The Elf crossed her arms, eyes narrowed, tapping a finger thoughtfully against her lip as she tried to make sense of Violet's words.
Suddenly the cat-girl stepped forward, planting her hands on the counter—nearly toppling right onto Violet.
"Wait—don't tell me it's one of those stories adventurers like to tell?? One of those spooky legends those weird, shadowy types ramble about now and then?"
Drawn by her voice, Violet glanced at her and caught the name on the little badge pinned to her vest.
Minphy…?
The fairy joined in as well, visibly amused, fluttering her wings as she gestured dramatically. Her own badge clearly read Brinna.
"Just last week a guy showed up saying he worshipped some goddess of… candlelight? Candle flames? Something like that! I swear adventurers are hilarious!"
Are they… making fun of me???
A twitch tugged at Violet's eye as she fought to stay composed.
"I understand!! So you can't help me, then?"
I'm not staying here to get mocked like this!
The three receptionists, who had devolved into excited chatter, froze and looked back at her.
Elyune bowed her head politely.
"We're sorry. We have no information about this seal… or this so-called 'goddess of the void.'"
"Thanks anyway!!"
Violet's teeth were practically grinding.
She turned away from the counter, irritation radiating from every step, the receptionists' gazes following her.
Great. No one here has ever even heard of that goddess… I'm starting to think I imagined the whole thing…
She glanced back at Nainai, patiently trailing behind her.
No—the dwarf faithfully following her, and the contract tucked away in her pocket, were very real.
Not a figment of her imagination.
At one of the tables, a massive bear-man—broad-shouldered and with a decidedly unfriendly look—was preparing for a round of arm wrestling.
His opponent was a tiny ferret-man, barely half his size.
The bear, brimming with confidence, stared him down with a challenging grin.
The ferret-man wrapped his small hand around the bear's.
A girl with long hazelnut hair and a bow slung across her back stood beside them, acting as referee.
"Ready… go!"
Chaos erupted around the table.
"Tear him apart!!"
"Yeah, crush him!!"
The crowd was screaming, placing bets left and right.
The bear-man pushed with all his strength, sweat beading on his forehead, his face twisting into a grimace of effort.
Then—with a dull thud—his arm was slammed flat onto the table.
The ferret-man hadn't even broken a sweat. He didn't flinch, didn't tremble. He had won cleanly, overpowering an opponent several times his size.
A wave of shocked screams and despair filled the room from those who had lost their money.
"Noooo!! My bet—how is this even possible!?"
The bear-man grabbed his head with both hands, wailing in humiliation.
"You might be big and tough, my friend, but I'm a Gold Rank! You've got a long way to go before you can take on someone like me!"
Violet was furious. She headed straight for the door, wanting nothing more than to get out of that place as quickly as possible—when her attention was caught by a large world map hanging on the wall at the side of the room.
Once she approached it, she noticed a yellow dot marked on the eastern side.
"You are here!"
Violet stared at the little dot, her face draining of color.
What??? No way!!!
She had left Giltown heading north, yet she had ended up in the east. Far east.
Ostelria, clearly marked on the map, was almost brushing the border of the Wildlands, all the way down south.
Just beyond that lay the territories claimed by the Demon King.
The borders of the demon-controlled region were traced in red—terrifyingly close to the city.
So that's why there are so many adventurers around here…
A shiver ran down Violet's spine. She had strayed miles off course and lost several days of travel.
Her only option now was to retrace her steps and head west.
"Yes… but where exactly…?"
She scanned the map, following the names of the cities.
The closest one was still extremely far away, and to reach it she would have to cross nearly half the kingdom.
That's way too far… what am I supposed to do now? I can't just march to the capital like this. I don't even know the way—and I don't have the money for a trip that long…
Her gaze instinctively shifted toward the quest board.
If I want to get out of here, I'd better earn some coin first…
With a resigned sigh, Violet walked toward the board and began reading through the various requests.
"Exterminate the goblin den…
Required rank: Steel."
"No. This one won't do."
Then she moved on to the next one.
"Retrieve the Hero's Sword…
Minimum party size: 4."
"Such a drag… and I'm all by myself, too…"
Her eyes were then drawn to a larger note, written by hand in a messy, confused handwriting.
"Retrieve the stolen signs:
Hello, adventurer. Someone keeps stealing the signs from my inn.
If you want to solve this mystery, you can find me at:
The Traveler's Den
(The one without a sign)
M."
"So this is… Mela's inn???"
As she reached out toward the parchment, Violet was suddenly startled by a voice behind her.
"Have you seen her? What is she even wearing?"
The speaker sounded like a young woman.
"Hey, you! The one with the purple hair!"
A shiver crawled down Violet's spine.
And now who the hell is this???
Turning around, she saw a fairy girl with a stunning face, staring at her with open mockery.
"You—yeah, you in the black dress! Are you headed to a funeral or what?"
At the table the girl had stood up from, several others just like her were seated—light armor, a pair of long blades hanging from their belts.
At her words, many people in the hall burst out laughing.
"And that? Is that your party?"
She had her finger pointed straight at Nainai.
Damn it, seriously? I can't start arguing with all these people…
Snatching a random sheet off the board, Violet grabbed Nainai by the arm and dragged her out of the Guild, her face burning red. She slammed the door behind her and found herself back on the street, walking quickly.
To hell with this! It's always the same. No matter where I go, someone has to stare, mock me, or push me aside… As if I didn't already have enough to deal with…
Violet had always carried that weight with her, doing everything she could to give her best—yet no matter how hard she tried, the world of shining knights and heroic quests seemed like a dream meant to be admired from afar.
She walked fast until she spotted a narrow gap between two houses. She slipped inside and leaned her back against the wall, letting her thoughts flood through her.
Pointless. It's all pointless… This mission, this ridiculous obsession of mine with becoming an adventurer…
Her eyes had grown shiny, full of tears. Then, suddenly, something warm touched her.
Nainai, without saying a word, had taken her hand, looking at her with that gentle gaze and those glittering eyes.
Violet blushed, staring at the dwarf in surprise.
"Ehem… anyway…"
She wiped her eyes, pulled herself free from Nainai's grip, and forced herself to regain some composure.
"Let's see what we've got here…"
In her hands, Violet was clutching the crumpled mission sheet she had torn from the board without even looking at it. She pressed it against the wall behind her to smooth it out with her palm.
"Retrieve the goods:
I'm in urgent need of help.
A barrel of valuable merchandise fell into a well,
and now I can't get it back.
If you're willing to assist me, come to the commercial district and ask for Pal the merchant."
Violet read the sheet several times.
Well, it looks like a simple quest…
Retrieving some goods from a well was exactly the kind of job she needed. And on top of that, she wouldn't even have to leave the city and risk ending up in some monster's mouth.
"Let's see… Reward… Thirty copper Zinni???"
That was an incredibly high reward. Thirty copper Zinni were almost half a silver coin.
Violet took a moment to think.
It looked like an easy job, but the reward was far too generous not to make her suspect there were complications the request didn't mention.
"Well… I mean, I can at least go talk to this Pal. If the quest turns out to be too dangerous, we can always back out… What do you think? Shall we try?"
Violet looked at Nainai as if expecting an answer that, naturally, didn't come.
Well, we have to start somewhere.
"Alright then, it's decided. Let's go talk to this Pal. Come on, Nainai!"