The Former Child Prodigy Officially Becomes An F-Rank Adventurer

Some time after overcoming the fierce battle with the Giant Lizard—

I was, as expected, still gathering medicinal herbs.

“Wow, thank you again for bringing in so many high-quality medicinal herbs this time too!”

The guild purchasing clerk accepted the herbs with a beaming smile.

Since high-quality medicinal herbs were monopolized by Black Dragon’s Fang, they were hard to find on the open market. Apparently the merchants were extremely grateful because I was the one breaking a hole in that situation.

“Here is the purchase payment for this batch.”

“Thanks.”

“Oh, right!”

The purchasing clerk changed the subject there.

“It seems the Geo Dragon in the great forest was defeated!”

“A Geo Dragon? Wait, a dragon!?”

“Yes, a dragon!”

I was surprised inwardly. Dragons were a race that stood among the strongest of all monsters. To think something that dangerous had been in the great forest…

Even I, who had graduated top of my class in my student days, would probably have stood no chance at all against a dragon.

“Who took it down?”

“That information has not come down to us, but according to rumor, Lord Phonic of Black Dragon’s Fang served as captain of the subjugation force.”

Phonic!

Hearing that name filled me with nostalgia. He was a true man among men—the one who had tried to help me get back on my feet when I was a shut-in, and who had even apologized sincerely when it did not work out.

I see, so he was the one who defeated the Geo Dragon.

As expected, he was on a completely different level from me, a mere student sword saint—working adults really were strong.

“I am grateful for that… I hope I can become that strong someday too.”

“First, you should start with Giant Lizards!”

“Come on now, I have at least beaten a Giant Lizard, you know?”

“Eh, that is amazing, is it not!”

“Is it?”

“Yes. Giant Lizards are a threat for beginner adventurers, after all.”

“I see.”

I guess so… At that size, they felt dangerous enough to threaten even intermediate adventurers, but then again, I had managed to beat one….

“Then maybe I unexpectedly do have some talent as an adventurer.”

“You do! You have the Hand of God, after all!”

“Setting the Hand of God aside—I ought to graduate from provisional registration soon.”

“Eh?”

“Eh?”

“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh!?”

The purchasing clerk cried out loudly and leaned back.

“Mr. Ilvis, you are still provisionally registered?”

“I am.”

“I had completely assumed you were already fully registered.”

“No, not yet… Wait, can I get fully registered now, by any chance?”

“You have contributed through your herb deliveries, so I think you more than qualify. Why not ask about it at that counter over there?”

…That was a mistake on my part. So full registration was something I had to take action on myself…. I had assumed the guild would tell me, so every time I sold herbs, I just turned right around and left….

So, I moved from the purchasing counter to the reception counter.

“I am an adventurer under provisional registration, and I wanted to ask whether I can be fully registered soon—”

“Please present your provisional adventurer card.”

When I handed over the card, the receptionist placed it into a device sitting on the counter. As she tapped at the device’s buttons, it let out a light little chime.

“Congratulations. You are eligible for full registration.”

Ooh…! At last…!

“The registration fee is fifty thousand gold, but would you like to complete your full registration?”

…I see… So that was how it worked!

“Of course, that is fine.”

Thanks to selling so many high-quality medicinal herbs, my wallet was feeling warm.

After the various procedures were completed, I received my fully registered adventurer card. The provisional card had been a simple thing with only a number and the name of the adventurer guild I belonged to, but this one was different.

My name, “Ilvis,” was clearly written on it.

It was a card just for me, proof that I had been acknowledged as an adventurer.

A great sense of accomplishment and a burning exhilaration spread through my heart.

That night, I invited my little sister Arisa out to eat.

“How about we go have something good? My treat.”

When I invited her, Arisa’s very first response was this.

“Ahh, that thing. Treating the people who helped you with your first paycheck!”

So you saw right through me!

Strictly speaking, I had started earning money from selling medicinal herbs a little while ago, so it was not my first paycheck, but I had wanted to wait until after becoming an official adventurer.

