After getting the hang of taking down wyverns, I wouldn't have minded fighting more.
Don't be ridiculous.
It'd be best never to run into any at all.
That said, collecting so much magic stone from them was an unexpected windfall.
Now, we've come pretty far north, but the question remains... where are we?
Anywhere but the Debuhi Empire!
No, the empire is farther north than the kingdom, so that's most unlikely.
What a relief.
I don't understand your enmity for them.
Abel, please don't get the wrong idea.
I have nothing against the empire.
But their name is different story.
A-Ah, is that the deal?
Am I seeing a road?
A road running east to west. That'd mean...
These mountains must be...
Is something wrong?
No, it's nothing.
If we follow that road west, we should reach the town of Kailadi.
Finally, a town!
I'm looking forward to sleeping in a bed.
I thought you wanted to fight more wyverns.
That's one thing, and this is entirely another.
I'll likewise be glad to relax, honestly.
And I would highly recommend the food in Kailadi.
You should try it.
This is sounding better and better.
An adventurers' guild?
That's right. I think you should go ahead and register.
A guild card can double as identification.
And with one, towns and nations alike will waive their entry fee for you.
Remember when we arrived, I had to act as your guarantor and pay a silver coin?
That wasn't part of some scheme, was it?
One of those "I paid your silver coin, so now you're my servant" setups?
What kind of lowlife do you take me for?
Of course! I forgot you were a virtuous gentleman who doesn't quibble over every coin!
And boy am I grateful!
I swear, you can be so strange...
Well, there are other perks to visiting the guild, too.
They buy magic stone and monster materials for a good price.
You'd need to be an alchemist to make use of such things otherwise.
There's alchemy?
Here you are!
No way!
Your curry, sir.
Looks good, right?
They have... curry rice here?!
Curry is a staple of reincarnation stories.
But usually the protagonist has to put in a ton of effort
traveling all over before they can recreate it at long last...
And you're telling me it already exists in Phi?
I-Is something the matter?
Nope! Just talking to myself! Don't mind me!
I see.
This curry is the fare I mentioned.
Now let us dig in.
If you like it, we can ask for more.
Please!
Seconds, if you will!
Abel, do they have this curry in Lune, too?
Indeed. You can have it there as well.
I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Yeah!
I definitely did.
That curry yesterday was fantastic.
What a splendid call!
W-Well, I didn't think you'd like it that much.
This makes another secret you were keeping from me.
Is there anything else important you've neglected to mention?
For example, I bet you have a sweet tooth!
So next, you better spill the beans on the best desserts in town!
Oh, er, right. I'll give it some thought.
Ryo!
Wow, this is...
It's the town of Lune.
The surrounding wheat fields make for quite a view, eh?
Huh?
Abel?!
Hey there, Nimur!
It's been a while.
But you... They said you were missing!
I was. But I managed to make it back alive, thanks to Ryo here.
Thank you for saving Abel!
I-It was nothing.
Here's his entry fee.
Got it. Everything seems in order.
Welcome back, Abel.
It's good to be back.
Heading straight to the guild?
Yeah, I probably should...
"Welcome back," huh?
Rihya and the others are out today, so they're in for a shock when they return.
I'm happy for you, Abel.
I'll say!
Let's make for the guild first.
Since I'm with you, we can rank-up your registration.
"Rank-up"?
When you register at the guild, you normally start at rank F.
But with the endorsement of a B-rank adventurer or higher, you can start at E or D.
In other words, you're rank B or higher.
I'm so proud of you!
I'm not sure why...
Anyway, the higher your rank, the higher the quests you're able to accept.
They yield better rewards, so I'd recommend them.
Though I doubt you'll need to worry about money.
Is this stuff really that valuable?
It's scarcer than you might think.
Selling it all at once could crash the market price, though...
But I'm sure the guild master will figure something out.
Here we are.
This quest has a deadline of three days...
Abel!
Abel?!
It's really him!
Abel! You're alive?!
Hey, Abel's here!
He is?!
I'm back.
Someone's popular...
I knew he'd make it!
How could you have known?
I'll wait out here so I don't get in the way.
That's the Fairy King's...
Oh, I was just noticing your remarkable outfit.
He must've taken quite a liking to you.
You're an interesting one, aren't you?
Pardon me. I'm in a bit of a hurry.
Here's hoping we meet again.
