The employee immediately led me to the outskirts, and I visited the house. The house isn’t as big as an inn though it was quite bigger than a house in the city. It even has a courtyard. The house was also more or less furnished, my desired huge bath was also there.
“As you can see, the furniture is extremely beautiful and the house is quite filled with them. Though I regret to say that the house is quite a ways away from downtown Kret...”
There was indeed a decent amount of inconveniences though I didn’t care much for them. As you know, I lived in the mountains training my sword for 3 years. In my eyes, these weren’t inconveniences.
“It’s a nice house. Can I buy it?”
“Ye… Yes of course!”
The realtor immediately bowed his head the moment I expressed my intention to buy the house. According to what I’ve heard, the price was cheaper than market value but due to the house being large the price was still fairly expensive, so there weren’t many buyers interested in it. The house was priced at 10 million beruks. That’s a thousand gold coins. It certainly is a large sum of money, however that’s the minimum a quest offered for a Special rank adventurer. …The Black Dragon slaying quest was 10 billion beruks. Anyway, after finalizing the contract I returned back to the house I just bought and sat down on my bed. The bed was also provided but the doormat and bed sheets were newly bought. The bed was extremely comfy and seemed easy to sleep in.
“...I’m finally a rank 10 adventurer.”
I stared at my adventurer license that I received earlier today. …I was forced to become an adventurer by my master in the past. The me at the time felt indifferent and emotionless towards everything, I didn’t even know why I was alive. My master made me take the path of becoming an adventurer in order to give me a purpose. As expected from my Special rank master, they were able to get an exception to let me start from rank 7. Speaking of rank 7, it’s the starting point for the intermediate level of adventurers. To go into more depth, rank 10 to 8 are the lower ranks, rank 7 to 5 are the intermediate ranks, everything above that is considered the high ranks. rank 0 is considered to be a Special rank. Naturally, the other adventurers didn’t find it very amusing, being that I'm a beginner that doesn’t know anything. Yet I immediately registered as a rank 7 adventurer out of nowhere. The me in the past didn’t sense their irritation towards the situation but my master made me accept many quests in order to shut them up. In which I uninterestedly completed. Then before I knew it, I had become a rank 0 adventurer just like my master. The haters diminished after becoming a Special rank adventurer but as usual, all I did everyday was complete quests. One day, I was suddenly given a task by my master. It was the slaying of the 1st Demon King’s underling the Black Dragon. My master said that I can live how I like if I was able to slay the Black Dragon. However, I didn’t see a reason to accept that assignment at the time. I thought I was living just fine completing quests without dissatisfaction and uninterestedly. Apparently, this robotic behavior benefited the elites very greatly. Since I would mindlessly complete their meaningless quests... in other words their odd jobs. I actually felt an emotion for the first time while completing one of these odd jobs, in which I witnessed a certain spectacle. While doing this odd job quest I coincidentally happened to see my first rank 10 adventurers. Despite doing a meaningless quest the kids were tackling it full on and were intently gathering herbs. Though at the time I couldn't comprehend why they were trying so hard. The purpose of an adventurer is to slay the demon kings’ monsters and pioneering undeveloped territories. They weren’t fighting monsters but instead they were just gathering herbs and cleaning the city. I didn’t understand them at all. Maybe that’s why they drew my attention and led to me observing them while I also did my quest. That’s when I quickly came to understand the value of their existence. The herbs that they gather become medicine, that medicine will then help not just adventurers but the lives of the city folk as well.
* * *
——Around the time Bran purchased his house. At the Ledion Kingdom’s adventurer guild headquarters, a certain person was being summoned.
“...Huh. You bastards are persistent aren’t ya.” said the platinumed hair blue eyed woman.
Possessing the characteristic of elves with long ears and being so beautiful, she seems to be the personification of ‘beauty’. The elf girl has a fed up expression on her face and elegantly sits down in the guild chairman's office. This woman is Bran’s master and former rank 0 adventurer, ‘Sword Saint’ Kurul. “Hmph... You must know why I’m being so persistent don’t you?” The middle aged man sitting across from her opened his mouth. The middle aged man is muscularly brawny and wearing a suit, exuding an aura that intimidates anyone that looks at him. His name is Baruga, the chairman of the adventurer guild and former rank 1 adventurer. The reason he summoned the retired adventurer Kurul was regarding none other than the Black Emperor’s... Bran’s whereabouts. The guild who has been searching for Bran, has been monitoring Kurul even more closely since Bran’s disappearance. They don’t want to let her escape their eyes, as she may be the only person who knows of his whereabouts.

