Chapter 24: Tame Skill
“By the way, are there any ongoing gathering requests?”
While I was lost in thought, relishing the fact that I had become an adventurer without any trouble, Rio was asking the receptionist about practical requests.
“Yes, for F-rank, there are constant requests for gathering Herbs and Antidote Herbs. If you have any, we can buy them from you, so please head over to the purchasing counter over there.”
“Shuu, let’s go.”
Being tugged along by Rio, I made my way to the purchasing counter as instructed by the receptionist. Did I even have any Herbs or Antidote Herbs? I knew they grew abundantly in the Forest of Enchantment, but precisely because they were so plentiful, I usually didn’t bother collecting them. The mushrooms had better effects anyway.
“Alright, the purchasing counter we mentioned is over here. Just place what you want to sell on this table.”
There was no line at the counter. Rio stood in front of the table and pretended to pull out a bundle of grass from inside her robe, placing two bundles on the table.
“Alright, we have Herbs and Antidote Herbs here. Just a moment while I count them.”
A stout, short man, broader than I was, began counting the grass.
“Okay, we have sixteen Herbs and twenty-two Antidote Herbs. I’ll return the excess. That totals to 180 Fron. Here’s one Large Copper Coin and eight Copper Coins. Take it.”
“Thank you very much.”
Rio tucked the grass back into her robe and accepted the money. Just for that, we got 180 Fron? The inn charges 800 Fron for a two-person room, which is eight Large Copper Coins. That’s hardly enough…
“By the way, Rio, when did you start gathering Herbs and stuff?”
“Hmm, I’ve been collecting them here and there. I still have more, but I’m just observing for now.”
We whispered to each other so that no one around could hear. It was true that we hadn’t drawn attention to ourselves since day one. If it came down to it, we could always camp outside the city.
“But gathering doesn’t really earn much money. We need to level up our rank.”
“Yeah. To go from F to E, we need to complete ten requests, right?”
“Exactly. For the ongoing requests for Herbs and Antidote Herbs, completing five bundles counts as one request. So, that means you’ve completed seven requests, young lady.”
“…Just Rio?”
I asked, feeling a bad premonition from the man at the purchasing counter.
“Yes, yes. You two aren’t in a party, right? Then it counts as a solo achievement.”
“Wait, seriously?!”
“Eh, is that so?!”
Both of us turned to the elven receptionist with golden hair, who hurried over to us, looking flustered.
“I-I’m so sorry! It was my oversight. Normally, you can’t process this after receiving your reward, but if you apply for a party now, we can process Lord Shu’s achievements as well.”
“Oh, I’m sorry for the trouble.”
“No, it’s our mistake.”
As I bowed my head, the receptionist quickly brightened up and began the party application process.
“Now, please decide on a party name.”
I suddenly found myself at a loss for words… I glanced at Rio, hoping for inspiration, but she shook her head.
“Um, I can’t just come up with a party name that easily.”
“Water Book.”
Rio muttered softly, but that’s just my name. I’d rather not name our party after myself, especially when it’s just my name translated into English. But then again, what would “柚” be in English? I have no idea… Maybe it’s better to include “月” from Yuzuki.
Speaking of which, we were called heroes after being summoned. But “Brave” doesn’t quite fit… Oh, I’ve got it!
“Then let’s go with ‘Moon’s Drop.'”
“Understood. ‘Moon’s Drop’ it is. I’ll register it now. I’ll take your Guild Certificate… Since you two have completed seven requests, you only need three more to rank up to E.”
I handed over the Guild Certificate hanging from my neck, and after a moment, I received it back with the party name registered. Three more requests to rank up, huh? We need to level up quickly to take on better-paying jobs; maintaining our current inn is going to be tough.
“For now, let’s go check what requests are available.”
“Sounds good.”
Prompted by Rio, we headed to the board where requests were posted.
“The G-rank requests seem to be general tasks around the city. Oh, there are even requests for F-rank in the city.”
“It looks like the city requests are mostly labor-related for F and E ranks.”
“Hmm. It doesn’t seem like there’s anything we can finish today…”
The other unusual requests included cleaning the bath and searching for a runaway Tamed Monster. Do guilds really get requests for cleaning baths? Is there a public bath somewhere? If there is, I’d love to check it out.
And a Tamed Monster! That means there’s a Tame Skill! I absolutely need to get my hands on that!
I wonder if feeding it meat will help tame it. But what kind of monsters are around the city?
“Shuu?”
As I pondered about Taming, Rio’s voice broke through my thoughts. Uh, what were we talking about again? Oh right, while cleaning the bath is interesting…
“Let’s skip it for today. We don’t know the geography of the city well yet, so how about we just wander around?”
“…A date then!”
I felt like I was being glared at, but Rio’s eyes sparkled at my words.