Judging by how things went in fantasy novels, Hajime anticipated a few catcalls too, but contrary to expectations, most people remained silent. It was a bit anticlimactic, but Hajime was still glad no one decided to get in his way.
As he walked up to the counter, he found himself face to face with a charmingly smiling... middle-aged woman. A very well built one at that. Her torso was twice as wide as Yue’s. The stereotype that all guild receptionists were beautiful woman seemed to be a false one. Just like how in reality most of the maids were actually older women. No matter which world one was in, truth was harsher than fiction.
Not that Hajime had been hoping the receptionist would be a beauty. Nope, not one bit. That was why he was hoping Shea and Yue would stop glaring at him soon. It was starting to get uncomfortable. Whether she guessed what was going through Hajime’s head or not, the receptionist simply continued smiling at him.
“You’ve got two gorgeous girls with you already and you’re still not satisfied? Well, unfortunately for you, this receptionist’s no beauty.”
...Can this lady use mind-reading magic or something? Hajime’s expression stiffened and he tried to casually reply.
“Oh, I wasn’t thinking anything like that at all.”
“Ahaha, don’t underestimate a woman’s intuition, boy. We can read you men like an open book. Your two friends over there won’t like it if you keep looking to ogle every girl you meet, you know?”
“...I’ll keep that in mind.”
When she heard his despondent reply, though, she apologized immediately.
“Oh, look at what age does to you. I’m sorry for lecturing you when we’ve only just met.”
It was hard to hate someone like her. When Hajime glanced back at the other adventurers, he saw they were all giving him looks of pity, as if to say “poor kid, so she got you too, huh?” It appeared the reason the adventurers here were all so mature was because of her.
“Anyway, welcome to the Brooke branch of the adventurer’s guild. What business do you have with us?”
“Oh, yeah, right... I’m looking to sell some materials.”
“I see. May I ask to see your status plate?”
“Huh? I need to show you my status plate just to sell things?”
The old lady gave Hajime a puzzled look.
“Are you not an adventurer? You don’t need your status plate just to sell things, but if you’re a registered adventurer you get a 10% bonus to your sales.”
“I didn’t know that.”
According to the lady’s explanation, there were a lot of other benefits to being a registered adventurer. As they were the ones who went out to gather the mana crystals and medicinal plants most towns needed, they were treated well. Since the areas outside of cities were always crawling with monsters, regular people would have a hard time harvesting anything. It was only natural for those that took up the more dangerous jobs to have special privileges.
“A lot of inns and shops that do business with the guild will give adventurers 10-20% off for their services, and if your rank is high enough you can charter carriages for free. What do you think? Would you like to register with us? The registry fee is only a thousand Luta.” Luta was the standard currency used throughout the northern part of Tortus. By combining zagalta ore with various metals, one could create alloys of varying colors. Luta was made from those alloys, and marked with a special seal. The denominations came in blue, red, yellow, purple, green, white, black, silver, and gold. They were worth 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, 1000, 5000, and 10000 Luta respectively. Interestingly enough, it was the same values Japanese bills and coins came in.
“Hmm, I see. In that case, I guess I might as well register. Unfortunately, I don’t have any money on me right now. Could you just deduct it from the value of all the stuff I’m selling? I don’t mind taking the base rate for however much I need to register.”
“What are you doing, walking around penniless with two cute girls like that? I’ll give you the bonus for everything, so just make sure you treat them right, okay?” This old lady’s actually kind of cool. Hajime graciously accepted her offer, then handed over his status plate.
He’d remembered to properly conceal his stats, so only his name, age, gender, and job should’ve been listed. She asked if Yue and Shea wanted to register too, but they refused. They didn’t even have status plates, so they’d have to get some from the old lady. But then she’d see all of their ridiculous stats and skills before they had a chance to hide them.
Hajime was curious to see what their stats were like, but it would’ve caused a huge uproar. Dealing with that would’ve been a pain, so he decided to keep laying low instead.
