Translator: Cryus
There are 3 people having a dispute in the room.
I know 2 of them.
One of them is Lugran, the Guild Leader.
The other is Aurnier, my teacher.
I"ve never seen the third person before.
She looks like a refined old woman.
She"s wearing simple white clothes, which is somehow relaxing to the eyes.
But the mood is very intense.
Their tone of voice, as well.
She"s probably an NPC. She"s just about as loud as both Lugran and Aurnier.
It seems that they"re arguing about something childish. Wait, what?
Who wet his pants?
「Excuse me. It seems we have some guests.」
Wow.
The employee is really amazing.
He"s great at ignoring them.
He"s perfectly calm too.
I"ll take advantage of the opportunity he gave me.
「Sorry to interrupt you. 」
「Oh, it is you, Keith! Are you faring well? 」
「I"m doing just fine, Master.」
There"s so much I want to tell him, but I still have to consider my position as his apprentice.
I should refrain from speaking now.
「Huh? Is this your teacher, Keith?」
「Yeah. He"s Aurnier, and he"s also a Summoner. Go on, introduce yourselves to him.」
「I"m Irina, a novice Summoner.」
「Same here. I"m Adele.」
The mood feels a little lighter when the adorable and innocent girls join the conversation.
Wait.
There"s a sudden change in the old woman. She seems especially calm.
The change is too great and sudden.
「Aurnier. Is this your disciple, Keith?」
「Well, something like that.」
「The boss practically forced the task on him.」
The employee is merciless.
Isn"t Lugran supposed to be your boss?
「Well, it"s not like I"ve taught him much.」
「Please don"t say that!」
「I"m the one getting help after all.」
Not really.
I"m just trying to be useful.
「Oh, I"ve never seen you guys before. I"m Lugran, the leader of this Guild. As for this one…」
「Don"t give me that, you useless fool.」
「Hmm?」
「I"m Gelta, an Alchemist.」
She sounds a little impolite, but she"s nodding at me, so I"m nodding back.
Alchemist?
She does look like she could pa.s.s off as a doctor.
「She"s my useless sister.」
「Don"t call me useless. I"m your older sister.」
「Oh, shut up.」
Nope.
The guild leader is too weak.
It doesn"t look like he"s winning the argument at all.
I can see his beard quivering.
「Are you an old acquaintance of Master, as well?」
「Yes. Although I don"t like the idea very much.」
「She was a fellow student in Alchemy. Aurnier was excommunicated by the teacher, though.」
「Well, my methods were unorthodox after all.」
「That"s not something you should be saying yourself!」
「Ouch!」
Without putting up any resistance, Master is letting the old woman slap his cheeks.
Now he"s standing at attention.
Is this the army or something?
「Listen, Lugran.」
「Yes, Sister.」
Lugran is standing at attention too.
I thought he was saying「Sir, yes, sir.」
I could imagine him saying it, anyway.
「Never forget why you have the help of the Alchemists.」
「It"s all thanks to you, sister.」
「I"m glad you understand. Now, will you prioritize receiving the goods this time? Personally, of course.」
「Tch.」
「I can hear you.」
「Pfffffft.」
「How dare you take up that att.i.tude with your older sister!」
How should I say it?
It"s the beginning of a fierce quarrel between siblings.
Or more like an older sister scolding her brother.
In my opinion, since they"re both old, they"re just fooling around and acting like children.
「Both of you, stop this at once!」
Master is interceding.
He really shouldn"t push himself too hard.
All of them are breathing heavily, even though they weren"t fighting physically.
Lugran is asking me a question while taking deep, heavy breaths.
「Oh, that reminds me. Did you have some business with me, Keith?」
「Yes. It"s about these two.」
「Hm?」
「It"s a little late to be asking, but how long do you need me to take care of them?」
「Hmm? Well, right. Aurnier, you do something about them.」
「What are you talking about? You"re the one who a.s.signed the task to him.」
「What are you talking about? You"re the one who put him in my hands.」
「Grr.」
「Wanna fight?!」
「Stop!」
Gelta shouts, making them both stand at attention.
Sir, yes, sir!
I"m imagining things again.
And before I realized it, I"m standing at attention as well.
There"s a strange sparkle in Gelta"s eyes as she"s whispering something to the employee.
「What"s this about teaching novice adventurers?」
「This would normally be in the domain of Mr Aurnier. But Keith is Mr Aurnier"s apprentice.」
「No way. I"m just a novice adventurer myself.」
This employee is a handful.
