We’re back at the noisy streets once more.

I got to say, even though it’s still around afternoon the heatwave wasn’t that extreme.

I know that it’s summer but having no sweat flowing down on me is great.

On my right side is Mira. She’s an adorable and innocent maiden that I met only one or two hours ago.

The two of us are now on our way to the adventurer organization. Yeah, just the two of us.

Now that it came into my mind, there are now those butterflies inside my stomach.

T-this… This feels like a date. Nope, no, yes, yep.

Okay, relax, relax, Reiji. Control your breathing. Just like that. Okay, now smooth things up.

Talk to her. Don’t make it awkward. Grow some balls and do it. Ah, no, don’t think of that.

It sounded too inappropriate. Although it’s not that type of balls.

“Are you alright, Reiji?”

“I-I’m not thinking of balls!”

“Eh?”

“Huh? What? You need to ask me something, Mira?”

Mira slanted her head to take a peek at me. It’s too close. And now my mind is extremely conscious of her.

“Your face’s a bit red. Maybe you’re still exhausted from our journey earlier.”

It’s red because you’re obviously in front of me.

“E-er, uh, it’s not that—I’m just nervous and at the same time excited to see the adventurer organization.”

Really?! What am I a child? What a lame excuse.

“Hm, is that so? You won’t have to worry then. They’re nice people over there. They’ll treat and take care of your issues normally.”

“I-it’s good then. Thank you.”

“Welcome.”

She smiled adorably. I feel my face hot again.

So, I turned away from her. I don’t want to be seen blushing again.

I wish I was the kind of guy who could keep his cool around ladies. But I suppose this is reality.

When I turned to look the other way, there seemed to be a plaza.

People are congregating in an open space near the statue that has a four-way fountain below it.

That statue’s familiar though. It was the Guild Master.

Almost the same in the guild mansion but this had more vibrance to it and larger too.

Some of the people are admiring her. She’s really famous, isn’t she?

“The Guild Master has a huge influence here in the capital.”

Mira suddenly spoke. She probably saw me looking at it.

“She’s loved not only here but also in the country of Thehill itself. Due to her vigor and wisdom, the people depended on her. Therefore, she garners a lot of popularity.”

How Mira smiled at me told me that she also respects the Guild Master a lot.

And from her speech, Thehill is the name of the capital as well as the name of the country.

“Are there any guilds here other than yours, Mira?”

No matter how many times I contemplate on it, their guild was above my expected standards. I don’t even know if there are other guilds here in Thehill.

Mira started thinking, she placed a finger on her chin and looked upward.

“Yes. There are other guilds but most of them are smaller guilds. Although there are small guilds that are being recruited by other larger guilds. Only the Numbers Guild are the ones who didn’t implement that type of policy.”

Well, I already know that that would be the line of operation. Being overshadowed by popular guilds is common, I suppose. Also, a larger guild will have larger profits and advantages.

“Mira. What kind of guild are they? The Numbers Guild?”

When I asked that, Mira had her eyes glistened. She raised both of her hands. The right gave out four fingers while the left gave one finger.

“There are five countries and each country has a representative Numbers Guild. The Numbers Guild consists of five guilds and has the highest authority in that country.”

Mira lets down the four fingers and forwards the single finger.

“Like here in Thehill. Our Guild represents it.”

Throughout her whole explanation, Mira gave a proud demeanor. She seemed to be enjoying lecturing me.

I’m not one to talk but how old is this lady? She looked younger than me but sometimes she behaves half her age.

“If I remember it correctly… It’s Guild Limea, right? Then, why is it called Numbers Guild?”

“The reason is that the Guild Master is also known as a Number. It’s a title given to the greatest adventurer in the whole land. Though, the word greatest there is more of a subjective matter.”

The Guild Master does seem to have a lot of connections. If I based it on my interaction earlier. And from her appearance alone, that title befitted her.

I don’t know why I’m so concerned about this Number thingy but I gained some information about it.

Mira’s not bothered by my questions; I might as well continue my investigation. It may give me hints of my memories.

“Is the Numbers Guild considered as one large guild?”

“Hmmm, I would say that your question is half correct and half wrong. The Numbers Guild does represent as one in the name. However, it’s also individually established when it comes to resources.”

“Resources?”

“Mm-hmm. For example, I’m part of Guild Limea but it doesn’t mean that I’m also part of the other Numbers Guild. But at the same time, the other Numbers Guild could directly ask for our assistance using the connections only Guild Limea had.”

I was wondering what she said about the resources. I thought it’s more of relaying information or money but I guess it was the members themselves. That as well was pretty much obvious though.

