"BWAAAH! I shwear, I was shtolen! Pleash, I jusht came to be an adventworer!"

"I confess! I'll give the rest back but please let me go!"

Both Lianna and the cat boy were tied to chairs in a different room at the back of the guild's building.

The one who was apparently supposed to interrogate them was a veteran adventurer. However, no questions were needed as both were already crying before being asked, the culprit confessing his crimes.

"Good grief... Stop crying already, you two! This isn't a torture chamber. I was just going to ask some questions and use spells to detect lies."

The veteran scratched his head. It was covered in scars, as well as his exposed forearms.

Even though he claimed to be able to use spells, his appearance could only be described as that of a seasoned warrior.

No way someone so barbaric would be capable of handling mind control spells.

"Still, you're aware that you both are criminals now, right? There's stealing, and there's almost using offensive magic inside the guild... twice."

"I only needed money to be an adventurer! But, after giving it back, it's all okay, right?"

"I-I was just bluffing! I wasn't g-going to cast paralysis and fireballs, I swear!"

The adventurer only looked coldly at them. His silent poker face was more frightening than any words.

Until he sighed and spoke.

"Then, how about this. You both pay m... the guild a fee and we pretend this never happened? You both become adventurers, enter parties, do some jobs and everyone will be happy."

Wouldn't this be another crime by itself?

That was outright corruption! No way Lianna was going to take part on that. She should just have gone to the authorities.

But then again, that could easily backfire.

"So, we just need to pay with our earnings?"

He was just too fast to agree to such a shady plan.

"Exactly. Now you two owe the guild three gold pieces each."

"That's way too much for novice adventurers! And I never agreed to anything!"

"If we were to turn you to the guard, I'm pretty sure you guys'd have to pay even more to get out. And, oh, you can't earn money when in jail."

"I accept."

"Says the fake cat boy who didn't have even two silvers!"

"Who are you calling a fake, witch?!"

"W-W-Witch?!?!"

Lianna had to suppress her rage when she heard her own voice. It came out too hoarse.

By his expression, the thief apparently noticed it as well.

She was too careless.

Then again, it's hard to keep track of one's voice pitch when furious.

She hadn't made the same mistake earlier when crying, right?

"..."

"Now then. Both of you go and find yourselves a party."

"Eh?"

The ropes around them magically loosened and fell down.

Maybe he was a magic user after all.

...

Now, how was she supposed to do it?

By now she had already accepted that doing as said was the best option.

Maybe she could gently approach each group and ask if they're recruiting, but after all that fuss, it wasn't so easy.

Specially now that the hall was so silent only whispers were heard, and no one dared make eye contact with those two who stood dumbly in the middle.

How did things get like this?

"What, too shy?"

A pointed fang sprouted from the mocking smile the cat boy made.

But Lianna wasn't going to fall for such a petty taunt.

"If you're so confident, why are you standing here as well?"

"M-Me? Humpf! I will take this side and you the other."

"Right. If you can't get a party, maybe I'll let you into mine if you ask nicely."

"As if!"

After the mature exchange, each tried talking to one half of the tables.

"Excuse me. I am a graduated Black Magic Caster and--"

"Oh, I'm sorry, but our party isn't recruiting right now."

"It's... Okay..."

Fail count: 1.

"Excuse me. I'm a Black Magic Caster and pretty confident in--"

"We're sorry, but we already have plenty of magic firepower."

Fail count: 2.

"Excuse me. I'm pretty good at incapacitating enemies, so..."

Fail count: 3

"I can use other less specialized spells as well.."

Fail count: 4

"I'll carry your bags!"

By the time she had gone to all the tables, she wasn't counting anymore.

...

"Sigh..."

"Sigh..."

"No luck? Well, it's only natural no one wanted the trust their lives and pay to a thief."

"I could say the same about the witch who threatened to blow the guild building up to the air."

"Who's a witch?! Although I can't judge you for thinking I was powerful enough to demolish a building with a single spell."

"More like crazy enough."

He crossed his arms and turned his head, very much like a child.

Now that they were standing up so close, Lianna noticed the cat boy was bit shorter than her. He looked pretty young as well, maybe even younger than her.

She was being made fun of by a kid!

Lianna felt her hostility gauge plummet, but then her eyes caught something.

The cat boy's ears seemed to show feelings completely different to his face.

They were down. Sad.

Until they suddenly stood up again.

"What are you staring at?"

"So your ears aren't fake, uh..."

"O-Of course they're real!"

She also took notice of other details.

This beast boy's clothes were also a bit too simple and old. There were stains and patched pieces.

Maybe he really did steal for a living.

But then why try adventuring?

Come to think of it, if you're lucky, you just need to be useful to an already balanced party to have garanteed pay. Then it's only a question of honing skills, purchasing better equipment and not dying early.

The work of an Adventurer in Eastwall is to purge the city's surroundings of monsters and, if the party is strong enough, take long expeditions and make way into Beyond.

Adventuring meant being humanity's vanguard.

The jobs were dangerous. But they paid well exactly because of that.

But he was so young. Probably two years younger than Lianna, who only joined for trusting her abilities and Master's teachings. That would make him thirteen.

She couldn't help but feel a little guilty by how fast she was to judge him.

Until a voice from the counter broke out.

"Why don't you two become a duo?"

It was the same young receptionist as before.

"Eh? With him? No way!"

"I'd rather go to jail again!"

...

"Herb gathering, escorting a caravan, goblin slaying, cabbage hunting..."

Lianna carefully browsed through the quest board. They needed something safe enough for two people.

"How about this one?"

The cat boy pointed to a piece of parchment at the corner.

"... Making peace with a troll...? If you want to get yourself killed, be my guest but go solo."

"E-Eh? No, I mean THIS one!"

"Capturing a rumored bicorn...? Wait, can you even read?"

"Of course I can! How else I would've signed up?"

Possibly, many adventures are illiterate. The receptionist could fill a person's form for them if that was the case.

But he looked too stubborn to admit, so it was Lianna's job to choose responsibly.

And so she moved her finger to a herb gathering job.

"How about..."

Then she stopped.

What would he think of her if she chose something like that?

She studied regular magic for two years, and the Black Arts for almost twice as long. She couldn't just pass for a coward too afraid to go hunting monsters.

"How about this one? We need to sneak up on a goblin camp to the southeast and kill as many as we can before they disperse and run."

The reward was five silver pieces.

One gold was equal to twelve silvers, and one silver was twelve coppers.

So that would be two silvers and six coppers each. Just enough for him to pay back the two silvers he stole and have some coppers left, and also bring Lianna closer to paying the veteran the amount he blackmailed them on

After finishing the quest, she would need only need one gold, nine silvers and six coppers more to be free of the debt. Of course, she could always speed things up by using her personal fundings.

Speaking of which, did they even have a time limit?

"Gulp..."

"?"

Was that a gulp so loud it could be mistaken for a word?

"What? Too afraid to take on a couple of goblins? We can go herb gathering if you think its too--"

"Goblin slaying it is, then!"

She had made a mistake.