Maybe I’d worn myself out too much yesterday, because I slept like a rock that night.

I had no idea what time it was now, but I could feel warm sunlight pouring over my blanket.

Just as I was about to roll over and go back to sleep, a wave of icy cold suddenly washed over me.

[Get up, *now*!!!! Do you have any idea what time it is!!!]

A woman’s furious shout exploded right next to my ear.

[What’s going on!!! Are we under attack!?]

[Under attack your head!!! I’ve been waiting for you in front of the Adventurers’ Guild the *entire* morning! I was even worried you’d gotten lost! And just like I thought—you’re still here sleeping!!!]

In front of me stood a blonde girl in red light armor, yelling straight at my face.

[Oh~ Aerin.]

Once I confirmed she was someone I knew, I relaxed right away and tried to go back to sleep.

[Get up!!!]

Something grabbed my head and yanked me up. By the time I realized what was happening, my body was already slammed against the wall.

[S-sorry. I’ll get up right away.]

For some reason, a level 200 me just got manhandled by a level 19 girl.

To avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings, I was still wearing the same coat Mr. Dao’er from the Guard Station had given me yesterday. After checking out of the inn with Aerin, we headed straight for the Adventurers’ Guild.

[Do you know how long I waited for you!? The *whole* morning!! I could’ve gone out, taken a quest, and come back by now. All that time is just wasted.]

Aerin walked ahead of me with her arms folded like some kind of superior, lecturing me at full volume.

[I’m really sorry. I was just too tired and drifted off without realizing it. And there’s no alarm clock or anything here.]

I scratched my head and apologized as sincerely as I could.

[Alarm…clock??? What’s that? Can you eat it??]

Aerin suddenly turned around, eyes full of curiosity.

[N-no, you can’t eat it. In my hometown, it’s a tool that wakes people up.]

[A tool that forces you to wake up? That really does sound evil.]

Aerin seemed to lose interest in it immediately.

Just then, a warm, rich smell hit my nose.

[What’s that smell?? It’s so good.]

[Smells so good…]

Aerin was already walking toward the source of the aroma without even realizing it.

Following the scent, we stopped in front of a stall grilling waffles. The middle‑aged lady behind it was pressing tempting waffles in a small iron mold, the milky butter smell flooding my entire nose.

[Auntie~~ how much for these??]

[Five coppers apiece!] the auntie replied with a smile.

[By the way, you haven’t eaten yet, right? Why don’t we have these for breakfast?]

Aerin’s eyes were shining as she stared at the waffles.

[Sure, sure! To make up for being late this morning, I’ll treat.]

I quickly reached into the pouch I’d taken out last night and pulled out a gold coin.

[Auntie, we’ll take four! Can I use this???]

Of course I offered the gold like it was nothing. But in the next instant, the auntie and Aerin both froze up like stone statues.

The very next second—

Aerin hooked an arm around my neck and dragged me off to the side.

[What were you doing last night!? Don’t tell me you went and did something shady!? If you did, I’m hauling you straight to the Guard Station!!!]

Aerin looked completely flustered.

[N-no!! I was sleeping the whole time last night!]

Crap. Yesterday she found me when I was basically stark naked. Pulling out money out of nowhere now really doesn’t line up with that, does it.

[Then where’d the money come from!? From the guards?? Like I’d believe that!!!]

[It should be money I hid away myself! Luckily it didn’t get stolen.]

I hurriedly made something up.

[Hid it away!!? I found you totally naked yesterday. Where exactly did you hide it!!? Don’t tell me—!!!]

Aerin’s eyes suddenly went comically wide, her expression turning into pure “what the hell.”

[Wait!! What are you imagining!!!]

What on earth is she thinking??? I couldn’t keep up with this girl’s train of thought at all.

[I heard some people hide contraband in their waste outlet to get it past the city gates. I just didn’t expect *yours* to fit an entire pouch of gold coins.]

As she spoke, Aerin’s gaze turned oddly sympathetic.

[Hey!! That’s the worst misunderstanding ever!! Why would I hide money in my butthole!!!]

Just how big is this girl’s imagination.

[Butthole??? That’s a pretty accurate way to put it. Though at this point, “sunflower” might be more fitting.]

[Sunflower my ass!!! I *didn’t* hide the money there! Nothing is getting hidden in that place!]

[Then where *did* you hide it!? If you can’t convince me, I’m taking you to the Guard Station to get everything checked out!]

It seemed my shouting had ticked Aerin off.