After a while of speaking with Mira, we arrived at the adventurer organization. The outside part of it.

“We’re already here, Reiji.”

A large building with flags attached to the walls. One of them was the logo of Guild Limea.

There are numerous steps of stairs. In my estimation, it’s around sixty or seventy. In between those.  

Comparing this to the guild mansion, this is meh. Although the entrance door could fit at least four or five people in one go.

But comparing it to the guild mansion is kind of nonsensical, the adventurer organization is for the public.

As we entered the building, the inside blew my mind away.

Wow! There’s… not a lot of adventurers.

I could even count them by fingers.

There’s a female knight at the booth. Other than her, a party of a mage, an archer, and two beast-man hanging around in the corner.

The first thing that you will notice when you enter—not the deserted tables—is the huge clock above the three booths.

Each of the booths had a signboard that read: Expedition, Request, and Information.

All in order, from my left to my right.

Obviously, I know where I’m going.

I was about to go on my own when Mira stood in front of me. She bent forward and had a hand on her azure gem in the middle of her chest.

“Can you do it by yourself, Reiji? Or do you want me to come with you?”

What’s with the motherly vibe here? I’m not a kid anymore. But it is hands down positive points for cuteness.

“I’m fine. You’re here to do something too, right?”

Straightening herself, Mira produced the brownish paper. I was relatively close to it but the blue flame had no heat in it.

“Yeah, I needed to submit this to fully complete our quest.”

“Then, it’s much faster if we do our task separately.”

“Okay, but whoever finishes first has to wait over here.”

She pointed her finger on our right side. An empty table and chairs.

I nodded and had gone to our designated way.

In front of the Information Booth was the female knight, so I queued in line.

She had golden blonde hair tied in semi-braids and her armor was extravagant. A rich lady.

She must be royalty or someone along the line.

She was conversing quite aggressively about some kind of quest.

After waiting for a few minutes, the rich lady tottered away from the reception table.

My sidelong gaze followed the frustrated rich lady until she was out of the picture.

Whoever you are, I’ll pray for you.

The Informant greeted me with a smile.

“Welcome, I am Ava Nilsson. How may I help you, sir?”

She had long wavy light blue hair. Dressed in a maid uniform mainly a pattern of white and blue.

The female Informants are dressed in a maid uniform and male Informants are dressed in a butler uniform.

She bowed. Her motion had shown her professionalism.

“U-um, here. Can you take a look at what’s inside?”

I took my Karda out and gave it to her. Like a professional, she used both of her hands to receive it.

“Do you wish to acquire the item, Sir?”

“Yes.”

I was assuming that it will turn into brown paper but instead, a small magic circle manifested from her right eye.

So that how they examine the Karda. How will they convey what’s inside? If that’s how they do it then isn’t it easy to give false information?

As I was thinking of that, I saw her right eyes and mouth twitch curtly.

Was there something wrong?

“Sorry to be rude, Sir. But are you sure you’d want to acquire it?”

My eyebrows creased.

What was in there? Isn’t it just a letter or something?

The Karda burned and formed into brown paper. The magic circle in her eyes vanished too.

“Your Karda contains an S-Class Weapon Invoker and a bag of 1000 gold coins, Sir. I’d suggest that it be best if you placed the gold coins in the bank or keep it on your Karda.”

She instructed as she gave me the brown paper.

There are two columns and printed on them are those words she mentioned.

1000 gold coins? That’s money, right? Or is it different?

“These gold coins are currency, right?”

“Yes. It is, Sir.”

I’m confused. It was a small piece of paper but it had 1000 pieces of gold coins. A thousand. Are these coins pellet size? But there wasn’t any kind of outlet in the Karda.

But there’s another item…

“S-Class Weapon Invoker. May I ask what is this?”

After I asked that, her face gaped a bit. Did I say something wrong for her to be shocked?

But she quickly regained her composure and answered my question.

“It’s an item that can create the best suitable weapon for you, Sir.”

Amazing! An item such as this exist? But creating a weapon? Is it the size of a toothpick?

“How can I use it?”

“You’ll need a ritual room to generate the weapon, Sir.”

“Where can I find a ritual room?”

 She pointed upwards.

“There’s one on the second floor, Sir.”

“I see.”

“Pardon me, Sir. May I ask why you aren’t familiar with the contents of your Karda?”

The Informant’s eyes narrowed a little and peered at me.

At this moment I realized…

Oh yeah, it’s possible that this wasn’t my Karda. She is suspicious of me.

I’m not a thief or anything! I’m innocent. I don’t remember my past so… Maybe I am a thief!

I need to convince her or else I’ll be sleeping in a jail cell tonight.

