I wake up and look at the back of my hand.
The crest is there as always.
My Soul Book has Goddess Noah's Believer written in it.
I am glad it doesn't say, Evil God.
(I will do my best, Noah-sama.) (Makoto)
I hold the dagger in both hands and offer a prayer.
"Okay, let's do this." (Makoto)
Today will be the day my life in Makkaren starts!
Mary Gold (POV)
"Mary-san you are beautiful as always"
"Mary-san please marry me!!!"
"Mary-san Daisuki"
This is just a normal day for me in Makkaren.
As usual, I will reject them with a business smile.
I always think they are grateful because I help them in their newbie days.
but...
There is something unusual.... really unusual happened today.
A young man came to our adventurer guild today.
I thought he was lost, because looking at his appearance his body is frail and he certainly looking weak.
but.... I still do not judge him too much.
He certainly came here to become an adventurer.
And then I appraise him, is a special appraisal that the guild have.
It can only appraise the adventurer card, that you will get in the register reception.
It can only see the stats, job, name, and skill of the person.
His name is Takatsuki Makoto and...
Ehh? Is the appraisal broken?
I look at him, he just looks around the guild casually.
so I tried to appraise myself.
It's not broken.
Then why? his stat is so low?
And a apprentice mage?
Is he trying to kill himself?
Well... we are being taught that we must not interfere of the life of adventurers.
"Uhm, with the level and adventurer rank of Takatsuki-san, it would be around here."
For now, I recommend him an easy quest.
Hunt horn rabbits in the great forest (3).
A porter for a trip to the Fire Country by carriage (includes 2 meals and lodging).
A porter for a trip to the Sun Country by carriage (includes 3 meals and lodging).
Most of them are errands.
but....
"Are there no quests like monster subjugation?" (Makoto)
If it is other newbie I won't react too much but this guy his stat is low and apprentice mage?
He did not say it arrogantly but it sounds arrogant to me.
Do you really want to die that badly?
I predict what quest he will choose.
Still, I tried to guide him on a safe quest.
"You are acting solo, right? Lately, there have only been subjugation quests for parties."
"I see… Then, the horn rabbit hunt quest." (Makoto)
He didn't listen to me!
Huh... I gave up. I pray to the holy goddess Eir-sama to guide him
"Understood. By the way, you can kill or capture goblins and orcs. They are quests that are always active, so there will be a reward for it too."
Looking at him no change in reaction
I warned him.
"At your level, I think it would be difficult to kill them, so it would be better to run away."
"Thank you for the warning" he said.
"Are there any questions?"
"No, I am okay." (Makoto)
"I see, then, do your best. Next one please."
Looking at him strangely, he quietly leaves the guild to do the quest
Hah... I hope his not in danger
An hour has been passed...
Ohh... He came back earlier than I expected
He will quit being adventurer? that's possibly the case.
But.... the expectation I have is gone wrong.
He manages to do his quest and.....
He also manages to subjugate... A five goblins! Fiveeeee goblins!
"Huh? Nooooo Waaayyyy!!!"
It's really unbelievable.
He looked at me, amused by my expression.
So I composed my self and give his reward
I thought he was lying but the very next day
He subjugates 10 goblins.
It keeps increasing day by day
And after 2 weeks.
He wipes out the entire goblin's colony!
It's really a big news for the guild they investigate it if it's true and the results is....
It's really true.
Months passed...
The people in the guild name him a "Goblin Cleaner" for constantly killing goblins.
We become closer and I grow fond of him. His cute and not arrogant like many adventurers.
Makoto (POV)
Boss, a plate of skewers." (Makoto)
"On its way."
I sat on a bench in front of a food stall inside the guild, and gave my order to the stallkeeper.
"What will you be drinking?"
"Apple soda." (Makoto)
In this stall, ordering skewers and alcohol is the usual.
But I don't like alcoholic drinks.
I always go for soft drinks.
"Also, rice balls." (Makoto)
"Got it."
While waiting for the skewers to be ready, I munch on the salty taste of the rice balls.
It is a bit harder compared to the rice of Japan.
