Chapter 10: The City of Barcery

　When I showed my adventurer card to the guard at the gate of Barcery, I entered the city smoothly.

　The city is surrounded by stone walls. I couldn’t see the inside from the outside, but when I went inside, there were about 10 times more people and houses than Rosetta Village.

　I saw not only humans, but also beautiful elves with long ears and short dwarves.

　The elves and dwarves look just like they do in manga and anime. I suspect that someone from another world spread it to Earth.

　I don’t know if it’s just this city or if it’s a tribal thing, but I feel a sense of class.

　To put it simply, elves are like nobles, and dwarves are like slum dwellers. When the elves walk the road, the townspeople and dwarves shudder at the edge of the road.

　I headed to the adventurer’s guild to sell magic stones to avoid getting involved.

According to Harry-san, the adventurer’s guild seems to be located near the gate in any city, so it was easy to find.

　

　When I entered the guild, there were about 10 people lined up in front of the reception counter, probably because it was evening. I got in line at the counter to sell my magic stones.

　The adventurer in front of me, a seasoned adventurer who looked to be in his 40s, spoke to me.

“You don’t look familiar. Where did you come from?”

“I’m from Rosetta Village.”

“Rosetta Village? There’s no money to be made around there. What rank are you?”

　As expected of an expert. He sounded very smart.

　I wondered if it was right of him to ask for my personal information so bluntly, but I decided to answer honestly, as it might be common knowledge in this place.　

“It’s…F rank.”

“Eh, F, F rank,” he said. “You must be really stupid to come to Barcery to make a living with that low grade.”

Is an F-rank really that useless?

“I won’t say anything else, but go back to Rosetta. You have to have at least an E rank to be an adventurer in this town, or you will definitely die.”

　I gradually started getting angry, but I was careful not to let it show on my face.

“No, I can easily defeat any of the monsters around here.”

“Well, don’t be too hard on yourself. I know how it feels to be your age, but don’t overdo it.”

　I don’t know whether he is saying this out of concern or malice, since the only adventurer I’ve related with is Harry-san. However, I have confirmed that I dislike this old man.

　

　The old man made such a fuss about my F-rank that some of the adventurers around started staring and talking about me. It wasn’t funny. Perhaps sensing that I was in a bad mood, the old man stopped talking to me after that.

　――After a while, it was my turn to check in at the reception desk.

　I hand over my adventurer card and the magic stones I took out of my backpack to the woman at the reception.

　“She said, “You must be Takumi-sama. I’ll take your magic stones. ……Did you defeat all of these, Mr. Takumi?”

　Over the past two days, I had accumulated nearly 50 magic stones, including those of slimes, goblins, one-horned rabbits, and kobolds. I knew by his presence that the old man was peeking at me from behind.

“This is about as far as I got since I was traveling to this city ……”, I said loud enough for the old man to hear.

After hearing the click of his tongue, I felt the old man move away.

　I actually don’t know the exact worth of these magic stones, but I’m sure it has exceeded the old man’s expectations by far.

“It’s amazing that you can subdue so many monsters with F rank. There are even kobold magic stones too. Is there any reason why you don’t want to be promoted?”

“I just don’t know the promotion requirements. How can I get promoted?”

Then she said, “If you complete one quest that includes defeating an enemy, and two quests that include anything else, then you can be promoted to E rank.”

“I’m glad it’s that simple. I’ll try to take on the quests tomorrow.”

“If you have any other questions, feel free to ask me. Here is 250 gold for the purchase of the magic stone.”

　When I left the adventurer’s guild, the old man was talking with some guys who seemed to be party members.

　Wait? Are they elves?

　I didn’t want to get involved, but when I was about to pass by, the old man started talking to me.

“Hey, wait a minute, are you from another world?”

　The old man was a ruthless guy.

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