Next regular day off. I decided to get Garnett to help me get ready and try out a repeating crossbow.

　I pile up some crates in an empty lot next to the White Wolf Store and draw simple marks on the surface of them as targets.

　I position myself with my back to the road and shoot the arrows towards the forest so that the stray arrow doesn't hit anyone.

'Okay, let's start with a normal shot.

　Hold the crossbow and shoot at the wooden box.
　Then the magical mechanism inside the body works and the string is automatically squeezed, and the cartridge attached to the top of the body is loaded.

Wow! It works much better than I expected.

　I was impressed with the build quality and thought about how to try it next.

　Normally, the cartridge for arrows has six rounds of ammunition. If you load one bolt first, and then install the cartridge, the number of rounds that can be fired in rapid succession is seven for convenience.
　I just fired one round, so there are only six rounds left.

"Garnett, I'm sorry, but I need your help.
Oh, come on. What do you want me to do?

　The next test shot was a continuous shooting test.
　The rule is to number the wooden boxes stacked in triplicate from left to right, have Garnett read the numbers from one to three in the appropriate order six times, and shoot them in that order.

　This is not only a performance test of the repeating crossbow, but also a test of my skills in handling it.

Well, let's go, shall we?　...... three!　One!　Three!　Two!　One!　Two!

　I switch targets and squeeze the trigger as Garnett reads.

　One shot, two shots, three shots. And right after the fourth shot was fired, a disgusting sound was heard inside the body of the crossbow with a crunch.

"......?!

　I reflexively activated [Analysis] and scanned the internal structure of the body.

　Apparently, the part of the mechanism that pulls the string to the prescribed position has come off and got caught in another part.

　So Alexia gives up on completing the project in a straightforward manner.
　It may have been bad luck, but I didn't expect her to experience the first failure before she used up the first cartridge.

　I immediately used [Repair] to restore the internal structure and quickly put my finger on the trigger.

　The elaboration was restored as expected, and the fifth and sixth arrow bullets (bolts) pierced the wooden box without any discomfort.

'What do you think, Garnett?'
They were all in the right order, but they only hit the target twice. Two in the crate, two in the box, and the other two back in the forest.
'This is what it's like when you don't even practice. At any rate, just knowing that we can handle it with [repair] is a boon.

　We thought about trying spell-loaded bullets as well, but as expected, we couldn't use a substitute that scattered flames and explosions near a forest or wooden house.

　Thinking that the other accelerator would probably work, we were about to go for the cartridge we had left near the wall of the house when two guys who looked familiar came to talk to us.

'Yoo-hoo, Garnett,'
Ezell. You said you were coming over here.

　Ezell the Brave. She seems to be the daughter of some nobleman or something, a girl who Garnett has known since she was a child and knows Garnett's true gender.

　And the tall boy behind Ezell is, I believe, Ezell's younger brother, Edward. I remember Ezell calling me Eddie as a nickname.

　When we first met in the White Wolf Forest, Edward himself called himself 'Companion' instead of his brother for some reason, but I honestly don't know much about the circumstances around that.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this in the future.

'I really wanted to get here earlier, but there was a lot going on along the way.
It's because they are contracted to take down lost goblins that have wandered out of the dungeon. They're not much of a threat to you as a boar or so, and you could have left them to their own adventurers.
You can't just leave them at .......
'It's because you think like that that that your father will tell you in person, 'You're not cut out to be an adventurer.'

　The brave Ezell was lectured nonchalantly by Eddie, who had a dumbfounded attitude, and Ezell, the brave man, gulped and shushed him to silence.

　It's almost impossible to tell who is older and braver.

I'm sorry, white wolf. These guys are usually like this all the time.
You apologize?　But, well, ...... I don't know that I'm not a good adventurer.

　Honestly, Ezell's father and the others have a completely valid point.

　In order not to interrupt their exchange, he keeps talking to Garnett with a low volume of voice.

I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that the adventurer is in the profession of earning money from others in need. For example, if there is a villager in trouble with deviant goblins, a person who defeats them for free is not an adventurer's dream.
'Ah ......, if you ask me, that's certainly true.'
'Don't hesitate to refer me to the nearest guild house, or if you don't mind a direct request that doesn't go through a guild, 'How much can you pay?' Anyone who can ask, "...... who can make money as an adventurer is usually one of these guys.

　Although it is obvious, adventurer's business is not a charity, but a business.

''Well, it's still fine if it's just an occasional free work for your personal obsession, like a food shop that feeds a guy who's about to starve to death for free. If it's going to be a regular thing, then hey, .......

　As with any industry, those who repeatedly offer freebies and discounted services are, in the eyes of their peers, nothing short of vicious price destruction.

　--The fact is, one of the reasons for the existence of adventurers' guilds is to prevent this from happening.

　Not just in the adventurer's industry, but all professional guilds that existed in the past were expected to "keep goods and labor from being sold cheaply, so that the industry as a whole could earn a stable profit.

　That policy has not changed today.
　By making it clear that they will not support or compensate non-guild work in any way, they have discouraged direct requests for unfair prices, including free work, while charging a fair price for requests made through the guild.

'Of course, the exception to this is those who don't take requests and just search. As for the guys in Green Hollow, Theodore is a prime example of that.
Okay, this is all very interesting, but it sounds like it's coming from over there.
......

　Eddie cowered his shoulders as if to say, "See that?
　Ezell just puffs out his cheeks, unable to say a word of denial while looking blatantly dissatisfied.

　I thought I was letting only Garnett listen to me, but apparently I was the only one who thought he or she didn't hear me.

'Well, well, on the contrary, it's probably the best way to play the brave. I've heard that you help people with your own judgement, and that is reflected in the reward money when you are evaluated by the royal court.

　I can't help but add an excuse-like supplement to it, even though nothing has been said.

　When you're a brave man, a nobleman's daughter, and Garnett's childhood friend, it's not a wise choice to be disliked for something so trivial.

　Especially - the last one was very important.