Chapter 9

The counter I am in charge of handles request processing, party registration, and appraisal of small items.

Request processing mainly involves order receiving, order placing, and completion operations. Party-related tasks involve joining and leaving parties. Appraisal of small items involves evaluating items like herbs and magic stones, which generally do not have high values.

There are also staff members on either side of me.

"Please come this way."

The person on my left is Melody Nep, who was recently hired. She moved here with her husband and now lives in this town. She is half-scaled and half-human, with light purple hair. Her skin is pale but healthy, and her lips are blue. She always wears her favorite blue lipstick. She is a graceful and cool beauty. She handles the same tasks as I do, and I mainly teach her the job.

"Next."

The person on my right is Felio Piques. He is in charge of the appraisal counter. Felio handles appraisals for items ranging from low to high value, including magic stones, herbs, monster materials, magic tools, and gems. He doesn't underprice items just because the customer is a child, nor does he overprice them just because the customer is a noble. He doesn't allow even a single copper coin to be unfair. It is his stubborn nature to always offer a fair price.

He has black hair with a bluish tinge, sky-blue eyes, and delicate glass-like wings on his back. He is a fairy, and his wings are beautifully shiny. Despite being a fairy, he is not palm-sized. He is about a head shorter than me and has a boyish appearance. However, he is older than a sub-master but still a senior.

Meanwhile, it seems that the person on my left is looking for something.

"Ah, Ms. Charlotte. Where did you put the map?"

Melody is older than I am, but she speaks politely and calmly to everyone.

"One step to the left, then straight ahead... Yes, it's right below that."

She notices the label 'Map' on the shelf and says, "There it is," happily. However, it's too early to be happy. There are various types of maps.

"Each one is divided by district and dungeon."

While explaining, I use my 'Speed Writing' skill to process the order and call the next person in line. It's busy now, so the buyback is handled at Felio's counter on the left from the user's perspective. Other tasks like order receiving and placing are handled by the two of us women.

The queue is not divided by each reception counter but forms a single line. We call the next person to the available counter, starting from the front. This is to avoid uneven lines. Also, from the user's perspective, if the person in front of them is taking a long time while the neighboring counter is quickly processing tasks, it would be frustrating. Therefore, we have a single queue, and users enter the available counter in order.

"I want to place a request... Can you buy these for me?"

The female adventurer said this, handing over a request form and a few herbs. She probably finds it troublesome to join the neighboring queue after placing the request. Besides, Felio's queue is longer, and this counter usually handles simple appraisals, so I will take care of it here.

"Sure. I'll also take your card."

I started the processing for the request and herb buyback, using my 'Appraisal' skill.

"Teteto Grass: Good condition. Six silver coins."

The results were immediate. All the herbs were well-picked. Herb gathering also earns rank points, so I add the points to the card and hand over the silver coins.

The herbs I bought are not left on the counter. They are stored in the herb storage box at the foot of the counter, wrapped according to the rules and with the documents I wrote during the buyback. This storage box has a function to block storage magic. If a thief tries to steal the items in the storage box using storage magic, it can be prevented. Some people can use storage magic from a slight distance, so this is a precaution. However, it must be properly closed.

The magic tool is called different names depending on the person and their mood, such as "storage box," "herb, magic stone," "safe," "box," or "that."

On the right, Felio was just finishing the appraisal of a larger magic stone and putting it in the magic stone storage box. Felio has been the appraiser at this guild for a long time, even before I started working here. However, he had already left the guild during the previous guild master's scandal. He had disagreed with the previous guild master and his associates. — Yeah, I can imagine.

Felio conducts buybacks based on precise appraisals. In contrast, the people who were here before had a mindset of trying to underprice items. It's natural that they couldn't agree.

I imagine that he was probably fed up with the previous guild master's faction and quit.

To get him to return to the guild, the guild master and I went to his place two years ago when we restarted. We asked him to come back.

After he returned, he taught me about appraisals. This made me realize that there was still much room for improvement in my 'Appraisal' skill. The Teteto Grass, for example, would have been marked as "Teteto Grass: 4-8 silver coins" two years ago. Thanks to Felio's training, the markings have become much more detailed and clear. I am very grateful.

"Ah, and one more thing. Do you have any water magic stones? For this magic tool."

Ensuring a water supply during camping is often done by relying on a skilled water mage or using a magic tool that produces drinking water. In the latter case, water magic stones need to be replaced.

"Yes, I have them. Please wait a moment."

The location is on the shelf behind Felio. He is currently processing the buyback queue without changing his expression.

"I'll go behind you."

I pass behind his beautiful wings. Fairy wings are very beautiful, but you should not touch them saying, "Wow, so beautiful! Hehehe!" Doing so would require retaking the immigration test (a test of rules and common knowledge specific to each race, which is mandatory to live in this country). When passing behind him in a narrow corridor, I always remember to say this.

By the time I do this, the queue at the buyback counter is gone.

"I was called by the guild master, so I'm going upstairs. If there's a high-value buyback, let me know."

"Sure."

He, who generally doesn't talk much, explains calmly, and both Melody and I respond.

"I borrowed a pen. I'll leave it at this counter."

"Okay, no problem."

Earlier today, he said that the ink in the pen he was using ran out, so I lent him one of mine. He needs to either buy a new one or order a special replacement nib for that pen. Even if he decides to replace the nib, he needs to go to the store where he bought the pen.

Even after Felio went upstairs, a few users came in, and I handled them with Melody. When the counter was mostly empty, a group of three people arrived: one woman and two men.

"Can you buy items even if we're not adventurers?"

"Yes, ... what kind of items do you have?"

I used 'Appraisal' on the three of them to check their occupation, title, and skill sections. From their demeanor, I had a pretty good idea of what they were here for, and it turned out to be as expected.