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Volume 2 Chapter 2 - Nella’s Adventurer Registration

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For his achievement in defending against the stampede in the Dragon Dungeon, Allen gained the Lilac citizenship for his Nella disguise. In other words, the existence of Nella was officially recognized as a single human being.

There were many benefits to having citizenship. There would no longer be a need for him to jump over the defensive wall to enter and leave the city as before, and he would now be able to do things that would not be possible without guarantee of identity, such as buying and living in a house or starting a business.

There were also disadvantages to having citizenship, such as poll tax and various other taxes, but for Allen, who was trying to enjoy a double life, having his identity as Nella guaranteed was something that was extremely welcome.

Of course, Allen wanted citizenship not because he wanted to buy a luxurious mansion and live a comfortable life as Nella.

When he was living with his four younger siblings, he might have wanted to give them a better life, but now that they are all independent and he’s living a single life, Allen seriously thought it’s fine if he can live a moderate life.

Of the necessities of life that is food, clothing, and shelter, for the most important thing for Allen, which was food, he was fully satisfied with it thanks to the skills he stole by eating out and seeing the cooking techniques there. As for shelter, although his house’s exterior still looked worn out, the interior had been renovated using treant materials, making it look brand new. As for clothing, it’s not something Allen was interested in in the first place.

Then, why did he want citizenship? It was to obtain separate adventurer licenses for Allen, which he already had, and for Nella.

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This was when Allen dressed up as Nella and went to the Adventurers' Guild bringing his citizenship license that was proof of his citizenship.

“Eh? You want to register as an adventurer...?” (Matilda)

Matilda froze, unable to conceal her surprise when she saw the paper Allen handed her with the words “I want to register as an adventurer” written on it, and Allen watched, thinking how unusual it was.

Other guild employees and adventurers who heard Matilda's surprised voice began to talk in hushed tones, and Matilda quickly regained her usual state and smiled.

“I will be talking about this to the Guildmaster, so could you please wait a moment?” (Matilda)

When Allen nodded his head in response to that question, Matilda thanked him and said, “Thank you very much,” and then quickly walked towards the Guildmaster's room.

(Now then, me going to talk to the Guildmaster is as expected but, I don’t know what will happen. Still... it doesn't feel comfortable.) (Allen)

The surrounding adventurers and guild employees talked in a whisper about Nella's registration as an adventurer, and Allen, who was left alone, smiled bitterly under Nella's mask as he felt the intermittent glances they sent him

After waiting for a while in such a situation, Matilda returned not long after.

“The Guildmaster would like to speak with you directly. Is that okay?” (Matilda)

At Matilda's words, Allen shook his head vertically again and Matilda began to lead him to the Guildmaster's room, and he followed after her.

The Guildmaster's room of the Adventurers' Guild was located at the back of the second floor.

Since it’s just an office, it had no fancy decorations or paintings, but there were things that were typical of adventurers, such as an elegant thin sword and a giant fang of a monster, hanging on the walls, if those could be called decorations. It's that kind of room.

Inside was a large wooden office desk piled with documents in front of which was a table with sofas placed on both sides of it. Standing beside that was Orlando, the Guildmaster of the Adventurers' Guild, and he turned his gaze to Allen as he entered.

“So you're Nella. I’m Orlando, the Guildmaster of the Adventurers’ Guild. Please have a seat.” (Orlando)

At Orlando's urging, Allen sat down on the sofa opposite Orlando. Although he was inwardly startled by the soft, enveloping feeling of the sofa, Allen managed to feign calmness and not show it.

As Allen was thinking, ‘What an expensive-looking sofa,’ Orlando sat across from him.

Orlando was known as the Gale when he was an adventurer, but now that he had retired and became the Guildmaster, he had gained a lot of weight, and that weight made the sofa let out a creaking sound, as if it was screaming.

(Isn't the sofa going to break?) (Allen)

As Allen began to worry about something so out of place, a cup of tea was placed in front of him. When Allen looked up, he saw Matilda giving him a smile in reply, then she placed a tea in front of Orlando as well, and she bowed and left the room.

Now, only Allen and Orlando were in the room, and as if he had been waiting for that, Orlando opened his mouth.

“I heard that you want to be an adventurer. Is that true?” (Orlando)

Orlando asked while leaning forward just a little. Allen kept his silence and nodded his head in reply.

