there's a slightly military-like atmosphere. It's not a real military, but they are somewhat sensitive to hierarchy."
Ed also took a sip of coffee and continued.
"Because that Grandmaster is quite a famous person. Their skill is tremendous, being none other than a high elf."
"High elf... that was the nobility of elves, right?"
"Conceptually, that's roughly correct. At any rate, thanks to that, 'racial discrimination' remarks are fundamentally prohibited among adventurers. Thanks to that Grandmaster, no one tries to back out of paying request fees. On top of that, the guild handles troublesome chores and issues to some extent."
"I see....... If they can take care of those problems, then sharing a portion of the request fee with the guild is worth enduring."
"Furthermore, if an adventurer goes missing while executing a guild request, a rescue mission is requested by the guild first, so that also helps to some degree."
"......."
If someone gets lost in a deep forest or cave, barely clinging to life after being defeated, or gets captured entirely, they cannot survive unless someone rescues them.
But to think the guild issues rescue requests with that in mind.
When put like this, one could say it was actually better to engage in adventurer activities through the guild.
"It's good if your name becomes famous as an adventurer. Because if an adventurer's rank is high, the adventurer guild's treatment changes."
"Ho-oh, fame, is it?"
"......."
Looking at me, Ed's expression contorted.
That's Ed for you.
He knows me way too well.
"Saintess-nim, you don't mean...?"
"This is why I love you, Ed. ......I was feeling a bit bored lately, so this works out great. What is the highest rank for an adventurer, Eris?"
"The lowest rank is F, and going up sequentially, S-Class is the highest rank."
"If I reach the highest rank before entering the Academy, won't I stand above the heavens not only in terms of character, but in terms of ability as well? Since it would be a 'track record' and 'honor'."
Clap clap, I clapped my hands and said to Ed.
"Ed, prepare to depart."
"Would you please not make me say the words 'crazy bitch' out loud?"
It sounds like it'd be pretty intense, so I kind of want to hear it at least once.