The Mysterious Child: An Adventure Tale Beginning with Numerology

A lively cityscape.

People coming and going.

Cobblestone streets with simple wooden buildings.

And under the clear sky, I stretch myself.

"Aah~! Freedom~!"

Just being able to not worry about my surroundings outside the estate grounds gives such a sense of liberation.

After four years of hardship in this other world.

I've finally become a regular person.

"Come on, let's get going," Roze says.

"Wait, Master! They're selling skewers! And sugar candies too!"

"Of course they are, it's a street stall."

Roze reacts as if it's obvious.

But you know, they don't serve junk food like skewers in a duke's household, right? Even the sweets there are only elegantly sweet, and while the noble cuisine in the mansion was delicious, I want to try street food too!

"Control yourself."

"Aww~ I~ want~ to~ eat~"

"Then do it later."

"Now~ is~ the~ best~ time~"

I (mentally 22 years old) throw a full-on tantrum, flailing my arms and legs.

I make eye contact with a passing little girl. She averts her gaze with a look that says, "Ugh."

Roze sighs and takes out her wallet.

"Good grief, I suppose it can't be helped. Just one, which do you want?"

"No, I'm fine now (serious face)."

"Huh? What? What about that childish behavior just now...?"

"Haha, I was just kidding. I'm not a little kid, I wouldn't seriously do something so embarrassing."

"I-Is that so..."

"Well, if you insist on asking me to eat, I wouldn't mind. Only if you ask, of course. Yes. If you ask, I'll eat."

"...Let's go."

"Aren't you going to ask!? Wait, Master! Please ask me!"

I chase after Roze's back as she walks briskly away.

After passing through the street stalls, we enter the central street with a fountain square. Being close to the church, there's a relatively calm atmosphere in this area.

However, when we leave the central street to the east, the atmosphere suddenly changes.

The hustle and bustle is the same in both east and west, but the content is a bit different on this side.

"You bastard, this is a rip-off! You're watering it down, aren't you!?"

"Huh? If you've got complaints, don't buy it. It's a recovery potion even if it's diluted, ain't it?"

"Don't mess with me! I nearly died in the dungeon, you know!"

A medicine vendor and a man who looked like an adventurer were grappling in a fight.

People around them were egging them on, and some rough-looking street thugs were trying to steal products in the commotion, getting caught and turning it into a brawl.

Oh, this side looks more like the fantasy world city I imagined.

As I walk watching such scenery, I bump into a hooded child passing by.

I apologize reflexively.

"Ah, sorry about that."

"Eek!"

For some reason, the child who screamed tripped and fell.

The hood came off.

"Oh no!"

The child tried to quickly put the hood back on, but poof, ears stood up on top of the head, catching the hood.

They were fluffy dog ears.

Oh! I'd heard rumors but this is my first time seeing them.

A beastkin.

"What are you doing sitting in the middle of the road-- tch, it's a dog-kin."

"A beastkin...?"

"Ew, it's a beast."

As people around noticed the beastkin child, a commotion started.

The townspeople seem to have a sense of disgust.

I remember that beastkin are discriminated against in this country. They're looking at the child as if seeing something dirty, despite the cute animal ears. Despite being cute.

...Well, they're them, and I'm me.

"Calm down. If you put it on slowly, it'll be fine."

"Huh?"

I smile at the trembling dog-kin child while helping to put the hood on.

When the ears were hidden, the dog-kin child seemed to relax a little, letting out a sigh of relief.

I offer my hand to the dog-kin child who is still sitting down.

"Can you stand? Sorry for bumping into you."

"Ah... yes. I'm sorry too."

As the child timidly grasped my hand, I slowly pulled to help them stand.

Hm, the palm feels no different from a normal human's. I wonder if the ears are the only visible difference between us? There might be a tail too, but it would be sexual harassment to ask to see it, right?

"Um... I'll be going now."

"Ah, okay. Take care."

There's no particular reason to keep talking, so I see them off.

Watching the back of the child as they trot away, I mutter:

"Hmm. I've always been a cat person... but dogs are nice too."

