Ejwaxy

As the [Valen Arc] starts to pick up, I just wanted to say welcome to all the new readers and once again thank everyone for their continued support!

In the end, the appearance of the first floor was actually... quite normal, surprisingly enough. Well, from a certain perspective, that is. Literally.

The adventurer's guild branch in Valen was exactly like any other guild branch anywhere else in terms of basic furnishings.

Clean wooden tables surrounded by chairs as adventurers joked and laughed while day-drinking, receptionist desks at the far end of the room, a large board for commissions on one of the walls.

However, what was unusual was that the ground... well, was uneven. Some areas were elevated by as much as a person's height in level, with stairs required to reach the tables there. Other areas  were sunken low in pits. A small coy pond just kind of... existed in one corner as a food stand sold meat skewers to a number of adventurers and citizens alike.

As my eyes took in everything around me, I closed them and rubbed my forehead. This certainly was different than I'd expected, but I was still oddly excited. Having seen the cliche "becomes an adventurer" scene so many times, I could feel my heart beating fast in anticipation.

As I looked at Amber at my side, though, she just seemed... confused.

"I mean... they weren't wrong about it being eccentric."

She said with a slight smile gracing her lips.

I nodded my head and turned to Elena to see her react, only to find a surprising sight. Elena, rather than surprised or weirded out, was mystified by the things surrounding her. She looked at the adventurers as they came back through the front door from missions, taking in the appearance of their their well-worn weapons. For lack of a better term it seemed like she was... fan-girling.

I smiled to myself as I looked at her cute, amazed face and her eyes that seemed to glitter with wonder. I rested my hand gently on her head.

As though in sudden self-awareness, she began to blush after realizing I'd noticed her excitement. She looked at the ground sheepishly.

"You're very cute when you're excited, you know?"

I whispered in her ear, causing her to blush far more furiously. Amber, of course, realized that something was up and narrowed her eyes at us.

Really, though, I took very little notice of that. For a few seconds, I could feel nothing but the blood rushing to my face in embarrassment over a line like that. Saying something so corny was really hard for somebody who'd been a NEET for four years until now, you know!

In any case, I came to my senses as we walked towards the receptionist booths. Getting in front of one of the free guild receptionists, of which there were not many, I gave my best smile and put my hand on the desk while leaning over.

"Hello there, we three would like to apply for adventurers licenses."

The guild receptionist nodded her head and pushed her glasses up on her nose before reaching for some papers. Although all the receptionists were cute young girls, most likely a strategy to attract more adventurers and present a good image, their beauties were simply outclassed by the two girls beside me. As such, it was no surprise to me when I heard a voice call over, interrupting the receptionist and stopping her as she was about to hand us the papers.

"Hold it right there, beauties!"

Two men, one a stout man, a dwarf with a long beard, and the other a tall and skinny human, approached us from behind. The one that spoke was the tall human, who had a broad grin on his face and hungry eyes. The dwarf, on the other hand, had a completely emotionless expression.

Of course, Elena and Amber turned around with surprise. After seeing the tall man's face, though, that surprise seemed to turn to revulsion.

"What is it that you want?"

In the end, it was I that spoke in the girls' place. I acted more or less instinctively, not wanting to let the tall guy anywhere near them.

"I didn't ask you, I asked the girls..."

The man's face darkened threateningly as he spoke, clearly trying to intimidate me. However, I refused to back down. I'd already experienced the fear of facing down a far superior opponent and overcome it, so puny intimidation tactics like this from far weaker opponents seemed insignificant in my eyes.

"Well, too bad..."

My face remained cold as I stared right back into the man's eyes, and chatter began to erupt around the guild as the attention started to get drawn onto us.

Sparks seemed to fly in the air between us, and the man's eyes shifted over to Elena and them Amber as he licked his lips. Then, he winked at me.

Feeling something like a switch flip inside of me, I thoughtlessly stepped forward in anger. However, just as I did so I felt two hands on either of my arms pulling me back.

"J-Jonathan, stop!"

"Cut it out, dummy!"

Elena and Amber exclaimed as they held me back. Simultaneously, another voice rang out. This time, it came from the dwarf beside the tall man.

"That's enough, Dionysus. I think you've been a disgusting person enough for one day already."

The tall man, Dionysus, tsked as he turned back around and left the guild hall, slamming the door behind him. Of course, stunned at his sudden change in behavior I couldn't help but be a bit surprised. Amber, on the other hand, barked out a laugh before covering her mouth with her hand in surprise.

However, what caught my attention was the dwarf that hadn't budged. As I looked at him closely, I noted the large, double-edged battle axe hanging from his back. Unlike the small-fry vibe that Dionysus had given off, even without moving this man gave the sensation of quiet strength. Even with the experience I'd had with the assassin, just thinking about approaching this guy made my hair stand on end. As I felt this sensation, fear, once again, I reaffirmed my resolve to become stronger, if only to protect the people in this world I'd come to care about.

"I-is there something you need?"

I cursed in my head as I stuttered, directing my question to the apathetic dwarf.

"That girl."

He pointed at Elena on my right, causing me to grit my teeth.

"You can't ha-"

"I've seen her type before, those who idolize adventurers. Revel in tales of their exploits, and dream to become one themselves from youth."

"Huh?"

The man interrupted me as I was about to tell him to back off, suddenly surprising me with a comment I hadn't expected.

"They always come here, to Valen, with big dreams and aspirations. Get rich. Get famous. Kill legendary monsters. They think it's so easy."

I shut my mouth, uncertain of what to say.

"It's always the same. They take on a challenge too large and get themselves and the entire rest of their party killed. Being an adventurer is not the glory-filled life they speak of in the stories. It's a path filled with death and sorrow. Even so, you want to take this path? Not only that, you want to force these two young girls follow you down it?"

The man's eyes seemed to bore into me as he spoke, and I entered a silent state of thought for a few seconds.

"Forcing us? Jonathan isn't like that!"

"D-don't be stupid! We're here to protect him so he doesn't get hurt again! I won't let anything bad happen to Elena, either!"

Elena spoke defensively as Amber started to claim she would protect us from harm again, but I cut through it all with a single word.

"No."

The dwarf man showed a reaction for the first time, raising an eyebrow at me.

"No?"

I nodded.

"No. I won't let us go down that path in the first place, so there's nothing to worry about."

I spoke confidently, determined.

"Really, and how do you propose you avoid that?"

I simply smiled at the man, my fear being washed away.

"I'll get stronger, far stronger than anybody who's walked through those doors. Not to mention, I'm not stupid or reckless enough to put these girls in a situation we can't handle."

The man's eyebrow returned to it's position, and though he didn't emote it felt like he was smiling.

"I guess we'll see about that. Oh, and my name is Bacchus. Try not to forget it, kid."

Bacchus turned around and walked away, the eyes of everyone in the room following him. He opened the door Dionysus has left through and closed it soundlessly behind him.

As Bacchus left, I felt a tap on my shoulder. The guild receptionist held aloft three sheets of paper and three small white cards.

"I didn't expect Bacchus to back off so easily, I'm impressed."

The guild receptionist spoke honestly and with a smile as I took the sheets and cards she offered.

"Thanks, I guess."

I shrugged my shoulders, though honestly I was surprised that had ended so simply as well.

I turned to the girls beside me with a smile as I brushed aside the lingering discomfort from that encounter.

"Now, how about we become adventurers?"