Chapter 52

"Are you guys... looking down on the Apple Family?"

Big brother's permission was granted.

I approached the idiots with a steady gait.

I was already within striking distance with the hammer on my shoulder.

"Y-You, we're the second biggest Gold Rats in the eastern branch of the capital! If you mess with us, you'll be in more trouble than the Apples are now!"

I swung the hammer down again at the feet of the idiot B, who had opened his mouth.

Dust flew up.

If I slipped, it would clearly result in more than just an injury.

B, whose feet were shattered, turned pale and fell on his butt right there.

Seeing this, A, with his teeth chattering, pulled out something like a knife from his waist.

"You pulled it, didn't you?"

I twisted my lips into a crescent shape.

This world is quite tolerant of violence, but only when it's done with bare hands.

Everyone carries dangerous weapons in the city.

If you casually pulled them out and started a fight, society wouldn't function.

Pulling them out without reason makes you a target for arrest by the Royal Knights and the police.

If you intentionally injure someone with a weapon, even if it's just a minor injury, you could end up as a criminal slave in the mines.

At that moment, a man who seemed to be the site supervisor from the construction company, the client, hurried over.

He had been ignoring us while we were being treated unfairly by these guys until just now.

"What are you doing! I'll report this to the guild!"

To reassure the site supervisor who had stepped in, I put down the hammer and declared:

"Don't worry, supervisor. Up until just now, the seniors were just teaching me how to use the hammer. There's no problem at all.

But, if an accident happens with work tools, it wouldn't be good for you, so I'm now bare-handed.

From here on, as a fellow explorer, I have no choice but to stop these idiots who are pulling out their personal knives.

We explorers can't stand being looked down on... These idiots seem to need a clear hierarchy."

"But, Ren, you're a new registrant..."

Big brother muttered something, but I ignored it and approached the knife-wielding idiot with a murderous aura.

"I know you guys have been enduring and working diligently despite the unreasonable demands from these guys! But if someone gets injured and the work is delayed, I can't give you a good evaluation!"

Oh, surprising... They were actually evaluating the work properly.

But once big brother was injured, I had no choice but to stand up for him.

My head was calm, but I was surprisingly angry, even to myself. I really liked big brother, who was clumsy but kind to his juniors.

"Nothing will be a problem if I do the work of three people from now on. The guy has a weapon, but I don't intend to kill him. I just want to punch these idiots' faces until no one can tell who's who!"

I smiled and pressed closer.

I thought if they made the first move, I would have the perfect excuse.

However, the idiots, intimidated by a 12-year-old kid with bare hands, screamed and ran away.

This was the best part...

◆

As I declared, I asked the injured big brother to water the site and did the heavy lifting for three people.

At first, the site supervisor, who had been holding his head in his hands thinking, "The schedule will be delayed again..." was in a much better mood by the time we left.

"You have unbelievable stamina, Ren. You did the work of five people, not just three!"

The other guy from the client's company, an old man who had been demolishing the building with heavy machinery and had a towel wrapped around his head, also praised me.

"Indeed. For a 40-year veteran of heavy machinery, to be rushed by a kid doing the cleanup... I'm impressed!

...Being looked down on is the end for us site workers too. If we had just let those useless guys get away with it, no matter how diligently we worked, the supervisor and I wouldn't have recognized you... But...

Ha ha ha! What a show you put on!"

While the old man was demolishing the building with the machinery, I had some time to chat with the supervisor and big brother while compressing my magic power, as the pace was a bit relaxed until the rubble accumulated.

However, this fired up the old man's fighting spirit, and he worked with incredible speed...

"To prevent those guys from making trouble, I'll officially report to the guild that you were the victims. And your evaluations for today will be A!"

Hearing this, big brother was surprised.

"Is that okay!? An A evaluation means additional rewards! Ren is one thing, but I was just watering the site after that."

The supervisor smiled.

"Since we don't have to pay those two Gold Rats, and the work is progressing twice as fast as planned. Amour was working hard before he got injured, so take it. I'll add some color to Ren's additional reward. Here's the completion report. In return, can you come help again?"

The supervisor said this and handed us a signed paper with a barcode-like mark.

"Thank you."

◆

On the way back, I received a piece of scrap metal that looked like high-purity iron.

Apparently, when you encounter a generous supervisor, they might give you a piece of scrap as a souvenir.

This was what was rolling around in the Apple Family's yard.

It might only be worth a few pennies, but my brother and I grunted and chose the heaviest-looking piece.

The supervisor laughed, saying, "Choosing such a heavy one, you still have plenty of energy!"

It seems the Apples are in a bit of trouble, so I thought it would be nice to bring this as a gift and repay their kindness in some way.

The reward we received at the eastern branch was 200 reals for big brother and 400 reals for me.

According to the contract, it was 150 reals per day, so more than double.

The supervisor seemed to have given us all the reward money that was supposed to go to those two idiots.

With a satisfied look, I waited for the payment, and the receptionist said:

"Congratulations! Both of you have been promoted to F-rank today!"

...Hold on.

I understand big brother, who was almost there, but why did I get promoted after just my first mission?

"Is there some mistake? I understand big brother, but this was my first mission today..."

"Huh? Is that so? That is strange... Let me check!"

The receptionist went back and came out with a smile after about two minutes.

"Congratulations! I confirmed with my supervisor, and there was no mistake. You met the promotion criteria! That's impressive. To get such an evaluation on your first mission, you must have achieved something remarkable! I've been at the reception for a long time, but I've never heard of such a thing."

Big brother said, "That's amazing, Ren! I've never heard of someone getting promoted on their first mission!"

...Well, it's fine.

According to the explorer rules, there are no missions you can't take as an F-rank.

I accepted the supervisor's kindness with a bit of unease but also with gratitude.