Leon Greyrat: The Second Son – Mushoku Tensei OC

Chapter 29 – Rikarisu City

— Leon Greyrat —

After being granted permission to enter, we walked through the village before finding ourselves in the cozy abode of the village elder, Rokkus.

With various bows and furs lining the walls, and a large hearth at the centre, it reminded me quite a bit of Sylphy's house. 

I hadn’t gone over there too often, but enough to have the picture in my head.

Since Laws was a hunter, and nearly every male in this village seemed to be a hunter as well, it made sense for them to have similar decor.

With Norn and Aisha taking the time to rest after a long day, I talked with Rokkus about our plans.

“…So you plan to support your journey home by your own efforts?” Rokkus asked.

“Yeah,” I nodded. “I’m fairly strong, as is Ruijerd, and Eris is tough enough to take care of herself. I plan to go as fast as the little ones can handle, earning money when I can.”

I would need to visit a city and get an understanding of the land before making anything concrete, but I planned to pick up jobs from the Adventure Guild to earn our keep, and possibly even freelancing my magic abilities if they were in demand.

Ruijerd said that Rikarisu was close, right? 

That was a fairly big city, from what Roxy told me.

“Indeed, Leon is strong,” Ruijerd added. “But either way, I will be joining them.”

Rokkus’ gentle smile turned into a small frown. “…Are you sure about that, Ruijerd?”

“What do you mean? Of course, I am,” the man responded.

“But… you are barred from entering any city in the continent, are you not?”

…Huh?

Rokkus continued, “The only reason we allow you here is because of how you saved those children and continued to hunt monsters for us, which we are very grateful for, but the other villages and cities do not know of your true nature.”

My head slowly turned back to Ruijerd. “Is… this true?”

He awkwardly looked off to the side. “I will be fine waiting outside, shall it come to that.”

Haa… right.

After seeing how Ruijerd was accepted into this village, I assumed that while he would have some difficulties with the population, it would mostly amount to being avoided and feared.

If anything, I thought of that as an added benefit of having the man adventure with us, as he would scare off any problems that would likely arise with having four human children venturing the continent alone.

We wouldn’t look so vulnerable with a feared Superd with us, after all.

But being barred from the city entirely… well, that might prove to be a bit of an issue.

…Wait.

“Ruijerd… do you hold any pride toward your hair and gemstone?” I asked.

“Hm? No, not particularly,” he shook his head. “The most important source of pride for a Superd warrior is their spear.”

…Ignoring how those words could be taken, I tried to think of a solution.

“Hm? Leon? What’s going on?” Eris asked, her eyes darting around the various weapons in the room with interest.

“…Nothing. I was just thinking about something,” I replied.

The green hair and gemstone are the most defining traits of the Superd, so…

Yeah… that might work.

It could wait for tomorrow, though.

“Thank you for your concern, elder, but I think we’ll manage just fine. Speaking of… is there a place where we can spend the night before departing in the morning?” I asked.

“Ah, of course. Please feel free to use-”

“Wait!” Rowin interrupted him. “Please! Please spend the night at our house!”

“…And why is that?” I asked.

I think I already knew, though.

“Please, tell me how Roxy has been!”

Yep, as I expected.

“…Sure,” I shrugged.

I wanted to get to know Roxy a bit better, too, after all, so it was a win-win.

— Information on the Six-Faced World —

Demon Continent Currency

The currency of the Demon Continent has extremely low value compared to elsewhere in the world, with the value of the coinage all coming from the material rather than any coming from the minting of the coin. The various coins and their equivalent values are listed as such:

Green Ore Coin - Asuran Large Copper Coin

Iron Coin - Asuran Copper Coin

Scrap Iron Coin - One tenth (1/10) of an Iron Coin

Stone Coin - One tenth (1/10) of a Scrap Iron Coin

— Leon Greyrat —

“-and then, when Roxy tried to clean up the mess, she shot a Waterball right through her clothes!” I said with a smile.