When she returned his plate to him, there was something new written on it. Next to the job column was an occupation column, which currently read “Adventurer.” There was a little blue mark next to it.
That mark denoted his rank. As it rose it would change to red, then yellow, then purple, then green, then white, then black, then silver, and finally gold... Ah, I get it. The adventurer ranks were the same as the Luta coin colors. In other words, a blue rank adventurer was basically as worthless as a penny. How depressing. The first guild master who had designed this system must have had a pretty twisted personality.
Also, it seemed that anyone without a combat job couldn’t rise above black rank. Though it was just barely, even non-combat jobs could at least rise up to the four digits. Those who made it that far were even more admired than combat focused adventurers who made it to gold, so one could see just how much importance they placed on these colors.
“If you’re a man you better aim for black, you hear? You don’t want to look uncool in front of your lady friends, right?”
“Yeah, I’ll work hard. Alright, so I can sell my stuff now, right?”
“Feel free. I’m a qualified appraiser, so I can take care of it for you.” So not only was she a receptionist, but she was also an appraiser. What a talented woman.
Hajime had put some of the materials in his Treasure Trove into his bag beforehand, which he now pulled out. It was an odd assortment of monster pelts, claws, fangs, and mana crystals. He put them all in the little container on the counter designed for this purpose, and the old lady stared at them in awe.
“Th-These are—!” She timidly picked up each item, examining them thoroughly. After a nerve-wracking examination, the old lady sighed and looked up at Hajime.
“You’ve brought me some crazy things here, boy. These... are from monsters found in the sea of trees, right?”
“Yep, that’s right.” This too, deviated from Hajime’s expectations. Hajime had purposely avoided trying to sell anything he’d harvested in the abyss, since he’d assumed such monsters didn’t roam the surface. If he brought out those, there would’ve been a huge commotion. He had expected materials from monsters in the forest to still be somewhat rare, but he hadn’t had anything else on hand to sell. And based off the old lady’s reaction, they were indeed rare.
Of course, Hajime totally hadn’t been hoping the guild receptionist would have panicked at the sight of what he’d brought, call over the branch head, and instantly have him upgraded to the max rank for adventurers. Nor had he been hoping she’d instantly fall for him after seeing how amazing he was... Nope, not one bit. So could you two please stop looking at me like that? You’re starting to scare me.
“You just don’t learn, do you?” The old lady glared at Hajime.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” The abyss could shave away every other part of his personality, but the heart of an otaku was not so easily wiped away... Not that it was something to be proud of. Hajime averted his gaze and tried playing dumb.
“Most things from the sea of trees are pretty high quality, so I’d be happy to take these off your hands.” She continued nonchalantly. Looks like she knows how to take a hint too. What a nice old lady. Hajime doubted there was any old woman out there more amazing than her.
“So they are
rare?”
“Well you see, humans get lost easy in the sea of trees, and a lot of people who wander inside never come out again. That’s why most people avoid it like the plague. There’s a few with beastmen slaves who go in there hoping to strike it rich, but if they don’t treat them right it’s not hard for the slaves to lead their masters astray. And the few lucky enough to come back with anything usually go closer to the capital to sell the things they picked up. They’ll be able to get a higher price there, and their fame will rise quicker.”
The old lady glanced at Shea. She probably thinks we got her to guide us through. Thanks to Shea’s presence, it didn’t seem odd for Hajime to have materials from the sea of trees. Instead, she had a worried look on her face, and mumbled something like, “Doing something so dangerous even though you’re so young...” I wonder what she’d think... if I told her I went all the way to Verbergen, and transformed an entire tribe of rabbitmen into bloodthirsty monsters? Though considering how she’s been acting so far, she might not even be all that surprised. Hajime smiled wryly to himself.
After appraising all of the goods, the old woman offered a price of 487,000 Luta for the entire stash. Quite a large sum.
