<A Message from the translator:> These chapters just get longer. We haven’t even reached the average word count.
3: Registered
After Lizel reached the inn, he promptly visited Gil’s room without taking a single break to sit down. Because he thought that Gil could do his job easier if he first explained his circumstances for the time being.
After Lizel knocked on the door and was invited in, he was greeted with a room much tidier than he had imagined. Gil had apparently set up base this room for a month already, but Lizel wondered if it was the scarcity of belongings that made it feel hardly lived-in.
“It’s clean.”
“It’d be the worst to come back tired to a dirty room.”
It appeared that Gil had intentionally kept it tidy. With his social status being what it was, Lizel had never had to do anything that resembled cleaning, so he was honestly impressed.
When he sat down in the seat Gil offered, Gil sat on the opposite side.
“So, you gonna spell it out for me?”
“You do not need to be in such a rush. …But, one thing before that.”
Gil looked at the raised index finger and Lizel’s face and furrowed his brow.
“You better not be teasing me,” Gil said with his face. However, that look would undoubtedly make any child cry, so Lizel smiled in amusement.
“There will not be a single lie in anything I am about to tell you.”
“Yeah, I know that. You’ve got nothin’ to gain if you’re gonna lie now—”
“Around noon today, I was transported from a different world to this world.”
Gil’s remark was slightly covered up by Lizel’s statement, so, sure enough, Gil shot a glance, warning Lizel, “Don’t mess me with.” However, he immediately reflected on the words and looked at Lizel as if trying to recall what happened after they met today.
Lizel leisurely watched and waited as the series of reactions occurred. However, he tilted his head to show he would go on.
“As this is the premise behind everything else, our conversation ends here if you cannot believe it. On the off chance that you feel hindered at any point during the requested period, I shall make a proposal available each time.”
“…No, continue.”
Normally, no one would believe the words “I came from another world~”. Lizel’s conduct certainly felt out of place and it appeared that he truly didn’t have any identification, but at the same time, seeing him as an isolated and absolutely naïve nobleman was far more likely.
Nevertheless, Gil felt like believing because he was convinced that Lizel wasn’t stupid enough to lie if it would be a demerit to him. They had never met prior, but Gil understood that much.
What would Lizel gain by lying that he came from another world? If he had the slightest intention of attracting Gil’s interest and obtaining an excellent bodyguard, then Gil would have never listened to Lizel’s story from the very beginning.
There was only one thing he sensed from Lizel—a certain kind of cold thinking that weighed it would be more efficient to talk.
“From what you told me, your world ain’t that different from here, right?”
“That is only based on what I saw in the city, but yes, it’s practically the same. Rather, the spellcrafting used in daily life… Ah, it’s called magic here, I believe. Anyway, your magic has advanced more than ours. At the very least, spatial magic doesn’t exist in my world.”
If Lizel possessed advanced technology and knowledge, he certainly wouldn’t discuss it with Gil. If people who desired such knowledge were to get word of this, they would undoubtedly take advantage of it.
It went without saying that Lizel was satisfied that Gil understood this.
“However, aren’t you a calm bunch, you nobles on that side.”
“Yes, you understand?”
“Why do you that think I don’t?”
Lizel definitely had the relaxed air of a nobleman, but no matter from which angle Gil looked at him, he didn’t feel the same as the other nobles. It was, by no means, due to his well-tailored clothes. Rather, even if Lizel were to wear a commoner’s outfit, his noble roots would still be exposed.
Gil let out a stunned sigh at how the person himself must have been walking around as usual, unconscious of this.
“So, even nobles come in all forms. What ‘bout you?”
“Would my rank suffice? I recently succeeded the duke. My position is prime minister, and I work at the royal castle.”
“Wait a sec.”
Gil had an unexpected headache. Duke—the highest rank among the nobles. Prime minister—the most prominent advisor to the king. This meant that Lizel was at the center of the center.
This man looked to still only be in his late twenties, yet he possessed such status. He looked slightly younger based solely on his face, but he was undoubtedly around that age range.
Although there was a sense of discrepancy from his looks, it couldn’t be helped as ranks were mostly decided at birth. But, why was he the prime minister? Lizel noticed that Gil looked like he wanted to say something, so he smiled wryly.
“As I was placed in charge of the king’s education since he was young, I simply ended up receiving his favor.”
“……”
Exactly because Parteda had the same monarchical system, Lizel’s position was understandable. Gil especially understood it.
