The Mysterious Child: An Adventure Tale Beginning with Numerology

 The Kingdom of Stoania, where theoretical science reigns supreme.

Suppressing (or rather, being forced to suppress) my desire to explore the city, we headed to secure lodging first.

According to Roze's plan, we would be staying in this city for a while, so I thought renting a house might be better than an inn. However, it seems that in this country, it's not uncommon to be unable to return for more than a month if you delve deep into the dungeon.

By the way, the source of Roze's funds remains a mystery. She doesn't seem to be struggling financially, so we apprentices gratefully accept the benefits.

In any case, we secured a lodging with relatively high security.

As usual, one twin room and one single room.

Of course, Roze gets the single room.

I'll be turning 10 next year, so sharing a room with a girl... I tried to modestly plead my case, but the response was blunt.

"Don't get cheeky, kid who hasn't even reached puberty yet."

"Mm, I'm fine together."

Damn it, she's so lenient with Elenora!

True, I don't have any sexual desires yet, and even if I did, I wouldn't get excited over someone who looks like a little girl.

But that's not the point.

Anyway, the negotiation failed, and I ended up sharing a room with my senior apprentice again.

"Now, here's your schedule for the foreseeable future. First, you'll live as adventurers for a while, aiming for rank promotion. This is my promise to Ruruk. Parallel to that, you'll aim to level up by delving into the dungeon. Defeating monsters is the quickest way to raise your level."

"Understood."

"Mm."

"Ideally, you should aim to become E-rank adventurers in half a year, D-rank in a year, C-rank in two years, and B-rank in four years. As for levels, it depends on the dungeon, but with your abilities, you should be able to reach around level 50 in four years."

"Eh, four years?"

I was surprised by the longer-than-expected development span.

"Yes. That's how long I'm planning for."

"W-wait a minute. Are we staying here for four years?"

"That's the plan. Is there a problem?"

It's not exactly a problem, more like a slight homing instinct...

I'd like to return to my hometown at least once a year. There's no particular business, but is it a Japanese trait to want to take breaks during periods like New Year's or summer vacation?

"Can't we at least have a homecoming once a year?"

"Hmm. Do you want to leave Elenora behind and go back?"

"Ugh."

"You didn't mention anything like this when you became my apprentice, did you? In other words, this is just your selfishness, right? Knowing this, you want to abandon your party member, senior apprentice, and important partner to go play in your hometown...?"

"Urk."

I was completely speechless.

"Hey, Elenora. What do you think about what Ruruk is saying?"

"Mm... do you hate me?"

Elenora's face looked like she was about to cry.

That was the moment my heart shattered.

"I give up! I lose!"

"Hmph, know your place, stupid apprentice."

"Ugh... Master, I'll make you cry someday!"

"Bark all you want, loser."

I could only swallow my tears of frustration. Just you wait, someday the bad kid spirit in my heart will erupt!

"Now, go introduce yourselves at the Adventurers' Guild first. There's still half a day left, so you can take on a quest if there's a good one."

"Yes... we'll be going..."

"Mm. Do your best."

Ruruk and Elenora set off after asking the innkeeper for directions to the Adventurers' Guild.

As expected of a city of theoretical science.

There were countless temptations on the way to the Adventurers' Guild.

The general store had pocket watches, spring-powered toys, people riding huge bicycles, stained glass everywhere, newspapers being published, cheap tram rides, and above all, public toilets with complete plumbing at various locations!

Elenora had to firmly grab my collar and pull me back several times as I kept succumbing to temptation and trying to make detours. Finally, we arrived at the Adventurers' Guild.

The Adventurers' Guild was quite large.

It was a five-story brick building with the same design of three sages on the signboard as other locations, but here the sages were depicted in stained glass. The sage of theoretical science in red, the sage of magic in green, and the sage of mystical arts in blue.

Even just the signboard was stylish.

"Mm, Ruruk go in."

Pushed from behind, I entered.

The guild interior was also quite spacious, with an adjoining tavern that could easily seat about a hundred people.

There were about ten reception windows, all crowded, but of course, the ones with beautiful receptionists were the most crowded.

One clear difference from other Adventurers' Guilds was the variety of adventurers.

Dog-folk, cat-folk, dwarves, elves... At a glance, there were many different races. There were also many women, and even child adventurers like us, which we hadn't seen at all in other guilds.

So this is the Adventurers' Guild of the Stoania royal capital.

My excitement was suddenly boosted.

"Alright, Elenora, let's go to the quest board!"

The quest board was divided into three sections by rank.

