NOVEL NEXT C16
C16: First request and first companion
After the sun had set, Brünnhilde and I returned to the inn, ate dinner, and went back to our room. The weapon we had just bought was propped up against the wall, and I dived into bed, while Brunnhilde stood by the wall with the same blank expression on her face.
“Brünnhilde, you should sit down and rest.”
“Yes, Sensei.”
Brünnhilde then sat upright on the spot.
I got up from the bed.
“Listen, Brunnhilde, you have to act a little more human. For example, you can sit on the bed and lie down, or you can sit on the couch and drink juice, or you can take a shower to refresh yourself.”
“Sensei, none of these actions are necessary for me.”
“You’re right——But that’s what it means to behave like a human being. Okay, here’s a homework assignment for Brünnhilde. Think of 10 things that you think are “Brunnhilde’s idea of humanity.” When you’re done, show them to me.”
“———-“
I took a piece of paper from the room and handed it to Brunnhilde. I crouched down to make eye contact with Brunnhilde, who received the paper while sitting upright.
“Brünnhilde, what are you?”
“I’m code04 Brünnhilde, a battle maiden android. I am a weapon created by human hands to destroy androids.”
“That’s the “purpose” you were given. That objective is over after today, okay? You can drink, eat, laugh, and——live like a normal girl.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Haha, still difficult? Then walk with me, little by little. I’m sure you can do it.”
“———“
I stroke Brunnhilde’s head. Her hair feels silky and smooth. Her face is like a sculpture, expressionless even when stroked. Suddenly, I see a scene. Brünnhilde and the rest of the class are chatting amicably. I’m a teacher, I’ll teach her what she lacks.
◇◇◇◇◇◇
The next day.
After eating breakfast (with Brunnhilde, of course), I head to the Adventurer’s Guild. Today, I’ll accept a request. We took a leisurely walk and arrived at the Adventurer’s Guild. The guild was quite crowded.
“Hey, what’s this——Oh, I see, it’s because the ministry is putting up requests.”
The request board was flooded with adventurers. And the guild staff was busy putting up papers on the board. As soon as they finish posting their requests, strong adventurers rush to the board. They start fighting for the requests. However, it doesn’t turn into a fight, because disputes are forbidden in the guild. If you break the rules, you will be stripped of your adventuring credentials and lowered in rank.
Well, it doesn’t matter to us low-level adventurers. After the adventurers disappeared from in front of the board, Brunnhilde and I finally stood in front of it.
“As I recall, they said something about taking requests from the town and then learning from them——Brünnhilde, what do you think?”
“——————“
“Brünnhilde?—–Oh.”
Brünnhilde stared at the paper in her hand. I see that she is thinking about her homework from last night——The content is “Brünnhilde’s idea of humanity”. Now, I wonder what kind of answer I’ll receive. She held the paper in her hand the whole time she was eating breakfast and walking up here.
Now, what should I do?
“The best way is to collect herbs. There are almost no dangerous monsters around Ledar town. In addition, there is an abundance of herbs growing wild, so there is no way you can fail.”
I heard a voice from the side. When I looked over and saw four very typical adventurers.
“Excuse me. You guys are new adventurers who registered yesterday, right? I can teach you a few things if you like.”
“Oh, uh——“
“Oh, sorry, sorry. I’m Wade, swordsman and leader of the Steel Swords adventuring team.”
The man who introduced himself as Wade was a young man in his mid-twenties. He wore light iron armor and a sword, and his looks were not that bad. He looked like a swordsman you could find anywhere. When I was surprised by his sudden appearance and was unable to reply, one of the women in the team said,
“Don’t be alarmed. We’re all E level adventurers, and we volunteer to help beginners. I’m Michelle, nice to meet you.”
“——Recently, there have been a number of people who have become adventurers, but are unprepared. They need people like us to guide them.”
“I’m sorry, I’m Meena, and this hard-looking guy over here is Mr. Berg.”
