The Mysterious Child: An Adventure Tale Beginning with Numerology

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Author Notes:

  [Today's second update. 2/2]

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We stayed in Lask for about five days.

Our days followed a pattern: complete one or two quests, then when we let our guard down, Roze's Spartan special training would begin.

Honestly, it was quite tough, but thanks to that, I had acquired two new mystical art skills. Due to constantly battling C-rank monsters, my level had also risen considerably.

Elenora had learned to control her tendency to cast beginner-level magic unnecessarily large. As a result, her power had improved dramatically, and this prodigy had already become strong enough to fight evenly with B-rank monsters. It takes me five uses of "Self-Adjustment" to defeat a B-rank monster... Cheating little girl.

"Come to think of it, how amazing are B-rank adventurers?"

"Well... I'd say they're about average for adventurers active in large cities. Or rather, most experienced adventurers are B-rank. The conditions for becoming A-rank are strict, and the only ones who deliberately stop at C-rank are adventurers who don't do subjugation quests."

"Deliberately stop at C? Do people do that?"

"There's an exam to rank up to B, and you can't take D-rank quests anymore."

"Ah... I see."

From looking at the quest board these past few days, I learned that C-rank quests and above are mainly subjugation quests. Simple escort missions and transport quests are at most C or D rank. Once you become B-rank, there's a rule that you can't take D-rank quests unless the guild mediates.

"By the way, is Elenora already at the average level of adventurers...?"

"In terms of magical power, yes."

Come to think of it, I hadn't experienced the actual strength of this world's standard adventurers firsthand.

Before I get too used to Elenora's extraordinary abilities, I'd like to observe other parties to feel reassured.

"In that case, why don't you take a transport quest? I want to move to another town soon anyway, so it's fine."

When I brought it up during a meal, Roze came back with that suggestion.

Apparently, transport quests are often taken by adventurers who are moving anyway. Unlike professional couriers, adventurers can't guarantee compensation in case of failure, so there aren't many requests for significant cargo, and thus the rewards are smaller. In most cases, it's an amount of luggage that even we children can carry.

That's perfect.

"Master, where are we heading next?"

"Northwest. We're planning to enter the neighboring Kingdom of Stoania."

When I asked about our travel destination, the answer was unexpectedly abroad.

The Kingdom of Stoania is a small country surrounded by this Kingdom of Mataisa to the south, the Magu Empire to the north and east, and the Dragon Duchy of Bargia to the west. I recall hearing that the Muuteru domain exports quite a lot of grain there. If they have trade relations, the relationship between the countries must not be bad.

If we continue along the northwest road, we can cross the border directly.

"By the way, may I ask what the purpose is?"

I remain cautious, just in case she's secretly planning something nefarious.

Roze narrowed her eyes and said:

"Because discrimination against beastfolk is prohibited there."

I see, that's important.

It must be uncomfortable for Elenora to always wear her robe when going out.

"Now that that's decided, I'll go check the quests right away!"

I cleared away the dishes after finishing eating, hurriedly prepared, and dashed outside.

This time there was no need to bring Elenora or Roze along, so I walked at a brisk pace.

Maybe because I was used to modern Japanese society, I still feel that people in this world walk slowly. Well, I've heard that even in Japan, walking speeds differ between Kanto and Kansai, so I can't generalize.

To begin with, in this world, the length of a day is slightly different from Earth.

In exchange for longer months, a year is divided into ten months.

As I was thinking about such things, I arrived at the familiar Adventurers' Guild.

"Now, is there a convenient transport quest heading towards Stoania...?"

As I was looking up at the quest board from directly below, I suddenly sensed someone behind me.

Thinking jokingly, "Oh, you dare to take my back," I turned around to find a golden-haired lady with pointed ears standing there.

"Oh, are you lost?"

Looking down at me and tilting her head was a beautiful lady of about 20 years old.

Slightly long ears, an exceptionally well-proportioned face, beautiful golden hair, and emerald-green eyes.

Dressed like a typical adventurer with a bow and sword on her back.

C-could this person be...!

"Hm? What is it, little boy? Is this your first time seeing an elf?"

It's an elf---------!

I stared up at the elf lady with my mouth half-open and eyes sparkling.

Apparently, such a reaction was unexpected, and the elf lady smiled wryly as she lowered her gaze to meet mine and patted my head. Oh my.

"There, there. That reaction means you're not lost, right? Are you an adventurer?"

"Y-Yes! My name is Ruruk! I'm a promising new adventurer, and of course, I don't have a girlfriend!"

[TL notes: damn sometimes these author jokes hits me hard :D]

I straightened my back and introduced myself with a self-promotion worthy of a mixer party.

The elf lady smiled fondly and gently stroked my hair. Ahh.

"Ruruk-kun, is it. It's very impressive to be an adventurer at your age, but it's a bit too early for you to be hitting on older women. You'll need to wait at least another 5 years."

"Five years! Understood!"

"Eh, no... never mind."

Huh? Did I put her off a bit?

I felt uneasy about that, but the lady soon showed a gentle smile and said:

"I'm the huntress Mererosu. Mererosu, daughter of Bere Alan from the Visage Forest. Remember that, okay?"

She gave me a beautiful wink.

Is this a clear sign she's waiting for a proposal?

As my thoughts started to run wild, unfortunately, "Calm and Collected" activated.

Feeling a bit disappointed as I felt my head cooling down, I placed my hand on my chest and bowed in a noble-like manner.

"Understood, Mererosu-san. I was a bit flustered by your dazzling beauty, like the setting sun. I apologize for my unsightly behavior."

"How refined. So, Ruruk-kun, are you looking for a quest?"

"Yes. I was hoping to find a transport quest heading north."

"North? Towards the Kingdom of Stoania?"

She looked surprised.

"I'm planning to go to the Kingdom of Stoania with my guardian and companion, three of us in total. I came looking to see if there was a transport quest we could do along the way."

"I see. What's your rank?"

"G."

"So up to F then... I wonder if there is one..."

Mererosu seemed to be helping me search.

What a kind elf. Is she a goddess?

"This one is D-rank, and this one is heading towards Muuteran... Ah, how about this one?"

The one she found was a transport quest for a basket of medicinal herbs to a town about five days away by carriage.

The rank was F, with a reward of three silver coins.

The reward is quite low, but a basket of herbs should be light and not too burdensome. If we're traveling by carriage, one basket won't incur luggage fees, so it would be pure profit, but...

Well, there's nothing else, so I'll take this one.

"I'll take that one. Thank you, Mererosu-san. As thanks for finding it, how about we have a meal together, just the two of us?"

"Don't mention it. And when you ask a woman out on a date, make sure it's only to the one you really like."

Too bad, I was smoothly rejected.

As I exaggeratedly drooped my shoulders, Mererosu said with a laugh:

"But if you're departing today, come to the first shared carriage in the afternoon. I also have some business in the Stoania direction and plan to use the carriage. If you'd like, since this might be fate, how about we travel together? It's not a date, but it could be a nice journey."

"Really? I'll go consult with my guardian right away!"

My excitement suddenly rose at this unexpected invitation.

When I accepted the quest, the receptionist who had been watching our interaction kindly cheered me on, saying "Do your best."

How wonderful these women are, both the elf lady and the receptionist.

This really is a great town.

My homeland is Japan, but can I consider this my second hometown? Muuteran? Well, I guess I'll consider that my hometown too, for now.