Sofia-san checks the quest board.
“Ah, seems like there’s nothing.” (Sofia)
The quest board isn’t completely empty of requests, but they are most likely seasonal or currently unavailable.
At least, there are no quests that can be done right now.
“Hmm, this is troublesome. We’ve kept them waiting for quite a while already.” (Sofia)
“Sofia-san, may I ask about the conversation earlier? What does Lilliana mean by ‘kept them waiting’? Was there perhaps a quest issued by the country?” (Wilhelm)
My guess was that they had received a request from the country and were handling it, but the difficulty of the request was high so Anya and Sofia-san were stuck.
“No, it’s something else.” (Sofia)
The always lively and cheerful Sofia-san showed an unexpectedly dark expression.
It seems like the situation is even more serious than I imagined. My heart naturally tenses up.
“You see, this is something all guilds have to go through. While we are allowed to freely recruit members and fight with weapons by the country, in return, we have to pay a fixed amount of annual operational fees to the country.” (Sofia)
“Operational fees… That sounds pretty normal. I’m pretty sure this extends to businesses as well. It can’t be helped. Is the payment for that overdue?” (Wilhelm)
“Yeah.” (Sofia)
“In that case, let’s quickly work and pay it off. How much is missing?” (Wilhelm)
If it’s the outstanding me, can’t I earn it in a day? I don’t know, though.
“We have to pay the country 1 million gold annually, and we still owe 950,000 gold.” (Sofia)
Yeh, definitely not just a day’s worth of work.
Or rather, the costs are quite high. Do guild operational fees usually cost this much?
“950,000… That’ll take a while.” (Wilhelm)
Even if the guild’s quests yield 500 gold or at most 1,000 gold upon completion, it won’t be easy to reach 1 million unless there are many big jobs.
Considering that we still need to leave aside some for living expenses, earning 1 million gold is going to take a while
Come to think of it, my father warned me not to crush [Grand Bahamut]. Was this what he meant?
I can’t afford to leisurely stay holed up in my room now. I can’t even complain about muscle soreness or pitiful things like that.
Anya mentioned it. Her dream is to make [Grand Bahamut] the best in the country. And now, that dream is about to be crushed.
I don’t want to witness the moment when such a good girl’s dream gets shattered.
Perhaps, if the payment is further delayed, they might use it as a reason to force us to be evicted. If that happens, even the memories of Anya and her father will disappear.
I don’t want that… Because Anya is a good girl. I don’t want to see her in pain. There’s gratitude for the meals, and there’s gratitude for letting me stay.
If someone takes care of you, it’s proper to repay the favor, right?
Even though I’m a shut-in, I want to live as responsibly as possible.
“Sofia-san, do you know the final deadline for Liliana waiting?” (Wilhelm)
“Two weeks from now. That’s truly the last deadline.” (Sofia)
It’s more time than I thought. Maybe there’s something I can do.
“Sofia-san, do you have any ideas for a breakthrough in the current situation?” (Wilhelm)
“There is something, but…” (Sofia)
She seems reluctant to say it. With a wry smile, Sofia-san had a troubled expression.
◇
I walked through the town with Sofia-san.
It feels strange for a shut-in like me to be walking through the town with women like her. It wouldn’t be like this if Sofia-san wasn’t a kind person.
Sofia-san, I’m sorry if people thought that you have a shut-in as your boyfriend.
Let’s walk a bit further apart. It’s better for Sofia-san that way.
“Huh? You can walk closer, you know?” (Sofia)
She noticed it immediately. She sure is unfazed by all this… maybe it’s the confidence that comes with her being older. We ended up walking at a distance where our hands might or might not touch.
I’m really sorry that I’m such an uncool person with overgrown hair.
Soon, we reached the central street of the town.
If you keep walking from here, you’ll eventually reach the royal castle, and if you walk in the opposite direction, you’ll arrive at the city’s main gate.
It’s an important street, so naturally, there are a lot of people. It’s incredibly lively.
There are many popular shops along this street, making it an enjoyable path to walk… that is if you’re not a shut-in.
Ugh… Even though the sun is already too dazzling for me, just being in its rays drains my energy. Walking while avoiding people makes it even more tiring.
