Julia asked me to take on the role of examiner.

　Apparently, the only people who can go on adventurer registration missions are me as an examiner and the beast-eared girl who called herself Mei Fan. Meir, who is neither an examiner nor a registrar, will be away from home.

''Eee!　Only that girl is sneaky, zulu!

　And Myl was spoiled, but if that's the kind of system you want to use, there's no point in complaining about it.

　Leaving a puffy Meil behind, Meifang and I decided to head to Zephyrus Forest.

''Gerald, you're thirteen years old and you're already an intermediate adventurer?''

　Mei Fan asked me on the way.

''That's right. I only became an adventurer about two weeks ago and only recently moved up to intermediate level.''

''Intermediate adventurer in just two weeks...?　You mean, that's... well, at the age of thirteen, in two weeks, is that really true?

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

　I show Mei Fan my adventurer's registration card. It has the date of issuance and the rank on it, so you can see that my words are true.

　When Mei Fan saw the registration card, she rolled her eyes in surprise.

''That's.......amazing. Geniuses really exist........ordinary people like me can't do this.......''

　She smiled somewhat sneeringly, her silver-furred ears slightly down.

''No, well, I'm just lucky, that's all. I can use magic, and there's no point in comparing us.''

Magic..... you're only a year older than me and you can already use magic...

　In Mei Fan's eyes as she looks at me, I see a kind of fading for a moment.

　But it was quickly drowned out by a mended smile. If I hadn't been paying attention, I might have thought it was just a misunderstanding.

　It bothered me a little, but I didn't say anything about it, and I said something else.

'You're a year older than me, so you're fourteen?'

Yes, that's right. Ah, but the counting of ages between beastmen and humans is different, and since beastmen are assumed to be one year old when they are born, I would be calculated to be thirteen years old if I were human.

So you're the same age as me. So it's okay if we keep talking like this?

'Yes, of course!'

　Mei Fan's mouth and eyes formed a smile at the same time.

　I smiled lightly and returned the words with a light smile as well.

''Yeah. Speak normally over there too.''

Oh, I have this way of talking... well, do you mind if I do?

No. If that's normal, just keep it that way. You don't have to force yourself to speak in a broken way.

　Mei Fan breathed a sigh of relief as she returned the favor.

　Then he straightened up his residence and bowed politely to me.


Once again, thank you for your time today, Mr. Gerald.

Yeah. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mei Fan.

　--

　Adventurers often receive requests to gather materials, defeat demons, investigate sealed dungeons, and so on.

　The purpose of the adventurer registration mission is to determine whether or not the adventurer has such abilities.

　For this reason, the mission is to collect the specified materials and defeat the lowest level demons.

''With this, we have all the roots of Lucoris.

　I nodded as I inspected the contents of the bag Mei Fan had brought with her.

''Yeah. It's all in there.

　Inside the bag were the roots of a grass called Lucoris. There were ten blood-red roots in total, the specified number of roots.

　The soil had been properly removed and was clean.

　I nodded at one point and called out to Mei Fan.

I nodded to Mei Fan and said, "I guess this completes our mission.

Oh, really?

Yeah. So, let's go to the next one.

Yes!

Now, excuse me.

　I grip Rayfan's wrist.

''What?　Huh?

I'll tell you something. I'll show you something. "Transition.

　I utter the spell as I picture in my head where we're headed next.

　Then, in an instant, my vision switches and we're moving to another place.

'I, that was...'

It's my magic. I moved from area to area quickly by shifting through space. It's a lot less time wasted this way.

Ha, ha...

　With a surprised look, Mei Fan was dumbfounded for a while.

''Well. Well then, the gathering mission is over, so now it's time for the mission to defeat the demons.''

　This area would test how well Mei Fan could fight the demons. No matter how much material he was able to collect, fighting is still the main purpose of an adventurer.

''The area from here on out is often infested with caterpillars. Although they are the lowest grade of demon, they think they are prey when you get close enough to them to attack you, and the spikes that cover their entire body will go numb in those areas if you touch them, so be careful.

Yes!

　Mei Fan drew her sword with a nervous look on her face and awkwardly held it at the ready.

　Incidentally, her equipment was still the leather armor and slender long sword provided by the guild. Perhaps unaccustomed to handling the sword, the way she held it was stiff.

　Her armpits are too tightly fastened, and she holds it with her elbows bent and hugged to her chest. The left leg is also held forward, but it is more common to hold the right leg in front of you.

