Chapter 8

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"Are you calm now?"

"Y-Yes. I'm sorry..."

Towa-san, with a gentle smile like a mother, still strokes my head, which is nice, but it feels a bit embarrassing to be treated like a child at my age.

‘Grrr... How long is she going to keep petting me, this woman...!’

‘But she’s so nice to Kohaku! I like nice people!’

‘I understand, but isn’t she a bit too close, this woman?’

Hey, hey. Claire, Sphere, stop bickering.

"Thank you. I'm fine now."

"Are you sure? If you want to be pampered, you can always come to me."

"Hahaha..."

I couldn't help but look away.

It's like she has some kind of magic, or an aura that makes you want to be pampered... or maybe it's just her warmth. Being pampered by her feels like it would make me completely fall apart, and that's a bit scary.

Towa-san removed her hand from my head and approached with the bronze plate.

"Kohaku, please stand up."

"Y-Yes!"

I stood up from the sofa.

Towa-san attached the bronze plate to my left chest.

During this, I got to enjoy her unique, pleasant scent, but let's keep that between us.

"There, it's done."

‘Wow, that looks great!’

‘It suits you very well, Master!’

‘Kohaku, you look beautiful! So cool!’

Towa-san then had me stand in front of a full-length mirror.

The bronze plate, shining on my left chest, is proof of my membership in the Tamer Guild.

Ah... I still can't believe it.

But this shining plate on my left chest tells me it's real.

"From today, you can start taking on requests. Go to the reception and get detailed instructions from Saria."

"Yes! Thank you!"

Requests! Work!

I'm finally out of unemployment!

I'll do my best!

◆

"Saria-san!"

"Ah, Kohaku-san. I've been waiting for you."

When I went to the guild reception, Saria-san greeted me with a smile.

"I want to work!"

"Ooh, you're full of enthusiasm. Let me explain, please follow me."

I followed Saria-san to a partitioned area.

It's like a semi-private room, a bit small.

Being in such a place with someone as beautiful as Saria-san... it's a bit nerve-wracking.

"First, congratulations on passing the test. Let's work hard together from now on."

"Yes, thank you! I'll do my best!"

I clenched my fist and replied, and Saria-san smiled warmly.

"Hehe, that's a great response. Now, let me explain the guild... how much do you know about it?"

"Um... the guild receives various requests from civilians, and guild members solve them... right?"

"Yes, that's correct. Requests vary, including search, gathering, and monster hunting. Since you have a bronze plate, your main tasks will be search and gathering. You can also hunt weaker monsters."

"Can't Irons do that?"

"Yes. Irons are beginners, so they can only do search and gathering."

I see... so you gradually build up your experience this way.

"What do you want to do? Since you have the chance, how about taking on a monster hunting request?"

"No. I chose the bronze plate, but I don't know anything about the guild or requests. So, I'll start with search and gathering, just like Irons!"

I can't just hunt monsters and get strong without doing search and gathering; that would be a disgrace to a guild member (my opinion).

Right now, I just want to learn the job as a guild member as quickly as possible.

"..."

"...Um, Saria-san? Why are you spacing out?"

"Ah, no. I've had a few people start with a bronze plate before, but... I've never met anyone like you."

"Is that so?"

So, most people usually take on monster hunting requests to get stronger, I guess.

"But since there are requests, it means there are people in trouble, right? Then I want to help those people as much as I can."

"...You really are kind..."

Kind... am I? I thought it was just common sense...

‘Master's broad and generous heart... I, Sphere, am deeply impressed!’

‘Kohaku is so kind! So kind!’

‘No wonder you’re liked by幻獣種!’

Even if you praise me like that, it won't change anything.

I'll buy you some sweets later.

"Then, let me explain how to take on requests. Please follow me."

"Yes."

We left the semi-private room and went to the bulletin board area inside the guild.

"Irons, Bronzes, and Silvers find their requests here. Golds and above are too dangerous, so they can only receive requests at the reception."

"Wow..."

Let's see.

Gathering herbs. Mining iron ore. Searching for a runaway horse. Finding a lost doll. Investigating a cluster of red spider lilies. Hunting 10 goblins. Hunting 5 orcs.

I see, these are the kinds of jobs for Irons, Bronzes, and Silvers.

"Then, let's start with gathering herbs."

"Understood. You need to register the request at the reception, so please come this way."

◆

I successfully registered the request at the reception and led everyone out of the city of Alex.

The location is in a nearby forest. Apparently, the herbs grow here.

‘Kohaku, how many herbs do we need?’

"It seems the more, the better. Herbs are the raw materials for healing potions."

‘Hmm. How do we find them? All the grass looks the same to me.’

"That's where you come in, Sphere."

‘Yes, Master.’

Sphere's eyes glowed red, and she created a red film-like field around us.

‘I have generated a detection field.’

"Thank you, Sphere. ...Look, see the grass that's glowing red? That's the herbs we're looking for."

From this perspective, they do look like ordinary weeds.

A non-expert would probably overlook them.

‘So, we just pull these out, right!’

"Yes. Claire, fly around and gather as many herbs as you can. It's best to pull them from the roots, please."

‘Leave it to me!’

Claire gathered herbs from a bit further away, while Sphere and I collected the nearby ones.

We steadily increased our count.

Then, when the 40-liter sack was full, it happened.

‘Kohaku, this! This one!’

"Huh? Fen, what is it?"

‘This one is different! It smells good!’

Smells good?

...Hmm. I can't tell the difference from the other herbs. What's so special about it?

It's not glowing. Maybe it's not a herb?

"Sphere, what is this?"

‘This is a superior herb. It’s a higher-grade version of a herb that appears due to a mutation.’

A higher-grade version of a herb... I didn't know such a thing existed.

‘Kohaku, am I great? Am I great?’

"Yes. Good job for finding it."

‘Hehehe~’

When I petted Fenrir's head, she rubbed against me happily.

She really is like a big dog.

"Then, let's collect this one too. The more herbs, the better."

‘Understood.’

‘As you wish.’

‘I'll do my best too!’

In the end, we collected three 40-liter sacks of herbs and one sack of superior herbs, and we returned to the Tamer Guild.

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