Kazue POV 

  

  

  

  

"I'm back~ Imperial Capital!" 

I stretched out my arms as I said those words 

I felt nostalgic to see and breathe in the air of the imperial capital. 

The smell of dust from the busy road. 

  

  

I got out of the carriage where, Reno, Akemi, and Emika were riding. 

We came back from the city of Altus. 

  

  

There’s a lot that happened but I am back in the capital right now. 

The caravan of the scale atelier’s return to this city was delayed for almost a week. 

We should have returned here several days ago but because of what happened in Altus our departure was delayed. 

We got back to the Imperial capital without having many troubles. 

  

  

“Were back.” <Emika> 

“Yeah…” <Akemi> 

“Um, Kazue. Now that we're back what are your plans?” <Reno> 

“Hmnn, right… I haven’t thought of a concrete plan but for now, I think I should pass by the guild.” <Kazue> 

“Oh, right... You are an adventurer after all. As for us, we would be going straight to Shaina-sama’s place. We have to report to her after all.” <Reno> 

“Ah, right you were selling her products~ Well, I will be going there later on. I also have business with her later.” <Kazue> 

“I see, well then see you later?” <Reno> 

Said Reno as if she was asking. 

  

  

There was a tone of uncertainness in her voice but she was showing me a soft smile. 

If it was me from a month ago, I would have ignored these small interactions with these girls. 

Talking with Reno and the girls like this were unthinkable back then. 

But, after working with them for the past week, we became good friends. 

I decided to give Reno a confirmation. 

I too wanted to see them again in the future. 

I wish that I could work with them again. 

And so I replied. 

“Yeah, See you later.” <Kazue> 

I intendedly beam the best smile I can as I answered. 

As a result, Reno’s face brightens up. 

“See ya! Kazue!” <Reno> 

“Bye” <Emika> 

“Yeah.” <Kazue> 

We went on our separate ways for the moment. 

  

  

I entered the adventurer’s guild. 

A lot of adventurers that came from Altus were lining up. 

“Oho~ I wonder what’s this line for?” <Kazue> 

I asked no one in particular but to my surprise a girl’s voice replied. 

“They are going to receive the reward for accepting the “Emergency” quest sent by the scale atelier to help the city of Altus” <Girl> 

“Oh, I see.” <Kazue> 

I replied to the voice that answered my question. 

  

  

“Fufufu, you’re as carefree as ever, Kazue.” <Girl> 

The voice said once again. 

It was a familiar voice that I’d certainly heard before but the owner of the voice did not register in my mind so out of curiosity I looked at the source of the voice and saw a familiar figure of a girl. 

  

  

It was a girl that was about my age. 

She wears “maid-ish” looking clothes. 

These were also the same clothes worn by the waitresses of the adventurer’s guild. 

Her hair was fixed into what we call a “twin-tail” type of hairstyle. 

She was giving off a confident and cheerful aura that somehow remind me of Chiho and Eiko. 

I knew her, and although we were not close as classmates, she was still one of the girls to that I find myself comfortable talking. 

At a glance, people will have an impression of her before as a “Gal”. 

But among the girls in the class, I find it easy to get along with her. 

  

  

“Kirari?” <Kazue> 

I muttered her name softly since I did not expect to see her here. 

“Fufufu, sup Kazue. Long time no see!” <Girl/Kirari> 

  

  

Yamanaka Kirari. 

The last time I talked with her was the day before I left the castle. 

At that time, I remember her feeling down with all the things that happened. 

At that time, she had her hands full on taking care of her friends. 

I looked around and look for “those” friends. 

  

  

“??? What?” <Kirari> 

Kirari looked at me and asked. 

She must be wondering why I was looking around. 

“Ah, nothing I just thought that your friends might be working here as well so I just thought they were around.” <Kazue> 

“Friends?” <Kazue> 

Kirari said while also looking around. 

“Oh~ you mean Nomi-chi, Iyo-chi, and Yuri-chi?” <Kirari> 

[Honestly, I don’t know their names… but I think those are the same girls I’m looking for.] 

