CH 191

Episode 191 – Finding Members

Perhaps because it was still daytime, Araku Village was dead silent, without a single customer inside. From the looks of it, there was a good chance they weren’t open yet… But the sign on the shopfront said “Open”, and the door wasn’t locked.

I walked around the place for a bit, taking a look around, but there was no one, not even the slightest presence. I thought about maybe coming back later, but I decided to try calling for someone first.

“Excuse me. Is anyone here?” (Lewin)

My voice echoed through the quietude of the dimly lit bar.

No one here, huh?

I was about to give up and leave when I suddenly heard the sound of footsteps coming towards me from the back of the bar. After waiting for a while for the sound of footsteps to draw closer, a languid-looking woman appeared.

(TL Note: Instead of the word “woman”, the author uses the word onee-san, or “older sister” here.)

She must have slept with her makeup on or something, because it was smudged and coming off, making her face look rather strange.

“…..What are you doing here in the middle of the day? It’s still night time here,” the woman said to me, her face warping unpleasantly after seeing me. Her looks, smell, voice, and expression… everything about her screamed that she was definitely a ‘night person’… Kind of scary.

“Is that so… The sign at the front said you were ‘open’, so I thought you were open for business. I’m sorry.” (Lewin)

When I apologized, the languid woman looked like she suddenly remembered something, then scratched her head.

“Come to think of it, that sign is still out there, huh? I haven’t touched that sign for several years now, so I completely forgot about it. My bad.” (Languid Woman)

“No no, there’s no need to apologize. Since this place is a tavern, I should have come at night.” (Lewin)

“Well, let’s call it even then. So what brings you here today? It’s not like you want to drink during the daytime or anything like that, is it?” (Languid Woman)

“Actually, I heard that you can be introduced to flexible adventurer parties here, so I came to ask about that.” (Lewin)

When I broached the main topic with her, she nodded several times as if she was satisfied. As I thought, this was the place that Tobias had mentioned.

“I thought that might be the case… So you really are a party introductions customer. Just as you said, this place is indeed a tavern and also does party introductions. Well, we started this on a whim, and since most normally form parties at the Adventurer’s Guild, the numbers are small. At this time, we can only introduce 2 parties.” (Languid Woman)

There was no mistake that the tavern was doing party introductions, but for there to only be two groups… I thought there would be at least a few more parties. It seemed that there were fewer people in this situation than I expected.

“Only two parties…? Um, can you tell me what kind of parties they are?” (Lewin)

“Of course. It’s a pain in the rear so I’ll keep the explanations short. The first party is made up of former adventurers. All of them were expelled from the Adventurer’s Guild due to various infractions, but they were all fairly good adventurers in the past. They do things at their own pace so the rules are lax… Which is the same as saying there’s no rules at all, though that’s part of the charm.” (Languid Woman)

The first party was just how I imagined it would be. A party made up entirely of outcasts who were expelled from the adventurer world due to misbehavior violations. The fact that they were fairly strong left a good impression on me. Plus, the lack of rules would make it easier to leave them when I caught up, so I found it a pretty attractive option. But considering that they all had bad behavior, I would never want to dive into the Dungeon with them.

“Moving onto the second party, which is a party made up of people who do adventurer work as a side job. This party’s motto is to prioritize their main job, so the rules are loose… But the furthest they can go is layer 8, so I can’t deny that their strength is lacking. 5 out of 6 of them work in bars, so they’re usually drunk, and I’d say they’re probably the least motivated adventurer party in Landaust.” (Languid Woman)

Hmm… In terms of conditions, this one is better… But their strength is too lacking.

If I went with this party, I would have to start by motivating them first. And if they didn’t train further, it would surely be impossible to catch up to the [Azure Alliance]. If adventurer work was just their side job, then they wouldn’t have time to train anyway. If I were to join one, it would inevitably be the first party…

“Hmmm… I’m terribly sorry to have wasted your time, but neither of them meet the criteria I have in mind. I apologize.” (Lewin)

I came into the store when they were closed and then took up her time, only to refuse at the end. It made me feel a bit bad, but I had to be firm here.

“I see. Well, it didn’t hurt to introduce them to you anyhow. Well, I’m getting somewhat of a margin from the two parties, so don’t worry that it’s outside of business hours right now.” (Languid Woman)

“Thank you for that. Also… one more thing?” (Lewin)

It might take more time, but it’s certainly easier to find someone who fits your criteria than to search by party.

“Sorry, but we don’t do personal referrals. It would take too much time for us to also refer individuals. Ah― However…” (Languid Woman)

“…However?” (Lewin)

It sounded like she was plainly refusing, but the woman suddenly put her hand on her chin as if she remembered something. Then, after a moment of silence, she spoke to me about what she remembered.

“There was actually one person who came to mind. This person can use magic and is a so-so melee fighter. A versatile kid with good behavior and has both a general education as well as knowledge of the Dungeon.” (Languid Woman)

“Eh?! Is there such a person? If you don’t mind, would you please introduce me to them?” (Lewin)

I accidentally cut her off excitedly when the woman mentioned this person. I would be willing to pay money to be introduced to someone with such good qualities.

“Well, finish hearing me out first. It’s just that… you don’t exactly meet the requirements that this person is looking for.” (Languid Woman)

The words ‘you don’t exactly meet the requirements’ weighed on my mind. I wanted to hear just what exactly didn’t match.

“What exactly is it about me that doesn’t match that person’s requirements?” (Lewin)

“To be frank… it’s your gender. This person is a girl that’s working part time at my bar, and she’s looking for a party member of the same gender. So that’s why you’re kind of an iffy fit for this.” (Languid Woman)

I see. So in other words, this person was female, and she was looking for another female adventurer. Certainly, in that case, no matter how much I tried, I wouldn’t meet that requirement. I ended up getting my hopes up. The requirements didn’t really match up in the first place, so I kind of wished she hadn’t brought up this person in the first place.

“Umm… If this person is looking for a female adventurer, then I don’t fit the criteria at all, you know?” (Lewin)

“No, no. You don’t seem very masculine at all, so I’d say you actually got half a chance. What do you say? If you want to negotiate directly, I can introduce you to them.” (Languid Woman)

Hmm. This woman’s argument really doesn’t make any sense. I’m a man, so the requirements clearly don’t match at all.

In my opinion, even if we met face to face, there was a really good chance that it would just end up being a waste of time. But if she was willing to introduce me anyway, then it would nonetheless be a favorable situation for me… so it might be worth trying to negotiate with her.

“…….If possible, could you please introduce me to that person then?” (Lewin)