“Aah~ That sounds just like her!” Rokari responded, chuckling under her breath. “So… Roxy seems to be having fun, huh?”

There was definitely joy in that smile. 

Joy that her daughter was safe and enjoying her life… but there was also the feeling of despondency in it too.

From hearing how much these two parents loved Roxy, I could only guess it was because they could never bring their daughter such happiness themselves.

“Yeah, she has. She even became a King-ranked water mage,” I said.

And can cast magic without an incantation… but I’d keep that as a surprise for later.

“Hmph. Roxy this, Roxy that… can’t you talk about anything else?”

Oh, and Eris was also a little angry.

I felt a little bad, as since Rokari, Rowin, and I were speaking in the Demon God tongue, Eris was likely feeling very excluded, but since the other two didn’t know the human tongue, so this was the only way to communicate.

A conundrum indeed, especially since the only word she could catch was that of my beloved teacher.

“Hm? Is the little lady feeling upset?” Rokari asked. 

“A little,” I shrugged. “Eris, do you want to join in the conversation? I can translate for you.”

She glared at me for a moment before turning her head. “Hmph!”

…So she was in a mood, huh?

“Hmm… she’s a swordswoman, right? Even though she doesn’t have a sword,” Rowin said.

“Yeah. It got lost in the teleportation, and the swords that I make are quite weak,” I said.

Though… maybe if I focused on making one, like with Rudy and his figurines, I could make a better blade.

“I see.” Rowin then got up before opening a crate in the corner of the room.

Rummaging through it, he then took out what looked to be a sword before coming back to the fire, which we were all sitting around.

“Here. We got this from a blacksmith a while back. Even after years of use, its blade is as sharp as ever. It should serve her well,” he said, handing Eris the sword.

After I translated what Rowin said to her, Eris quickly bowed in thanks.

“No need,” he shook his head. “For a village of hunters, we find ourselves using bows and longswords more than such a thing.” 

The way he waved off Eris’ appreciation reminded me intensely of how Roxy would do it, however, she was always a little more embarrassed.

It felt… nice, to know where Roxy got some of her mannerisms from.

I felt a little closer to her.

“Besides,” Rokari added. “It’s the least we can do considering the wonderful news you brought us. It’s good to know that my dear Roxy has made such a wonderful connection.”

“Mhmm!” I nodded excitedly. “And once I turn fifteen, I hope to enhance that connection even more!”

Rokari blushed as she brought a hand to her mouth. “Oh my.”

Rokari, while apparently being over 100 years old, still looked like a young girl barely past adulthood, and a beautiful one at that.

Suffice it to say, I now know where Roxy got her looks from, and I was excited about the future.

“Anyway,” I said, looking down at my two still-sleeping sisters. “While I have enjoyed this conversation, I think it is about time we head to bed. We have a long trek starting tomorrow, after all.”

“Ah, of course!” Rokari said. “Thank you so much for telling us about our daughter!”

“It was my pleasure,” I smiled back. “I’ll be sure to tell Roxy to visit when I meet her next. Maybe we could all come together.”

“That would be wonderful!” Rokari said.

Rowin, on the other hand, looked a bit more conflicted. “Err… yeah. Thanks, boy.”

I could tell he was feeling a bit weird about my obvious affection for Roxy, but in time, I’m sure he’d come to accept me as a son.

At least, I hope so.

Seeing so many people who looked like Roxy had rekindled my feelings in ways I didn’t know possible. 

A shock to the system, you could say.

But tomorrow, I would have to put these thoughts behind me.

I then looked over to Eris, who was gushing over her new sword with a wide smile.

Yeah… I had to set my priorities straight.

My goal was to return home with these three girls, making sure they were happy and healthy all the while.

And then… assuming someone I held dear wasn’t found… I would start searching for my family so that we could all be reunited once again.

But for now, I would leave that to Paul.

When it came to such a situation as this one, I knew I could count on him. 

He was oddly reliable in that way.