“…Well, I did put you through a lot of worry.”

“Hehe, Onii-chan may be a weirdo, but it turns out you actually had a human heart!”

“That is right. I may not have any spirit, but I do have a little thoughtfulness.”

“A little.”

Hehe, Arisa laughed.

“Onii-chan, just so you know, compensation for the worry you caused gets paid back double, so be prepared, okay?”

And so, we went into a somewhat expensive restaurant.

Whether she really intended to put that “double repayment” into practice, Arisa mercilessly ordered everything she wanted without a care for the price. She checked with me just once.

“Do you have enough money?”

“I do.”

Thanks to the high-quality medicinal herbs selling for such high prices, I had plenty of financial leeway.

“Excuse me! We would like to add the shark fin steak from Brandor with Rafflet crab sauce, and the foie gras with sautéed bamboo shoots, please!”

My… finances… have… plenty… of leeway….

Once the meal had settled down a bit, I brought up a new topic with Arisa.

“Arisa, I finally became an adventurer.”

As I said that, I placed the adventurer card I had just received on the table.

“Ooh, so this is the famous thing! Let me see?”

Arisa picked up the card with eager curiosity and examined it closely.

“…Onii-chan, you are a ‘warrior’?”

“I do not really think of myself as a warrior… but the guild staff recommended it.”

“Is that not fine? Swordsmanship was your number one subject back in your student days too, was it not? Yo! Student Sword Saint!”

“…Please stop that, it is embarrassing…”

At the level of a student sword saint, all I could barely do was defeat a Giant Lizard, after all.

“Society is harsh. I need to forget the glory of my student days.”

“I do not think you need to forget it. I think you are talented, Onii-chan. To be honest, I do not think working adults are all that incredible.”

Good grief, Arisa had more experience as a working adult than I did, and yet she was underestimating society. …No, maybe she was taking care of me in advance so that my heart would not break on the rough waves of society.

Arisa had always been thoughtful like that.

“Oh, right, I have a gift for you, Onii-chan.”

“Eh?”

Saying that, Arisa rummaged around in the small bag she had brought with her. A moment later, what she set down on the table with a thunk was a single dagger.

“…What is this?”

“Congratulations, Onii-chan. It is a present to celebrate you officially becoming an adventurer.”

“Ooh!”

I was happy. I had never expected someone to show me such thoughtfulness!

“Onii-chan, you did not have any weapons or anything, right? I figured you should at least have something for self-defense.”

Even though it was only a dagger, it still cost a fair amount. Arisa’s salary was not high by any means. She had probably used savings she had steadily set aside for me.

“I will treasure it and use it well.”

When I accepted the dagger, I gently ran a hand over its sheath.

A weapon was necessary. The fight with the Giant Lizard would have been easier if I had had this dagger—

I see. With this weapon, I could go higher and farther.

Arisa watched me with a grin spread across her face.

“Onii-chan is finally going to work as a member of society now, huh?”

“…Yes. It feels like a lie that I was a shut-in until just a little while ago.”

After stumbling on the very first step, I had wondered what would happen, but on the second step I had somehow made it this far.

It was still only the beginning, and nothing to be proud of yet, but at last I had become one. An adventurer—no, a member of society.

Thinking of how high society’s level was, I felt myself tense up.

Someone like me was still only just able to defeat a Giant Lizard, while the backs of the heroes who defeated Geo Dragons could only be seen far off in the distance.

Even so, I had finally been allowed to join them.

I had been allowed into the framework called society.

Surely I would come to know many setbacks. There would probably be nights when my heart broke under the greatness of the senior working adults.

But even so, I would keep walking.

This time, I would not stop. I would keep moving forward, believing in myself and in the future.

Arisa turned a radiant smile toward me.

“Onii-chan, you do not have to push yourself too hard, but do your best, okay? If it gets hard, talk to me!”

Because there was someone who celebrated me this much.

“Yeah, I will do my best.”