4 - 2. Encounter

Surrounded by white light, I found myself in a plaza with a fountain.

The cobblestone pavement, the smell of the stones on my soles, the plaza full of players. I could distinguish many voices in the vicinity if I turned my attention to them. I was awestruck by a virtual reality world that was far better than any game I had ever played before.

The player's choice of races, beastmen, elves, dwarves and humans, came and went, or stopped like me to look around and show themselves to each other. Maximum height, maximum width, minimum height, glamorous, no bumps. Gorgeous hair color!

If you look beyond the people, you can see dark brown columns and white stucco houses around the square, and the ground floor of the building facing this square seems to be a store. The buildings facing the square seem to have shops on the ground floor. The landscape looks like somewhere in Europe, and it looks like a theme park based on the same motif. The impression of being too neat and tidy may make you think so.

I thought it was okay for it to be beautiful, and as I took my first step, a log window appeared in front of me, and at the same time, I asked myself if I wanted to start the tutorial.　A rather flat female voice said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

Just to be clear, the flatness is the inflection of the voice, not the chest armor. No figure!

Feeling myself getting quite excited, I agreed to start the tutorial. I wish I could manage to be distracted in my thinking when I get excited.

Please note that other players will not be displayed during the tutorial.

The hustle and bustle of the surrounding area has disappeared. It seems that the field has been turned into a field for quests, and the same scenery that was filled with people just a few minutes ago has turned into a quiet plaza with only a few N!

Now let's register at the Adventurers' Guild.

First, let's bring up the map.

A flashing light appears in the window and insists that you touch here. I simply touched the glowing word "map," and a map window appeared in addition to the menu. The window can be easily imagined as a transparent phone or tablet floating in the air. The size and location of the window can be changed as desired. You can also set the window to open automatically when there is an announcement.

This map is for Fast, the city where it all began.

Maps other than Fast will show the locations mapped by the skill [Map]. Maps may also be obtained from N!

The names of major places, such as the Adventurers' Guild, are displayed from the time you get them, but you can also register your own favorites. You can also register your own favorites you have found.

Then let's go to the Adventurers' Guild on the map.

During the announcement, a flashing circle appeared on the map. This must be the Adventurers' Guild. And the fact that only major places are shown means that only big stores like weapon shops are shown, and other stores are not shown.

Is it possible to have a hideout restaurant?　It would be nice to find a place with good food.

The Adventurers' Guild was a large building facing the square.

Although the heightened visibility and the length of the compass make me feel a little uncomfortable, I head toward the guild with a buoyant feeling. I rub the hem of my robe from time to time, but I don't seem to mind the stains and frayed edges.

When I pass through the open door, I feel a little dim inside, perhaps because I am accustomed to the light outside. There is a reception counter in front of the entrance and another counter on the left as seen from the entrance, and the sign hanging from the ceiling reads <>.

To the right is a large room with round tables that looks like a cafeteria, where several adventurer-like looking N! There is no door, just an open space with a wall dividing one third of the room from the back. Inside the guild, there are dark brown floors, wooden floorboards, a staircase, and white plaster walls - the sturdy-looking counters and bulletin boards are a slightly lighter dark brown than the floors, but only the counter tops are two-tone dark brown, almost black.

There is a staircase between the wall of the dining room and the counter, and a sign on the side of the staircase reads <>, so I will go upstairs later. I will go upstairs later.　I love the "I love the way it's set up.

On the wall to the left of the entrance, there are several bulletin boards. A man of medium height and medium build was looking at a paper posted on the wall, so I looked at it myself and found a request posted there.

Name of the request: Constant Request for Goblin Defeat

Client Adventurers Guild

Reward: 1 animal, 100 cil.

Request name Lulu weed delivery Always

Client: The Apothecary's Guild

Reward 1 bottle 10 shill

Request name: Find Koro! Duration 3 days

Client Mia

Report Mia

Reward 300 shill Acceptance fee 60 shill

The top of the bulletin board says "Rank E". The harmless-looking man next to him is probably looking at rank F, which is one rank lower. The requests are apparently not so different from those in the previous games. Satisfied after reading a few pages, I head for the counter.

