With my short stature I wasn’t able to reach the reception counter by just looking up, and that made my neck feel like it would break. That’s why, by clutching the counter, I lifted myself up.

I immediately made eye contact with the onee-san at the reception which made her flinch for a bit, though she responded as if nothing happened soon after.

「What is it?」

「Umm, well, I want an ID card」

「Do you mean a guild card? Do you want to register as an adventurer?」

「Yes!」

「If that’s the case, then please select an F Rank request from that board and bring it over here. That will also serve as your registration exam」

「There was an exam?」

「That’s right. For now find a quest over there that you think you could handle, then I will tell you about the details of the exam」

「Alright」

It’s probably necessary for me to read letters, is what I thought after jumping off the counter and as I headed towards the board.

「Betty, I’m sorry but can you read it for me?」

『Alright, I don’t mind』

When I asked her in a quiet voice, Helvetia kindly agreed. I thought that she would refuse and I would be troubled, but it’s all good.

There were several people looking at the requests at the side of the board. When I approached, everyone just took a glance at me and then turned their sight back at the board. It seems like they also don’t want to bother me.

Well then, looking at the requests for myself… ugh, it was a hellish mess of characters for me.

Although it’s beautifully handwritten, probably by staff members, I couldn’t find any illustrations on any of them. I was thinking that I could manage to understand the quest if there were illustrations.

『Fumu, this is quite a good way to write, it’s also makes it easy to understand』

Helvetia, who was on my side, raised a voice as if impressed about how they write the requests, then pointed at a request and started describing the format of the requests.

『First of all, the bold letters at the top, is a rough title of the request, like this《Herb Collection Request》. The next part is the Rank of the request, and it seems like ranks are divided based on the placement of the requests itself, where the bottom part is F Rank』[ED: A bit ambiguous, sorry]

If it’s around F or E Rank, or even a bit above, I probably won’t have any problems. However in this case, it’s probably better for me to take an F Rank request, right?

『Next would be the details of the request, which are placed below the title, and finally, at the bottom is the reward. Hmmm, looking at it closely, it seems like subjugation quests start at E-Rank, while F-Rank are mostly miscellaneous quests like cleaning, washing dishes, searching for lost items and the likes, although there’s also a number of quests that have gathering spots near the capital.』

Eeeh…… Well I did expect the herb collection, however I never knew that they also offer quests that adventurers don’t normally do, like cleaning or washing dishes.

「There’s no monster subjugation……」

I unintentionally sighed after knowing that. When it comes to collection requests I don’t really know what to collect, or even the name of the herbs that I will be tasked to gather. However those are the only adventurer-like jobs available.

『Well then, shall we try learning to read from what I’m pointing at?』

When I responded to her, she started reading about the details of the quests.

「So you decided for herb collection. Please collect herbs that are similar to the ones placed on this table. Would any of that trouble you?」

In the end, I decided to ignore the dishwashing and cleaning quests and proceeded with the herb collection quest that I first found. Those other quests didn’t seem like something an adventurer would do after all.

And so, I found that quest again, I pulled it off and brought it to the counter. There she showed me the detailed information about the quest with a picture of the target and the amount, but is this amount really easy to get? This is a joke, right?

『I can tell you about the required herbs. You are my partner after all, you don’t have to worry about it』

「U, un」

After Helvetia assured me, the receptionist leaned over to look at me.

「It doesn’t look like you have a tool bag for carrying things, do you want to borrow one?」

That’s right, tool bags. That’s what mom told me to buy when I arrive here.

「I don’t, please let me borrow one」

「We will need a deposit for the bag, the cost is 1000 Gris. The full amount will be returned when the bag is returned」

Of course there is a rental service, huh. After all, there’s a chance that the bag will not be returned, so that deposit probably serves as collateral.

After taking out some coins from my pocket and handing the money, I was given a small bag, about 20cm wide with a long belt. Is this the tool bag?

「The load capacity of that bag is around 2 Kilos, that should be good enough」

Hmm, 2 Kilos is it? In other words, it’s something like 《That》. Although I didn’t really notice nor seen one up close, that should be the reason why we didn’t carry that much luggage when we visited the capital.

「Got it」

「The deadline for the collection quest is in 5 days, so please complete the quest on or before that time and return here. The amount required is 400 grams and if you are able to collect more than that, it will be fine to either sell the extra to the guild for remuneration or take it rest home」

「Nn, will go, be back soon」

After wearing the tool bag and leaving the counter, I heard some concerning information from the table.

「Are you serious, a Giant Subjugation?」

「That’s what they say. I also find it strange, as it’s still unclear why and there’s no information about it yet」

「But then what about the rewards…」

『What, Giant Subjugation?』

Helvetia also reacted to those words. Although I was a bit interested, it would be meaningless for me even if I stop and listen to the details.

