Chapter 22

Well, after the two of them had eaten and calmed down, they were about to resume collecting, but I said, "Wait a moment," and had them sit down to talk.

There's no need to rush the collection; things will work out. I had planned to do it alone, so it's much earlier than I had anticipated. Rather than that, it's better to think about what to do next for the two of you.

"Let's put the collection on hold for now. Thanks for helping me. I'm sorry for making you work hard when you were hungry. I'll pay you the agreed amount. But... what will you do when you enter the town? You can't get an ID without registering with the Adventurer's Guild. Without an ID, you'll have to pay every time."

"About that... would you consider hiring us?"

The two of them, with serious expressions, bowed their heads.

I understand that if there's no one else to rely on, it would come to this. However, if I hire them, there are various issues. If I contract them as collaborators, I might have to sell their information, and I'm not sure what the best course of action is.

"It's better not to."

"We're not asking for a long-term commitment. Just until we can pay the registration fee."

"...Please."

I understand that we need to get to the point where they can pay the registration fee.

I feel a bit guilty about leaving them here. However, if I hire them as collaborators, I might have to sell their information, which wouldn't be fair. If they can make their own judgment, there shouldn't be a problem... right?

"I have a contract with the Adventurer's Guild and another person, who I assume is a high-ranking official. I refused any involvement with the Adventurer's Guild, but there's a possibility that information could be passed on."

"True, but it's not guaranteed to be discovered, right?"

Indeed, it's not guaranteed. If I don't know something, I can say I don't know. I don't lie, so if I don't know, that's fine. However... the possibility of offering the same contract to the two of them.

If only I have the contract, I might be resented by the two of them.

But... I'm not sure if I should offer it to them. If they insist on being treated the same as foreigners and I end up being excluded, that would be a problem... What's the right thing to do?

"...I can't lie to them. If you don't talk to me, no information will leak."

"......Are you okay with that? It means being used."

"No, I'll stick to not knowing what I don't know. But I will report that I helped you. I don't understand the situation here, so it's better to have more cooperative relationships. I won't break the contract for your sake. ...I can't leave you to die, so I'll provide financial support. But I hope you can take care of the rest yourselves."

It's partly because of your faces...

I can't ignore you... I don't mind spending money. However, I can't do anything about the contract.

The two of them seemed to think for a moment but seemed to have resigned themselves to the lack of other options.

"...Do you have the money to cover the registration fees?"

"Fortunately, thanks to my alchemy ability, I can earn more than a regular adventurer. The entry fee to the town is 100G, the guild registration fee is 300G, so for two people, it's 800G... I can manage. I'll also give you some extra money for lodging and other expenses."

"Wow... really?"

"...I appreciate it. Thank you."

Money. I just happened to have it... I was planning to go shopping.

The registration fee... what did you plan to do if I didn't have it?

There's no way a regular foreigner could earn enough to cover this amount. I can say this because I earn through alchemy. At F-rank, even in a party, you don't earn much! Because the money you get for defeating a monster that can be defeated by one person is the same, and when divided among the party, it's less! I want to assert that alchemy really earns money!

"By the way... at the guild, your skills will be checked... if you have any combat skills, it might be better to hide them if they are rare. Well, the upper management seems to know about unique skills, so it might not matter much."

"Is there a way to hide them?"

"When you register, they will check if you have any skills or magic. If it's a combat skill and true, you can pay and register. If you don't have any, you can't register as an adventurer. I was fine with just level 1 in unarmed combat and level 1 in sword skills. There's an artifact that can detect lies, so it's not good to say you don't have any when asked..."

The important thing is the unique skill. However, it's better to act normal with other skills, so I'll pass on this information.

Sword skills are orthodox, so just having them is fine. Surprisingly, neither of you had them.

Huh? You have a sword but not sword skills?

No, a katana? It's not a sword, right?

The other one has a greatsword?

Well, it's probably better to have level 1 in sword skills. Probably. If you register, I think you should show just that.

"Do you know how to learn skills?"

"Basically, practice and fight monsters about 100 times with a sword? There's a proficiency level, and if it's met, you can learn it when you level up."

"Got it. Hey, can I borrow your sword? I want to learn sword skills."

"Sure, but don't go too far without a weapon."

"Alright. Sorry."

Well, the monsters around here aren't strong, so I can handle them with my fists. I'll also give you a shield. While you level up, I'll collect and pass the time.

"By the way... neither of you have armor?"

"Nope. Choosing steel and iron weapons made our funds zero."

