So I’m a Fish, So What?

I’m feeling very relaxed right now.

It’s like a huge load I didn’t even realize I was supporting was taken off my shoulders.

The reason for that is the final result of my little tryst with Fei.

Honestly, that secret meeting ours went far better than I could’ve ever imagined.

I could give a plethora of reasons if asked for the reason it worked out this well, everything comes down to one fundamental building block at the end.

It’s the fact that the time Fei hatched from her rocky egg was relatively recent.

Her familiarity with this new world is still at surface level at best, and her experiences pretty much amount to nothing except for eating, eating… and maybe more eating?

Anyways, a large part of Mirei Shinohara still resides inside that little lizard’s body, and that part refuses to let go of our memories back on Earth.

Though she’s certainly much more adaptable than the reincarnations we’ve already contacted…

Frankly, this is the main reason I chose her over Shun when I thought about cooperation… Well, aside from being scared about him blabbering about my plans to anyone he remotely knows.

Sometimes I feel kinda bad for how I’ve been treating the dude, but his interactions with other people just keep on fueling my disappointment in him, regrettably.

Our reunion with Filimos was more or less the straw that broke the camel’s back.

It pushed my disappointment and nervousness beyond the edge, stepping right into the realm of actual fear.

Like, I’m absolutely terrified of sharing any information with him.

I can’t help but imagine the scene where a TOP SECRET file with my name on it gets sent to the desks of every single authority figure in this world just because of an accidental tongue slip while talking to him.

Truthfully though, I’m also glad that I don’t have to take everything into my own hands anymore at the same time.

As long as Fei makes good use of reincarnation skill and monsters’ leveling speed advantage, over 90% of our problems will just magically poof out of existence on their own.

Violence– Cough, strength is the one true all encompassing answer to everything, after all!

 

Right now, I’m walking towards the Adventurer’s guild of one of the Analeit kingdom’s border towns.

This is practically the furthest away I’ve ever been from home on my own, whether it’s in Japan or this unnamed world.

I accompanied Father and Mother on some inspection trip around here two years ago, so I already had the space coordinates in mind.

It only took a few Long-Range Teleports worth of MP and I was able to travel all the way here unnoticed and unbothered, in less than a day at that!

In fact, I could’ve cut that time a solid amount, but I did it the smart way.

I just teleported half of the maximum distance my MP could handle, then waited for my MP bar to go back to full before teleporting again.

Magic’s is my only weapon at present, both as a means of attack and retreat, so I designated the half point of my MP bar as the safe limit while I’m alone outside.

Well, technically, I always have an emergency retreat method on hand in the form of my mermaid scale bracelet.

But I’d rather leave that one-time panic button for a chance encounter with a world ending storm, not just some insignificant rainy day.

I’m not sure if the bracelet will be able to hold on after I consume the only charge of magic it has.

In fact, I don’t even know what happens after magical tools with ‘charges’ have their charges fully consumed in this world.

What if they lose their durability and then break like equipment does in MMORPGs?! If that happens, I’ll probably end up bawling my eyes out for days!

I don’t want to lose the only token I have from Tomoko!

 

As a familiar elaborate wooden plaque entered my sight, I pulled my hood down even further before pushing the saloon doors and walking in.

Why and how do they have those here anyways? It’s not like this is some wild west dry desert, y’know?

This town’s right next to a huge forest goddammit!

Looking inside, the stereotypical isekai guild set up immediately entered my sight.

There’s a reception counter right up front, a tavern-esque setup filled with surprisingly quiet adventurers on my left, and stairs leading up to the second floor on my right.

I assume those stairs lead to the staff only area…? You know, the guildmaster’s office, the paperwork archives… and other stuff like that.

Unfortunately, I know next to nothing about how guilds operate in this world, and the only reason why I even bothered to come here is the supposed freedom that comes with being an adventurer.

All I know is that I can use my adventurer card or whatever as an alternative identity card and that I can freely travel to other countries as long as I reach a high enough rank.

Frankly, just those two points are enough for me to swipe my credit card while blindfolded.

However, I also heard that their system requires you to pass a very harsh trial every time you apply for promotion.