Not to mention, the bustling atmosphere is exhausting too. It’s not just physical fatigue but mental fatigue as well.
I’m already exhausted. I just want to be a shut-in.
“Why do you look all shriveled up like a dried squid in the sun?” (Sofia)
“I’m not used to being around so many people…” (Wilhelm)
Sofia-san laughed at me.
Sorry for looking uncool. Shut-ins tend to have weak constitutions.
On the bright side, we’ve arrived at our destination relatively quickly.
“Wil-kun, good job. We’re here. This is it.” (Sofia)
“Is this supposed to be our saviour? But this place…” (Wilhelm)
It’s a massive guild located on the main street of the town.
Compared to [Grand Bahamut], it’s easily thirty times bigger. I imagine the number of members is on a completely different scale.
“Yeah. This is the top guild in town. The guild’s name is ‘Cosmic Falcon’.” (Sofia)
Sofia-san and I enter the guild together.
There are many clients and guild members around us, creating a lively atmosphere.
There were even several guild boards lined up, filled to the brim with quests.
Interestingly, there are many potted plants and numerous magazines. There’s even a bar, suggesting they serve alcohol at night.
“Wow… As expected of the best guild around here.” (Wilhelm)
“Someday, [Grand Bahamut] would be like this too.” (Sofia)
“Yeah, that would be nice. So, why are we here? Or rather, are we allowed to be here?” (Wilhelm)
If we’re affiliated with a different guild, the members here might pick unnecessary fights with us.
If push comes to shove, I’m confident I can take on anyone. But I don’t want to cause any unnecessary trouble. Otherwise, it might tarnish the image of [Grand Bahamut].
Sofia-san walked towards the quest board, and I followed.
Each board is huge. Moreover, there are quests posted everywhere you look.
Several sturdy men are carefully examining requests. We avoid that area and come to a board in a less crowded spot.
“Hey, Wil-kun. Do you know that guilds have a certain agreement with each other?” (Sofia)
Sofia-san picked up a quest from the board.
It’s a quest to subdue a magical beast. The target is a somewhat unusual magical beast and the client seems to want materials from its claws. It’s easy to defeat it, but the challenging part is peeling off the claws and bringing them back. And it’s troublesome that a certain quota must be met.
“This quest is already about to hit the deadline, huh? Maybe no one was able to handle it so far. But if that happens, the client will be in trouble. To prevent such situations, guilds collaborate and help each other with these quests. That’s the agreement.” (Sofia)
“So, does that mean we, who belong to a different guild, can take quests from ‘Cosmic Falcon’?” (Wilhelm)
“Exactly. Since the big guilds have plenty of work, members from smaller guilds often come to larger ones to take on jobs. They take a 20% commission, but well, it’s something we have to live with.” (Sofia)
I see. This is pretty useful for those who wanted to join a big guild but failed the examination. Members from smaller guilds can still end up making a living by picking up the leftovers from the big guilds.
“Well, our guild hasn’t had any notable achievements lately, so requesters would rather post their quests at bigger guilds like here.” (Sofia)
Although requests rarely reach our guild, there is an abundance of them here.
It’s clear how much the people around here trust this guild at a glance.
“But with this many quests available, you could make a lot of money. I’ll do it. With my talent, I’m sure I can earn a fortune.” (Wilhelm)
It was at this moment that someone came up to us.
It’s a girl who seems entirely out of place.
She looks about the same age as Anya.
This girl, despite her cute appearance, seems to be looking down on us. Her gaze is incredibly condescending1.
“Oh-hohoho!” (Weird girl)
I thought that the only people who laughed like that were selfish noblewomen. Isn’t it too early for you? Also, aren’t you from the common folk?
“I believe I recognize that back. Could it be a member of the small guild, oh, pardon me, the neighborhood guild [Grand Bahamut]? Sofia-san, have you finally decided to transfer to my guild?” (Weird girl)
My guild? Does that mean this girl is the master of this guild? Wow, both Anya and her are working at such a young age, impressive. It’s quite different from me, the shut-in. I feel a bit inferior.