You would normally kneel without question towards a duke, and with the addition of being the prime minister, prostrating wouldn’t be enough. Furthermore, since he was someone who was in charge of the king’s education, Gil couldn’t even imagine how amazing this man was.
Lizel hoped that Gil would understand his situation once he heard, but it appeared that upon hearing this, Gil could no longer grasp it.
“Since I have no relation to this world, you need not concern yourself with it.”
“…I don’t think I can go on unless I did.”
Gil cleanly decided after never having been so grateful that the subject was changed.
Lizel was also delighted by his attitude. Now, there would be no purpose in deprecating himself and praising the other. Though, he did choose Gil as his collaborator exactly because Gil considered those circumstances.
“In that case, over there must be a mess.”
“Yes, I just hope that my King is not doing anything reckless.”
“Is he a king who would do somethin’ reckless?”
Gil asked and noticed the slight change in Lizel’s expression. When the word “king” popped up in the conversation, the faint hint of a smile appeared.
Gil thought that Lizel’s perpetual smile was the only expression he could make, but it appeared that this one was genuine.
“Based on your age, I guess he’s a pretty young king. Is he that remarkable?”
“Back in his youth before he assumed the throne, he was a rascal. Even now, the ‘former rascal king’ is adored by his citizens.”
“Is he really adored?”
“How nostalgic. I had thought that he went out somewhere by himself one time, but I was in for a shock when he came back after burning two houses.”
“That’s some serious stuff.”
The two houses the king burned were actually the homes of corrupt nobles whom they couldn’t quite secure evidence on, but Lizel decided to omit that. Nevertheless, it was a fact that he was beloved by his people and respected by the nobles who served him.
Lizel didn’t recall instructing the king to give him an advantage, but the intimacy they felt couldn’t be helped given the length of time they spent together. The reason there was no huge criticism when Lizel became prime minister was due to the confidence that a useless person who used favors wasn’t placed in such an important position next to the king.
“But, he was born to be king.”
The king excelled quite well in political matters, but on occasion, he was guilty of doing outrageous things. This was how others viewed him. While his outrageous acts didn’t cause any harm to the country, there were times when it was unbelievably connected to advantage and his rating was increased across the board.
However, few people were aware that the reason no disadvantages appeared was largely due to Lizel following up on them, so Lizel himself had no way of knowing that those people were currently and desperately stopping the king from sprinting out of the castle to search for him.
“Well, if they are truly troubled by my disappearance, they will find a method to return me. Until then, I shall think of this as a vacation and enjoy myself here.”
“Even if you say they’ll find it, you came to this world without warning. There ain’t a trail to follow.”
“It wasn’t completely identical, but the sensation felt similar to a teleportation spell. That’s why they could do something by applying it… Huh, does it not exist over here?”
Gil had never heard of a teleportation spell. He wasn’t familiar with magic in the first place, but if such omnipotent magic were to exist, it should have been well known.
Lizel thought that there might have been some interference between the two side’s teleportation spell, but it appeared that this wasn’t the case.
If teleportation spells didn’t exist on this side, then he had faint hope he could return from here. As expected, he had no choice but to have the people from his original world work hard if he were to return.
“I believe you understand my situation, so please inform me if any of my mannerisms come off as strange.”
“You don’t seem off from any of the nobles here, but you’re not gonna be doing things like ‘em?”
“I finally have a vacation, so I would like to do something different. You said it before, right? That you will be my chaperon when I go adventuring.”
Gil did recall saying that, but he said those words thinking nothing would come out of it.
If Lizel were to become an adventurer, then Gil wouldn’t be looking for anything out of place. Everything was out of place.
“In the meantime, obtaining proof of identity takes priority. Registering as an adventurer will provide me with such, correct?”
“Aye… But, I don’t think there’s anyone out there who would register with the guild just to get an ID.”
When such a person did enter the guild building, the adventurers inside gazing at the requests and waiting in line for the receptionists looked at the person with expecting eyes. Because the person, with his refined gestures, finely tailored clothes, and gentle demeanor, was undoubtedly a man of high-class.
His leisure look around seemed to be out of curiosity, so it appeared that he was ascertaining something from the surroundings. He most likely came to greet the guild leader, but since his outfit was rather rough, his objective could also be to make a request.
Each of the adventurers, who wanted to accept any request if possible from such a dignified person whether it be formally or privately, began to divert their gazes elsewhere. Everyone wanted to have a connection to those in the high ranks.
