103. Colbert.
We arrived at the Adventurer’s Guild about an hour after signing up for the cooking contest.
I’d wanted to explore the town a bit more, but we didn’t have the time for that. We had to quickly get everything over with so I could find a place to cook.
『Alright, let’s hurry up and sell everything. Once we get that done, we should be able to ask them if they happen to know where we could find information on alchemy. If we’re lucky, they might also be able to help us find a location in which we can cook in private.』
「Nn.」
『You don’t mind if we hold onto the silver, gold, and gems for now, right?』
I was planning keeping them for the time being just in case we happened to run into a situation in which we couldn’t use Golde.
「Guild over there?」
『Seems like it… Wait, holy crap, it’s massive!』
「Really big.」
「Woof.」
Alessa’s Guild was pretty big already, but Barbra’s was on a whole ‘nother scale. The building was so large and fancy that I almost mistook it for a noble’s manor.
「Castle?」
『It really does look like one.』
But surely enough, a sign indicating that this was indeed the Adventurer’s Guild was hanging up atop the building’s entrance.
The guild’s exterior was gorgeous, but its inside? Not so much. If anything, they almost seemed shoddy in comparison. Well, I guess it did make sense. Not all adventurers were lawful people. In fact, a fairly significant portion were precisely the opposite, and hence, it was always possible for fancy furniture to get damaged or even stolen.
There were seven different desks and at least fifty adventurers within the building as we entered it. At first, I’d thought that there was some sort of emergency gathering or something, but apparently this was normal. Understanding that fact really made me come to see the Barbra branch’s scale.
「Welcome, is this your first time here?」
「Nn.」
「Would you like me to quickly go over everything then?」
「Please.」
「Alright, in that case, I’ll first tell you about the different counters and their purposes. You’re currently standing at the information desk. Here, we provide with information about the guild and its facilities. We can also help if you wish to contact any specific individuals within the building.」
Apparently the three counters beside us were all for handling requests, and the other three were for the purchasing and exchange of materials.
The upper floors contained a sort of library filled with reference materials alongside an office for the guild’s staff. There were even a bunch of facilities for people new to the industry, they had training rooms and extra bedrooms too. The rooms were apparently really small, so I doubted that we’d get any use out of them, but newbies would probably be happy just to have them.
「Large building. Reasons now clear.」
「So what did you need?」
「Nn. Want to sell materials.」
「Do you have an adventurer’s card?」
「Here.」
「Just give me a moment to run it through the necessary checks.」
I was expecting the receptionist to do the usual thing and react to the discrepancy between Fran’s rank and age, but she didn’t.
「Fran, D ranked adventurer, is it? Okay, please proceed to the desk labeled with the number 6.」
「Nn.」
In fact, her expression didn’t change at all. She simply did her job pointed Fran in the right direction without any sort of hassle. I think this is actually the first time this has happened to us. I really got to give it to the Barbra branch, they trained their employees pretty damn well.
The receptionist at the purchasing counter was the same. She also just casually did her job without showing the slightest bit of shock or surprise.
At first, I thought I liked their attitudes, but further exposure led me to feel like they were acting too calm. Their complete lack of a reaction left me feeling a bit unsatisfied.
The adventurers around us provided a much more normal reaction. Unlike the receptionists, they immediately kicked up a commotion the moment Fran pulled the Dreadnought Destroyer’s horn out of storage.
In the end, we managed to get fifty thousand Golde out of all the stuff we gathered while we were out at sea. Most of what we picked up was rather cheap, the only item with a notable price was the Dreadnought Destroyer’s horn, as it could be used in the crafting of weapons. The receptionist asked if we would like to sell the rest of the Dreadnought Destroyer as well, but we ended up turning her down. Fran liked how the Dreadnought Destroyer tasted, and both its flesh and bones could be used to make food.
A male adventurer approached the desk right as we were getting paid.