I nodded awkwardly. 

  

  

“If it’s those three, they are next door. They are doing apprentice work at the scale atelier. Well… since everyone in the class left the castle, we also had the feeling that we should leave too. But since we have no talent to become adventurers much less become soldiers, we decided to look for other things we can do. So, we asked old grandpa Orga. He helped us and recommended this place to us. As you can see! I am now working here at the adventurer’s guild’s pup as a waitress! I also cook at times.” 

She showed off her clothes while explaining things to me. 

“Hey, ~ that is amazing!” <Kazue> 

“Not as amazing as you! I heard a lot about you here in the guild!” <Kirari> 

“Ehh!!! About me?!” <Kazue> 

“Yep! They are saying that you are one of the most promising newbie adventurers they saw in years! They say that you were amazing!” <Kirari> 

“Me? Amazing? That can’t be true!” <Kazue> 

[I doubt it, are they talking about me? ME? promising? Really?] 

“Although…” <Kirari> 

“Eh?” <Kazue> 

“They say that you’re really weird” <Kirari> 

“EH!?!” <Kazue> 

My eyes widen at what I’ve heard from Kirari 

[WEIRD?! What?! Even the adventurers here think of me as “weird” too?! Come ON!] 

  

  

“Well, they said you were able to tame monsters despite not being a tamer.” <Kirari> 

[They must be talking about my pet wolves, but I think that alone would make others think of me as weird] 

All I can do was admit it. 

“That is true” <Kazue> 

  

  

“They also said that some of them saw you eating grass in the field.” <Kirari> 

[No! that! I just wanted to taste it since it looked like lettuce! Who knew it was grass?!] 

"Uh..." <Kazue> 

“They also say that you---” <Kirari> 

“I get it! I get it! stop.” <Kazue> 

I covered Kirari’s mouth with my hands. 

I knew that if I let her talk about my dark past, I might end up thinking that I really am WIERD. 

I did not want to hear more about the stupid things I did during the early days of my adventures. 

Now that I think about it, I did do some stupid stuff. 

  

  

I used my hands to stop Kirari from talking. 

I placed my index finger and thumb to pinch the bridge of my nose while shaking my head. 

Now that I remember the things I’ve done. 

I can now see how weird I was back then. 

I feel that the more I hear things about it the more I would feel bad for myself. 

Who could blame me?  

I was clueless at that time! 

I was clueless!  

I was curious!  

It never registered to me that the things I do were weird. 

No wonder why Charlotte and the others think of me as one. 

-sigh- 

  

  

I remember trying to cook a horned rabbit but it ended up burning. 

Only cooks can cook such ingredients. 

The reason behind it was because of mana. 

Monsters in this world are lumps of mana, if a person who has no “cooking” related skill cooks them they will end up burning to charcoals. 

Since I am a swordsman, When I try to cook things, I will end up turning them into charcoals. 

  

  

I tried a lot of stupid stuff to learn things about this world. 

I also found other vegetables that look like the ones that can be found in our world. 

Most of them were “weeds” and were not edible. 

Right, I even ate herbs without cooking them, some of them were edible but others were not. 

  

  

There was also this time when I wanted to pick “cabbages” but it was a monster called “Leafy Roll”. 

I remember that I once tried to pick it up but then it started attacking me. 

I could have managed to defeat it without a problem but the problem was there was a swarm of those monsters 

They ended up chasing me to the gates of the city and made other adventurers and guards help me deal with them. 

There was a time I saw a pile of golden color leaves in the forest but apparently, it was a beehive. 

Again, I was seen being chased around by thousands of bees, thankfully a magician saved me. 

Come to think of it, I was also chased around by Hayate, Isamu, and Kaori a lot before they decided to follow me around like pets. 

Now that I think about it, I did do a lot of weird stuff that could have been prevented if I just had the common sense of this world. 

[Ughh, I’m starting to feel depressed remembering those things I did.] 

I shook my head to force it out of my mind. 