The scent of cooking meat was tickling my appetite.
There's a variety of other stalls in the guild, but this is my favorite one.
The taste is close to that of the yakitori in Japan.
I heard that this taste was spread a long time ago by otherwordlers.
Maybe they were japanese?
"Here you go, a plate of skewers, right on."
A plate of 5 skewers was placed in front of me.
The meat is from the Horn Rabbits you can get at the Great Forest.
My very first delivery quest was from this stall.
Since then, I have been a frequent customer.
I munch on the sweet and sour taste of the leg meat skewer.
The meat juice spreads inside my mouth
"It is delicious as always." (Makoto)
"Thanks. By the way, how was today's hunt?"
I am acquainted with the boss, so we could converse casually.
"22 goblins, and 5 horned rabbits. I told them to send the meat to your place." (Makoto)
"Thanks as always, Makoto. You can have your drink for free."
This is the usual exchange as well.
"But I am surprised that you can hunt goblins all the time without getting bored. What level are you now?"
"Around 14. I am going to go at it till 20." (Makoto)
"What a weird guy you are. A level 20 is considered a full-fledged adventurer already, you know? In my days…"
The boss here was apparently an adventurer in the past and was over level 40.
He was a warrior, but because of a wound on his leg, he retired.
He sometimes talks about stories of his adventurer times, so it helps as reference.
"Ooh, talking a storm here. Boss, ale and skewers please."
"Got it. Lucas, you were back, huh."
A large sized warrior old man sat at my side.
"I went to the Fire Country to defeat a Sand Dragon. We were prohibited from drinking any alcohol. The reward was good, but it was rough. Ooh, Makoto, long time no see." (Lucas)
"It's only been 5 days. Good work out there." (Makoto)
"Alright, cheers. Puhaaa~, delicious!" (Lucas)
Lucas-san is a veteran adventurer in Makkaren, and he is Gold Rank.
It seems he is an old friend of the boss.
And he is also an instructor for newbies in a sense.
He taught me a lot of things at the beginning.
"Makoto, how about challenging a dungeon soon. You are close to level 15, right?" (Lucas)
"When I get to 20, I am thinking about challenging the dungeon for newbies that's close by." (Makoto)
"The recommended level there is 10-12 though…" (Lucas)
"I am weak after all. I will go at it carefully." (Makoto)
I didn't say anything weird, and yet, Boss and Lucas were looking at each other.
"What's with this rookie?"
"There's nothing to caution him about as a veteran."
Ain't it fine to be careful?
"Ooh, you are already gulping it down here, people."
A blonde and beautiful lady inserted herself in between Lucas-san and I.
"Mary-san, thanks for the hard work. Are you done for today?" (Makoto)
"What's with you, Mary, don't get in between us." (Lucas)
Mary-san is the receptionist of the Adventurer Guild.
Since the time of my first quest, I have met her a lot.
She likes to look after the newbies.
Also, she is a hopeless alcoholic, and when she finishes work, she would always come here to have a drink.
Thanks to that, getting involved with her has become a daily occurrence.
I am just having dinner without any alcohol involved though.
"One ale for me. Also, roast me some vegetables there!" (Mary)
"Got it."
"Well then, cheers~. Haah. The first drink after work is really the best." (Mary)
"Ooh, Mary, how about instead of drinking in this dirty stall, you get a man, and go to a stylish bar?" (Lucas)
"Huh? Lucas-san, you know how exhausting it is to work as a receptionist of the Adventurer Guild, right?! I don't have the time to get a man. Old man, another one." (Mary)
"Mary-san, you are drinking too fast." (Makoto)
She is a beauty when she stays silent though…
Mary-san is one heavy-drinker that doesn't lose to adventurers.
"Aah, Makoto-kun! Drinking juice again. You got a decent pay today, so you gotta drink a whole lot, you know." (Mary)
"Oi oi, what is a guild staff saying?"
The Boss is amazed by her.
"I do drink every now and then, you know." (Makoto)
You can drink alcohol when you are over 13 years old in this country.
So there's no issue in me drinking, but I don't like alcohol to begin with.
