Chapter 33
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
I left the orphanage and entered a deserted alley, instantly turning back into “Koji” as I headed to the guild.
When I entered the guild, it wasn’t a busy time yet, so the reception area was mostly empty, with more spots without staff than with.
In this situation, I stood out while looking around the reception, and the receptionists’ gazes were focused on me.
They should be able to tell I’m a newbie from my outfit, but still, I don’t see anyone who seems to be well-educated or unmotivated.
So, I thought any reception would be fine, and as I was about to go to the front desk… the receptionist who registered me as an adventurer looked shocked to see me.
Her desk was also empty, and I considered going there, but her caring attitude made me hesitate.
Since I planned to withdraw most of the money I had deposited, I didn’t want her to worry and pry into my business.
With that in mind… I went to the reception with a stunning beauty stationed at the front, and without any issues, I withdrew 50,000 Oar.
Now, I need to talk to Seria about work.
I want her to receive the magic catalyst delivered from the merchant guild and hand it over to Iris inside the dungeon.
After leaving the guild, I spotted the tent where a Cleric was waiting for medical assistance near the dungeon entrance… there she was, reading a book.
Confirming her presence, I entered the deserted alley again and became “Mose.”
I need to take this form to receive the items, but I wonder if my voice will be okay?
I’ve only spoken to her once, so I hope she doesn’t remember me… I’ll try to change my tone a bit just in case.
With that, I headed to the tent and called out to Seria.
”Hey, can I ask you something?”
”Huh? W-What is it?”
She looked up from the book and seemed a bit surprised.
Wearing full armor must be intimidating, but she had to hide her face, so there was no helping it.
She then conveyed her request.
”I’d like to ask you for a job…”
”Eh!? Me?”
”Yeah.”
”Um… well, my healing magic isn’t very effective…”
”I don’t mind that.”
Being honest with the client, Seria explained the downsides of choosing her, and I replied that it was fine.
Hearing that, she responded with a worried look.
”Um… I don’t take on ‘partners’, is that still okay?”
Ah, she might think I want to hire her for something else.
I had heard there were such invitations, so it was understandable if she misunderstood.
Anyway, I wanted to explain the request and clear up the misunderstanding, but…
”I don’t mean it that way. It’s a bit complicated, so I don’t want anyone else to hear…”
”Um… then, is it okay to use the church’s consultation room?”
”Consultation room? There’s such a room?”
”Yes. It’s used for meetings with larger teams or companies, so it’s not often used by individuals…”
”Is it okay to use it?”
”As long as it’s not for a long time. It should be available around this time.”
”I see. Then let’s go there.”
”Okay. Well then…”
She had wanted to be alone with me, but seemed relieved by my answer about the location. Seria told a woman who looked like a colleague that she was leaving her seat and then led me to the church.
The church was built large, like the Adventurers’ Guild, and was divided into a hall that anyone could enter and a separate building that required a check-in at the reception.
It seemed that the consultation room was in the separate building, and as Seria explained while heading there, my feet felt a bit heavy.
I heard that the church has a monopoly on the method of making holy water, which is a catalyst for healing magic, so it seems the separate building is managed to prevent the method and the holy water itself from leaking out.
If that’s the case, there’s a very high chance I’ll have to show my face at the reception.
This is bad for me since I want to proceed as “Mose,” and as I ponder what to do… Seria urges me to move ahead.
”Um, what’s wrong?”
”Huh? Ah, um… is there a fee at the reception?”
I asked if there was a reason to avoid entering the separate building because it might cost money, but the answer I got was very inconvenient.
”No, it won’t cost you anything! You’ll just need to sign in and show your face.”
”I see… what about people who can’t write their names or don’t want to show their faces?”
”The consultation room is for larger groups, so there should be at least one person who can do both. If it’s an individual, there’s no problem asking about hiring a Cleric, so basically, you can make a reservation right there.”
”I understand…”
Thinking about it, I couldn’t help but agree that it made sense.
If I have to show my face at the reception, then since we’ll be alone together, Seria will probably want to confirm things.
Refusing to enter the separate building to avoid that would be too suspicious, and it would likely increase the chances of my request being turned down.
Alright, I’ll cover my head with Magic Armor and display a camouflaged face of an overseas actor who have the same age as me, just like I saw in my previous life.
Having made my decision, I let Seria lead the way again and quickened my pace toward the reception.
”Now, please provide your name and confirm your face.”
”Yeah.”
When the male receptionist said this, I lifted the visor of my Magic Armor helmet and wrote my name on the entrance record form.
It seems that if someone can’t write, they can just say their name and have it written for them, but I thought it would be strange for someone discussing complicated matters in a consultation room to not be able to write, so I did it myself.
Now, as for my face…
”Yes, that’s fine.”
Without any suspicion, I was granted entry permission.
I followed Seria again, arriving at a hallway lined with doors at regular intervals.
Probably, all the rooms around here are consultation rooms of the same size.