“I’m going to have you spill where he is.”
“Enough already. 3 years have already passed.”
“Exactly, it’s already been 3 years. It’ll be troublesome if he’s not here.”
“I don’t know and I don’t care.”
“You’re his master right? There are many quests piled up with his name on it.”
“Why are you only insistent on him? There are other rank 0 adventurers, aren't there?”
“...Those guys won’t move.”
Kurul laughed through her nose at Barugan’s suspicious statement.

“Ha! It’s not that they won’t move but it’s that you can’t make them move right?”
“What’d… you say?”
Barugan then intensified his aura after hearing Kurul’s mocking remark, but Kurul intensified her own even furthermore as if striking down Barugan’s.
“Who are you trying to intimidate?”
“Uh!”
Barugan choked up from her intense aura. ——This is the difference between rank 1 and rank 0. From a ranking point of view there’s only one rank difference. However, there exists an immense disparity in power.
“In the first place, I’m only here because I’m obligated to do a duty from the past. If it wasn’t for that I would easily lose your monitoring.”
“...”
Kurul was speaking the truth. In order to properly monitor a Special rank adventurer, another adventurer of the same rank would have to monitor them for it to be effective. However, each Special rank adventurer is weird in their own way, making them nearly impossible to be controlled by the guild.
“...That’s why we need him. He actually used to accept our quests when he was a Special rank adventurer.”
“Quests? Don’t you mean odd jobs?”
“What’d you say!?”
“Are you saying that’s not what they are? ...Up until now, he didn’t have a mind of his own. You guys took advantage of that fact and used him day and night to complete your little jobs, didn’t you?”
Barugan couldn’t deny Karul’s remark. Bran was once a mindless robot who indifferently completed quests. Karul let out a sad expression for a brief moment.
“...I wanted to give him his own mind and purpose so I made him become an adventurer. It wasn’t to make him your guys’ toy.”
“...”
“He’s found his own purpose. You fools better not get in his way.”
“What! Don’t go, I’m not done talking to you!”
Kurul intensified her aura and left Barugan’s office without any further word from him.
“I wonder how he’s doing...”
In actuality, Kurul had an idea of where Bran was. Though she only knew what country he was in, she hadn’t heard exactly what city he was staying in. Regardless, she was happy to hear that he was doing okay.
“That’s right... I think I’ve fulfilled my obligations to a certain extent. This surveillance is getting annoying, I guess I’ll head over to where Bran is.”
Kurul started thinking about her pupil who she hadn’t seen in a long time, and she made up her mind.
* * *
After taking a breather at the house that I just bought, I visited the adventurer guild once more. Reason being that the day was still young and I was thinking I'd take on a quest to commemorate becoming a rank 10 adventurer today. I faced the quests posted on the quest board. There are a lot of quests that are up my alley.
“Oh, there’s even this...”
Amongst the quests are herb gathering, city cleaning, finding a lost cat, and even shopping odd jobs. It’s truly filled with quests considered to be trivial. Certainly, with just a glance, these quests look more suitable for a servant rather than an adventurer. “Nevertheless, looking at the amount there are, I can tell they’re not very popular.” Although the higher the rank is the less quests there are. There aren’t any quests for rank 0 adventurers. Well, most rank 0 quests aren’t posted on quest boards. That’s because designated quests are more common starting from the middle ranks.
“It seems that monster hunting quests start coming in from rank 9 and above...”
From what I can see, there are posted monster hunting quests involving weak monsters like goblins and slimes. While observing the quest board another adventurer walked up to the board beside me. When I took a look at their eyes, they were staring at the rank 9 quests. After confirming the quests to a certain extent, they quickly grabbed a monster hunting quest, and then headed towards the reception desk.
“...Monster hunting quests are popular after all.”
