When I woke up in the morning, got dressed and went down to the dining room, both Else and Linse were already up and taking their meals. As I sat down as well, Micah brought me my meal. Breakfast was bread, ham and eggs, vegetable soup, and tomato salad. It was good for breakfast.
　After we finished eating, the three of us immediately took off for the guild. The guild is located near the center of the town, and there was a lot of activity there.
　The first floor of the guild is a restaurant, and the atmosphere was brighter than I expected. I imagined it to be a rough bar, something like that, but apparently it was an unnecessary worry. When I headed to the counter, the lady at the reception desk smiled at me.

''Um, I'd like to ask you to register as a guild member.
Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Are you three gentlemen present, including yourselves?
Yes. Three.
Are all three of you new to guild registration? If so, let me briefly explain the registration process to you.
Please.

　Basically, you refer a client to a job and take a fee for that brokerage. That is the guild.
　The work is divided into ranks according to its level of difficulty, so a lower-ranked person can't take a higher-ranked job. However, if half of the companions reach the higher ranks, even if there are lower ranks, they can receive a higher rank job.
　If they complete the request, they will receive a reward, but if they fail to complete the request, they may incur a penalty fee. No, choose your jobs carefully.
　Furthermore, if you fail to complete your request several times and it's judged to be a bad request, the guild registration will be terminated. When that happens, no guild in any town will re-register you again.
　In addition, if you don't receive a single request for five years, your registration will be revoked, you can't receive multiple requests, requests to kill someone are not valid even if you hunt outside of the region specified in the request form, and basically, guilds don't intervene in personal disputes between adventurers, except in cases where they are judged to be detrimental to the guild... He explained a lot of things to me.

'That's all I have to say. If there is anything you don't understand, please ask one of the staff members each time.
I understand.
Now, please fill out this form.

　The lady at the reception desk handed us three sheets of paper, but I had no idea what they said. I told her that I couldn't read or write and asked Linse to write them for me. Hmmm...it's still inconvenient if you can't read and write.
　When the sister receives the registration form, she holds the pitch black card over it and mutters something that looks like an incantation. After that, she holds out a small pin, and is told to stain the card with her blood, respectively.
　As I pricked my finger with the pin and touched the card with my finger, white letters appeared on it, but I still couldn't understand what was written on it.

I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on here. This is to prevent counterfeiting. And if you lose it, please report it to the guild as soon as possible. It will cost you money, but we will reissue it to you.

　My sister takes my card in her hand, and after a moment, the black card turns gray. When I touch it again, it instantly turns back to black. It's an amazing trick. What's going on?

Registration is now closed. The job request is attached to the board over there, so please review it and submit it to the request office.

　The three of us stand in front of the board where the request is posted. Our guild card is black, representing a beginner. I heard that the color of the card will change as you move up in rank, but for now, it means that we can only accept the beginner's black request form.
　Else and Linse seem to be reading and examining each card thoughtfully. As for me.........

''This is not good..... I have to do something about reading and writing in earnest...''

　If you don't know what you're doing, you can't talk about it. Let's spend the evening learning to read and write.

'Hey, hey, how about this, Linse. It pays reasonably well, and it's a good place to start.
...Yeah. I think it's not bad. How about you, Fuyao-san?
I'm... sorry. I have no idea what it says.

　Else's fingers, which had been pointing at the board's pasted paper while spluttering, bent without effort. Kuh.

...Well, we're going to the east forest to defeat the monster beasts. Five hexenbiests called unicorn wolves. They're not that strong... so I think we can handle them... Ah, the reward is 18 copper coins.

　As I couldn't read, Linse read the request form to me. Eighteen coppers....six for each of the three of us...that's enough for three days' lodging. That's not bad.

We'll take those, then.
Okay. I'll just apply to the receptionist.

　Else pulled off the request postage and went to apply to the request receptionist. Is it a unicorn wolf? It seems to be a wolf with horns on its head, just like its name suggests. I'm a little worried about whether I can defeat it.
　...Huh?

"Shit...... I forgot something important.........
...What's going on?

　Linse asks me curiously, stunned.

'I...I don't have a weapon yet.'

　I forgot.



