Volume 1 Chapter 3 Aim For A Slow Life!
After finishing my re-registration at the adventurer guild, I decided to head back home in the East District.
As I was leaving the guild, Ms. Terra, who helped me with the re-registration, said this to me.
"I'll try to make some time, so let's grab a meal together someday, Roezé."
With a playful grin, she seemed to tease my new name.
I thought it was a pretty simple name too, but I was just glad to have changed from my old one.
Anyway, I decided to start fresh as Roezé, the rookie adventurer, instead of Aroze from the hero party.
I could have taken on some requests today, but since I had saved up some money during my time with the hero party, I was good for a while.
My emotional wounds weren't fully healed yet, and since I had just returned to my hometown, I thought it would be best to take a break for now.
So, I crossed through the West District heading towards my family home, and eventually, I reached the big central bridge.
"The Red Thread Bridge is still beautiful."
This bridge was built with red bricks, and combined with the river view, it had a really charming vibe.
It's even a tourist spot in Hyamars town, especially popular among couples.
The reason for that is because it's called the 'Red Thread Bridge'.
Not only is it a bright red color, but it's also the only bridge connecting the West District and East District, making it the sole way for lovers living in both areas to meet.
Because of this naming, it's believed to bring good fortune in love, and tourists often come to see the bridge with their loved ones.
Since it's in the town center, locals often use it as a meeting spot, and today, there were lots of people on the bridge.
"E-excuse me, coming through..."
I pushed my way through the crowd and finally made it to the East District.
My family home is located in this East District, where commercial and public facilities are gathered.
West District has a lot of industrial facilities and places for adventurers, so you can see many craftsmen and adventurers around.
There's a guild in West District where adventurers take on requests and handle various procedures.
Back when I was just starting out, I used to dash across the red thread bridge early in the morning, heading from my home in East District to the guild in West District.
As I walked through the residential area of East District, soaking in the nostalgia, I soon spotted a house with a distinctive red brick roof along the way.
It was a bit smaller compared to the other houses around, but it had a comforting design without any sharp features.
This was the house where I was born and raised.
"...I'm home."
After about 6 years, when I opened the door to the house, a dusty air came out.
I thought the place might have been ransacked since I had been away for so long, but it seemed nothing had really happened.
I was impressed by the security, but it looked like the dust was something I had to deal with myself, so I hurriedly opened the windows.
I didn't even have time to enjoy the nostalgia as I started ventilating the place, lightly sweeping and wiping things down.
After about ten minutes of cleaning, the dusty smell still lingered, so I decided to take a break.
I found my favorite rocking chair, and as I collapsed into it, the fatigue from my journey hit me all at once.
"Ahhh..."
Letting out a long sigh, I straightened my back.
Then, feeling a wave of relaxation wash over me, I looked around the house, savoring the nostalgia.
"I'm back, huh?"
At the same time, the fact that I had been kicked out of the hero party hit me hard again.
Kicked out? No, it was more like I was used and then tossed aside.
I had been used by those heroes and thrown away without mercy.
I never want to feel this way again.
I don't want to be used.
I want to live quietly and comfortably in this town for beginner adventurers.
"...I'll leave the Demon Lord defeat to you."
I muttered those words to no one in particular as I drifted off to sleep.
It's already been a month since I returned to Hyamars town.
Contrary to the chaotic days of my time with the hero party, I'm living a simple life every day.
I wake up at the same time every morning, heading to the adventurer guild with a sense of duty, mixing in with the other newbies to take on low-level quests.
After quickly finishing the quest, I return to town just as the sun sets, having reported back at the guild.
Once I wrap up a quick grocery run in the market lit by street lamps, I head home with my shopping bag in one hand.
After 4 or 5 days of activity, I take a rest day the next day to recover from the fatigue.
For the past month, I've been repeating this same routine.
"...It's peaceful."
Some might laugh and say it's a boring life.
But for me, in my current state of heartbreak, it's nothing but healing days.
When I was part of the hero party, it was a nonstop series of tough battles, and my body was always worn out.
On top of that, I had to handle all the annoying chores, leaving me with almost no time to rest outside of combat.
In return, I was able to accumulate honors and achievements beyond my expectations, and I was close to avenging my parents by defeating the Dragon King Dorane.
That's why I regret being kicked out of the hero party even more; all my hard work feels wasted, and right now, I just want to heal.
So today, after finishing another simple quest, I returned to the guild.
"Here's your reward for the hunt."
"Thanks."
I found Ms. Terra at the reception desk, so I completed the paperwork and received my reward.