G to E near the entrance, D to B near the tavern, and A and S on the second floor.

Of course, as G-rank adventurers, we crowded around the board near the entrance. Mixed in with other children, we carefully examined the request forms.

I could feel the occasional glance from the children, but the focus was clearly on Elenora. As I had heard, sheep-folk are quite rare, and curious gazes were constantly directed at her.

While I couldn't say anything about the pure curiosity of the nearby children, Elenora didn't seem particularly happy about being stared at.

She looked a bit uneasy, probably scared of being kidnapped again, so I decided to hold her hand. I felt like a proper guardian.

As I gently took her hand, she gripped back tightly.

"Is this okay?"

"Mm."

As always, she was a woman of few words, but her cheeks relaxed as if she felt reassured.

It reminded me of when I guided a lost child to the information desk at a shopping mall.

As I was reminiscing about my past life memories while looking at the quest board, it happened.

"It's a sheep! There's a sheep here, bro!"

I heard words that were clearly different in tone.

When I turned around, there was a bald-headed adventurer.

Behind him were other adventurers with similar skinheads.

One of them—a well-built man—looked at Elenora and grinned.

"Oh, it really is. It was worth coming all the way to Stoania."

"...Do you need something?"

I quickly slid between the man and Elenora.

"What's with this brat! Don't talk to the boss so casually!"

A typical-looking baldy, probably a subordinate, tried to intimidate me.

The man called "boss" gestured for his underling to step back.

"Sorry 'bout that, my guy was rude. Is that sheep girl your companion? A two-person party?"

"Yes, that's right. Do you have some business with my companion?"

"Yeah. Just a little invitation."

The man took out a pouch from his pocket.

From its shape and sound, I could tell it was filled with money.

"How about letting that girl join my group?"

"...The buying and selling of sheep-folk is prohibited worldwide for any reason. You've got quite some nerve to openly violate the law inside the guild."

"What, it's not buying and selling. This is just a severance pay."

The man spoke glibly, seemingly unperturbed.

"Girl, you'd be better off with our party than with this brat, you know? We're C-rank. You'd get much better dungeons and quests than now."

"This is outrageous. Please try elsewhere."

It had been a while since I'd encountered such uncouth adventurers.

Not since those guys who approached me first in Muuteran. I guess with more people, there are bound to be adventurers like this too.

Ignoring my rejection, the man addressed Elenora directly.

"Hey, little miss. You don't like it either, right? Your friend getting hurt and all... right?"

"Elenora, you don't need to answer."

There's no need to fall for cheap threats or provocations.

While some scuffles are commonplace among adventurers, there are too many witnesses here for them to cause any real trouble.

Elenora seemed to understand this too and nodded silently.

The man, slightly irritated, raised his voice.

"Hey, don't hold back just 'cause you're a beast-folk, okay? We're kind, you know. We'll feed you, give you a place to sleep. You can live better than now, yeah?"

"..."

"Don't ignore me, it's sad. Hey, those ears ain't just for show, right? Or has all that coarse fur made you hard of hearing?"

Elenora's body trembled slightly.

"...Hey, what did you just say?"

I found myself clenching my fist.

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> "Calm and Collected" has been activated.

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"Huh? I said that fur looks like a pain to take care of."

"...Isn't racial discrimination prohibited?"

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> "Calm and Collected" has been activated.

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"It ain't discrimination. I'm just worried about that beast-folk."

"...Man, you've got quite a mouth on you."

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> "Calm and Collected" has been activated.

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"You probably don't even bathe properly, right? Ah~ I can smell it. Smells like an animal."

"......"

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> "Calm and Collected" has been activated.

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"If you come with us, we'll let you take baths. We'll even take care of your fur properly. We'll look after you even if you stink a bit, so come here, you beast gi—"

> "Calm and Collected" has—

Snap!

"Shut up, you baldy!"

Unable to endure any longer, I lashed out.

It was cheap provocation.

Clearly intended to make us throw the first punch.

This is the Adventurers' Guild. It's an unspoken rule that whoever strikes first gets punished.

But so what?

I'm not adult enough to stay quiet when my companion is insulted. I'm still just a 9-year-old kid.

The man, seeing things go according to his plan, raised his fist to crush me as I charged at him with a smile.

His opponent is a child.

He should overwhelm me in both speed and power—or so he thought.

But even in my rage, I was still calm and collected.

My second step forward was a feint. As the man raised his right arm to counter, I changed direction to his right side—his blind spot—and leapt sideways.

