Passing through a hall with a guild counter, I was led to a private room by Louisa-san.

　The room used for interviews seems to be of different sizes depending on the size of the party, and it's a small room with only a square table and four chairs. We were told that we could sit down first, but after looking around the room, we found a stand with scales and other things on it, presumably for storing the harvest.

(I was pretty surprised, so it's bad to leave the redface out of the blue... but I put it in a bag without thinking about it, but I wonder how well it's stored.)

　I was starting to get a little worried, but I was told to carry it in this bag, so I had no specifications to think about now. After I broke it off and took a seat, Louisa-san knocked on the door and then came into the room with a tray of glasses.

'Here's your tea. Would you like a cup of herbal tea?
'Oh, I don't have a particular preference, so that's fine. Thank you.

　I'm probably my favorite drink of all, soda water. Unlike coffee, soda water doesn't seem to break your liver from drinking too much, even if you wake up after working late - and let's forget about the company's days as a company employee for a moment.

　The herbal tea had a clean aroma and was moderately cold. I was soberly impressed because I thought it would be only a lukewarm drink, given the degree of civilization.


Yes. There was a lot going on this time, and this is how it went.

　I'm looking forward to seeing how they react, and I'm also a little nervous. I suppose we all do that when we're evaluated.

　Louisa looks at the page of license I've presented and puts her hand over her mouth. She seems to have suppressed it as she almost shouted out.


Are you okay?
'I don't need to worry about you... and 280... how do you get a number like that... oh, you really do beat the bounty hunter. .........!

　She is no longer the officer in charge of the guild, but a plain girlfriend. Her cheeks flushed and she looked at me as if she were a star.

''Amazing ... too amazing, Atobe-sama. My highest contribution when I was active was 105, and it wasn't until a month after I became an explorer that my level rose to 2...?
'Oh, I see. I knew it was a good idea to beat Redface.
''I think so. The experience of the prize neck is far more than the basic species of the same family. By the way, it is said that you have to hunt 50 Watadama before you can move up from level 1 to 2.

　So Redface's experience level is roughly 50 times that of Watadama? Apparently he has the ability to destroy even a level 3 party, so it's a reasonable point.

''So.........Then.... Could you place the hunted red face or the evidence (Souvenir) on the stand over there?
''Yes. Well, I put it straight into a leather bag... is it okay if I take it out here?
''It's okay. I've been the officer in charge for five years now, so I've seen numerous demons, and... ah...!

　At will, I put my hand in the leather bag and place the redface on the stand. It doesn't feel very good, so I want to procure and equip my gloves if I get a prize.


I was completely misjudged........

　Louisa blushes and puts a hand to her cheek and swoons. I've never had a woman look at me like that before, and it almost reveals my lack of immunity.

'Well, um, it's just as it appears on the license. Me, the mercenary Theresia, and the guy named Kyouka who was brought in earlier, we defeated him.
''No I don't mean to sound a bit rude, but a level 3 rogue and a level 1 Valkyrie would not be able to contribute properly in a battle against Redface. I am convinced that it is all the power of Atobe-sama's, unknown profession. Amazing..... really amazing....
''Luisa-san, I'm a man too, so you'll get the wrong idea if you say something so great and amazing. You have to take better care of yourself...

　Maybe I should take this opportunity to sell myself. But sadly, it's the sad part of being a prospective wizard that I can't step in here.

''........Ah. Her contribution was 280, which is without question the top (top) position among those who were reincarnated at the same time this time. Congratulations.

　Top - it's a sweet sounding thing I don't remember hearing in a long time. I'm tempted to get carried away, but I have to weigh myself so I don't get stunned by the increase.

　Besides, I don't want the story to spread. I need to discuss that matter with them as well.

''Oh, thank you.......and Louisa-san, I have a favor to ask.
'Yes, sir?　Oh, shall we gather our classmates together to celebrate?
'I'll accept that sentiment gratefully. But I don't want everyone to know about it yet. Redface is a demon that wanted the rest of the party, but we who were there had no choice but to defeat him. But normally, this isn't an opponent we can beat on our level.

　Louisa understood what I was trying to say without even telling everyone. She stroked her green hair in a braid and listened to me with a mysterious face.

''Well........ As word of Atobe-sama's abilities spread, there will surely be people who will try to take advantage of it. As an officer in charge, that is not my intention. I would like you to be free to explore without unnecessary constraints.
'Thank you, Louisa. I appreciate you saying that.
It's our duty to respect the will of the defeated. Well, I won't tell you who defeated him, but I will announce on the board later that Redface has been defeated.

　I'm glad the Guild was flexible enough to help. Now my concerns are gone and I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

''Redface is a bounty hunter who has re-injured or injured a number of explorers in the past. It's one star, so the amount of money isn't a lot, but I'll give you twenty gold coins.
How much is twenty gold coins.......how much is that worth?
The value of each is ten times greater than the value of the copper, silver, and gold coins, in that order. Therefore, 20 gold coins are worth 2,000 copper coins. By the way, in the cafeteria in the eighth district, a lunch of three coppers is the only thing you can eat for lunch.

