CH 20

“Now then, would you mind writing your name on this card?”

“Yes. Lars Irving, there ……”

I took the card from Gibson-san and wrote my name. I don’t have the convenience of an autograph pen, so I filled it in smoothly with a quill and black ink, and Gibson-san shouted in admiration.

“Oh, you write so well. Is Roen-san teaching you?”

“No, I’m too busy working in the fields. I have Maria, and um, a good teacher.”

“Oh, a home tutor?”

“Well, you know ……”

“Dad, enough about teacher! So, I wrote my name on the card, what do I do now?”

Verna-sensei doesn’t come out of the mountains, and she doesn’t come to our town to buy groceries, so not many people know her. And for some reason, I don’t think it’s a good idea to bring her out into the open.

She is both kind and spartan. I didn’t ask her why she was in the mountains like that. She says it’s to cultivate medicinal herbs, but I think there’s something else ……

While I was thinking about this, Gibson-san continued to explain.

“Now, Lars, can you put your magic into this card? It’s made of a special metal. It remembers the first magic power you put into it. So if someone else picks it up, they can’t do anything bad with it.”

“Something bad, you say?”

“It’s a bit of a back and forth explanation, but even if you want to steal a card that has completed a request and receive money from it, they will check to see if it glows with magic power. That’s why the card plays an important role …… was it difficult to understand?”

“No, it was easy to understand!”

“You’re a smart kid, just like Roen-san.”

“Thank you. Well, then, let me take some random requests. .”

Then I realized what was going on and tugged on my father’s sleeve to ask him.

“Is that it? Isn’t there a crystal to check your skills and qualities?”

“? What are you talking about? Your skill is [Jack-of-all-Trades] and qualities are like skills. You don’t need to bother looking into it. Well, it’s an interesting story though. He’s smart, and I think he might be good at writing. If you want to write a book, and write a good story with the [Jack-of-all-Trades], won’t you be able to sell it?”

Oh, by the way, I don’t need to look up the skills I’m being taught …… It’s a skill that you can’t see and you don’t really feel like you’re using it, so I forgot about it.

“I’ve got a simple one that I’ll ask for. How about making thirty sticks?”

“In the back?”

“That’s right! Thirty may be a bit much for a child, but we’ll take a cut today, and it’s okay if Roen-san helps you complete it.”

Gibson-san chuckled as he said this, and Dad and I chuckled even more.

“It’s fine!”

“What?”

◆ 　 ◇ 　 ◆

～Fifteen minutes later.

“Here we go!”

Scone! The last log was split in half, or even in four, with a resounding thud, and the requested thirty logs were completed.

“Fifteen minutes. Isn’t that a little slow? Oh right, we’re not at home so you’re a little nervous, Lars.”

“No, it’s this axe. It’s not as well taken care of as father’s, you know?”

Gibson-san was standing beside me, watching with a puzzled look on his face, while Dad was enjoying himself and I was complaining. Gibson-san immediately huffed and hollered.

“No, no, no!?! Lars-kun is eight years old, right!? Let alone 15 minutes, it’s an impossible amount that even an hour won’t be enough! And every single one of them is beautiful ……”

That is, of course, thanks to my [Super Jack-of-all-Trades]. I helped chop the wood for the fireplace that needed to be lit every year during the cold season, and since my brother and I also made the firewood for Verna-sensei’s house, we learned how to chop it properly.

“I wonder how much money I’ll get for this?”

“Oh, right! I was surprised, but it’s eight hundred beryls.”

Beryl is the currency of this world, roughly the same as the Japanese yen. I remember being surprised when I was four years old that bills were magically counterfeit-proofed and had proper serial numbers.

“……. How much did it cost to enter the Academy?”

“Hmm, I can’t tell you that. You seem to be reckless, so why don’t you just do a few simple requests and make more food for your Dad.”

He patted me on the head and chuckled. My Dad must be thinking of it as my allowance. The entrance fee to the academy seems expensive ……

But if I can get eight hundred beryls for this, I can get eight hundred thousand if I do it a thousand times. And there are two more years to go, so if I keep the spirit of accumulating dust, I’ll be able to save money!

“I’ll ask you again when I feel like it. There are still some easy jobs that are cheaper than you think.”

“Thank you, Gibson-san!”

My dad chided me for calling it a day, and I left the guild with the eight hundred beryls. As I walked down the street, I suddenly thought of something in a street lined with stores.

“…… can I drop by some of the stores?”

“Hmm? Yeah, I don’t mind, I still have time. Are you going to buy something with your first income?”

“Yes!”

And then —

“You’re giving this to me? Thank you …… I’ll take good care of it!”

“Ahhhh!? I never thought I’d see the day when I’d get a present from Lars-sama …… This Nina, I’ll serve you forever!”

“You’re exaggerating. Nina should get a boyfriend, okay?”

“That hurts my heart ……”

Well, maybe it’s difficult for Nina because of her own mother. Then my brother comes to hug me.

“Lars! I heard you went to the guild!? I’m so jealous. I should have told Dad more. Oh, this pen is really nice and easy to use! Thank you!”

“Well, it’s eight hundred beryls, so everyone gets two hundred beryls each.”

Yes, I used up my first income as a gift to my family. Mom got a brooch with a red stone in it. Nina got a handkerchief, and my brother got a pen, like I said. And for Dad ……

“…… Dad, don’t cry.”

“No, I’m not crying! I’m glad you grew up to be a good boy. ……”

He then hugged his work gloves and cried.

My father’s farm work involves hoeing and sickles, but he always uses his bare hands. So cuts and scrapes were the norm and I always thought it would be painful. I have my mom’s medicine, so it heals quickly, but it’s important not to get injured in the first place.

That’s how my first job ended, and now I can go to the guild and have a wider range of activities. Gibson-san and his adventuring business (or whatever you want to call it) were very friendly and didn’t make fun of me. On the contrary, they even took care of me, saying that they had had a hard time when they were children too.

This was a good start for me, and I headed for the guild again today.

Two chapters a day is pretty heavy ……

Thank you for reading!

[Afterword Theater]

“No, three chapters. It’s one chapter everyday on the other work, after all.”

It’s stupid If you think about it ……

“After all this time!”

This guy ……!