The Mysterious Child: An Adventure Tale Beginning with Numerology

"I can see it. That's the dragon capital Foosu, isn't it?"

"Woah. It's huge."

"A-Amazing..."

"Mm. Wide."

"It's big, nano! There must be lots of food, nano!"

As we reached the top of a small hill surrounded by forest, the view suddenly opened up before us.

The dragon capital had a grandeur befitting its title as the largest on the continent.

The outer walls were low, allowing a clear view of the city. Or rather, the city was so vast that we couldn't see the opposite side at all. A city stretching all the way to the horizon... and moreover, it was a pure white city.

Houses, roads, everything was primarily white.

We couldn't help but catch our breath at the dazzling sight.

By the way, in the Stoania royal capital, brick buildings were the main style for houses, and all roads were paved with synthetic lime.

In the Mataisa royal capital, gray stone buildings were the norm, and the roads were mostly cobblestone.

In contrast, Bargia had an all-white cityscape. Bargia wins hands down in terms of scenic beauty.

From here, the entire city was bathed in sunlight, shining brilliantly.

"It's mystical, isn't it? They say it represents the glory of the Dragon King."

"I see... Well, I guess that makes it a tourist spot too."

This hill is actually one of Bargia's top tourist attractions.

It's very popular as a scenic spot, and even now there are many people around us. It might be surprising, but the Bargia Dragon Duchy has a thriving tourism industry. The fact that you can travel safely without encountering strong monsters is probably one of the main reasons.

"There really are a lot of people though. Don't wander off."

"Mm."

"Okay~"

Well, even if they wander off, I have tracking dolls, so I can find both of them quickly. Besides, from here to the dragon capital, it's just a straight path down the hill, so they can't get lost.

Or rather, it's probably easier to get lost after entering the dragon capital with its population of 3 million.

"Thinking about it calmly, a city of 3 million in another world is amazing... 300 times the size of my hometown."

"Right? It's scary to think there are more people than in Kyoto Prefecture~"

"And look at that. Almost all the buildings we can see from here are two stories. No wonder it's so incredibly wide."

In this world without apartment buildings, the population density is much lower compared to modern Japan.

Even if it were all residential areas, to house 3 million people, you'd need an enormous amount of space.

While I was impressed, Saaya next to me started to look distant.

"Kyoto is nostalgic too. We went there on a school trip, didn't we?"

"That's right. I don't have any fun memories because I skipped out and stayed in the hotel the whole time."

"I-Is that so. But wasn't it fun talking together on the Shinkansen on the way back?"

"Ah, we were seated next to each other, weren't we... Huh? Come to think of it, wasn't Onitsuka in the seat next to me at first...?"

"M-Must be your imagination?"

Hmm? Am I misremembering?

Well, whatever. There's no way to confirm it anyway.

"What are you two doing? Let's hurry up~"

"Okay~"

Before we knew it, Mererosu and Elenora were waving at us from ahead. We were just the ones who had stopped walking.

I stopped reminiscing with Saaya and caught up with the two of them.

We followed the flow of tourists towards the dragon capital.

It took several hours to enter because it was quite crowded, but we managed to get into the dragon capital without any trouble. If I had to mention something, it was when I explained to the old man at the gate that Punisuke was my familiar, and he just snorted. I'll make him cry someday.

The first thing we did after entering the dragon capital was to rent a carriage.

According to Mererosu, it takes half a day to reach the 5th Central District where the Adventurers' Guild and dungeon are located. Half a day to the center... I was amazed, but apparently the 5th Central District is the closest of the central districts. There are apparently nine districts just in the central area.

By the way, there's an inner wall surrounding the entire central district, and steam trains run on top of that inner wall. What's more, they're apparently theoretical magic trains made in Stoania.

The central district surrounded by a circular railway line... I don't think I'm wrong to imagine the Yamanote Line.

Anyway, since we obviously can't use teleportation in the middle of the city, we quietly rented a carriage and slowly headed towards the 5th Central District.

As evening approached, the sun reflected off the white city, giving the entire urban landscape a fantastic vermilion color. Thanks to that, we were able to continue riding the carriage without getting bored, so I won't complain about my sore bottom. Of course, the jolting was incomparably more intense than the ducal carriage I rode in the past.

We arrived at the central district after the sun had set.

Amidst the commotion of drunks coming from the taverns, we got off the carriage in front of the Adventurers' Guild.

As I was thinking we should secure an inn first, Mererosu tapped my shoulder.

"If you'd like, I can introduce you to the inn I'm staying at. It's basically an inn for adventurer parties, so it's set up like shared rooms."

"That would be helpful."

In a big city like this, the quality of inns varies widely.

Since we plan to explore the dungeon too, we'd prefer a place with good security. In that regard, Mererosu's recommendation is trustworthy.

"Then this way. Follow me."

