I arrived at the town of Togai just as the sun was setting.

'Alright, that should get me registered as an adventurer today somehow!

　As I entered the town, I walked around looking for the Adventurer's Guild building.
　I soon found the building I was looking for.

　The building has a sign with a wing symbol on it.
　It is a symbol of freedom, a winged sign that represents the belief of the first head of the Adventurer's Guild that adventurers are free.

''This is the Adventurer's Guild...''

　My heart is filled with emotion.
　This is where my adventurous life begins!

Don't!　I have to register as an adventurer before the guild closes!

　You're not going to be able to do that.

　When I entered the guild building, it was crowded with people.
　Wow, are all these people adventurers?
　It's amazing, there are so many adventurers out there.
　I'm starting to feel a thrill.

　I shouldn't do this, I almost forgot the purpose again.
　When I found the receptionist, I hurriedly stood in line.

It's a hell of a line.

What, Bowles, is this the first time you've stood in line at this hour?

　Hearing me talking to myself, the adventurer in line in front of me turns around.
　His face is a bit scary, but he doesn't seem like a bad person.

''Yes, this is my first time here today.''

Oh, you're new. Your first job is well done and you don't have any baggage. Are you going to register as an adventurer now?

　Huh?　Is he doing something crazy?

'Yes, I left the village right after the coming of age ceremony.

Yeah, I see. So what time is it?

　Good, I don't think I've been doing anything crazy.

'Haha, sometimes there are people like you. A young guy who wants to be an adventurer and comes to visit you after the coming of age ceremony.

Could someone else be doing the same thing as me?

Yeah, there's a lot of them. Well, they want to take requests as soon as they sign up, so not many come at this hour. In the evenings, when they've finished their work, they come in to report a job well done.

　Oh, so that's why there are so many people in here.

Where do you come from?　If you arrived at this time after the coming-of-age ceremony, you must have come quite a long way, right?

Yes, I've just arrived from the village of Zenje.

'Zenjie?　That's a village I've never heard of. Where is it?

　Ah, my village is a remote village with no other villages nearby.

'Zenje's village is just over the mountains to the west of this town.

Mountains?　We've come a long way.

　I'm surprised. It's like what I did was completely out of line.
　I shouldn't have done that. I promised myself that I would be unassuming in my life.

"I grew up in the mountains, so I'm taking the shortcut.

Speaking of which, I hear hunters have access to secret mountain trails.

'Yes, it is!　They taught me that when I was allowed to help hunt to become an adventurer!

I see.

　Yeah, I'm not lying about being taught the way of the beast, so it's okay.
　Let's not tell anyone that we flew through the air.

"Oh, I think it's free before.

Oh. Okay, see you later.

Yes, sir.

　It was a good way to pass the time, thanks to talking to the adventurer.
　I'm glad the first adventurer I talked to was a kind person.
　Oh, I didn't get his name.
　I'll ask him to tell me next time I see him.

Next one, please.

　Oh, my turn.

"Welcome to the Guild of Adventurers. I'm Elma, receptionist. The Adventurer's Guild, at your service.

'Yes!　How do you know that?

Huh, because you were talking to Garland out loud. I heard you loudly.

'Whoa!'

　Sheesh, I didn't know we were having such a loud conversation.
　Ugh, I was too excited for my first adventurer I met.

I'm going to register then. Do you know how to read and write?　If you can't, I can write for you.

'It's fine. I can write it right.

　Because I was a wise man in a previous life, and I can read and write in several languages.

"Then please fill out this form.

Yes!

　I write down my name and age on the form offered to me.

'It's done!'

　Elma looked at the documents she received and nodded with satisfaction.

'I checked. Your handwriting is very clean.'

　I'm embarrassed to hear that your handwriting is beautiful.

I'm sure there are people who can write well, but there are also people who have very bad handwriting. The guild is also looking for people who can write beautiful handwriting.

　Uh, is that an invitation to join the staff of the Adventurer's Guild?
　No, no, no, I'm going to be an adventurer!

No, adventurers, please!

'Hmm, okay. But you'll have to think about it again when you retire.

　I see, an adventurer's guild is also a place to get a new job when you retire.
　It's true that being an adventurer is a tough job, and there's a chance you'll get seriously injured and have to retire.
　I don't think I will be able to retire easily because I can use my recovery magic.

''Then you'll have to take a practical test next.

A practical test?

　What the hell does a practical skill do?

We'll see if we can actually fight and make it as adventurers.

　And then I heard a voice behind me.
　I turned around and saw a bearded man, maybe in his thirties when he was older.
　His beard was neatly trimmed, though he had a beard, so he didn't look untidy.

　His outfit was a half-plate mail that covered his chest and shoulders with a half-plate mail, as well as his body with metal small hands and leg armor, while the rest of his body was covered with leather armor made of demon skin.
It's a good piece of equipment for ease of movement and defense.
　Huh?　Could the small hand be partly mithril?

　In addition, the sword on the hip is also a good piece of work, as the sword blade is hidden in the scabbard, but the sword's grip and the sword's peak and grip are solidly built, and you can tell at a glance that it's a good piece of work.

　The most important thing about this man's appearance was that he had the strongest posture of any adventurer in this building.

