Chapter 13 Avoiding Trouble

The brown-haired girl seemed to notice Minori's hesitation, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly in amusement. She offered with a knowing smile:

"If you're a registered adventurer, questions like this are free."

She looked at him expectantly.

Minori raised an eyebrow. "Can a single person register as an adventurer?"

"Adventurers lead dangerous lives. Anyone can sign up, and technically there's no minimum party size," she said, lowering her voice just a little, "but for safety, it's generally required to be two or more."

She paused, then added, "Of course… there's no formal restriction."

"How much does it cost to register?" Minori asked, face unreadable.

"One silver coin!" she chirped, raising a finger with exaggerated cheer and giving it a little waggle.

Minori reached into his cloak as if searching, then discreetly summoned a silver coin from the Item Box and placed it on the counter.

"I'll get it done for you right away," she said quickly, eyes bright.

"No. Just the five-copper question," Minori said, pressing a hand lightly over the coin, his tone flat.

He didn't move it away. Just… reminded her who held the money.

I only have 2 gold, 6 silver, and 3 copper left. I'll need to pay for food, lodging, and travel. When I reach E-Rantel, costs might spike. Can't waste silver just to get a paper badge.

He had no intention of accepting quests, anyway.

The girl's enthusiasm dimmed a little, but she didn't argue. Instead, she pointed toward the request board with a slightly petulant frown.

"There's an escort mission headed to E-Rantel. It's a long haul, but the reward's only minimum for a Gold-level request. Cheapskates."

She seemed to be hinting at something.

"I think a Silver-rank team is going to take it. You just missed them discussing it earlier."

Her voice softened slightly, conspiratorially. "If you want to join them, you'll need consent from both the client and the team."

Minori followed her finger and glanced across the guild hall. A group of four stood together, gear polished but not flashy. They looked disciplined. Capable. He recognized them from earlier—he'd caught snippets of their conversation as he passed.

They'd been talking about targeting a Gold-level commission.

Now it made sense.

Minori let out a slow breath and pushed the silver coin across the counter.

The brown-haired girl's eyes flickered in surprise. She quickly picked it up, rubbed it with her fingers in a quick test of authenticity, and dropped it into the coinbox beneath the desk. Then she retrieved eight copper coins and placed them on the table.

"Thanks."

Minori nodded, collected the change, and turned to leave.

"…Thanks?"

The receptionist blinked in astonishment. She stared at Minori's back, a strange expression crossing her face as he walked away.

No one's ever thanked me before. Adventurers were usually rough, impatient. Especially to low-level clerks like her.

"He… looks poor. Or maybe just… simple," she muttered under her breath, lips quirking. "But polite. Surprisingly polite."

And kind of handsome, now that she thought about it. That black hair… and dark brown eyes. Rare colors in this part of the world.

A foreigner? Or maybe from another country…

Her cheeks flushed faintly.

Minori walked to a quiet corner of the guild hall and leaned against the wall, exhaling quietly.

Things were more complicated than he'd thought.

It wasn't just a matter of tagging along. He'd need permission from both the client and the adventurers. That was… unlikely.

Clients hired protection precisely because they didn't want strangers. And adventurers wouldn't risk bringing in dead weight.

But he had to get to E-Rantel.

Whether it was the Tob Forest in the north or the Katz Plains in the south, they were ideal grinding grounds. This world wasn't a game—monsters didn't respawn. If he wanted to level up, he'd need to go where the monsters still roamed in numbers.

And E-Rantel was the most strategic location for that.

It bordered both the Re-Estize Kingdom and the Baharuth Empire, making it perfect for movement and information gathering. Not to mention—Nazarick wasn't far from there.

And even if danger arose in the Kingdom's territory, it likely wouldn't be anything too severe—at least, nothing he couldn't escape from with clever use of terrain or skills.

Most importantly…

He needed companions—a buffer against the unknown.

Minori knew a lot about this world—but all of it was high-level metagame knowledge. Politics, future conflicts, world-class items, the guilds.

He knew nothing about day-to-day survival in the Kingdom.

And right now, his level was still too low to brute-force his way through anything.

"From what she said… the trip from the capital to E-Rantel is worth a Gold-level commission. That's way out of my price range."

Minori clenched his fist.

Maybe there was another way.

The road from the capital passed through a large city—Re-Estize's Ye-Rebl, ruled by Marquis Raeven, one of the Kingdom's Six Great Nobles.

If I can get to Ye-Rebl first, and then take another mission to E-Rantel from there… maybe the price drops.

It'd take more time, yes. But the Kingdom was stable. No major wars right now. A delay wouldn't kill him.

What would kill him… was being broke and alone.

Suddenly—

"Ms. Daya, has anyone taken the commission I posted yesterday?" A nervous, somewhat familiar voice echoed from the desk.

"Oh, it's you."

The brown-haired receptionist—Daya—sounded warm now. "Perfect timing. A Silver-ranked team just accepted it. If you're unhappy, I can try to change it…"

"No, no! It's fine. We don't have any specific requirements," the nervous voice said quickly.

Minori's head snapped up.

That voice… Nfirea?!

His eyes widened.

That kid—Nfirea Bareare, the apothecary with genius-level potential.

Wait. Was that commission… his?

Minori's thoughts raced.

Nfirea's grandmother was a powerful magic caster—a third-tier spell user. Why would she need a team of adventurers?

But the facts were clear.

He'd heard enough.

Nfirea had already spoken to the Silver-ranked team, and they were preparing for departure.

Minori took a breath, squared his shoulders… and walked toward the group.