77 – Meruru’s Great Adventure
Meruru’s adventurer registration was completed in an instant.
Of course, the rank was novice.
Even after finishing Meruru’s adventurer registration, Tina couldn’t hide her worried expression.
“I wonder if it’s really… okay…”
“Meruru is becoming an adventurer to find her sister!”
Meruru shouted while shaking the novice badge back and forth.
Meruru, who had been staying in her room, suddenly decided to become an adventurer for some reason. But she didn’t have the talent to be an adventurer.
Although she had Alcott’s request to keep an eye on her, in the end, she would have to give up. She was worried that she would end up worse off than when she started, realizing that she had no chance of becoming an adventurer.
Of course, once she knows that she is already protecting her sister safely, her spirits will quickly return.
“And Yunoa will be Meruru’s mentor,” Alcott said to me.
A mentor? Was there such a system in the guild?
“A mentor? I’ve never heard of that before…”
“In short, it means that Yunoa will accompany Meruru and watch over her.”
It was obviously a hastily made-up role, but I couldn’t just leave Meruru alone. Even without calling it a mentor, I would still watch over her.
Well, it seemed that Alcott was trying to take care of Meruru by giving her the “adventurer play.”
“Wow! It’s Yunoa! My cape!”
“It’s not a cape, it’s a mentor.”
“It’s a cape, a cape! Now I’m going to find my sister!”
Alcott shook his head at Meruru’s absurd words.
“Just because you’ve finally registered as an adventurer doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want. First, solve some requests and prove your abilities as an adventurer. Then, you’ll surely be able to find your sister.”
“I just want to go and find my sister quickly!”
“I know what happened when you went out alone to find your sister last time. If you let your enthusiasm get ahead of you, you won’t be able to find your sister and you’ll just put yourself in danger.”
“Uhh…”
Meruru couldn’t refute Algot’s words and tightly gripped her head.
“And since the Novice rank can’t receive requests from the mission board, I will personally make a request to Meruru.”
Come to think of it, Algot had said he would handle all the requests that Meruru wanted to make.
But I wonder how much it will really help Meruru’s change of mood.
“Algot thought that this job was a good opportunity for Meruru, who had been feeling down alone in her room, to regain her energy.
She didn’t think at all that Meruru could become a real adventurer.”
The narration in my head conveyed Algot’s thoughts.
That’s probably true. After all, it was Algot who told me that the indigenous people of Helvetika Island are weak.
“Meruru didn’t want to admit to herself that she had given up on finding her sister.
That’s why she showed interest in becoming an adventurer who could search for her sister herself.
She believed that if she became an adventurer and found her sister, she could persuade her to come back.”
Then I understood why Meruru suddenly wanted to become an adventurer.
But realistically, it would be difficult for Meruru to become an adventurer with her abilities…
“Even if it was an impossible task or just a delusion, it didn’t matter.
Just the fact that Meruru was trying something herself to find her sister gave her the energy she needed.”
Just the act of trying gave her energy…
It seemed that it was better to do something rather than just giving up and staying still.
In a way, it was like deceiving oneself by saying, ‘I’m doing something’ in order to maintain mental strength.
Being in a state of complete resignation and being in a state of enthusiastically trying various things, whether they succeed or not, are definitely different.
But deceiving oneself in this way and firmly believing “I am getting closer to my goal” was also dangerous.
In cases where there is no possibility, after repeated attempts, the conclusion reached in the end is inevitably “it was indeed impossible.”
If that happens, not only does the forced enthusiasm disappear, but there is also a greater sense of despair than when doing nothing at all.
Of course, Algot was not someone who didn’t know that.
However, Meruru’s situation was a bit special.
The reason Meruru was insisting on becoming an adventurer was ultimately not to find her sister.
And that sister was already found by us and being safely protected.
Once Aruru finishes adapting to the Demon Protection Center, she can arrange for Meruru to meet her sister.
Algot felt like he now had a rough idea of what Meruru was thinking.
In short, it was to keep Meruru from feeling depressed until the preparations for the reunion of the sisters were complete and also to give her a change of mood by making her an adventurer.
“I’ll prepare the request tomorrow, so today, please quietly work as a receptionist.”
Algot said to Meruru.
Meruru nodded and obediently returned to her specialized counter for inter-species transactions.