All the people at the counter are women, and their hair color is more subdued than that of the player. One of the three reception desks was occupied by a short red-haired N!

Is it because he is a N!　He was leaning against the counter, facing the woman at the reception desk. It is hard to tell because he was bent over a little, but he seemed to be over the height limit that a player can set. On his back, he is carrying a large, thick sword, which seems to be more than twice the size of the player's sword seen in the plaza, suggesting the strength of his muscles.

A normal R!G would talk to N!C without hesitation and get information from him, but in this world, which is almost like a real one, it would be unwise to talk to someone who is in the middle of a reception procedure and interrupt him from his work. On the other hand, I don't want to approach a person who is drinking and talking loudly in the daytime next to me.

The guy in front of the board looks a bit timid and seems to be easy to talk to, but frankly speaking, I want to avoid him. I did not know where this feeling came from at first, but I realized it while I was looking at the request form. The unreliability of the man does not seem to be that of an adventurer. He may be a novice adventurer, but there is a hint of trouble. Maybe he is an assassin who hunts beginners.

Likewise, there is an anxious looking girl who is wandering around aimlessly, but this one seems to be a troublesome problem (heroine) as promised in the game. I usually just let it go by, yes.

I've got a meeting to go to, so why don't we just go straight to the reception desk?　We can come back when the tutorial is over. As I looked around without looking, I heard the woman at the reception desk say something that sounded like the name of a man named .

Galahad, Galahad is the name of the famous "Unsullied Knight" in the Arthurian legends and the Holy Grail legends. The names of the knights in the Arthurian legends are familiar to us because they are often used for characters in games and novels. In fact, the man at the counter reminded me of a red-haired warrior of the same name in a certain game, because he looked more like a warrior adventurer than a knight.

"<>."

I mumbled quietly and the red-haired man turned to me.

What?

You didn't sound like you could hear me, did you?

Our eyes met, and I fumed, but I bailed like a Japanese and looked away. I tried my best not to look at him and went to the nearest window, but he called out to me.

"Are you new here, brother?"

Yes, I was talked to by a man with red hair as hard as I could.

When our eyes met, he looked fearless and powerful with his large body, but now, with his smile, he looked friendly. You see, since my great-grandmother told me not to show my teeth when smiling when I was a child, I have always smiled with my mouth closed, but a smile with white teeth looks carefree!　I wonder when did men in particular start getting better at white tooth glitter.

I'm not following the development a bit, my thoughts are spinning like crazy!　Why is there a section in the tutorial that promises that <>!

"...... Oh, I'm here for the procedure."

Forgive the pause.

"I am Galahad, warrior. Nice to meet you. By the way, you said you were an Unsullied Knight.　Sorry to take up so much of your time all of a sudden, but I was wondering if you could tell me a story?　If you want, I can make a request after you register."

That's an unexpected bite. What's going on here? I wonder about the man who properly identified himself to me as Galahad.　He turns his head slightly to look at me.

"I don't mind, but it's not much of a story, is it?"

He replies, puzzled.

I answered in the tone of a character from a previous R!

"Oh!　Thank you. The money is 500 shill for the story, and I'll pay you extra if the information is useful to me, okay?"

He thanks me with a smile and offers me a sum of money.

A friendly smile on a stern face is a dexterity.

"Buy me a cup of tea next door, no charge."

Then he looks toward the cafeteria.

"Yes, sir!"

Galahad gave me a thumbs-up and a wink with an even better smile.

Galahad is a man who is far from being a gentleman, but he does look good with a wink.

After I answered, I thought, <>I'm a bit bitter about the amount of money for five E-rank goblins, but I can't undo it now.

Galahad raises his hand in greeting to the woman at the reception desk and walks toward the cafeteria.

I felt that I was going to be late for the meeting with my friend, but I had no choice but to refuse to talk with Galahad in a game-playing manner, so I followed him to the cafeteria.

I had not promised my friends a definite time, and we had both declared that we would do the tutorial, so it would be fine. Besides, they might be doing the same kind of events.