Hopefully, it’ll stay within a reasonable range… 

Getting stuck with a long-term escort or asked to go monster slaying in a different country for a trial would SUCK.

I’m basically ‘sneaking out from home’ and attempting to start an adventurer double life right now, so I don’t really have much time to spare.

Why does this world’s skill system not have any friggin’ clone spells anyways?! Tsk, whoever developed this thing must be a complete asshole, I swear…

It was just a petty thought at this, but I was completely unaware of how accurately I hit the mark with those words.

I was also completely unaware that I was being watched by said developer and a certain ‘new employee’ at this time, both of which are perfectly capable of reading minds.

 

Taking a curious glance at the tavern area, I simply walk up to the reception counter.

No bullying the newbie kinda template, not even a disdainful glance was directed my way.

—But I guess that’s only normal, right? Or rather, that template is completely unrealistic in the first place!

What if I was just here to post a request? No good merchant would be stupid enough to run their mouth about a potential customer, y’know?

There are four separate lanes where adventurers or requesters line up, of which the fourth was actually empty, but I proceeded towards the first one instead.

Clearly, that empty one must be reserved for either VIPs or emergencies. I’m not dense enough to waltz in there without knowing what purpose it’s meant for in the first place.

… Or I might be completely mistaken, and that empty lane’s actually reserved for the newbies or something.

Nonetheless, better to be safe than sorry, am I right? A few extra minutes of waiting won’t hurt anyone.

Sure enough, I found myself standing in front of the receptionist lady just ten minutes later.

Their bureaucratic system is quite advanced, huh? The interaction time with both requesters and adventurers is incredibly short, yet no one complains.

It’s the exact opposite, actually. Everyone seems overly satisfied with the service.

I wonder how that came about…

“Welcome! How may I help you today?” The gorgeous receptionist asked.

“Good afternoon, I’m looking to register with the guild.” I respond in a slightly hoarse voice.

Yeah yeah, I know making my voice hoarse is a stupid cliche and all, but I’m not an expert in Wind Magic.

Cut me some slack here, would ya?!

“Adventurer registration, right? That’s totally a-ok! Are you fine with being appraised, or would you like to go through the test? I gotta warn you though, taking the test is way more troublesome than the first option!” She explained.

“Can you explain both options for me? Also, this is the first time I’ve dealt with the guild as an adventurer, so I’d appreciate a summary of the rules if possible.” I politely requested.

“Certainly! Please follow me!” She stepped away from the counter while gesturing to me. “Hey, Olina! I’m tending to someone here, cover my place for a bit, would ya?” She shouted to another receptionist, specifically the one manning the empty counter.

Moving behind her, she leads me to the second floor and into one of the rooms there.

As she pushed the door open, my eyes widened at the huge floor to ceiling window that came into view.

From the outside, the guild building looked like it only had one door and one window on the top floor, everything else was just pure stone.

Realizing my gaffe, I quickly recollected myself, chucking it up to some magic tool that covers the place with illusions.

“As I thought, you really are familiar with such tools, Miss.” Said the apparent owner of the room. “You can leave us now, Felena dear.” She addressed the receptionist lady.

So the recipient lady’s name is Felena, huh?

Or rather, how did she even confirm my real gender?! 

My voice disguise might not be the best– scratch that, it’s actually crap, but! It’s by no means easy to see through, y’know? 

At least, my voice should not be coming out as male or female… I believe I sound androgynous which is what I was aiming for.

Not only that, but my entire body, including my head, is covered in a worn out black cloak…

“Ookay, Guil-Master! My shift’s ending soon anyways. I’ll take an easy collection quest and turn it in tomorrow then!” Felena cheerfully responded.

“You take a seat there, young miss. My name’s Barrietta, by the way. I’m the guildmaster around here. Now, what brings such a strong -and incredibly young at that- noble lady to our humble guild today?” She looked at me inquisitively.

“...Well, before that, I’d like to know how you were able to discover both my gender and identity.” I replied with my normal voice, but I didn’t remove the hood.