"Ruruk, you don't discriminate against beastkin?"

"Well, no. If anything, I rather like them."

I'm not quite at the level of a furry, but I've grown up in a culture where everything from animals to plants to inanimate objects has been anthropomorphized, so I'm pretty open-minded.

Or should I say, in this case, that Japanese subculture runs deep?

Roze looked a little happy for some reason.

"That saves me some trouble."

"...Trouble?"

Ignoring my question, Roze starts walking again.

I don't quite understand, but anyway, that child was cute. I wonder if there are any beastkin adventurers in this country... And what about elves? Like an elf onee-san or an onee-san elf.

I'll look for them when we get to the Adventurers' Guild.

Thinking this, I followed after Roze.

The Adventurers' Guild stands out, for better or worse.

First, the sign is huge. The mark is three sages wearing red, blue, and green clothes.

The Adventurers' Guild was established 800 years ago by three sages who made a living by helping people and traveling, and even now it carries on their will.

And it's noisy. Being an adventurer is a job where you earn with just your body. There are many who are strong-armed and competitive, and fights are an everyday occurrence.

The quality of the people affiliated varies widely, from rough thugs to good-natured people who help anyone and everyone. There are even rumors that some nuns from the church are members.

I'm now standing in a place far removed from tranquility.

"Ugh... this, this is the Adventurers' Guild... *sniff*, *hic*"

"Why are you crying?"

Roze says exasperatedly.

Because! There are adventurers just like in fantasy novels! There's a guild with an attached tavern just like I imagined! What's wrong with being so excited I could cry!

――――――――――

>"Calm and Collected" has activated.

――――――――――

I suddenly calmed down. Right.

Still, there are a lot of people.

Is it good for the town that the adventurer scene is so lively?

"Come on, let's get to the reception desk."

"Okay~"

We lined up at a relatively empty queue.

We avoided the counter with the beautiful receptionist, which had a line extending outside the guild. The content doesn't change just because of the receptionist, men are really stupid to choose based on that. Anyway, I'll go to that one next time.

Even while waiting in line, people passing by almost bump into us, or I almost get kicked from behind by someone who doesn't notice the child-sized me, it's as crowded as a Tokyo city center station platform inside the guild.

Each time, Roze casually protects me.

"Hey hey! This ain't a daycare center!"

Just as it was almost my turn, an adventurer nearby threw words at us with a vulgar laugh.

"That's right! This ain't a place for brats!"

"Go play house at home!"

"It's too dangerous for little boys here~"

Jeers came flying from all directions.

Hmm hmm. This savage feeling is exactly what you'd expect from hot-blooded adventurers, not bad at all.

Hehehe, I'm getting a bit excited again.

"...Ruruk, why do you look happy? This is where you should be angry, you know?"

"Rather, isn't this how adventurers should be?"

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

It's disappointing.

It seems Roze and I can't understand each other.

While this was happening, it finally became my turn.

The reception lady looked back and forth between me and Roze, then addressed Roze.

"What can I do for you today?"

"I'd like to register this child as an adventurer."

"...This child? And you are?"

"I'm just a guardian."

Well, she's not just any guardian, but it's not wrong to say she's acting as one.

The reception lady looked at me dubiously, but there's no age restriction for adventurer registration itself. After pondering for a few seconds, she seemed to decide to follow the rules and deal with it.

"Alright boy, place your hand here. We'll do a double registration prevention check."

The lady brought out something like a stone tablet.

As instructed, I place my hand on it, and mana from the surroundings gathers around the tablet.

"Is this a mystic artifact?"

"Oh, you know about them? It's a device to prevent people from registering twice for nefarious purposes."

"Is that so? How does it check?"

"This terminal sends information to the World Tree through ley lines. The World Tree stores all kinds of information, right? It uses that to check if you've registered with the guild before. It's a system created by one of the guild founders, the Sage of Mystic Arts. Impressive, isn't it, boy?"

"Yes, it's amazing."

