by Fujino Omori
“There are no rumors about him at all.”
The suddenly serious gods began discussing the boy immediately.
Hestia had finally recovered from the abrupt changes of mood during the Denatus and looked up at Hephaistos sitting next to her. Her eyes asked exactly what she wanted to know: “What happened?”
The crimson-haired goddess shrugged her shoulders, a look of frustration on her face as she responded. “I don’t have a clue.”
“There’s not enough information here. Nothing to go on. The Guild was really lazy with this one.”
“He leveled up just two days before the Denatus, so they had to squeeze him in. Can’t be helped.”
“Let’s see…White hair with red eyes…A rabbit…How about ‘The Good Rabbit, Pyonkichi’?”
“No, that name is already used. A smith named Wel-something used it for a piece of armor already.”
“Thought of it before us…!!”
“Wel-something…Just what is he?”
“Hmmm, Ganesha, do you have any thoughts?”
“……I am Ganesha!”
“Yes, yes, Ganesha, Ganesha.”
“As we try to find a more suitable name, nothing really jumps out at me!”
The discussion continued with the male gods taking center stage in a somewhat unproductive conversation.
Hestia tilted her head in relief that the greatest danger seemed to be behind her.
A heartbeat later, a shadow fell over her body.
“…Loki?”
“…”
Loki was standing beside her. She had left her seat on the other side of the table and was now staring directly down at Hestia.
There was no doubt she was in a bad mood, but she forced her mouth open and said:
“…Watch yer back, Shorty.”
“Huh?”
“Keep yer eyes open, is what I’m sayin’. As much as it pains me ta warn ya like this…I can’t stand watchin’ that idiot do as she pleases. Gotta stop it now.
“She’s underestimatin’ me,” said Loki with an annoyed sneer.
Loki jerked her head toward the door to grab Hestia’s attention. Looking in that direction, she saw the last of Freya’s silver hair flow out of sight.
“W-wait a second, here! What do you mean by ‘warn me’?”
Unable to understand Loki’s words, Hestia asked for clarification. Loki’s eyebrows twitched in frustration before she took another step toward the young goddess.
“Are ya that thick?” asked Loki as she leaned down to Hestia’s eye level, their noses almost close enough to touch.
“Idiot! Wake up, willya? She just covered fer yer boy.”
“…?”
Still unable to connect the dots, Hestia could only look back at Loki with dumbfounded eyes.
Loki stood back up, sighing through her nose. She’d had enough.
“Woah, y’really don’t know. Ah well, not my problem anyway. Such an idiot,” Loki said under her breath on her way back to her seat.
Under Hephaistos’s watchful gaze, Hestia’s eyes followed Loki as she went around the table. Then she looked over toward the door that Freya had just exited.
She mulled over Loki’s words.
And then she remembered the look that the goddess of beauty had sent right at her.
…Freya…protected him?
The moment she realized the possibility of a certain scenario, the table of gods and goddesses around her erupted as one.
““““““““““““IT’S DECIDED!!””””””””””””
The atmosphere wasn’t exactly bizarre, but it definitely wasn’t normal.
An air of tension had descended upon one of the largest rooms in the Guild Headquarters.
“Why does everyone look like they’re going to kill something?”
“I don’t think that’s what’s going on…”
Misha whispered into a pointed ear. Eina responded quietly under her breath.
The two of them had left their usual workplace in the lobby and gone upstairs to the second-floor office room.
An intense stillness had taken over a space that was normally in constant motion.
“Tulle, are you listening?”
“Ah…m-my apologies, sir.”
A voice from directly in front of her yanked Eina out of her thoughts. Misha snapped to attention beside her.
There was a male animal person sitting in a chair in front of the two girls, holding in his right hand a document that Eina had recently prepared. His eyes fell from his subordinates back down to the paperwork and narrowed with discontent.
“At the risk of repeating myself, publishing this would be the same as telling all Level One adventurers to die.”
“Umm…”
“I realize you put forth much effort to collect this information, but the Guild cannot under any circumstances allow it to become public. I’m shelving the plan to use Bell Cranell as a model for adventure development.”
I was afraid of that, thought Eina as she pulled her shoulders just a little farther back.
—While working solo, slay a large amount of killer ants before taking down a Minotaur in one-on-one combat.
That was a very brief summary of how Bell reached Level 2.
Should this strategy be made public and used by many low-level adventurers as a method to level up quickly, then there was no doubt the number of casualties would be off the charts.
Low-level adventurers would think the Guild was making a joke at their expense.
“…We’ll need to sweep this under the rug. I’ll take care of the higher-ups myself.”
“I’m very sorry, sir…”
Eina’s boss, a gentleman with thin features, took one last look at the document before shutting it deep in the bowels of his desk. Most likely, no one would ever see it again.
Lightly scratching the long ears on top of his head, the man turned away from his desk and back toward the girls with a very disgruntled look on his face.
“Tulle, one more thing. “
“What is it, sir?”