「Is there something wrong with what they said?」

『Umu, you see Giants, when speaking about the Giants then I could only think about the Giant Race, however the Giant Race I know of are inherently a gentle and wise race that value their group and would usually stay out of troublesome matters. Also, if they weren’t attacked first, they wouldn’t go out of their way to rampage』

「Then, maybe a monster?」

『No. You see, there is only the 《Giant Race》 that people would refer to, and they are not monsters. It’s a race that doesn’t rely on magic power and they don’t tend to interact with other races. They may be deemed inferior because of that, but if educated properly then they have enough intelligence to learn fast』

I see, it’s quite a unique tribe, but how big exactly are the giants? Well, even though I think it’s funny, it’s not a story that I can carelessly talk about, as it will probably end up in a bad way. Besides, Helvetia is angry about it. For the time being, I’ll give priority to my herb collection quest.

It’s currently around lunchtime. I wonder if I could return after having a meal first, but the deadline is in five days, so it’s probably fine for me to return around sundown.

After reaching the gate, I give my greetings to the soldier watching over the gate.

「Ummm, excuse me, can I got out?」

「Hmmm, are you going out on an errand?」

「Adventurer, Exam, promise will return soon」

「Well knowing that it’s you, Toto-san, I won’t have to worry about it. However, there are monsters outside so do be careful out there」

「Nn, thank you」

After reaching quite a distance away from the gate, I stretched my body with my palms facing the sky. I need to return before sundown so I will have to do my best.

「Betty, you promised, where are they?」

『Mu, those herbs grow naturally on the grasslands, but I think going to the forest would be the quickest way to find them』

Fumu! The forest is it. It should be over there.

Closing my eyes for a bit, I concentrated on my hearing. The whistling of the wind, the rustling of the grass, the sound of flowing water in the distance, the breath of beasts, and the bustle of the city behind me, which is really noisy.

「Over there, I think」

I could hear the rustling branches swaying from the wind and various other sounds, then by focusing my vision in that direction I was able to find a forest. That place should be good enough.

「I have arrived」

『You idiot, you were way too fast!』

Fufun, I’m able to find a forest immediately if I put my mind to it. The grass around here is a bit too tall so it’s hard to walk. Forcing my way into this place may let bugs attack me, but that doesn’t really matter. I got used to it when I was living in the village.

It’s a bit annoying to walk on an unused path, so I followed animal trails, making it easier for me to move. Although I’m relying on Helvetia’s knowledge, I also collect other things which Rikka pointed out to me, when we were collecting edible Forest Grass and herbs.

After pulling out herbs I am placing them in the tool bag, but the moment my hand reaches inside the bag the herb disappeared. It was quite a mysterious feeling.

And so, because I was curious about the tool bag, I placed my hand inside once more. Right then, information about what was inside the bag was displayed in my mind making me understand its contents and how to take it out.

It was an Item Bag after all! When I wanted to take out one of the medicinal herbs listed in my mind as a test, I felt something touching my fingertips.

I pulled my hand out, and the medicinal herb was firmly placed in it. This is definitely a convenient tool, and that’s why mom recommended me to buy one as soon as possible.

Out of curiosity, I tried inserting a large and heavy stone that I found into the bag, but it seems I couldn’t put anything inside if it’s heavier than what it could contain. The size of the stone was also bigger than the mouth of the bag. Helvetia was looking at me with a strange look when I was doing that.

「It’s, it’s a first for me, you know」

I pointed at the tool bag insisting that it’s out of curiosity, and she also nodded in agreement.

『Is that so? Although from my perspective it looked like it wasn’t the first time you did it, but since you were testing it out, it’s probably a part of your memory resurfacing』

It seems like she was satisfied with that. After that Helvetia pointed out locations of herbs here and there which I then harvested.

「If there is this many, this will probably be over soon」

『Umu, well, there’s still a lot of time so it will probably be full by the time we return at sundown』

I could also feel the presence of monsters in the surroundings, but it seemed like they were afraid to approach me so I ignored them. There was one that did get close out of curiosity, but immediately fled the moment I focused my attention on them. They probably won’t come to attack, or maybe they were just worried about my movements?

『Those were warwolves, and it seems like they remembered your scent and now they are really afraid of you』

「Eh, they were related to the ones I’ve defeated before?」

『Yes, that is so. Considering the current condition, it seems like there won’t be any attacks coming from them』

「Ah, Un」

Because Helvetia reassured me that they were related to the ones I’ve encountered before and was avoiding me, I decided to ignore them as I continued gathering herbs.