I didn't know the World Tree could be used like that.

But even though mystic artists are rare, mystic artifacts are commonly found in the guild, huh. I've only seen magic artifacts until now, so this is a bit exciting.

"You can take your hand off now, boy. Yes, as expected, it's your first registration. I'll do it for you, so can you tell me your name?"

"...Is it okay to use a fake name?"

I kind of want to call myself adventurer "Pokonyanchin" or something.

As I was thinking casually, the lady's face turned scary. Her already tough-looking face became even scarier.

"It's allowed, but there's a rule that adventurers who register with fake names receive harsher punishments if they commit crimes. Also, if it becomes known that you used a fake name, baseless bad rumors might spread, and even if you achieve considerable accomplishments, you can't expect rewards from nobles. Unless your real name puts your life in danger, I don't recommend using a fake name."

"Please use my real name, Ruruk!"

"Ruruk-boy, alright. For the guild card's personal identification method, you can choose between mana pattern or ethereal pattern, mana pattern is fine, right?"

The lady asks as if it's natural.

Both are words I'm hearing for the first time. Well, from the flow of the conversation, it seems to be about which to use for personal identification, mana or ethereal energy.

She probably said that because normal people register with this mana pattern thing, but unfortunately, I have mana deficiency.

"No, please use the ethereal pattern."

"...You, are you perhaps a mystic artist?"

"Well, yes."

The lady asked with a surprised look.

Then the people around started to buzz.

"Mystic arts? That child?"

"I've never seen one before, were there really any?"

"Weren't mystic artists extinct?"

I've attracted strange attention.

I felt like a panda in a zoo.

The lady, who had been stunned for a while, hurriedly presented a different stone tablet when Roze, looking uncomfortable, urged her on.

Similarly, when I put my hand on it, ethereal energy reacts and gathers in my hand.

It's probably like an ethereal version of fingerprints.

I wonder if the Sage of Mystic Arts made this too. I didn't know about these detailed tools because they weren't mentioned in the "Three Sages" stories.

"There, it's done. Now you're officially an adventurer."

What the lady handed me was a dull metal card.

It's a simple rectangular card, currently listing only my name, race, and adventurer rank.

Of course, my affiliation is the lowest -- "Rank G".

"Oh! This is my adventurer card!"

Unlike game data cards, being able to actually touch it and feel its weight gives a real sense of becoming an adventurer.

As I look at it with sparkling eyes, the surrounding adventurers give me lukewarm glances.

The reception lady, while receiving the fee from Roze, says:

"Boy, let me tell you, the Adventurers' Guild is the world's largest organization that transcends national boundaries. The guild card serves as identification in any country, so don't lose it. We won't take responsibility if it's used for wrongdoing, and reissuing costs five silver coins. Also, when accepting requests, check the quest board and bring the paper of the quest you want to accept to the reception. You can only accept quests up to one rank above your own, so don't be greedy."

I see, I see. So I can take quests up to F rank.

...Glance. Glance glance.

"You can go look if you want."

"Thanks, Master!"

Seeing me all excited, Roze gave her permission.

I immediately headed towards the quest board.

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Author Notes:

  [※Adventurer Rank System

  A common rank system established to ensure appropriate quest assignments.

  Starts from G. Quests can be accepted within one rank above or below (except for S rank).

  Normal quests can raise rank up to A. S rank has special conditions (to be described later).

  There's an exam for B rank promotion, requiring branch manager or higher authority.

  A rank promotion requires the authority of two Guild Masters.

  S (up to SSS rank exists)

  ----(big wall)----

  A

  B

  ----(small wall)----

  C

  D

  E

  F

  G ← You are here

  For reference, the starting salary of a royal knight is 200,000 dalc per month.

  Earning an equivalent income on average corresponds to a C rank adventurer.

  B rank adventurers earn an average of 1 million, while A rank adventurers are said to earn about 3 million dalc. This is equivalent to a royal knight captain.

  However, adventurers have no insurance system, so it's a life-risking gamble. *rustle*...*rustle*...]

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