— Leon Greyrat —

“Thank you for your hospitality and the herbs,” I said, bowing to Rokkus, Rowin, and Rokari.

…A lot of ‘Ro’s in their names, huh?

“As I said last night, I’ll be sure to tell Roxy to visit sometime. By then, I hope to grace you with a grandchild of your own.”

“…No.”

A swift rejection from Rowin.

“Fufu, I look forward to it.”

But at least Rokari was accepting.

“Leon!? What’d you just say?” Eris snarled from behind me. “I can’t understand you, but I feel like it was something annoying!”

Just like when we first entered the city, she seemed annoyed about my affections for Roxy, even though I didn’t know why or how.

Despite not knowing the Demon God tongue, she had a weird sense of intuition about these sorts of things.

“It pains me that you trust me so little, Eri,” I said. “But anyway… we really should get going. Ruijerd? Are you ready?”

“Mmm. If all goes well, we should reach Rikarisu in three days,” he nodded.

Right… well, we had enough camping equipment, thanks to my magic and the bedrolls we got from Rowin, so I think we’d be fine.

“Ah! But, before you go,” Rokari then took out a small sack of coins. “Take this. Please.”

“…Are you sure?” I asked hesitantly.

“Yes. I know you can take care of yourselves, but just for getting into the city, this should make things smoother, as you won’t have to barter monster materials for the entrance fee,” she responded, handing me the money.

“I see… thank you very much,” I said with a bow.

“My pleasure!”

I then crouched down in front of Norn and Aisha, who both had a bedroll on their back.

They looked like a pair of campers… very cute.

“Are you two ready?” I patted their heads. “Now that Ruijerd’s here, I can carry you whenever you need to, so don’t push yourselves, okay?”

“Un! Ready!” Aisha saluted.

“M-Mhmm,” Norn nodded.

“Good!” 

Standing back up, I readjusted my bag before looking into the distance. 

“Well… let’s get going then.”

It was about time we finally made some progress on our way back home. 

I was… tentatively excited.

— Leon Greyrat —

Two nights had passed since we had left the Migurd village, and due to Ruijerd’s addition to the group, things had been much, much easier.

As it turned out, having a constant ‘third eye’ was great for keeping ourselves away from monsters, and due to Ruijerd's experience in the area, he knew where the paths and roads were, and where we could take shortcuts, so we were extremely efficient compared to our first week.

I was grateful, for sure, but there was also a childish part of me that was upset at myself for needing help.

I would need to eventually grow out of that.

But Ruijerd wasn’t only a great scout and navigator. 

Befitting his previous position as one of Laplace’s greatest commanders, he was also a wonderful fighter.

As he used a spear, there was nothing for him to teach me in terms of technique, but he was still able to give me some advice in terms of how to approach a battle effectively and efficiently.

How to fight smart, basically, which Ghislaine wasn’t able to teach me for… obvious reasons.

Things like not using fire and water magic against Treants, as we wouldn’t want to damage the firewood we were hunting them for, and using the environment to your advantage in a battle… the sort of lessons you wouldn’t learn in a dojo.

Speaking of battle, Eris also wanted to get some experience in a fight, and considering how we now had an extra helper around, I was open to the idea of her getting some practice in.

Ruijerd, however… was not. 

At least at first.

Apparently, he was adamant about those he deemed as ‘warriors’ to be the only ones fighting battles, and as a result, children being kept safely behind, and apparently, he viewed Eris as a ‘child’, so he didn’t want her to fight.

I was able to win him over by asking how a child transitions into a warrior without any experience, but Eris kicking his shin might have also helped move things along.

Anyway, Eris, as I had known before, was a natural fighter, so she did just fine with most things.

Thus, for the three days of travelling, we had fallen into a comfortable rhythm where Ruijerd would sense a monster in our path, and then either him or me would stay back to watch over Norn and Aisha, while the other would join Eris in killing the thing.

Anyway, now standing in front of a tall rocky cliff, with a line of demons formed in front of the entrance, I let out a sigh of relief. 