There you are! What are you doing? Get in here!
This is Ryo, the man who saved my life.
He's going to be registering as an adventurer, so I hope you'll all look after him.
Er, I'm Ryo. Nice to meet you all.
Well met, Ryo!
We're so glad you saved Abel.
Regarding his registration, I was hoping to enter him at rank D on my endorsement.
Yours personally? No one from the Crimson Sword has endorsed anyone before, right?
What can I say? He's that valuable.
He is...?
Well, there's no problem with the endorsement,
but the process requires some kind of physical proof of strength.
I was hoping to speak with the guild master about that, among other things.
Certainly. I'll call him in, so you two are welcome to wait in the meeting room.
What'd you say?!
Abel... What a relief.
Sorry to worry you, guild master.
But I managed to make it back.
I about had a heart attack when I heard you'd gone missing.
So, who's the magician?
This is Ryo. He saved my life.
Did he, now? Well, I'm Hugh McGlass, the guild master here in Lune.
You have my thanks for saving Abel.
Oh, don't mention it. I was just in the right place at the right time.
Actually, guild master, I was hoping to rank-up Ryo's registration on my endorsement.
Really?
There's still the matter of proof, though.
I realize that.
I should probably warn you... Ryo's stronger than I am.
Oh, come on.
We gathered these from monsters on our way here.
What kind of magic stone is this? Green means it's from wind elementals, but...
Considering this size and vivid color...
Wait, don't tell me... Are these from wyverns?!
They are.
Impossible. Where could you have...
More importantly, this quantity suggests numbers you'd need an army to fight.
They'd overrun the country otherwise!
I wouldn't worry about that. We hunted these wyverns south of the Malefic Mountains.
What?!
The Malefic Mountains?
After finding the road to Kailadi, I finally realized where we were.
That also made it clear that we had passed through the Malefic Mountains.
That's a pretty nefarious-sounding name...
It's said that no one has made it through the Malefic Mountains alive.
Normal folks, even adventurers, don't go near them without a damn good reason.
And you mean to tell me the two of you went and did it?
Is that proof enough for Ryo's rank-up?
It's more than enough.
Everyone, wait! They're still talking!
Abel! What a relief...
Déjà vu.
Sorry to have worried you, Lyn.
Abel...
Rihya. Warren.
I'm back.
Yes, welcome back.
I'm sure you've got catching up to do. You can use this room.
Great. Thank you.
Ryo, let's get you set up.
Nina, bring us a set of what we'll need for a registration to the office.
Right away.
Oh, Ryo!
Yes?
There's somewhere I want to show you when we're done.
Wait at the reception desk when you're done.
Got it.
That was the Crimson Sword, Abel's party and the most popular, talented bunch in town.
The Crimson Sword, huh?
Now, should I really be registering as rank D?
I know how good Abel is. I'd go so far as to say he's gifted.
But I also know him well enough to recognize he couldn't kill a wyvern on his own.
Which means you must be pretty skilled, too. Definitely enough to qualify for rank D.
Ow!
You look like a magician, but you've got a good physique.
Come in.
I've brought the registration materials, guild master.
Walk Ryo through the process, then.
I'll start wrestling with the paperwork.
Allow me to introduce myself, Ryo.
I'm Nina, a clerk of the Lune adventurers' guild.
It's nice to meet you.
How polite of you. I'm Ryo.
And the feeling is mutual.
First comes the interview.
Let's see... Your name is Ryo.
How does this go, again?
I take it that your class is magician?
No, that's wrong. Uh...
Yes, I am.
And the element of your magic?
That'd be water.
Your residence... probably isn't decided yet, huh?
Right. I just got into town, so...
For 300 days following your registration, you may stay in guild lodgings,
so do keep that in mind.
Now, you've never been in a dungeon before, right, Ryo?
No, I haven't.
The guild runs an introductory dungeoneering course every month.
It offers information handy to rookie adventurers
as well as advice on things to watch out for while in dungeons.
Would you be interested in that?
I'd love to attend!
This month's course begins the day after tomorrow.
I'll mark you down for it, so please come
to our third-floor meeting room two days from now at nine.
Nine?
Right. There's a clock in the town square that you can use to keep track of time.
This concludes the interview.
Next comes your actual registration.
My actual registration?
That's right. Could you place your hand on this crystal?
Register.
Here you are. This is your guild card.
You're now officially registered. Congratulations.
