“That comes to 72 silver coins and 20 copper coins! Thank you for your business!”

“Ah, much appreciated.”

I handed the coins from my pouch to the shopkeeper, then looked over at Eileen. She was swaying back and forth in front of the mirror, happier than a child with a new toy.

She looked nothing like she had in that tattered long dress. Now a cream-white dress wrapped around her delicate frame, like a flower bud on the verge of blooming. Her silver hair fell to her waist like satin. Her soft pink shoulders and shapely legs, along with those clear, dewy red eyes that seemed to hold a kind of magic, made it hard to look away.

I stared at the girl before me, struck by a beauty that felt almost unreal.

She was like a dewdrop-covered white flower blooming amid the world’s splendor. Her petite figure overlapped with something from my memories, taking on the beauty of a flower blooming at the end of the world.

Just like her, back then...

“Karina...”

Like a slideshow, memories of the past veiled my vision. Shattered light and shadow overlapped with the girl’s figure.

『Brother Wutong! Look at this dress! Does it look good on me?!』

Inside one of the few shopping malls in Afghanistan, a brown-haired girl happily showed me a cute pink dress.

『Ah! Of course it looks good!』

A boy in a British GEN2 combat uniform stood before her, praising how cute and charming she looked.

Both of them wore happy smiles...

The kind they’d never smile again...

Smiles steeped in happiness...

As I watched the scene before me, I reached out without thinking. My voice trembled, and a feeling I couldn’t put into words threatened to burst from my chest.

“Karina... I...”

“Big brother?”

But a soft voice pulled me back to reality.

I jolted awake. Looking down, I saw Eileen staring at me with some alarm as I stood frozen, reaching out at empty air. She seemed to think I’d lost my mind.

“Ahem, I’m fine.” I awkwardly lowered my hand and calmed myself down.

“Do you like the dress, Eileen?”

“Yeah!” She nodded hard, her ahoge swaying back and forth.

“But... can you really buy such a pretty dress for me...?”

I looked at the shop’s decor, then at the styles and materials of the clothes for sale, and patted her little head.

“Don’t worry about it. I can’t have you wearing that ragged old dress forever.”

She looked down at the brand-new dress she was wearing, then gave me a beautiful smile.

“Thank you, big brother!”

“Yeah.”

With that, I took her by the hand and left the clothing shop.

So, on the street, the sight of a tall, broad-shouldered man in heavy armor walking with a petite, charmingly cute girl in a huge straw hat drew plenty of eyes.

“Mmm...”

Eileen clearly didn’t know how to handle all the attention. She quietly followed behind me, holding onto a piece of cloth poking out from under my armor. Her lips were pursed as she looked around.

I paid her no mind, keeping my head down as I studied the map I’d just bought.

“Full map of Saileda... 30 silver coins a copy.”

A little pricey.

[How’s it going, Paper-chan? Finished scanning?]

【Map memory function requested. Current scan: 67.7%.】

【78.9%】

【100%. Complete.】

Right away, a small map like the ones in video games appeared in the lower-left corner of my vision. The places Eileen and I had visited lit up completely, and some important buildings and shops were marked. Everywhere else we hadn’t explored was still pitch-black.

But this skill had an added function: if I looked at a map of an area, it would update my own map. I still didn’t know all the details, but at least I’d have the terrain, building layouts, major structures, and anything marked on the map.

At last, I wasn’t wandering around in the dark anymore. Looking at the map, Saileda was quite a bit bigger than I’d imagined. It must have a population of around a hundred thousand, and its basic defenses, like the city walls and moat, were pretty well developed.

[Heh, interesting.]

I chuckled.

[This country’s clearly more advanced than a simple medieval level of technology. At the very least, the standard of living here is quite high.]

【How can you tell?】

[Clothing, weapons and equipment, population, construction, entertainment and art, even how clean the place is—all of these reflect a civilization’s level of development.]

I turned to look at Eileen in her cream-white dress, then at the groups of adventurers on the street. They wore armor, carried weapons, and chatted and laughed with the shopkeepers.

[There’s a wide variety of food, and decent clothes are affordable. What surprises me most is how used people here seem to be to armed adventurers wandering around the streets.]

[You have to remember, when people have enough force at their disposal, they show their ugly side. In peacetime, ordinary people would normally keep their distance if they saw someone wandering around with a sword, spear, or club. At least, that’s how it is in my country...]

I rubbed my jaw through my armor. There were more and more adventurers on the street, so we were probably close to the guild.

[But things here are beyond what I know. Looks like they’ve got an enemy that’s been troubling them for a long time. Could it be something like the Demon King’s army from those light novels?]

As soon as I said it, a burning village and terrifying skeleton monsters sprang to mind. I felt like I’d said something stupid.

[Ahem. Anyway, I think most of the people here are a lot smarter than people in medieval-era Earth. Their general level of education might not be high, but they’re not the so-called ignorant masses.]

【Is that good or bad for you?】

I let out a long sigh, conflicted.

