Chapter 6: Even to the insects

Fifteen years of life. By the time you reach that age, you come to realize that even the simplest things have their match.

I slightly bend my knees and look down at the ladybugs mating on the rock.

Even the crawling insects have partners to mate with.

But I do not.

“Why don’t I…………….”

What good is it to be strong when I don’t even have a girlfriend? No one to warm my cold side. Even when I reach an old age with white hair, I’ll be alone.

While others sit in rocking chairs reading fairy tales to their grandchildren, I’ll be wandering the streets with a cane, living out my life alone…

Whoosh―!

“……I came to work, right.”

I look towards the inside of the cave where the sound of the wind is heard. Inside the pitch-black cave, where not a single ray of light leaks out, I illuminate the inside with a magical tool acting as a torch, causing the inhabitants of the cave to react sensitively to the light.

—Kieeek!

Drawing my sword nonchalantly at the sight of the monster, the Scorpion Spider. A creature with the body of a spider and the tail of a scorpion, a powerful monster that any adventurer could easily turn into skewers… but I can defeat it.

And if I can defeat it, then I have nothing to fear.

“Life is truly miserable, isn’t it?”

With a strike, I sever the exoskeleton of the Scorpion Spider. Even a life-force strong monster cannot survive if its body is cleaved in two.

However, it seems there was time enough for a scream. The Scorpion Spider let out a piercing cry as it was dying.

—Kieeek!

The cry was so loud that it felt like I could sense the monster’s resentment. As the sound echoed, the cave walls began to shake violently.

Soon, dozens, even hundreds of Scorpion Spiders that had been hiding inside revealed themselves.

“Oh… she gave birth.”

Spiders can lay hundreds to thousands of eggs at once. The monster, despite having a spider’s body, is no different. Even with its large size, it gives birth to numerous offspring.

The dozens of Scorpion Spiders born will reproduce again and lay more eggs.

If left unchecked, they could multiply rapidly and become a deadly monster that could prey on people.

However, my concern is not their danger level.

“Even insects have partners to mate with….”

I do not.

Then am I even less than an insect?

That could be the case.

—Karakarak.

Do I have the right to kill these creatures, being even less than an insect?

I held my sword tightly and fell into thought.

The Adventurer’s Guild.

Every day, countless adventurers come and go from the guild to receive tasks or report completed missions.

Because of this, there aren’t many adventurers whose faces the guild staff remembers.

Unless you’re a top-tier adventurer who has achieved a high rank or a promising candidate who is likely to become one, they won’t even remember your name.

However, if you become one of those few whose faces the staff remembers, the treatment you receive from the guild will be vastly improved compared to before.

“Oh, Evan!”

“Rebecca.”

“Did you return? Did you complete your mission?”

Seeing Rebecca, the guild receptionist, smile, Evan silently dropped the scorpion spider stingers he had brought in abundance from his backpack onto the reception desk.

Rebecca’s face began to stiffen as she watched the stingers piling up on the desk, but Evan, oblivious, shook out his backpack.

After placing all the stingers on the counter, he waved his hand lightly and said goodbye.

“I’ll wash up, so please settle the account.”

“Yes, yes… I understand.”

“Well then.”

Rebecca slightly gasped as she watched Evan’s back as he left the guild.

The dozens of stingers he had brought in were materials containing potent venom.

With just two or three of those stingers, her salary would be easily surpassed, meaning what was in front of her represented several years of her salary.

“Must be nice; is that what talent looks like?”

It was hard to believe he had just become an adventurer, given his outstanding skills.

If someone believed that such abilities could be obtained purely through effort, they might as well be suspected of having their brains bleached for their naivety.

Evan possessed talents chosen by the heavens, and he had cultivated them wonderfully.

And that was something that everyone envied.

“If I had such talents, I wouldn’t take on such missions.”

Perhaps as a side effect of being blessed with talent or as a result of the eccentricities commonly seen in geniuses, Evan took on only those missions that others wouldn’t.

This mission was no different. Scorpion Spider. A monster with the body of a spider and the tail of a scorpion.

Thanks to its tough chitinous exoskeleton and poisonous stingers, it was a creature that even a decent upper-level adventurer would find difficult to defeat.

And the only material that could be gathered from it was its stingers.

“Of course, in my perception, this is still quite expensive…”

However, that was merely from the perspective of someone like her; the viewpoint of an adventurer was different.

An upper-level adventurer could earn more money more easily and simply.

There was no need to risk their lives doing dangerous and unprofitable work.

Tasks that no one wants to do but must be done.

Evan Kalshuter chose to take on only such tasks.

As a result, his reputation within the guild was steadily rising.

“Why do you look so glum?”

“Lucy…….”

“Why, is it too much pressure to be in charge of that person? Should I change places?”