“Good afternoon, Clara-chan. I’m not transferring. I just came to take on some quests.” (Sofia)
“Well, well. Thank you very much for always favoring our guild.” (Clara)
Sofia-san looks annoyed. It’s probably because of that smirk from the girl named Clara.
“Don’t you think the extra fees for this is a waste?” (Clara)
“It’s part of the agreement, so there’s no helping it.” (Sofia)
“Can you stop this silly guild play with only two members? It’s pathetic to watch. You could earn more if you came to my guild.” (Clara)
“No, thank you. I love [Grand Bahamut] and Anya-chan.” (Sofia)
“Oh? What about me?” (Clara)
“You’re just normal.” (Sofia)
“Grrr…” (Clara)
Clara noticed my presence and makes a super skeptical face.
“Don’t tell me you’re Sofia-san’s boyfriend…? Someone as dull as this? Uwa…” (Clara)
“Don’t ‘uwa’ me. I’m not her boyfriend. I’m Wilhelm Wondersky, a member of [Grand Bahamut]. Also, adding to what you said earlier, [Grand Bahamut] isn’t just two members. It’s three members and one creature. Keep that in mind.” (Wilhelm)
“One creature?” (Clara)
“We have a hardworking magical beast named Sodane mew.” (Wilhelm)
“Pfffffft HAHAHAHA!” (Clara)
Clara turned around, laughing loudly.
“Everyone, did you hear? The smallest guild in town, [Grand Bahamut], even counts their pets as members!” (Clara)
That was apparently hilarious, and everyone burst into laughter.
‘Gya-hahaha’—What a vulgar way of laughing. It seems like I won’t be getting along well with these people.
“Well, please take your time choosing a quest. May you not cry too much over the fees. Well then, have a good day. Oh-hohoho!” (Clara)
She went somewhere else after just making fun of us.
Sofia-san has an irritated expression.
“Do you know her?” (Wilhelm)
“She’s the guild master here and a neighbor of mine. She used to be a bit cuter back in the day.” (Sofia)
It seems that she has turned into one of those condescending young ladies now. How pitiful.
………
Sofia-san and I start to choose our quests.
Quests available include running errands to the neighboring town, capturing training monsters, gathering herbs, and procuring ingredients—a variety of quests to choose from.
However, I realized that I couldn’t leave it all to Sofia-san.
Quests have ranks from A to F, with A being the most challenging. But Sofia-san is mainly checking quests around the D rank. Even though the rewards are high for D rank quests, they are around 3000 gold.
With that, we won’t be able to cover the guild’s operational fees in two weeks.
I need to be involved in the quests. With how amazing I am, I should be able to earn a considerable amount of money.
I noticed a quest that’s been pushed to the side. Maybe this is a good one.
The difficulty level is the highest rank, A.
It’s a quest to subjugate a dangerous monster called a Kraken, an extremely large creature. The reward is 100,000 gold after deducting the commission fee. I should definitely choose this.
“Wil-kun, that’s not a good idea. It’s a request from the town, right? It has the highest reward but is also the most challenging. It’s been neglected for three months already.” (Sofia)
“If that’s the case, all the more reason to take it. That way, ypeople won’t laugh at your weak guild anymore.” (Random man)
Ugh, I don’t like this. A guy around 20 years old just put his arm around my shoulder.
He must be a guild member here. I don’t like his casual attitude.
“Oioi nii-chan, you’re not seriously saying you want to defeat the Kraken, right? That’s a tough joke, man. Can a thin guy like you really defeat the Kraken? You’re trying too hard just because you’re in front of a girl with big boobs. I won’t say anything bad. Just drop it and choose another one. If you die, there’s no turning back, you know?” (Random man)
What’s with this guy? Quite considerate, huh?
“No, this is fine. I can easily defeat the Kraken.” (Wilhelm)
However, it seems like my words were heard by the people nearby.
“Gya—hahaha! Oh, miss, miss! Listen to this. This guy here seems to be planning to go and defeat the Kraken. Can you believe it? Shouldn’t we stop him?” (Nearby mob)
Waahaha!—Laughter echoes loudly. It sure is an unpleasant place here.
