Translator: Haruto.
I’ve come to the adventurers’ guild to sell the cores of the monsters I hunted. Being so late in the afternoon, the place is filled with drunk and noisy adventurers.
I stand in line in front of the reception desk and wait for my turn.
In the meantime, I take a look around the place and see a bunch of posters of the legendary master of the heroes, who has the same name as me.
“But yeah, I’m definitely not that handsome and I’m just some guy that was living in a small village until not too long ago…” I mutter while I admire the posters, and for some reason, the adventurer lining up behind me decides to talk to me.
“Are you perhaps interested in Alize-sama, old man?”
“Aah, yeah, a little. And don’t call me an old man.”
“I see, I can tell you come from some far-away village… Very well, old man. I, the self-proclaimed commander of the Royal Guard, shall tell you a story I know you’ll appreciate!” the adventurer says, completely ignoring what I just told him about not calling me an old man. But more importantly, don’t go proclaiming yourself the commander of the Royal Guard! And who even needs a Royal Guard when heroes exist?
“It all began ten years ago when a being known as the Demon King appeared in the northern part of the continent. He took the reigns of the entire demon race, which had remained divided until then, and declared war on humanity.”
So it really happened ten years ago, right before I moved into the village.
The adventurer raises his index finger in the air and continues proudly, “But then, a group of great heroes emerged! Five brave young girls announced that they’d depart on a journey to strike down the evil Demon King!”
“Ohh, there really are some courageous people in this world, huh… But wait, girls…?”
“That’s right! The heroes are all girls! And they’re also insanely cute! Like, seriously gorgeous! They’re my idols! My dream is to be stepped on and abused by them! And don’t worry, pops, I’m sure the day will come when you’ll also share such a dream!”
The adventurer begins to reveal his true colors little by little, and hearing him yell like that, all the girls around us retreat in disgust. I also distance myself from him when he starts panting profusely.
“…Ah, excuse me. I lost my cool for a second there. At any rate, the five girls didn’t receive much support at first. People doubted their abilities… Aaagh! Damn it! Why the hell did my cute idols have to suffer like that?! They’re so inspiring, so gallant, so awesome…!!”
…This guy’s mood swings are something else. I don’t blame him for getting mad, but he’s starting to scare me.
“…Ahem… Regardless, the five of them actually pulled it off! They defeated the Demon King! Their journey must have been immensely difficult and harsh. There’s no doubt about that! They had to undergo rigorous training regimes and push through all the pain in their bodies and hearts, but they still managed to take down the Demon King at last! Aaaaahh!! My idols are freaking sick! They’re the best! The best, I say!!”
He put a little too much emotion and stuff I didn’t need to know into his story so it ended up being kind of messy but I still got the gist of it.
Basically, five girls, now known as the great heroes, slew the Demon King. Although, people didn’t believe in them at first.
I listened to his whole story and that’s seriously all the valuable information I got.
“Um… next… please,” the receptionist says as her face twitches slightly. She’s obviously creeped out by the overly excited adventurer.
Alright, it’s finally my turn.
One by one, I start taking out the monster cores I had stored in a bag.
“Let’s see, I got one from a wyvern, another one from a blood bear, this one from a giant wolf…”
Seeing me pull out more and more cores, the receptionist exclaims in a hurry, “Wait, wait, wait! Please hold on a second! How did you even kill those monsters?! All these monster cores are A-rank or higher!”
“Huh? I just hunted them in the Evil Forest.”
“Those types of monsters only appear super deep in the forest! Also, what happened to the rest of your party?!”
Noticing the receptionist’s bewilderment, various adventurers approach us to see what’s going on. And then things like, “Ohh! That one is totally real! Although, I’ve never seen one in person before,” and, “No way… How did he get all those cores?” are heard from all sides.
“My party…? I’m alone.”
“Huh? Ah… Um… I’m sorry…”
It looks like the receptionist regrets having asked that question, and the adventurers around me have quieted down all of a sudden as well.
“You got the wrong idea. I just work alone. I didn’t have a party to begin with.”
“Huh? But defeating all those monsters by yourself is just… Could you please show me your adventurer card?” asks the receptionist, visibly perplexed.
I take my card out and show it to her.
“Let’s see, you’re… A-rank! I see, it makes more sense now… And your name is… Alize?! H-Hold on, could you be… Um, no, there’s no way he’s such an old man.”
After seeing her lose interest so quickly, for some reason I end up blurting out, “Hey now, who are you calling a demented old bag of bones?”
“…Um, I didn’t call you that.”
“Ah, you’re right. My bad. Some guy called me something along those lines earlier today, so I just… you know…”
Actually, that demon didn’t call me demented either… Oh, whatever.
“Anyway, since I’ve confirmed you’re an A-rank adventurer, I suppose I’ll go along with your story about how you defeated all those monsters alone. Now then, I’ll begin appraising the cores, okay?”
It seems she thought I had stolen them. I think there’s still some skepticism in her eyes, but well, all that matters is that I’m getting paid.
I then hear the ringing of the door’s bell and a young girl enters the guild. It’s the same girl I saw only a couple of hours ago and whom I know far too well.
“Oh, Lulune! You came to see me already?”
“Alize-san! I knew I’d find you here!”
As soon as the other people in the guild saw her, however, they were utterly surprised and a commotion broke out.
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