Chapter 17

The Black Rabbit incident was finished. I think. It would really depend on the reaction of the Adventurer’s Guild that I was now headed for.

In other news, I and Daniela had decided to party up.

We had been discussing how this whole thing started after leaving the guardhouse, which led to this decision.

□ □ □ □

“When I first came to this town, I was being chased by a pack of forest wolves. I was practically rolling, the way I tumbled into the western gate. Some adventurers saw me then, and because of my hair, said I ‘looked like a black rabbit.’ That was the start of it.”

“A whole pack? Were you alright?”

“Ah, yes. I found this out later, but I have really high AGI. Well, maybe it wasn’t that high at the time… Anyway, I was able to run without them catching up to me. And the man I asked for help at the time was…”

“Captain Russell, I presume.”

“Correct. If he hadn’t been near the gates then, I would have probably been eaten alive.”

It was that dangerous. I thought I was going to die, again…

“I see… Hmm… Asagi, we shall form a party.”

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

“No, uh, what led you to that decision?”

“I’m too worried about you to leave you alone. You’re just a rookie, but you’ve been raising your level in absurd ways, haven’t you?”

She was sharp… I straightened my back and looked back at her.

“Now what gave you that idea?”

“You just said ‘it wasn’t that high at the time.’ That must mean it is at least somewhat high right now, no? But you’re a rookie who should not have experienced more than a few battles. But Asagi, you really are quite active in terms of fighting, aren’t you?”

I had exposed myself. I look away without thinking.

“…”

“Hehe. It’s obvious to anyone who actually listens to what you say. I won’t ask you to stop. But, I’m worried. And so, we should fight together.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Then… I look forward to working with you, Daniela.”

“Likewise. Can I trust you to have my back?”

“Haha. It’s a bit early for that.”

□ □ □ □

That’s how it happened. It was no big deal. Daniela was worried about me. A person she had just bumped shoulders with last night.

There had been many unpleasant things that had happened to me in this world. Whether it was sleeping in trees, walking forever, fighting with monsters or being called Black Rabbit.

But there were also many kind people who cared about me.

When all was said and done, I was quite blessed. I realized once again, that it was the connections between people that was the most important trick to living.

I entered the adventurer’s guild in much the same way I always did. Gardo and Ness were waiting for me inside.

“Asagi, I’m sorry.”

“Please forgive me!”

The two men said with lowered heads. The atmosphere inside of the guild house was dead quiet.

“Gardo, Ness.”

“You asked me to ‘deal with it,’ but I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t even help you.”

“I was drunk and my public announcement has now led to such an incident! I should have done more than apologize, I should have done something…”

“Hey, you two. Please stop that.”

“But…”

“It’s fine. It’s finished. The troublemakers are gone, and you’ve already apologized. Also, I’m sure you’ll do something about anyone else who calls me Black Rabbit from here on out?”

They raised their heads. They both looked so full of regret that tears were threatening to fall from their eyes.

“Come on, don’t look like that. You two are the first adventurers I met when arriving here. You came because you were worried about me. I’m thankful for that.”

“You dumb shit… We are on duty!”

Gardo looked away and spat. Ness was wiping at his reddened eyes.

“Asagi, I’m real sorry! From now on, we’re comrades!”

“Aye, we’re now on equal footing! Does anyone here have any complaints!?”

Gardo glared towards the bar. While they weren’t involved in last nights incident, they were all part of the jeering crowd. They now looked at their glasses as if to avoid Gardo’s stare.

“Well, that seems to settle it.”

“That went well, Asagi.”

Daniela said as she placed a hand gently on my shoulder.

“Yes, thanks to you as well, Daniela.”

“Don’t mention it. We are also comrades who are equals.”

She chuckled softly and I felt my face to turn red. Now, now, was I falling for her?

“By the way, Asagi.”

“What is it, Ness?”

“Who’s the pretty lady next you?”

Ness was looking at Daniela with his usual comical smile. That was a quick turnaround.

“Ahh, I forgot to introduce you. This is Daniela. She was forcefully involved in last night’s incident. And since then, we’ve found a reason to form a party together.”

“I’m Daniela. Nice to meet you.”

Daniela, Ness, and Gardo offered and shook each other’s hands. I felt my connections as an adventurer were growing.

□ □ □ □

We separated from the two, and I took Daniela over to the Reception counter. Today’s guild worker was the bookworm, Flo.

“It’s been a while.”

“Oh, Mr. Asagi. Nice to see you again. Though, I have seen you within the guild house. So what’s your business here today?”

I guess she had seen me around. Well, things tended to get rowdy, so it was not surprising.

“Yes, I want to form a party with her.”

“I see. Party registration. Please give me your status cards.”

Flo accepted our status cards and placed them onto a tray.

“Thank you. This will be finished in just a minute. Please stay here and wait.”

So saying, she disappeared through the back. We saw her leave and then chatted together for a few minutes until she returned.

“Thank you for your patience. Your party has now been registered. You may have your cards back.”

I took the cards off the tray and handed Daniela’s card to her.

“Thank you.”

“No, no. It’s just my job.”

Flo brought her small hand over to her mouth and laughed. She used to act quite strangely around me, mostly due to the way the others treated me, but things had become normal now. Thankfully.

We thanked her again and then decided to stop at the bar. The two of us sat together at the bar counter and ordered some flavored water and a side dish. The plate that eventually arrived was a river fish meunière. For a bar full of rougher clients, the food here was strangely refined.

We poked at our food with forks and talked about what we would do next.

“I’m thinking of going after the forest wolves.”

“Mmm, forest wolves. I think the two of us should be able to manage them, even in a pack.”

Daniela said as she pushed her bones to a corner of the plate.

“The forest wolves live in the forest to the north. By the way, did you just arrive in this town recently?”

“Yes. I came from the eastern plains along with a caravan. Those plains were infested with grass wolves.”

“Grass wolves?”

“The wolves in those plains have turned into monsters. Unlike forest wolves, their fur is a yellowish green.”

Interesting. So the wolf that I ate was just a normal wolf.

We discussed such things until we finished our plate.

Well then, it was time to head for the forest.

The two of us accepted our first quest as a party, then made our way out through the western gate and into the forest.