Chapter 6 (1/2)
Volume 1
Atelier Tanaka Chapter 5
Adventurer’s Guild pt.4
The next day, I headed straight to the Adventurer’s Guild as soon as I left the inn. I wanted to see if there were any responses to the note I’d put up on the board.
“…there’s something written here.”
Something had been added to the piece of parchment I’d put up.
[Looking for Party]
class: rear guard | (recovery)
rank: F
notes: beginner
name: Tanaka (36 years old)
offer: White Rain (party)
(Does that mean they want me to join their party, then?)
I was worried I’d misunderstood something, so I stared at that for a little while, and then I went to the counter. The bald macho guy was there once again.
“Excuse me…”
“Eh? You again? What is it this time?”
“I got a response to my note looking for a party, but what do I do? Is there some way I can contact them?”
“So that’s what it is. Just wait for a bit.”
“Here?”
“That guy comes by here every day, so if you stay here you’ll meet them.”
“You mean White Rain?”
“Right. Or rather, you can actually use recovery magic?”
“Eh, more or less…”
“Huh? Do you make people sick instead or something? Look, you’ve been nothing but an annoyance since you came in here. If something happens we’ll call some soldiers to deal with you.”
“No, it’s not like that.”
Apparently he thought I was suspicious.
(Does he not believe I can do recovery magic, or is it something else?)
“Whatever, just wait here and they’ll be here soon.”
“…”
“Oh, speak of the devil…here they are now.”
“Eh?”
I followed his eyes to the entrance. As I looked over, the wooden doors opened with a “karan” and three people walked in.
“Th-they’re young, huh?”
“That’s a low-rank party for you. I think they’re all 16.”
“…I see.”
There were two girls and one boy. The boy was handsome, about my height (maybe 175 cm) with blond hair and blue eyes. His looks reminded me of Andrea Casiraghi.
As for his equipment, while I was covered with leather, he had metal plates in key places. Instead of a shield, he had a large two-handed sword on his back.
(He looks like a roleplayer at a Renaissance Faire, but cooler.)
One was a high-class beauty with long blonde hair and red eyes. She was short, under 150 cm. It seemed questionable whether she could manage as an adventurer. She had all-metal armor, with a one-handed sword at her hip and no shield. With her tsurime eyes, she seemed like a tsundere swordswoman heroine from a dating sim game.
The other girl seemed very plain in comparison. She had a robe that completely covered her, with a hood too deep to see her hair.
(She’s obviously a magician of some sort.)
From what I could see of her hooded face, she was a beauty too.
(Ah, quiet girls like her are cute. I’ll pass on the violent one.)
“Hey, you guys! Over here!”
The man at the counter shouted at them unnecessarily, waving with his big hand. They came over towards him until they were within arm’s reach of me.
“This is Tanaka.”
He pointed at me.
“He-hello…”
Facing the group of a handsome man with two beauties I stuttered slightly. The man, on the other hand, made his introductions smoothly.
“To start, we’re the 3 members of White Rain.”
As he began his introductions, the handsome man put out a hand with a clear smile. I gave him a timid, awkward handshake.
“Hello.”
“It was really fortunate that we found you so quickly.”
“Ah, no, likewise.”
His smile seemed like it was going to spontaneously emit sparkling stars. On the other hand, the blonde beauty to his side looked extremely unhappy.
“…is this really the right guy?”
“Going by what the master said, he’s the genuine Tanaka, Ester.”
“What, me together with that…?”
She obviously hated me.
(Well, that’s nothing new for me.)
Having had an ugly face for a few decades, I’d gotten used to that kind of thing.
“Sorry, she’s in a bit of a bad mood today.”
“No, it’s fine, I don’t really mind.”
The blonde Lolita muttered quietly, “…you should, though.”
Ignoring her, he continued.
“Thanks for understanding. Now, we just met, but how about we all do self-introductions?”
“Ah, yes.”
At some point, the bald guild employee had left. I saw a few other people lined up at the long main counter of the guild.
“Also, how about we first find someplace to sit?”
He pointed at an area with some seats.
“OK.”
I tried to think of what I’d say as I followed him. Being Japanese, I ended up going along with the group.
“I see, you’re Allen, Ester, and Sophie.”
“I look forward to working with you, Tanaka.”
The initial introductions had finished: the handsome man was Allen, the pseudo-tsundere was Ester, and the hooded girl was Sophie. I was glad their names were easy to remember.
“We originally had 4 members, but on our last job one of us, who handled healing, had a serious injury. I wouldn’t want to call you a substitute, but that’s what led to us meeting you.”
Allen was doing all the talking for them, while the two girls just watched. Ester was staring at me accusingly the whole time.
“I see.”
“Would you like to join our party?”
“If you’re OK with someone like me, then yes.”
For my part, I didn’t think I’d be with them too long, but I was very interested in going on an adventure with some cute girls.
“Likewise. Thank you very much.”
Allen nodded while smiling brilliantly.
(It seems like he makes most of the decisions for the party.)
“Is it really OK?”
“How do you mean?”
“Well, there’s a significant age gap…”
Everyone else was a teenager. On some level, I felt ashamed of myself for joining a party of kids at my age.
“No, no, age isn’t important for adventurers.”
“Is that so…”
I knew that they were only joining up with a gross old guy like me because the demand for recovery magic was greater than the supply. At least, I would have avoided someone like myself if I was in their position.
(Maybe asking for recovery magic was a good choice after all…)
“So, I know we just met, but would it be alright if we go ahead and talk about work?”
“Eh? Right, I look forward to working with you.”
We did have a mainly business relationship, after all.
(But Ester seems like a rich girl; maybe she doesn’t actually care about making money.)
Having spent decades as a salaryman, I automatically defaulted to a polite business-like approach, whether I was dealing with teenagers or a CEO. Pointlessly offending the wrong person could end a career, after all.
“Ah, I don’t know your current situation, though.”
“Oh right, I need to explain that.”
Smiling brightly again, he reluctantly continued.
“The thing is, we actually had a job scheduled for tomorrow. We were planning to meet up at the south gate.”
They had already accepted a job, and were hoping I’d participate in that.
(Maybe they wanted to confirm my skills as soon as possible. It is better to end a relationship quickly if it won’t work.)
“I understand. Then, I’ll meet you tomorrow morning at the south gate.”
“Is that OK? I realize that this is rather sudden.”
“Yeah, I didn’t have any other plans.”
I nodded at his words, and it was decided.