Chapter 9: Old Man Gets His First

At the tavern, Mashiro sat down across from me as I was having a meal.

“Good evening, so about the request?”

I handed Mashiro what was asked of me.

“Oh, that was quick. It was the right choice to rely on you.”

Saying so, she accepted the apple.

I decided to ask Mashiro.

“By the way, why were you on the defensive against goblins? With your A-rank skills, it seems like you could have won easily.”

“W-Well, you see. I wasn’t wearing my gear, and it fell along with the carriage, so they only managed to snatch my equipment. Is there something wrong with that?”

Upon hearing that, I gestured towards the men conversing nearby.

It meant to listen in on the men’s conversation.

“It seems the Magical Girl Goblin has been defeated.”

“Oh, really? Damn! I wanted to take it down too.”

“Goblins that use magic are a rare breed.”

I listened to such a conversation and glanced at Mashiro.

“I heard rumors this morning. Somehow it struck a chord with me. I had a feeling your equipment might have been taken.”

As I said that, Mashiro looked down.

“I’m truly embarrassed.”

Saying so, I handed her the recovered equipment.

She looked incredibly surprised.

“Huh?”

“I happened to run into her while retrieving the apples. The one you were talking about. It dropped when I defeated it. It was originally yours, right? So, I’m returning it.”

I returned the magical girl set to Mashiro.

“Wow, thank you so much!”

Mashiro received it with teary eyes.

In fact, she started crying.

“A-Are you really returning it?”

“Huh? Y-Yeah, I am. It was originally yours, right?”

Bam!

She covered her face with both hands.

Seems like she’s really happy.

“The dropped equipment rightfully belongs to the one who picked it up. To return it… Tatsuya-san, you’re truly a kind person… *Sniff* *Sniff*. I can’t believe there’s such a kind person in this world.”

She started crying.

(That’s right, once you drop something, it’s usually gone for good.)

I need to be careful not to lose things like my wallet too.

“Actually, it’s an important equipment that I’ve been using since I became an adventurer. I thought I’d never see it again.”

After saying that, Mashiro handed me the reward.

“This is your share of the reward. And also…”

Additionally, she paid me 50,000 gels.

“It’s a token of gratitude for retrieving the equipment.”

She smiled.

Then, Mashiro spoke again.

“About the next request…”

“Ah, well. About that, I’m actually planning to leave this town.”

*Click.*

She blinked.

“Ah, I’m sorry. Was my request bothering you?”

“It’s not that. I just have some circumstances.”

As I said that, Mashiro looked a bit lonely.

“When do you plan to leave this town?”

“I plan to leave today, even.”

When I was in Japan, as well as now, traveling during the night tends to be cheaper than during the day.

For adventurers like me who are scraping by, traveling at night is more convenient.

“So, this is goodbye for us. It’s a waste of time to hang out with an old guy like me, right?”

As I said that, Mashiro asked me.

“Could you give me your contact information?”

“Contact information? I don’t have any means of contact.”

Hmm.

I wonder if there’s something like a smartphone that I just don’t know about?

As I was thinking that, Mashiro spoke up.

“Eh? You haven’t been told about the messaging feature?”

“Huh? Messaging feature? I don’t know about that.”

“That’s terrible. There’s a rule that you have to teach it to newcomers.”

Saying so, she showed me her adventurer card.

By the way, it’s like a driver’s license.

[Adventurer Card]

Name: Mashiro Adventurer ID: 235,856

Rank: A [Photo]

Gender: Female

Age: 16

[Message]

“Is this Adventurer ID a thing?”

Mashiro touched the part at the bottom labeled [Message].

And then…

[A Message List] appeared.

“With this adventurer card, if you’ve exchanged IDs, you can contact each other.”

“Oh, I didn’t know about that. That’s such a feature.”

I had only thought of it as an identification card.

But this adventurer card seems to be quite amazing.

Truly fitting for another world.

Isn’t it more convenient than Japan?

While thinking so, I exchanged contact information with Mashiro through our adventurer IDs.

[Mashiro’s contact information has been registered]

Oh, it seems Mashiro’s contact information has been registered with this.

I’ve gained my first friend in another world.

As I thought that, Mashiro blushed and said,

“You’re my first contact exchange too.”

“Eh? Me?”

I thought she’d been exchanging contacts left and right.

“I only exchange contact information with people I really want to stay in touch with. And you’re my lifesaver, after all.”

It seems she genuinely wanted to exchange contacts with me.

With the exchange done, I decided to have my final dinner in this town with Mashiro.

