Sleep.
The girl’s inferiority complex seems to have improved somewhat.
At the very least, she appears much more confident and cheerful, largely due to the promise Eleanor made last night.
On the way to the town’s Adventurer’s Guild, Yvette took the initiative to hold Eleanor’s hand.
Feeling the soft warmth in her palm, the girl’s mood soared like never before.
In fact, she could have directly linked arms with her, and the kind and lovely Teacher Eleanor surely wouldn’t have refused.
19 ~ ~ ~
There’s no need for that.
Holding hands was already enough—after all, Eleanor had said she would never leave her.
Compared to linking arms, she preferred hugging the warm Eleanor.
Girls being close like this was just so natural and justified.
Λ
Inside the Adventurer’s Guild hall, the receptionist Nicole wore a sulky expression on her pretty face.
“There haven’t been many adventurers exploring the Forest of Fate lately,” she murmured to herself.
Perhaps it was because the neighboring Hero’s Town, Elseran, was about to hold its 249th Swordsmanship Tournament, and all the capable adventurers had gone there to train and prepare.
This left her with only weak adventurers who bullied the second-tier Dawn Boars and Hopping Bears around here.
She was almost sick of collecting their materials—her warehouse was overflowing with pig hides and bear claws.
She forgot the beginning, forgot the middle, and forgot the end.
In short—!
When would some strong and capable adventurers come to boost her performance?
She wanted a promotion; she’d long wanted to transfer to Elseran.
Rumor had it that the previous receptionist at this guild had been transferred to Hero’s Town due to outstanding performance.
She wanted to go there too—her idol, Vice-President Judith, worked in Elseran.
As one of the only six eighth-tier swordmasters in the Solenston Kingdom, Judith was not only powerful but also beautiful, and crucially, she came from a commoner background, making her an idol for the kingdom’s commoners.
How she wished to work under her, maybe even see her every day.
“Kurusi~~~”
Nicole sighed inwardly.
With just her Level 3 personal strength, she might not even be able to hold this small town’s receptionist position securely.
But, well, she had a special ability—
She was proficient in fifth- and sixth-grade elementary school knowledge!
Yes, at the age of 18, she was already a peak elementary scholar, half a step into junior high, mastering addition and subtraction, and even having unique insights into multi-digit multiplication and division.
In a world that worshipped martial prowess, few people like her were willing to sit down and study academic subjects.
That’s how she, with only third-tier strength, managed to become the receptionist at this town’s Adventurer’s Guild.
Nicole was quite proud of this.
But it wasn’t much use—her knack for calculations couldn’t save her dismal performance.
“Send me some strong and capable adventurers to boost my numbers; I don’t want weaklings!”
Exhausted, Nicole slumped her face onto the reception counter.
Then,
she saw a small figure in a tiger-skin coat and another finely dressed small figure walk into the Adventurer’s Guild.
Nobles?
Nicole quickly hid her sulky expression.
The pattern on that tiger-skin coat looked a bit unusual.
A saber-toothed tiger? It seemed like they had some strength—or maybe it was a gift from the noble-looking small figure beside her.
Not a bad gift either; at least they seemed wealthy.
Maybe she could convince them to buy some pig hides.
Though this deal likely wouldn’t do much to alleviate the guild’s recent performance slump, a mosquito’s leg is still meat—every bit counts.
With headquarters soon sending someone to check performance, she didn’t want to be fired for being dead last, let alone get promoted.
So, she adjusted her mood and put on her signature smile.
“Greetings, adventurers! I’m Nicole, the receptionist. How can I assist you?”
“Do you accept monster materials here?”
Eleanor asked.
Accept them?
Of course, especially if they’re high-tier materials.
“Absolutely, it’s one of our guild’s duties. What kind of monster materials can you provide?”
“Tiger hide, tiger claws, tiger heart, tiger… uh, tiger tail.”
Like reciting a menu, Yvette slowly poured the items out of her storage bag.
Nicole’s eyes lit up instantly.
Now we’re talking!
With most mid-tier adventurers rushing to Elseran, the number of people in this town capable of killing fourth-tier monsters could be counted on one hand.
Plus, Mid-Tiger materials were quite practical, and those capable of hunting them rarely sold them to the guild.
“Your tiger hide and claws look relatively intact with no major damage. How about 20 silver coins for the hide and 30 silver coins for a pair of claws?”
“What do you think?”
Nicole asked, her eyes gleaming with sincerity.
The standard price was about 15 silver coins for a hide and 25 for claws, with slight adjustments based on damage.
But this batch was of high quality—no obvious scars on the hide, and the claws showed minimal wear.
Not only were they more aesthetically pleasing, but equipment forged from them would perform better too.
Strong and capable, strong and capable—her performance was practically walking through the door!
Her recent numbers had been blank, but the Mid-Tiger materials this girl brought perfectly filled the gap.
If she couldn’t secure this batch, she risked being fired for having the worst performance.
So, Nicole didn’t hold back, offering the highest price she could.
“The tiger hide and claws together for 3 kingdom gold coins.”
“Deal,” Eleanor nodded.
Though Eleanor wasn’t sure about market prices, Nicole’s determined gaze suggested she was set on securing the materials.
Probably no loss—maybe even a small profit.
Eleanor thought quietly.
“What about the other materials?”
“For the rest, I won’t haggle. I’ll give you the highest price—2 kingdom gold coins for the lot.”
The quality was good; they might make a small profit, but she definitely wouldn’t lose out.
Performance—it all came down to performance.
When headquarters sent someone to inspect, she couldn’t just show them a warehouse full of pig hides.
She’d lose face.
Well, after securing this batch, she could quietly slip the inspector a couple of fine tiger whips to put in a good word, and her promotion path would widen.
Strong and capable, strong and capable.
Eleanor nodded, agreeing to the deal, and took the 5 gold coins Nicole handed over.
“One more thing.”
“Please, go ahead.”
“Register us as adventurers.”
“Huh? You two haven’t registered as adventurers yet?”
“Nope.”
Maintaining a cool and composed demeanor, Eleanor nodded.
Staying mysterious was the best approach—let the other party fill in the blanks.
“Then follow me. We have a basic attribute detector here. First-time registered adventurers can receive up to a D-rank license.”
“To get a higher rank, you’ll need to complete a certain number of guild tasks.”
“For example, to advance from a D-rank to a C-rank license, you need to complete ten D-rank tasks or one C-rank task independently…”
Nicole patiently explained the promotion details while subtly observing the two girls’ expressions.
Eleanor’s face remained calm.
“Alright, let’s test first.”
“This way, please, ladies.”