“Hmmm… [Wyvern Subjugation]. This looks promising. Oho, that’s a nice reward. Ooh, what about this one? [New Dungeon Exploration]. Let’s see… first pick for all the loot?! That’s amazing!”

I was currently looking through the job listings pinned on the board for Rank D and above adventurers. Most of them were related to monster extermination, and many of them had very good rewards. It seemed that rank C was around the time when one could begin to be called a veteran adventurer, so being rank D meant that one had already accumulated a good amount of experience, and was on the way to becoming a veteran.

Incidentally, since I was rank G, I wasn’t allowed to take on any of these requests.

Eh? Why was I looking at them? It’s important to dream, you know! Setting goals for myself will motivate me to achieve them! I read that in a self-help book.

Also, the rank G quests were all boring things like [Delivery Request] and [Pest Extermination]. Not very adventurer-like. At least the rank F ones were things like [Medicinal Herb Gathering] or [Goblin Subjugation] which seemed more like the kinds of jobs a novice adventurer would take on.

While I was staring at the board, a large-sized man in armour stepped in between me and the board. He was about one and a half heads taller than me, and I had to incline my head upward to look at his face. He had a square-set jaw and small, beady eyes.

No matter how you look at it, isn’t this a guy that seems like he’s up to no good?

“Oi, oi, miss G rank, aren’t you looking at the wrong board?”

Ah, so it’s this template. This man is probably going to try and intimidate me into letting him have his way with me.

Incidentally, the reason he was able to know my rank was because I wore my [Adventurer’s Proof] around my neck on a lanyard – a card with a picture of my face on it and my rank, printed as a single large letter that was clearly visible. Presumably it was to help Adventurers find parties of similar skill more easily, but it also opened up the opportunity for this kind of harassment. Well, it wasn’t mandatory to display one’s rank, so I supposed it wasn’t that big of a problem, usually.

“If a rank G newbie like you goes on a rank D quest, you’ll just die. It’s not easy, you know. But tell you what: I’ll take you along for one of mine. I’m a rank C, right and proper, see?”

He took out his [Proof] from a pocket the location of which I’d rather not disclose and dangled it in front of me, causing me to angle away my head in aversion. Disgusting behaviour aside, the [Proof] did indeed have a picture of his ugly mug, alongside a large letter ‘C’.

“I’ve got a party of three ready. We can take you along, maybe even give you some of the loot. All you have to do is to go out for drinks with us afterward. Sounds like a good deal, no?”

Adventurers were usually restricted to taking on requests that matched their rank, or at most requests that were one rank above theirs, if they had special permission. However, one way to get around this was to join a party. Parties were groups of adventurers, limited to a maximum of 6 people in any one party. Parties were allowed to take quests up to a rank that corresponded to the average of its members. If three rank C adventurers entered a party with me, the average rank would be rounded up to a D, and I would be allowed to take the quests on the rank D board.

Well, I’d rather die than party up with someone so distasteful, though.

“I appreciate your offer, but humbly decline. I believe it far more fitting for me to take on meagre rank F quests. [Medicinal Herb Collection] seems particularly exciting and educational.”

The man scowled.

“Come now, no need to be shy. You clearly want to take on these quests. We’re giving you the chance. All we want in return is your company. Surely that’s not an unreasonable demand?”

Two other men, of similar build, suddenly walked up, flanking me on both sides.

Wow, they really are sticking to the template, aren’t they?

Well, I suppose, in accordance to the template, this is where I show my hidden power and overwhelm them. I may only be rank G, but I’m a [Valkyrie], you know? A warrior chosen by the gods, you know? In preparation for the thrashing I was about to deliver, I focused on the man who was the leader, attempted to view his status.

Lead Hooligan

Name: Unknown

Title: Aide to the King of the Underworld

Level: 31

No way, no way. Impossible, impossible. There was no way I could win.

Eh? What’s that? Even though I’m a [Valkyrie] I’m feeling scared?

No, no. This isn’t me being scared. This is me being practical. There’s no way I can win. He’s more than seven times my level, you know? No matter how powerful my class is, there’s just a fundamental difference in numbers, you know? Not to mention, there’s that clearly troublesome title.

It’s better to give in to his demands and avoid trouble. Eh? What about my pride? Pride won’t be of much use if I’m dead, you know. If I say no here, he might get violent, right? Well, maybe not in here, since this is the Guild and all, but once I leave he might ambush me? That title is clearly bad news, right? Maybe he’s like the Yakuza? If I say no I might find myself at the bottom of Tokyo Bay, you know? We’re not in Tokyo though.

I stepped back a little, but the three men closed in, malice evident in their eyes. A little whimper escaped my lips. Seeing no other way out, I prepared myself to agree to their proposition. But just as I opened my mouth to speak, a figure appeared in front of me.

It was a small girl, her head reaching somewhere around my chest. She was maybe half the size of the men who were in front of me. Her hair was a deep violet, falling in a neat bob cut around her face. Her dress was that of a shrine maiden, complete with oversized, detached sleeves and pure white kneesocks. There was a cute little sakura hairclip that kept her fringe in place, and the whole ensemble was so cute it made me want to scream.

…Wait, isn’t there a bigger problem at hand? Little girl, what are you doing?! This isn’t a place for children like you, these bad men are going to hurt you. You need to run, now! I can already see their eyes becoming dangerous!

The little girl, seemingly unaware of the danger to her life and purity, took the chalkboard she held under her arm and scribbled on it, then turned it to face the three men. I watched their eyes as they read the words she had written on it, upon which their faces contorted in rage. The leader roared in anger.

“What did you call us, you little shit?!”

The girl hurriedly turned the chalkboard back to herself and erased what was written, then began scribbling again. Since the chalkboard was hidden by her small body, I couldn’t quite see what she was writing, but the edge of the chalkboard peeked out, and I could see that the corner of the chalkboard had a really cute doodle of sakura petals.

Her writing done, she turned the board back to the three men. Again their eyes moved across the board, and again they became agitated.

“You little-! Don’t think you can get away with saying that kind of shit just ‘cause you’re a kid. We’re C rank adventurers. We don’t need to take your shit.”

The three men began to advance menacingly. I should have stepped in at this point, being the responsible adult in the group, but I was far too entranced by the cuteness of the specimen before me to do anything.

The girl reached into a small pink pouch tied to her sash and retrieved a small, plastic card.

Eh? Is that an [Adventurer’s Proof]?

She showed the card to the three men, raising it high above her head, such that I could see through the back of the transparent card.

…Eh?

The men, seeing her [Proof], took a step back, eyes opening wide. Then they turned and quickly fled from the premises. The little girl then stowed her [Proof] and turned to me, her green eyes skittering about my body as though searching for something, before her eyes rested on the book I held in my left hand – [Sibylline].

Then the A-ranked adventurer in front of me reached out and began tugging at the edge of my only weapon.