_______________________________________________________________
General Information
Name: Colbert
Age: 38
Race: Human
Job: Iron Fist Warrior
State: Normal
Status Level: 41/99
HP: 428
MP: 202
STR: 249
VIT: 154
AGI: 203
INT: 91
MGC: 101
DEX: 189
Skills
Hand to Hand Combat: Lv 6
Martial Arts: Lv 6
Crisis Detection: Lv 3
Divine Fist Arts: Lv 2
Fist Techniques: Lv 9
Fist Arts: Lv: MAX
Combat Qigong: Lv 4
Herculean Strength: Lv 6
Blink: Lv 7
Swimming: Lv 4
Ocean Resistance: Lv 2
Throwing: Lv 4
Life Magic: Lv 3
Drowsiness Resistance: Lv 3
Paralysis Resistance: Lv 4
Cooking: Lv 2
Hawk Eyes
Beast Killer
Minor Strength Boost
Vigour Manipulation
Inherent Skills
Iron Fist
Titles
Bear Killer
Tiger Killer
Equipment
Water Dragon Leather Gloves
Old Water Tiger’s Martial Arts Uniform
Old Water Tiger’s Martial Arts Shoes
Red Helmet Bear Bandana
Red Helmet Bear Mantle
Bracelet of Pain Resistance
Bracelet of Impact Resistance
He looked pretty strong. He wasn’t as strong as Jean, but his stats were higher than Donadorondo’s, so he was probably at least a C rank.
That Qigong skill of his looked pretty interesting. Apparently, it used magical power in order to strengthen a part of one’s body. In other words, it was a skill applicable both in offense and defense. It allowed him to fight against bladed weapons with just his bare hands.
His Iron Fist skill caught my eye as well. The combination of that skill and his ability to use martial arts looked like they worked pretty well together. I really wanted to see him in action; I could already imagine a manga-like scene playing out in my head.
「Hey there little miss. Did you catch that all by yourself?」
His choice of words made it seem like he was trying to mock Fran, but neither his tone nor expression gave off that sort of impression at all. It looked like he was honestly curious as to whether or not she’d defeated the Dreadnought Destroyer all by her lonesome.
「Nn. Fished it.」
「What? You fished it?」
「Fished during boat trip.」
「That’s amazing! People normally beat them by bombarding them with magic.」
Huh, I thought he was going to get suspicious, but he actually straight up just believed us.
「Believe me?」
「Huh? Oh, yeah, of course. I mean, anyone that isn’t blind can tell at a glance that you’re pretty skilled just based on how you move your feet and how you carry yourself.」
Several adventurers averted their gazes in embarrassment in response to Colbert’s words. Looks like we’ve got a few people in need of guide dogs around these parts.
「Dreadnought Destroyers are one of my favourite foods, but they’re fairly rare, so it’s quite hard for me to get my hands on them. Would you mind selling me a bit of its meat? If you fished it, then you probably have quite the amount.」
「Won’t sell.」
「Have you already arranged to have it sold elsewhere?」
「Nn? Will eat myself.」
「All of it?」
「Nn.」
「I see… What a shame…」
The man responded with a disappointed frown, it seemed like he really wanted to eat Dreadnought Destroyer. I couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry for him. He did recognize Fran’s abilities, so I didn’t really see much harm in sharing a slight bit with him.
Fran pulled something out from her storage space and held it in front the man right as I finished thinking the thought through.
「Here. Will give this. Dreadnought Destroyer nigirizushi.」
She gave him a small box of sushi with soy sauce already dribbled all over its contents. It was one of the ones I prepared while we were still on the ship, and it was made so that it could be eaten at any given time. The box’s exterior almost perfectly resembled the containers that I always saw drunk salarymen carrying around.
『You sure you’re okay with that? Didn’t you really like sushi?』
（Can’t be helped. For publicity.）
『Publicity? What?』
「Did you make that?」
「Nn. Master made it.」
Well, technically, I borrowed her body in order to make them, so she could’ve just said that she made them herself.
「I’ve never seen anything prepared like this before. You said it was called nigirizushi?」
「Nn.」
Colbert timidly took a piece of sushi out of the box Fran presented to him and threw it in his mouth after a moment of hesitation.
「Chew chew chew.」
「Nom nom nom.」
Fran followed up on his action by stuffing three pieces into her own mouth immediately.