“This is a guild, correct? It seems like a lively place.”
“Aye.”
However, their expected gazes immediately turned to disappointment because they were convinced that no requests would come their way after seeing that person enter after the man.
Gil the One Slash—the person who comes to mind when they thought of powerful people in the guild. Such was the person following the nobleman. He was an adventurer whose individual ability surpassed that of an S-rank. If he was successfully hired, then it was inconceivable that any other request would come to them.
In that case, the noble must have some business with the guild leader. However, they were surprised that the noble managed to hire the man who would never partner with anyone even when asked. They continued to watch as the two headed to the receptionist.
The nobleman stood in front of the guild employee stationed at a guild request desk that happened to be empty. The employee, a young man, noticed and looked up from his documents. He said with a monotone voice and an indifferent face.
“Excuse me, but the guild leader is currently out. What is your business?”
“Eh?”
“Hah?”
The nobleman sounded puzzled, so the guild employee looked suspicious while slightly frowning.
The nobleman who caused expectation and disappointment to those around him was none other than Lizel.
After a well-rested night, he arrived at the adventurer’s guild together with Gil this morning in hopes of obtaining proof of identity. He made sure to get some advice before coming while they ate breakfast, but Lizel expectedly still stood out.
Gil, who could clearly understand the people around them misunderstanding, muttered his sentiments under his breath yet secretly enjoyed himself.
“Huh, for registration… Gil?”
“You don’t need the guild leader.”
“I thought so.”
Lizel looked up at Gil standing next to him and asked to confirm. The suspicious employee sensed from their exchange and stared at Lizel.
The utterly emotionless young man was fortunate that the only ones who saw the faint fluctuation in his facial muscles were these two in front of him. Their eyes met and Lizel asked with a smile.
“I came here to register as an adventurer. Is that fine?”
“…Yes, please wait a minute.”
His almost flat way of speaking must be a habit. The way his inanimate expression met Lizel’s felt cold.
Adventurers always asked each other if it was fine for a new receptionist to act like this, but the person himself didn’t care at all.
“This is the first time I’ve ever seen ya surprised.”
“This is the first time I have ever seen you engage in idle chatter.”
Gil narrowed his eyes, sneered, and looked down at the seated employee.
Without revealing a smile to hint at his sadism, the receptionist knocked the documents in his hands against the desk. This should be the correct attitude of a guild employee, but it appeared that it didn’t fall apart even when dealing with Gil.
Furthermore, his appearance wasn’t that of one someone scared but of someone ready to counterattack.
“As well as working underneath someone.”
“You’re still goin’ on…”
Based on this first impression, the employee seemed to dislike conversations, but that was by no means true. He will talk as long as he was required, and he would return double the words when told off.
The consensus of his fellow guild employees was that he surprised enjoyed talking.
“I don’t intend to have Gil work for me.”
“…It doesn’t fit ya.”
“Didn’t you tell me that I should at least try?”
Gil muttered under his breath, so Lizel expectedly whispered back and returned a strained smile. He too was well aware that this didn’t fit him.
One piece of advice given to Lizel while they were eating to avoid standing out was to fix his speech pattern. That statement before was his honest attempt at it. In the end, he had only slightly relaxed the politeness of his words and changed to a more masculine way of addressing himself.
Incidentally, Gil, who suggested changing Lizel’s first-person pronoun, felt the strangeness of this change. How unreasonable. In the end, while the change was extremely faint, it could be described as nonexistent.
“I need to confirm this before you register.”
“Hn?”
“Given the guild’s administrative position, we may deny intervention from the country. Therefore, nobles and knights associated with the country are not allowed entry.”
“I heard it from Gil, so it’s fine.”
“What did he mean by ‘fine’?” the receptionist flatly asked through his gaze. Gil murmured, “Aye,” crossed his arms, and pointed at Lizel.
“He ain’t a noble nor got any connections. It ain’t a problem.”
“It ain’t.”
“Eh?”
“I’m sorry. Let’s begin the registration. I am Studd, a receptionist for the guild.”
Rescinding the words he had spoken, Studd lined up two papers on the desk. A smile appeared on Gil’s mouth as he turned to look around.
At the same timing, everyone else stopped saying the same thing and became speechless. The only one to speak was Studd, but that was most likely his way to accept reality.
No one else around could come to terms with this.