“Ohoho! How amusing. The dull-looking Wilhelm-sama going after the Kraken? What a funny joke. By all means, please go ahead and try. It’s fine with me. You’ll probably come back crying soon. Oh, I’m looking forward to that crying face.” (Sofia)
Wahahahahaha!—Another round of laughter fills the air.
The kind man pats me on the back. “Don’t push yourself just because they’re teasing you,” he says. What’s with all the kindness again?
“Ugh…” (Sofia)
Sofia-san, her face bright red, looked extremely frustrated. And it seemed like she might cry a little.
It’s okay. I’m capable, so I can definitely defeat the Kraken, you know?
“Treating a small guild like this is nothing new.” (Sofia)
Sofia-san seemed to be suppressing her frustration.
“The larger guilds have much higher quest completion rates and speed. In reality, I can only take up to D-rank quests, and Anya-chan can only handle even easier ones. The current [Grand Bahamut] is at that level.” (Sofia)
Judging from how she said it, looks like things were different in the past. When Anya’s dad was around, there were probably many skilled and good-natured guild members. That’s why the people in the city trusted [Grand Bahamut] and put up quests.
However, ever since Anya’s dad passed away due to an epidemic, members have been disappearing rapidly, it seems.
“If you think about it, Sofia-san, wouldn’t it be more normal for you to transfer to a larger guild, move to a different city, or perhaps immerse yourself in a different line of work?” (Wilhelm)
“I never even thought about it. Because Anya-chan is too cute. She’s so adorable that I want to hug her and sleep with her every day.” (Sofia)
That’s understandable. Anya is indeed cute. She’s so cute that you’d want to hug her.
“Well, in that case, let’s do our best for Anya. Anya said she wants [Grand Bahamut] to be the best guild in the country.” (Wilhelm)
“Yeah, I know. It’s an absurdly big dream, though.” (Sofia)
“The first step to making that seemingly impossible dream a reality is this quest.” (Wilhelm)
I showed her my quest book. It contained the details of the A-rank quest I took, “Defeat the Kraken”.
“Can you handle it, Wil-kun? I mean, Demon Lord the Second.” (Sofia)
“Did you know about those nicknames, Sofia-san?” (Wilhelm)
“I just overheard Lilianna-san and Wil-kun’s conversation outside. Come to think of it, I remembered that the young master (Bocchan)2 from the Wondersky family caused a commotion in the world.” (Sofia)
“…Well, it was even featured in the newspaper.” (Wilhelm)
—The Demon Lord, who was supposed to have perished over a hundred years ago, is resurrected! Will they lead the world to destruction once again?
It seems like quite the article. Of course, the Demon Lord they were talking about is me. After all, I managed to master the Demon Lord’s ultimate magic, which no one else in the world should be able to use.
But thanks to that, my life became a mess. Even now, with the suspicions cleared, they haven’t made any effort to convey my innocence to the public. It’s absurd to think that someone as excellent and good-natured as me could become a Demon Lord.
Haa… I let out a large sigh, realizing how much my life has been turned upside down. I didn’t mean to vent my frustration to Sofia-san, but perhaps I unintentionally made her uneasy by being down.
For a while after that, we walked in silence while leaving the city, and headed towards the sea.
It’s quite a distance, so we picked up the pace a bit.
After some time, we entered a forest and continued walking for a while. Then, Sofia-san spoke to me.
“How about we talk about the past for a bit?” (Sofia)
“Once upon a time, there was an old man and an old woman?” (Wilhelm)
“Not that kind of story. Once upon a time, there was a cute little girl.” (Sofia)
“Talking about Sofia-san, right?” (Wilhelm)
Apparently not. It was about Anya, she said.
“That girl, you know, even though she hasn’t been taught how to fight yet, there was a time when she decided to venture outside the city on her own just because she wanted to help with the chores at her house.” (Sofia)
Did that cute and earnest Anya really do something so reckless?
Well, maybe it’s precisely because she’s earnest that she ended up devoting herself so much to helping with the household chores.
