CH 8

“It’s probably fate or something that we met, so how about we accept a quest together?”

“I just became an adventurer, you know? And didn’t you say you’re almost C rank?”

“We’ll get there once we complete a few more quests. What do you think, Chris?”

“…I think it’s fine.”

“See? Honestly, the two of us have been completing quests, but it can be a bit tough for two people to handle stuff like what happened today.”

“I’m sure there’s plenty of people out there that will join your party.”

Thinking back, those stares that I got when we entered the guild were all about jealousy.

“We have been approached, but I didn’t feel the same spark that I feel right now. Not to mention that they all seemed to have ulterior motives, and Chris didn’t feel good about them either.”

In a way, it can’t be helped. They’re clearly good looking, and after talking to them, it becomes clear that their personalities match their looks.

Rurika is cheerful and easy to talk to, and while Chris isn’t proactive in starting conversations, there’s a strange aura about her that makes me feel at ease just by having her around.

I might be wrong, because I basically just met them, but that’s how I feel.

“Also, as your seniors, we can teach you all sorts of things about being an adventurer. And… We can do mock fights to practice fighting. You have a sharp slash, but the way you swung your sword felt off, like the sword was swinging you.”

I’m an amateur when it comes to using a sword. I’m basically using it in a sort of forced way with the skill.

These conditions seem too good for me. I feel like there has to be a catch.

But this is also a good chance. I want to know the basics of fighting. I thought about putting out a quest with the guild, but I’d need money for that.

“All right, I’ll give it a shot. You’re not going to stay in this country forever, are you? Then I’ll be with you for the time being.”

“Yes, we’re thinking about looking for a nice escorting quest when we reach C rank, and moving. Anyway, give me half your day tomorrow. There’s somewhere I want to go.”

And so, the plan for tomorrow is to accept delivery quests in the morning, and meet her in the afternoon.

◇ ◇ ◇

I go to the guild early in the morning, and it really is crowded. A lot of people are looking at the quests affixed to the wall, and some are even fighting over specific quests.

No one’s in front of the delivery quests. I check the details, and take three to the reception. I’m glad it’s not as crowded over here.

I finish the quests in the morning, just as I expected.

My Walking skill is level twenty, and I have four spare skill points.

What should I learn? Healing magic? Offensive magic? I don’t know what kind of magic I can learn, so I should look into it first.

“Sorry I kept you waiting.”

I go where we agreed to meet, and Rurika is waiting for me by herself.

“All right, let’s go. Chris stayed back, because it looks like she’s still tired. She’s not the best at running around like that.”

Rurika then takes me to the store where I bought all my equipment.

“Hello young lady. And the lad that bought all that equipment from me. Is there a problem with anything I sold?”

“We’re here today because we need weapons for a mock fight. Do you have anything good?”

“I have swords with busted tips and wooden swords, which one? The wooden swords are cheaper.”

“Can you adjust the weight? Of course, as a freebie~.”

“I can’t win against you. A one handed sword and twin swords then?”

We leave, and head to a training area here in town.

It’s mostly used by guards, but other people can use it too if there’s room. There’s one in the adventurer guild too, but I guess we would stand out too much there.

Luckily, there is an open space in the corner, so that’s where we’ll do our mock fighting.

First, I get a lecture on the basics of how to swing a sword and fight. Then we fight, and she points out what I’m doing wrong, and I repeat while trying to correct it.

Clashing swords with another person really is better than just doing practice swings. Proficiency increases faster too. One thing that’s particularly good is that when I attack someone instead of just doing practice swings, I have to take my opponent’s movements into consideration, so I’m using my head as well as my body.

We keep going for a while, and when it’s over, I’m so tired I can’t stand up. Rurika is fine, she’s not even out of breath. Is this because of the experience gap between us?

We were going at it pretty hard too, so I have a lot of bruises.

At first, some people looked over here with interest and jealousy, as they saw me training with a girl, but as the exchange of blows intensified, their stares turned into pity.

“Well, you did pretty good for the first day. And don’t forget to carry that with you when you’re going around doing quests. I want to train when you have the time. Ah, but if you don’t want to carry that around, you can use a real sword. Which one do you prefer?”

A wooden sword, obviously. I’m not brave enough to swing a real sword at another person. A wooden sword can cause a lot of damage too, depending on where it hits, but it still feels completely different.

“Let’s go look for a quest tomorrow. I hope there are quests to take down monsters, but if there aren’t we’ll figure something out then.”

I get up, and use purification magic, both on me and on Rurika.

At first she’s really happy, and then she sulks because she says it’s not fair that I can use magic.