We followed Mererosu as we walked through the city.

The place she guided us to was about a 10-minute walk from the guild. There was a large park right next door, making it much quieter compared to the area around the guild.

The inn was also two stories tall, with white walls. It looked like a long, horizontal knight's barracks.

Entering through the front door, there was a spacious lobby with a reception desk. A plump middle-aged woman was sitting at the reception.

By the way, her hairstyle was a punch perm. It had a Showa era feel to it.

"Oh, if it isn't Mererosu. Welcome back... Come to think of it, you're back quite early, aren't you? Did you fail your quest?"

"Haha. There were some circumstances. I'm back, Tessa-san."

The middle-aged woman was apparently called Tessa.

"And who are these kids behind you? Did you take on some apprentices?"

"They're my temporary party members. We came here together."

"Heh... It's rare for you to team up with anyone."

Tessa looked at us with interest.

Feeling like I was being appraised, I couldn't stay silent. At times like this, a preemptive strike is best.

I stepped forward smoothly and bowed in a noble-like manner.

"Pleased to meet you, Madame Tessa. My name is Ruruk. I came here on Mererosu-san's recommendation. I'm delighted to meet such a charming young lady."

"My, my, calling me a young lady... Hehe, you're making this old lady happy."

Tessa laughed, her cheeks reddening.

Alright, I win.

"...Ruruk can be such a smooth talker sometimes."

"Mm. Bad man."

Hey, shut up, you little girls. Negotiations with the inn have already begun.

"So, Tessa-san, do you have any vacant rooms? I'd like to have Ruruk-kun and the others stay here too."

"Of course we do, but... Are you sure? Even our small rooms come with a living room, so it's quite expensive for children, you know?"

"Ah, that's fine. They may not look it, but Ruruk-kun and the others have the same adventurer rank as me, and they're much more skilled and earn a lot more than I do."

"Is that so?"

Tessa blinked her eyes.

Setting aside whether we're more skilled than Mererosu, we don't intend to be stingy with lodging costs.

After all, sleep is important.

"Boy, if you're staying, I'll need to see your adventurer card... Is it okay if I check?"

"Yes, please go ahead."

I show my card to Tessa.

The back of the card has information about my Stoania dungeon conquests. When I showed this before, Mererosu was so surprised she nearly fell over. It was cute.

Tessa checked the back and then held her head.

"...Indeed, being B-rank with this is like fraud."

"Right? They say it takes 10 years for even S-rank adventurers to reach the 100th floor..."

That's thanks to Elenora, you know.

The reason we stood at the top of dungeon conquests, surpassing S-rank adventurers, was solely due to Elenora's [Full Scan].

I mean, it's a labyrinth, right?

In dungeons, it's more difficult to progress due to the maze-like structure rather than the strength of enemies.

Now imagine using an all-purpose detection magic in such a place. You'd immediately know the correct route.

In short, Elenora is cheating, QED.

"Well, that's why you should let Ruruk-kun and the others rent a room. Ruruk-kun, what kind of room do you want?"

"I'd be fine with three beds--"

"Yes! We want a big bedroom! We want a bed big enough for everyone to sleep together!"

"Mm. Agree."

Eh~

I prefer sleeping alone though.

"Tessa-san, please don't mind the little girls."

"Oh, boy. A man needs to be dependable, you know."

"No, no, I am dependable..."

"What's important is being dependable."

In the end, Tessa lent us a 2LDK shared room.

However, it was a 2LDK with one bedroom with a king-size bed, a living room, and a soundproof room.

Half of the bedroom, which was equipped with soundproofing magic devices, had various muscle training equipment... Why is the muscle training room soundproof? What kind of choice is this?

I couldn't understand it at all, but for some reason Mererosu seemed impressed.

"Well, here's the key. The contract is monthly, so if you don't return to the room for more than a month without notice, we'll consider it terminated and throw away your belongings. Be sure to be careful when you leave for quests, okay?"

"Yes, thank you very much."

Well, not returning without notice for a month would only happen if we died.

Most inns around dungeons operate this way.

"The kitchen is so spacious too!"

"Mm. Hungry."

"I'm hungry too, nano!"

The kids are getting excited.

Indeed, the living room is about 18 tatami mats wide and quite spacious, and the kitchen has a three-burner stove. Come to think of it, thanks to my heart, I can now use simple magic devices too, so considering that, a place like this is more appealing than a regular inn.

I'm grateful to Mererosu for introducing us to this place.

"Alright, it's a bit late, but shall we make dinner?"

Since we're here, let's have a feast to celebrate our arrival in the dragon capital.

I decided to use the Star Grizzly meat that I had forgotten about.

By the way, the marbled meat was so delicious it was agonizing.

 □　□　□　□　□

The next morning, we went to the Adventurers' Guild and decided to have Saaya accept a quest first.

