Volume 2: Chapter 7 - Yoshie's Situation
「Kaiganji-san」
「......」
「Um, Kaiganji-san?」
「...... Oh, I'm sorry. I haven't been called by my last name very often.」
「Ahh, why don't I call you Yoshie-san then?」
「Yes, that would be great. May I call you Haruma-san, too? Around our house, we were all called by the Kaiganji surname, so it was normal to call us by our first names.」
「Yes, sure.」
So, we started calling each other by our first names.
Come to think of it, the guild staff also called me by my first name, so I wonder if that is the norm here.
But I think that Kaiganji is rare, but I guess there are places where those surnames stick.
「I'll order something I can pick up at random.」
「Um, don't mind if I do. ......」
After entering the coffee shop, I ordered a sandwich, French fries, and fried chicken.
I didn't want to gobble them down by myself.
「So what happened?」
○●○●
Yoshie-san, who came out of the "empty room," was given a brief explanation by a staff member here, but apparently, she could not understand half of it.
Well, it is a difficult story for elderly people who don't have much contact with novels, isn't it?
So, after spending several days repeatedly reading the "Guide to Living and Exploration," Yoshie-san managed to grasp the situation, and on the fifth day, she went out to the city.
「Yo, aren't you the old lady from back then?」
At that time, the burly older brother who had been with her in the "empty room" called out to her.
His name was Minoura Kazuma, and everyone around him called him Kazuma.
Hmmm...I guess people call people by their first names over here.
「Grandma, what was your innate skill?」
Yoshie-san's innate skill is <Physical Ability Enhancement N>, which has the effect of "enhancing physical ability by 5 percent".
It is an always-activated (passive) skill, so just possessing this skill always raises physical ability by 5 percent.
「Hmmm, <Physical Ability Enhancement N>, huh ......」
Looking back on it later, Kazuma's expression was somewhat contemptuous of Yoshie-san, but she didn't seem to notice it at the time.
Looking at the effects alone, <Physical Ability Enhancement> seems like a pretty good skill, but for one reason or another, it needs to be more highly regarded.
「Well, if you have that skill, you can join our clan. How's that sound?」
Yoshie-san, who had read the "Guide" and understood the situation in her head but had not yet accepted it as fact, and who had no acquaintances who would listen to her, decided to join "Iron Fist" at Kazuma's invitation.
If she had been able to talk to the guild officials first, she would have had another option at the beginning, but she registered with the guild as an explorer and joined the clan.
Come to think of it, there were a lot of clan recruiters between the "Beginning Room" and the guild reception desk, so maybe that's how they keep explorers around.
「I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to deposit the preparation money to cover the cost of running the clan, okay? After the Beginner Period is over, we can give you good equipment, cheap supplies, and a clan house to live in. It's rather a good deal, right?」
Soon after that, Yoshie-san started exploring the dungeon.
The search went smoothly with the support of clan members.
Then she reached the boss area on the fifth floor.
「Oi, granny, what the hell are you doing!? You should have just taken out the Goblin!!」
Because she had decided to attack the fifth floor without having leveled up, Yoshie-san, who had little mental strength, had a tough time defeating the goblin.
Although she managed to defeat the goblin on the spot, she began to feel a sense of aversion to fighting itself because she had pushed herself too hard.
「If you can't fight, we can't keep you in our clan.」
And so, Yoshie-san was expelled from the clan.
「The preparation money? I ain't going to give it back, I already make you 8th Rank explorer, I'd rather get more, you know?」
As a result, Yoshie-san was thrown out with nothing.
○●○●
「If this is what it's going to be like, I should have requested to be a supporter from the beginning. ......
Yoshie-san muttered in a small voice, sounding pained and somewhat regretful.
「Supporters, is it?」
Those who come here are obliged to conquer the dungeon as explorers.
However, some skills, such as cooking, sewing, and cleaning, are not suited for combat, and those who have acquired such skills are allowed to live as supporters instead of participating in dungeon exploration.
Basically, since dungeon exploration is mandatory, a person can become an explorer if he or she so wishes. On the other hand, if a person has inherent combat skills but is not good at fighting, he or she can become a supporter.
However, those with combat skills must register as an explorer at least once, though ......
「If I remember correctly, there was no requirement to register as an explorer for <Physical Ability Enhancement>, was there?」
「Yes. I wonder why I took Kazuma-san's offer. ......」
In a situation where there is no one to rely on, if I am approached by a young man who seems dependable, at least in appearance, I wonder if it can't be helped.
I mean, didn't he take advantage of that kind of insecurity, that guy is?
「Is it normal to deposit money for preparation when you join a clan?」
「It seems so. I asked the staff about it later, but they told me that it is done everywhere.」
Is it just me, or does it sound like there could be a lot of extra crimes of that kind?
「Can't you get it back?」
「It sounds like it's hard to get it back ......」
This city's operation is based on dungeon drop items.
If a large clan boycotts the search, it might hinder the operation of the city, and that might be a hard place for the guild to get involved.
「To become a supporter, I believe you have to be a 9th Rank or lower, right?」
「Yes, ....... But you have to wait a month for that. ......」
I said that an explorer up to 9th Rank is incompetent, but it is also a trial period.
If by the time you reach 8th Rank, you decide that you are not a good explorer, you can become a supporter.
However, once you enter the boss area on the 5th Floor, you have to defeat the goblin before you can return home, and if you do, you will be forced to move up to 8th Rank and will not be able to switch to a supporter.
So it's not as if you can't quit being an explorer once you reach the 8th Rank.
If you take a month off from exploring, your rank will be reduced by one.
If you take advantage of this system and lower your rank to 9th Rank, you can quit as an explorer, but. ......
「Yoshie-san, when did you move up to 8th Rank ......?」
「It was the 10th day after I came here.」
「Have you been in the dungeon since then?」
「I went in for 4 or 5 days, but then I realized that I just couldn't fight. ......」
So you can't become a supporter until around half a month after the end of the Beginner's period when you can no longer use the "Beginning Room"?
If that happens, that would make it difficult to get a regular job like Yoshie-san did at the store earlier, and it would be tough for her to earn an income.
「I think it's called "Suraimu," right? I can manage to defeat that one, but......」
If you work hard, you can earn at least a daily wage defeating slimes.
But if you go into the dungeon, the time until demotion is extended, and you can't become a supporter forever.
If Yoshie-san keeps on defeating slimes in this way and her level rises, she may be able to handle the battle, but......
「Sigh. ......」
Sighing, Yoshie-san rounded her back weakly and became small.
It's terrible to tell this grandma to do her best and fight,.......
「Um, Yoshie-san.」
Clearly, Yoshie-san is in a situation where she is at a standstill.
If she finishes her Beginner's Period and is unable to use the equipment in the "Starter" series, not to mention the "Beginning Room," depending on her level, she may get injured fighting the slimes.
Even the slightest injury could be fatal without enough to eat and a place to live.
「Yes. ......」
My heart ached at the sight of the old woman who replied to my call weakly.
If I hadn't seen her earlier, I wouldn't have cared what happened to her.
But now that I've met Yoshie-san again, and learned about her situation.
And to abandon her after that is bad for my sleeping time.
「If you want, why don't you form a party with me?」
I found myself saying those words as they came out of my mouth.
Previous Chapter --- TOC --- Next Chapter
Rejuvenate potion soon?
ReplyDelete