Chapter 2

New Hero
“Haah…”

As I stared at the door Mary had just gone through, a sigh slipped out.

“Worried? She’s a cheerful kid. She’ll do fine.”

Cheerful, huh…
Yeah, Mary is cheerful.
But in the beginning, she was really gloomy. Cried all the time.
I get why, though…

“Why do young people want to be adventurers so bad?”

“That’s just how it is. Even I admired them when I was a kid. I mean, Eric, you used to be an adventurer, right?”

Not really, but that’s the story I’ve been going with.
That’s what I told people when I moved to this town.

“I’m against it because I’m a former adventurer.”

Dangerous jobs are a no-go.
Even more so for someone who used to work in the shadows.

“Kids go against their parents. Mary’s actually pretty obedient. Take Barry the butcher, he said his daughter wouldn’t even talk to him for a while.”

“Shirley? She’s a bit blunt, but she greets people properly. A well-mannered kid.”

She’d come by the shop a few times, and I’d seen her around town plenty. Seemed serious enough.

“Probably different when it’s her parents.”

Guess there’s all kinds of things going on.

While I was thinking that, the shop door opened and a long-haired blonde woman walked in.
Angela. One of my employees.

“Morning, Boss~”

She greeted me, looking half-asleep.

“Morning, Angela.”

She’s also my magic apprentice. Still young, only twenty.

A bit under 160 cm, taller than Mary, wearing a black robe.
Pretty face, good figure, she’s got everything where it counts.
You could call her the face of the shop.
But she’s loaded with accessories like bracelets, all flashy, and that slit showing off her thighs… yeah, I’ve warned her a few times.

“Cute, isn’t it?” she said.

That was that.
Seriously… kids these days.

“Morning, Angela. You look sleepy.”

The greengrocer called out.

“Morning, mister. Yeah, well… the boss didn’t let me sleep last night.”

“What are you saying?”

“It’s true.”

… It is true.
That’s why I didn’t even scold her for being late.

“Oh? Something happen?”

“Mary’s becoming an adventurer, right? I had to listen to his complaints and worries forever. I want overtime pay.”

You’re getting it.

“Come on, Eric… I get you’re worried, but don’t drag your employees into it.”

The greengrocer gave me an exasperated smile.

“I know. Here, fixed it.”

I handed him the repaired clock, now ticking again.

“Thanks. I’ll be back. Better deal with that overprotective streak, or she’ll start hating you.”

“Yeah, yeah. Thanks for your business.”

“See ya.”

He raised a hand and left the shop.

“Boss~ what about work?”

Angela stepped behind the counter and asked.

“Sorry, but organize those request forms over there.”

“Okaaay~”

She sat down and started going through them.

“If you’re sleepy, go take a nap. This is my fault.”

She’s my only employee. If she quits, I’m in trouble.

“I’m fine. It’s not that bad. More importantly, did you get any sleep after that?”

“No.”

No way I could.
Though skipping a day or two of sleep isn’t a problem.

“Why not sleep now? I’ll watch the shop.”

“I’m good.”

“Huh… you’re that worried?”

Of course I am.

“Mary’s a bit… airheaded.”

“She’s got Katrina with her. She’ll be fine.”

Katrina’s been Mary’s friend since they were kids. The priest’s daughter.
Apparently they’re becoming adventurers together.
I even went to ask the priest, “Are you really okay with this?”
“All part of learning,” he said.
… Is that priest actually okay?

“Hey, can you talk to Mary for me?”

“Nope. I’m an adventurer too, remember?”

Angela’s my employee, but she’s also a mage adventurer.
She’s known Mary since they were little, like an older sister, five years older.
Mary really looked up to her.
Angela used to take care of Mary all the time, and when she found out I could use magic, she asked to become my apprentice.
Then she started helping at the shop too, and here we are.

“Haah…”

“It’ll be fine. First job’s in the forest, right? They won’t go deep.”

If it’s the outer areas, it’ll be slimes, goblins, maybe kobolds.
Small fry… sure.
But they can still kill people.

“I don’t know… she’s the kind of person who stubs her pinky toe on furniture all the time.”

When I saw her lecturing a dresser like, “Why are you even here!?”… Yeah, I thought I messed up raising her.

“I heard that five times yesterday. If you’re that worried, why not go check on her?”

“She told me not to follow her.”

“Well, obviously. I wouldn’t want my guardian tagging along either. Just follow her secretly. You know, sneak around without getting caught. Like a stalker.”

Stalker’s a bit much, but… if I don’t get caught, she won’t get mad…

“… Hmm.”

“Wait, are you actually going?”

You’re the one who suggested it.

“I’ve got a good idea.”

I stood up, opened the storage room door, and started digging for something I made a long time ago.

“Boss, what about work?”

“Which is more important, work or family?”

“That’s the line we’re supposed to use…”

The answer’s obvious.
You work for your family, so family comes first.

“Ah~ found it.”

I pulled it out and brushed off the dust.

“What’s that? A helmet?”

What I was holding was a Fullface motorcycle helmet.
I once thought about selling it as armor, but the limited field of vision killed the idea.

“Something like that. This way, no one can see my face.”

I put the helmet on.

“I mean, yeah, I can’t see your face… but can you see? It’s all reflective.”

“I can see just fine.”

You can see from inside.
Though yeah, the field of view is narrow.

“Huh… so your face is hidden. You’re really going out like that?”

Just the helmet isn’t enough…
I grabbed a rejected black cloak from the storage and threw it on.

“How about now?”

Now you can’t see my face or my clothes.

“… That looks lame.”

You don’t have to make that face…

“I’m not aiming for cool. As long as I don’t get recognized, it’s fine.”

“Well, yeah… dressed like that, no one’ll recognize you. I wouldn’t want to think that’s my dad.”

Shut up.
It’s not like I want to do this.

“This is all I’ve got for now. I’ll think of something better later.”

“So it’s not just for today…”

Of course not.
I’ve gotta keep watching until I’m satisfied she can handle herself.

“Anyway, we’re heading to the forest. Mary’s probably going to pick up Katrina at the church, stop by the guild, register, then head out.”

“Yeah, registration comes first. Otherwise she can’t even enter the forest. What about you, Boss?”

… Right. I’m not an adventurer.
I’m supposed to be retired, but I was never one to begin with.

“Is it hard to get into the forest without a guild card?”

“Depends on the gate guard… but in that outfit? Yeah, no chance.”

Yeah… I do look suspicious as hell.

“… No choice. We’re going to the guild too.”

I’ll register.

“We? Huh? Me too?”

Don’t look so shocked.

“You think I can walk around alone dressed like this? You’re a local, come with me and make me look harmless.”

“God, what a pain…”

Angela grimaced.

“I’ll give you a bonus.”

“Fine, fine. Come up with a fake name on the way. Using your real name would hurt the shop’s reputation.”

… True.

“I’m Fullface Maskman.”

Fullface is the given name. Maskman is the family name.

“… That’s so lame. Boss, your sense is terrible across the board.”

Names don’t matter.

“Whatever. Let’s go, An.”

“Eric… please don’t use nicknames while dressed like that. It’s killing the mood…”

Is it really that bad?

What do you think about this chapter?