CH 57

There was no sign of Louise at the reception desk of the Adventurers’ Guild, but instead an unfamiliar staff member was doing the paperwork. She was a blonde woman with a bob cut and wore the same guild uniform as Louise, but her slightly open chest gave her a suggestive impression.

She was running her pen over her papers in a somber mood, when she noticed Souya’s footsteps approaching the counter, stopped working and looked up.

“Ahh …… If it isn’t Souya-sama from the rumors. The Demonslayer. “

It’s his first time meeting that female receptionist, but it seemed that the other person knew Souya.

The first impression she gave was that she was very light-hearted for a receptionist, and that she was serious and easy-going. The most polite and respectful receptionist you’ll find in a corporation might not be the best choice for a group of rugged adventurers. 

“Nice to meet you. You seem to know me …… Is Louise-san absent today?”

“No. Louise is off today. Nice to meet you. I’m Charlotte, the second receptionist. Since I’m only a substitute, I don’t think I’ll see you as a receptionist often, but I look forward to working with you.”

The way she spoke reminded Souya of a new female employee at the company with a lighthearted air.

However, the new female employee, who didn’t seem to be serious, had a surprisingly good sales record from her first year.

Being an intermediary between adventurers and clients is not an easy job. I’m sure the Adventurer’s Guild probably doesn’t just pick people based on their faces.

“Souya-sama. I’ve heard from Louise-san that you are an older man, but …… you are quite handsome. You’re pretty cool too. You must be popular, right?”

“That’s the first time anyone said that to me in this town …… But you’re even lighter than Louise-san. Is that the policy of the Adventurers Guild?”

Although I couldn’t take the compliment at face value, I didn’t feel bad about it.

However, it was hard for me to keep up with her tensions while she was sober, so I pointed out to her in a roundabout way that she should change her attitude a little.

“I’m sorry. Please excuse me, I’ll take it seriously now. …… Hello, Souya-san. Are you looking for a job?”

In contrast to the previous question, her voice was pleasant, with a dignified expression and inflection. It’s a strange thing, because when she did this, she instantly look more intelligent.

However, when I looked at the open chest of her uniform, I felt that she was not so intelligent. But there was no need to point that out.

“No, I won’t be taking requests for the time being. Have you heard of Doga, the dwarf blacksmith? I heard he needs a letter of introduction.”

With these words, Charlotte understood the purpose of my visit, and took out a sheet of paper from her drawer and began to write a letter of introduction to Doga.

The pen slid across the blank sheet of paper, making a pleasant sound, and the words were written in black ink. Perhaps she was accustomed to writing, but her handwriting was quite good.

“It’s a rule that Doga-san’s letter of introduction should be to adventurers of Gold-class and above. But I’m sure Souya-sama will be fine …… After all, this is the Demonslayer we’re talking about.”

I could have guessed that, but it seemed that I lacked the adventurer grade rank needed for the introduction. It is true that if they introduce them to a Bronze-class, which is relatively easy to acquire, it would defeat the purpose of Doga limiting the amount of blacksmithing work.

Charlotte stopped her pen, folded the letter of introduction she had finished writing, sealed the envelope with wax, and handed it to Souya.

“Charlotte-kun’s handwriting is beautiful, isn’t it? People often say you have good handwriting, don’t they?”

“I’m often told that. I am honored by your praise. Since it was a letter of introduction for Souya-sama, I concentrated on writing it more than usual.”

Since I had scolded her in a roundabout way earlier, I decided to praise her for her good points.

Charlotte then smiled happily and shyly. The fact that she was often told that her handwriting was beautiful was probably one of the things she was proud of.

“It’s good to have beautiful handwriting. My magician master was a horrible writer, after all. It was so horrible. It was so bad that I needed the technique of Translating. Excuse me …… This is not the time to talk about magic.”

“Aha, Souya-sama. I’m sorry to interrupt, but what does my profession look like?”

Charlotte, who was listening to Souya’s complaint, laughed and suddenly asked a question.

“Isn’t it the second receptionist of the Adventurer’s Guild?”

“The receptionist’s job is to support Louise-san in her off hours. I’m an active adventurer. I mean, the requirements for a full-time member of the Adventurer’s Guild are Gold-class and above.”