Each door has an upward hook, which is likely for hanging the wooden sign given by the receptionist to indicate that the room is in use.
She moved further ahead and stopped in front of a door in the middle of the hallway.
”Is this okay?”
”There were open rooms before this, but why this one?”
”Basically, the rooms fill up from the back or the front, so if someone else uses a consultation room after us, I wanted to avoid them coming to the room next to us.”
”Oh, I see. You were being considerate.”
When I said that, Seria shook her head.
”No, we also want to avoid unnecessary conflicts.”
”…Has something happened in the past?”
”I’m not directly involved, so this is just hearsay, but… one side was eavesdropping to find out the other’s plans, and then they followed them to save effort in going deeper. Because of that, the side that went ahead complained, and it became a problem. After that, we were told to keep the neighboring room empty as much as possible.”
”Oh, I see… So that’s why. Ah, should we go inside?”
After agreeing with Seria’s explanation and encouraging her to enter, she opened the door and let me go in first.
The consultation room had a moderate decoration that wasn’t too fancy or too plain. There were a few chairs around a desk that looked good but wasn’t flashy.
”Please take any seat you like.”
With Seria closing the door, she said that, and I chose a suitable seat at the back.
Since I was going to be alone with a girl, I thought it would be better to leave the entrance side open…
”Well then, I’ll sit here.”
Saying that, Seria took the seat right next to me.
”Why sit next to me?”
”Since you mentioned it was a confidential matter, I thought it would be better to keep our voices down. Also… if you’re the kind of person who would choose a seat at the back to be considerate, then I don’t think I need to worry.”
It seems she judged that there was no need to worry about anything inappropriate happening.
It was a good call to be considerate.
”Can I start talking about work now?”
”Yes. You said it was a complicated matter.”
With her body turned towards me, she placed her hands on her knees and leaned slightly forward to listen.
Since this girl also had a generous chest, my eyes were drawn there for a moment, but I quickly returned my gaze to her face to get to the main topic.
”To put it simply… I want you to hand over the magic catalyst that will be sent to you from the merchant guild in the dungeon.”
”Are you saying you can’t receive the catalyst right after buying it?”
”I want to keep my companion’s status as a magician a secret for now.”
Once it’s confirmed that Iris is not suspected of being involved in the disappearance of “Gem Snake,” the need to hide her being a magician will decrease.
If that happens, she could buy the catalyst openly, but since she has skills, other companies might try to recruit her.
Well… because of me, Iris is thinking quite negatively about it, and even if she doesn’t have to worry about the “Gem Snake” issue anymore, she might still want to keep her magician status hidden.
As I answered while keeping that part a secret, Seria put her hand on her chin and pondered a bit.
”Hmm… is that person a wanted criminal? Helping someone like that could lead to legal trouble.”
”No, it’s not like that. They just don’t want to receive offers from others right now. They probably think having me around is enough.”
When I replied like that, Seria leaned in closer.
”So, you must be quite powerful, then?”
”Well, I think I’m decent, but… it really depends on who I’m compared to.”
”I see, that makes sense. So, how many monsters do you defeat in a day?”
”Huh? I’ve only been in this city for a short time, so I’ve only made it to the 2nd District, but I can fill a bag with magic stone–“
*Grab*!
”I’ll accept your offer.”
Before I could finish my sentence, Seria suddenly grabbed both my hands and said that.
Magic Armor blocks the sense of touch, so I can’t feel its texture or temperature, but I can see the enthusiasm in her eyes.
She said that to improve her ability, she needs combat experience with monsters, and I guess she knows I fight monsters to earn enough magic stones.
It seems like there are people who want to increase the healing magic effect.
But…
”Wait. I haven’t discussed the plan to hire you yet.”
When I said that, Seria started playing with my hand covered in Magic Armor as she replied.
”I don’t have any particular plans, so anytime is fine. But, if possible, could I accompany you as often as I can?”
”Eh? Um…”
I felt a bit troubled.
I just wanted her to bring the magic catalyst, and if she accompanies me frequently, there’s a high chance she’ll see my face.
Well, I could just make myself look like a different person like last time, but I didn’t want others to know too much about my fighting style of using magic threads to bind monsters.
What should I do?
If I don’t use that fighting style, it would be a hassle to worry about both Iris and Seria while fighting.
I was thinking I could just hunt monsters in a shallow area on the day I receive the catalyst, but as I pondered over the unexpected offer, I thought that my unnecessary words might cause the request to fall through. So, Seria made a slightly compromising suggestion.
”Ah, then… how about I accompany you once to hand over the magic catalyst, and if I’m not a bother that day?”
”Hmm… well, if that’s the case…”
As a result of that day, I thought it might be best to decline the offer to frequently accompany her, so I answered that way.
”Then it’s settled! Please take care of me!”
I felt a bit uneasy about Seria’s smile, but since we had at least come to an agreement, I decided it was fine and moved on to discussing the schedule and other details.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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