Chapter 169

Let's Go to the Adventurers' Guild
Here we are—the Lampail Adventurers' Guild.

My father and brothers tried to come along, but I turned them down because I didn’t want to be given any special treatment. So the only one accompanying me is Pearl, who’s full-grown dog size.

Adventurers' Guilds exist everywhere. In the Kingdom of Exaria, they’re established in every domain, and the capital, with its large population, has three of them. To become an adventurer, you visit one of these guilds and take a test to see if you have the ability to accept and complete requests. If you're approved, you're issued a plate, and without that, you can’t operate as an adventurer.

But where you get that plate matters. Of course, joining the guild in the region you live in is best, but the guilds differ widely in their operating policies and levels. Some guilds, particularly in the capital, will issue plates and even allow rank-ups in exchange for money, as a way for nobles to bolster their prestige. It’s an unspoken understanding, but it happens often in the capital's guilds.

However, each plate bears the guild’s emblem.

If you register at a capital guild, you get lumped together with the people who bought their plates with money, even if you worked hard for yours. …That’s the worst.

In contrast, the guild that issues plates feared by all is this Lampail Guild. It’s purely merit-based, and its standards are far above those of other guilds.

When I pushed open the swinging door of the Adventurers' Guild, it was crowded, probably because it was still morning. I’d heard that to register, you had to go to the reception counter. There was already a line, so I could tell that was the right place. Two counters were open, each with about ten people in line, so I decided to take a look around first.

To the left of the counters, along the wall, were request boards organized by category: extermination, hunting, gathering, etc. On the opposite side, to the right, were stairs leading upward, and beside the stairs was a tavern. Despite the hour, many people were drinking and eating there. Among them were some with classic villain looks—shaved heads, no eyebrows, eye patches, jagged scars on their cheeks, and glaring eyes.

… Hehe, they really do look the part of adventurers.

When I looked back at the counter, the lines had gotten shorter, so I went to stand at the end of one. After a short wait, it was finally my turn.

"Next, please—...huh? What?"

The counter was too high, so the receptionist couldn’t see me.

"Here I am!"

I called out, waving my hand.

She noticed me and leaned over the counter.

"Huh? Little lady, you can’t be here. It’s dangerous, you know. There are lots of scary people around. Are your parents here?"

The receptionist looked to be in her early twenties, with fluffy reddish-brown semi-long hair. Her orange eyes went wide with surprise.

"Good morning. I came to register as an adventurer. My parents didn’t come with me."

I was finally allowed to walk around alone in the Lampail domain. Well, only if I took Pearl with me…

"An adventurer? You? Um… maybe come back when you're a bit older? Don’t worry, the guild's not going anywhere."

Sure, I might be a little shorter than the average ten-year-old… but only a little!

"Excuse me, but I am ten years old already! I meet the guild’s minimum joining age!"

"Uh-huh, but that’s not really the issue… See, this guild is super big and strong, and you have to fight someone powerful to get a plate. I don't think that's something you can handle, sweetie."

Hmm, this lady isn’t getting me anywhere…

I tilted my head and gave her a bright smile.

"Could you call the Guildmaster?"

"I can handle you just fine, little one. C’mon, I’ll treat you to some juice over there. Come back after you’ve grown up a bit, okay?"

She asked someone else to watch the counter and came out. She told me to wait here and went to get juice from the tavern.

"Pearl, what should we do?"

(Hmm, should I grow big and bark?)

"Let’s not do that, okay? … Guess I’ll just have to show them what I can do."

The receptionist came back with a wooden cup of juice.

I quickly pulled a kunai from my waist and threw it toward her. The kunai whizzed past her and embedded itself in the wall behind her. She dropped to the floor, still holding the juice.

"Hey!! That’s dangerous, kid!! Just ‘cause you’re a kid doesn’t mean I’ll go easy on you!!"

A bald guy who saw what I did shouted angrily and came toward me. Just as he was about to grab me, the guy with the eye patch called out.

"Wait! Jackal. Look at this!"

"Huh? What the hell? It’s still dangerous, ain’t it?!"

"Just look carefully where the weapon hit!"

"I said, what the hell—...huh? … A killer bee?"

"Yeah. That spot she hit—that means Lily was about to get stung."

"… Seriously?"

The bald guy and the eye-patch guy slowly turned to look at me in sync, so I gave them a cheerful smile.

Then a loud voice rang out from the second floor.

"What’s going on down there? … Huh? You again, Jackal?"

"Ah, Guildmaster. No, it wasn’t me this time. It was this…"

The bald guy pointed at me.

"Good morning! Are you the Guildmaster? I came here to register as an adventurer!"

"What? You? You’re so tiny. No way. …So what was all the noise just now, Jackal?"

"Uh, that kid threw a weapon at Lily, so I yelled at her… but Guildmaster, take a look at this."

"Huh? What? … A killer bee?"

The Guildmaster snapped his eyes toward me.

Um, everyone? The receptionist lady’s still collapsed on the floor. Shouldn’t someone help her or something?

What do you think about this chapter?