“Oh, that would be due to the visit of a certain Duke to this town a few years prior. You see, all guild masters have served as high-rank adventurers at some point in their life, so memorizing magic auras comes as easy as breathing for us. I myself make a habit of thoroughly recording the auras of any holder of authority I come across. That facilitates a lot of things, after all.” She clarified in a serious tone.

It’s not like I don’t understand where she’s coming from, but if we’re gonna go with Earth’s standard, you’re being waaay too strict with your job, lady!

I mean, going as far as memorizing the magical aura of every single bigshot is basically equivalent to working in the sales department and memorizing every customer’s national ID number, y’know?!

No, it's actually harder! Unlike ID numbers which stick with you after they’re assigned, magical auras are affected by way too many factors.

Anyways… serious respects to you, lady! Hats off!

“I guess I don’t need to hide under this then. Can I ask that no one else finds out about this?” I entreated her.

She hesitated for a moment before replying. “...It depends on your purpose, but it should be acceptable.”

“Great!” I exclaimed as I took off my cloak. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. My name is Karnatia Seri Anabald.” I introduced myself while offering my right hand for a handshake.

“The pleasure’s all mine, Miss Anabald. My full name is Barrietta Hafton.” She responded while taking my hand.

Ahh? She’s a noble as well? Probably born from a concubine though, judging by the missing middle name.

Commoners don’t usually include their last names in their introductions… Besides, a commoner having a last name is very rare in the first place.

“So? To what do I owe the pleasure of our current meeting, Miss Anabald.” She presses on with her previous question.

Dude, this is gettin’ kinda scary.

It’s like meeting with Filimos all over again, but in a different sense…

“Uhhh. You can just call me Katia…. Sooo I wanted to register myself as an adventurer under an alias, thank you very much.” I sheepishly answer.

She just kept staring at me with a straight face.

Seriously though, I’m getting the same vibes as when I’m caught doing something bad by an acquaintance back on Earth.

It kinda feels like she’s gonna whip out a phone and call my parents in the next second, so I’m getting a bit fidgety right now.

The silence went on for a while, and my tension kept building up till the point where I was just about to activate my teleport spell and run away.

Yet exactly at that moment, she finally spoke up.

“I will not ask you why as I’ve done something similar myself, but I will ask you this. Are you sure? Being an adventurer is by no means like an outing, it’s a grueling job that has many more challenges than just tossing around a bunch of spells or hacking a baby taratect with a national treasure class sword.” She stares me down with a perfect poker face.

“Definitely. In fact, I came here to actually learn from a trustworthy source instead of groping around by myself.” I immediately answered, not a shred of hesitation in my voice.

She went back to intently eyeballing me, but this time I met her gaze without flinching.

“Hahahaha. What an amazing development! The Duke’s eldest daughter from his wife ran away from home because she wanted to learn ‘bout adventuring, hahaha!” She suddenly broke into a fit of laughter.

Eh? Where did that strict teacher I was talking to go?

Hey, ma’am… Were you perhaps speaking in that stern tone in order to scare me away?

Why though?! I really got fucking scared there, y’know?!

Sigh… I guess it’s understandable.

It’s the least she could do when she’s dealing with a potential spoiled noble brat who ran away from home here, I guess.

“Hahaha… Phew, you’ve really raised the bar with that one. Even I was only an Earl concubine’s second daughter back then.” She wiped her tears.

Apparently, what I said was somehow funny to the point where her eyes teared up due to excessive laughter…?

I don’t quite understand why it’s funny though, but I think she just said something amazing there.

Since she’s also a noble lady who’s run away from home, will she like… assist me as a backer or become my teacher or somethin’?

You know, the cliche senior adventurer guiding an isekai’d junior adventurer template.

I ain’t gonna complain if that’s what she wants to do. 

In fact, I’d totally be down for it. It’d save me a butt load of trouble down line.

Nonetheless, I’ll need to observe her for a while before actually confiding in her about anything.

“All right. Listen up carefully, ‘cause I’m only gonna give this long speech once! The adventurer guild is…” She started giving me a very long explanation about the guild.

…I hope she'll be done before dawn. 

I still need to teleport back home…