The next day, we came to Mr. Zanuck's shop to complete our request. Mr. Zanuck was surprised at my return so quickly, but when I told him that I could use the magic of the Gate, he agreed.

''Here's a letter in reply from Viscount Swordleck.

　Mr. Zanuck took the letter I had received, checked the seal, took out the contents and looked it over lightly.

'Indeed. Thank you for your help.'
And these. It's half my travel expenses. I didn't use it, so I'll get it back to you.

　I held out the money, still in the bag.

'You're so disciplined, my dear. If you hadn't told me about the gate or anything else, I wouldn't have to pay this money back.
Trust is paramount in a job like this. Mr. Zanuck, if you're in business, you know that.
...Yes. Trust is the most valuable asset of a businessman. Without it, there is no business. If you trample on it, it will come back to you one day.

　With that, Zanak-san accepted the bag of money.
　And as proof of the completion of the request, he handed me a card with the guild's designated number stamped on it. All I have to do now is submit this to the guild and I will receive my reward.
　I thanked Mr. Zanuck and left the shop. I went straight to the guild this time.
　When I entered the guild, there were still many people staring at the request board. Yae was scurrying around in the guild for the first time, but she headed to the reception counter with us.
　She then handed the staff member the card Zanak-san gave her and reported that the request was complete.

'Please hand in your guild card.

　The staff member stamps the magic stamp on the three of us cards presented to him with a pompompom.

''Then here are the seven silver coins for your reward. Thank you for completing the request, thank you for your hard work.''

　I call Yae, who was behind me, to the reception desk while receiving the reward placed on the counter.

''Excuse me, I'd also like to ask for this girl's guild registration.
Registration?　Yes, sir.

　As Yae was being briefed on the registration, we decided to split the reward between us two pieces each and use the rest to pay for everyone's meals later.

''But that..... It's a bad tendency for the two silver coins in the reward to feel low.
Yeah. If you get a platinum coin or something, you'll lose your financial sense.

　I reply to the murmurings that Else uttered in a whisper with a wry smile.
　That money I got from the duke is unplanned money. I have to live without relying on it as much as possible.

''I'm registered, that I am~''

　Yae comes over, happily waving her card. Unlike us, it's a beginner's black card.
　Yae looks a little disappointed at the difference in color between her and everyone else. However, we are still at a low level, so if we complete our requests, the gap between us will be filled in time.
　We'll be in front of the request board as Yae says she wants to take the request right away, so we go to the request board.
　When two guild cards of different colors are working together, if there is a majority of people of the higher color, they can accept the request of that color. So even if there is a black octogenarian, there's nothing wrong with receiving a purple request form.
　We all read the request form that was posted.

'Northern Ruins...defeat...mega...slime?　I didn't know you still had this request. Hey, this...
""No."

　Another refusal in unison? Okay. That's one more. Apparently Yae doesn't like slippery sticky stuff either. It's a shame....
　In the end, I chose to defeat the Tiger Bear, a demonic beast that I don't know if it's a tiger or a bear. Since the place where it lives was within a distance of only a short walk if you use the gate. Then let's head out.



　As it turns out, Tiger Bear was a big bear with tiger stripes. Oh, and his tusks looked like saber tigers.
　It lived in a rocky mountain, and I was surprised when it suddenly attacked me, but Yae almost took it down all by himself.
　As proof of his defeat, he folded Tiger Bear's tusk and used the gate to return to the guild. He then submitted the fangs and completed the request. It took two hours to get to this point after receiving the request. And I got 12 silver coins. It's not too early.
　I placated Yae, who said she still had time to take another case, and decided to go out to eat.
　We celebrated the completion of the request & Yae's guild registration & her first defeat at the coffee shop "Parent".
　We each ordered a light meal and drink, and then we all ordered vanilla ice cream. Yae was surprised at the first ice cream she had ever eaten, but she soon started crunching on it.
　As we were leaving, Ael asked me to come up with a menu for us again. What would you like to have this time? Maybe I'll search for something when I get home.