  

  

“Oh my, did you get embarrassed?” <Kirari> 

“No, I was just feeling bad for myself at that time…” <Kazue> 

Kirari giggled. 

As I looked at her I thought that this girl was really cute. 

Her beauty is something that won’t catch others’ attention at one glance. 

It was the type of beauty you would appreciate after seeing it multiple times. 

The more you see her the more beautiful she gets. 

Also, she’s a kind person, which only makes her more beautiful. 

  

  

“I don’t know what you’re thinking but I would appreciate it if you stop staring at my face like that.” <Kirari> 

“Oh, sorry, I just thought that you’re cute…” <Kazue> 

“Hahaha~ look who’s talking. If you were a guy, I would have fallen for you right now. Thank you anyway.” <Kirari> 

“No, no, I mean it.” <Kazue> 

Kirari laughed at me again. 

  

  

“KIRARI!” <Guild Employee> 

A voice called out for Kirari’s name from somewhere within the guild. 

“You’re being called” <Kazue> 

“Hehehe It seems like it. I would love to talk with you more but I still have a lot of work to do. If you’re OK, I would love to talk with you again at a later time. I would want to hear about the things you’ve done this past month.” <Kirari> 

“It’s not that interesting but I would love to talk to you again later. Sorry for disturbing you.” <Kazue> 

“Hehehe~ it’s nothing! I was the one who initiated the conversation anyway. See you later Kazue” <Kazue> 

  

  

She waved goodbye to me and went toward the personnel area of the pub. 

Kirari took plates of food from there and served them to the customers. 

They seemed to be adventurers like me. 

As Kirari served the food to them with a bright smile I noticed that the faces of the men she serves became red. 

“Uwah…” <Kazue> 

“Kirari-chan is popular to the adventurers who eat here you know” <Female> 

Another familiar voice started talking to me. 

This time I knew who it was. 

I looked back and saw the face I expected. 

She had brown hair and eyes. 

She had a gorgeous face that would not lose to any beauty I’ve seen in this world. 

She was wearing formal clothing that made her look dignified. 

The girl’s name was Daniella, one of the imperial capital adventurer guild’s receptionists. 

  

  

“Looks like Daniella has a rival now?” <Kazue> 

“Hahaha~ What the hell is that? Anyway! Welcome back Kazue-san.” <Daniella> 

“Yeah, I’m back.” <Kazue> 

“I heard that undead monsters marched to Altus. I heard it from the other adventurer who came there and helped. I am glad you came back fine.” <Daniella> 

“Yeah~ I had a hard time there. I almost died twice~” <Kazue> 

“Oh, ~ is that so? I am glad that you came back fine.” <Daniella> 

“Yeah, all I wanted was to do some escort quest and I ended up getting into that kind of situation. It was tiring.” <Kazue> 

“I suppose that’s the case. Oh~ since you also participated in the defense of Altus, I think you could gain some reward from the guild.” <Daniella> 

“Eh?! But I never accepted the quest so I thought that it has nothing to do with me.” <Kazue> 

“Hahaha, there you go again. This was an emergency quest, even if you did not accept the quest as long as you participate and contribute to it, the guild will be able to give you rewards.” <Daniella> 

“Hee~~ that’s amazing.” <Kazue> 

“Fufufu, Kazue this is common sense. I wonder how did you end up having no common sense in this kind of matter. Do all people from your country like this?” <Daniella> 

I shyly scratched my head facing Daniella why saying “Is that so?”. 

  

  

I lined up and received rewards from the quest. 

It seemed that participating in the emergency quest was worth it since I was able to receive a reward equivalent to 5 E-ranked quest completion and 250,000 Dal as compensation. 

  

  

At the moment, it was not been long since I was promoted to E-rank 

I checked my guild records with my guild card as I received the rewards. 

  

  

"Status" <Kazue> 

  

 

  

  

Thanks to the completion of the emergency quest I received 5 completed E-ranked Quest. 

As a result, I now have 11 completed E-ranked Quest instead of just 6. 

[Lucky!] 

