Mission Report
After parting ways with Alisha and the others, I headed to the guild to report the mission’s completion.
“Hello, Miss Lily. I’m here to file a completion report.”
“Oh, Joan. Good work. Alright, hand me your guild plate. Let’s see... Goblin subjugation, right? … Okay, you’ve got the signed form… Wait, there was a Hobgoblin too? So that’s why the reward was increased.”
“Yes. Six goblins, one hob.”
“... That count. Well, fine. The subjugation parts are all correct too. Alright, you’re good to go.”
The guild plate glowed softly.
Apparently, some kind of magic records things like the points needed for rank advancement and the number of monsters defeated. I’m not sure if it’s recorded directly on the plate or in some magical database, though.
“Here you go. Still, it’s amazing that you were able to take down a Hobgoblin as an E-rank. You might rank up in no time. And since you haven’t done any town requests yet, there’s that too.”
“Town requests?”
“Like deliveries or cleaning jobs. Sometimes babysitting or shopping errands too.”
“Huh~ Maybe I’ll try one of those next.”
“Do your best. But don’t push yourself too hard, okay?”
“Nope. I want to be D-rank before I go to the academy.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m Null, right? So if I’m at least D-rank in the Lampail guild, people won’t look down on me.”
“... Joan.”
“And if they still try to mock me, I’ll crush them!”
“Joan!?”
“Isn’t it better to crush them early on before they cause trouble?”
“Why do you think in such dangerous terms...?”
“Well, whether I crush anyone or not aside... I’m going to work hard to rank up! See you later!”
“Haah~… I’m seriously worried about that girl’s future.”
“Hehehe… But she’s cute, isn’t she? So small you can barely see her face over the counter, yet she talks so confidently. She’ll be a real beauty when she grows up.”
“Roman... You say stuff like that and I’m gonna tell Nancy.”
“W-wait, not Nancy, please! She’ll kill me! And then I’ll never be able to go on a date again!”
“Honestly, maybe you should die once. Before we end up in another mess like last time.”
Roman, one of the guild staff members, is kind to everyone—young or old, male or female. But he’s also a bit too flirty with women, which leads to a lot of misunderstandings. Just the other day, two girls bumped into each other in front of the guild and ended up in a brawl. When asked who he was dating, Roman shamelessly said he wasn’t planning to date either of them and got slapped so hard both cheeks had red handprints.
Well, his personal life is a disaster, but he’s good at his job, so he’s still an important part of the guild. Other staff memebers just wish he’d stop overdoing the compliments with female adventurers during check-ins...
＊＊＊＊＊
After leaving the guild, I headed to the woodworking workshop.
“Hello~!”
“Hey there—Oh! If it isn’t the young miss! You’ve really grown, haven’t you?”
“Seriously. Ah, this must be the famous white dog. She’s adorable!”
“Long time no see, Mr. James, Camaro.”
James and Camaro had just returned from a worksite and were standing in front of the workshop.
“So, what brings you here today?”
“Ah, I brought some kusamochi I made using the mortar and pestle you crafted for me.”
“Oh, that thing Big bro stayed up all night making, huh?”
“Yes. I’m really sorry about that.”
“Nah, don’t worry about it. Hold on a sec—Hey, bro!”
“Huh? What’s up?”
“Joan’s here!”
“Mr. Daniel, thank you so much for pulling an all-nighter for me the other day. I brought some kusamochi I made with it.”
“Oh no, I should be the one thanking you. Come on inside.”
“Yeah yeah, Joan, come in, come in!”
“Camaro, don’t get too familiar.”
“Come on, she’s like a little sister now.”
“I’m so sorry, Young lady Joan. Camaro can be... well…”
“It’s fine. Actually, Mr. Daniel, would you stop calling me Young lady? Even if we get along, it feels like there’s a wall between us.”
“I-Is that so? Well then… Joan... I guess.”
“Yes! Ehehe.”
“Come on, Grace is calling, wondering what’s taking so long.”
Prompted by Mr. James, we headed into the residence.
After greeting Mrs. Grace, I pulled out the kusamochi from my storage.
“““Delicious!!”””
“It’s wonderful~”
“The red bean paste inside isn’t overly sweet, and the mochi has such a nice mugwort aroma.”
“Yeah, I’m not big on sweets, but this level of sweetness is perfect. It’s really refreshing after work.”
“This is amazing. I could eat this forever.”
“Hey, Camaro, you’re eating too much!”
The kusamochi was a big hit here too.
“Mr. James, I also brought some that aren’t sweet. Here you go.”
“Huh?”
“!! …Mmm—”
““……””
I pulled out grilled isobeyaki from storage and placed it on my hand like before.
Mr. James looked dumbfounded. Camaro choked on his mochi in surprise. Even Mr. Daniel and Mrs. Grace, who’d seen it before, were frozen.
“Oh, sorry! Camaro, are you alright?”
“… Haaah. Joan, where’d that come from?”
“From my storage. I just imagine it, and it comes out.”
“Wow~ No matter how many times I see it, it still shocks me.”
“Oh, I like this one better.”
“Yeah, I like the slightly burnt part.”
“Joan, do you think we could make these ourselves?”
“Ah, it’s actually quite a bit of work. You need a kind of rice called glutinous rice. First, soak it for half a day, then steam it, pound it, knead it…”
““““Aahh~...””””
“So it’s that much work…”
“It’s so good, I was hoping to eat it regularly.”
“Also, where do you even get glutinous rice? I don’t think they sell it around here, right?”
“It’s an ingredient from the eastern lands.”
I really wish it were easier to get…
I want everyone to try Japanese food—and eat it myself too!!
What do you think about this chapter?