Dungeons are good, but we need to raise Saaya's adventurer rank too.

Her level is still only 13, but her status is incredibly high. All her additional values are 2600, which is about the average for A-rank adventurers.

Considering these numbers for a 10-year-old, you can see how crazy [Universal Growth] is.

However, the problem is that it's not proportional to her experience. It's not good for an adventurer to have only their status increase. So I'm thinking of focusing on Saaya's activities as an adventurer for a while.

"Hmm. F-rank quests, let's see..."

Saaya looks at the quest board with her finger on her cheek.

"Ruruk, how about this?"

"Let's see... 'Escort a young girl in the upper floors of the dungeon'? An escort mission that's F-rank?"

"Look, look at this part."

Saaya pointed to the detailed description section.

The client is a noble and the escort target is a 14-year-old girl.

They want to fulfill the escort target's wish to 'visit the dungeon' by requesting an escort to the safe upper floors (up to the 5th floor).

However, they specify that the adventurer must be a female minor, and the escort is actually just a pretext because they want to form a party with someone to explore. Becoming friends is not included in the completion criteria, so just being a conversation partner is enough to complete the quest. Although the danger is quite low since it's only up to the 5th floor, it's available as an F-rank request due to the conditions.

"I guess she wants to make friends. Maybe she's a noble's child?"

"Doesn't it smell like a landmine to request a quest just to make friends?"

"Really? She's a noble, so I'm sure it's difficult for her to make friends."

As someone who's bad at communication, this is a situation I'd absolutely want to avoid, but Saaya seemed to view it positively.

Come to think of it, Saaya was in a similar environment too. If that's the case, it's understandable that she empathizes.

Wait, am I in any position to talk about others? Come to think of it, I have zero friends too...

"Why are you crying?"

"Don't ask. I just realized a painful truth..."

"Hm. Well, I'm going to accept this! It's my first Bargia quest!"

Saaya ran off to the reception.

The quest acceptance procedure went smoothly, and the client, who had apparently been waiting since morning, came out of the waiting room. Had they been waiting all this time...? Despite being a noble?

The client introduced by the receptionist was a well-dressed man with a long goatee.

"Hello, young lady. I am Berlander."

"Good day to you. My name is Saaya. I look forward to working with you today."

"My, my, how polite. I am truly grateful that you have accepted the request."

Berlander, a nice middle-aged man, looked down at Saaya with narrowed eyes.

By the way, we're watching from a distance. Since this is Saaya's personal quest, we don't intend to interfere. We plan to follow in secret, using [Threshold Compilation] to even deceive perception so the client doesn't notice us.

"If I may, shall we head to the dungeon right away? The young lady is waiting."

"Yes! I'd love to talk with the young lady too!"

Berlander, stroking his beard, led Saaya out of the guild.

We secretly followed behind.

Berlander and Saaya got into a carriage waiting in front of the guild.

From here, it's about a 10-minute carriage ride to the dungeon. It's not too far, but we'd lose sight of them if we were on foot. We have to follow the carriage while hiding ourselves.

Fufufu, it's like an event mission.

"Mm. Transfer?"

"No, since we're at it, let's make full use of [Threshold Compilation]. Elenora, Punisuke, hold on to me for a bit."

What happens if we seriously use the perception interference technique?

...That's right, we can jump onto the carriage without being noticed.

I stand tall on top of the lavishly decorated noble-like carriage. Below my feet, Saaya and Berlander are making small talk. Of course, they haven't noticed us, so I'm getting carried away and even spreading my arms wide.

Ah, the wind feels good...

"Mm... Doing strange things again."

Elenora gave me a sidelong glance.

As we were playing around like this while on our sneaking mission, the carriage arrived at the dungeon entrance.

The reception at the entrance seems to have a system not much different from the Stoania Kingdom's dungeon. Well, it's natural since the same Adventurers' Guild manages it.

However, the plaza in front of the dungeon isn't as crowded as in Stoania. There are many stalls, but it's still orderly.

The so-called young lady was in the center of the plaza.

A different noble-looking man was standing next to the girl, as if he were her bodyguard.

As I watched Saaya and Berlander walk towards her... I was shocked.

"No way..."

The girl had her vivid peach-colored hair tied in a side ponytail on one side. Normally, such an anime-like flashy color as pink hair would be quite eye-catching, but...

However, that wasn't all about the girl.

She had one eye covered with a black eyepatch, was dressed in Gothic Lolita black dress fashion, and her right arm was wrapped in bandages.

A 14-year-old girl dressed in chuunibyou fashion that seemed to have perfected the template.

...But what caught my eye wasn't her appearance.

-------------------

[Name] Seori Bargiria

[Race] Dragon Race - Progenitor

-------------------

...No way.

I let out a big sigh and looked up at the sky.

Isn't that the rumored Dragon Princess?