Then I realized, If I wanted to increase my rank once more, I would have to increase my level to 20 or complete 83 more E-ranked quests or 8 D-ranked quests, or 831 F-ranked quests. 

It took me exactly 30 days to increase my rank I wonder how long would it take for me to increase it to D-rank. 

[A month? Two? Who knows?] 

  

  

I left the guild and went toward the Scale atelier. 

The receptionist welcomed me at once. 

“Good afternoon.” <Kazue> 

“Good afternoon. Oh! Isn’t this Miss Kazue! I heard you were at Altus at the time the horde of the undead attacked the city! I am glad you’re doing just fine.” <Receptionist> 

“Hehehe~ It was tough but I managed it just fine.” 

“No wonder your equipment looks like that. I assume you’ll be going to Miss Shaina’s workshop to buy new ones?” <Receptionist> 

I looked at my equipment and I was reminded of the fact that they were in a bad condition. 

They were torn all over. 

I was not thinking of buying new equipment but since I look like this, I think I would do that too. 

  

  

[Ah, come to think of it. Shaina said that she would be enhancing my uniform. I wonder if Shaina is done enhancing them by now?] 

To be honest I am not picky when it comes to clothes. 

I would rather wear clothes I am comfortable with. 

Surprisingly enough my school uniform was one of them. 

I was once scolded by Chiho about this before telling me “You’re a girl too so you should care about what you wear” but I still prefer to wear clothes I am comfortable wearing. 

[Well, if the time comes that I need to use fancy clothing I would wear them but for now, I am OK] 

  

  

I went up to the second floor where Shaina’s workshop is located. 

As usual, the armor and weapon displayed behind the clear wall of glass looked very interesting. 

Just imagine, you’re going into a mall and saw a stall full of weapons and armor. 

I always found this amusing. 

  

  

“Halloo…~ Shai~ You here?” <Kazue> 

When I entered Shaina’s Workshop, I immediately saw her behind the counter. 

She was bent over and resting her head on her arms over the counter. 

She slowly raised her head and looked at me with sleepy eyes. 

[Was she sleeping? That’s not like her.] 

She looked at me from head to toe several times 

Her sleepy eyes suddenly shined. 

  

  

“Oh, isn’t this my favorite customer! Ughhh, you look like you went to war. You’re equipped are damaged beyond repair.” <Shaina> 

“-sigh- A lot happened.” <Kazue> 

“Haha--- Hmm??” <Shaina> 

Shaina stood up from beyond the counter where she always stays. 

She was looking at me with sharp eyes out of nowhere. 

“Hmm?? Shai is something wrong?” <Kazue> 

  

  

Shaina walked out of the counter and walked toward me. 

She approached me and leaned forward. 

She was staring intently at my waist. 

To be more exact she was looking at the Katana that she gave me before. 

“HMMMMM??!!!” <Shaina> 

She was staring at the sword intently; she was leaning forward and her face was so close to the sword. 

She had her finger over her mouth like a chess player would do when thinking of the next move to take. 

I could see that her eyes were literally glowing. 

It seems that she was using a skill to look at my weapon. 

And then she spoke. 

  

  

“Kazue…” <Shaina> 

“W-w-what?” <Kazue> 

“I will not be angry but did you perhaps go to other blacksmiths recently?” <Shaina> 

“Eh? No…” <Kazue> 

“LIAR!!!” <Shaina> 

“Eh?!!!” <Kazue> 

“You’re lying! How dare you do this to me. I trusted you!” <Shaina> 

  

  

Shaina has begun tearing up. 

“Ehh? What? What do you mean?” <Kazue> 

“Don’t play dumb! That sword!” <Shaina> 

She pointed at the katana on my waist. <Kazue> 

  

  

Shaina stumbles on the floor. 

She reminded me of a scene in a play when the wife caught her husband cheating on by her for another woman. 

“Kazue, I thought I was your exclusive blacksmith. You promised… I even helped you hide the fact that you’re a hero from another world for that. -cry- -cry- “ <Shaina> 

Shaina was doing a tantrum in front of me for reasons I don’t understand. 