It’s true that monster hunting quests have better rewards than herb gathering quests. Especially for beginner adventurers who are struggling to eat, they have to take on monster hunting quests when they can.
“Well whatever. I’ll just accept a herb gathering quest.”
I noticed something while checking the quests again. The herb gathering quests consisted of different types of herbs. For example, one quest had 10 Hyria and another quest had 5 Magika written on it. The front desk can show me a sample if I ask for one, so it shouldn't be a problem even if I don't know anything about these herbs.
“I guess I’ll look for the Hyria first.”
I grabbed the quest and headed towards the reception desk. Then just as I was heading over there, Rina, the one who handled my registration was available, so I decided to have her accept my quest.
“Hello, good afternoon.”
“I’d like to accept this request...”

“I see. Well then, can I take a look at your adventurer license and the said quest?”
“Yeah.”
Rina grabbed my adventurer license and the quest and tossed them in the strange reception box. After a short while, she grabbed my license from the box and handed it back to me.
“I have returned your license. Your quest has been accepted. Your current quest has been recorded onto your license. Please confirm it.”
As Rina said, now carved onto my license was a transcription Ongoing Quest: 1. As usual, that box is strange. While thinking that, I suddenly remembered about the Hyria sample.
“Um, excuse me. Is it possible to show me a sample of the Hyria?”
“I understand. ...This is what it looks like.”
While speaking she brought out a unique leaf that was split into two. I immediately grabbed it in order to take a closer look...
“Tha—!?”
“? Is something wrong?”
I couldn’t reply to Rina’s question. Knowledge about Hyria came flooding into my brain the moment Rina handed it to me. Not only was it knowledge about how to distinguish the herb but the information even covered the characteristics, planting of the herb, medicine that can be created... and even the formula to craft it into a poison. Every possible information about it came flooding in. ...It happened again. Occasionally, just like now, knowledge that I have no idea where it came from, dumps into my head. I don’t even know what causes it. It just happens out of nowhere. I’ve learned about Hyria from my master before but like the information that poured into my brain just now, I didn’t know how to make it into a poison, let alone how to make it into a medicine. ...Maybe, something happened during my forgotten past. I would be lying if I say I wasn’t curious but, I can’t help but be curious. At any rate, I’m able to live a normal life now. I should worry more about the present and less of my past.
“...Sorry, it’s nothing. Thank you for showing me a sample.”
I received more information than needed to know. I then handed the sample back to Rina and left the guild building.
* * *
After leaving the guild, I headed outside the city in order to prepare for gathering the herbs.
“Well then, I’ll start searching for some Hyria. But…”
According to the information that I suddenly received, Hyria apparently grows everywhere. It's quite the generic herb, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find. I just wasn’t consciously aware of Hyria but now that I think about it I have a vague memory of seeing it from time to time.
“Now that I look carefully, they sprout here and there.”
With a quick glance I sporadically saw plants that look like Hyria.
“They might not be Hyria but let’s go ahead and collect them.”
I squat down for the closest Hyria.
“Hm… The leaf is split into two so it must be Hyria.”
I immediately went to collect the Hyria but it seems instead of pulling it out, cutting it from the stem may be the best method to harvest them. Then I–
“I’ll wrap the stem of the Hyria in a wet towel.”
Wrapping it in a wet towel will keep the freshness of the Hyria. That’s according to the information that I obtained out of thin air. I have no clue where it truly came from.
“Hm?”
In the middle of my thought I sensed something. I turned to that direction, and a semi transparent mushy silhouette came creeping towards me.
“A slime huh.”
Slimes are everywhere and are weak monsters but extremely strong slimes do exist. Of course, the slimes in the outskirts are weak. They don’t seem to have any intelligence but their hate for humans must be embedded into them, they’re underlings of the demon kings after all. The slime has a soft body, so it’s getting near without making a sound. That’s why there have been cases of people letting their guard down and being attacked from behind, having their faces smothered, and resulting in death by suffocation. Well, even if they don’t make noise, they’re presence is very noticeable so it’s easy to spot them.
“You picked the wrong person to mess with.”
Without having to pull out my sword, I squashed the slime with my foot. Killing monsters outside of quests can also be turned into money as long as you bring their parts as proof. In the case of slimes, you would need to bring the “nucleus” that’s inside it’s semi transparent body.