“So we’re finally here…”

A city. 

Finally, a fucking city.

This was just a small stop in the grand scheme of things, but it still felt nice to get some progress compared to before, when we were walking around in circles with no direction.

My lips curling into the smile, I then turned to the others who were crouching behind a rock, sharing one last meal before we headed into the city.

But… there was something that needed to be done beforehand.

“Ruijerd, just to be sure, you hold no attachment to your hair and gemstone, right?” I asked.

He shook his head. “No, I have no attachment to my hair, but… I can’t exactly part from my jewel…”

“I wasn’t planning on it,” I said.

Did he think I was going to rip it out?

Don’t be ridiculous.

Ripping off a part of my sleeve, I then place my hand on Ruijerd’s head, causing him to look back at me confused. “…Why?”

“Just trust me. I’ll try not to hurt you, but tell me if I do.”

While I had used wind magic multiple times to cut my hair, I never did it to the point of going bald, so this was going to require a… refined touch.

Narrowing my eyes, I summoned a sharp whirlwind around his scalp, sending a flurry of green hair to fall to the ground.

Looking at my work, I noticed a small trail of blood near his ear.

Whoops, I’d need to heal that up… sorry Ruijerd.

But other than that, most of his hair was gone, save for a few short flecks of green that were here and there.

Hmm… maybe fire magic would be better? 

Or even a hat would cover it up at this point.

But… better to be safe than sorry.

Releasing a flame to singe off the last of it, I then wrapped the cloth that I had around his forehead, covering up the red jewel that was one of the most notable traits of the Superd race.

“Can you still sense the same?” I asked.

He nodded. “Yes. The only way to block my eye is a barrier of sufficient strength.”

Well, that’s good, then.

“And how about you two?” I asked Norn and Aisha.

“Good!” Norn said. “But… bunny got dirty…”

She then looked down sadly at her favourite toy which, for lack of a better word, had seen better days.

“I’ll clean it once we head into the city, alright? Hopefully, we can get some soap to deal with the smell,” I then took a sniff of my shirt before grimacing. “Actually… that goes for all of us.”

After all, while water and wind magic was good enough to clean off the dirt and grime, it didn’t do much in terms of scent, and unless you wanted to destroy it, was pretty bad at cleaning fabric in general.

So, as a result, Norn’s cute brown bunny had become a little… too brown.

Aisha then placed her hands on her hips. “I’m fine too!”

As cheery as ever, huh?

But… why was she glaring at Norn just then?

I… guess siblings are supposed to be annoyed at each other sometimes, especially when they’re so close in age, but our current situation wasn’t exactly one where they could be at each other’s throats.

I’d have to watch them and make sure it didn’t get any worse.

“Good. There’s no time to waste then,” I said, looking back at the now-bald man. “Are you ready, Ruijerd?”

“Yes,” he said, readying his spear. “I shall take the back, and you can take the front.”

No, but… we’re only supposed to be gaining entry into the city, not fighting a battle.

“…Okay.”

I opted to keep those thoughts to myself.

After all, while a great warrior, in terms of being a conversationalist, the man left a lot to be desired.

But no matter, with the social side of things, I intended to keep our interactions to a minimum, and when they were needed, I would be the one leading them.

After all, who else was I supposed to rely on?

Eris?

As if.

Disregarding the fact she couldn’t speak the language, while she had gotten a lot better over the years, she still was a violent young lady at heart, and there was no need for her to start a fight wherever we went.

Making our way over to the entrance of the city, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the line had disappeared. 

Hopefully, that meant the processing was quick and easy.

“Halt,” the guard said indifferently, placing his axe on the ground. “Got any identification on ya? Except for the kids, of course.”

The guard was a demon with a large pig-like face and a long snout, and that wasn’t an insult for being fat or anything, he literally had a pig head.

Even though I knew about such demons, I couldn’t help but feel a little weirded out. 