Above all, my friends, myself included, are good at individual actions. Even if we have to wait, they will be fighting or producing as soon as possible. I have never had friends who would wait patiently for me.

We settled down in Galahad in a corner of a bar, which is now a diner.

This is not a diner. It was a bar.

There was some food, but most of the drinks we could order were alcoholic. There was barely any water and a choice of barley-like tea, perhaps for mineral supplementation. Adventurers seem to guzzle beer instead of water.

As you may have guessed by now, I'm a loser. Hey you!

"I am Homura, a mage, after all."

I order tea and Galahad drinks and we talk. I ask for french fries and thinly sliced roasted flying rabbit, and Galahad tells me not to be shy and adds more dishes.

Smoked eggs, dried fish, three kinds of cheese, nuts and dried fruits. That's not for me, that's for yourself!　I regret that I am not close enough to the people in the restaurant to make a comment like, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

The names of the meat are different from those in the real world, or rather, they seem to be the meat of the demons to be defeated, and the chairs in the bar are solid enough to accommodate even a large Galahad, perhaps because there are beastmen in this world who grow larger than humans.

Ah, it makes me happy from the bottom of my heart that I am really in and not in a game.

After the food has been delivered and the waiter has left, we come to the main topic.

"So, as I was saying before, is the alias of the knight who got the Holy Grail in the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. The knight's name is , which is what the receptionist uttered when he called you."

"King Arthur?　Where are we talking about?"

Galahad's beer is brushed aside after the first sip. He has not been listening to the Unsullied Knight's tales for pleasure or drunkenness.

"It's a legend from a world not here, from a place called Europe."

At the mention of "not here," Galahad drops his gaze to the desk, clearly discouraged, but regains his composure and looks at me.

"What is the Holy Grail anyway?"

"The chalice is said to be the cup that received the blood of the Son of God, or the cup used at the Last Supper of the Son of God, but in this legend it is characterized by being the cup that cures disease. Galahad is looking for the chalice for the king who got sick."

I read it once in high school and have a hazy memory of it. The only knights of the Round Table whose names I remember are Lancelot, Galahad, and Percival, and the only other knight who is not a knight is Merlin.

By the way, the reasons why I remember them are

Lancelot ⇒ Because he is the most famous.

Galahad ⇒ because a character with the same name appears in a game I have played.

Percival ⇒ The name of a neighbor's Shiba Inu, usually called Pearl. Named by a young lady who was in the first grade of junior high school at that time.

Is it wrong to ask me like this?

After a few words about the three of us discovering the Holy Grail and the appearance of the Holy Spear in front of Galahad when he was called to the Garden of God, he gave up.

"I'm sorry, I don't know much about it myself."

No, thank you. Actually, the master of one of my clients was under a terrible curse. When he was looking for a way to lift the curse, he was told by a prophet that an unsullied knight would lift the curse. I'll tell him he'd better start looking hard for a way to break the curse itself, not a knight."

There may not be a knight who can lift the curse, but a knight who has lifted the curse," he said, stirring up the beer he had set aside.

The roasted flying rabbit came with bread and salad. I was dissatisfied with all the alcohol, but the roasted flying rabbit was delicious, and the sauce was good to wipe off with the toasted bread.

"You look like you're eating well, you can have some of that, too."

"Thank you."

I don't mind, it's my first meal in this world and I want to try many things. It seems that my sense of taste has been perfectly reproduced, and I look forward to eating again in the future.

We bid farewell to Galahad, who seems to be going on drinking, and head for the counter to fulfill our initial goal. As we parted, Galahad tossed me his partner card, saying, "Call me if you need anything.

Exchanging partner cards is like friend registration in other games.

I didn't expect to be able to register as a friend with N!C in this game ......, or perhaps this event was a tutorial on how to deal with partner cards. Maybe Galahad/warrior, guest A/wizard in the bar, guest B/healer, guest C/thief, etc. could call N!

I thought, but I don't know how to give my patka. When I was in a hurry, Galahad called out to me while drinking.

"Oh, you can't give out your partner card until you get your guild card, right?　When you're done registering, you can approve the exchange from my card."

I looked everywhere, but I couldn't find it.