The Mysterious Child: An Adventure Tale Beginning with Numerology

"Fufufu"

On that day, there was a suspicious person smiling mischievously just before the border.

A young adventurer with his hood pulled low, hiding his face while making deliberately suspicious noises, causing passersby to recoil.

Yes, that's me.

With the Bargia Dragon Duchy looming ahead, the border area was crowded. Apparently, this is the only road among those connecting the dragon capital of Bargia and the southern continent that can accommodate large carriages. As a result, this border is always crowded with peddlers and adventurers.

In other words, I'm standing out in full view of everyone.

"Fufufu..."

"What's wrong? Ruruk-kun, you've been a bit strange since this morning."

Mererosu peers at my face with concern.

She's the beautiful elf sister who's become a temporary party member.

"Ruruk is always strange."

"Mm. Strange."

"Strange, nano~!"

Hey, you regular members. Don't say such things even if you think them.

Normally, cheeky kids like this would be in for a spanking, but I'm in a good mood today so I'll let it slide. Not that I've ever actually spanked anyone before... Right, maybe I'll save that for tonight's entertainment. A spanking festival night.

"I just got chills for some reason."

"Mm... enemy?"

"Nano?"

Oops, these guys are sharp.

Anyway, of course there's a reason I'm in such a good mood.

"Fufufu. Do you want to know, Mererosu-san?"

"Not really... Ah, no. I'm super curious."

Oh? Did I make her feel obligated? No, no, that can't be. Mererosu is a warm person, so she must definitely be interested in me. That must be it. It must be.

Mererosu put her hands together and forced a smile. However, her eyes were averted.

"I-I'm really curious!"

"Is that so! Then allow me to tell you. Mererosu-san, you know that adventurer cards are made with mystical art devices, right?"

"Ah, yes. That's right."

"Eh? Is that so?"

Mererosu nods straightforwardly. Next to her, Saaya looks surprised.

The Adventurers' Guild has mystical art devices, which they use to write information on adventurer cards.

The front has the name, race, rank, party name, and party rank.

The back has detailed records of dungeon conquest information and such.

This information is stored in the World Tree through ley lines. Basically, neither adventurers nor guild staff can rewrite the contents at will. That's why adventurer cards serve as identification in any country.

However, I said "basically" because there are exceptions.

The mystical art devices in the guild connect to the World Tree to write information on adventurer cards.

Here's a question. So, how?

The answer is the advanced technique [Threshold Compilation]. For those who got it wrong, your bet of a Ruruk-kun doll is forfeit!

Anyway, the technology used for writing is [Threshold Compilation].

...Clever people, you've already figured it out, right?

"Um, don't tell me Ruruk-kun..."

"Next, you folks there!"

Just as Mererosu's face twisted, the border guard called out to us.

I take off my hood to show my face and confidently present my guild card.

Ta-da!

"Let's see, an adventurer... Pfft! P-Poko... Er, is this your real name?"

"Yes! It's the important name my parents gave me!"

"I-I see... 'Pokonyanchi', huh. Th-That's a good name... Alright, you may pass... Hehe."

The soldier burst out laughing, unable to contain himself upon seeing the name engraved on my guild card.

That's right, my name is Pokonyanchi.

I'm Pokonyanchi, the up-and-coming B-rank adventurer!

"Ah... He's doing something stupid again."

"Mm. Child."

Saaya and Elenora give me sidelong glances.

But come on, I found out that the technology used is [Threshold Compilation], which even I can use. Of course I had to try it out.

Even the soldiers let me pass without doubt because they believe guild cards can't be rewritten at will.

I am Pokonyanchi. A man who boldly enters even the Dragon King's territory under a false name.

The soldier boy checks the next group while trying to hold back his laughter. Once we've walked far enough that he can't hear us, Saaya says in a low voice:

"But you know, Ruruk"

"It's Pokonyanchi."

"Po... Ruruk"

"Pokonyanchi."

"...P-Poko... No! I can't say it!"

Saaya's ears turn bright red.

Don't get embarrassed only at times like this when you usually act so mature. How cute.

"Um, Ruruk-kun"

"Pokonya... I mean, what is it, Mererosu-san?"

"Ah. I'm fine with that."

"Special treatment is unfair! I object!"

Saaya booed.

Well, forcing someone to say it would be like sexual harassment.

What about Saaya, you ask? Well, I'm usually the one being sexually harassed by her, so it's fair game. Stop biting your handkerchief.

"Haha. I never thought you could rewrite guild cards, so I was surprised. But Ruruk-kun, if they find out you've rewritten it without permission, you'll instantly lose your adventurer qualification, so change it back right away."