Excuse me.
What a relief...
Things were absolutely morbid around here when Abel was reported missing...
I never want to experience that again.
It's a good thing he's back.
We all owe Ryo a great deal. He saved our collective skins.
I guess I should put out the word that Abel's back.
Where are we headed now?
To collect your payment for escorting me to town.
It was my intent to buy you some clothes and a staff once we got here.
That's generous of you.
But what's this about a staff, Abel?
Well, you're a magician, but I noticed you don't have one.
True. But I can use magic just fine without it.
Plus, I fight with a sword when I need to melee.
You can use a sword, Ryo?
But you don't carry one.
It's right here.
E-Er, that's more like a knife...
Wait, is that a sword?
Huh?
There's actually something I was hoping to ask you, Abel.
I've come to realize there's a lot of fundamental things I'm not clear on.
Like what?
From what Abel told me, a day in this world is 24 hours,
a week is seven days, and there are 30 days per month.
Basically the same as Earth.
They measure clothes in centimeters, too.
Between all of that and the curry, this can't be a coincidence.
Someone else must've been transported or reincarnated here once
and made big waves.
That's pretty interesting.
Thanks for paying.
I'm just glad you got what you needed.
Now, our timing is perfect.
Are we making another stop?
Yes. And as our guest of honor, you can't decline.
All right, let's get this started!
To Abel's safe return!
And Ryo, who brought me back alive!
Cheers!
I hope you're doing all right.
I'm exhausted...
Well, Rah wouldn't let you go the entire party.
He admires Abel like an older brother.
So I'm sure he's most grateful to you.
I don't mind that part, but...
I think I drank too much.
Yeah! Come right on in!
Pardon me.
M-Miss Nina!
G-G-G-G-Good afternoon!
I'm glad both of you are here.
Ryo will be joining you in room 15 starting today.
That's me. It's nice to meet you.
Yeah. I'm Nils, and this is Eto.
Good to have you, Ryo.
Thanks.
Well, I need to get back to the desk.
Right. Thank you for showing me the way.
Don't forget about the lecture tomorrow.
Nina is so pretty...
This again, Nils?
You know there's a lot of competition for the clerks. You don't stand a chance.
I know! But isn't it every man's dream to become a big shot and land a fine woman?!
More importantly, your name's Ryo, right?
Since we'll be rooming together, do you mind if we keep things casual?
That goes both ways, of course.
Sure, that's fine.
I'm glad you're reasonable.
I was worried we might get someone like Dan from room 1.
So that's a concern here, is it?
Come on in.
Sorry to interrupt you all,
but we've got another newly registered adventurer looking for lodging.
My name's Amon. Thank you for having me.
You're a young one. You can't possibly be of age yet.
That's right. I just turned sixteen.
But my family has all passed away...
I thought I'd become an adventurer to make a living, so I came to Lune.
Well, that more or less goes for everyone here.
Amon will be attending the introductory dungeoneering course tomorrow as well.
The two of you can come together, Ryo.
I'm Ryo. Nice to meet you.
Likewise. It's a pleasure.
What you're describing is absurd!
Yeah, Ice Wall is a kind of water magic.
But it's so thin that an Air Slash could smash it!
Conjuring a thick version midair to drop on an enemy?
Out of the question!
But that's what he did.
First of all, magic can only be conjured in the proximity of the caster!
Projecting a spell is one thing, but conjuring it at a distance?
No way!
That's just basic common sense!
O-Okay.
You need to calm down, Lyn.
If nothing else, that's how it appeared to Abel.
Then there's this nonsense about piercing wyverns with spears of ice...
That's also impossible. Wyverns have a wind barrier around them that deflects magic.
Come to think of it, that's true...
But I'm certain of what I saw.
The only person I've heard of who could do anything comparable
would have to be the famous Inferno Magician.
The Inferno Magician...
capable of incinerating a thousand imperial troops with one chant,
reducing a wyvern to ash with a solitary spell,
and wiping a town from the map with a single invocation. All those rumors.
The comparison is a little much, but...
If what you're saying is true, then Ryo is an incredible find.
And if he were to turn against us...
The worst-case scenario is him siding with the empire.
No, that won't happen.
How can you be sure?
Because of the Debuhi Empire's name.
Excuse me?
That's how it always is!
Doesn't make a lot of sense, does it?
I don't get it either.