Published at 25th of March 2019 9:39 pm

Chapter 105: Thus, the Adventurer Guild was born.

“First of all, I am the true Adventurer Guild master. Or more like, I was the one who founded it. A thousand years ago that is” (Root)

“Eh?!” (Makoto)

“What…” (Tomoe)

Root reveals the founding of the Adventurer Guild with a serious look. Tomoe and I show our surprise in our voice, but Mio seems to not be that interested, she doesn’t show much reaction at all.

“I was taught the concept by an otherworldler just like Makoto-kun you see. Well, I had some plans of my own in it too, but I proposed the idea to the Goddess and became the one in charge. She thought of the guild as a system that would make hyumans stronger, a really simple way of thinking. She didn’t reject the idea” (Root)

Plans of his own. Those are words that interest me. Also, otherworldler. As expected, the heroes and I are not the first victims of that Goddess.

If he says one thousand years ago, does that mean when Japan was in the Heian era? Could it be in the era of Fujiwara Michinaga? N? Something bothers me. What could it be?

“In those days, I thought of the structure of the guild diligently. And the otherworldler that taught me the general concept, well, he was my first husband. I heard a lot of stories from him, and while having fun, we structured the system. Right, if we were to compare my mental state at that time, it would be like the one Tomoe is in currently. Anyways, learning about his concept, studying, and reproducing it, was so fun” (Root)

Yeah, I agree. The case comes from a 3rd party, so I can strangely understand him.

In short, just like how Tomoe was hooked into period drama, Root was hooked into creating the Adventurer Guild. And so his world widened, and in a sense, created a dangerous organization that’s not affected by the influence of the country. When there’s the Goddess and a superior dragon backing it up, the hyumans against it must have been minimal. After all, it’s a Goddess.

“The otherworldler who became my husband, in those days was a swordsman that was sung as a hero in Elysion. And I was his wife and companion. I was also able to get the Goddess’ cooperation, so after creating the system, it permeated in the hyuman society incredibly fast. After that, by changing my appearance, I was able to become the Guild Master successively for several generations” (Root)

The founder, and the current master huh. That’s quite impressive.

“The 1st generation master wasn’t Root’s husband?” (Makoto)

Even though his husband sounds like he should be the one holding the leadership there. He didn’t want to become the master?

“Instead of those things, he was more into women and alcohol. After achieving the name of hero, he didn’t do anything resembling work. Well, being a hero itself has meaning as an idol, so in a society where the warring time passed, it is probably more convenient for him to not be doing anything” (Root)

‘In peaceful times, there’s no need for heroes’ is what he is trying to say, maybe. Certainly, even in the history that I learned in my world, there’s not much written of the heroes after their achievements in war. There should be information if you search for it, but there’s some of those heroes that just pass it leisurely. Probably because heroes, who gather people’s attention, would pose as hindrance for the powers that want to gain influence postwar.

And it seems that Root had a pretty wild sexual drive since olden times. Looks like he doesn’t think much of his husband having relationships with other women. N, maybe in those times they already had polygamy?

I feel like he will be give me an out of tangent answer, so I refrain from questioning. Let’s just hear what he has to say quietly.

“The Adventurer Guild exists in the whole world and it serves as a place to solve people’s problems. And it also provides the card that shows the level of the members and has several other functions, as well as many other benefits. And well, didn’t you find it strange?” (Root)

“Hm?” (Makoto)

“The guild card that surpasses the effectiveness of some magic tools, and the word level. These are concepts that come out from games in your world, aren’t they? Then why is it that you were easily able to accept the existence of such an organization?” (Root)

“That is…” (Makoto)

I certainly thought that this was a game-like world. But I experienced magic before that, and I heard the terminology level and class. I thought that was the preamble of this world. Now that I think about it, I accepted it because of a strange reason.

“’Because it’s a parallel world’, isn’t that what you thought? That’s why you were able to accept things that were totally out of norm, like multistoried wooden constructions. And that’s why you accepted the word Adventurer Guild just by hearing it” (Root)

“… Yeah” (Makoto)

“Well it is true that for some reason, Makoto-kun and the other people that come from parallel worlds are able to accept the existence of an Adventurer Guild pretty easily. Even though in your world, it is obviously an organization that doesn’t exist. I think that’s pretty interesting” (Root)

‘Yup yup’, Root nods several times in an interested manner.