The man lost sight of me for a moment and quickly lowered his gaze.

By then, I had already lowered my head and twisted my body.

If I can't win in build or power, I just need to land a precise hit on a vital point.

Doing a cartwheel on the spot, I swung my leg and smashed my heel into the man's jaw with a roundhouse kick.

Thwack!

With a light sound, the man's brain was rattled, and he fell backward with his eyes rolled back.

Come to think of it, even though I'm a child, I'm level 19. Thanks to my bonus stats, my agility and strength had already surpassed those of a low-level adult.

"Y-You bastard! How dare you do that to the boss!"

From there, it turned into a full-scale brawl.

The man's companions swarmed in, and it became a fistfight with punching and kicking.

The adventurers who had been watching until then seemed to take our side, attacking the man's companions. There were surprisingly many who just wanted to fight without knowing the situation, and a chaotic melee began with everyone indiscriminately joining in the festivity.

Of course, no one was foolish enough to target the children who had taken refuge in the corner of the guild.

At some point, betting started in the tavern, with drunks arguing about who won or how many people each person took down, adding to the rowdiness and making it difficult to bring the situation under control.

What stopped it was a single voice.

"'Silence!'"

With a ringing in our ears, a booming voice echoed from near the ceiling.

Those who knew it was a cutting-edge theoretical science device—an amplifier unique to this country of theoretical science—quickly and quietly left the scene.

The adventurers who were surprised as if they had heard the voice of a god descending from heaven stopped their rampaging and looked around.

The owner of the voice that called for silence slowly descended the stairs from the second floor, surveying the first floor as he spoke.

"Now then... can someone explain the situation?"

It was a muscular old man with a long white beard.

Everyone except us knew that he was the Guild Master who oversees the Adventurers' Guild in this country.

"Ruruk, Ruruk!"

Several people were taken upstairs by the Guild Master.

I had lost sight of Elenora during the brawl, but as soon as the commotion settled, she came running. I was relieved to see she didn't have a single scratch, having avoided being caught up in it.

Rather, I was the one who was seriously injured, being at the center of it all.

I was bleeding from my forehead, my face was swollen from being punched repeatedly. My right arm was broken, and my left ankle joint was dislocated. There were internal injuries all over, and my mouth was full of blood.

However, my numerical magic skill had already started regeneration—healing—of my entire body, so these injuries would heal in a few dozen seconds.

Elenora seemed to have forgotten about my cheat-like skill for external injuries.

As she rushed over, she lifted me up from where I was lying and sealed my lips with hers.

In other words, a kiss. And a strong one at that, forcing my lips open.

"Mmph!?"

"Mm—!"

I felt her breath flowing in. At the same time, a warm, pleasant sensation coursed through my body.

Come to think of it, Elenora had a skill called "Healing Breath." If I remember correctly, Verugana said it was the highest-level healing skill in magic.

It seems to be a racial skill of the sheep-folk, one that Elenora was born with. Of course, its effect is powerful.

If she sent it directly into my body... I see, it's become super cheat-level.

As my skill and Elenora's skill overlapped, my injuries healed in an instant.

The desperate Elenora didn't seem to notice, so I pushed her shoulders to separate our faces.

"I'm okay now. Thank you, Elenora."

"Ah! Ruruk!"

Oops.

This time she hugged me.

I guess I really worried... no, inconvenienced her.

Elenora had been enduring it, and I ruined that.

There might even be penalties from the Adventurers' Guild.

I gently patted her small back.

"I'm sorry, it's my fault."

"N-No. It's my fault..."

Elenora tightened her arms around me.

"Because I'm a sheep-folk."

"Elenora, please don't apologize."

I don't want to hear such words.

I spoke as if admonishing her.

"Elenora is Elenora. It's true that you're a sheep-folk, but there's no sin in that. Those guys were in the wrong. And I wanted to protect you not because of your race, but because you're my only party member, my senior apprentice, and my important companion. I admit I was a bit too short-tempered, and I should be the one apologizing, but..."

"B-But..."

"Besides, I didn't lash out because I wanted to make Elenora sad. I did it to protect Elenora's smile. So please, laugh and scold me."

It might just be a matter of words.

It might be deception.

But I think I was able to convey what's important.

Because Elenora nodded slightly.

She separated herself from me, wiped her tears, and whispered.

"...Elen."

"Yes?"

"Call me... Elen."

Elenora looked somewhat embarrassed.

I understood that I was finally permitted to use a nickname, and smiled.

"Alright. Elen."

When I responded, Elen smiled happily.