The quest I took on this time was to hunt a monster called the Fly Boar in the forest to the west.
Unlike regular boars, this one has huge ears that spread out like wings, allowing it to create strong winds for flying and attacking.
Just having its heavy body charge down from the sky would be troublesome; a regular person would likely have their bones shattered and organs crushed.
It sounds like a very dangerous monster, but the Fly Boar has a tendency to only move straight ahead.
Once it starts its charging motion, it can't change direction until it runs its course, often crashing into big trees and knocking itself out.
Most importantly, with the divine blessing from the job class granted by the gods, I can even withstand its charge.
Strong breeding ability, high population, and they can easily turn into delicious ingredients.
I can't help but say this is the perfect request for a rookie adventurer.
The great thing about the guild in this town of Hyamars is that there are many such requests available.
"Hey, Roezé."
"...Yes?"
Just as I was about to finish the request report and head home, Ms. Terra suddenly called out to me.
I tilted my head, wondering what it was about, and she asked with a bright smile.
"Aren't you going to take the promotion exam soon?"
"The promotion exam?"
"If you stay like this, you can only take the lowest-ranked requests, and that must be pretty inconvenient, right? I think you could easily get promoted, and if you go back to being a first-class adventurer, you could get personal requests too. The exam date is coming up soon."
The promotion exam, huh.
There are rank restrictions on the subjugation requests that adventurers can take.
To put it simply, it means you need a certain rank of adventurer qualification to take this request.
The appropriate rank is set according to the difficulty of the request, and of course, the higher the rank, the more requests you can take.
So, I can understand Ms. Terra's question about why I haven't taken the promotion exam.
At the same time, I kind of get what she's trying to say.
Basically, she's asking how long I plan to be satisfied with my current position.
"I've seen a few cases where former high-ranking adventurers re-registered and went back to rank 5, but they all quickly climbed back up to their original rank. You were a top-tier first-class adventurer, so I figured you'd feel even more inconvenienced."
"No, I'm not really uncomfortable as I am. Like I said before, I'm not interested in taking on difficult requests. Just living in this town is enough for me at rank 5."
"But isn't it going to get tough financially soon? The income for a rank 5 adventurer isn't exactly high, and there are quite a few kids who juggle other jobs too."
That reminds me of my own early days, and nostalgic memories come flooding back.
I remember that as a rank 5 adventurer, my only source of income was from low-level monster hunting requests, so my wallet was always pretty empty throughout the year.
That's why I was juggling jobs at restaurants and doing construction work in town, just to scrape by.
Just as I finished that faint memory, Ms. Terra leaned in and asked quietly.
"Also, when you got kicked out of the hero party, you didn't get any rewards or anything, right? Are you managing okay?"
"When I was with Dahlia and the others, we split the rewards from the monster hunting requests evenly, and I saved most of it, so I'm good there."
With that savings, I think I can live off the rewards from rank 5 requests for a while.
When I was kicked out, they told me to leave my gear and tools behind, but they didn't say anything about leaving my money.
Plus, back when I was just starting out, I couldn't complete a request in just one day, but now with my efficiency, I should be able to manage just fine.
If I live simply and gradually use my savings while taking on rank 5 monster hunting requests, I think I can keep this up for a long time, as long as there aren't any sudden expenses.
"Leveling up again, looking for new teammates, and aiming to take down the Demon Lord again sounds interesting too. But for now, I just want to live a relaxed life."
"..."
Saying it out loud, it feels like such a lack of ambition.
I used to be so driven to take down the Demon Lord to avenge my parents.
But after getting kicked out of the hero party, all that effort felt wasted, and now I find it hard to feel motivated.
Ms. Terra seems to understand that and has been suggesting various things.
"Well, I get that you're heartbroken from being kicked out of the party, but I believe your strength can help a lot of people. It feels like such a waste to keep it all bottled up."
"A waste, huh?"
Just hearing that makes me happy.
But it's true that there are probably people out there who need my strength, even if it's just a few.
In this town of beginner adventurers, it's even more so.
And Ms. Terra, being the receptionist, probably sees the most of these kinds of people, so it's not surprising that she feels a bit of regret.
"Of course, it's your choice to use Roezé's power however you want, whether to keep it active or let it rest. But I'd really like to see Roezé getting into something like before."
"When you say 'getting into something,' I can't really think of anything. I've pretty much given up on defeating the Demon Lord and think it'd be better if someone else took care of that."
"Oh, then why not start some kind of business?"
"B-b-business?"
Ms. Terra suddenly threw out this unexpected suggestion.
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