The young man with disheveled dirt blonde hair, who I saved after inadvertently running him over, introduces himself as Adder, a scholar researching dungeons and ruins. He is usually holed up underground but came out for business in the capital Verbeau.

This confirms the existence of dungeons, but from his introduction it sounds like dungeon diving doesn’t exist in Arcoul. Dungeons aren’t the kind of magical place where you can find a Boss guarding treasure.

Oftentimes ruins and monster dens form dungeons naturally and travelers avoid them as much as possible. Curiosity is the only reward to be found other than ravenous monsters. That means no treasure chests or rare artifacts or weapons.

It goes to reason that treasure vaults wouldn’t use monsters in their security system. In hindsight, it seems silly to expect intact treasure chests in caves, containing magical tools and potions.

Accordingly, the few times that dungeons are visited are as training grounds for the Keepers Guild and military squads.

I was hoping to go dungeon diving but it sounds disappointing to put it bluntly. Why would I go to a bleak monster-infested cave for absolutely nothing?

Adder is ready to go on about his favorite topic of dungeons some more so I interrupt him before his next spiel.

Becca 「 Adder, you mentioned that you heard of me? 」

Adder 「 The Oracle from the capital’s church had a prophecy of recent, about a hero that would visit and bless the princess’s wedding. The wedding is around the corner and you match the description being spread around so I put the two together. 」

Becca 「 Oh? People have been spreading my deeds around have they? What do they say? 」

Adder continues with a rapt excitement as my expectations rise.

Adder 「 They say the hero is a young warrior with a brash temperament and violent disposition. They say that you’ve beaten up both a young girl and a little boy, as well as a baby dragon! 」

Wait a second, that sounds like a serious allegation there buddy. Let me in on the details. I promise not to act up and choke the life out of you. On my hero’s honor. I hold back my irritation and urge him on.

Adder 「 So the hero’s been sighted in three different places in Yorland; Realight City, Frosthill, and Wahlburg. And in each sighting there was a fight and she beat up some people. 」

The locations seem right, but it sounds like I’m a violent thug that even targets children. I’m the hero you know!

Hold up, if I think about it, in Realight City I fought with Envie the demon, but at that time she was possessing Alice. I forced her out but her appearance was still a mirror copy of Alice, so to others they only saw me fighting a little demonic girl.

Then in Frosthill there was that competition to get the cure back from the Exile Guild. If memory serves right I fought against Pip, the Golem with the Mimic class. That was a tough fight so I went all out. Pip’s childish appearance belies his true strength.

And the baby dragon? That must be referring to Wahlburg where the Father-child pair of Wyverns targeted the village.

But wait, wasn’t it Brigid that beat up the Wyvern? I didn’t touch a scale on that Wyvern! And calling it a baby when it’s strong enough to wipe out a village is, well that’s quite a different nuance.

…

Now that I think about it, that rumor isn’t wrong? I guess it is technically true that I’ve fought a bunch of kids.

How on Earth(Arcoul actually) did I get such a bad rap? I swear if I find out someone’s intentionally spreading this to defame me, was it Maeve? It better not have been her.

I clear my throat and try to sound as nonchalant and unfazed as I can.

Becca 「 Well, I can’t deny or confirm the rumors, per se, but there were circumstances that necessitated it. 」

Adder 「 How lucky that I get to be saved by the Hero! They say the last hero to be summoned by the Goddess was over 500 years ago. To think a new one would appear in my generation. 」

I don’t know much about the previous hero but I was brought here to bring balance to all the chaos in this world, at least according to the Goddess’ letter. Come to think of it, I’ve had zero direct contact with her so I don’t know anything about her.

The only goddess I met was the Goddess of Chaos, Eon, who helped relay the request. It was pretty vague on what exactly I should do. Almost like I was told to be a hero and given a blank check letting me do “hero things”.

I guess I’ve been doing a good job so far since I haven’t heard a single complaint or peep from any gods.

Adder 「 But it’s strange, I was under the impression that the hero was a man? 」

Becca 「 Who said that? Was that person blind or something? 」

Anyone can tell from a glance that I’m a super gorgeous woman just oozing feminine charm. And that point’s not up for discussion, I’m serious.

Maybe Adder sensed my rising temper because he dropped the issue and pretended to have never uttered it.

Becca 「 So, Adder, where are you headed? I’m on my way to the capital so I could offer you a lift if it’s on the way? 」

Maybe out of guilt that I let the trailer run him over I ask him and offer up a ride. Adder looks to the trailer that I point to, perhaps realizing that this metal beast is my steed. He nods and accepts my apology.

Adder 「 I’m actually headed to Verbeau myself so if it’s no trouble, let’s travel together. 」

Becca 「 Where’s your stuff? 」

A look at him and it’s apparent that he has no baggage anywhere on him. It’s possible that he let go of it while being dragged on the dirt road. He senses my stare and explains jovially.

Adder 「 As someone who frequents dungeons, staying underground for weeks on end, I keep all my supplies in my magic item box. I splurged a fair bit to get one of the bigger boxes with a capacity of a dozen meters round. The item box is in my chest pocket. 」

He pulls out a chain from his inner shirt to reveal a silver pendant and what I assume is the form of his item box. He demonstrates and pulls out a load of bread as the pendant magically shines.

I see that this world Arcoul sells item boxes. I remember having something similar to that. That bottomless bag I started out with, eventually I incorporated it into my Menu skill to create an Inventory system.

The Inventory lets me store whatever I please but I don’t think I ever found out the limits of it, or rather, it’s probably bottomless too.

Considering I can carry and warp freely around Arcoul, I could realistically start my very own carrier service. My motto would be something like, no matter what it is, we’ll get it there within the day.

I try to discard the joke of a thought but who knows, it could turn out to be profitable? Becca’s Express Delivery.