Chapter 17
The house was already furnished with furniture and bedding, so once we brought in our luggage, that was it.
Even the cleaning had been done, so there was really nothing left to do.
The hardest part, if anything, was that I couldn't fall asleep easily at night because I kept remembering the feel of Erika's hand.
We had assigned the rooms randomly, but for some reason, the letter from the Prime Minister was placed on my bed, and that was a little unsettling.
*
The next morning at dawn, Erika and I saw Merceja off as he returned to Faltarl.
"We'll be looking into the attackers on our end too, but you folks should be extra careful."
Merceja looked like he had something to say to Erika for a moment,
but he just shook his head.
"Well, I think you'll be fine as long as you don't let your guard down."
I see—so that's what he wanted to say.
"Well then, Merceja, thanks for everything. Actually, I think we'll be relying on you a lot more from now on. I wish you a safe journey."
"Please give my regards to Father, and tell him I'm doing well."
Judging by that letter, the Prime Minister probably wouldn't be reassured just by words.
"Aye, you stay well too, milady."
Merceja said that and bowed his head.
"Alright, let's get going then."
I said after watching the departing carriage disappear from view.
"Indeed."
Erika agreed without even asking, "To where?"
We had already talked about it yesterday, but today we were planning to complete our adventurer registration.
Becoming an adventurer is one of the easiest jobs to get in this world.
All you have to do is register at the Adventurer's Guild.
Some countries apparently have tests, but neither Faltarl nor Orclah requires them.
It's basically a system where you become one on your own, grow on your own, and if you're unfit, die on your own.
It's not that the Adventurer's Guild is being negligent.
That's just how the agreement with the country is set up.
The Adventurer's Guild is prohibited by national agreement from training its members in combat techniques, including magic.
At best, they can provide knowledge through books and such.
So it's normal for new adventurers to find a mentor.
That's how they learn to handle weapons and fight monsters.
It's a complete contrast to the academy, where they teach you magic and weapon handling step by step.
Personally, I preferred the adventurer method, but I guess it depends on the person.
The academy even taught how to fight humans, not just monsters.
The Adventurer's Guild is located on the main street of the town, closest to the barrier.
Since one of their main businesses is buying monster materials and the magic stones harvested from them, they also need warehouses, so they require a certain amount of space.
It's a familiar spot in most towns.
This sight is familiar too.
As I walked through the bustling area around the Adventurer's Guild early in the morning, I was reminded of the one in Faltarl.
The eateries and food stalls for early-rising adventurers were packed with them.
Faltarl didn't have this many people, but the atmosphere was similar.
I enjoyed the nostalgic atmosphere, while Erika seemed fascinated by the unfamiliar sights, curiously watching the stalls and passing adventurers.
That nostalgic feeling lasted only until we entered the Adventurer's Guild.
The moment we stepped inside, I noticed something was off.
I felt multiple gazes on us.
Or rather, there were so many threads of magical energy pointed at us, it felt stupid to even count them.
I get why they'd look at Erika—she's beautiful. If no one looked, I'd think everyone around had holes for eyes.
But why were they all staring at me too?
It felt like we were being evaluated.
At the Adventurer's Guild in Faltarl, this never happened no matter who walked in.
Even when I walked in looking every bit the noble, I got some attention, but they lost interest almost immediately.
I guess things really do change depending on the place.
I deliberately ignored the stares, and Erika, probably aware of them, didn't show any sign of caring as we made our way through the crowded guild.
Our destination was the reception counter.
The guild also handles compiling requests from people looking for specific materials.
Accepting and checking requests is done at the reception counter, and most guilds also handle registration there.
We stood in front of one of the counters that happened to be free.
There was a petite woman at the counter, but for some reason, she was clearly afraid—of us.
Even if someone told you to fight monsters without a weapon, you wouldn't make such a hopeless face.
I couldn't help but exchange glances with Erika.
We both had the same "you got any idea?" look, so I really had no clue.
I was about to tilt my head, but we couldn't just stand there in silence, so I spoke to the guild staff.
"We'd like to register with the guild—can we do that at this counter?"
The response was silence.
I ended up unintentionally locking eyes with the female guild staffer.
"Um..."
I couldn't take the ten seconds of silence anymore.
"Y-Yes!"
The reply came back in a cracked, loud voice.
The scattered glances that had been peeking at us now focused on us in full force again.
Hmm... could it be that I actually did something wrong?
The guild staffer's reaction was so unexpected, I started to lose confidence in my past actions.