　This man is definitely strong.

Hey, Elma. Can you leave the examination of this bowling ball to me?

""What?"

　Not only Elma-san, but the adventurers around her also shouted in surprise.

''Mr. Aug, what are you saying!　You're an A-ranked adventurer!

　This guy is an A-ranked adventurer?　No wonder he's so strong.

He's a young boy with a lot of potential who came here at this hour to be an adventurer. As the leader, I'd love to mentor him.

　Then this man, called Aug, moves his face closer to Elma's and whispers something in her ear.
　It's a pity I can't read his lips because he's hiding his mouth with his hands.
　It's also rude to use sound collection magic in a place like this.

I understand. If that's the case, it can't be helped.

　It looks like the conversation has been decided.

''Lex-san, I'm sorry to be so abrupt, but your exam will not be administered by the guild's staff, but rather by this august man here.

I understand.

''You're a bit of a problematic person, but you're a real A-ranked adventurer, so it might be a better experience than fighting against a retired guild employee.

　I see, you learn a lot when you're dealing with an active adventurer!

It's nice to meet you, Mr. Aug!

Oh well, you're very energetic. Uncle, I like to be a spirited young man.

　And that's when it happened.
　A staff member rings the bell and shouts out.

''We're about to close the purchase of materials!　Hurry up if you haven't already!

　As soon as I heard those words, I remembered something important.

'No, I have to ask them to buy it.

Hmm?　What, you wanted to buy something from me?

''Yes, I was going to ask you to buy the materials for the demons I hunted on my way out to pay for today's lodging and food!　I'm broke,

Hahaha, I see. Okay, go ahead and ask them to buy it. They'll finish the evaluation while we do the test.

'Thank you!　I'm sorry, please buy it!

　I'm glad Mr. Aug is a kind man.

''Purchase. Then please place the material on the purchase table here.

Yes!

　I took out the green dragon's head from the magic bag and placed it on the purchase table.
　The buyback table creaks with a girly sound.

What?

　The staff member gets a scowl.

'The torso one is bigger, so I'll put it on the floor.

　I take out the Green Dragon's body from the magic bag and gently place it on the floor of the guild.

''Please buy this green dragon!

　I asked the staff member, and I reversed and went back to Mr. Aug.

'Here you go!　So good luck with your exam!

I'll be back in a minute.

　Huh?　What's the matter, Mr. Aug?

'Did you hunt that one?

'Yes!　I hunted it on my way to town!

Did you hunt with someone else?

'No!　I knocked him down by surprise from the blind spot!

How?

He cut his head in half with his sword!

Okay.

Yes!

It looks like a dragon, by the way. It's got wings.

'Yes!　It's a green dragon!

I knew it was a dragon. It's not a wyvern or anything, is it?

　That's a dragon. Because a wyvern has front legs and wings in one piece, and most importantly, it's definitely weaker than a green dragon, and it's not worth much money.

　What's going on?　Mr. Aug, you look like you're sweating something.
　It's getting dark outside, and I don't think it's that hot.

'Then let's take the exam...'

I've been accepted!

What?

　Mr. Aug suddenly said something strange.

'We're not fighting yet!

No, I'm fine!　This test is a test to see if you can fight demons and bandits properly!

　What does that mean?

'So I don't need to test you to see if you can defeat the demon on your own!　You passed!　Super pass!　Congratulations, rookie adventurer!　You're one of us from today!　So we don't have to fight!

　Mr. Aug, you seem strangely desperate, don't you think?　Is it my imagination?

'Well, Erma, I understand you've passed the test, is that correct?'

"...what?　Me? !

　No, since you're in charge of me, Elma is the only one who can do it.

''That's right. The examiner gave a pass, so I guess it's a pass, right?

Bye, then!

Yes, congratulations on your success, Mr. Lex.

'....Yay!

　I'm an adventurer at last!
　There were some things that didn't add up along the way, but it's okay because that's what Elma-san, the guild's employee, is like!
　Now I can go on living my life as an adventurer!

　Yay!　I'll do my best to live soberly!

　!

　Having successfully become an adventurer, I finished the rest of my adventurer registration before Green Dragon's purchase appraisal was completed.
Then my gaze is glued to a card presented in front of me.

''This will be the Adventurer Guild's registration card. Present this card at the counter when you receive a request, and present this card at the counter when you have completed your request. Adventurers start out with F rank, but their ranks go up as they gain achievements. The higher your rank, the more jobs you can get, so do your best.

'Yes!　I'll do my best to move up the ranks!

　I can't hold back the smirk on my face as I stare at the card I received up close.
　Wow, this is my adventurer card.

''Well, if it's Lex-san, you'll be able to increase your rank quickly without having to work hard, but...''

'What?　Did you say something?

'No, it's nothing. By the way, this is the dragon's appraisal...

Yes!

Even though it's not a very strong dragon, a dragon is a dragon.
I'd expect it to be a reasonable price.

　But for some reason, Elma-san looked at me with apologetic eyes and said.

''Actually, you see, this dragon, but it's difficult for us to buy it.

...What?

　What does that mean?

Or, rather, we can't buy him out!


EEEEEEEEE?

　Why?