Level Eater

Having been spoiled by Tatsurou during the way home, Ai’s mood was back to the skies once they reached the town.

Calling the eye-catching Cardina back, the two walked towards the guild with their hands intertwined. Inside, they immediately found the person they were looking for.

“Good morning, Rella-san.”

“Good morning!”

“Good morning, you two. Will it be the usual?”

As she was still in the dark about their conversation with Carné, Rella probably thought that they were here to withdraw part of their holdings.

For now, they decided to deal with their current request.

“Yes. And we’ll turn in yesterday’s request as well. After that, can we talk about the request you told us before?”

“Ah, that. I understand. Could you come with me to the private room then?”

After a short walk, they entered one of the private rooms within the guild. 

There, Rella gave one of the two coins she had to Tatsurou.

“So… First, this is the reward for yesterday’s commission.”

“Thank you.”

Next, manifesting the system’s promissory note out, Rella inserted the other coin in and designated it as payment.

Once she was done, Tatsurou opened his menu and checked his account.

On the screen titled ‘Promissory Note,’ a message with the subject ‘Payment’ was attached. 

After checking the value (445, 697, 052 Sys) carefully, Tatsurou confirmed the transaction and the coin disappeared along with the entire tab. 

“With this, the guild has paid all of its due,” said Rella.

“We have received the payment,” replied Tatsurou.

Looking at his screen, Tatsurou saw the digits 446, 303, 952 Sys in the Currency bracket. When he informed Ai about it, she shot him a wide smile while giving him a big thumbs up. 

After watching their little interaction, Rella clapped once to return their focus to the main topic.

“You told me that you wanted to talk about the other request but would it be fine if I assume that the two of you are willing to accept it?” she asked.

“Yes. We spoke with an adventurer named Carné and after some thought, decided to accept the request,” answered Tatsurou.

“I see.”

Rella was much more delighted than they thought. It was understandable though, as there was a severe lack of manpower before they decided to join. “Will it be alright if I hand you the request form right now?”

““Yes.””

“Then, please wait for a moment.”

The instant she saw them nod their heads, Rella fired up her own system and began to process the request.

Taking a clear, transparent screen-like object out from her breast pocket, she fiddled with its display and created two request forms which she handed over to the two of them.

Job Information

Client: Lord Lladus, Obsul Town Chief, Adventurer’s Guild

Job Description: Investigate and exterminate the monsters from the forests surrounding Obsul to the outer edge of Amunelli.

Reward: 2,000,000 Sys

Accept | Decline

“If this request pays two million, then shouldn’t there be more people gunning for it?” asked Ai while accepting the request.

“It’s not that. As the guild is still unsure of how dangerous this task is, we did not publicly announce it and instead only asked the people we deem suitable,” replied Rella. “And it only rewards one million per person, so the two million is because there are two of you.”

“Oh… Doesn’t matter. Since we took it, we’ll naturally do our best! Right, Tatsurou!”

“Of course. After all, if we do it properly, Zendo-san wouldn’t have to worry about monsters too.”

Pressing the accept button, the pair officially accepted the request.

Rella then briefly explained to them the details and reminded them of the date.  

“That’s about it for the details. Do you have any other questions?” she asked.

“No further questions.” “Nope.”

“I see. Then I hope to see you on site!” she told them. “You two are rookies with a bright future ahead of you. The Adventurer’s Guild – Obsul Branch will support you to the best of our abilities so please do your best without any worries.”

“Of… huh?” “What?”

The two tilted their heads upon hearing ‘support you to the best of our abilities’ but apart from that, they told Rella that she could leave everything to them in full confidence before saying their goodbyes.

“What do you think they’ll support us with?” asked Ai.

“Who knows? Maybe they’ll give us supplies and the like.”

“I don’t… think that’s what she meant but… oh well.”

“Yeah. We’ll know when it happens.”

She said it was support, so it probably wouldn’t be anything bad. Thinking so, they both dropped the subject.

Having cleared their first task, their next destination was the old man’s smithy.

Honestly, if we give him the money now, wouldn’t he just ruin his own life? Such thoughts ran through their mind as they approached the smithy. 

Still, in order for them to be stronger, getting their hands on quality equipment is vital.

He’s a functioning adult, after all. Having two kids he just met worry about him is just strange. 

Convincing themselves with that, the pair entered the smithy. 

“Old man, we’re he—”

“Welcome, you two!!” Before Tatsurou could even finish his sentence, the blacksmith greeted them.

The blacksmith that entered their view had his hair neatly arranged without a single trace of his beard and moustache. He exuded the impression of an elite, with his clothes suggesting some kind of not-so-pleasant hobbies.