—
The next morning, when I arrived at the guild early, Meruru was waiting at the entrance.
“Oh! My cape! You’ve come, Yunoa! I’ve been waiting!”
“It’s not a cape, it’s a mentor.”
“I’ve prepared a lot for today! I’m going to quickly take on a request and become a great adventurer who can find my sister!”
Meruru’s waist was overflowing with an unusual amount of energy.
A long sword dangled from her hip.
And on one side of her waist, she had a jerky jar that I had seen in her room before.
“Why is that…?”
“For adventurers, food is the most important thing! Monsters can be defeated, but if you starve, you’ll die right away!”
“Well… alright.”
With Meruru, who unfolded her own firm adventurer logic, they entered the guild.
It was a time when adventurers were going to receive requests, so there were many other adventurers inside the guild.
“Oh, it’s Meruru!”
“Are you going to work now? It felt empty without you coming every day.”
A few adventurers who recognized Meruru pretended to know her first.
Come to think of it, when Meruru worked as a specialist receptionist for other races, she was quite popular.
Even though regular adventurers couldn’t work at the specialized counter for other races, I heard there were some strange guys who came with fake ears because they wanted to report to Meruru.
Meruru shouted loudly to the adventurers who greeted her.
“Meruru is also an adventurer from today! The receptionist is closed!”
At her words, the adventurers in the guild roared.
Whether they liked it or not, Meruru confidently approached the request board with big strides and took out a small dice-shaped jerky from the jar hanging on her side. She put it in her mouth and raised her head.
Crunch.
As soon as the office door opened, Algot came out.
“Meruru, didn’t I tell you to come directly to me instead of going there?”
“I… I was just about to go!”
Did she want to show off the feeling of becoming a real adventurer?
Well, even when I was a novice, I wished to receive a proper request from that request board.
The request that could be received during the novice level was just a mundane task that earned a small amount of money, delivered through the receptionist.
Adventurers who chose quests from the quest board every day must have been envious.
Now, unless it was a particularly special request, I received the quest without any excitement and finished it quickly…
Compared to that, Meruru, who received a request directly from the guild master, could be considered special treatment even among the novice ranks.
Well, it was more like a game to make Meruru feel good and get energized, to be honest.
As I entered the office with Meruru, Algot handed me a small map and what seemed to be a personally written request.
“There is a cave on the outskirts of Kubel. The entrance is locked, but there are a large number of slimes inside. There are various types as well, from blue, red, to green slimes. Please subjugate all the slimes in this place and come back.”
The cave… is locked?
“The entrance to the cave is locked… does that mean it’s flooded?”
“…Is there even a possibility?”
As I had doubts about the contents of the request, Algot glanced at me slightly.
It was an indescribable pressure, as if telling me not to question further.
So this is the request that Algot ‘prepared’ personally.
Perhaps it was about gathering relatively safe slimes for Meruru and putting them in the cave, then locking the door.
Even if they were slimes, they were still monsters, so it seemed like they had sealed off the cave to prevent them from spreading elsewhere.
“Alright! I’ll defeat all those slime bastards and come back! Then, will I be able to go find my sister?”
Meruru was overflowing with enthusiasm.
Algot smiled and said,
“If you complete this request properly, I promise as the representative of the guild that you will be able to find your sister.”
“It’s a promise!”
In fact, I had already found it and even provided protection myself.
Although I understand that Aruru won’t tell Meruru until she adjusts to the shelter to some extent, it somehow feels mean-spirited.
Algot also left me some earnest words.
“Oh, and please try not to interfere with the request unless it’s a very dangerous situation, since Yunoa is a ‘mentor’.”
“Are you saying I should just watch from behind without helping?”
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“Well, wouldn’t it be meaningless if Meruru doesn’t do it herself? Whether she continues her life as an adventurer or returns to being a receptionist, it would be a good experience for her to realize that being an adventurer is not easy.”
“Well… I understand.”
Meruru and I set off from the guild to carry out the request prepared by Algot.
“Hurry up and take care of it!”
Meruru’s energetic and spirited figure leading the way with quick steps was invigorating.
Indeed, when I was alone at home, various negative thoughts tended to come to mind.
Although it may be temporary, it might be a really good way to chase away the gloomy emotions.
* * *