After all, I had only known the Migurd race, Superd race, and whatever monkey-like race Geese was from, which were all humanoid.

But I was able to quickly get over my surprise.

“Identification?” I asked. “We don’t have anything like that.”

“Hm?” the second guard, this time with the face of a lizard, interjected. “No Adventure card, merchant license… nothing?”

I shook my head. “Unfortunately not. Will that be a problem?”

“No, not really. It just means that you’ll have to pay the fee. Let’s see… one, two, th-”

As the pig-headed guard’s gaze landed on Ruijerd, I watched as his grip tightened on his axe and his eyes widened in fear.

Hm?

Why?

I know Ruijerd was quite the strong-looking and fierce man, even without his Superd traits, but it wasn’t like that was particularly rare.

How strange…

“U-Uhh, anyway,” he gulped. “I-It’ll be five scrap iron coins or something with equivalent value.”

“Sure…”

Rustling through the sac, courtesy of Rowin and Rokari, I then fished out the required amount. “Here you go.”

“Right. Thanks, kid,” he said, taking the coins. “You guys planning on staying for long?”

I shook my head. “No. Likely a week at most, if we’re lucky.”

“I see. Just be careful when you leave. Dead End was spotted nearby,” he said.

‘Dead End’?

The heck was that? Some monster or something?

And so, with my confusion, I decided to ask, “What exactly is ‘Dead End’?”

His eyes widened. “You don’t know?”

“No. That’s why I’m asking.”

“Ha. True. It’s just… you’ve never heard of the terrifying Superd that wanders around these parts? Not even by your parents?”

…What?

My neck creaked as I slowly looked over to Ruijerd. “No… No, I haven’t… But thanks for letting me know.”

Seriously? He even had such an ominous name tied to him? 

‘Dead End’… that sounded like a name meant for a natural disaster rather than a warrior, no matter how powerful they were.

I guess shaving the head was the right call after all.

“Ahem. Anyway, speaking of identification, do you know where the best place to get one would be?” I asked, turning back to the two guards.

“Well, your best bet is the Adventure guild, so just head down the main street and there’ll be a big building. You can’t miss it,” he said, pointing toward the city centre.

“Alright, thank you.”

And with that, we were on our way, with Aisha and Norn thankfully keeping their likely curious thoughts to themselves.

But then again, even if they did ask about the pig head’s head, it wasn’t like he would understand them using the human tongue.

Hmm… I should probably start teaching them some words, right?

We would be in this continent for a year, after all, and kids are pretty good at learning languages.

Walking through the crack in the cliff, we soon came across the sight of the city. 

Buildings of various shapes and sizes spread across the entire crater, with a large castle in the centre that loomed over the entire settlement.

All in all, it was quite an amazing sight.

“Whoa! This is much bigger than Roa!” Eris exclaimed.

Why yes. Yes, it was.

“Yes, but let’s keep our excitement down until we find a place for the night. First, we should head over to the Adventure Guild,” I said, leading us down the steps.

With Aisha skipping jovially next to me, and Norn hesitantly walking behind Ruijerd’s leg, we set forth into one of the three largest settlements in the Demon Continent: Rikarisu City.

— Leon Greyrat —

As soon as we entered the building, the rowdy atmosphere quieted, as the various races all turned their heads to look at us.

Well, that was to be expected. After all, it wasn’t every day that a group like ours entered an Adventure Guild, much less one on the Demon Continent.

“Ha… Haha! The fuck are a bunch of kids doing here? No… halflings maybe?”

My eyes instantly darted toward the horse-faced man, his face set in a cocky smile as he chewed on a piece of weed.

Or perhaps it was hay in this case.

“Don’t swear,” I said calmly, placing my hand on Norn and Aisha’s heads. “There are children around.”

While they couldn’t understand them, I still didn’t want them picking up such nasty words.

They were only three, after all, and very impressionable.

His jaw dropped. “…What? Did this newbie just tell me what to do? Hahaha! Fuck… that’s a good one!”