The ale I drank in my first time was simply bitter, and the one on the rocks I ordered, I spat it out the moment it entered my mouth.
The only thing I can drink are things like cocktails made from apple soda.
And I get immediately drunk even with that, so I keep it to only 1.
There's no really need to push myself to drink.
"Why only every now and then?" (Mary)
"Like a reward after working hard? Also, drinking alcohol moderately helps me relieve a bit of stress." (Makoto)
Not like I have accumulated stress though.
Raising my level as I go has been incredibly fun.
"Oi, Mary, did you hear that?" (Lucas)
"My, you are really level-headed. Boss, another one~." (Mary)
"Here ya go. Mary, how about you learn from him a bit and don't drink every day? Not like I should be the one saying it."
"Why is it that this boy is so young, yet so mature. That's not cute~, take this and this." (Mary)
She head-locked me. Her big boobs pushed against my back.
This girl....
Mary-san is popular with the adventurers.
Because of that, I can feel the jealous stares of the adventurers gathering onto me.
"Tch." "That bastard." "Even though he is a weakling mage."
I heard those words of disdain.
Not that I care about them.
"Mary-san, you are way too drunk." (Makoto)
"I am not drunk at all just yet~. It begins from here on~." (Mary)
She is hugging me from the back now.
The jealous stare is getting sharper.
"Today it was 22 goblins? Well done, well done." (Mary)
She dishevels my hair while still hugging me.
When Mary-san gets drunk, her physical contact increases.
Because of that, it makes others misunderstand easily, and there have been many adventurers who have fallen for her.
A devilish woman.
But! I am the man that resisted the charm of a Goddess.
I won't being charmed over something like this.
*Boing*
Soft things were being pushed on my back.
soft…
While I'm in my heavenly moment, someone interrupts.
"Ha! Acting all big just from hunting goblins."
I look back and see a young man in warrior equipment.
A newcomer adventurer by the name of Jean, was it?
He apparently became an adventurer around half a year ago.
His current rank is bronze.
It is apparently quite the speed to be promoted in half a year.
But it seems like he doesn't like the fact that I have become Bronze Rank in the three months I came to the Adventurer Guild, and would bother me every now and then.
"Oi, Jean, get along with each other as newcomers." (Lucas)
"Lucas-san! Why haven't you been helping me with practice lately?!" (Jean)
"I look after Stone Ranks, but Bronze up are treated as being fully-fleshed already." (Lucas)
"Don't be like that, Jean-kun. Don't go scaring Makoto-kun just because he is docile." (Mary)
I'm not scared though.
I can win against him, even if he has a priest and mage
If we are in the sea or river
But if we are in the land, my chance of winning is zero.
"Isn't it okay? He is a mage apprentice. I don't think you need to bother. You are an Intermediate Swordsman, right?"
The one who spoke to Jean was the red-haired female mage.
She is wearing clothes with quite a high exposure.
"Right right, let's finish the subjugation quest already and aim for Iron Rank."
Is what the priest girl said.
The one here is a bit child-faced and more on the cute side.
"Oh, a subjugation quest?! Who are you going against?" (Lucas)
Lucas-san changes the topic.
"Ogre subjugation! Travellers have spotted it recently it seems." (Jean)
"Hoh! A Bronze Rank party against an ogre, huh. It is like a promotion ceremony. Do your best!" (Lucas)
"Yes! I will show you we can! Oi, Makoto! I will be the first one to become an Iron Rank, you got it?!" (Jean)
He left after saying that.
The priest girl lowered her head apologetically.
The priest girl is a good girl.
The mage girl seems to not have any interest here.
"No need to mind it." (Mary)
Mary-san consoles me.
No, I really am not minding it, you know.
"I will go at my own pace." (Makoto)
I will be defeating goblins tomorrow as usual.
"Just for your information, defeating 22 goblins alone in one day cannot be called 'my own pace'." (Lucas)
Lucas-san retorted.
Even if you tell me that, I have secured a safe hunting pattern.
In RPGs, I am the type that raises their level as much as possible before defeating the boss.
I will be doing it in this way for a while.