Chapter 12

"Did you see that person?"

As I walked through the commercial district, everyone who passed by turned to look at me.

They’re not rejecting me as a cursed child. Everyone is looking at Elysia.

"Elysia... Do you mind? Your appearance as a familiar."

The tall, beautiful woman with long blonde hair swaying in the wind—there’s no way she wouldn’t stand out.

"Of course not! She walks fast and seems stronger than before."

"Well, that’s good..."

"Also, this golden hair... it reminds me of my mother."

"Your mother? Oh, right, Elysia’s mother is—"

"A human. I was entrusted to the convent at the age of five, so I don’t have many memories of her..."

Elysia’s mother is human, and her father is an orc.

"Even her name?"

Elysia nodded.

"Yes. I don’t even know where she is... But I remember that my parents lived happily together."

Saying that, Elysia stroked her golden hair.

If she likes it, it’s fine for her to stay as a familiar.

Still, I need to be more careful... It’s good that there are no disadvantages to being a familiar, but I might accidentally get her to use some strange magic again.

By the way, the demon is unusually quiet.

Hey, are you still alive?

"...There! Go, go! Yes, first place!"

What’s going on? Is he doing horse racing in my head?

I don’t know how he’s doing it, but it might be influenced by what I was seeing.

Maybe he’s given up on going out for a while.

I’ve prepared one horse for now.

Just like the Holy Shadow, it’s a hybrid of a unicorn and a regular horse. I know it’s cheap, but it’s better in both stamina and speed than a regular horse.

"Well, Elysia. Do you have everything you need?"

"Yes, all the clothes and sleeping bags are ready! The tools and sleeping bags have been delivered to the palace, though."

"Got it. Wait, but Elysia’s—"

All the clothes are mine.

"I can’t use Lord Alex’s money. I’ll pay for it from my salary later."

"No, Elysia. Don’t hesitate to buy what you need. It’s a thirty-day journey. Get good things."

"But—"

"If anything happens, only Elysia will be there to protect me."

"Understood! In that case, could you please—about the undergarments?"

"Um... Elysia, it seems you don’t have much experience shopping? I’m not very knowledgeable about women’s undergarments, sorry."

Elysia answered with a serious face.

"...I didn’t expect such a serious answer."

Muttering something under her breath, Elysia seemed to remember something.

"By the way, you said we need to stop somewhere after shopping, right?"

"Yes, I want to register Elysia as an adventurer."

"An adventurer? The ones who specialize in monster hunting?"

"Right. But the adventurer guild also has jobs like transporting small items that the merchant guild won’t take. We can take those jobs while moving from town to town."

"I see. We can earn money that way."

"Exactly. Plus, we can gather information about the surrounding areas. We can collect items that might sell well along the way and sell them."

Hearing this, Elysia said with a dreamy expression.

"Lord Alex talking about money... it’s so charming!"

"Hehe... Isn’t it? Money never betrays you."

I accidentally used my old catchphrase.

Anyway, money is convenient. To ensure a safe and comfortable life, we need to earn money.

"But, can I get the adventurer’s qualification?"

"Basically, you have to take a test. But with Elysia’s crest, it should be fine."

"Is it because of the crest?"

"Yes. Depending on the type of crest, the qualification test can be waived. Conversely, those with dark crests can’t get the qualification at all..."

This is true not only in the empire but also in other countries. It’s partly because monsters are widely believed to trigger demonization.

"Discriminating by crest is unacceptable! I’ll complain—"

"Easy, easy!"

I calmed down the angry Elysia.

She looks calm, but she gets quite hot-headed.

Maybe it’s the orc blood...

"Elysia. Anyway, you can’t become an adventurer until you’re twelve. At least, let’s get you registered."

"If that’s the case—"

After that, we bought Elysia’s clothes and equipment and arrived at the guild.

The sturdy stone building was bustling with armed adventurers inside.

"It’s like a tavern in here."

"I’m also a first-timer. I think we need to apply at the reception... huh?"

Looking at the reception, I saw people walking towards the exit.

A knight-like woman in heavy armor, a powerful female mage in a splendid robe... and a girl about my age in priest’s robes.

All of them were wearing masks, so their faces were hidden.

But the girl’s silky silver hair caught my eye.

"...Lord Alex?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry."

It can’t be Yuris...

My fiancée, Yuris, also had silver hair. But the girl’s hair was cut short, and she was wearing white gloves, so I couldn’t see her crest.

"Lord Alex... you like that kind of person?"

"It’s not like that... I just thought it was unusual to see a child."

"True. Since they can’t be adventurers."

"Or maybe she hired adventurers... Anyway, let’s get registered."

"Okay!"

We headed to the reception.

The receptionist answered in a clear voice.

"Are you a noble?"

"Um... yes. I’m here to register my attendant as an adventurer."

"What a coincidence."

"Huh? Was the person before also a noble?"

"Ah, sorry. It’s information about non-adventurers, so—"

She can’t tell us.

"Sorry... Anyway, please place your hand on this crystal, attendant."

"Okay."

When Elysia placed her hand on the crystal, the receptionist was surprised.

"Paladin!? Amazing... You’re exempt from the qualification test."

Hearing the word "Paladin," the surrounding area suddenly became noisy.

"There are a lot of great newbies today."

"Maybe jobs around the capital will decrease."

From the adventurers’ conversation, the people before were also nobles and their attendants.

"Cough... I got a bit loud again, sorry. Here’s your guild card."

The guild card proves you’re an adventurer.

"With this, you can take on quests at any guild in the empire. We also buy defeated monsters, so please use our services!"

"Thank you."

Elysia received the guild card.

Glancing at the quest board, I saw a transport mission to a town on the way to Tiars.

Let’s take that and start our journey.

After leaving the guild, we headed back to the palace.

"Now we can leave tomorrow. We’ll be away from the capital for a while."

"It’s a bit sad, but also exciting... I’m sorry, for a maid to say such things!"

"No, I feel the same."

Before the reset, I had never been outside the capital.

"Since we’re at it, let’s buy some sweets on the way back. We won’t be able to eat fancy things for a while."

"If that’s the case, there’s a delicious pastry shop that Reina often buys from. The cream is really good."

"Then let’s go there."

And so, we prepared for our departure from the capital the next day.