Phantasmo Adventurers’ Guild
Day two in Phantasmo.
In the morning, I went with Belle to the Phantasmo Adventurers’ Guild. Of course, Pearl and Rosso came along too. We invited Brother Gene and the others, but since they didn’t know how tough tomorrow’s training would be, they decided to take it easy today.
The Phantasmo Guild had more of a southern-island feel than the Lampail Guild, with palm trees planted on either side of the entrance. Ceiling fans were spinning inside.
"So, which one should we take?"
"Hmm, looks like there’s even beach-cleaning requests."
"Oh, how about this one? It says subjugation of a Karkinos."
"Karkinos?"
"Uhh, if I remember right, it’s a giant crab."
"Then maybe we can do a cleanup request along with the subjugation?"
"Yeah, sounds good."
While we were talking over requests, a voice called from behind us.
"You’re taking a Karkinos subjugation?"
"Just two girls?"
"How old are you?"
When we turned around, there were three boys. They looked a little older than us.
"Ah, hello~ Yes, we are. It’s us two, and this child. We’re both ten."
I introduced Pearl as I answered.
"Eh? Ten? First-years?"
"Seriously? Younger than us?"
"Wait, wait, that’s just a dog, right?"
The three of them were surprised in all sorts of ways.
"You might not know, but a Karkinos is actually pretty strong."
"That’s right, it’s a rank D monster."
"What rank are you two?"
At first I thought they were teasing us, but it turned out they were genuinely concerned.
"We haven’t fought one before, but I think we’ll be fine. We’re both D-rankers."
Belle nodded as well.
"""Eh? D-rank?"""
"Same as us…"
"No way."
"Are you maybe affiliated with one of the guilds in the royal capital?"
"No, I’m with Lampail, and she’s with Burst. See?"
I showed them my plate, and Belle hurriedly pulled hers out from her collar as well.
"""Seriously…"""
"Seriously. But thanks for worrying about us. Oh, my name’s Joan. This is Belle."
"I see… Ah, uh, I’m Joey. This one’s Chandler, and that one’s Ross. We all live here in Phantasmo, childhood friends the same age."
Joey, the sturdier one with short red hair, was the biggest of the three. Chandler had orange hair and freckles. Ross was the tallest but also the slimmest. They were apparently two years older than us. All three were D-rankers with the Phantasmo Guild, and since they saw two unfamiliar girls about to take on a reckless request, they’d called out in concern.
We thanked them and went to the reception desk.
Even the receptionist lady kept looking back and forth between us and the request details, but when we showed our plates she finally accepted it.
"Alright, let’s clean the beach while we hunt the crab."
"Crab… you mean the Karkinos, right?"
"But it’s still a crab, isn’t it? Wonder if it’s tasty? I can’t wait to meet it~ Mr. Crab, Mr. Crab, where are you~?"
"Hey, wait for me, Joan!"
Belle chased after me as I skipped toward the beach.
(Haaah, still putting food first as always.)
Pearl’s muttered comment went unheard by anyone.
"Ta-daaa! Here we are, the beach!"
I spread my arms wide.
"Joan? What was that about?"
"Ah, just kinda like a YouTuber thing?"
"Eh? A Yoo-what?"
"Ah, umm, never mind."
"I-is that so? … Well then, shall we get started?"
"((Yeah!))"
With baskets strapped to our backs, we picked up trash along the beach as we walked. Since it was a tourist spot, there were families with kids playing in the water.
"Waaah, look, the doggy’s picking up trash!"
"The squirrel with the hat is helping too!"
"So cute!"
"Here you go!"
"There’s more over here!"
Some kids nearby spotted Pearl and Rosso, who was wearing a hat to hide the gem on his forehead, and ran over. A few even helped us pick up trash. Thanks to their help, the cleanup finished sooner than expected.
"Thanks so much for helping, everyone. Here’s a little thank-you gift."
I pulled some amber candy from storage and handed it out. Of course, it was made with ordinary water—just regular candy.
"""""Thank you, adventurer lady!"""""
"Alright, next up is Mr. Crab."
"If I remember, the receptionist said it should be a bit further in, around the rocky area."
(Then let’s hurry along. You two hop on.)
We climbed onto the larger Pearl and headed toward the rocks.
Thanks to Pearl, we reached the rocky area in no time and looked around. But there was no sign of it.
"Hmm, not here."
(Then let’s eat. I’m hungry.)
"Good idea. Let’s have lunch."
We spread a cloth out on the sand a bit away from the rocks and pulled a pot out of storage.
"What are you doing?"
"Hm? Warming up some soup. .. Okay, that should do. Belle, could you light it for me?"
I gathered stones to make a hearth, stacked wood and branches in the center, and had Belle, with her fire attribute, light it. I set the pot on top.
"Should be about ready now… Here you go."
"Waaah, such a hearty soup! Is this miso?"
"Yep, pork miso soup with orc meat. And… I’ve got rice balls too. Okay, let’s eat."
"((Let’s eat!))"
Today’s lunch was pork miso soup, rice balls, tamagoyaki, and sausages stir-fried with ketchup. Pearl and Rosso had requested omelet rice.
"Delicious. This sausage, is it made with that ketchup?"
"Yeah. The one Athos and the others worked so hard to make. I got one jar."
"Just one? You should’ve asked for more. Thanks to you, Joan, they’re able to sell it in Burst now."
"Thanks. I’ll ask for more next time. But you know, the taste changes depending on the tomato used. Burst’s is sweeter than Lampail’s. I’m sure it’ll sell."
"I hope so~"
Chatting like that, we finished lunch and were relaxing with iced tea when Pearl and Rosso suddenly lifted their heads.
(Did the smell draw them in?)
(Took ’em long enough. Even if they show up now, the food’s all gone.)
What do you think about this chapter?