The entire place erupted into a symphony of laughter, even a few going so far as to bang on their table, making Norn flinch as she hid behind my leg.

The horse-faced man’s eyes then narrowed. “You think you can come in here and order-”

“I warned you.”

I knew that adventurers were a bunch like this, and while I didn’t mind such an atmosphere, that was only tolerable outside the presence of my sisters.

So, just like how Mama and Lina did when I was in their group, I needed to make an impression.

With my hand on my sword, I flicked it outward, letting the wind magic ripple across the blade before shooting toward the man’s face, nicking his ear.

My attack was still nowhere near as fast as Ghislaine, but as the man wasn’t anywhere near the Saint rank, my strike was able to hit true.

The surroundings turned quiet once more as everyone looked over at the horse-man, whose ear now had a small trail of blood trickling down it, before then turning to our group.

In front of such an oppressive atmosphere… well, it was always good to do some sort of introduction. 

“Let’s get along,” I said, sheathing my sword.

“Y-Yeah… sure…”

With that problem quelled, I then led everyone to the receptionist, not missing the way Eris’ eyes shined as she looked over at me.

Dammit. 

I was definitely setting a bad example for her. 

But then again, I didn’t exactly want to be walked all over on…

Ah, well. I’d just let it play out as it happened. 

“Hm? I haven’t seen your faces before,” the receptionist said.

She looked like a normal human, save for the fact that she had three breasts.

I bet Paul and Rudy’s eyes would be all over that.

“We’re looking to register as adventurers,” I said.

Her eyes widened at my words. “All five of you?”

“No… just me, her, and him,” I said, pointing to Eris and Ruijerd.

“I see… well, do you know the rules and regulations of the Adventurers Guild?” she asked.

“I know the basics, but I might need a refresher,” I answered.

She nodded. “Of course, but let’s have you three registered, so I can prepare your cards in the meantime.”

She then pulled out a peculiar device inscribed with various complex magic circles. 

Despite my research into them for Intermediate-rank barrier spells, I had no clue how these worked.

“This will record your name, age, gender, and race which will then be linked to your Adventurer card,” she explained.

…Race?

That… could pose some problems.

“How detailed is it in terms of races? Does it record tribes?” I asked.

She shook her head. “No. The race function only records all the Demon race as demons. It’s mostly implemented for the Millis Continent, if I recall correctly.”

Okay, good.

Thankfully, it seemed that Ruijerd’s identity would not be getting revealed anytime soon.

“I see. Thank you,” I motioned to Eris and Ruijerd. “You two can go first.”

With Ruijerd and Eris stepping forward, I then felt a tug at my sleeve.

“Brother?” Aisha asked. “What are they doing?”

Always the curious one, huh?

“They’re registering to be an adventurer,” I answered.

Her eyes lit up as she opened her mouth.

I quickly shut her down. “And before you ask, no. You can’t become one.”

Her mouth clamped shut with a pout.

“Why not?” she whined.

“Because you two don’t need identification,” at least, according to the guard, “and you two won’t be fighting.”

They could always learn some magic, as I had been planning to start teaching them before the teleportation anyway, but I would kill myself before willingly letting them into the dangers of a battlefield.

“The heck!?”

Hearing Eris’ exclamation, I turned to see the receptionist pressing what I assumed to be an adventurer's card to the now glowing device.

“What’s your job?” the receptionist asked.

Eris only returned a troubled frown.

Right. Demon God tongue.

“She’s a swordswoman,” I spoke for her. “And while we’re at it, that guy right there is a warrior,” I pointed to Ruijerd.

One could only be called a swordsman if they used one of the three main styles, and using anything else would label you a warrior instead, so Ruijerd was obviously one.

Oddly enough, with the North God style, where there existed techniques for axes, daggers, and various other weapons, they were still called swordsmen despite not using a sword.

Quite weird in my opinion.

“Ah, I see. Thank you,” the receptionist said, motioning to the device. “Could you please place your hand on this?”

