I’m Not Good at Offensive Magic, but I’ll Do My Best With Support Magic!

There were no problems with the night encampment, and we set off as soon as the sun rose and arrived at the village before noon as planned.

「Village?」

The village I arrived at was far different from the one I had imagined.

The village I had lived in was a quiet place with wooden houses lined up around farmland.

There were no bars or inns in the village, but it seemed to be managed by a baron who had taken it as his domain.

The baron did not reside in the village, but visited a few times a year to measure the amount of crops and determine the amount of taxes to be collected.

There was a mansion where the baron would stay at the time, but it was only about the size of an inn in the Imperial Capital. That’s how I imagine the village to be.

But speaking of this village.

「Merchants and escorts, right? Please submit your guild card or citizen card. If you don’t have either of these, please check your ID with the staff at the guard station」

Guards stood at the entrance of the village, inspecting each and every person entering the village. First of all, I was surprised by that.

Although there is no outer wall to protect the village, there are iron fences lined up to cover the village to keep out monsters and bandits.

This could be described as a town rather than a village……

There are some old houses in one corner that are remnants of the village, but the rest of the buildings are more recently built, and I can see signs for an inn, a blacksmith, a tool shop, and an adventurer’s guild. Considering that merchants also gather here, there may be a merchant guild as well.

「This is an adventurer card. Best regards, sir」

「You must be E-Rank, Yuan-san. You’ve been confirmed. Please come through」

The citizen’s card or guild card serves as an ID, so we were able to enter the city by showing it. Some places doesn’t ask to remove your hood, which is helpful.

「Are you surprised? This is the power of the Rūdo Empire nowadays」

「The power of the Rūdo Empire?」

Not really understanding what Zack-san meant, I asked him back.

「Did you know that they are preparing for war?」

「Yes」

That rumor is always going around. Moreover, as if to confirm the rumors, we can see that conscripts, weapons, and other supplies are being brought to the Imperial Capital.

「As the village becomes richer, the problems may increase, but at the same time, the profits will increase. The lord who governs this place is probably thinking about the future and wants to increase his influence by cultivating the village and providing more goods to the Imperial Capital. At present, all the villages are being cultivated in the same way. Except for the center of the Imperial City, the villages closer to the border are the most important. It seems that Rūdo now have that much financial power. As a merchant, I’m thankful for that」

I did not know that. However, if not only the Rūdo Empire, but also the surrounding villages and towns are making moves, then a full-scale war may happen soon.

「Well then, I’ll leave you to it. Thank you for the carriage, it was fun!」

「No, no. Thank you for saving the day. This is the reward for your escort」

Rikū-san held out a small bag to me.

「Are you sure?」

「Marina and I have already discussed it and confirmed it with Zack-san, so please accept it. Of course, Marina and I will also be receiving it too, so don’t worry」

「That was very helpful. Thank you. And take the Orc as promised」

「Thank you for everything」

Not wanting to let the favor go to waste, I took the bag offered to me. I am tempted to check the contents immediately, but I restrain myself and put the bag away and bow my head.

「I’d like to form a party with you if you’d like, but it seems like Yuan has her own agenda, so if we run into each other somewhere, I’d be happy to take on a request with you」

「Me too. Until then, I hope you’re both doing well」

「That’s the plan. Yuan and Gob…… You should work hard to make enough money so you don’t have to eat that meat. I’ll work my way up, too, little by little」

「Yes. Let’s do our best for each other」

I shake hands with them both, vowing to see them again, and say goodbye to Zack-san as well.

「Yuan-san, if you need anything, please come to Zack’s Store in Tanza, the city ahead. This is my letter of introduction, please allow me to give you a little extra」

In addition to the reward, Zack-san gave me a letter of introduction that would serve as a reference for Zack’s Store, which was very thoughtful of him!

I stowed it away, shook hands with the three merchants, and left the place with a smile on my face for having achieved more than I expected.

The first thing to do after arriving in a town is to find an inn…… Although I would like to, I don’t plan to stay at an inn.

I would like to become an adventurer who can make a habit of it, but it doesn’t have to be now. So I decided to head to the Adventurer’s Guild.

「I’m surprised there’s an Adventurer’s Guild in this village……」

Basically, there is usually no Adventurer’s Guild in a village. Adventurer’s Guilds exist all over the world, but they are not everywhere.

I heard that they are only established when the country and the guild have a discussion and decide that it would be beneficial for the village to have a guild, based on information such as monsters that appear in the area and medicinal herbs that are available in the area.

In places like my village, where there are no adventurers and few monsters, the Adventurer’s Guild is always deserted.

「Welcome, is this your first visit to our guild?」

When I approached the reception desk, I was greeted by an oneesan with a beautiful smile.

「I came to see if there was a request that would suit me. My guild card, please」

「My apologies… You’re E-Rank, Yuan-sama, I see」

It is not mandatory to show up at the Adventurer’s Guild when you arrive in town, but it is recommended. The purpose of this is to know how many adventurers are available when an urgent or compulsory request is made in the city.

However, only D-Rank adventurers and above are summoned for both, so it’s none of my business at the moment!