“I just can’t understand it. From what I have heard, it seems that you used the otherworldlers information as a standard to create the guild, but you didn’t show much interest in managing the guild, and it doesn’t seem like you wanted to be an adventurer either. To create an organization like the Adventurer Guild just to kill time, I feel like it is a bit too intricate for that” (Tomoe)

Tomoe cuts in. I see, now that she mentions it, Root didn’t mention that he wanted the guild to be made this way, or that he wanted to become an adventurer. It is natural to think that the scale of things is a bit too far for a time killer.

“No well, it was mostly for fun. A time killer. I’m a monomaniac after all. Thinking about how to make the guild and trying each thing one by one, was truly worthwhile” (Root)

His specs are uselessly high. A monomaniac that did it only to kill time, that’s pretty impressive. I am jealous.

“But, you did say you had your own plans right? What was that-ja?” (Tomoe)

“Your ears are sharp. I feel like Makoto-kun might hate me for it, so I don’t really want to say it though” (Root)

He was probably thinking about something pungent. In the first place, for a person that says he doesn’t want to talk, your face is telling me that you are brimming with motivation to talk about it. He probably wants to see my reaction.

“If you want to talk about it anyways, just say it at once. Also, don’t look at Waka. You will dirty him” (Tomoe)

Tomoe, isn’t Root an ex-colleague of yours? No, a boss-like existence? And you are already treating him like dirt. That’s nice, please continue doing so.

“Yes yes. Well, it isn’t a complicated story. Since a long time ago, the Goddess held the hyumans in favor. However, I valued the world. That’s all there’s to it” (Root)

“Don’t understand. Talk concisely. You have always liked talking in enigmatic ways. There’s no need for that now-ja” (Tomoe)

“… It is an effective way that helps the other party get interested and urges their understanding though. Oh well, got it. Meaning, the Goddess’ favor was so excessive that the hyumans would increase in numbers and grow prouder, and it was easy to predict that this would in time destroy the balance of the world. And that’s why, to restrain this, this was one of the things I did. I said this before but, more than half of the reason was because of my hobby” (Root)

“A restrain for the increase of hyumans? But the guild urges the growth of hyumans right? Isn’t it actually fostering it then?” (Tomoe)

“That’s what’s called ‘looking at the tree but missing the forest’. Listen, you receive a card when you register at the guild. This card shows you your own level and rank, but it is essentially only a numerical value to denote your current situation. When you are indicated with a rank and numerical value, hyumans tend to aim for higher heights. As expected of people that have been based of humans, they are a race with strong greed” (Root)

“…”

Well, sorry for having strong greed.

“If your level increases, you will get stronger. Of course, even without knowing that number, by defeating mamonos and doing war, you will not see the number, but it will certainly show the changes. But just by making it a simple to understand number, their enthusiasm increases. And so I, for the sake of speeding up that enthusiasm, intervened in this world’s system. Well, I only made it so that the power absorption they gain from others is increased though. In words that Makoto-kun would understand better, it is like increasing the experience gain” (Root)

Seeing the numbers will make them more enthusiastic. I think that’s true. I can’t deny it. There are times when people don’t continue to put in work because it is hard to see the improvement and that affects their spirit. But what Root did is like cheering for their growth. So where in that does it show any restrain effect?

“I see, so that’s how it is. What a devious thing to do” (Tomoe)

But it seems that Tomoe understood what Root was trying to say. Is it the difference between humans and dragons, maybe?

“In that case, there would be hyumans that get adhered to their level and rank. Levels show their own strength, and ranks would increase their benefits in the guild after all. And obviously, there would be adventurers that would spread their name by having a high level, and younglings that admire them and register in the guild. There were some that have become knights or kings and have thrived” (Root)

That’s a nice story. Work hard and succeed. I have also thought about increasing my rank aiming to get more functions from the card after all. My level doesn’t show any signs of increasing, and after becoming a merchant, my heat has cooled down a bit though.

“… You are honest huh, Makoto-kun. It makes me feel ashamed of my own shrewdness. You have the face of someone that says: hard work leading to success is a good thing” (Root)

“Is that bad? Isn’t that something anyone would think?” (Makoto)

“Fufu, let’s continue. Having their enthusiasm for achievements overflowing, wishing for promotion, a stage where money is not completely necessary and you just need physical strength and magical power to begin; the amount of adventurers aiming for that dream-like situation increased. Become stronger, famous, richer. If there were no Adventurer Guild, kindly speaking, those kind of people would work as freelancers or become ruffians. Badly speaking, spare troops for rebels. They originally don’t have much capital, so their existence was at the end of the ropes, that’s why they interpreted the guild way too favorably” (Root)

“But by enclosing a portion of the ruffians in the guild as adventurers, the ruffians that persevere in their bad doings won’t be able to act as easily. That means it would be serving as a way to better public order, isn’t it?” (Makoto)

That’s something good. I can’t see the conclusion of this.

