“……Hmm?”
In the newly landed world, the scene that spread before me was rather ordinary. A relatively deep forest spread out behind me , and if I moved forward, there was a well-maintained highway. Proceeding along it, there was a plain, and further ahead, a large town surrounded by a solid rampart was visible.
“Oh, it’s so typical! But somehow, that feels refreshing!”
“Indeed. This kind of scenery hasn’t been seen since Gou-san’s world, right?”
That place was a world with an atmosphere familiar in good and bad ways, but after that, we journeyed through a world that was all but ended by a blizzard, lived away from civilization in the dense jungle of Umbabo, and finally led an idol life in a world buried in the forest… Looking back, we haven’t had a normal adventure at all.
“However, we can’t let our guard down yet. When we get to that town, something incredible might happen, right?”
“I don’t think so… but I can’t say for sure.”
Speaking in terms of ratios, many of the worlds are where you join a hero’s party, fight against monsters, and aim to defeat the demon king. Among the hundred different worlds, about half were like that. But I did not underestimate the power of destiny, which has kept drawing me to worlds that were different.
Moreover, I can’t ignore the presence of the “Fragments of God” that stir up the world every time. I have three of them, lodged in my index, middle, and ring fingers on my right hand, but I still don’t know how to deal with them.
Having three of them is honestly rather uncomfortable. The thumb and little finger are important for gripping a sword, so if more of these fragments come, should I stuff them into my left hand next? I seriously want to do something about it… but what can I do about this? If I could get rid of them, I would throw them away somewhere.
Anyway, as we were walking, talking, and thinking about such things, we soon reached the town. After paying the entrance fee to the gatekeeper and entering, what we saw was…
“…typical, right?”
“Ah, it’s the typical.”
A well-maintained cobblestone boulevard and stone buildings lined up along it. There’s no flashy stage, no beastmen or pirates running rampant, and no one breaking pots. The sight is so ordinary that it’s surprisingly shocking.
“By the way, do you know what kind of world this is?”
“Ah, sorry. If it’s just this, I don’t really know.”
There are about twenty worlds that I can think of where the characteristic is that there are no characteristics. It’s one of those worlds, but I have no idea which one. If the times aren’t too far apart, I think we’ll know once we meet the hero…
“Thinking about it won’t do any good, let’s just go to the Adventurers’ Guild for now. They probably have one.”
“Right. In such a world and in such a town, they probably have one.”
In terms of getting an identity in this world, going to the Adventurers’ Guild is a safe first move. There are some worlds where the role of the guild is replaced by another profession, like in the world of Rain, or worlds like Donatella’s where the guild itself doesn’t exist, but in a world that emphasizes normalcy like this, there should almost certainly be one.
In fact, there was one. A large and solid building not too far from the entrance of the town, where armed people like Tia and I were going in and out frequently. That place must be the Adventurers’ Guild… or something similar but with a different name.
As expected, it was the Adventurers’ Guild. After paying a small fee and registering as a newbie, Tia and I went over to the bulletin board where the request forms were posted.
“From herb gathering to monster subjugation, and escorting traveling merchants… Amazing, Ed, it’s all so typical!”
“Hahaha, seems fun, doesn’t it?”
While grinning at Tia’s surprised and amused report, I started looking at the requests. But nothing in particular caught my eye… Oh?
“I see, so it’s this world.”
“Oh, did you find a good request?”
“Yeah. I’ll take this one.”
The request I took was for the gathering of a certain plant, which apparently grows in the forest we came through when we arrived in this world. I peeled off the request form and took it to the reception.
“Excuse me, I’d like to accept this request.”
“Let me see. Wait, this is…”
Seeing the request form, the receptionist’s face visibly grimaced. She knew from my recent registration that I was a “newbie who knows nothing”.
“This request is――”
“It’s fine! Let him take it!”
A coarse voice sounded from behind, interrupting the receptionist. Turning around, I saw a bearded man grinning at us.
“Gazil-san! But…”
“It’s fine! Hey newbie, that one has a high reward for its low difficulty. You’ve got good eyes!”
“Ah, thank you.”
“There’s no way you’re going to die from that one, so be careful and get going! Experience is everything, Gahahaha!”
“Ugh… So, what will you do? Can you take this on?”
“Yes, please.”
“Haa… alright.”
With my words, the receptionist sighed lightly and processed the receipt for us. Afterwards, we left the Adventurer’s Guild, watched by the bearded man named Gazil.
As we walked towards the forest, Tia gradually started talking to me.
“Hey, Ed, what was that all about? The receptionist seemed like she was about to say something…”
“Ah, the plant in this request, it’s really sticky.”
“Sti, sticky!?”
As I said this with a laugh, Tia’s ears twitched.
“Yes, sticky. It’s a flower that seems to grow right on the ground, but if you don’t follow the correct procedure to pick it, a spider web-like substance bursts out from the tip of the flower and wraps around you. And that stuff doesn’t come off easily. It sticks to branches and leaves in the forest, and it can be quite a problem.”
“Wow, that’s awful! So that woman knew about this and didn’t tell us? That’s mean.”
“Haha, not exactly. If you’re going to be an adventurer, it’s natural to gather information beforehand. It’s unthinkable to accept a gathering request without knowing how to gather the plant, right? People who can’t handle the basics just have to learn the hard way. But it’s not really dangerous, so it’s not a lie to say it’s a good learning experience.”
A lack of information can lead to fatal situations, which is not unfortunate but natural, and the fact that it’s too late when you realize it is the irrationality and the logic of the world.
In that sense, having them experience it in a relatively less dangerous situation is not a wrong act as a senior adventurer. That’s probably why the receptionist allowed it.
“So, is that person(Gazil) nice?”
“I can’t say for sure, but they’re a bit rough and sloppy, but a pretty caring senior, I guess? From a newbie’s point of view, I’d say they’re the type who only teaches those who ‘won’t understand unless they’re told.'”
There are idiots who won’t understand unless they experience it, but most people understand if they’re told. So, it’s not extravagant to want a proper explanation at first. Well, if asking for an explanation itself is considered extravagant, then that’s that.
“Anyway, I know how to properly gather this plant, so we won’t get covered in threads. You can rest assured.”
“Hmm. Did you research how to do it before getting covered in threads?”
“… No comment.”
Humans learn how to deal with things when they get hurt. Even if hundreds of years have passed in subjective time, you don’t forget such experiences. It’s just that, and there’s no ulterior motive. So, I would really appreciate it if Tia would stop smirking at me.
“Alright, fine. So, did you take this request to prove yourself… as a useful newcomer?”
“No, not exactly—”
“Woooaahhhh!?”
From the direction we were heading, we heard a rather loud voice. As I took the frowning Tia and walked towards the source of the voice, we found a young man completely wrapped in white threads.
“The threads!? They’re wrapping around meeee!?”
“Eh, what’s with him…?”
“Ah, that’s the hero in this world.”
Standing next to the stunned Tia, I informed her of this fact with a bitter smile.