Chapter 62

In a room of the Adventurer's Guild—the room for job changes, commonly known as the Job Room—a receptionist was passionately persuading someone.

"Hey, why don't you reconsider? Most elves and dark elves choose to be spirit mages, wizards, or archers for their first job. Some with exceptional talent might choose to be summoners, but you chose a tamer. That doesn't make use of your racial traits."

Usually, guild receptionists would offer advice on the jobs adventurers choose, but they wouldn't interfere. Adel, like Colette, had a kind heart and often meddled, which led to her being scolded by the guild master, though she never showed any sign of regret.

Marifa shook her head, her resolve unwavering.

"Did your master tell you to do this?"

Since it was common for a slave's job to be decided by their master, Adel thought Marifa might have been ordered by Yuu. However, Marifa shook her head even more firmly.

"Hmm... If that's the case, you should think about it even more carefully."

Adel sighed and tried to persuade Marifa again, but she understood from Marifa's determined eyes that her mind wouldn't change.

---

"Yuu, is it okay not to go with Marifa?"

"It's fine."

"I see. So, you've already decided on the job, right? Is it a spirit mage or a wizard?"

Yuu realized the conversation wasn't going well.

"About the job? I don't know what job Marifa will take. It's up to her to decide her own job."

"Really? You don't know? Marifa is your slave, right? Normally, the master decides the slave's job."

Yuu didn't think much of it. Looking back, Nina and Rena were nowhere to be seen. At the table, they were feeding each other the fried bread Yuu had made, and Nina was combing Rena's bedhead with her hand.

"Anyway, the job materials I bought earlier didn't mention necromancy or time-space magic. Do you have any materials on jobs related to these two types of magic?"

Colette quickly covered Yuu's mouth and whispered in his ear.

"Yuu, no way!"

"Is there a problem?"

"Big problem! First, necromancy is widely despised due to its effects. Most users are either managed by the state or hide themselves. Second, there are no current users of time-space magic. A long time ago—hundreds of years ago—there was a black demon king who called himself the Sixth Demon King. His name was Naga, I think. He was a user of time-space magic and waged war on various countries. His power was so great that even countries with poor relations had to join forces to finally seal him. Since then, researching time-space magic has been strictly forbidden. The only exception is the Alchemy Guild, which is allowed to create item pouches, but even then, there are no known users of time-space magic."

Yuu was a bit disappointed by Colette's information. Moving to Nina and Rena's table and sitting down, a shadow fell over them. Looking up, a large man stood both vertically and horizontally.

"Is that Ekkart?"

"Hey, Yuu, how are you? Larrid, the kind-hearted guy, was spreading the word that he got free sigils on his weapons."

Ekkart, the giant adventurer Yuu had recently started talking to, was one of the few male adventurers Yuu spoke with. Since coming to the city of Kama, Yuu had started interacting with other adventurers, but for some reason, male adventurers tended to avoid him. The only male adventurers Yuu talked to were Joseph, Larrid, and Ekkart. Incidentally, Nina and Rena were often spoken to by male adventurers.

"Damn, that talkative Larrid. I'll punch him next time I see him."

"I'll punch him too. Hahaha."

Nina and Rena poked Ekkart's stomach, and he smiled warmly.

"Hmm? Ekkart, your buttocks and legs are bleeding."

"Oh, probably from fighting a Wood Grizzly earlier. But it's fine, I don't want to waste a potion."

Yuu and Rena cast Heal on Ekkart, and his wounds quickly closed. Giants were naturally tough, and the Wood Grizzly's claws and fangs couldn't deeply wound his muscular body.

"Thanks. Profit, profit. Hahaha."

As the four of them chatted, the door to the Adventurer's Guild was forcefully opened. One of the adventurers who entered looked around, met Yuu's eyes, and walked straight toward him.

"Are you the adventurer Yuu?"

The man, dressed in elaborately decorated armor, and two other adventurers who seemed to be his followers, along with an adventurer with a swollen face, stood there.

"My name is Flame Sword Sham! You know why I'm here, right?"

"Flame Sword Sham? That's an unusual name."

"Shut up! Flame Sword is my nickname!"

Yuu wondered how Sham wasn't embarrassed to call himself by his own nickname. Looking at the men, he recognized the adventurer with the swollen face. It was Muga, who had been in the party with Rena during the Goblin General quest. He hadn't recognized him earlier because his face was swollen from being hit.

"Hey, it's been a while. What happened to your face?"

Before Muga could answer, Sham interrupted.

"Muga says you helped him. During the Goblin General quest, you and that girl were in a party with Muga, and as a result, Gratz and Mimi died, and Muga lost an arm. It must have been because that girl held you back!"

"Damn it, that's not true! I've told you many times, we held you back, and Yuu and the others helped us! Besides, I've already left the Crimson Meteor clan. Leave me alone—Gah!"

Before Muga could finish, Sham's backhand hit his face. Muga, bleeding from his nose, tried to grab Sham, but the followers held him back. The other adventurers watched with a spectator's interest. The guild receptionists couldn't interfere in clan disputes, but since Yuu and the others were involved, they couldn't ignore it and watched the situation.

"You can't just leave the clan. The Crimson Meteor, the largest clan in Kama, was embarrassed by rookies. If Delid finds out, my reputation will be ruined."

"Hey, weakling. Muga is different from you. He has some backbone, so let him go."

"We're weaklings!?"

"Is that not true? You need three of you to take on Muga alone."

"Stop it! Yuu, don't provoke him—Guh!"

One of the followers twisted Muga's arm.

"My level is 31. My first job is Knight, and my second is Magic Knight. In terms of strength, I'm on par with C-rank."

Yuu and the others were exasperated by Sham's boasting about his level and job. The followers looked at them as if to say, "What about us?"

Hiding one's abilities is a crucial part of being an adventurer. Enemies aren't just monsters. Fellow adventurers, criminals, information brokers, and rival clans can all use your information against you. That's why adventurers don't easily show their guild cards.

"Are you, by any chance, a farm-raised adventurer?"

"Farm-raised? What do you mean?"

"Some large clans receive money from nobles or merchants to be raised safely. You seem to have been raised in a pampered environment."

Yuu's comment made Sham's face turn red. It was true; Sham was the second son of a baron and had been raised by the Crimson Meteor's leader with a large sum of money from his parents.

"You bastard!!"

Sham reached out to grab Yuu's collar, but Ekkart grabbed his arm from the side.

"Hey, you're picking a fight with Yuu?"

"Let go! You brute! Just because you're here, you must be D-rank at best! Do you think you can beat me?"

Ekkart, unfazed by Sham's threats, tightened his grip on the arm. The sound of the arm being squeezed revealed his immense strength.

"What, really a farm-raised adventurer? You can't beat a D-rank adventurer like this. An adventurer who has only leveled up in safe places versus one who has survived on the front lines, the difference is clear."

Yuu's words were met with agreement and taunts from the surrounding adventurers.

"Right, right! Don't get cocky just because you're in a big clan."

"Who do you think you are?"

"You're not worth talking to. Bring Delid here!"

As Sham, enraged, reached for his sword, a voice came from the side.

"You'd better stop. You'll lose."

"Who's there!"

"It's me~"

"You, I don't know—Muss, the Baron!?"

Standing there were Baron Muss, the ruler of Kama, and his butler, Nung.

"Nice to meet you. You're Yuu Sato, right? You really have black hair and black eyes. By the way, would you like to become mine?"

Nina slowly stood up and drew her dagger with a swish.