“Please try to keep your emotions in check from now on.”
“…Yes, sir. I will be more careful.”
After being scolded for that last incident of the morning—when she had shouted Bell’s personal information in the crowded lobby—Eina deeply lowered her head in apology.
Grateful to her superior for overlooking the incident, she sighed quietly to herself.
The man took a moment to clear his throat and said, “Next, Frot,” looking toward the human girl.
“Y-yes?”
“…The quality of paperwork submitted to the Denatus was extremely poor. Especially the last one, for adventurer Bell Cranell.”
“B-but, sir—. He leveled up so soon before the meeting that I had no time—! I did the best I could with my back against the wall, so please don’t question the effort that I put into making it!”
“I understand what you’re saying…but I’m talking about the whole project. Should we receive any complaints from the gods, it will be your job to talk to them alone, Frot. I can’t help you if it comes to that.”
“Waaaah—Eina—,” sobbed Misha as she wrapped her arms around her friend’s shoulders. Eina sighed for the second time in as many minutes. Their supervisor turned to face his desk with a very curt “You may leave.” The two of them backed away from him and started walking toward the exit.
But rather than returning straight to the lobby, they decided to stop at the break room in the corner of the office.
Using a magic-stone machine they had operated many times before, both of them had a cup of hot tea in their hands in no time at all.
“Ugh…Tell your little brother I said ‘thanks a lot’…”
“Little brother…? He’s not the only reason for what happened today, Misha.”
“Not listening! Can’t hear a word you’re saying!”
Swish. Eina could only look on in astonishment as her
human friend’s shoulders slumped, turning away.
Misha’s pink hair swung lightly around her chin as she sipped tea and tried to make herself as small as possible.
She hasn’t changed at all since our school days, thought Eina with a grimace on her face.
“Not to change the subject, but what was with all of them? Everyone seemed really uptight.”
“Hmm, well, they aren’t usually like this…”
They couldn’t find a single relaxed face among the Guild employees from their vantage point at the corner of the office.
Many of them were up, pacing back and forth in front of their desks. Those who were sitting in their chairs kept looking at the clock as if it were about to explode. The office was normally filled with pens racing across parchment, but that sound was nowhere to be heard.
Actually, the two girls had a pretty good idea of what was causing the heavy mood.
“It’s just past three in the afternoon…It’s over, right—the Denatus?”
“Most likely. The results should have been delivered by now…”
This was the usual scene on the second floor of the Guild after a Denatus meeting.
The Guild employees were very interested to know the titles assigned to adventurers. The people of Gekai had to take their hats off to each of the names given, and nobody could wait to see what the gods and goddesses would think of next.
Seeing their superiors like this was nothing special to Eina and Misha, they had seen adventurers do exactly the same thing in the lobby many times.
“Are you excited, too, Eina? I wonder what names came up this time.”
“I…Hmm, yes. I’m a little interested this time.”
“So it’s true? Actually, one of my adventurers leveled up, too, so I can’t wait to see!”
Their conversation was interrupted without warning by a BANG!
An office door had been flung open, slamming into the wall behind it. All eyes in the room turned to face the doorway.
A man stood in the frame, trying to catch his breath and carrying a bundle of paperwork.
“It’s here—the Denatus results are here!”
“Finally!”
“Hey, open it up, already!”
All the employees dropped everything and rushed toward the door. The mob encircled the man as he passed out sheet after sheet of documents containing the second names of adventurers.
Voices of praise and amazement started ringing out almost immediately.
“Take a look at this one, this nickname.”
“Woah! Awesome…”
“They never disappoint.”
“Ahh, we’ll never measure up.”
“The gods really are different from us. The Hand of Strength and Grace, ‘Biolante’…Gives me goose bumps just reading it!”
“This is so exhilarating!”
“The gods just come up with this stuff off the top of their heads. They really are worth looking up to.”
The Guild office was suddenly alive with excitement, especially the male employees.
Eina and Misha’s supervisors seemed to be all in agreement, standing in a circle and talking as though they were of one mind. A group of women from another department arrived on the scene, their higher-pitched voices joining in the mix of enthusiastic chatter.
Misha stood just outside the break room, separate from all of the energy across the room. A sudden shiver ran down her spine, twitching her shoulders.
“T-they’re starting without us…! Let’s go, Eina!”
“Ah, sure.”
Eina followed her into the fray. Making sure not to lose sight of Misha’s pink hair as the human girl fought her way to get a copy of the name list, Bell’s face suddenly popped up in Eina’s mind.
Ohhh, a softer name would be better for him…
What if they named him something like “The Crimson Adventurer, Bloody Guy”? Suddenly she could see herself telling him—with Bell puffing out his chest with pride and her sweating—as she chose her words very carefully.
While not necessarily feeling that such a gallant name would be completely unsuitable for Bell, somehow it didn’t fit his image. Biting her lip, she did her best to calm down and prayed that she wouldn’t have to face that situation.