"......Ah."

Well, I thought so... without any armor. I wonder... do you really need two weapons? I don't understand that feeling.

If you don't have armor, the risk of being exposed as foreigners is reduced, but... aren't you afraid of getting hurt in battle?

"I see. I never thought about having two weapons... being without armor might be better to avoid being exposed as foreigners, but..."

"Would you be exposed as foreigners by your weapons?"

"Weapons and armor are mass-produced. If you have the same weapon, you'll probably be exposed."

"So, your armor is different?"

"Well, yes... I thought I wouldn't be exposed as a foreigner by doing this much."

"Ah... I think I was memorable, but I don't think others remember me."

By "memorable," you mean appearance.

Well, I think I would remember you at first sight. You look similar. But the other one is prettier... why? Well, it's a feast for the eyes.

"Is it better not to be exposed as foreigners?"

"Probably... being exposed as foreigners might be disadvantageous, but not advantageous."

"Should we just discard our weapons?"

"If you have unarmed combat, that's an option... but... it's better to have weapons."

Hmm... can you even become an adventurer without weapons?

If it doesn't work out, it will be a problem... besides, I want to try something.

I can do alchemy and transmutation, but I haven't used transmutation. I've only read about it in a book, but I don't think it's impossible.

"......If it's okay to break, I want to try something."

"Huh? ...Sure, go ahead. It's a useless weapon anyway. What are you going to do?"

At my suggestion, he grinned with a playful smile.

Hmm. I can't make that kind of face. It's manly and cool.

Well, it's not about being a man, but about personality. It's cool to grin confidently.

"I can use transmutation. I haven't used it on weapons, but... I can shape things with magic."

"I see. So, you can change the weapon with transmutation! That's interesting!"

"What do you think? I can't guarantee success."

"I'm fine with it. What about you?"

"...Please."

I haven't used transmutation on weapons before... but I wanted to try it.

According to my master, there are no recipes for transmutation; it's done by feel. That sounds fun.

The two of them readily agreed, so I'll give it a try. There are many things I want to try in this world.

"Alright. I'll try it when we get home. For now, practice your skills while I collect. It might be better to practice with a sword before leveling up, as you can level up quickly by defeating weak monsters."

"Alright. Thanks."

While the two of them hunt nearby monsters, I'll collect and gather the defeated monsters.

I should also teach them about dissection.

"Did you level up?"

"...Yeah, but I didn't learn the skill."

"Then, practice a bit more and try leveling up again. I'll also teach you how to extract monster cores. Ideally, you should have a special knife, but it's better to learn dissection. I'll show you an example."

Well, I just learned it myself.

But I can extract cores more cleanly now, thanks to the 'Dissection' ability.

I quickly skinned the monster, separated the meat, and extracted the core.

"It's like this. When you extract the core, the monster will eventually disappear. For B-rank and above, you're not allowed to leave the body to prevent it from becoming a zombie."

"...Thanks."

"Oh, if you don't want to do it yourself, the guild can do it for a fee."

"......What about you?"

"I'm practicing to do it myself as much as possible. But for rare monsters, it's better to have the guild do it to preserve the value of the materials. You can extract cores, and for animals, you can skin them and eat or sell the meat."

"...Got it."

"Here, give it a try."

I handed them a knife and a monster to dissect... but they were quite clumsy.

I patiently taught them step by step, but it was quite challenging.

"Sorry for the wait."

"Did you learn it?"

"Yeah, here, switch."

"...I'll go."

There's a possibility that the greatsword won't work, so they're switching weapons.

Well, it's my sword, but... a katana, a greatsword, and a sword... broadly speaking, they're all swords.

"Can you teach me too?"

"Sure, but the guild can also teach you. It's better to learn from a professional."

I taught them dissection, and this one was more dexterous. After showing them once, they could do it. When I handed them a knife, they dissected more cleanly than I did.

After a few practices, I told them that for slimes, the cores should be nearby and to go collect them.

If left, it would be a waste... I hadn't told them that even tiny cores can be sold. Slime cores can be sold for a bit of money if delivered... for adventurers.

I'll buy the small cores from them. I'll add a bit of color to the price to make it better than the guild's price.

When the two of them reached level 3 and learned their skills, we decided to head back home.

"Alright, let's go to your place."

"Sure. I'll put the rest in the bag."

We had defeated a considerable number, so we put what fit in the bag and left the rest with the cores extracted. Since they were low-value monsters, no one would want them, so it shouldn't be a problem.