“There’s was probably that kind effect as well. There’s nobles in the guild too after all. But what’s important is that the hyumans that only look at the future, automatically thin out” (Root)

Thin out? What does he mean? It sounds pretty dangerous though.

“Excess will destroy one’s body. Ruffians, freelancers, dreaming younglings as well. Aiming for success, they become strong, and somewhere along the way, they miss their footing at a step. Levels, ranks, rewards; there are truly a lot of adventurers that have lost their lives in the requests of the guild. Even after a thousand years, there’s not much of a difference. In those, there were some that had good luck or were uncommonly wise and were able to rise. Those are the successful ones. Their existence works as advertisement and calls more people in. For successful ones to be more than the failures is impossible in current society, so there’s uncountable amount of corpses beneath the successful ones. Nicely speaking, the ruins of dreams” (Root)

“Well, there are people who have excessive spirit and fail, but after some time people learn to balance that out. So is there really an effect like thinning them out? Cause well, the country is currently filled with hyumans, isn’t it?” (Makoto)

“And, the number of adventurers in that equation is extremely low. There are many times when just one mistake leads to death. Taking into account the demons that have held hostility since beginning of times, there are now also demi-humans who are showing opposition. Its proof that the thinning out is showing its effect. After all, no matter how you put it, numbers are power. If there were no Adventurer Guild, the current world would probably be more peaceful. In exchange of everything else disappearing except the hyumans and the subordinated demi-humans though” (Root)

“But to say that everyone goes mad with greed. Even they should know when to pull back” (Makoto)

“The ones that are able to act in that way are the successful ones, Makoto-kun. Even if they are unable to become kings. Using the guild system in an efficient way and obtaining a reasonable income, that is already a good enough success. You are free to believe me or not, but misjudging by a little step is how hyumans are. In fact, there are many people registering as adventurers every day, and yet, the amount of adventurers in itself hasn’t increased that much. If we take into account the time when the Goddess disappeared, it actually decreased. People that keep dreaming about the wasteland, labyrinths and quick cash, die in amusing ways” (Root)

No way. To think that the Adventurer Guild that serves as support for the adventurers is actually a system that fans them in order to thin them out…

“Just, I don’t want you to misunderstand. If everyone was as you said, knowing their own limits and modestly growing for the sake of their future, the guild would have contributed in that, and in a different sense, it might have served as a catalyst for a peaceful world. But in reality it didn’t happen that way, moreover, not only hyumans, but also other races began joining as well. There were several things I didn’t expect. Frankly speaking, the Adventurer Guild is an organization that supports the greed of people, for good or for bad. Fortunately, the problems of the hyuman society don’t disappear and the requests never run out. The people that don’t become adventurers and decide on going for a different path, when they see that there’s danger in the objective they are trying to accomplish, there are times when they buy the result with money. And the Adventurer Guild accepts those requests. It is truly well made right? That they are thinning out just as planned was because the adventurers mistook the way of using the guild” (Root)

It may be a bit different, but maybe it is because power is just power, it depends on the person itself to know how to use it. As a result, for the long time of one thousand years, adventurers were caught in the trap of Root and were drawn in just to burn.

“… I see. Interfering with the system of the world. Using the increase of adventurers as a whole to make a simple and irregular pact with the world huh. In short, the increase of growth begins to work after a while of becoming an adventurer” (Tomoe)

“Tomoe, your head has gotten better. That’s right. I am versed in pacts after all. I tampered with it a bit. By the time they get used to it, their growth will probably accelerate as well. It also makes it easier for them to die, so that makes it even more amusing” (Root)

“In short, increasing levels makes your base power rise right? Ability and experience, as well as talent, are not values that are taken into account in levels, is what you are trying to say. Tch, it feels vexing that I am losing to Mio, but if that’s the truth of it, there’s no real need to go through the trouble of raising it huh” (Tomoe)

“Well, that’s how it is. It varies depending on the race as well, so it doesn’t mean you can’t beat them. It is only like a reward for the strong ones by the world after all. No matter if you are a saint or a villain, as long you are able to kill someone of your same capacity, you will be able to obtain strength equal to that. It is like the complete opposite of the Goddess’ blessing, so it is better to not believe in it blindly. There’s no merit in despairing with the words talent and instinct, so I introduced the levels and even brought in the job system, as well as the function limit of the card depending on rank. I really worked hard you know. Well, right now there’s no one that has reached the highest level though. And so they are still dancing in my palms. By the way, the peak level is 65,535. My husband made a fervent speech about it being a man’s romance or something like that, so I decided to put it that way” (Root)

Leaving aside if I actually believe everything, I have understood most of what Root is trying to do and say. Right now Tomoe seems to be using special terminologies and words of unknown meaning as she does arguments with him, but regarding that, I practically don’t understand anything.