「H-How delicious! What delectable taste! J-Just what is this!? It’s far more than just a slice of meat placed atop a portion of rice! In fact, the fish itself can’t even be said to have simply been sliced! The sharpness of the blade used managed to completely sever each piece without crushing even the slightest bit of the flesh. The complete lack of deterioration resulting from the Dreadnought’s Destroyer’s careful dissection drew out every single last bit of its flavour! And the rice, the rice is more than just a bundle of carbohydrates squished together to form a shape! The slightly acidic substance added to the grains in the careful compression process melts in your mouth and causes its deliciousness to spread throughout the entirety of my being. This dish functions to define the very meaning of fine cuisine. You called it… nigirizushi? Yes, yes, I see! The very act of molding the the rice is none other than an iterative refinement of the cooking process as a whole.」 [1]
Er, holy crap. He just ended up making a speech. I mean, I saw that he had the skill required to cook, so I figured he’d probably be interested in the dish, but man, I did not expect that. Both him and the judge guy we ran into earlier really liked to give their impressions of the stuff we made. Is everyone in Barbra like this? I really hope I don’t get used to being around this type of person.
「Y-Young lady, you said that your master was the one who made the dish?」
「Nn.」
「He must be this world’s greatest chef… Does he perhaps own a restaurant?」
Colbert suddenly started speaking in a super polite fashion.
「No.」
「Then, is he currently employed by another?」
「No.」
「Then wherever will I have to venture to consume another one of the Master’s dishes?」
「Will have a cart for the cooking contest.」
「I see! So that means that he’s already completed the first round. But of course he would, his skills are simply sublime. But thank you, I will make sure I visit on at least one occasion. Rather, I will visit him on every possible occasion. What sort of dish exactly is he preparing for the competition?」
「Curry.」
「I’ve never even heard of it. W-Would it happen to be another one of the Master’s original recipes?」
「Yup.」
「Amazing! I simply cannot wait to discover its flavour!」
Ohhhh, so this is what Fran was aiming for. She managed to get a high ranked adventurer to stir up a commotion in order to provide us with what was basically an advertisement. I have to admit, that was pretty good scheme right there.
「Right, I should introduce myself. I’m a B ranked adventurer, they call me Ironclaw Colbert.」
「Ironclaw?」
「Yeah, that’s my alias. As of the moment, I still fail to match up to people like Amanda of Hariti, Hundredblade Forrund, or Jean Dovy the Annihilator. However, one day, I’ll be famous enough for my name to be known throughout the land.」
Aliases were a thing? Oh, right, I remember now. People used to call Fran the Magical Sword Girl, and I did know about Amanda’s whole Hariti thing as well. I mean, hers fit her perfectly. She liked kids so much that she was on the verge of having some sort of disorder. I never would’ve imagined Jean having the alias The Annihilator though. It seemed a bit too violent for him.
「D rank adventurer. Fran.」
「Oh? You’re a D rank? It looks like you’ll turn out quite promising later on down the road. Anyways, I really need to thank you for sharing your nigirizushi with me. It was so delicious that I can’t help but feel like it changed my life in its entirety.」
「Understanding value of nigirizushi means insightful. Very promising.」
「Hahaha. Thanks, thanks. You must be quite the chef yourself given your Master’s skill, so hearing your praise makes me feel a slight bit embarrassed.」
The two exchanged a firm handshake. It looked like they got along pretty well with one another.
「Don’t hesitate to let me know if you ever need any help. I’ve actually got quite a bit of influence, so I can say for sure that I won’t let you down. I’d be very much honoured if said help ended up benefitting your Master as well.」
And so, I randomly managed to get myself a fan. He seems like he’s a pretty good guy too.
Meeting him made me realize that all the high ranked adventurers were actually a bit weird and quirky. I really have to make sure Fran learns all about common sense before she ends like them. Though, to do that, I’d probably have to learn more about this world’s common sense myself first.
_______________________________________________________________
[1] The nigiri part of nigirizushi comes from the verb nigiru, which can mean to mold. Colbert’s expression of understanding comes from the fact that he understands that it is precisely the molding process that leads to the result.