Lizel wasn’t a noble nor from a family with a status close to that. This proved how much of a noble Lizel looked as it gave those around him such shock.
Gil hoped that nothing troublesome would come out of this as he erased his smile and squinted his eyes. The shoulders of the adventurers pierced by his gaze jolted, but the spread of rumors couldn’t be helped.
Gil, who had never teamed up with anyone in his history, was pretending to team up with someone. It was not a good thing for a new adventurer to stand out. Lizel said that it wasn’t a problem, but Gil looked over at Lizel, beautifully leaning slightly forward to sign the paper.
“Are you truly not a member of the nobility? If you are hiding the truth, the responsibility will fall onto me.”
“It’s okay. You can investigate if you’d like.”
“It’s fine if there’s no problem, but where did you learn to behave like that?”
“I had a slightly special upbringing.”
Could this act be called “sidestepping the topic”? Studd openly probed Lizel, but Lizel had beautifully avoided it.
Lizel looked like he could be enjoying himself, but in reality, he certainly was because he had the leeway to enjoy.
“(Then, I don’t need to do anythin’ extra. I don’t wanna do somethin’ that would take away his fun.)”
“Gil, the referrer’s signature.”
“Aye.”
Called, Gil casually signed below Lizel’s beautifully yet slightly slanted signature. Gil’s letters weren’t dirty, but they were rough.
A referrer wasn’t usually required but necessary for someone like Lizel whose background wasn’t clear. If a criminal was carelessly allowed to register, the guild would suffer the damage. That was why this countermeasure was in place.
“In order to issue your guild ID, please prick your finger here.”
What was presented was a figure that appeared to have a glass needle at the top.
Below the needle was a sphere made from a similar glass. Complex patterns adorn its surface and changed colors in the light’s reflection.
A blank guild card was placed at the center of the glass skeleton supporting the sphere.
“A magic tool, right? Magic circles are drawn on them, but I don’t know some of them.”
“This is highly classified guild information, so it would be strange if you knew them.”
Lizel gave a strained laugh to avoid Studd’s apathetic yet blank gaze and pressed his pinky onto the tip of the needle. Even though the needle was digging deeply into his finger, his expression remained a smile.
Gil had expected such, but he casually looked over from the side and inwardly shrugged his shoulders. He wanted to see the day that composure disappeared from the face of this man, who remained unperturbed even after crossing worlds.
Lizel’s blood traveled down the needle and reached the sphere. Then, the patterns on it were steadily stained red. The moment all the magic circles were a vibrant red, a silver drop trickled down from the bottom of the sphere and onto the card.
Immediately after, letters formed on the card’s surface as if washing over it.
“He~h… Even though this magic is a highly-classified secret, the mechanics—”
“Hey, your finger.”
“Ah, is it already done?”
At Gil’s prompt, Lizel removed his finger that had been piercing the needle the whole time. He unhesitatingly put the finger in his mouth with the blood still dripping from it since he had pierced it too deeply.
Disgusted, Gil took the cloth from Studd and pulled Lizel’s finger out from his mouth. Then, he applied the cloth onto the scab that was still oozing blood.
“You got bad manners in places, y’know.”
“And you’re surprisingly diligent.”
“I know it’ll heal if you lick it, but when someone like ya does it, it only feels weird.”
Such behavior was nonexistent in the world of nobility, but Lizel had unexpectedly done it so naturally. Of course, this was an exception since this place required him to perfectly behave this way, but even though he loosened up, his clumsiness sometimes displayed itself at such times.
Lizel thought that he didn’t do anything wrong this time, but as Gil stated, when Lizel behaved as such, it felt so out of place that it could warrant a double-take. Lizel always thought that having a good image was also a problem.
On the contrary, Gil was boorish to the max, but if asked if his behavior was bad, that was not fully the case. Not only did he surprisingly notice fine details, but he had also provided support, just like how he had previously restrained those outside gazes. This didn’t go unnoticed by Lizel.
As Gil had done everything himself up to this point, he probably hadn’t noticed himself. However, it might be true that he was diligent. Gil had hoped that Lizel hadn’t noticed this side. He clicked his tongue with a loathsome look on.
“While it is interesting to see this unexpected side of Gil the One Slash, your guild ID is finished.”
“Hey.”
When Gil casually threw the cloth onto the desk after estimating that the bleeding had stopped, Studd cleaned it up while retrieving the card from underneath the magic tool.
Lizel accepted the card and took a hard look at it.