“U-um, I actually don’t remember anything about my past. I didn’t know what’s inside it. But I’m not a thief, I’m willing to return this Karda so please don’t report me.”

Good thing there aren’t many adventurers here to see me plead. No! It’s still bad. I’m in a pinch here, I should’ve gone with Mira. I’m screwed, I’m screwed, I’m screwed. Ah! I can call her.

“I understand now, Sir. Thank you for telling me and I’m very much sorry if you felt suspected.”

She sincerely apologized by bowing her head lower than the first one.

“E-eh? Wait, you’re not doubting me?”

“No, Sir. Forgive me if it offended you.”

Offended? But she had every right to interrogate me.

“Can you tell me why I’m not being suspicious?”

“A Karda can only be held by its rightful owner, Sir. Permission shall be required for other parties.”

So that’s why. She did ask me initially before taking my Karda. And the same goes for the Guild Master earlier.

I gave her the brown paper and she reverted it to being a Karda again.

“So how do I take out the gold coins from the Karda?”

The Informant explained it in detail but I didn’t get any of the complex ones.

Firstly, there is what they called Mana. It has two factors, internal and external. Part of the body and part of the environment. And it is the key element to materialize the gold coins.

Lastly, the Materialization process. It was simple just from her explanation alone. Think of the item I would want to show up in my palm.

She did give me a warning though when she handed back the Karda. I should be careful not to overthink it.

Or I might subconsciously unlock the Karda full and that would cause some unwarranted mess.

“That’s all?”

“Yes, Sir.”

Let’s put it to the test. Imagine one gold coin appearing. Imagine. Imagine.

And then a light flashed on my palm.

“One gold coin.”

Whoa! Just like magic! Amazing! Out of nowhere or rather from this tiny paper card, it released a gold coin. And it’s not pellet size at all. The capacity of a Storage Karda is not limited to its physical form.

Now I won’t be needing to stay at Guild Limea. I can live for a whole month or maybe a year.

“How much is one gold coin worth in lodgings?”

“It might depend on the class level, Sir. However, if it’s at a standard one, the duration would be about a year.”

Forget about months or years, I can live for centuries. Whether luxurious or mediocre, I have the option. And there’s the S-Class Weapon Invoker. I can create a weapon of my choice.

Wait! Maybe. Just maybe.

“U-uh, do you have any kind of information that could aid a person from amnesia? Or like is there a type of spell that could make ones lose a memory?”

“Sorry, Sir. We don’t have anything like that. More so, memory loss is an uncommon occurrence and a spell that can do something morbid doesn’t exist.”

Well, I had foreseen that. If there was any, the Guild Master or even Mira could’ve told me about it. I guess my only choice is to wait for the Guild Master’s news then.

Now I know what the lady knight felt like.

“Would you like to register as an adventurer, Sir?”

Hm? I’m not in need of money. Why would she suggest that?

“Why?”

“We may not give you any information about your memory loss. However, we can provide you information of missing adventurers and rough descriptions of other people that might be linked to you.”

“Really?”

I got so thrilled that I leaned on the table. The Informant remained composed and smilingly nodded in approval.

“In that case, I would like to register, please.”

A ray of sunshine, my heart leaped in joy. Metaphorically of course.

Anyway, with more sources, it would take lesser time.

“Please take a seat wherever you want, Sir. I’ll follow quickly after I take the necessary requirements.”

She bowed her head and sauntered her way through the back door.

And so, I turned around from the reception table, cheerily. I might even sing while I walk…

Immediately, I saw Mira on the spot that we’ve agreed on.

Damn! I forgot about it. How long had she been waiting?

“Sorry, Mira. It took me too long.”

Mira was currently reading a book. She was too enamored to it that she just noticed me when I was in her field of vision.

“Oh, Reiji. It’s fine.”

She shook her head as she closed the book.

“Are you done with your business?”

“About that. I’m applying to be an adventurer so it’ll take more time. You can go back first if you want to. I’m really sorry if I’ve wasted your time.”

I apologized once again but she had the same response and showed me the book.

“I’m fine with it. I’ll wait for you and I have a book to keep me occupied.”

She said with a smile on her face.

If she’s okay waiting for me then I’ll be happy to accept it.

“Good afternoon, Mira.”

By the time I’ve taken my seat, the Informant was already with the requirements.

“Good afternoon too, Ava.”

It looked like they were close acquaintances. Well, the fact that Mira’s part of a famous guild and a regular here, I think. There’s no doubt to it.

The Informant placed the items on the table.

A brown paper, a pen, several Karda, a bracelet embedded with a transparent gem, and a small box.

Now we’ve proceeded with the registration.