After finishing the meal, I spoke to Mashiro.

“Thanks for everything, Mashiro.”

As I said that, I thought to myself.

(Calling her by her first name feels strange, doesn’t it? Should I add ‘-san’? But she’s younger, right?)

After pondering for a bit, I said,

“Mashiro-chan, is it okay?”

Mashiro chuckled and replied,

“Just Mashiro is fine.”

She allowed me to address her informally.

“Got it. Thanks for everything, really.”

As I said that, when we were about to part ways,

*Creeeeak.*

The tavern door opened.

“Haaaah, I’m starving~”

Ridas entered.

Our eyes met.

“Tch.”

Seems like he’s in a bad mood.

He clicked his tongue and approached.

“Hey, old man. Didn’t I tell you I don’t want to see your face?! Are your ears working? Is your brain functioning? Can you understand human language?”

He grabbed my collar.

But then…

“Who are you?!”

Mashiro said to Ridas.

Ridas let go of me and looked at Mashiro.

“Huh? Mashiro?”

Ridas looked back and forth between me and Mashiro.

Then, he started tapping my head.

“Hey, old man! Do you know Mashiro?! That’s amazing! You? Hahaha! Even though you’re so dull, did you bribe her with money or something?”

Mashiro’s expression twisted.

She seemed uncomfortable with Ridas’ behavior.

However, Ridas approached Mashiro without noticing her change in expression.

“Mashiro? I used to be the leader of this dull old man’s former party.”

As soon as he said that, Mashiro gave him a disdainful look.

“Wow, so you’re…”

“Yeah. Want to team up with me? I’m better than that dull old man over there, right? How much do I have to pay for you to let me join your party?”

“Why don’t you just die? Hey, how much would it take for you to die?”

As soon as Mashiro replied like that, Ridas froze.

*Clatter.*

Mashiro grabbed the bill and stood up.

“Move, you’re in the way. Annoying. Unpleasant. Disappear from this world. Can you understand human language?”

“Huh?”

Thud.

Mashiro pushed the frozen Ridas aside.

Ridas was pushed back and ended up sitting on the floor of the tavern.

Mashiro came over to me and said,

“Let’s go, Tatsuya-san.”

Her usual smile was directed towards me.

“Uh, yeah. (Wow, is she really okay with doing that kind of thing?)”

Feeling a bit worried, we settled the bill and left the shop.

“Are you okay? Saying such things…”

“I’m fine. What’s wrong?”

She asked with a puzzled expression.

“Someone who doesn’t value their comrades received their just punishment in return. It’s just karma.”

Ah, so that’s one way to think about it.

Indeed.

Mashiro spoke up.

“Are you planning to leave the town now?”

“Yeah. It seems like staying in the same town as that leader will just lead to more trouble. Plus, I want to see other towns.”

Saying that, I started walking.

“I’ll walk you there.”

It seemed Mashiro was going to follow along.

Gratefully, I headed towards the checkpoint.

As I approached, the checkpoint came into view.

There was a long line in front of the checkpoint gate.

Merchants were waiting in line for their goods to be checked at the checkpoint.

As adventurers like me also needed to present their adventurer cards to pass through here, I had mine ready.

Then, Mashiro said,

“Well then, this is where I stop. Good luck from here on out.”

“Yeah. I’ll do my best.”

With that, Mashiro lightly kissed my cheek.

“Huh?”

While I was still in a daze, Mashiro spoke up.

“It’s a farewell greeting. But it’s also the first time I’ve done something like this. Tatsuya-san.”

She smiled sweetly.

“I pray that the next time, we’ll be able to use our mouths for such things. Well then.”

Blushing slightly, she waved goodbye and headed back towards the town.

I touched my cheek with my fingers.

(Ohhh… Seriously…?)

I was in a daze for a few minutes due to the unexpected event, then my adventurer card lit up.

(Huh? It’s glowing? Let me see.)

[Three-star Review Received]

appeared.

(A review? What’s this?)

As I wondered, the display changed.

[He was very earnest, sincere, and kind. I never knew there could be such a kind man in this world until I met Tatsuya-san. How much would it cost to request a marriage…? by Mashiro]

100% positive rating, 0% negative rating.

Number of reviewers: 1 person.

Hmm…

Old man, you easily fall for these honey traps, don’t you?

(Oh, but still… It’s interesting to see such reviews in this world.)

I have to work hard to avoid getting low ratings.

(I’m an old man, with a fragile mental state, please don’t bombard me with low ratings, okay?)

Well, I wonder what kind of life I’ll have in the next town.

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