“Eina, I got it! Quick, have a look!”
Misha waved her over, a big smile on her face and the list in her hand.
There were several documents containing the titles selected for the adventurers. The two of them started at the top sheet, their eyes working down the list through the second and third sheets.
Eina finally found what she was looking for at the very bottom of the final paper.
“—Ah-ha-ha-ha.”
“Oh? Bell’s name?”
Eina couldn’t control the laughter pouring out of her.
Her pinkish cheeks tightened, her lips quivering into his soft smile.
Misha leaned over the list, trying to find his name. Eina read it to her out loud.
“It’s ‘Little Rookie.’”
CHAPTER 2
CHANGING ENVIRONMENT, NEW RELATIONSHIPS
“…”
I’m lying here, looking up at the white ceiling.
I’m the only one in the room under the church, and I’m sprawled out on the sofa.
There’s really nothing for me to do besides zoning out and letting the day go by. Ticktock ticktock. I can hear the gears inside the clock on the wall as it marks the steady march of time.
It’s been three days since the fight with the Minotaur.
This is becoming a habit. I’m getting used to daydreaming for long periods of time, motionless.
I slept for two days at the hospital inside Babel Tower after that fight.
It took a heavy toll on me…Neither my body nor my mind held out at the very end, and I just shut down. Apparently I slept like the dead, nothing but a bump under the sheets. However, I was awake enough at one point to see a look of relief on the goddess’s face, and Lilly’s, too. That’s the only thing I can remember after the battle.
After that the goddess and Lilly half carried me back here. I spent the rest of that day on the sofa—exactly like I am now.
“Level…Two…”
I’m a Level 2 adventurer.
Hearing that I leveled up brought a smile to my face. The proof that I’m closing the gap between me and her is now etched into my back.
…But I just can’t get over the fact that I won, I beat that Minotaur.
It’s like a never-ending transparent reverberation, unrelated to the heat of victory. But it’s not a langorous sensation—more a feeling like water rising up out of a flowing spring.
Saying it feels like accomplishment would be an overstatement, but it doesn’t feel like I’ve been released from a burden, either.
Loss…Yes, I feel like I’ve lost something.
I can’t put it into words very well, but something about that Minotaur meant a lot to me.
Of course, leveling up is important, but the fact that I slew a Minotaur feels heavier somehow.
“…”
I reach down beside my hip, grab what I’m looking for, and raise it up to the light.
A sharp point, its charred surface having a few cracks. It’s a horn that looks a little bit like a long dagger.
The drop item “Minotaur Horn.”
Lilly told me that when the Minotaur turned to ash, only the magic stone and this horn remained. She’d already exchanged the magic stone for money, but she held on to the horn for me.
Holding it under the magic-stone lamp, I scrape off some of the burned surface.
I watch as the grayish dust falls off the surface, exposing a reddish layer underneath. I wonder if that’s how it originally was or if my magic had something to do with it.
It’s a very robust horn.
To think the Minotaur was thrusting it at me right at the very end.
Somehow, the fearsome roar that has been in the back of my mind since that day a month
ago seems distant now.
All that’s left is the silent horn in my hand, like some sort of parting gift.
“…Okay.”
I get off the sofa. My body is surprisingly light.
I’ve got to pull myself together. Clenching my jaw, I put the horn down out of sight. Enough of this brooding.
I need to move around. First thing I do is check the clock.
Actually, I’m going to a party today. It’s at my usual bar and café, The Benevolent Mistress.
Truthfully, the party is to celebrate my leveling up…
I told Syr that I’d leveled up this morning, when I went to return a lunch basket, and next thing I knew I was going to a party at The Benevolent Mistress.
I think she wants to get me to spend money. It does sound like one of her plans, and I don’t really need to hold back…but it just feels strange.
Would have been nice if the goddess could have come…
I don’t think she has time. She said that she and some other gods are going to go out for a drinking party of their own. I’m not sure if it’s a Celebration or if they’re trying to cheer somebody up, I just know she’s busy.
When she came by after the meeting, she told me my title was “Little Rookie.”
Little Rookie…Hmm. Well, the goddess seemed happy about it. She threw her arms around me and yelled, “This is great, Bell! You got a good one!” So I’m not…disappointed.
I’ve been alone with my thoughts since then. But now it’s six o’clock in the evening. Time to get a move on.
I leave the hidden room under the church and make my way outside onto the street.
The western sky is already turning red. It’s almost night.
I make my way through the side streets and out onto the busy Main Street.
“—Thereeeee heeeee iiiiiiis!!!!”
“Eh?”
It happens just as I’m about to join the crowd.
A sudden loud voice fills my ears.
Wh-what? I don’t even have time to look around before a wave of people surrounds me.
They’re—gods…?!
“Couldn’t find the Loli Lady’s home anywhere, and we’ve been lookin’ real hard, too…”
“But it was worth staking out this area…”
“Lying in wait is the key to hunting, you know.”