　The request to defeat them was also unarmed and unarmed, it was no good talking about it. So, after leaving the guild, we were headed to the weapons shop.
　As we walked north down the street, we saw a signboard with the same obvious logo, Sword and Shield, as always. And the name of the shop underneath it was still unreadable to me.
　When I open the door, a small bell attached to the door rings with a clank clank. As if in response to the sound, a large, middle-aged man with a large beard appeared sluggishly from the back of the store. He's big. He looks like a bear.

Hi. What can I do for you?

　Apparently, the bear's uncle was the owner of the store. But it was big. I think he's more than two meters tall. He has a body like a professional wrestler.

I'm trying to buy a weapon for this person. Can I have a look around?
'Go ahead. Take it in your hand.

　The bear replied to Else's words with a smile. A good bear...and a good man. I wonder if he likes honey or something.
　Looking around the store, there are weapons displayed everywhere. There is a wide variety of weapons, from swords to spears, bows, axes, whips, and various other weapons lined up throughout the store.

The best way to do this is to have a good idea of what weapons you are good at, Fuyao.
''Hmm... not much to go on... If I had to pick one thing, I'd say I've had a bit of practice with the sword.

　I answer Else's question with a little thought. Well, it's a kendo class at school. It wasn't taught properly either, it's like an extension of chambara, and I'm almost an amateur.

''...Then I think the sword is better after all...'' In Fuyao-san's case, I feel that a way of fighting that uses speed to increase the number of moves is more suitable than a way of fighting that pushes with force... so a one-handed sword, for example.

　Linse points to a corner where there is a row of swords that she handles with one hand. He takes one of the swords still in its sheath there and grips the hilt with one hand. It's light. It could be a bit heavier.
　Suddenly, a single sword hanging on the wall caught my eye. No, it's not a sword...it's a sword. A slender sword with a warped blade and a wonderfully crafted round flange. A hilt with a strap wrapped around it and a black painted scabbard. If you look closely, there are some parts that are slightly different from the Japanese swords I know, but it would not be wrong to call it a sword.

"...What's the matter?
''Ah, that's Yisheng's sword. Are you still curious about the sword from back home?

　As I was fascinated by the sword, Linse and Else called out to me. I see, so this is Yisheng's sword? Or rather, it's not my hometown. Apparently, Yisheng has a lot in common with Japan. I'm becoming more and more curious about it, Yisheng.
　I pick up the sword hanging on the wall and slowly pull it out of its scabbard. The beautiful blade design shines, and my eyes are drawn to it. The blade is thicker than I expected, and the sword itself is heavy. It's not a problem for me to wield it, but it's a good weight.

How much is this?

　The bear in the back of the room pokes his head out at my voice.

Oh, that's him, isn't it? Two gold coins. But that's a tough one to master. It's not a product I would recommend to a beginner.
'Two gold coins!　Isn't it expensive?
They rarely come in, and their use is limited. I'll give you that much.

　Else's mouth twitched in frustration, but Mr. Bear let it slide unperturbed. Perhaps it's a fair price. I myself had admitted that it was worth it.

''I'll take this. It's two gold coins.

　Sheathing his sword, he took two gold coins from his wallet and placed them on the counter.

'Every time. So, what do you want to do with your armor?
'I'll pass on this time. I'll come back to buy it when I've earned it.
I see. Please use that sword to make a lot of money.

　The bear laughed boldly at that.
　My shopping was done with that, but Else had bought a glebe, which is a foot armor that covers the shins to the back of the feet, and Linse had bought a silver wand. The girls' fighting style seemed to be Else's striking attack in the vanguard and Linse's magical attack in the rear.
　Leaving the weapon shop, we headed to the tool shop next. I was curious about it along the way, and I checked out the weapon shop from the map check.

Weapon Shop Kumahachi.

　...The naming sense in this town is a bit strange.


　At the tool shop I bought a small pouch and water bottle, portable food, a tool box with a set of useful things like fishing hooks and lines, scissors, knives, matches, medicinal herbs, poisonous weed, etc. Since Else and her friends already had them, I was the only one to shop here.
　Okay, everything is ready. Let's head out to the eastern forest to defeat the unicorn wolf!