Let’s see, there’s Michelle with her short blonde haircut, Berg, the burly fighter, Meena, who looks like a sorceress, and Wade, the leader. Anyway, we’ll say our names too.
“I’m Seiji.”
“————-“
“Hey, Brunnhilde, say hello.”
“Greetings from———acting like a human being. Nice to meet you, my name is Brünnhilde.”
Brünnhilde is writing something on a notepad. I see, you put “greetings” in human-like behavior. Well, it’s true that greetings are basic.
Then, Wade looks at me.
“Oh, so Seiji has a ring and Brünnhilde is a swordswoman, right?”
“Yes——Um…”
“Oops, sorry, now that we’ve introduced ourselves, we’re going to give you a crash course in being an adventurer, okay?”
That’s out of the blue. Well, they don’t look like bad guys——Hmm, there’s so much I don’t know, and it might be good to get some guidance from a proper adventurer.
“How much do I owe you?”
“I don’t take money——In return, if we’re in trouble, you can help us. That’s fine.”
“———I understand.”
“I’ll start by teaching you how to accept a request.”
This is how I came to be mentored by Wade’s team.
◇◇◇◇◇◇
Peel the request form off the board and go to the receptionist. The receptionist processed the request and gave me a separate form from the request form. On the form was the name of the request and the conditions for completion. I walked out of the guild and out of the city. Then Wade explained the situation.
“The apothecary asked us to pick Cure Leaf, which is used to make wound potions, and deliver them to the guild.”
“I see.”
“The request form says that we need to deliver a set of 50 bundles, 10 for a bundle, and the request is complete. It’s due in two days, but we’ll get it done in no time.”
“Thank you very much.”
“Ha-ha-ha, no need for the honorifics.”
“——Okay, thanks, Wade.”
“All right, let’s get the f*ck out of here.”
Wade walked around, and Berg lined up next to me.
“——Don’t forget that even when you’re gathering herbs, you may encounter monsters.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And don’t talk to me like that.”
“Okay.”
“Mr. Berg may look like this, but he’s very kind.”
Before I knew it, there was Meena, the sorceress, next to me. She was holding a wand in her hand. And next to Brunnhilde, there was Michelle.
“Hey, Seiji, she’s not talking at all…”
“—————“
“She’s the kind of person who can’t hear what’s going on around her when she’s thinking, so I’m sorry, just leave her alone.”
“Hmm, she has a pretty face, but looks unusual.”
Hmm, Brunnhilde seems to be in a lot of trouble. Well, it’s good to think and ponder. Once we got out of the city, we found a vast expanse of nature.
“Seiji, I’ll show you the best places to pick the herbs.”
“We’re good at this stuff because we help beginners.”
Wade and Michelle are laughing at me. I’m not sure what to make of this——In the Ostrode Kingdom, the knights laughed at me behind my back, and I didn’t have any friends my own age. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this comfortable.
The place that Wade and his team led us to was a wooded area a short distance from Ledar town.
“A layman would think that there are no medicinal plants growing here because of the lack of sunlight, but this is not the case. It’s true that the sunshine is weak, but it doesn’t mean that there is no sunlight at all. In fact, the leaves of medicinal herbs grow larger because they have to grow in less sunlight. That’s why this is a good spot to collect medicinal herbs.”
When I stepped into the thicket, the sunlight was indeed poor. But that doesn’t mean there’s no sunlight at all——
“Wow. That was amazing.”
“Yeah.”
When we reached the middle of the thicket, we found ourselves in a medicinal herb garden. There were a lot of mint-like leaves growing wild. This must be the “Cure Leaf”. There was a refreshing scent like hackberry in the air.
“Come on, you can pick all you want!”
“Yeah, let’s get this over with.”
“Let’s have dinner when we’re done.”
“Mmm, congratulations on your first commission Seiji!”
Wade, Berg, Michelle, and Meena. For the first time in this world, I felt like——I could call someone friends.
“————Friendship”
Brünnhilde pouted and muttered.