CH 20

I was dragged along after being told that we’d first report back to the guild.

Before actually entering the guild’s building, Sword emphasized, “Even if there’s some moron unable to discern your strength, don’t kill ’em, okay?”

Wouldn’t it be fine for you to not bring me here then? I mean the place is crowded with idiots, you know? I tried to ignore their existence by magically blocking off sound waves, but since I couldn’t cut them off completely, I faintly perceived how people were talking nonsense to me.

The people of this world are stupider than monsters.

＊

Once we entered, all eyes turned into our direction. How annoying.

“So you made up, huh?” The guild master approached us.

“I understood why you told me things like 「Please forgive him」 or 「He’s regretting it」.”

“…Argh, so that was already part of what you didn’t understand?” He slapped his forehand with his open hand.

When I looked at the receptionist, it made her jump.

…I wonder what’s going on with her. This receptionist lady, who welcomed me at first, is reacting very oddly, or rather, excessively…

“…Also, I understood why she suddenly started to say, 『I’m going to introduce you to nice partners, okay?』. To be honest, I suspected her possibly wanting to earn some money through a mediation fee or sell off a newbie adventurer, who doesn’t know anything, to some shady adventurers, but now I know it wasn’t that.”

No sooner than becoming pale, the receptionist lady suddenly became all teary-eyed, and finally started to bawl for real.

I drew back from her.

“All of it is Mr. Sword’s fauuult～～! I only did as I was asked～～！And it all it earned me was to be regarded as a nasty wench on top of getting avoided～～!”

“…No matter how you look at it, aren’t you treatin’ people way too terrible?”

He said, but didn’t she mention something about all of it being Mr. Sword’s fault?

“That much is as easy as pie for the people of this world, isn’t it?”

“…No, the folks goin’ that far among the guild staff…… Well, I guess it’s better to be safe than sorry. Can’t be helped.”

The crying receptionist threw a dagger at Sword with an amazingly fast motion!

“Just die! You haven’t taught him anything decent, and your way of talking sucks, so you tainted Indra, that cute and innocent boy, with your darkness! You’re a pest for society!”

Wow.

The self-alleged bigshot doesn’t seem to be all that respected, I’d say. Also, I’m a girl.

“Oh, right. The guy, who almost had his head cut off after picking a fight with you, had his adventurer license revoked. From now on he won’t ever be able to work as an adventurer again.”

The guild master told me, but well…

“You mean over here, right? If he re-registers elsewhere…”

“Idiooot, your so ignorant. Ain’t no way that’s possible. Don’t look down on the guild. When a license is revoked, the information will also be passed on to all other places. Usin’ a guild-exclusive magic tool, all guilds are bein’ notified about registrations and revocations at the same time.” The self-alleged bigshot found some fun in berating me.

“An ［Exclusive Network System］!? They’re quite advanced in that regard, I guess”

“”Huh?””

I was asked when I unconsciously mumbled that out loud.

“Don’t mind me. I’m just talking to myself. But, what’s going to happen if he uses an alias or a disguise?”

“Look, even if you change your name or appearance, you remain you, and I remain who I am, right? This adventurer card here is a magic tool and recognizes the person themselves, no matter how their outward appearance might have been changed. Same applies for the guild’s magic tool.”

“Oh, ［biometrics］!?”

Why such cutting-edge technology in a place like this!?

“Again with those cryptic words…it might be fine for nobility even without gettin’ somethin’ like that card, but for a commoner it’s a must. It’s a precious, precious card that proves their identity. It also got the convenient function of releasin’ a flashin’ as warnin’ if it’s in the hands of someone else. If your registered as criminal, let alone gettin’ your card revoked, the information is also passed on to the magic tools of the knight order, guard stations and checkpoints. Otherwise they wouldn’t be able to arrest criminals, right? The only ones not possessin’ this card are nobility and people born as children of robbers.”

Whoa, it sounds like nobles and robbers are on the same level in this world, doesn’t it? Looks like they have no clue of what noblesse oblige means.

“I understand. …Biometrics, huh…? That’s truly impressive.”

Hearing my reply, Sword nodded in satisfaction.

“Finally you realized that this world got some points of note as well, right?”

“Treating nobles and robbers as the same kind shows what kind of a hopeless case this world is. …Anyway, please ask them about the matter we’ve been talking about before. You call yourself distinguished and important, don’t you?”

The guild master and the receptionists burst into laughter.

“I’ve been tellin’ you it’s not self-alleged, dammit! …Hey, guildmaster, give this girl some 『Sorcery Liquid』!”

“Wut?”

Magic tools can be explained as electronic devices in terms of the other world. They always require a magic crest to be drawn onto them. Such crests are superb technology that won’t come off even when washed or chafed.

I was taught that these magic crests are drawn with something called Sorcery Liquid. As far as I can tell, magic crests are programs running on a programming language. That means, if I had a dictionary for the programming language and Sorcery Liquid, I could basically create magic crests myself, right? And I’m good at programming!

But I’ve been told that such dictionaries don’t exist and that it’s common practice to be taught how to make magic crests by becoming an apprentice of a sorcerer who’s proficient at creating magic crests. Seriously, that sucks.

…Hmm, but wait a second, what exactly is that Sorcery Liquid anyway?

You require ［Software］ to assemble program code and execute a program. In other words, Sorcery Liquid is a medium to execute a magic crest through magic elements so as to transform it into a spell. A processor handles the same task.

So, when I told Sword that I’d like to know how to make Sorcery Liquid, he told me, “That’s why you’d become the apprentice of a sorcerer!”

So it’s a requirement for this as well!?