[I, I…]

I had to patch this lie fast!!! Right—there was a comedy routine with a bit like this, wasn’t there? I leaned in close to Aerin’s ear and whispered:

[Actually, I sewed a pocket into the waistband of my pants.]

[What!?]

Aerin just stared at me, dumbfounded.

[I said I sewed a pocket into my waistband and put the money in there. If you don’t believe me, you can check it yourself.]

As I spoke, I grabbed her hand and moved it toward my pants.

[Pervert!!!]

Aerin’s slap landed square on my cheek.

In the end, I walked away with a full handprint on my face, and we bought four waffles together. For the record, we ended up using Aerin’s money anyway, since my coin was way too big for the auntie to make change. Looks like the coins in my pocket are not only usable, they’re pretty damn valuable.

[This is so good!!!]

Aerin seemed to have completely forgotten what happened earlier, and was happily chomping into her waffle. Sweet honey and savory butter melted together; as I bit down, the waffle practically dissolved on my tongue. It was pure bliss.

[So good.]

I hadn’t eaten anything for a whole day, so it tasted even better.

[By the way, if you’ve got such a huge stash hidden away, you don’t need to be an adventurer just to get by, you know. That’s like half a year’s income for a normal family.]

Aerin talked while eating her waffle.

[That’s got nothing to do with being an adventurer. This money will run out sooner or later. I need a way to survive long‑term.]

Honestly, the money didn’t matter. I had to figure out what this world was like—and where my own strength stood in it.

[Oh~~ that’s pretty ambitious.]

Aerin had already finished her waffle and was now licking her fingers.

Chatting like that, we eventually arrived at the Adventurers’ Guild.

[Let me say this up front: don’t start flashing people like last time. If you run into some strong female adventurer and pull that, you might already be dead and buried.]

Aerin earnestly warned me about something I really didn’t care about.

[Yeah, yeah. Let’s just go in already.]

Who’d strip on purpose for no reason.

[Don’t you dare flirt around either!]

Aerin reminded me again.

I ignored her and walked straight through the guild’s main doors. Just like last time, all kinds of adventurers were gathered inside—some in heavy armor with Greatswords, others in robes with Magic Staffs in hand. But since I wasn’t in women’s clothes today, I didn’t feel any of those weird looks aimed at me.

[Yo~~ isn’t this that cross‑dressing pervert? What brings you here today?]

The uncle at the front desk greeted me.

[What do you mean cross‑dressing pervert!! I’m dressed properly this time!]

[Aerin~~ what’s the cross‑dressing pervert doing with you today?]

The uncle ignored my protest and turned straight to Aerin.

[This pervert says he wants a stable way to make a living, so he wants to become an adventurer.]

Aerin introduced me to him with a perfectly serious face.

[Hey!! Am I invisible to you two!? Jokes are fine, but there’s a limit!]

I shoved myself between them and shouted.

[Is that so? Then you’re a pretty motivated pervert.]

The uncle patted my shoulder like he was praising me.

[Thanks……… Wait, no!! Stop calling me that already!]

I was seriously about to lose it.

[Becoming an adventurer isn’t a game, you know. Low‑rank quests aren’t that dangerous, but they still send you in and out of the forest. Once you’re high‑rank, you’re basically walking through death’s door every job. Young pervert, are you ready for that?]

The uncle suddenly turned serious, laying out just how dangerous adventuring was.

[That’s all fine. If I were scared of dying, I wouldn’t be here.]

Come on, a level 200 scared of death? I checked my storage yesterday—I’ve still got over a thousand revival tokens and piles of potions. I’m not even sure how they work yet, but still.

[Then let’s get your name and class down first. After that, you can start your rank‑evaluation quest.]

He pulled out a pen and paper as he spoke.

[Oh yeah! The Guard Station dropped your citizen card off with me yesterday.]

Aerin took out a card and handed it over.

The uncle took it and carefully copied the name and info onto the paper.

[So your name’s Pupil, huh~~ You’ve got a perfectly normal name. Why go around calling yourself “pervert”?]

He looked genuinely puzzled.

[You’re the ones who forced that name on me in the first place!!!]

[Then let’s do this properly. I’m Jibol, the guild’s front desk clerk and administrator. All the pretty ladies in the back sorting documents are my staff. Don’t you dare flirt with them.]

Jibol pointed at the pretty girls behind him, busy arranging what looked like quest forms.

[Who’d flirt with them!]

