I’m an Appraiser, But What the Heck is a [Divine Eye]? ~I Want to Live Freely as the World’s Best Beginner Class~ - Episode 85: A Life in Another World that is Far from Free 24

Episode 85: A Life in Another World that is Far from Free 24

We arrived at the inn and immediately threw ourselves onto the beds. The room assignments were simple, splitting us into men’s and women’s rooms. The Sturdy Shield party consisted of four members: two men and two women. So, the men’s room had three people.

“Thank you for your hard work, Maki-sama.”

“Haha, you can drop the ‘-sama.’ It feels awkward.”

“Then, just Maki?”

“Hey, Gain, isn’t that a bit too casual?”

“I don’t mind. I’d like to call you guys by your names too—Jildo and Gain.”

Jildo Aubel, who spoke politely, and Gain Bowl, who had a more casual tone. They were both Silver Swordsmen, meaning they both were intermediate classes. Their party leader, Rayria Blitz, was a Heavy Shield Defender, and Rose Saria was a Dual Mage. Both of which were also intermediate classes. 

Many Mages are Dual Mages, and Rose happened to possess both Water and Wood Magic skills.

“Is being an adventurer tough?”

I’ve always admired adventurers, so I was grateful for the chance to get close to some and hear their stories. Though, realistically, it’ll be a long time before I can freely go on adventures myself…

“It depends on the job. There are requests within the city, but also ones where you go outside to gather materials, hunt monsters, or do escort missions like today.”

“We mostly get monster-hunting requests!”

“Yeah, you can’t be an adventurer unless you can handle fighting.”

“So, you want to be an adventurer, Maki?”

“I admire the idea, yeah. Adventurers get to travel freely to all sorts of places.”

The idea of going wherever I want, taking jobs when I feel like it, appeals to me. Sure, there’d be danger. But that’s part of the thrill of adventuring.

“Well, it’s not that simple.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Gain’s right. In reality, most adventurers are barely getting by. Only a handful can travel freely as they please.”

“…I see.”

“It’s not just about having the right gear. There are a lot of tools you need, and high-paying jobs are dangerous. You need to be capable enough to handle those kinds of requests to really enjoy any freedom.”

My dream of becoming an adventurer lost a bit of its shine at that moment.

“Also, while it hasn’t happened to us, I’ve heard stories of party members fighting and killing each other.”

“K-Killing each other…?”

“Yeah, or abandoning someone in the middle of a fight with a monster!”

“…You really shouldn’t be laughing about that, Gain.”

“But it’s true. If you have other ways to make money, it’s better not to rely on being an adventurer.”

Jildo was subtly warning me that being an adventurer might not be the best path. Well, considering I’m not in any shape to fight right now, it’s not something I need to think about. Maybe I’ll reconsider when I figure out how to acquire skills and level up.

“Still, we’ve come a long way, haven’t we?”

“…What do you mean?”

“Well, we never imagined we’d get a job where we were directly guarding someone like a lord or the king!”

“That’s true. When the Guild Master first told us, I honestly thought it was a joke.”

“By the way, where does the Sturdy Shield rank among adventurer parties?”

I didn’t fully understand the ranking system in the adventurer’s guild, so I was curious if they had some sort of ranking like classes.

“Our party is C-rank.”

“C-rank… so, above the middle?”

“Pretty much in the middle. The ranks go from G to S, and we’re fourth from the top.”

“Eight ranks, and you’re in the fourth one?”

“Normally, a party escorting someone like a lord or king would be B-rank or higher.”

“And yet we, a C-rank party, got the job. No wonder the higher-ranked parties were glaring at us.”

“So there were B-rank parties too, huh?”

Granzawall, being close to the Forest of Demons, clearly has high-level adventurers. Even if the soldiers are a different matter.

…Come to think of it, I’ve been in Granzawall for quite a while, but I didn’t know anything about the adventurer scene here.

“There are even A-rank parties, but most of them are out on jobs. So the highest-ranked parties that are usually stationed here are B-rank.”

“Maybe the Guild Master kept some here for the defense of Granzawall?”

“That could be. But if they’re on defense, that just means they’re waiting around, right? It doesn’t make money. Escort jobs like this one are a lot more profitable.”

“…Yeah, that makes sense.”

Now that I think about it, the Guild Master probably had some reason for giving the Sturdy Shield this escort job.

“To be blunt, some of the B-rank parties that stayed behind have big egos, and they boss around the lower-ranked parties. Maybe the Guild Master didn’t trust them and decided not to rely on them.”

“Hey, Gain…”

“Come on, Jildo, it’s fine. There aren’t any B-rank parties here right now, anyway.”

“I apologize, Maki-sama.”

“Haha, no need to apologize. I don’t mind at all.”

…Yeah, listening to that, I can see why the Guild Master didn’t trust them. I think I understand his reasoning now.

After chatting with the two for a while longer, we all had dinner together and then called it a day.