“Or rather, the idea that you could easily build magic tools is weird. I mean, just clocks are already items that have been finally completed after investin’ huge amounts of time and money. Back then, the sorcerer, who wanted to create it, had to persuade the king by tellin’ him that he wants to establish a standard for this world. The way how to make clocks has been revealed to the public for the sake of allowin’ it to spread. Nowadays you can get your hands on them at a relatively cheap price since the country is subsidizin’ them. But you see, basically, other magic tools are sold by the folk who made them, so some among ’em are stupidly expensive even if the magic tools are nothin’ special.”

After that comment, he scrutinized me really intently.

“You think you’d be able to make magic tools if you could get your hands on Sorcery Liquid?”

“I can’t say anything for certain as long as I haven’t analyzed the liquid first. ――I suspect that spells are imprinted with Sorcery Liquid. Kind of like this spell will be invoked if you use the following characters. Though it might be actually far more complex, considering they’re being made by folks who adhere to secrecy. Anyway, you draw characters on the medium you want to move with Sorcery Liquid. The liquid interprets the characters, passes on instructions to the magic elements, and the magic elements carry these instructions out, resulting in the magic tool operating. ……Probably.”

“Such a weak endin’ after talkin’ all confident!?”

＊

After we had that conversation, Sword mentioned that I might be able to obtain the liquid if he acts as intermediary.

“You know that it’s nothing I can hand over just like that, don’t you!?”

Sword thrust his adventurer card into the face of the guild master.

“Hand it over.”

“…… People like you…! Just 『Clock』! Come with me!”

Does he mean the Sorcery Liquid of a clock?

After following him, we entered a room through a door with a 【Guild Master】 plate. Removing the seal on a shelf that seemed to be a magic tool, he took out and handed over a heavy jar.

“Here. …What are you planning to do with it?”

“Analyzing. I love this kind of work.”

Come to think of it, my otherworld self made a robot to automatically clean her desk with her summer vacation’s crafting set. Different from the other world, everything in this world is made with magic, even without exclusive tools and materials!

(Note: The only ones capable of that are people at Indra’s level)

＊

Afterwards I got tired from insistently being told that he wanted to watch me analyzing the liquid, or at least be taught about the results of my analysis.

“Since I’m going to do it with magic, anyone can do the same, no? Besides, you could get it explained to you by becoming the apprentice of a sorcerer, couldn’t you? I hate to take an apprenticeship for each and every little thing, so I usually analyze things myself. Then again, I don’t know whether it’ll be possible to analyze it.” I turned the guild master down.

After carefully storing it away, I retrieved some liquor from my magic bag to distract him.

“Here, as thanks.”

Sword’s eyes flew wide open.

“…Hey!! That’s the booze that has ripened for three years which you called ［Brandy］, isn’t it…!?”

“Oh? Even though you ran away from home, it still shows that you’re of noble origin. Isn’t it a rather sophisticated way to thank someone by giving them liquor?”

Sophisticated? Still it sure looks like this world got plenty of drunkards. Especially when considering that production methods are being concealed.

“No, no, no, no, noooo! Give it back!!” Sword tried to snatch the brandy out of the guild master’s hands.

“It’s not yours, is it?” I retorted, but he didn’t listen at all.

However, the guild master defended it to the last, “She gave it to me!”

“Your a hundred years too early to drink this!”

“Sword! Someone like you can get as much high-class liquor as he wants, right!? For me it’s not easy to obtain drinks that would be drunk by the nobility!”

“That ain’t no nobility booze! It’s a drink made by her!”

The guild master quickly looked my way with his eyes wide open.

“…You can produce liquor?”

“If it’s something simple, yes. The one I gave you can only be made if you can use magic.”

The guild master stared at me, flabbergasted. Meanwhile Sword drew close to me.

“Hey! Why did you give it to that guy!?”

“I said moments ago that it was an expression of my gratitude. The fact of him taking the liquid out of a magic shelf must mean that it’s quite difficult to get your hands on it, right? In such a case I must also thank him with something appropriate.”

“What ’bout your thanks towards me!?”

“It has been offset with your rude behavior.”

Sword froze after suffering a heavy shock. The guild master, on the other hand, smiled broadly.

“…In short, it’s such a wonderful drink that Sword would go into a frenzy over it, and a high-quality product you can’t make unless you can freely employ magic that would cause the 【Bloody Witch】 to run away in terror, huh? I’m looking forward to drinking it then.”

Just now he said 【Bloody Witch】, didn’t he? Is the translation not working or something? Well, whatever.

“It won’t last long once you open it. It’d be best for you to empty it within a few days after unsealing the lid. If you can’t drink all of it, you could also use it for cooking.”

“As if I’d be able to do something so wasteful!”

He says…but, why is everyone claiming that it’s a waste to use alcohol for cooking?

“…Also, please give this to the lady who had been bawling. Tell her from me that I’ve just been cautious and that it’s not like I hate her or anything.”

She seems to have been hurt to such an extent that she threw a dagger at Sword.

I’m sorry, okay?

“She can put the end of this stick into the container, wind the content around it and lick it, or smear it on bread. Adding it to fruits works as well.”

I passed him some starch syrup.

“Is this liqour as well?”

“What would be the point in giving liquor to a woman? Honey exists in this world, doesn’t it? It’s a similar kind of food.”

“Oi… Her Noble Ladyship, honey is a high-class ingredient, you know? You really fine with handin’ it over so readily?”

“I didn’t say that it’s honey. It’s foodstuff that can be made easily and cheaply. It’s no honey, so don’t get all formal on me as if expecting something out of it.” I answered and entrusted the guild master with the syrup and my message.