Please. Stop causing any misunderstandings.
「Evaluating a Summoner is a rather simple matter. You can tell from their monster summons.」
「Well, that"s pretty much it.」
「Then hurry up and do it!」
Master is rebuking Lugran while pointing at him.
I agree with him.
「I suppose we can go to the parade square.」
「Very well.」
All of us in the room end up going to the parade square.
The rain has stopped.
We"re taking Zangetsu and Machan with us into the parade square.
It"s really s.p.a.cious.
We could probably hold a cavalry battle here.
There"s a rain shelter in only a small part of the parade square. It looks like an archery range.
The ground is muddy due to the rain.
We can"t do anything about it.
「This isn"t really a test. You just have to show me all of your monster summons.」
「「Okay!」」
Adele and Irina have stiff looks on their faces.
I guess anyone would feel nervous upon mention of a test or exam.
「Right. Keith, you do it as well.」
「Master?」
「You are next after all. Show me your summons.」
Why am I getting tested too?
「Now, shall we start with the girl over there? Uh, what"s your name?」
「Adele.」
「Oh, right, right.」
The moment Lugran hesitated, the guild employee filled him in on it.
I wouldn"t expect less from him.
「Did you summon that horse?」
「Yes.」
「How many monsters have you summoned in total?」
「That would be 3.」
「And how many monsters can you summon at once?」
「2 so far.」
「Good. Remove the riding gear and recall your horse. Then summon the rest of your monster summons.」
「Okay.」
Adele recalls Machan and summons Mii-chan and U-chan in its place.
「Oh?」
「Hmm.」
「I see.」
All 3 elderly NPCs are looking at the summoned tiger and wolf proudly.
I guess her monster summons are awe-inspiring.
Despite the difference in the feline and canine appearance, both monster summons are large, ferocious-looking carnivores.
「Now, for the other one.」
「It"s Irina.」
「Y-yes.」
The employee really isn"t holding back.
Irina recalls Toggle and summons Sky-Eye and Calico.
「Mmm.」
「Oh.」
「I see.」
I don"t know how they"re evaluating them just by talking it out.
It looks as if they"re just curious about their monster summons.
But it also looks like they"re taking the evaluation seriously.
Most likely they"re using【Identify】on the monster summons.
「By the way, have you been giving guidance to the both of them?」
「Well, I"ve simply been going along with it.」
「Never mind that. How is their Alchemy going along?」
「I haven"t taught them yet.」
「What?」
「Well, I"ve mostly had them help out with defeating monsters.」
「Oh, is that true?」
「Yes.」
「I see. Now then, show us your monster summons.」
Gelta is hurrying me on.
Master is doing the same. I guess it can"t be helped.
I remove the riding gear on Zangetsu and summon Obsidian and Helix before recalling them.
Then I summon Jericho, Volff, and Jean.
「Oh.」
「Oh?」
「You possess 6 monster summons?」
I wonder how they"ll evaluate me.
Only Volff is level 5.
Jericho is still at level 2, while the other monster summons are at level 3.
Well?
「I think it"s pretty good.」
「Well, only in terms of monster summons.」
「Yes. It seems that he has a long way to go in monster fusions.」
Monster fusions?
What"s Gelta talking about?
「Monster fusions?」
「A Summoner is a scholar as well. You will have to learn about it sooner or later.」
「Um, Master, what are monster fusions?」
「They are monster summons fused together using Alchemy.」
「Is that so?」
「Well, I suppose it is better to show you.」
Master is casting the Summon Monster spell.
There"s a large monster coming out from the magic circle that appeared in the parade square.
It"s a beast.
But it looks heterogeneous.
Its tails consist of the heads of a lion, a mountain goat, and a snake.
Pyrochimera Lv.???
Monster Summon Standby
Upon closer inspection, there"s another head opposite the head of the mountain goat.
It"s a bird.
It looks like a bird of prey, similar yet different to a hawk.
「What"s this? You sure have bad taste.」
「Hmm?」
「I have something like this as well.」
Gelta is casting a spell.
It can"t be.
It"s the Summon Monster spell.
There"s a familiar-looking magic circle on the ground.
A person is appearing.
She looks really beautiful.
Too bad she"s wearing plain clothes.
Replicant Lv.???
Monster Summon Standby
「Hmm? Is this an advanced homunculus?」
「Of course. I"ve been devoting myself everyday.」
Um.