　Just by looking at that stance, I was feeling very uneasy about the future.

''........Mei Fan. The grip of the sword is like this. Your feet should also be like this, and your body should be like a half body. Also, your elbows shouldn't be so bent.

What?　Ha, ha, ha, ha.

　After lightly showing a sample and warning him, Mei Fan hurriedly fixed his stance.

　It was still awkward even after fixing it, but it was still much better than before. Nodding, I led her towards the direction of the caterpillar.

　I already know the locations of the demons in this area by sensing their magical power. The closest caterpillar was on the other side of the bushes, not ten paces away from the spot.

　It was a giant brown-purple caterpillar with sharp skin covering its stubby, oval-shaped body from the side. It was distinctly creepy looking.

　Pointing at it, I say to Mei Fan, "That's a caterpillar.

''That's the caterpillar. Are you ready for it?

Yes, sir.

　He shook his head firmly, despite his nervousness.

　I watch Mei Fan for a while as she nods back. Mei Fan stretches her head out from the bushes and looks at the caterpillar. However, although he is shaking his head, his resolve is not quite as firm as it should be. He can't seem to take his foot off the gas.

　But I don't say anything. I'm not going to give you a push on your back. It's also important to be able to make up your own mind to 'kill' a demon. And you must also get the courage to expose yourself to danger without having someone push you back.

　Mei Fan regripped the hilt of his sword a few times and changed his feet on the spot, trying to prepare his mind. His silver-furred ears twitched and his tail swayed restlessly from side to side.

　Eventually, there was a moment when he felt that he had come. It was the moment when he released one hand from the hilt of his sword and Mei Fan gently suppressed his own chest. When he 'looked' with magic power in his eyes, he could see from the movement of the magic power that she was going to fly out of the bushes and towards the caterpillar in the next moment.

　And that's exactly what happened. Mei Fan gingerly exerted himself on his lower legs and quickly jumped out of the bushes. When the caterpillar noticed this, it flipped its body and turned around to face Mei Fan.

　Mei Fan used his momentum to slash at the caterpillar. But the timing is too close. He slashed at it almost as if he were striking it around the root of the sword.

　The caterpillar did not fall. As it should have been, it was more like a punch than a slash. It was visible from us that it was not the sword's blade, but the area around the sword's brim that had been hit.

　Instead of falling, the caterpillar was blown away. With the momentum of the rush, it flew through the air as if it had been repelled. The caterpillar that had fallen with a strange sound with a squishy sound fled away in a panic.

　Mei Fan didn't chase after it. I can't chase it. If one looked, she dropped her sword and fell to her knees with a pained face.

''Hey, are you alright?!''

　When she rushed over to him, both of her hands were mottled and swollen from wrist to fingertips. Perhaps both hands had touched the hairy worm's needle earlier. She couldn't even hold the sword with this.

''Cleanse the poison.''

　I quickly healed him with my magic, but Mei Fan bit down on her lower lip and didn't lose her stern face.

''What's the matter. Does it still hurt anywhere?

No....

　She slowly shook her head.

''Um, I........does that mean that I'm still a mission failure?''

Yeah. Well, yeah. Now I can't do a passing grade for a bit.

　When I told him that, Mei Fan looked up at me with sullen eyes.

　A desperate feeling swung behind her eyes.

''Please!　Please let me try again!　Let me still continue my mission!

　As she says it, she lowers her head to the ground. I could even hear a low voice that sounded like she was sobbing.

''...Do you want to be that much of an adventurer?　Honestly, it's a hard, hard job.

'But still!　Still, I have to be an adventurer to do something...!

　I sighed in resignation at that seriousness of Mei Fan's attitude.

''Okay, fine. Just finish it off well next time, okay?

Really?

　With a gasp, Mei Fan looked up. There were still traces of tears around her eyes and I casually looked away.

''Oh. And even if I say no, you're not going to pull out anyway until I say yes, right?

"Oh, uh, that's...

　Mei Fan's cheeks blushed with embarrassment. Apparently, it was a figurehead.

''........I knew it. Oh well.

Huh?　Concerned, sir?

No, don't worry about it, I'm talking to you. Anyway, if we're going to go next time, let's get the hell out of here. I want to get this done while it's still daylight.

'Yes!　Please, Master!

No, I don't think I've ever taken an apprentice before.

　I smiled bitterly and started to walk away, and Mei Fan followed behind me. He was wagging his tail, just like a dog. He was an easy one to understand the joy and anger.