The clear cng of the dawn bell echoed sharply, jolting me upright.

  “This isn’t the time for this!”

  I kicked my feet, signaling to be put down, but Fical merely puckered his lips in mild displeasure and resumed nuzzling against me. Like a cat, this one.

  Being carried like this was starting to embarrass me. Though his messy bangs mostly hid his face, Fical was surprisingly handsome. The people in this world had Western-style bone structures, so foreigners all tended to look good-looking through that filter.

  “Fical, did you just get back to town? Why don’t you change and rest a bit?”

  He nodded once, still holding me as he began walking. Was he pnning to carry me the five minutes it would take to get home? This isn’t arm training.

  “Wait a moment. I have work right now… Also, I’m renting the upstairs of the guild office. That house is too big to live in alone.”

  Pointing to the building nearby where I had just come from, I said this, which made Fical’s mouth turn further downward.

  The house we lived in used to belong to Mr. Gatis’s younger brother’s family. That family ran a shop nearby, but about three years ago, their sons all passed entrance exams for knight and medical schools, so the whole family moved to the royal capital. The house was rge, with many brothers; on the first floor there was a living room, kitchen, pantry, undry, bathing area, toilet, and a sizable storage room, with four bedrooms upstairs. Honestly, cleaning that alone was a hassle.

  This world was full of creatures completely different from those I knew. There were even rge and violent ones, and the guild — the adventurers’ guild — existed to take jobs like hunting those beasts or gathering rare materials.

  Though there were rare, dangerous jobs like sying massive dragons, most requests were everyday tasks tied closely to people’s lives. “Guild” was synonymous with the adventurers’ guild, and many people belonged to it.

  For example, if a request was to help gather herbs for cooking, both the requester and the helper had to be guild members. So most people, regardless of their social status or occupation, were registered adventurers. Each town had at least one guild office that handled paperwork and request management.

  Mr. Gatis was the guild master who oversaw the guild office in this town, Toltea. After consulting with him, I rented the upstairs room of the office as a dormitory, agreeing to take on many night shifts in return.

  “The house was aired out the day before yesterday, but I still might need to clean it… So stop, put me down!”

  When Fical nodded again and started walking off, I struggled and kicked until he sighed deeply, clearly resigned, and finally set me down. I could have sighed too.

  Fical didn’t say it, but he could be quite stubborn.

  I retrieved the basket containing the sun-dried shioki mushrooms and decred firmly.

  “Today’s the spring equinox! I have lots of work.”

  For the guild, the spring equinox was a special day. Also called “Departure Day,” it was said to be the most auspicious day to set out as an adventurer. It was said a famous hero long ago set off on this day and achieved great things. In keeping with that tradition, six-year-old children who became eligible to register as adventurers set out for Toltea on this day.

  Why this town?

  The creatures around here were retively small and gentle, and beginner-friendly requests were abundant.

  Creatures in this world often clustered by region, some strong, some weak.

  For instance, the town of Gargancia, known as the “Cavern Fortress,” was said to be so dangerous that no one could step outside without armor. In contrast, Toltea was so peaceful that even if someone colpsed bloodied, no predatory creatures would gather to satiete their hunger. I was lucky to have ended up here.

  Toltea was considered very safe for aspiring adventurers. Many children debuted at the guild in their hometown, but those aiming to be knights, nobles, or renowned adventurers often started here. That famous hero supposedly began here, too.

  “Anyway, welcome back, Fical. Things will get busy now, so we’ll talk ter.”

  With a look of reluctant farewell, Fical slouched and trudged away. I hurried back to the guild office.

  “Good morning, Sumire. You’re early today.”

  “Good morning, Cisil.”

  On the first floor, Cisil was brewing tea alone. Her long pale pink hair looked like silk thread, her skin translucent white, her face finely detailed and beautiful. Her emerald eyes only enhanced her striking appearance. Fairies existed in this world and were said to be stunningly beautiful. People who had seen real fairies described Cisil as “fairy-like.” She was extremely beautiful, with a delicate, gentle aura that made her seem almost otherworldly.

  She normally worked as a weaver and helped out at the guild when it was busy.

  “My father said you should come to the departure ceremony. It’ll be your first time, right?”

  She was the daughter of Mr. Gatis—the bear-like guild master—and her mother, Mesil, was a stout, capable woman. A fascinating pair genetically.

  “Great! I prepared a lot yesterday, so all that’s left is the Basero Ink.”

  Basero Ink was used for children adventurers. It was made by drying and powdering about twenty-five types of herbs, then magically liquefying the powder. Hearing the word “Magician” made think of images of bubbling, strange-colored liquids, but the magicians here didn’t do that.

  Many powdered ingredients were stocked for the busy season ahead, but the ink had to be freshly made each day and wasn’t finished yet.

  Leaving the office in Cisil’s hands, I headed to the town’s central stone-paved pza. Though early morning, many people were already gathered to watch.

  Today, even shops had started attracting customers early. Special celebratory rice cakes and candies tied to the day’s tradition were popur and sold out quickly. The crowd gathered near the shops lining the circle, some facing the storefronts, others peering toward the center of the pza.

  The center was clear, where several guild members including Mr. Gatis and a group of small children were anxiously gathered. Twelve six-year-olds would participate in the departure ceremony. Some were familiar kids from nearby, others strangers. Some gnced anxiously at their parents watching from afar; others sang happily or eagerly touched adventurers’ swords.

  The sound of trumpets signaled the children to line up in a row. Wearing armor and dressed like adventurers, they received small knives one by one from Mr. Gatis. The knives were made from the tooth of a giant dragon called Ooryu, incredibly durable if regurly maintained by fire. Many veteran adventurers carried these knives, which were given upon joining the guild. I had one, too, with floral engravings on the sheath.

  Each child knelt on the stone, holding out both hands. Mr. Gatis solemnly pced the knife into their hands and ruffled their heads vigorously. The children examined their knives closely or hopped about, drawing ughter from the crowd.

  The children then formed a procession, with about five adventurers on each side holding up their weapons to create a tunnel. The adventurers leading the ceremony were admired by the children—masters of the town, bearing axes, greatswords, clubs, and various weapons.

  Encouraged by the adventurers’ cheers and appuse, the children followed the mounted knights waiting at the pza’s edge. Tears wiped by parents were visible.

  “Nothing beats this! It reminds me of my youth.”

  “I remember feeling so excited at my departure.”

  “When more young adventurers appear, it feels like spring has come!”

  As we watched the crowd following the children, Mr. Gatis approached, accompanied by Mesil.

  “You were great, Gatis.”

  “Ha ha! Of course. It’s my moment to show the authority of a guild master!”

  “Sumire, don’t ftter him too much or he’ll get full of himself. Besides, it’ll get noisy at the office soon.”

  Unlike other towns where children traveled dangerous distances to reach Toltea’s ceremony, here in Toltea the ceremony ended with a stroll around the town. Sometimes strong knights escorted distant travelers, but here the knights simply rode their horses at a leisurely pace in front. A truly pastoral sight.

  “Come on, Sumire, let’s get ready! It’s your first time leading a group.”

  “Yes.”

  A leader was the adventurer responsible for guiding a group assigned to a job. For safety, a leader had to be two ranks above the highest-ranked adventurer they supervised.

  Today was my debut as a leader.

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