I don"t really know the difference.
Master has begun arguing with Gelta again.
Will someone explain this to me?
I"m looking at Lugran.
「Such are the things that result from the combination of Summon Magic and Alchemy.」
「So Gelta can also use Summon Magic?」
「Yes. My sister was originally a Summoner. She changed jobs and became an Alchemist.」
「She changed jobs?」
「Her ability as a Summoner should have decreased a lot, though it looks like she can almost rival Aurnier.」
「Really?」
「I can"t compare myself to either of them.」
I don"t think competency is the issue here.
「Could we go back to the topic?」
「Oh, yes. We were judging the capability of the girls.」
The employee is getting us back on track.
I appreciate it.
「Isn"t this a little beyond Keith"s control?」
「I suppose.」
「Aurnier, they were originally supposed to be under your care. How about looking after them now?」
「Even though Keith is still my apprentice?」
「It doesn"t change much, does it?」
「Wait!」
Gelta looks dreadful.
She looks really angry about something.
「I won"t let Aurnier train them in the ways of unorthodox Alchemy!」
「That"s harsh.」
「Be quiet! You were excommunicated by our teacher. You have no right to say anything!」
Welp, she looks really menacing.
「I"ll take care of these girls!」
「Hey now.」
「Also, it looks like Keith is somewhat capable already. Won"t you give him at least that?」
「Wait…」
「Well?」
Lugran is starting a discussion with his employee and Master some distance away from us.
We should also discuss among ourselves.
We"re using Whisper.
『This is a strange turn of events.』
『What do you think?』
『We"ve been exploring at a pretty good pace. I feel like it"s going to be a waste.』
『Well, I think it"s better to follow the advice of the Adventurer"s Guild.』
That"s right.
Come to think of it, I"ve been a.s.signed this quest because I"ve always agreed with the NPCs.
『Also, it looks like you"ll need to level up your Alchemy skill if you want to summon monsters like those.』
『But we"ve barely used Alchemy at all.』
『Does this mean that it"s a convenient opportunity for us to level it up?』
『Yeah. Well, I think what matters is your own intentions.』
『Mmm…』
『I can"t really decide right away.』
『I think it"s good to listen to them. I doubt we"ll be able to keep playing together forever.』
『Okay.』
『Is that okay with you?』
『Of course.』
『I"m thinking about accepting it.』
『Same here.』
『Yeah. I think it"s for the best.』
That"s the end of our private conversation.
It looks like Master and the others are done too.
What"s going to happen now?
「Right. If it is alright with you girls, how about studying under my sister Gelta?」
「Of course, you may choose to remain as you already have.」
Adele and Irina are giving each other a nod. They"re responding firmly.
「「We accept!」」
「Mm, really?」
「「Yes!」」
「Mm. You"ve been working hard, Keith.」
「It"s nothing.」
《You have completed a quest from the Guild!》
《You have gained 3 Bonus Points. You currently have a total of 19 Bonus Points!》
I hear the info popup in my head.
It looks like it"s settled.
Protagonist Keith
Race Human Male Racial Lv6
Job Summoner Lv5
Bonus Points Remaining 19
Skill Sets
Staff Lv4 Punch Lv3 Kick Lv3 Joint Lock Lv3 Throw Lv3
Evade Lv3 Block Lv3 Summon Magic Lv6
Light Magic Lv3 Wind Magic Lv4 Earth Magic Lv3 Water Magic Lv3
Fire Magic Lv2 Dark Magic Lv2
Alchemy Lv3 Pharmacy Lv3 Gla.s.smaking Lv3
Cooperation Lv5 Appraise Lv5 Identify Lv5 Discern Lv1 Cold Resistance Lv2
Grab Lv4 Horsemanship Lv4 Precise Manipulation Lv4 Jump Lv1
Heat Resistance Lv3 Climb Lv1
Equipment Kaya Wood Rod Wild Rabbit Breastplate+ Series Snow Ape Armguard
Wild Horse Boots+ Snow Ape Leather Cap Rucksack
Item Box ×2
Items Survival Knife
t.i.tles Old Summoner"s Temporary Pupil, Guardian of the Forest, Man of the Middle Path
Monster Summons
Volff Wolf Lv5
Zangetsu Horse Lv3 Resting
Helix Hawk Lv3 Resting
Obsidian Owl Lv3 Resting
Jean Bat Lv3
Jericho Wood Golem Lv2