[You say that, but you’re the one who stripped naked here yesterday.]

Jibol gave me a mocking grin.

[I…]

I had no comeback.

[Alright, alright. Uncle, hurry up and show him the rank‑evaluation quests.]

Aerin urged Jibol on.

[Let me explain first. Regular quests are split into six ranks: E, D, C, B, A, and S. Depending on your adventurer rank, you can take the matching quests. The rank‑evaluation quest is used to decide your starting adventurer rank. Adventurer ranks are Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond. Above that, there’s Adamantite—but only four people in the world have reached that.]

So it’s like that one 10‑man PvP game. For all I know, I could jump straight to Adamantite.

[I get the gist. Can you just tell me how to do the rank‑evaluation quest now?]

[Have a little patience~~ I’ve said the same thing hundreds of times and I’m not complaining. Anyway, you just have to pick one of these three quests and complete it.]

He handed me three sheets of parchment.

[Let me see!]

Aerin slid up right beside me, seriously reading the text on the parchments.

[E‑rank Quest: Gather 50 mushrooms from a certain part of the forest. Completion will qualify you for Bronze rank.]

[C‑rank Quest: Capture the underwear thief currently targeting noblewomen. Completion will qualify you for Silver rank.]

[B+‑rank Quest: Exterminate the bandit group recently sighted near the forest edge. Completion will qualify you for Gold rank.]

For a level 200 like me, wiping out some bandit group would be child’s play. Finally, it was my time to show off!!

[Uncle! I’ll take thi—]

[You’re taking the mushroom quest. Safe, simple, and low risk.]

Before I could finish, Aerin snatched the parchment and handed it to Jibol.

[Wait!!! Why does a grown man like me have to go pick mushrooms?? I want to wipe out the bandit group!]

I quickly grabbed the quest sheet back from Jibol’s hand.

[Are you crazy? You were just robbed by bandits, remember? Going after them now for revenge is just asking to die.]

Aerin looked at me like I’d lost my mind.

[I, I…]

If I admitted I’d lied now, I’d lose all face. And I still didn’t have a better explanation for why I was running around the forest naked. They’d just decide I really *was* some kind of pervert.

[What “I”?? Just do the quest properly and come back in one piece.]

Aerin reached out, trying to snatch the mushroom quest from my hand.

[No way!! That’s way too easy. I need something with a little challenge.]

I hid the mushroom quest behind my back so Aerin couldn’t grab it.

“That still doesn’t mean I should go wipe out a whole bandit group!”

Aerin snatched the wanted poster for the bandit group and hid it behind her back.

“Both of you, shut up already!!”

Gibor finally couldn’t stand our bickering anymore.

“I’m saying, if you really don’t wanna go stomp mushrooms, then just go catch this Underwear Thief instead.”

Gibor picked up the Underwear Thief’s poster and put it together with my file.

“..................”

Aerin and I both fell silent.

“Actually, that makes sense. You two are the same kind, right? If you stand in his shoes, you should be able to catch him easy.”

Aerin suddenly gave me this pleased, relieved look.

“What do you mean, the same kind!? You still think I’m a pervert!?”

I glared hard at Aerin.

“Aerin, don’t get ahead of yourself. If he reaches some sort of agreement with the criminal, we’ll just have to arrest him and turn him in for the reward.”

Gibor sighed helplessly and tossed my file and the quest sheet onto a pile that basically screamed “trash paper.”

“So you’ve already decided I’ll fail before I even start!? And you’re already planning to cash me in for bounty!?”

Do I really look that useless?

“I’m sorry, Pupil.”

Aerin suddenly looked at me, her eyes full of apology.

“Uh… it’s fine~~ I just got a little worked up, that’s all.”

I might’ve scared Aerin a bit. They were probably just joking. I was the one taking it too seriously.

“If you really team up with the Underwear Thief, I’ll have no choice but to do the right thing and arrest you myself.”

Aerin looked genuinely troubled.

“I knew I was overthinking it!!!!!!!”

Give me back that tiny bit of sympathy you just had for me.

“Pervert, stop fooling around and hurry up and go finish the quest.”

“You just wait! I’m going to catch that Underwear Thief right now.”

I’m a dignified level-200 character—how could I possibly fail to catch an underwear thief?

Under the curious stares of the other adventurers, I turned around and headed for the doors of the Adventurer’s Guild.

“Oh right! What class is he?”

Aerin’s voice came from behind me.

“No idea. We’ll talk about it when he gets back.”