Guild: Parteda
[Lizel]
F-rank adventurer
The contents were simple, containing only the country name, his name, and his rank. If it wasn’t for the guild crest faintly drawn on the back of the card, he would have been disappointed at its overly simplistic feel.
And the card was even more desolate since he didn’t use his longer name at the start.
“Gil, can you show me your card?”
“Ah?”
Even though he furrowed his brow, Gil handed him the card in resignation.
It really was simple. As only “Gil” was written for his name, he might be using an alias just like Lizel.
However, unlike Lizel’s, his had “B-rank” written and was a different color. According to Gil, the color changed based on rank ascension. This appeared to be a forgery countermeasure.
“I will now give you an explanation on requests. Are you fine with that?”
“Yes, please.”
Lizel worried that Gil would be bored, but when he turned to look, Gil was already leaning up against a nearby wall.
He smiled to himself that Gil didn’t look like he would move. Then, he turned back to face Studd. In truth, even if he told Gil he could go somewhere to kill some time, Gil would probably decline and say that it would be too much work.
The explanation began from the basics. Studd’s monotone explanation was easy to understand, but Lizel decided to keep it a secret that Studd’s voice made the nearby guild employees sleepy.
Lizel nodded and listened to the basic explanation, but at a certain point, he interjected for the first time.
“The guild can lend you guides on the monsters and plants that appear in requests. If there’s something you don’t understand, do not hesitate to ask at a reception desk.”
“—Can I buy those books?”
Lizel managed to skillfully cut into the uninterrupted flow of words and insert his question.
Studd paused at this first question, closed his tired eyes, and opened one up to look at Gil.
“It doesn’t cost any money to read, so we do not mind if you borrow them at any time.”
“Learning new things is a hobby of mine.”
“You possess a fine hobby.”
There was neither disdain nor anything. Rather, Studd agreed as he held the same feelings.
“However, removing the books from the guild’s premise is prohibited.”
“It surely doesn’t contain highly sensitive information since you can browse it freely.”
“Yes, but it is a simple issue of the number of books and the borrowing and returning procedure.”
Studd said as he ripped out a page from his notepad. Lizel said nothing, waited, and listened to the sound of the pen smoothly gliding across the page.
Lizel took it after it was presented to him. He looked at it to see that some location and something that resembled a store’s name were written.
“This is the location of a bookstore that not only has guides on monsters and plants, but it also deals with a variety of specialized texts. While the guild expectedly has the most up-to-date guides on monsters, this place should be enough to provide you with a general gist of things.”
“Thank you very much. Gil, here.”
When Lizel called for him, Gil got up from leaning against the wall. Even though Lizel was sitting in the seat, he wasn’t leaning against its back, so Gil placed his hand there and looked from above.
He was shown a familiar street and store name written on it. He had never gone there, but he should be able to find it.
“It’s here, though.”
“Aye, no problem.”
“I see. Then, I want to go right away.”
This was probably the happiest Gil had ever seen Lizel since they met.
Lizel excitedly stood up from the chair.
“I apologize. I don’t have any plans on accepting any requests right away, so I would like to hold off the rest of the explanation for another day.”
“I do not mind, and I think it would be fine to hear it from the One Slash.”
“No, I’ll come again.”
Rather, Studd thought Lizel intended to accept a request as he looked up at Lizel standing up. It was true that Lizel now had a duty to fulfill requests, but Studd still couldn’t imagine the man in front of him operating as an adventurer.
Studd began to stand up to see them off, but a gentle plop suddenly pushed down on his head, interrupting him.
“Thank you, Studd. You are a kind child.”
Studd couldn’t understand the meaning of the words nor the warmth on top of his head for a moment. This was too unexpected of a happening that he immediately halted his movements, and in that gap, the two dashingly left the guild.
Studd, frozen halfway standing up, didn’t continue but sat back down. His emotionless face remained emotionless, but he didn’t resume finishing the documents in his hands.
“(It’s true that I’m probably younger, but what does it mean to catch a man my age and call him a kind child?)”
From the outside, it looked like Studd had ignored suddenly being treated as a child as usual. However, the person himself properly felt strange, but not out of disgust, at his first time feeling something.
“Don’t go pattin’ the head of guys his age.”
“But, isn’t he a cute boy? He’s just like my King. When I pat him, he usually enjoyed it.”
“I think people would usually hate it.”
“Eh?”
Towards the Sky 
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