Getting Into It?
“Eric?”
“Yes. The voice is the same, and he’s with Angela.”
What the hell is he doing?
And what about work?
“Why’s he dressed like that and trying to register as an adventurer?”
“No idea… but it seems like Mary-chan’s involved somehow…”
Ah~ there it is.
I remember him being a huge pain, going on about raising the minimum age for adventurer registration to twenty, or saying women shouldn’t become adventurers.
In other words, he’s worried about his daughter.
And now he’s even disguising himself to go check on her.
“… Sigh. So, what about the registration?”
“What should we do? Eric was an adventurer, right?”
That’s what I’ve heard, but…
If he’s claiming to be someone else, then it’s a new registration.
But there’s a blood test. If he’s already registered, it’ll identify him as Eric, so he shouldn’t be able to register again.
“Let’s just run the test as usual. He might give up.”
“Understood. We’ll go with that.”
“Alright.”
I pulled a new registration card from the drawer and stood up.
Then I left the room with Viola, but stopped almost immediately.
The usually noisy guild was dead silent.
And the punks in the back were all staring, dumbfounded, at one man.
“You’re Fullface Maskman?”
Not just his face, his whole body was hidden under a cloak.
Seriously suspicious.
“That’s right.”
Yeah… that’s Eric’s voice.
And more than anything, Angela’s annoyed expression is basically confirming it.
Angela’s always liked Eric, more than liked him, honestly.
She studied magic under him, and now she works at his shop.
I’ve seen them walking together late at night a few times.
And whenever there’s drinking involved, rumors start flying that the two of them are a thing.
If your boyfriend showed up dressed like that, yeah, you’d make that face too.
“I heard you want to register as an adventurer. Is that correct?”
There’s a lot I could say, but I ignore it and get on with my job.
“Yeah.”
… But can he even see us from in there?
Well, Eric’s shop sells weird stuff, so it’s probably some kind of magic item.
“Then first, drip some blood onto this card.”
I placed the card on the counter.
“Got it.”
Fullface nodded and looked at his index finger.
Then I felt a faint trace of magic, and he placed his finger on the card.
Magic, huh…
Well, he is a magic tool shop owner. Of course he can use magic.
“That should do it.”
He said that, so Viola and I checked the card…
No reaction.
“Huh?”
“Nothing.”
If he were already registered, there should’ve been a response.
“I told you, I’m not Eric.”
Hmm…
Is he really someone else?
Or maybe the “former adventurer” thing was a lie.
In that case, this might actually go through.
Fullface Maskman, huh…
“… Alright. Next is the test.”
“To see if I’ve got the skills?”
Of course he knows. His daughter took it.
“Yeah. There’s a magic test and a practical exam. Which one?”
The magic test checks your magic.
The practical exam tests your actual combat ability.
Incidentally, his daughter Mary took both, and passed.
“Magic will do. What should I show?”
Magic, huh…
I don’t know the details, but… he is Angela’s teacher…
“Anything’s fine. Just show you’ve got the skill.”
“I see.”
Fullface nodded…
And disappeared.
“Huh?”
“... What?”
Where did he…
“Is this good enough?”
A voice came from behind.
I spun around in a hurry.
And somehow, Fullface was standing there.
“Wha… when did you…?”
“How…?”
What the hell was that?
When did he move?
No, more than that, I didn’t sense him at all.
“Magic.”
Fullface said that, and vanished again.
This time, I could still sense him, so I looked forward.
There he was again.
Still faceless, but somehow looking smug.
And Angela still looking thoroughly done with this.
“That proves I’ve got the skill, right?”
Who is this guy…? No, Eric, huh.
But this whole act… it’s honestly kind of funny.
Normally he’s just grumbling all the time and acting unfriendly.
“… Yeah. I get it. You pass. We’ll register you. Viola.”
I don’t really get it, but he passed the test, so whatever, just register him.
“… Yes.”
Viola nodded and started filling out the card with the name Fullface Maskman.
“So, what about work? Want to take something right away?”
If he does, it’ll probably be the forest…
“No. Today, I’ll just check the workplace. I’ll take a look at the forest.”
Yeah, yeah.
You mean Mary.
And what happened to “ran out of travel money”?
“Umm, Guildmaster…”
Viola handed over the card.
“Fullface Maskman. As of today, you’re an adventurer. You’ll start at Rank F. Do your best.”
This mysterious guy will probably disappear once Mary gets used to adventuring anyway.
“Understood. I appreciate it. Angela, guide me to the forest.”
“Yeeah…”
Angela looks really reluctant…
The two of them left and exited the guild.
“… Huh? What was that?”
“That was insane!”
“He just teleported!”
“So cool!”
The punks started making noise again.
Yeah… they’d eat that up.
This is definitely gonna turn into a rumor.
“Guildmaster, what should we do?”
“Leave it. He’s got a shop to run. Once he’s satisfied watching his daughter play adventurer for a bit, he’ll head back.”
He even dragged Angela along, so the shop’s probably empty right now.
“So that’s what Eric’s like, huh…”
“He’s been raising his daughter alone all this time. Probably just some pent-up stuff.”
And Mary’s adopted, too.
She’s the child of someone he knew who died.
Had nowhere else to go, so he took her in.
That’s what I heard when he moved here ten years ago.
“I wonder if Mary will be shocked? She’s such a daddy’s girl.”
Mary was five when she came to this town.
Old enough to understand that Eric wasn’t her real father.
Even so, they’re close, and everyone in town sees them as a normal parent and child.
“He’ll just insist he’s someone else. And she’ll believe it. Kid’s a bit dumb.”
She’s cheerful and honest…
Just a little airheaded.
“Guess she takes after her dad? Eric’s always grumbling that young people don’t work, but now he’s ditching his own shop to goof off.”
… You’ve got a point.
Well, Viola lives near Eric.
He’s probably lectured her plenty.
What do you think about this chapter?