“Are you really alright with that? You could get more near the capital.”
“Nah, that’s fine. This is enough.”
Hajime gratefully received his 51 Luta coins. Perhaps it had something to do with the ore they were made of, but the coins were extremely light. They were also thin enough that even 51 of them could be carried around easily. Though even if they had been bulky, Hajime could have just stored them in his Treasure Trove.
“By the way, the gate guard mentioned something about you guys having maps of the town...”
“Oh, yes, we do. Excuse me for just a moment... Here, found it. The inns and shops I recommend are all marked on it.” The map she’d handed over was minutely detailed, and all of the most important information was easy to find. It resembled tourist pamphlets Hajime was used to. He couldn’t believe the guild gave away something this nice for free.
“Hey, is it really okay to just take this for free? This is a really good map. Hell, I’d totally be willing to pay for something like this...”
“I don’t mind. I just draw them for fun in my spare time. Actually, my job is Scribe, so something like this is easy for me.”
Is this lady Wonder Woman or something? What’s someone so skilled doing in a backwater town like this? Hajime was certain the story of how she ended up here would make for an interesting tale.
“You sure? Well, thanks then.”
“It’s fine. Anyway, since you’ve got a decent amount of money now, I’d recommend staying somewhere nice. This town’s pretty safe, but I’m sure there’s at least a few guys that’ll try and do something stupid since you have those two by your side.”
Helpful until the very end. Hajime smiled appreciatively, thanked her, and headed for the door. Yue and Shea bowed to her too before following after him. The adventurers were all whispering furiously to each other as they watched the girls leave the building.
“Heh, what an interesting bunch...” The old lady muttered to herself.
Hajime and the others looked over their map, which was more of a guidebook really, and decided to spend the night at the “Masaka Inn.” According to the blurb on the map, it had very good food, was in a safe neighborhood, and most importantly, it had a bath. That last one was what decided it for Hajime. It was a bit on the pricey side, but since they were rich, that wasn’t a problem. He was a little bothered by the name, but... The entire first floor of the inn was its restaurant, and when they arrived they found a few people eating dinner there. And just like with the adventurer’s guild, everyone’s attention was drawn to Yue and Shea. They ignored the stares and walked up to the counter, where a lively girl of maybe fifteen came out to greet them.
“Welcome to the Masaka Inn! Are you here for a room or for a meal?”
“I’d like to rent a room. We came here following this guidebook, is the price still the same as what’s on here?” Hajime showed her the map, and the girl nodded in understanding.
“Oh, you came here on Catherine’s recommendation. Yep, our prices are still the same. How many nights will you be staying?” She continued briskly. However, Hajime’s mind was elsewhere. It had come as quite a shock to him that the old lady’s name was Catherine.
“Umm, excuse me, sir?” The girl’s words brought Hajime back to his senses.
“O-Oh, sorry. Just one night. Also, we’d like dinner and a bath too.”
“Okay. It costs 100 Luta for every 15 minutes in the bath. Right now, we have these time slots free.” She held up a little board with time slots written on it. Hajime wanted to take his time in the bath, and they’d have to split up the guys and girls, so he’d need 2 hours at least. The girl cried out in surprise when he mentioned as much, but as a born-and-bred Japanese, Hajime would settle for no less.
“A-Also, umm, how many rooms would you like? We have both two-person and three-person rooms available, so...” There was a hint of curiosity in her eyes as she asked that. She was around that age where she was interested in things like romance. Though Hajime wished the other guests would stop trying to eavesdrop on the conversation too. He’d known Yue and Shea were both very good-looking, but this exceeded even his expectations. Considering how they’d met, it wasn’t that surprising that Hajime was a little ignorant of how others would see them.
“A three-person room should be fine.” There wasn’t even a hint of hesitation in his voice. The surroundings guests all stared in awe. The girl too, blushed slightly. However, there was someone who objected to Hajime’s choice.