Charlotte took out a gold-class adventurer’s card from the breast pocket of her uniform, twirled it around with her slender fingertips, and presented it to Souya.

If she’s a gold-class adventurer, that means she has done more adventuring than Ryde and Jackal, the silver-grade duo I just met at the entrance, or Merylou, the wood elf. As I suspected, she seems to be a person of great ability, despite her not-so-serious look.

“Nice fingerwork. You must be a Thief. You seem to have good dexterity with your handwriting.”

“As expected. You’re half right.”

One of the skills of the Thief is handwriting imitation. It’s not possible for everyone to do this, but those who can are naturally good at writing. She seemed to have that ability, too, with her masterful handwriting.

And the fact that I was half right meant that she probably had a second job. Souya put his hand on his chin and made a gesture of thought, but he couldn’t immediately think of any job that could be connected to Charlotte in front of him other than a thief.

She looked a little too frivolous to be a cleric, and I couldn’t imagine her as a hunter. I’m not sure I can imagine her as a fighter either, judging by her thin arms and beautiful hands.

“…… Hmmm, you can’t see it, after all. Souya-sama. Don’t be surprised.”

Charlotte closed her eyes and began to chant. This chanting structure was one of the techniques that Souya knew well.

“–Be a light in the darkness. “Lighting”.

As she finished the chant, a dazzling ball of light emerged from her palm and began to illuminate the entire room from the ceiling.

“Ohhh, You’re the same as me …… No, excuse me. It’s not surprising that a magician would be familiar with writing.”

Souya regretted his rashness in unconsciously excluding the option of a magician from her impression of her.

It is dangerous to judge a person by their appearance. As with all things, adventurers will have to keep that in mind.

“Would you believe me if I told you that I’m from a good family? My father is a court magician in the royal capital. I’ve cut ties with him, though.”

Charlotte stuck out her tongue and took out from the breast pocket of her uniform a membership card for the Sorcerer’s Guild and presented it to Souya. To join the magician’s guild, a large sum of money is required.

Therefore, those who wanted to become a magician were mostly limited to those who were middle class or wealthy, or those who had a clear mind enough to be selected as a special student exempt from school fees. Her family must be wealthy as well, since her father was a court magician.

Rebecca, the female sorceress who had been adventuring with us last time, was not a member of the magician’s guild, but her grandfather, who was her mentor, was a master magician who was a member of the magician’s guild, and it seemed that she was allowed to come and go.

A person like Souya, who is not involved in the Magician’s Guild at all, but has mastered magic, is an exception in this world and can be considered a minority.

“I used to be a young lady. I used to study in a neat skirt and blouse in the classroom. I don’t like it, but I’ll show the Academy’s uniform to you next time, Souya-sama.”

“Why would you want to show it to me?”

“Judging from your attitude just now, Souya-sama must like the neat and tidy type, the opposite of me. I’m thinking of changing my look like …… Mia-chan.”

Charlotte muttered, playing with her blonde hair, which was curled into a bob cut, with her fingertips.

I was a little curious as to how a young lady with a father who was a court magician and was probably educated at the Academy of the Magician’s Guild had ended up as a thief or an adventurer, but it would be rude to ask such a question in public. 

“It’s not that I don’t like frivolity. it’s just that it’s hard for me to keep up with the mood. I’m an old man, after all.”

Souya made an excuse to put her in a good mood. Unlike in the past, I have a slight aversion to frivolity, perhaps not because of my age, but because I was forced to be polite and respectful at work, and have been tamed over the years.

Aside from the lightness of her personality, she is a thief, a magician, a gold-class adventurer, and a substitute receptionist. With her various masks, Souya was a little curious about her abilities.

She would be useful. With her face as a Thief, I couldn’t completely trust her, but it might not be a bad idea to make one connection here.

“Charlotte-kun. I have a favor to ask of you. Do you plan on showing up at the Magician’s Guild in the future?”

One of the things I wanted to accomplish during my vacation was to secure the magic stone that came with the magician’s staff. It would be easy if she belonged to the Magician’s guild.

Souya, who had no connection to the Magician’s Guild, decided to take the plunge and ask Charlotte. 

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