“As I said… what are you talking about?” <Kazue> 

  

  

“You don’t have to lie to me Kazue. The evidence is all over that sword, I used my (Appraisal) skill and I can see that it is now enhanced with magic. I gave that sword to you for free and this is how you repay me. Shaina is very disappointed. -cry- -cry-” 

She said as she faked her cry. 

  

  

-sigh- 

Shaina must have noticed that something had changed with the katana she gave me before. 

This katana was broken when I fought with the undead knight inside the “Undead Kings Lair”. 

During that time, I was about to die and I was saved by a man named Argent. 

He was an A-rank adventurer. 

He repaired this sword and that must be the reason why Shaina detected traces of magic from within the sword. 

  

  

I lightly chopped my hand over Shaina’s head. 

“Stupid! There’s no way I would do that. Despite looking like this I am the type of person who won’t break promises. I’ll explain it.” 

  

  

I explained what happened to Shaina. 

At first, she could not believe it but when she took the sword and observed it thoroughly, she was convinced that I was not lying. 

  

  

“Ahem, I see now. It was rude of me to think that you betrayed me, and for that, I am very sorry.” <Shaina> 

“It was your fault for concluding right away.” <Kazue> 

“Gehh, come on Kazue. You should be saying “Don’t worry it’s not your fault” or something like that?” <Shaina> 

Shaina said while doing an impersonation of a gentleman saying “Don’t worry it’s not your fault”, she even lowered her voice. 

  

  

“A N Y W A Y! As an apology…” <Shaina> 

She went toward the counter and took out “something”. 

She placed that” something” over the counter and pushed it toward me. 

“Here.” <Shaina> 

I went over and look at the thing she wanted to give me as an apology 

It was my uniform and some other things. 

  

  

I picked up the school uniform that Shaina enhanced. 

Appearance-wise I could not see any changes. 

“Hmnn~ I can’t see any difference though.” <Kazue> 

All I saw was Shaina’s face forming a teasing smile. 

“Fufufu~, of course, you would not see any, I did not do anything with those clothes after all.” <Shaina> 

“Huh?! Then how about that enhancing stuff? You even made me wait for a month!” <Kazue> 

“well, Originally I wanted to work on some enhancement on those clothes but in the end, I gave up. The material used to make these clothes is not fit for battle and I could only place one effect on each clothes.” <Shaina> 

“Eh~ what?! So, you mean I need to wait longer?” <Kazue> 

Shaina shook her head vigorously. 

It seemed that I took her words wrongly. 

  

  

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, shut up a bit and listen to me.” <Shaina> 

Shaina clicked her tongue repeatedly as she waved her index finger at me. 

While I am a bit annoyed, I crossed my arm to listen to what Shaina was about to say. 

“Kukuku~ Lucky for you I was in the mood to make new equipment last night. Thanks to this!” <Shaina> 

“???” <Kazue> 

Shaina took something out of her pocket. 

  

  

“Yeah, this!” <Shaina> 

My eyes opened wide. 

It was because of what Shaina was holding up in her hands, a small rectangular item. 

I did not expect Shaina to have this particular item. 

“That’s….” <Kazue> 

“Yeah! It’s a thing that you guys call a smartphone!” <Shaina> 

  

  

I was not expecting Shaina to have a smartphone. 

I did not even expect her to know what it was. 

[How does she have a smartphone?] 

  

  

“Shai, where did you get that?” <Kazue> 

She gave me a wide smile before she answered. 

“Actually...” <Shaina> 

  

  

Shaina started telling me a Story. 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

******************************** 

Author Note~ 

Hi there! My net was out because of some natural disaster but I am back! 

I could not do anything since the electricity was also cut off~ 

  

  

Ah right! I'm still waiting for suggestions on whose character card will I do next. 

Well, Kazue will be having a new one since she received new gear from Shaina. 

  

  

I am planning to end the arc in chapter 35. I may add some Side stories after the epilogue of Chapter 33. 

So chapters 34 and 35 will be side stories.