「I’ll have a look at the request board in a bit」

After getting my guild card back, I went to check the informations on the current requests.

E-RankDelivery of 10 medicinal herbs
Request: Guild
Reward: 1 silver coin including materialsDelivery of 10 flowing water plants　
Request: Guild　
Reward: 1 silver coin including materialsDefeat 3 Goblins　
Request: Lord　
Reward: 1 silver coin (proof of defeat required)Defeat 1 Orc　
Request: Collins Store　
Reward: 5 silver coins including materials

There were many mundane resident requests.

Resident requests are requests that occur all the time, so even if you accomplish them without accepting the request, the achievement will often be recognized even if you report it after the fact. However, if the time has passed since the request was made, the herbs have withered, or the monster is decomposing, the request may not be accepted.

There are few resident requests updated today, so someone else must be taking it.

「Hey, Jō-chan, this is the Adventurer’s Guild. Are you sure you’re in the right place?」

I turned around to see two men and a woman standing there when they called out to me.

「Aree, if it isn’t potion?」

I recognized the woman who pointed at me with a smirk on her face.

I think we had a party once in some city. I think…… I’m not sure of her name.

「What, you know Natasha?」

That’s right, it’s Natasha.

「We had formed a party before, but… I feel like I was a liability who could only heal」

「So like a potion. That makes sense!」

「Kyahaha! I wonder if you’re able to kill at least a goblin now~?」

The price of a potion can vary from one person to another, and depending on how you look at it, I think it’s an honor. Recovery magic users are actually very popular among high rank adventurers. I’ve even formed a few temporary parties before I came here.

I remember the time I teamed up with Natasha.

I don’t know if they know about it or not, but they seem to be making fun of me anyway.

Not wanting to argue and cause a scene, I picked up the requests for medicinal herbs and flowing water plants from the request board and headed for the counter, ignoring the three of them.

「Oi. That’s not a request for fighting. You should go hunt down some small-fry goblins anyway」

「Impossible~. Unlike a warrior like Orio, she’s like a potion that can only heal」

「That’s true too!」

I could hunt three goblins myself, though! I just don’t want to do it because it takes too much time.

「Noisy」

As I was heading to the counter, someone came in through the entrance and muttered a few words.

「Geh…… It’s Rinshia-san」

The man that Natasha called Orio has a bittersweet look on his face.

(Abomination…… No, a dog beastman?)

The woman called Rinshia wore a slightly short sword crossed over her back and was dressed in black with little exposure. She wore minimal armor, just a plate to protect her heart and a pair of gauntlets.

Her hair is black enough to be mistaken for an abomination at first, but a closer look reveals that it is a color unique to her race with a hint of gray. Her long, waist-length hair is tied up in a low ponytail, and she has a dignified figure with a straight back, a well-shaped face, and golden eyes that seem to intimidate others. And the dog ears that tell you at a glance that she’s not human.

I can tell just by looking at her.

Compared to other adventurers, she is stronger.

Rinshia-san glanced at me, but only for a moment.

And then she quickly looked away, as if she had lost interest.

I felt that her gaze stopped at my head, so she might have sensed that I was a fox beastman. Fortunately, she didn’t mentioned it, so I was saved.

「Nuisance」

Natasha and the other three who were frozen in front of the request board quickly move away from the request board at a word from Rinshia-san. It’s kind of cool!

「A-Are you about to start a request, Rinshia-san?」

The man called Orio by Natasha is talking to Rinshia-san, who is looking at the C-Rank request…… You’re very brave, even though you’re clearly being treated like dirt.

「No」

「I-If you don’t mind, I was wondering if you’d like to party with us?」

It would be foolish to invite someone to a party who hasn’t come to accept a request.

「I just wanted to see if there were any requests that might interfere with my investigation」

With that, she leaves the request board and walks straight out of the guild.

「This one, please」

「A request for collection, right? There seems to be some bad rumors circulating in the forest lately, so please be careful just in case!」

I put my guild card over the crystal and confirmed that the request had been placed, and I left the guild before I got tangled up again with the three people who had been rejected by Rinshia-san.

Then I headed straight for the village gate.

「Jō-chan, are you going out now?」

As I was about to leave the village to finish the collection request as quickly as possible, I was stopped by the guard who had just arrived.

「Yes, I want to make as much money as I can while I have the chance」

「That’s a fine plan, but be careful if you go into the forest. There are rumors of Orcs in the area lately」

I also encountered Orcs on the roads, and their numbers seem to be increasing. They’re originally a highly fertile demon, and it’s possible that drifting Orcs have taken up residence.

「Thank you very much. I’ll try not to overdo it」

「The gate closes at sunset, so just remember, don’t try to climb over the fence just because it’s closed. It’s a crime」

「I understand」

The ojisan guard sees me off and I head out of the village. According to the information on my guild card, I can collect both in the forest to the north of the village.

This forest is rumored to be populated by Orcs, and I’m heading there.

To gather materials for rewards.

TL Notes:

… Rinshia reminded me of Shirakami Fubuki’s counterpart, Kurokami Fubuki… she’s a vtuber (≧◡≦)