“Thank you for the warning, even if it is a bit late.” I answer her while laughing.

The female foxkin looks at me with an irritated expression. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I encountered the Black Wolf just a few hours ago.”

“Oh, then it is great that you got away unharmed. Can you tell me where you encountered it? I accepted a quest to kill it.”

She is hunting the Black Wolf? With her abilities, it shouldn’t be a problem. If not for the case that I already killed it. I tell her, but I can see, that she doesn’t believe me. Well, it’s more that she doesn’t want to believe me. Because if she can’t get the Black Wolf, they will record the quest as a failure for her. But when I show her the spoils of the Black Wolf, she finally believes me.

“Uh, what should I do now?” She looks down, but I already have an idea where both profit.

“How about that? I give you the core of the Black Wolf for the quest and we share the reward 50:50?”

“And why would you do that instead of cashing it in yourself?” She is back to doubting me… Well, I can’t blame her. Usually, an Adventurer wouldn’t share the reward for no reason. But I guess I have a good reason. And it is very simple.

“I simply can’t. I am just H-Rank.”

“You’re telling me an H-Rank Adventurer defeated a Black Wolf?”

I tell her I just registered about two weeks ago. So I am stronger than my rank might suggest. So because of my rank, I can’t accept the request and that means I can’t cash in the reward. But if she cashes it in, instead we can split the reward and the quest will not count as a failure. She thinks a bit about my offer and accepts.

“I’m Rika. I’m a D-Rank Adventurer.” We introduce each other and walk towards Torcia together, but as expected, we didn’t reach the city before night. So we set up our camp and prepare dinner.

“By the way, I am still surprised that you are already D-Rank, considering that you are about my age.” Actually, she is 16, which means she is a year younger than me. But I don’t tell her I already know, because I don’t want to reveal my Analyze ability.

“You are strong, too, if you can defeat a Black Wolf. But I had to become strong no matter what, because I am looking for my younger sister. The rank just came as a side effect.” She tells me her younger sister got kidnapped by an illegal slavery ring a few years ago. Even though she says sister, they are not blood related, but they both grew up in the same orphanage. So she became an Adventurer, to travel the country to look for her sister.

I can see why she became that strong with such a clear goal in mind. If I think about it, it is something I currently lack of. Of course, I have a few smaller goals, like learning magic or seeing more of this world. Figuring out about vampires. But that’s it.

“Why are you staring at me like this?” Oh, I didn’t realize I was staring.

“Sorry, I just admired your strong will and that you’re working so hard towards your goal.”

“Huh?” she blushes slightly.

“It’s just that I don’t have such a clear goal. I became an adventurer to travel the world, but that’s about it. I don’t have any bigger goal behind it. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think this is bad or anything. I just admired the fact that you’re working hard for your goal.”

“Uh, thanks…”

We finish eating and Rika sets up a magic tool. I am curious, so I ask about it. She explains it is a magic tool to detect approaching monsters. But she also wonders why I don’t know about it. “You’re alone, too. Right? So how did you keep yourself safe at night?”

Uh… How can I explain this. “Sorry, but that is a secret.” That should be the best solution. I just don’t explain it. She looks at me curiously as if she wants to keep asking, but in the end she just says good night and enters her tent.

The next day, we are again on our way to Torcia, and we arrive at midday. Torcia is a city of similar size to Gilicia, but it’s not a port city. I heard that there is swamp north of the city, where you can find some rare medicinal herbs or monster ingredients that can be used for alchemy. Rika leads the way to the Guild.

We approach the counter, and the receptionist greets us. “Oh, Rika. Welcome back. And who is this? I don’t think we met before.”

“Yes, I’m back. This is Benji, he is an H-Rank Adventurer. He helped me defeat the Black Wolf, so we agreed to split the reward.” We already decided on the story beforehand. But still the receptionist looks at me dubiously.

“H-Rank? And he helped you?”

“Yes, I am H-Rank. But I only registered two weeks ago. So, I guess I should be close to G-Rank?” I show her my Identification Card. She is still watching me, but she accepts our story and we split the reward of quest.

“So, what are you going to do now?” Rika asks me after we left the Guild.

“First of all, I am going to finish the first part of my delivery quest. And then I am heading back to Gilicia. But I guess I will visit the capital soon. What about you?”

“I am staying in Torcia, to look for signs of my sister. I haven’t decided on my next destination yet.”

With that we said good bye and I started looking for the grandma’s brother. Uh… I should have asked about the location. Well, I still have some time, so I explore the city a bit while looking for the alchemist.

About an hour later, I hear my stomach revolting, so I stop at a food stall to buy a sandwich. “Oh, by the way. Do you know where I can find the shop of an old alchemist named Spencer?”

I got lucky, because the stall owner really knows about the alchemist’s shop, so after eating I head there immediately. I enter the shop, but there is only a middle-aged man at the counter, so I approach him.

“Hi, is there someone named Spencer? I’m an Adventurer with a delivery from Vivian.”

“Hello, you have a delivery from my aunt? Please wait for a moment. I call my father.” He leaves to the back of the store and comes back with an older man, who I guess is Spencer.

“Hello, you are the Adventurer with a delivery from my sister?”

“Hi. Yes, that’s right.” I take out the letter and the book and give it to him. I wait while he is reading the letter. After reading it, he asks me if I could wait, while he is writing a response to his sister and tells his son to prepare the payment for the book. A few minutes later, he comes back with the letter and everything is taken care of. Before leaving, I ask him if he can recommend an inn.

The next day, I leave early in the morning and head back to Gilicia. The way back was quite uneventful, and I arrive three days later.

Immediately after arriving, I head to the bookstore to finish my request. I give her the payment and the response from her brother and then buy the book about medicinal herbs at the promised discount.

I think a bit about whether I should head to the Guild now, but since it’s getting late, I decide to go tomorrow and head to the inn. When I enter the Guild, the next day I see Aya at the counter and greet her. “Hey Aya. I’m here to report about my delivery request.”

“You’re back. You’re really mean to leave so suddenly again.” She pouts.

“Haha, sorry. But at least this time I left a message.”

We are both laughing and she processes the report of my quest. When she returns my Identification Card, she says, “Congratulations. With this, you’re promoted to G-Rank.”

“Oh, I got promoted already? Thank you. I guess that means I am ready to head to the capital.”

“Right. But I will miss you. When are you going to leave?” Well, I will miss her too. She is a nice friend. But I already decided I would leave. So, there is nothing I can do about it.

“I think I’ll take a day off and then leave the day after tomorrow. I’ll definitely come to the Guild before leaving to say goodbye and to see if there is an interesting request that I could do on my way to the capital.”