　I earned about two years' worth of lunch money in just about an hour. Even though he was a powerful enemy, is it okay to get this much? If the armor was expensive, though, maybe I wouldn't be able to afford that much if I had what I needed.

What form of payment would you like us to make? We can either pay by wire transfer to the bank or hand delivery.
Then can I have a copper for about a hundred pieces? I'll transfer the rest.
I'll make sure of it. As for redface, we will take the footprints to prove its defeat, so we will leave it up to Atobe-sama's discretion to use it as material. The guild also buys them, but it's cheaper on average than a demolition shop.
''You can even get the material? Oh........If I put it in this leather bag, I'll have to take it to a demolition shop right away or it will be ruined.
'No, this bag will not deteriorate for up to a day. A higher quality bag will have a larger capacity and a longer storage period. There are a variety of shapes, including backpack types.

　I'm going to want more stuff, but I want to plan ahead and get it all together. If it's okay for the day, it looks like we can stop at the demolition shop before we go exploring tomorrow.

　And there are two more things I want to ask you. The 'reliability' and my pecking order, which will be calculated on the basis of my contribution to this project.

"Louisa-san, the 'trustworthiness' you're showing here...
'The guild also assesses the contribution of explorers as to whether they have a smooth relationship with each other. Once they explore, if they don't get into a fight or something, they'll go up a few points...

　Louisa didn't seem to take a good look at those numbers, and she froze when she saw them.

　Then she slowly looked up - blushing again. It seems that thoughts easily show up on his face.

''Gosh, Goju.......how intimate have you become in this short period of time?　Moreover, you're dealing with a mercenary who doesn't normally have an increase in trustworthiness...?
Oh, what?　Does that 50 mean your confidence level has increased as it is?
Unless there's something very wrong, the contribution from the increase in trust should be less than 5.

　-- It wasn't my imagination that Theresa's attitude had changed. As Leila-san said, our relationship had become better than it would normally be.

(In order to exert our power as the 'rear guard', we have a good relationship with the 'vanguard' and 'middle guard'... in other words, if you're supporting everyone and they like you at an uncommon rate... yada, yada, yada... (No?)

　I'd like to think that when you bring a man into your party, your friendship is deepened. Trust and affection are not the same thing, maybe, no, probably not.

　But who could blame me for imagining that that demon chief would easily delude me just to 'support' him?

''........I even want to accompany her once to see what it's all about. The more I learn about Atobe-sama, the more the mystery only grows.......

　Louisa-san smiles as she holds up her monocle (monocle) and smiles. If she accompanied me, I would always 'support and defend' from behind, and as a result, our bond as a party would be deepened. I won't abuse the collateral effects of 'support', never. There is no way I would do such a thing.

''Atube-sama?　How can I help you, you look so happy.
'Oh, oh no. I don't really understand it either, so don't worry too much about the trust factor. Lastly, about the pecking order - you've avoided sleeping in a stable or prison, haven't you?
''Yes, of course. Master Atobe's pecking order is 137529 in total, and if we take the pecking order for the eighth district only, it's 1124. There are about 3,000 explorers in the eighth district, so it's higher than half. Your quarters will be a suite of rooms in the inn in the eighth district. I'll let you know what rooms are available later.

(A suite ... it's like a large hotel room. (What's it like in another world?)

''........Ah. Speaking of which.........Kyouka-Igarashi-sama, who was brought to the healer just now, right? Atobe-sama fought with her, didn't he?
'Ha, yes. We just happened to be in the middle of a....
'I'm sorry, Igarashi-sama has defeated one Watadama, but he has been rendered incapacitated by Redface and has been rescued. Your contribution at this point will be zero, so you will have to sleep in a stable after you are released.

　--The stable. Um, Chief Igarashi.

........is it my job to tell him that?
I'm sorry, sir. I told her that the officer in charge just started out and that she couldn't tell you and that she wouldn't be able to keep her job if she did.

　That would be hard to say, to tell that proud woman to sleep in a stable.

　And I'm in a suite. I'm likely to be asked to replace the room, but I'm resolute there, and I want to be able to defend my castle - and I've just thought about it.

'Atobe-sama, you seem to be worried about her. I understand your feelings.
'Oh, no I'd say I'm worried, but that's not what I meant...'
There are two beds in the suite, so if you are worried about her getting sick, why don't you let her stay?　Master Atobe is a gentleman, and I don't see any problem with that.

　Louisa said that if my pecking order was too low and awful, she would let me stay, but why wouldn't she apply that idea to the Chief - more than any other question.

　I didn't feel like I could actually say in front of her that she would come to my suite, even if it was to avoid the Chief's living in a stable.