“Yes. By the way, I’m a swordsman.”

Not wanting to spend any more time than necessary, as I was quite hungry, I followed her request, the complex series of magic circles lighting up as soon as I rested my hand on it.

But, oddly enough, instead of glowing blue like with Ruijerd and Eris, this time, it glowed orange.

“Oh? You’re… already registered?” the receptionist said with interest before her curious expression shifted to shock. “A-An S-rank!?”

…What?

“Sorry, come again?” I asked.

“Y-You… we already have you on our record,” she explained.

“…You can do that?” I asked doubtfully.

I thought the information of an adventurer was only tied to their card.

“Of course, or else the fee for losing a card would never be paid, as someone would just register as a new adventurer,” she said. “Besides, if there was no way to know if someone was already an adventurer, then fake identities would run rampant.”

I see… that made sense.

But… S-rank? Me?

How would that-

Oh.

I… do vaguely remember using a similar instrument at the Adventurers Guild after the Fangs of the Black Wolf took me in, but I thought that it was only to get my name and age. 

Who would have thought that they actually registered me?

“A-Anyway,” the receptionist continued. “Unfortunately, as you seem to not have your card with you, you will have to pay a fee, and your rank will be reset to F. Please do understand. But as you are only being demoted due to losing your card, you will have lower requirements for ranking up.”

Faster rank up speed… that may prove useful, even if we aren’t focusing on becoming adventurers.

“I see… Yeah, that’s fine. What’s the fee?” I asked.

“Three iron coins,” she answered.

Shit. There goes most of the savings that Rowin gave us.

I guess we’ll have to start completing some quests pretty soon.

Paying the fee, I then thought over the future.

We would probably have to do a few easy E-rank and D-rank quests to get to a party level of D, depending on how many we needed to do to rank up.

Once we reached that, we could make some good money while completing C-rank quests on our way south before ranking up, where we would then be able to take on B-rank quests too, and so on. 

Hopefully, this would lead to a swift and efficient path back home, while also keeping our coffers full.

Oh, speaking of party… “Can you register us as a party, please?”

“Hm? Ah, of course. What will the name be?” the receptionist asked.

Hmm…

“Eri?” I asked. “What do you want our party name to be called?”

The girl, who was currently fawning over her card, turned her head toward me.

“Umm… I don’t know. What was Ghislaine’s old party called again?” she said.

“Fangs of the Black Wolf,” I answered.

“Then let’s go with that!” she smiled.

“No… that’s not a good idea,” I said.

“Hm? Why not?”

Because it was a famous party in the Central Continent that was known for being a band of troublemakers?

Plus, if Lina got word of me and Mama disappearing, I had no doubt she would go search for us, even if she had to band up with Paul, and they would likely use the same party name.

“Just… how about Fangs of the Red Wolf?” I proposed. “That’s close enough, right?”

As for the source of the name? 

Well, looking over at Eris’ blazing hair, it just easily came to mind.

“Yeah! I like it!” she nodded happily.

And so, our name was settled.

“We’ll go with ‘Fangs of the Red Wolf’,” I told the receptionist.

“Understood,” she nodded. “You’ll begin with a party rank of F, the same as your individual ranks, and once the party completes the required amount of requests, the party’s rank will rise alongside its members. And please note that if you wish to grow your party, one cannot join if they are more than a rank of difference between the leader’s rank.”

I see- Wait. Then how the hell did I join the Fangs of the Black Wolf as a baby?

Well… Paul did say that reaching the S rank gave you benefits, so maybe they just asked nicely?

“And… done. Here you are. I designated you as the party leader, I assume that is no problem?” she asked.

“Yeah, that’s fine. Thank you.”

Receiving my card, I then looked down to read the information.

Name: Leon Greyrat
Sex: Male
Race: Human
Age: 12
Profession: Swordsman
Rank: F*
Party: Fangs of the Red Wolf (F*) - Leader

And so, with this, I became an adventurer… for the second time, I guess.