The following day after my equipment purchase, I came to visit the Explorer Association's East Branch alone after classes. I plan to get a general understanding of explorer work and then start my own activities tomorrow onwards over the weekend.
Al and Coco had gone to the Headquarters after I told them it would be much better to register themselves there. Fey and the other girls said they would be registering themselves after they had adapted to the academy life. I really don't think they need to force themselves though...
The eastern branch was a wooden building constructed from glossy, pitch-black wood, unlike the headquarters. Adjacent to it, there were buildings that I presumed to be a training ground, a monster butcher house, and a warehouse.
Maybe it was because it was almost evening, an incessant row of handcarts loaded with monster and animal materials were brought into the premises.
I passed through the entrance and felt a throb of excitement in my chest as the hustle and bustle washed over me.
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Today, I came here alone as a newbie G-rank explorer so I was wearing my casual clothes instead of my Royal Academy uniform.
"Go home if you haven't had enough sleep, kid! You’re blocking the entrance!"
A man, seemingly a senior explorer, knocked into my shoulder as he uttered that phrase.
"My apologies, I’ll be more careful!"
I hurriedly shifted sideways and apologized. The man just harumped and entered inside.
Fufufu. Would they really be explorers if they weren't that brash?
I also entered and roughly glanced around at the crowd of explorers. After my rundown on the price tags yesterday, I more or less understood the cost of their equipment. Almost all of them had a weapon that should have cost over 10,000 rea and their appearance told tales of their experience. Intermediate-class explorers huh…? Well, I expected the Royal Capital to be swarmed with such veterans.
From the pub at the back, I could hear the crude 'Gyahaha!' laughter of drunkard men.
I glanced around and then stood in the queue at the 'No.13~15 Consultant Desk' counter.
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"Welcome! How may I help you today?"
The female staff member, the receptionist, asked in a loud but crisp voice — probably to avoid being drowned out by the noise — when it was finally my turn.
Unlike the tailored uniform that the big sisters from the headquarters were dressed in, the receptionist here was wearing a workwear-type jacket with the tag 'Explorer Association Royal Capital's East Branch' over her casual clothes— a white blouse and trousers. She was wearing an armband with similar wording.
"Actually, I just registered myself as an explorer the other day, so I’m quite oblivious to how I should proceed from here. I came here to get the basic gist of things."
I asked.
"Understood. Are you carrying your license?"
“Yes,” I placed my shiny G-rank license on the desk proudly. The receptionist chuckled as she explained.
"Thank you very much for registering in the explorer association. I’m Anya, a staff member of the Explorer Association. Since you're starting from G-rank, you’ll have to start with similar rank quests. You can also accept a quest that is one rank below or above your current rank, like accepting a D-rank quest while having an E-rank license. However, recklessness is absolutely forbidden. Understood?"
Heh, so it was a countermeasure against reckless fellows from taking on quests outside of their capabilities while also making sure those with higher rank didn't take away work from the lower-ranked explorers.
"Yes! I don't have an interest in doing the impossible as well! But to be more specific, how do I go about accepting requests?"
Anya-san made a surprised expression when I asked her.
"...You're really a strange kid. Most kids of your age are usually more rash and don't think before taking on quests... The main quests for G-rank are delivery and clean-up requests. There's no procedure for such routine quests.
You can look at the applications stuck on the bulletin board behind you, go to the location mentioned, help out the specialized contractor who is the client, and once the task is completed, get their signature on the completion document. Afterward, you can claim your reward from any of the counters between No.1 to No.12. They are exclusively for that purpose. If you have taken on a collection quest, you can hand them over to the delivery center on the left side of this building. But don't forget to get their signature on the document after you submit the materials, alright?
You can also deposit your money by opening an account in the Explorer Association's Credit Union. And in case you are moving out to any branch outside of the Royal Capital, you need to submit an application beforehand. So please be mindful of this. Do you want to open an account?"
"Yes, please! Is there any rulebook for that?"
"Fufu, quite a studious boy you are, eh? You can find the instruction guide for explorers in the library of this branch. You aren't allowed to take out any of the material from the library, but you can find all sorts of vital information there like maps about the monster and materials distribution in the Royal Capital region that are a must for explorers here. Feel free to use it if you are curious about them. Aside from the library, there's the store, the training grounds, and the pub that anyone who has registered with the association can use."
"Amazing! This is surely going to be useful! It looks like others are waiting for their turn so I’ll take my leave here and check out the library for now. I’ll visit again if I have another query! Thank you for your assistance, Anya-san!"
I bowed my head at the perfect 30-degree angle while in a sitting position.
"Fufu, as long as it helped you out. Do your best, alright? ...But you're quite a polite kid, aren't you? I assume you're a child of a baron or a viscount with no chance of inheritance and had just arrived in the Royal Capital?"
"Ah, yes, it is as you’ve guessed... Is it that obvious?"
"Fufu. Experience talks. I have seen many young ones around your age coming to register themselves. I presume you’ll soon be invited to one of these mutual aid societies, as it usually happens. They aren't an official organization, but I’m sure they’ll surely be of some help to you if you decide to join. But be careful though, there’s no lack of mischievous kids as well, so do think about it carefully before joining."
"...By that, do you mean I might be caught up in something illegal?"
Hearing my words, Anya-san hurriedly shook her hands.
"In a way, every mutual aid society in this royal capital has some sort of dark history. I don't think you’ll find yourself in such a situation, but looking at your polite attitude, I just thought you might have a hard time fitting in among them. So, just keep my advice in mind."
Make sense. I would be in a pinch if someone rolled me into one of these illegal acts, but a bit of rash confrontation shouldn't be a problem.
I once again thanked Anya-san for her concern and left that place.
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After that, I visited the eastern branch's library to check out the 'Explorer Instruction Manual, Latest Edition!'. The book was incredibly helpful. I learned about the must-know rules for explorers, how to form a party, rank and their merit, and other employee benefits like free training.
After cramming the necessary information into my head, I visited the store and bought a consumable ignition magic tool for 10 rea. For the remaining time, I took a glance at the bulletin board for the routine tasks to see what quests I could take after classes, and if there was any interesting quest that I might want to spend my time on during the weekend.
I left the eastern branch at around 6 p.m. The sun had already started to set by that time and it was getting dark.
Well, well. Time to start my new training from tonight, huh? I wonder if it’ll be okay to train with a bow in the Academy's facility at this time? I was about to start jogging while contemplating my training when I heard someone calling out to me.
"Hey, you there. Come and show your face to us."
"We're the 'Apple Familia', a mutual aid society that’s mainly active around this eastern branch. It would be in your favor to silently listen to us if you wanna hang out here!"
...I stopped in my tracks and turned around. Two delinquent-looking boys, seemingly 3 or 4 years older than me, were standing there with an atmosphere of unruliness and arrogance.
"Very well. I accept your offer."
"Enough blabbering! Follow us quietly or else— what?"
T/N - Also Mc in his mind—Here comes the template! xD.
EN - I don’t get why the MC chases these templates. I’d have avoided them like the plague xD