The morning after the priests knocked on our door, Natsuki and I went to the guild office to take our first commission as proper adventurers.

The clerk there, the same as yesterday, glanced suspiciously at Natsuki, but only for a moment.

"This must be your first time receiving a commission, correct? I would recommend this commission to exterminate some direwolves in the fields by the southern road. You..." —she looked at Natsuki— "seem to be a mage, and you..." —she looked at me, which was quite unusual— "seem to be a fencer of some sort, so as long as you have some basic ability, you'll be fine."

The clerk stood up and turned to the commission board hanging over the counter. She put her hand on a slip of paper that seemed to have a picture of a wolf on it, and then pushed her hand through the paper and through the board, and then she pulled out her hand, and in that closed fist was the paper that was on the board— nay, a copy of it, or something like that, since the paper on the board was still on the board.

That must sound like an incomprehensible description, but I don't understand what exactly she did either. Is the commission board magic? I pressed my hand against the same slip of paper, but it felt real, and my hand did not pass through it.

The clerk handed the copy to Natsuki, who glanced over it.

"Looks simple enough. I think we can do this, Yuki."

I nodded.

The clerk pulled out a steel magnifying glass from behind the counter, and handed it as well over to Natsuki, who reluctantly took it in hand.

"A magnifying glass?" Natsuki asked.

"This is a managrapher. See this button over here?" The clerk pointed to a depression where the handle of the magnifying glass met the lens. "If you press it, then it'll capture the mana signature of whatever is reflected in the lens at the moment. The technicians here at the guild can analyze that signature, and determine the strength or the derivation of any monsters you run into. It can only be used once, so please avoid using it unless you run into a monster you can't defeat— in which case, please use it and retreat immediately."

"Whoa...!" Natsuki let out an excited gasp. "They really do have amazing technology in the city! I can't wait to use it!"

I'd agree that it's amazing, but I don't think it's amazing enough that I'd like to use it. Not if it means running into a monster we can't defeat. Natsuki's obsessive love for magic, though, surpasses those kinds of worldly considerations.

"This isn't 'the city'," the clerk sighed. "Of all the technology the Guild makes use of, this is one of the most basic."

"What?! Really?! So when we get to Wetzlar, they'll have even cooler stuff?!"

"Yes. For example, I have heard they are working on a carriage that can travel thirty kilometers in three minutes with some simple magic— as opposed to thirty kilometers per day with a horse, as we normally travel out here. Apparently, it functions by manipulating the polarity of marsh- and mountain-trigram magic."

Natsuki, grinning widely and halfway to hyperventilating, took a few moments to collect herself. With a trembling hand, she managed to push the managrapher into her bag, and then turned to me.

"Shall we go?"

I nodded.

---

We left the town from the southern road, and followed it until the forest in the southwest came into view.

"Yuki. Fighting monsters is dangerous. You should stay behind me so you don't get hurt, okay?"

To be honest, I really do appreciate her illogical overprotectiveness.

"Um... I use a sword, so... if I stay behind you, I won't be able to do anything..."

"Hmmmmmm...."

She frowned.

"If you get hurt, I don't know if I'll be able to continue on as an adventurer..."

"Then, I won't get hurt."

"Okay! That works!"

Smiling broadly, Natsuki grasped my hand, and it felt a bit clammy under the early June sun, but I did not regret it in the slightest.

—What I did regret, though, was that my attention was almost immediately drawn away by a presence not too far away.

"Over there." I pointed to the fields at the border of the forest. "I think there are some weak monsters over there. They might be the direwolves we're looking for."

"Lead the way!"

We crossed a slight hill, and as I had expected, three direwolves sat at the bottom, about eighty meters way, eyeing us carefully.

Actually, from this distance, I can't tell if they're wolves or direwolves. I'd have to get a lot closer. Well, wolves roaming this close to the road is in itself a problem, so we'd end up killing them either way.

Natsuki carefully pulled out her wand from her bag. "Your instinct is always great, isn't it? I'll take the one on the left, you take the one on the right. The one in the center... we'll race for that one."

I nodded, and pulled my sword from its sheath, grasping it with two hands at my right side.

Natsuki closed her stance and pointed her wand forwards.

"Ready, set... Firebolt!"