“No. Two two-person rooms.” Yue. The other guests, especially the men, all grinned smugly. They were, of course, thinking Yue wanted to split the guys and girls. However, Yue’s next words shattered their hopes.
“...One for me and Hajime. You can have the other, Shea.”
“Hey, why!? I don’t want to be all on my own! Come on, let’s just all share a room!” Shea protested hotly.
“...Because you’ll get in the way.”
“Get in the way of what... Wait, what are you planning on doing in there?”
“...Isn’t it obvious? Sex.”
“Bwah!? H-How can you just say that with so many people around!? Don’t you have any class!?”
Yue’s words thrust all the men present into the depths of despair. Eyes burning with jealousy, they glared at Hajime. The innkeeper had gone red as a tomato as she glanced between Yue and Hajime. Hajime tried to step in before the two girls could embarrass him any further, but he was a hair too late.
“F-Fine, then you go in the other room, Yue-san! I’m the one who’ll share a room with Hajime-san!”
“...Oh, and why is that?” Yue’s gaze was as cold as a winter blizzard. That cold gaze brought back traumatic memories of her training, so Shea started trembling in fear, but she steeled her resolve and glared right back.
“S-So that I can give Hajime-san my virginity!”
Silence descended upon the room. No one said a word, or even made a sound. Everyone’s attention was firmly fixed on Hajime and the others. Even the girl’s parents had come out from inside the kitchen and were watching their exchange with a “must be nice to be young” kind of expression on their faces. At this point Yue could have frozen hell over with her glare alone.
“...Any last words?”
“Ugh. I-I won’t lose to you! Today’s the day I beat you and take over the role of main heroine!”
“Allow me to teach you that there is no disciple who’s stronger than their master.”
“Well, it’s time for this disciple to surpass her master!”
An intimidating aura began wrapping itself around Yue, and Shea drew the hammer strapped to her back with trembling fingers. Everyone gulped nervously, too scared to make a move. It was in this tense atmosphere that... Clang! Clang!
“Hii!?”
> “Hakyuu!?”
A metal fist came down on both of the girls. They both crouched on the ground, tears streaming from their eyes. The one who had struck them was Hajime.
“Sheesh, stop bothering the other guests. And more importantly, stop embarrassing me.”
“Uuu, your love hurts, Hajime...”
“Y-You could have held back at least a little... I was even using body strengthening and it still hurts...”
“That’s your own fault, moron.”
Hajime gave them both a stern glare before turning back to the girl at the counter. She straightened up with a start.
“Sorry for the commotion. A three-person room will be fine.”
“...I-If you’re getting a three-person room... d-does that mean you’re going to do them both at once? A-Amazing... Wait, is that why you wanted two hours in the bath? Are you going to be washing each other’s backs and stuff!? And then... do something a little more... How scandalous!”
The poor girl had lost it. Unable to keep watching any longer, her mom, who was presumably the owner, dragged her away from the counter. Her father took her place and finished completing the paperwork.
“Sorry about my daughter,” he said apologetically as he handed over the room key. But just like the other guys, his eyes were full of jealousy too. He’s definitely the kind of guy that’ll be all sarcastic and go “Well, did you enjoy yourself last night?” in the morning.
Anything Hajime said would just make the misunderstanding worse, so he just silently took his key, picked up Yue and Shea, put them on his shoulders, and escaped to his room on the third floor. It took a long time before noises could be heard from downstairs again. The whole ordeal had tired Hajime out, so he just tried not to think about it.
Finally, Hajime went into his room. Ignoring their protests, he threw Shea and Yue onto their respective beds before diving into his own and letting sleep overcome him.
A few hours later, Yue woke him up to tell him it was time for dinner. Refreshed, Hajime headed downstairs together with Shea and Yue. For whatever reason, all of the people that had been sitting when he’d come to check in were still there. Not a single one of them had left.
Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest Vol. 2 Page 16