If you are an adventurer that has self-control, that place will support you normally.

If you go there filled with greed, as long as you don’t have incredible luck or talent, it will be a trip straight to your grave.

Or so it seems. Now that I think about it, the wasteland was exactly that kind of place. Just by arriving there, you are without a doubt the latter type of people though.

But well, now that he points that out, it is truly that way. This world gives the feeling that the Adventurer Guild already fits in, and in truth, it has continued existing for a thousand years. It is older than some countries. I don’t think there are mediation offices or enterprises that exist in Japan since the Heian Era, so I can imagine just how powerful is the Adventurer Guild. A multistory building in a wooden construction huh. It really is strange.

For example, the Merchant Guild’s information relay is being improved daily, but it doesn’t reach the level of the Adventurer Guild at all. I remember I read about a merchant that saw the Adventurer Guild and thought of making a cooperating organization and that’s how the Merchant Guild was created. It certainly does feel that the Merchant Guild which has been influenced by the country, towns and powers, actually “feels like” it’s an organization created by hyumans.

The Adventurer’s Guild abnormal speed in information relay is enough to make me doubt if there actually existed mailing system in this world. If it weren’t for the fact that the wasteland’s Adventurer Guild is a sub-branch, the existence of Tomoe and Mio could have spread through the world in a matter of days. In Tsige, Rembrandt-san helped by moving some strings in the shadow. His wife and daughters were in a precarious situation at that time, and yet he did all that. I really can’t find words to express my gratitude. After that, even the Adventurer Guild saw the achievements of Tomoe and Mio who accomplished the requests of the wasteland with no problems, and how important those two were, so they have helped in order for the information to not leak to the outside. Well, the dragon in front of us probably knows clearly about Tomoe and Mio as well as my level though. Seriously, he talks nonchalantly about information of my world. Just how many otherworldlers has he met?

… N?

AAAAhhhh!!

This is it!! This is what has been bothering!!

“Root!” (Makoto)

“N, what is it Makoto-kun? Feel like making a pact with me? I’m so happy” (Root)

“Wrong! About your first husband! You said it was a thousand years ago right?” (Makoto)

“Yeah, I did say so. And what about it?” (Root)

“Why did a human from so long ago know about Adventurer Guilds?! Not only games, there weren’t even stories written with such settings!” (Makoto)

I was even thinking about Heian Era and Fujiwara Michinaga, and yet, why is it that I wasn’t able to notice that point?!

“Fumu, so you were bothered by that huh. It is fine to explain to you, but thinking about it in an Urashima Tarou-like way would be easier” (Root)

“Like what? It is a pretty important matter for me, so please give me the details!” (Makoto)

“Root, Waka is asking you. If it is fine to explain, then do so from the beginning” (Tomoe)

Maybe, just maybe, one of the probabilities that I have been thinking of will disappear. This is a critical moment. Telling me to think in an Urashima-like way and be happy with such an explanation, there’s no way I can accept it!

“Okay. If you go so far as to say that… Tomoe, you also asked me, so please bring out something like a blackboard. You know right, a blackboard” (Root)

“Don’t take me for a fool. The point is you need something like a board for explaining and writing tools right? Wait for a bit” (Tomoe)

“Counting on you. Doesn’t matter who, at least one of you please listen to me till the end okay? If both of you drop out, I will attack Makoto-kun (in a sexual meaning) got it? It’s a promise okay?” (Root)

What a scary thing to say. But to belittle those two… In our side we have the instinct type genius Mio-san…

She fricking went to sleep. No wonder she didn’t say anything. Looking at Mio pleasantly sleeping, I sigh.

One person has already dropped out huh.

This is the worst. There shouldn’t be a problem with Tomoe who was talking complicated stuff. Shiki might also come back anytime soon.

While waiting for Tomoe, Root praised the tea and fruits as we exchanged idle talk. I waited for what he has to say about the time inconsistency.

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