[A bit of both. We probably won’t have fools causing trouble, but it’ll be harder to win people over, and getting information will be a lot more difficult.]

After we turned a street corner, the road suddenly widened. A magnificent building in the distance immediately caught my eye.

“Eileen, we should be almost there.”

I turned to the girl following me.

“Have you ever dealt with adventurers before?”

“No...” She gave a slight shake of her head.

“I see... Then once we go in, don’t say anything. Just stay with me.”

“O-okay!”

I nodded, took Eileen by the hand, and strode toward the two-story building.

The hall was enormous, but even though it was still early morning, it was already packed with adventurers. The noise never let up.

Eileen nervously held my hand, looking around at everyone with curious eyes. I immediately started examining the building’s layout and purpose.

It was a facility that looked like a large inn combined with a tavern, with a simple weapon shop and general store on the side, and... a medical department, too?

It was just like the sort of building I’d seen in plenty of light novels. Exactly what you’d expect. So I turned my attention to the “customers” here.

There were human warriors in armor, and girls in mage robes holding staffs.

On the other side were dwarves with axes and big bushy beards. I could also see demi-humans with all kinds of animal ears on their heads and tails swishing behind them.

Men and women of all ages and races, dressed and armed in every imaginable way, chatted in groups of three or five. I led Eileen through them and straight to the counter.

The girl who greeted us had long, pointed ears, just like Eileen.

Unlike Eileen, though, she had a shapely, well-proportioned figure. Not a single blemish or wrinkle marred her fair skin. Compared to Eileen, who was cute as a doll, this elf seemed like a noble work of art no one could touch. A service smile graced her intelligent face.

[So this is... what they call an elf...]

【Recorded. Storing as the first sample of the elf species... Storage complete.】

“Hello. How can I help you?”

The “work of art” spoke. Her soothing voice was as soft as a marshmallow, putting me at ease.

“My companion and I would like to become adventurers,” I said, getting straight to the point.

“Your companion? Um... they’ll need to be here in person.”

Her words left me stunned.

“In person? But she...”

As I spoke, I looked behind me.

“Emmmmm.”

“Mmm...”

Eileen’s petite figure was tucked neatly behind me, as if she were hiding from the elf. Her little cheeks were puffed up, and she seemed a bit unhappy.

Did she not like this person?

But registering came first. I didn’t think much of it and pulled Eileen out from behind me.

“This is her. We’d both like to become adventurers.”

“Oh, I see.”

The elf looked brisk and capable, but when she saw Eileen, an indescribable expression crossed her face for a moment. She looked as though she wanted to say something, then thought better of it.

“Then please show me your proof of identity first, and fill out these two forms.”

But in the end, she said nothing. Smiling, she handed us two registration forms covered in gilded lettering. The elegant script made me envious.

But I couldn’t write...

“Eileen, could you give me a hand...?” I passed my form to the silver-haired girl.

She blinked her big, watery eyes. It took her a moment to remember that I was an outsider and couldn’t read or write this country’s language. Then she eagerly picked up the pen and filled out both forms.

“Will this do?” I handed the forms back to the elf.

“Yes, that’s all right. We’ll keep these two forms as proof. Please wait here a moment.”

With that, she got up from her seat and disappeared into the back.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. Here you go.”

She soon returned with two small plaques made of white porcelain.

I took them and saw tiny letters carved into the front. They were our names. On the back were some numbers, probably our adventurer ID numbers.

“Please make sure you keep these safe. If anything happens, we’ll need them to confirm your identities,” she said with a smile.

Eileen and I both shuddered three times. A chill crept up our spines.

If anything happens... In other words, if we die so horribly that we’re unrecognizable...

These are dog tags...

“It’s really that simple? We’re adventurers now?”

“Yes. You’re both white-porcelain-rank adventurers for now. To rank up, you’ll need to defeat a certain number of monsters or make a contribution to the city. One of our staff will review your record. If you pass, you can rank up and take on higher-level quests.”

“I see...”

So becoming an adventurer was easy. Making something of yourself was the hard part...

Interesting.

“The quest board is over there. If there’s a quest you’d like to take, just tear it off and bring it to us. We’ll record it and verify its completion, then pay you when it’s done.”

She pointed to a large wooden board set into the wall beside us. Quite a few adventurers stood in front of it, considering their options.

“I’d recommend a beginner goblin-slaying quest, or something like clearing giant rats out of the sewers.”

But after a look at my black heavy armor, she gave a wry smile, her pointed ears twitching.

“Still... you don’t look like someone who’d take on those quests.”

“Ah.” I gave a brief reply as I considered what to do next.

“And with that, your registration is complete. May the beautiful Moon God guide you on the road ahead.”

“Wait a moment.” I called after her.

“Is there something else?”

I glanced at Eileen. She was watching a few adventurers nearby bragging to each other with great interest.

“Could you tell me how to get to Mr. Beowulf’s shop?”

“We’re lost.....”