A Bottom-Tier Adventurer Devoted to Supporting Their Idol Activities: Every Time, They Offer Rare Materials and Stir Up the Elites - Episode 4: B-Rank Adventurer Tomage

Episode 4: B-Rank Adventurer Tomage

The sun had set. And the sky over the royal capital of the Kingdom of Linde was dyed in crimson. It was then that the door to the Adventurer’s Guild burst open.

Inside, the guild was packed with many adventurers. But sensing an unusual presence, everyone simultaneously turned their gaze toward the entrance.

Three men entered with fearless smiles. It was as if they were enjoying the attention.

As if the rest of the space didn’t matter, only those three seemed allowed to move as their boots echoed *clack clack* through the guild interior.

“Tomage…”

Someone murmured the name in fear—it belonged to a rising star among adventurers. Recognized as a B-rank adventurer at the third-youngest age in history, he was undoubtedly the most talked-about adventurer in the capital right now.

Tomage walked up to the request counter. Five adventurers were lined up waiting.

“Tch.”

Clicking his tongue, four of them jumped aside and gave up their place in line to Tomage’s group.

With a smug snort, Tomage cut in. His turn came quickly.

“I’ve completed this subjugation request.”

He pulled a folded request slip from the pouch at his waist and tossed it onto the counter without even unfolding it. The male staff member with glasses checked the slip.

“Eh…? You already took down the Orc General?”

The staff’s reaction seemed to satisfy Tomage. Smirking, he swung the large backpack he carried to the front and pulled out a large leather sack.

The sack was stained a deep, dark color. One could only wonder how much bl00d it had absorbed to turn that shade.

“Check it. It’s the head of the Orc General.”

Tomage spoke as casually as if he were delivering some common bread. He was prompting the staff to confirm it.

“J-just to be sure, I’ll have it appraised. Corina, could you come here a moment?”

The man with glasses called out to a brown-haired woman at the neighboring buy counter.

Sensing the tone in his voice, Corina briskly approached.

“Yo, Corina.”

Tomage casually raised a hand in greeting and pointed to the leather bag on the counter. He was motioning her to appraise it.

“Ah, yes! Then, excuse me.”

Corina untied the string at the mouth of the bag, opened it wide, and exposed the contents.

“Hiik!”

The one who made the sound was the male staffer.

He couldn’t help but let out a gasp at the sight of a pig-faced head. Half of which was crushed beyond recognition.

Just how much force had been applied to deform it into such a nightmarish shape? The man had no idea.

“Excuse me.”

On the other hand, Corina seemed used to monster corpses. Without flinching, she touched the pig face and closed her eyes quietly.

“…Appraisal complete. This is without a doubt the head of the Orc General.”

At once, murmurs spread throughout the guild. The Orc General was a monster that had undergone two stages of evolution. An 18-year-old had taken it down.

“Corina. While you’re at it, appraise and buy this too.”

Tomage pulled a fist-sized magic stone from his backpack and casually rolled it onto the counter. The eyes of nearby adventurers sharpened. They wondered how much it was worth.

“I’ll need a moment.”

Corina took the magic stone and went into the back room. Watching her go, Tomage turned toward the request board.

The crowd of adventurers gathered at the board parted in two. They were making a path for him. Nodding as if it were only natural, Tomage and his two companions slowly walked to the front of the board. They exuded composure.

“No new requests…?”

Muttering, Tomage’s gaze stopped on a stack of request slips.

“Hey, look at this.”

The two companions lined up beside him and focused on the board.

“A Water Elemental Slime… Isn’t that a bad matchup for us?”

One of them put a hand to his mouth. He was choosing his words carefully as he addressed Tomage.

“You just have to smash the core in a Slime, right? What’s there to be afraid of?”

Tomage’s words weren’t so much for his companions as for the other adventurers in the guild.

“That may be true, but—”

“Look. None of the Water Elemental Slime requests have been taken. That means everyone’s too scared to touch them. That’s exactly what high-ranked adventurers are for, right?”

*Rip!* A small sound rang out as a Water Elemental Slime request slip was removed from the board. It was now in Tomage’s right hand.

Spinning on his heel, Tomage walked toward the request counter like he’d done it a hundred times before. Once again, he spoke to the male staffer with glasses.

“I’ll take this request.”

“…There have only been a few recorded cases of Water Elemental Slimes. In all cases, they’re said to have used water magic. But there are no detailed records. It could be extremely dangerous—”

“I’m taking it!”

“Y-yes, sir!” 

The staffer responded energetically and recorded Tomage’s party in the registry.

“When will you depart?”

“Tomorrow, of course.”

Hearing that, the two companions sighed. “Let us rest a bit, at least.”

“Who’d hesitate when a rare monster’s wandering around? We’re adventurers, aren’t we?”

Turning away from the counter, Tomage lectured his two companions.

“Tch. Fine, Tomage’s right! We’ll go!”

“Man, you’re a demanding leader.”

In the end, the two agreed to depart the next day.

Just then, Corina returned after completing the appraisal and evaluation. In her hand was a small dish holding a single large gold coin.

“Tomage-san. This is the purchase price for the Orc General’s magic stone. Please sign if there’s no issue.”

Tomage grinned crookedly and signed the document.

“Let’s eat something fancy tonight. Corina, you coming too?”

He casually invited her along as he spoke to his companions.

“Um… I still have work to do.”

“Tch. Playing hard to get, huh? Just how high do I need to rank before you’ll have dinner with me?”

“That’s not it… I really do have work…”

Clicking his tongue in irritation, Tomage turned and began walking toward the guild’s entrance. The two companions followed.

The guild’s atmosphere only returned to normal some time after they had left.