Novel Bin Vol. 1 - Ch. 43 - First Equipment (1)
I really wanted senpai\'s company to help me out in the purchase of necessary tools for explorers, however, I didn\'t catch even a shadow of him in the dorm. And when I finally made a request to him in the morning club activities, he apologetically turned me down.
"I really want to accompany you, Allen-kun. But I have to deal with the visitors along with my mother. General riffraff aren\'t a problem, but it\'s hard to turn down those influential nobles who have officially taken an appointment, and you know, if father were to handle all this stuff, no one will be able to handle the business."
I couldn\'t believe I have caused a nuisance for the respected senpai...I said if I could visit his house to apologise, but he rejected this as well saying the situation was still chaotic. Once things settle down, I must bring a present and visit in person. Nevertheless, it was inexcusable when senpai\'s home was being bothered due to me. When I apologised however, senpai said \'My parents are in fact delighted to know about our friendship, so you really don\'t need to worry that much\' with a wry smile. Feeling his continuous concern for me, I really felt ashamed of myself.
Well, I guess this means I have to look for equipment alone, huh? The club activities were progressing well, even without my intervention, so I thought it was just time to properly start my work as an explorer, and since senpai wasn\'t available, I could only act alone.
Just as I was contemplating it in the morning, I noticed Stella in the dinning hall and decided to consult with her. After all, she was a member of the Achilles family who was said to be the protector of Darren mountain range, so she should have an idea about this, right?
"Stella, can I take a bit of your time?"
"My, it\'s rare for you to voluntarily call out. What is it?"
"Is that so? You see, I’ve registered as an explorer, and I was thinking of going for the collection and hunting quests to earn living expenses and all that. I want to gather basic equipment for that purpose, such as knives for collection and dismantling, storage bags, and the minimum emergency survival supplies. You seem knowledgeable about it, so I wonder if you can help me out?"
"Ah, explorer’s equipment, huh? Sure. First, the suitable equipment varies depending on the area of activity and purpose. Of course, it also depends on the budget. However, instead of asking me, would it not be better to ask someone from the Explorer\'s Association or maybe visit shops for explorers and talk with someone more aware of the situation around the Royal Capital?"
Oh, that makes sense.
"You\'re right. That sounds like great advice. Thanks, I’ll come to you again if I have something else to discuss."
"...I was sure you came to ask about your weapon and armor or something... So, I presume you already have them ready? You must be using that sword with a curved blade, imitating your wooden sword… \'Katana\', was it?"
Ah, shoot. Hearing her talk about my weapon made me realize my stupidity. I thought a wooden sword would be sufficient, considering it could handle that Horned Rabbit I hunted last time. But the lack of a proper weapon would surely prove detrimental against other monsters, right?
Stella shook her head in exasperation seeing my bewildered expression.
"...One would usually think about securing a weapon or armor first before anything else... You really seem to be missing a few screws in your head. I know you’re more than capable, but I’ll advise against underestimating monsters. Monsters of comparable size can shrug off attacks to some extent. At least make sure to have a weapon that can pose some danger to them and a breastplate if you are going to be active in a monster-infested area, alright? What’s your budget?"
I was thinking of covering the initial costs with the money I earned from my first gathering trip with my senior. It was riskier to invest my living expenses when I didn\'t even know the projected income I could get from this.
It kinda sounded like I was deviating from my outlaw approach, but I didn\'t want to be a daredevil on purpose just to jeopardize my situation and make it difficult for me.
"I can go a bit over my limit, but my overall base budget is around 2500 rea. I don\'t plan to buy quality stuff right off the bat. I’m thinking of preparing only the essential ones, and if I manage to earn well, then I’ll think of splurging on better things."
Stella crossed her arms and thought for a moment.
"...I don\'t know the prices in the Royal Capital, but this budget will most likely be unable to cover the essential equipment. How about you first take a look around and decide on what to prioritize rather than rushing to buy them right away?"
A composed opinion, indeed. She was rough with her words, but I could always rely on her objective viewpoint. I asked her if she could accompany me later to take a look around.
"Are you free after school today? Would you mind accompanying me?"
"...A, ah. I don\'t really mind. But I didn\'t expect you to invite a girl to go shopping so smoothly… Are you really a virgin?"
"Ahaha! Come on, I don\'t see you as a girl, and your carefree attitude saves me the hassle!"
Thud
"Die, you virgin jerk!"
With a hazy conscience, I somehow conveyed \'3 p.m. at the main gate\' to Stella who left in a huff after delivering a heavy blow to my shoulder.
My tongue certainly slipped there, but why are girls so quick to punch others......
◆◆◆
"And why’re they tagging along?"
I asked as my gaze shifted toward Fey and Jeu beside Stella. I purposely chose to meet at the main gate precisely because I didn’t want them to meddle...
"You might have thought you gained an upper hand on us by sneakily arranging to meet at the main gate, but you underestimate our friendship, Allen. You must have thought that by inviting the innocent Stella to go shopping and purposefully wandering into a dangerous place, you could become a hero in her eyes by dashingly saving her from some hoodlums and then you would take this chance to throw away your V-card tonight, right? But unfortunate for you, Kate saw through it all."
Fey prattled on her dumb delusions with a snickering smirk.
"I don\'t mind if you fool around with other women as long as I can have your V-card, but Stella-san was completely frightened by Kate-san\'s teasing, so I decided to accompany her. Kate-san wanted to accompany us as well, but she already had a scheduled interview with that \'manager\', and regrettably stayed behind."
Who even talks about taking someone\'s V-card so proudly for goodness’ sake… Haa, this person has been increasingly losing her restraint.
"Hey! I wasn\'t scared, alright!? I would have taken down those hoodlums before Allen could!"
And why did you already assume we would surely encounter some hoodlums... I sighed in exasperation.
"Haa… You have made me completely understand you guys have a chronic illness of delusions. Besides, I also have invited Al and Coco, so you don’t need to worry about anything. How about you two now leave us alone?"
"I always believed in you, Allen."
Fey just chuckled in response to my words, showing no signs of going back.
"I had arranged a large magic car just in case, now I’m glad I did it. It\'s like we’re going on a triple date."
Jeu seemed to have even arranged a car already. She doesn\'t have any intention to go back either, eh?
"Hey, sorry for keeping your wait. Oh? Jeu and Fey are here too! Best regards for today! Let\'s get going if everyone\'s here!"
◆◆◆
The magic car Jeu arranged was a so-called open car type that came along with the driver. It had a vibrant sky-blue finish adorned with the Leverance family crest — an eagle with outstretched wings holding a sword in its talons — rendered in a shade of yellow reminiscent of Jeu\'s hair color.
I wonder how much it would cost to rent it, this seemed like a private car... We, three males and three females, sat facing each other on seats covered with high-quality leather made from the skin of a monster.
Our first destination was the leading arms store in the Royal Capital— something that Stella recommended.
"By the way, Allen. Why didn\'t you invite us when you already invited Al and Coco? Are you that much looking forward to having me increase my stalking tendencies?"
"Can you not utter such a terrifying thing with a smiling face!? They both are like me, with not much allowance to spare, and are interested in becoming explorers. So we talked about it and decided it would be better to learn on-site and then earn some pocket money. Though, this should be a waste of time for big-shots like you!"
"Pfft. But I think you’re the one who’s wasting time from an efficiency perspective. I heard that you’re starting as a G-rank explorer. For real, you keep opting for the strangest choices that even my excellent secretary found it hard to keep stalking (information gathering) you and nearly collapsed. I guess that\'s how much you don\'t want me to lose interest in you, huh?"
It was just the other day when I had an interview with Satowa, and she already heard about it? What kind of superhuman secretary did she have…?
"I share the same opinion. With your current popularity, it would be easy to earn around 10,000 rea in just half a day if you take the job of a private tutor in the Royal Capital. If the goal is just money, becoming an explorer is indeed an inefficient choice."
10,000 rea in half a day? Wow, that sure sounded like easy mone— Don\'t get tempted by this, me! It\'s easy to lose your financial sense when rolling in easy money......
Though this was a bit off-topic, I was the type to think \'Let\'s save every penny for three years to avoid crippling myself from wasting too much money\' and was such an ambitionless person in my previous life. Even if I happened to win the lottery, it was the same rinse-and-repeat pattern.
"I haven\'t learned much about explorers so forgive me for asking, but is \'G-rank\' really that terrible?"
Al asked in confusion.
Well, explorers in this world were kind of like day laborers in some aspects. So, I could understand why a noble-born like Al, more so being a talented individual, was not aware of it.
How should I explain this now…? Just as I was contemplating this, Jeu answered in my place.
"I also took this chance to study a bit more about explorers after hearing the rumors from my butler Sebas. Explorers are given ranks that reflect their achievements and abilities, excluding commemorative titles. A-rank is the highest while G-rank is the lowest.
An explorer aspirant usually starts from G-rank, but a Royal Academy student automatically qualifies to start from D-rank. So basically, Allen-san started from bottom rank instead by relinquishing that privilege."
Al and Coco turned to give me a bewildered look after hearing Jeu\'s explanation. Stella apparently was already aware of it, judging from her expression.
"You know there is usually an interview with the higher-ups of the organization when students want to register, right? I ended up quarreling with that person, and was assigned the G-rank as a punishment."
I explained my reason.
"Pfft. You’re really not good at lying, are you? I heard you completely played Satowa Fjord, the vice-president of the Explorer Association, twisting his argument against him who wanted to register you as B-rank and instead forced him to register you as G-rank."
What the heck… It should have been me who was completely led around by Satowa. Not another outrageous rumor...
"That\'s just a baseless rumor. That so-called excellent secretary of yours must have fallen for a fake story."
I assertively shot down that rumor.
"I wonder about that though. Since this is a rumor personally confirmed by the person himself, vice-president Satowa. He said you had a crazed smile while speaking about how you were going to enjoy becoming an explorer from the ground up."
That bastard! What \'I will not easily divulge this information to others\', damned jerk! And even embellishing the rumors to such an extent, I will definitely protest next time!
"...Sure enough, is it also a part of that discipline? Make sense, I will start with G-rank as well then!"
Coco nodded along to Al\'s statement.
"Don\'t do it, Al. It’ll just be a waste of time."
I tried to stop him from jumping into the misunderstanding, but with his current expression, I knew anything I said would just fall on deaf ears. Whatever. I’d firmly drill some sense into them if they ever decided to make being explorers their main profession, but I guess they know when to stop at least.
I really didn\'t want them to fuss over the rank as well, if possible.
EN - So, while Fey hasn’t really grown on me, at least she hasn’t become more annoying. Though the running joke about the MC’s V-card is really becoming too much now.