"My name is Ruruk. A man who changes like the wind..."

Pokonyanchi? Who's that lame guy?

"But really, Ruruk-kun's mystical arts have been amazing since long ago."

"Come to think of it, four years ago you were in a different party, so we couldn't talk much about techniques. Now that we've finally become party members, let's have a passionate discussion about it!"

"Whether it gets passionate or not is another matter, but is it okay even though this is just a temporary party? Your hand will be revealed, you know?"

"Yes. I trust Mererosu-san."

"...Is that because I'm an elf?"

"No, no. It's because you're Mererosu-san."

This is my honest feeling.

She has a caring personality with a strong sense of justice. She probably won't do anything that would disadvantage me. Of course, I still can't talk about special things like numerology skills yet.

Mererosu smiled, looking a bit embarrassed.

"I see. Then I'll believe those words too. Since we're at it, can I ask something I've been wanting to know?"

"Of course."

"Thanks. So, Ruruk-kun, how many mystical art skills do you have?"

"Currently, 18."

"Eigh-...!?"

Mererosu was speechless.

"Is that a lot?"

"O-Of course it is... Even I, who was considered talented in the elf village, only have seven..."

That's surprisingly few.

Come to think of it, I don't know any other mystical art users besides Mererosu... This is the downside of growing up without knowing the average because I had too few points of comparison.

"...By the way, what's the highest grade of your skills?"

"Extreme-grade technique."

Numerology 7 is also extreme-grade, but I'm not counting that because I can't talk about it.

So what is it, you ask? Of course, it's [Spatial Transfer].

It's a normal substitution method unlike numerology, so it should be fine to tell her about this much.

"Eh? Spatial transfer? Not relative transfer?"

"Yes. It's a skill I just learned recently, but since then I've driven [Wedges] into all the towns I've been to, so I can go to them anytime."

"...I'm not even surprised anymore."

Huh, her eyes look dead.

"But Ruruk-kun, you absolutely shouldn't tell anyone else about that. This is something I can say both as an adventurer and as an elf, because it might get you involved in unnecessary trouble."

"I understand. Besides this group, I'll only tell my family or Mererosu-san."

"I wonder if that's true... Well, I'm a little happy to be trusted that much."

"Would you like to become family then?"

"Haha. A good man like Ruruk-kun is too good for me."

"That's not true at all."

"Besides, you have two such cute bride candidates already. I'm not the type to enter competitions I can't win. So sorry."

Tch, gently rejected again.

Well, it was half a joke. Stop stomping on my feet, you little girls.

"...But well, if Ruruk-kun seriously says he wants a third wife, maybe I'll consider it."

"Eh?"

Are you serious-- I was about to push forward as usual, but then I noticed Mererosu's expression.

She had eyes that looked somewhat lonely, yet resigned.

Mererosu is an elf. She's lived for nearly 130 years, so she must have been through a lot.

Maybe she doesn't like these kinds of topics very much. I should probably try to hold back a bit. I'm not saying I can actually hold back.

"By the way, are elves okay with polygamy? Have you ever been married, Mererosu-san?"

Oops. Saaya jumped in.

However, Mererosu didn't seem to find the topic itself unpleasant.

"I haven't. It's not because I'm an elf, but polygamy is basically okay. Though there probably aren't many people actually doing it due to economic issues... Nobles and wealthy people normally practice polygamy, right? And also big-shot adventurers."

"I see... Hmm, so even commoners can practice polygamy..."

"Mm..."

The young girls start thinking about something.

Come to think of it, my father had three wives too. I didn't think much of it because he was an ultra-rich duke, but I accepted it as normal...

But even though it's called polygamy, he didn't make them all his wives at the same time. My mother was the first primary wife.

From what I heard, she was my father's childhood friend.

"Primary wife, huh..."

As I muttered while thinking about my mother whose face I don't even know, for some reason Elenora and Saaya flinched.

"I won't lose."

"Mm. Win."

Hm? They're glaring at each other all of a sudden, what's going on?

As the young girls had fiery effects behind them, Punisuke spoke in an innocent voice.

"What's marriage, nano~?"

"Well... It's when two people who like each other stay together forever."

"Then I'll marry Master, nano~!"

"Oh~. That makes me happy."

Hey, did you hear that? Our familiar is the cutest, right? (Doting parent)

"Hmm, an unexpected rival from an unexpected place..."

"Mm. Formidable enemy..."

"Haha. Ruruk-kun is quite popular."

As we were talking like this, we noticed that there were no more people around us.

We started using relative transfer repeatedly to advance into Bargia from a spot slightly off the main road.

We arrived at the dragon capital five days later.