“Of course, she ended up getting attacked by monsters.” (Sofia)
“Don’t tell me… tentacles?” (Wilhelm)
“There are no age restrictions on this story.” (Sofia)
“How long was this ago?” (Wilhelm)
“It’s about the age when Anya-chan’s breasts haven’t grown. Well, they still haven’t grown even now.” (Sofia)
“Sofia-san, how big were your breasts when you were at Anya’s age?” (Wilhelm)
“When I tried to lift them up from below, my breasts were so big that they fell out of my palm.” (Sofia)‘
What kind of monster were you?
If possible I want to become friends with her at that time. Maybe she would let me lift it up too.
“By the way, the creature that attacked her was a cockatrice, a magical beast.” (Sofia)
“Oh, the one with the chicken head, quite a formidable magical beast. It’s rare for it to come near the town.” (Wilhelm)
It’s a poisonous and quite dangerous magical beast. If there’s a quest to defeat it, it wouldn’t be surprising if it’s ranked as C or even B.
“That girl went out of town, entered the forest, and said she climbed the mountain all the way to try to escape.” (Sofia)
“Wow, she’s such an energetic girl. She seems to be a proper member of the guild despite her appearance.” (Wilhelm)
“Yeah, and at that moment, when Anya-chan was prepared to become the cockatrice’s prey, someone appeared swiftly and rescued her.” (Sofia)
“Heh, it was me, wasn’t it.” (Wilhelm)
Just saying it casually.
“Yeah, it was an onii-san named Wilhelm.” (Sofia)
“Eh, really? Did I guess right?” (Wilhelm)
“What? You don’t even remember when you said it? Well, you got it right. Anya-chan came back to town dragging the big body of the cockatrice, saying, ‘There’s an onii-chan named Wilhelm who’s like a dashing prince.’ At that time, she had such a maiden-like expression.” (Sofia)
Did she bring the cockatrice down from the mountain? That’s quite impressive. It’s bigger than an adult. She’s a strong girl.
“I managed to sell the materials for a pretty good price. Also, the meat was delicious.” (Sofia)
You ate it, huh.
“The conversation got a bit off track, but ever since that time, Anya-chan’s has always admired the cool prince-like Wilhelm onii-chan.” (Sofia)
It’s good that I did something nice back then. Nice job, past me.
“Did Anya-chan ever talk to you about marriage?” (Sofia)
“Ah, she mentioned me becoming her husband or something? My father brought it up too.” (Wilhelm)
“Anya-chan is serious about it. She happily said that she wants Wilhelm onii-chan to become her husband and together they’ll grow [Grand Bahamut] together. She knew that Wil-kun became a shut-in, but she seriously asked your father to accept you as her husband, saying it’s fate, and that you’re her prince.” (Sofia)
I can imagine my father being thrilled after hearing Anya’s request and happily accepting it. He definitely saw it as a chance to kick me out of my paradise.
“Getting married will make it harder to become a shut-in, huh?” (Wilhelm)
“By the way, as Sofia onee-chan, I don’t approve of marriage. If Anya-chan wants to become someone’s bride, it’s fine with me, but it has to be the right person. If she becomes the bride of the eldest son of a major aristocrat, her future would be secure. Even I understand that much. But still…!” (Sofia)
Don’t worry, I understand. Being a shut-in husband is generally not good.
“If you want me to acknowledge you as Anya-chan’s husband, then work like a horse for [Grand Bahamut], earn a ton of money, and throw me a share of it as well. Right, ‘Hero with Magic Eye’?” (Sofia)
“…But I’d rather stay as a shut-in.” (Wilhelm)
“At the very least, don’t stay as a shut-in at Anya-chan’s place. If you do, I’d work like a horse and until you die.” (Sofia)
“That’s harsh.” (Wilhelm)
Sofia laughed.
Her breasts jiggled with the laughter. It would be nice if Anya grew up to be as big as Sofia someday. It would enhance Anya’s maternal charm.
Illustration of Clara, aka the oh-hohoho girl
TL Notes:
Thanks for reading!
Of course, we need the obligatory ‘oh-hohoho’ rich young lady. Can’t wait to see her reaction once they come back with a dead kraken.
Ouhh I didn’t expect them to talk about the marriage stuff here. I always thought it was weird that the MC made no comment about the marriage part.
I kinda scuff the translation towards the end. I think there was a joke somewhere, but I couldn’t understand it.
OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO