Chapter 19

As the sun began to tilt, Tōru finished his collection and left the forest.

Upon leaving the forest, he bit into the skewers he had bought in the morning. The smell of the skewers seemed to have attracted the stray dogs again. However, they only watched from a distance, apparently remembering Tōru's scent.

Watching the stray dog, which was drooling and whining pitifully, made Tōru feel somewhat guilty.

But they were stray dogs, not pets. If bitten and infected with a disease, it could be the end. Especially rabies, which is almost always fatal once symptoms appear. You shouldn't let stray dogs get close just because they look cute. Tōru steeled his heart and finished the skewers.

Upon arriving at the gate of Finris, a guard raised his hand to welcome Tōru.

"Hey Tōru, welcome back."

"I've just returned."

"It's good to see you safe. I believe you went to collect herbs. How did it go?"

"I managed to collect a decent amount. I'm not sure if it will be enough, though."

"Oh, I see. By the way, I've heard that there have been a lot of sightings of Silver Wolves recently. It seems you were safe, though."

"Silver Wolves... Are they like dog-like creatures?"

"Well, they do look somewhat like dogs."

The guard, who had been smiling wryly, suddenly became serious.

"Did you encounter any?"

"Yes, quite a few."

"Oh, wow. I'm surprised you survived in that outfit..."

The guard's eyes widened in shock. Tōru was currently wearing only ordinary clothes, without any armor.

Normally, facing monsters unarmed would be suicidal.

But Tōru had the 【Magic Sword】. Although he didn't use it this time, if the stray dogs—Silver Wolves—had attacked, he would have cut them down without hesitation.

However, to others who didn't know about the 【Magic Sword】, Tōru didn't seem to have any combat ability.

For adventurers, weapons and armor are like suits for office workers. If you said you worked at a company while wearing pajamas and running clothes, your neighbors wouldn't believe you.

(To avoid arousing suspicion, I should probably have some appropriate equipment...)

"By the way, aren't you with Estelle?"

"No, I'm acting independently. We're not in the same party."

"Oh, I see. I was hoping you'd be together, but I guess that's not the case."

The guard scratched his head.

"You became an adventurer, right?"

"Yes."

"She's a bit unreliable, so it would be reassuring if you were in the same party... But I understand that's a lot to ask. Sorry, forget I said anything."

From Tōru's perspective, Estelle was a beautiful woman and a senior adventurer. He didn't mind not being in the same party. However, Tōru was a wanderer—a lesser person. He thought that being in a party with someone of lesser ability would be a burden to Estelle, so he held back.

"Hmm, if I do join a party, it might be until I find the perfect partner for Estelle."

On his way, Tōru bought a burlap sack from a street vendor. After entering a side street and confirming that no one was watching, he filled the sack with herbs he had taken from the <Ethereal Storage>.

"...This is such a hassle."

He would prefer to use the <Ethereal Storage> normally, but the receptionist's warning made him uneasy. He would have to think of a better way later.

When Tōru entered the guild, there was a line at the reception, unlike in the morning. Adventurers who had finished their jobs were reporting their completion.

After waiting in line for a while, it was Tōru's turn.

"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Tōru. What brings you here today?"

"I've completed the herb collection for the standing request. Could you please check it?"

"Wait, you did that alone?"

"Is there a problem?"

"No, no. As long as you collected the required amount, there's no problem. Please submit the herbs."

"Sure."

Tōru nodded and placed the burlap sack, filled with herbs, on the counter. The receptionist, Marry, froze at the sight of the bag.

"..."

"Is there a problem?"

"N-no... Could I check the contents?"

"Sure."

Marry hesitantly opened the bag. It was packed with herbs.

"..."

The moment she saw it, Marry's mind went blank.

A few seconds later, the first word that came to her mind was "strange."

(Strange. This isn't what I know about herb collection.)

To complete the herb collection request, you need 5 herbs per bundle. Typically, adventurers collect 3-4 bundles to complete the request.

To have this much at once was extraordinary.

The amount of herbs, easily ten times the usual, made Marry feel her common sense crumbling.

She had thought Tōru was a promising adventurer, but she hadn't expected him to be this exceptional.

"..."

"Excuse me, is it not enough?"

Tōru gently inquired, seeing the receptionist frozen in place.

"N-no, it's more than enough! I'm amazed you managed to collect so much."

"I'm relieved..."

He sighed in relief. If he had been told it wasn't enough, he would have been a bit disappointed.

"Could you tell me how you collected so many?"

"How I collected them? I just collected them normally..."

"Normally... What does that mean?"

The receptionist, with a deadpan expression, continued to evaluate the herbs.

The herbs Tōru had collected amounted to 103 bundles, far exceeding the required amount. Tōru was momentarily stunned by the unexpected number.

In contrast, the receptionist's eyes regained their human sparkle.

"The harvesting is perfect, and there are no mistakes. Excellent. You seem to be familiar with handling herbs, Mr. Tōru."

"Yes, a little bit."

This knowledge was limited to the forest near Finris. Moreover, Tōru couldn't have collected the herbs without Ridd's body. All the credit went to borrowed strength. Tōru had nothing to be proud of.

"A little bit? Actually, this standing request is quite difficult."

"Even though it's an F-rank request?"

"The danger level is F-rank, but you need the ability to identify and harvest herbs. You also need to avoid being attacked by monsters, making it one of the most difficult F-rank requests."

"I see..."

"Many new adventurers fail this task, which is why it's a standing request with no penalty for failure. Otherwise, new adventurers would fail repeatedly and be deregistered quickly."

"I see..."

As Tōru listened to the receptionist, cold sweat began to form on his back.

(I chose it because there were no penalties for failure, but that was the reason. I need to be more careful when accepting requests in the future...)

"By the way, the herb collection request became a standing request recently because F-rank adventurers kept failing it."

"I see..."

"There are other requests that are failing repeatedly. Recently, many adventurers have been losing their qualifications due to repeated failures. Some staff members are lamenting the decline in the quality of adventurers."

"Ah, that's tough."

"Exactly! As a result, there are fewer E-rank and below adventurers... If this continues, there might be a shortage of low-rank requests. It would be great if all adventurers were as excellent as Mr. Tōru."

"Ahaha..."

The receptionist looked up at Tōru. The adventurer waiting behind Tōru spat, "Tsk! (Explode!)" with a murderous glare.

Tōru felt a cold sweat run down his back from the resentment.

"Could you please proceed with the completion?"

"Ah, yes, my apologies. Let's proceed with the completion. Please hand me your guild card, Mr. Tōru."

"Sure."

Tōru placed his card on the flat stone the receptionist had extended. When the receptionist pressed a button on the side of the platform, a light floated up and was absorbed by the card.

103 lights floated up, representing the number of completed requests. The receptionist had to press the button 103 times.

"Phew..."

After the 103 lights had floated up, the receptionist waved her hand.

(Well, pressing that many buttons would tire your fingers...)

"Thank you for waiting. Here is your reward. Please check it."

Tōru received a small burlap sack from the receptionist and peeked inside. It contained 10 silver coins and 3 large copper coins.

One bundle of herbs was worth one large copper coin. Tōru couldn't judge if this was a good or bad reward. If he believed the request was extremely difficult, the reward seemed low. However, with proper preparation, earning 10 bundles was equivalent to 10,000 yen, which wasn't a small amount.

"Congratulations. You have exceeded the required points for a rank increase, so your adventurer rank has been upgraded."

"Really?"

Tōru hadn't expected his rank to increase.

Surprised, but calm, he asked, "Is it really that easy? I've only completed herb collection."

"For F-rank, it's a simple point system, so there's no problem. It might feel a bit unfair, but it's rare for someone to complete the required points with just one herb collection."

The receptionist chuckled. Transporting 103 bundles of herbs to the guild was no small feat. Without the <Ethereal Storage>, it would be difficult to achieve a rank-up with a single herb collection request.

"It feels too easy..."

"F-rank is primarily about building the basic stamina and trust needed for completing requests. While the criteria aren't easy, it's a line that needs to be easily cleared for future adventurer activities."

Tōru nodded, understanding that it was like a probationary period at a company.

"From E-rank, you can accept monster hunting requests. They are much more difficult than F-rank, so please be careful."

"Understood. Thank you for the warning."

Tōru bowed and left the guild, feeling two sharp gazes on his back.