At the suggestion of a fellow employee to swap their positions, Rebecca shook her head.

Her concerns weren’t of that nature.

“It just feels like I’m using Evan somehow.”

“Using him? How so?”

“Assigning him these tasks that no one else wants to do. It feels a bit like taking advantage of him.”

“Wasn’t he the one who wanted to do it?”

“Still.”

“Come on, he hasn’t said anything either, right? It’s not like we forced him; he said he would do it himself. It’s not a problem!”

The colleague continued to press her to change their assigned positions.

As Rebecca half-listened to her, she thought of Evan and wore a worried expression.

She couldn’t help but worry if he might fall into danger while taking on only risky tasks at such a young age.

It felt like having a younger brother.

In reality, it was quite similar.

“Isn’t there anything I can do for him?”

Unfortunately, there was nothing Rebecca could do.

All she could do was to accommodate him as best as she could so he wouldn’t be uncomfortable.

Given what he did for her, it felt exceedingly trivial, and deep down, Rebecca continued to pile up guilt towards Evan.

***

Fifteen days had passed.

Perhaps it was because he was making requests every other day that most of the troublesome tasks piled up in the guild had been resolved.

All the urgent issues that needed immediate attention had disappeared.

At the same time, he had been promoted to a junior adventurer.

It meant he had shed the label of a novice.

Rebecca had immediately prepared for his promotion to the highest level, and she conveyed that the promotion procedure was being handled at the guild headquarters in the kingdom’s capital, asking him to wait a little longer.

It wasn’t as if he intended to pretend he hadn’t completed the tasks; he was simply asking her to wait a little longer.

He had enough patience not to lose it over that.

Especially since he had a significant fondness for the guild leader.

“Not many people have a big heart like the guild leader.”

Thanks to that, I enjoyed my first holiday since moving to the city.

Not a vacation taken for the sake of resting, but a break taken because I had nothing to do.

Since this was the first time, I had no idea what to do.

I had become an adventurer and earned a lot of money, but I was still just a country bumpkin with little knowledge.

“……I don’t know.”

I wondered what other people did during times like this.

If I had questions, I could just go to someone who would know.

Thinking that, I quickly threw on some clothes and headed to the Adventurer’s Guild.

I recalled Rebecca saying to come by if I needed anything, even if it wasn’t for a mission.

As soon as I arrived at the guild, I spotted Rebecca, her face tired from being overwhelmed with work.

“Rebecca!”

“Oh, Evan? I thought today was a holiday… Is there something you need?”

“No, I just don’t know what to do on a day off. I wanted to ask you something………….”

Rebecca, who had been worn out, immediately broke into a cheerful smile upon seeing him.

Admiring her professionalism, I heard a commotion coming from the guild entrance.

It sounded like a noble had arrived, so I turned my head slightly and saw a woman with long hair partially tied entering the guild.

With her eyes closed and using a cane, she appeared to be blind.

However, the fact that she couldn’t see didn’t diminish her beauty.

If anything, it created an even more mysterious atmosphere.

She confidently made her way to the reception desk, tapping her cane steadily.

“Excuse me. Is this the Adventurer’s Guild?”

“Yes, yes! Welcome! What brings you to the Adventurer’s Guild?”

“I would like to request a mission. I need a guard to escort me to the northern city—.”

As she naturally leaned against the reception desk, she suddenly touched my body and, startled, stepped back.

I quickly caught her to prevent her from falling and asked in a worried voice, “Are you okay?”

“What, when did you get here?”

“I was already talking here first.”

“You were here first?”

She stared at me, seemingly in disbelief, as if she could see me.

With her face fixed in my direction, I shrugged my shoulders and looked at Rebecca.

Rebecca also began to shake her head, seemingly perplexed.

In the silence that enveloped the guild, only the blind woman’s voice broke through.

***

Seolhyang, who had come to the guild, was greatly shocked after hearing Evan’s words.

‘I had no idea he was even here………… He’s been standing there the whole time?’

Until she had touched Evan, she hadn’t sensed any indication that he was standing there.

Not even with the heightened senses she developed after losing her sight.

‘No way. Did I misjudge my senses…………??’

Swallowing her saliva, Seolhyang carefully asked, “What’s your name?”

“It’s Evan.”

“Evan. What level of adventurer are you? Surely, it must be a high rank, like top-level………”

“I’m a junior adventurer.”

“A junior?”

Seolhyang blinked in disbelief, but soon regained her calm demeanor.

While she couldn’t believe he was a junior, if he was—

“Then, with the money I have, I could hire you, Evan. Would you be my escort?”

“Wait, Evan is still…”

“I will do it.”

Evan immediately accepted Seolhyang’s request.

After all, one must never refuse a beautiful woman’s request.

No matter what the task might be.