Orlando, sensing Allen's lack of interest in talking, frowned for a moment, then brought the tea to his mouth to hide it. Allen had been staring fixedly at his face, so it was obvious though.

Not knowing this, Orlando put down his cup, let out a small breath, and then opened his mouth again.

“The Adventurers’ Guild always welcomes a strong person to join, but may I ask why you're doing it now? I've heard that up until now, you've turned down our invitations.” (Orlando)

In response to that question, Allen took out a piece of paper from his pocket. He prepared it in advance since he thought he would be asked that question.

While watching Orlando read the paper on the desk, Allen was thinking, ‘I knew he’d ask me that.’

As Orlando said, while he was active as Nella, Allen was invited to join the Adventurers’ Guild many times. They asked at every opportunity, such as when he entered a dungeon or when he received money from the sale of magic stones.

At those times, Allen had no intention of joining the Adventurers’ Guild, so to be honest, he thought it was annoying, but it’s not like he couldn't understand why they did that.

The Adventurers’ Guild receives many requests to fight monsters, that’s why strong people are human resources they desperately want.

The Adventurers’ Guild has many sources of income. They range from dungeon management fees they receive from the Lord, to sales from the bar set up on the first floor of the Guild, and mediation fees from affiliated inns and stores.

However, its main revenue is the intermediary margin that connects clients and adventurers, and commissions on sales of materials for monsters that adventurers deliver.

The reward that adventurers receive is the amount after deducting the Guild's share and taxes, and not all of the money paid by the client to the Adventurers’ Guild, and the money from the sale of materials, are given as a reward.

At first glance, it may seem like going through the Guild is a waste of money, but by going through the Guild, the client or material purchaser can avoid unnecessary trouble, and for adventurers, the Guild can handle cumbersome administrative procedures such as tax payments on their behalf.

In the first place, just the fact that it is a place to match clients and adventurers can be said to be of great benefit to both parties.

Leaving that aside, if you think about the Guild's main source of income, it's obvious why the Guild wants strong people.

The more difficult the request is, such as defeating a strong monster, the higher the request fee will be, and the rare materials obtained from that monster will sell for a higher price.

In other words, the income the Guild receives will also increase. Along with that, the value of the Adventurers’ Guild that can handle such requests will also increase.

It’s not like he thought about it that deeply but, having been an adventurer for many years, Allen knew that the Adventurers’ Guild was looking for strong people.

That's why, even though he thought it was troublesome, he didn't do anything to make things worse, and simply refused every time. He may have felt a little sense of superiority of being thought to be strong though.

Having read the words written on the paper Allen handed him, Orlando looked up and stared at Allen.

Even though Allen was exposed to that gaze that seemed to peer into the depths of his soul, he remained completely unfazed. Because what is written there is undeniably Allen's true feelings.

“In short, you want to test your abilities, is that right?” (Orlando)

Even while feeling a bit taken aback from having the reasons he had written so long summarized, Allen nodded his head.

The reason Allen decided to register as an adventurer as Nella is because he was obeying the thought that came to his mind when he realized that he might be able to gain great strength by using the level-down and level-up traps; that he wants to go on an adventure like an adventurer.

Allen realized this again after experiencing the stampede in the Dragon Dungeon, which is said to be the most difficult dungeon.

That his strength was greater than he had imagined. That it was no longer possible to go on an adventure like an adventurer in a normal dungeon.

Of course, there were other dungeons other than the Dragon Dungeon that were said to be difficult. However, most of them have restrictions on their entry.

There’s no way to clear it other than to become an adventurer and raise his rank.

That's why Allen decided to become an adventurer as Nella.

As Nella, he could do unreasonable things. Allen anticipated that his rank as an adventurer would quickly rise, and although there would be some negative effects that would come with increasing his rank, he thought that he would be able to deal with it somehow.

Since Nella was recognized as a single human being, in the worst case scenario, he could put all the blame on Nella, that vague advice of Iseria's may have been a big factor.

Orlando sighed at Allen's response, then stood up and took out a piece of paper from his office desk drawer. After quickly putting his signature on it, he sat down again on the sofa in front of Allen and placed the paper on the table in front of him.

Allen looked at the paper, then froze. What was written there along with Orlando's signature was...

[By the authority of the Guildmaster of Lilac Adventurers’ Guild, Nella is recognized as a mithril class adventurer.]

That unbelievable statement.

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