“Well it’s not like I need the money so I’m just gonna leave it there.”
I left the slime in its smushed state and continued looking for more Hyria to collect.
* * *

“I guess this will do for today.”
The sun had set. I was finally satisfied and cut off my herb picking. As a result, I ended up going over the 10 I needed for the quest and collecting as many as 100. Hyria is highly reproductive, so they’ll grow back quickly. I may have gone a little overboard. That’s how engrossed I was. In the first place, I like work where I don’t have to think much. That’s why I didn’t dislike hunting monsters during my rank 0 adventurer days. Though, that was the extent of my enjoyment. I didn’t feel real enjoyment from it. In contrast, I really enjoyed today's herb gathering.
“Now then, I guess I’ll head over to the guild and report my completed quest.”
I grabbed the Hyria that I gathered and returned to the guild. Rina was still working the reception.
“Excuse me.”
“Oh, Bran. Welcome back. How was your quest?”
“I was able to safely finish it. Can you process it for me?”
I lined up the Hyria that I gathered and lined them up on the reception desk. As expected, Rina’s eyes got big, shocked from the sheer number of herbs picked.
“Th, that’s a lot of herbs isn’t it...”
“It was fun, so I got a little carried away...”
“It was fun? Herb gathering was fun?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re a bit strange aren’t you. It will take some time to check these once so can you wait a little while?”
“Yeah, that’s fine.”
Rina then grabbed the herbs that I collected and took them to the back. Having nothing to do I just sort of stared inside the guild.
“The Forest of Demons has been a bit strange lately.”
“What do you mean by ‘strange’?”
“Monsters that are usually seen in deeper parts of the forest have been showing up much closer apparently.”
“Really!? We have to be wary about that...”
“Also, there’s a rumor of a roar being heard every night in the city.”
“Oh, I’ve heard that rumor as well. It’s a roar of a beast of some sort.”
“Maybe, there are beasts living within the city.”
“There’s no way. We have soldiers posted outside of the city 24/7. And plus, we would’ve heard about an incident if they were actually living amongst us.”
“I wonder if that’s true. I just hope nothing bad happens.”
I eavesdropped on the conversation that two adventurers were having at the pub. ...The Demon Forest huh. I’ve never been there but I’ve heard a rumor that the 3rd Demon King resides there... As the name implies Demon Kings are kings of monsters. Just like how it’s unknown when monsters started appearing, it’s unknown when the Demon Kings appeared. They’re also known as the Kings of Monsters. As they’ve hurt many humans in the past, they’ve become an enemy of humanity. Actually, long ago, a war broke out between humanity and the Demon Kings. However, I’ve heard that the 3rd Demon King is actually quite moderate compared to the other Demon King’s. That’s why there are few reported injuries involving the monsters led by the 3rd Demon King. That’s why the Demon Forest is considered a step below the other Demon King dwellings, in terms of danger. Something strange is happening at the Demon Forest... I hope it doesn’t mean anything. While pondering, Rina returned to the reception desk.
“Sorry for the wait. You’re amazing Bran! All of the Hyria that you brought are in great condition!”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“Perhaps, are you knowledgeable about herbs?”
“Not really. I just happened to be a little knowledgeable about Hyria.”
I might suddenly become knowledgeable about another herb like I did this time, but I have no idea.
“I see... Anyways, congratulations on completing your first quest!”
My first successful quest... It felt strange hearing that. I would accept quests that I despised during my time as the Black Emperor. Above all, my first quest was actually chosen by my master, and it was a monster hunting quest. Despite that, here I am… accepting a herb gathering quest and completing it... This was my first time experiencing the feeling of actually completing a quest. I smiled with emotions of joy bubbling within myself.

“...Thank you.”
After exiting the guild, I looked up into the sky. The sunset’s orange sky wraps me in its warmth. Today marks the day of my first completed quest as a rank 10 adventurer. Surrendering myself to this warm feeling, I stretch out my body.
“Uh. Well then, I guess I should head back home.”
I’ll accept another miscellaneous quest tomorrow. After deciding tomorrow's task, I went back home.