Chapter 9

The adventurers who had been beaten up by me and Londaito were being carried away by the doctors.

Cheers and whistles rose from the crowd. Why, I wonder.

"It just means they were that hated. But we won't have to see their big heads again, especially the leader. Thanks to you, he's completely out of the game."

"I did something terrible to him...!"

If I had even a little magical aptitude skill, I would have learned healing magic and healed his injuries.

But I'm just a "No Skill" guy, after all. Basically, I can't do anything.

"It'll turn out for the best in the end, for him."

"Really?"

"Sure, the <Phantom Hand> is a great skill. It's versatile and has a wide range of applications. If he had trained it, it could have been the trump card of a top-notch adventurer. But he's no good. The skill itself is good, but the user has rotted."

Indeed.

He became arrogant because he was given a high-performance skill and started to look down on others.

With such a rotten heart, no matter how good the skill, he wouldn't be able to master it.

"Such a fool will keep pushing forward in his arrogance and one day run into a powerful monster and be killed without a chance. You stopped that from happening. He still has his life, even if his arms are broken."

"Indeed, with those arms, he can't be an adventurer anymore..."

"Even if he can't use his physical arms, his skill won't hinder his daily life. He should live quietly from now on, as a civilian."

Dropping out a fool who lost his humility might be a kindness from a professional...

"That's how it is. You should remember that, Noem!"

"Y-Yes!?"

Londaito suddenly approached Noem.

"Your skill is far more valuable and excellent than that fool's. Many people will start to fawn over you and flatter you. You'll feel good about it and start to think you're a god or something!"

"N-No, that won't happen!!"

"Don't ever forget that feeling."

The value of a skill isn't the same as your own value.

Those words overturned my previous values.

I was born without a skill, but just as I had my own struggles, those who were given skills also had their own struggles.

"Well, you have this Ryouya. Maybe he'll be a more precious treasure to you than the <Alchemic King> skill."

"Yes!!"

What a good answer.

"Anyway, let's start the new adventurer training right away, despite the trouble."

"New adventurer training? What's that?"

"Every adventurer has to go through it at the beginning. They wouldn't give you a registration permit without an exam, right?"

Indeed.

"First, you'll be taught the basics of being an adventurer by a veteran. Otherwise, a mountain of corpses would be created before the newbies grow up. We can't let that happen."

Indeed.

"So, I'll teach you the minimum essentials of being an adventurer while you complete a super easy quest for beginners. Let's go, boys!"

Huh? Huh?

What's with that tone?

Is Londaito going on a quest too!?

◆

So here we are.

Where are we?

The Colant Plain, a vast plain located southeast of the city... or so they say.

"From now on, you'll be doing a super easy beginner quest here!!"

Londaito is really enthusiastic.

By the way, why is she leading us?

She was just revealed to be the guild master, but her unusually active movements are surprising.

If she was sitting at the reception and now leading us out of the city, does that mean she's personally organizing this new recruit training?

"Being an adventurer is a job where you have to take the initiative. If you become a big shot and sit back in a luxurious room, you're done as an adventurer. The person at the top of the guild has to show that!"

She's a vibrant person.

I remember the adventurer's creed is vitality, connections, and compassion, right?

"Listen! You're still chicks! Babies just out of the womb! You don't know a thing, not even a word! Got it!!"

"Y-Yes!!"

Noem is overwhelmed.

"I'm going to pour all my knowledge and resolve into you, you newbie! I'll fill you up from the inside and turn you into a full-fledged adventurer! Are you happy!? Are you grateful!?"

"Yes! I'm happy!"

"Your voice is too low! Again!"

"I'm so happy!!"

Let's cut the theatrics and get to the point, shall we?

The beginner quest, which also serves as new recruit training, is... a herb-gathering quest.

We just need to pick a specified amount of herbs used to make potions in this plain. We need to fill this basket.

"Don't underestimate herb-gathering. Even though it's a plain, it's still outside the city, so it can be dangerous. And when you're injured by a monster, the potion made from these herbs will save your life. This quest to gather the ingredients is, in a sense, the lifeline of all adventurers."

"Yes!"

"If you understand, get to it! Take your time, but make sure you gather them accurately! Don't mix in any weeds, or you'll make the alchemists' job harder!"

Noem ran out into the plain, flustered by Londaito's loud voice, and started pulling out the herbs she recognized from the ground.

"That's... not just what she was taught, is it?"

Londaito watched Noem's work from a distance, analyzing it carefully.

"She's distinguishing them instinctively. She can tell the difference between herbs with medicinal properties and those without, even without being taught."

"She said she often went into the forest when she lived in the village, so maybe it's from that experience?"

"No, that's the effect of the <Alchemic King> skill."

The SSS-ranked skill, that one...?

"<Alchemic King> is a skill that provides the best effects for alchemy. It generously gives her knowledge of potion-making, alchemical work, and lost elixirs and divine tools. Thanks to the <Alchemic King> skill, she can recognize herbs with medicinal properties just by looking at them."

"Such a thing..."

"And that's just one of the many effects of <Alchemic King>. She'll probably make incredible inventions and attract a lot of attention. Thinking about her future gives me a headache."

As the guild master and someone responsible for supervising Noem, Londaito has the duty to protect her.

She must be struggling with how to guide such a promising new recruit.

"You must be struggling with that too, right?"

"Me too?"

"I don't know what magic you used, but she's so attached to you. You're practically her guardian, aren't you? You should keep a close eye on her to make sure she doesn't fall into the wrong hands, more than anyone else."

I'm also wondering why she's so attached to me.

Was it because I saved her from the slave traders?

"Hey, just to check..."

"Yes?"

"Have you already slept with her?"

"Wh-What!?"

What kind of question is that!?

You have no morals at all!

"It's important. She's so attached to you. I think it would be better for both of you to strengthen your bond through physical intimacy."

"But she's only fourteen! She just received the Coming of Age ceremony recently..."

"Then it's even more important. Don't you know why the Coming of Age ceremony is held at fourteen? In this country, you're considered an adult at fourteen!"

T-That's true, but...!?

"As an adult, you can get married and have children. I know a couple who had two children when they were your age."

"What about you, Londaito?"

"Is it so bad to be single in my thirties?"

"I'm sorry!!"

The pitfall was closer than I thought.

"What I'm trying to say is, it's unnatural for a couple who love each other so much not to have sex. Greedy weasels will see that tension and use it to separate you from her."

"I see...!"

"If you care about a woman, sometimes it's right to make her yours. But there are some men who mistakenly think that not touching her is a sign of respect. Those guys are usually virgins."

Londaito laughed, not missing my slight reaction.

"Are you a virgin too?"

"Y-Yes, I am a virgin!"

"Then it's understandable that you're nervous. If you don't want to embarrass yourself in front of her, why don't you practice with me first?"

"Big Sister!?"

Londaito's unexpected proposal came with a smile that was as bold as ever but also sent shivers down my spine.

"I don't do this with just anyone. I want to build a strong relationship with promising new recruits. The strongest bond between people is blood and flesh. Being a guild master is tough, you know."