The two felt chills up their spines.

In the past few days, they had met various different monsters that elicited undesirable feelings and yet, even compared to those, the one before them evoked pure dread.

“Bruh, what’s with that?” Tatsurou asked.

“What do you mean ‘what?’ Isn’t it obvious?” the smith replied. “Today is the day I shall be reborn! And so, I changed my clothing to match the occasion!”

“Man, I’ll say it straight. You look bad in that getup,” said Ai.

“Naturally! I haven’t been reborn yet.”

Though the smith said that, deep inside, he was on top of the world, high enough to even see his clothes winking at him.

The two were rendered speechless. 

“Hey, hey! I know you guys are surprised at my sudden glow-up, but I hope we get to it as soon as we can.”

“AHH, fine, have it your way,” said Tatsurou.

“It’s better to let him… So, where are the things we o—“

“I have them prepared right here!”

The sky-high old man was significantly different from his usual self.

Normally, he would have just told his customers to ‘go get it yourself!’ but yet, today, he had everything prepared in a corner of his shop, even going as far as to polish the weapons.

“They look better than yesterday!” exclaimed Ai.

“She’s right. It might be rude for me to say this, but they looked quite dirty yesterday…” muttered Tatsurou.

“Well, that much service, I can give,” said the blacksmith.

While the two thought that it wasn’t something that the smith would usually say, at the end of the day, he was still a craftsman— and the work he had done in maintenance speaks highly of that. 

Even if he was fueled by greed… no, he was really fueled by greed, the fact that he had the skill still remains. 

If only he always had this attitude, then his shop would have a different future…  

As they both thought that, Ai took a look at the weapons to ensure that everything was there before they paid.

The old man was uneasy watching Ai check the weapons that he kept his eyes constantly on Tatsurou without blinking.

After Ai was done, the pair took a step back, to which the smith took a step forward, maintaining the distance between them.  

“I know, I know. We’ll pay for it, so turn back to normal for a bit,” said Tatsurou.

“I’m CoMpLEtEly fINe, yUo KnOw?” the smith replied.

“I don’t see it…” said Ai after hearing the smith’s tone change from nervous to a child’s speech.

While Ai accidently let her thoughts slip, Tatsurou exchanged a portion of their payment into a coin with the value of exactly 133,000,000 Sys.

“Care to check?” he said, handing the coin over.

The smith swallowed his saliva and replied, “O,of course,” before taking the coin with his trembling hands.

Booting his system up, the smith counted the money, pointing each digit with his finger to make sure that he didn’t miss a single one.

“One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand… hundred mil…”

“So, is that enough?” asked Tatsurou.

“Yeah… no problem…”

“Then, we’ll take them now, okay?” asked Ai.

“Yeah… no problem…”

Seeing him fall into a timeless trance, answering both questions with the same reply, the two thought that he was already done for and gave up on talking to him, taking the weapons into their item box. 

Though they wanted to bid the smith farewell, they left quietly when they heard the same ‘no problem…’ reply.

As soon as they closed the door on their way out, they heard the blacksmith’s jubilant screams. The other pedestrians immediately took notice and looked their way but the two took a stance of ‘we don’t know him’ and hurriedly left the place.

“He’s a lost cause, isn’t he?” said Ai.

“Yeah. I kinda don’t want to see him again, but we still have that thing with the pelt…”

“Yeah, I feel you…”

Still anxious about the blacksmith, the two began walking towards the high-class inn.

Once they arrived, the two entered the building and received a key with the number ‘2’ on it before heading back to the gate.  

“Do you have your key with you?”

“Yes.” “It’s this one, right?”

“Yes, ma’am. Key number two is for the red residence in the middle. Then, please enjoy your stay.”

Upon being shown the key, the gatekeeper gave them a respectful bow and opened the gates for them.

After thanking him, the two entered the now unlocked residence.

““Wow.””

Amazed by the extravagant interior, the two quickly closed their mouths upon seeing three other people— a man wearing a butler’s outfit and two women wearing maid outfits – all with their heads lowered.

And as if the butler had eyes on the back of his head, he raised his face at the perfect timing and said, “We have been waiting for you, Hasami-sama, Yashiki-sama. My name is Joey Hackman, and they are—”

“Janice Reynolds at your service.”

“Doris Rouxam at your service.”

“We will be serving you during your stay at the inn. Please give us the order when you need us.”

““Y,yes.””

To the two who were of common birth, it was the only word they could say when they experienced such a refined display of manners and speech directed towards them for the first time.  

[TL Comment] So worrying about Zendo isn’t weird though they pretty much just met him too? [End]

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