Despite all his best efforts to avoid even the slightest possibility of an epic adventure befitting a hero, there he was. Sitting at the registration desk of the Adventurer's Guild. The one place he was hoping never to enter.
Opposite him was Paulina, a young (probably still teenage) newly appointed guild receptionist. She was wearing her blue uniform with a dragon crest insignia, holding up her ribbon tie. Same symbol that was held up proudly at the entrance to the guild.
This human girl had the aura of a 'childhood friend' or 'girl next door,' which made her a perfect candidate for a guild's mascot. Her friendly demeanour and cute looks gathered her a small number of silent admirers in only a few days.
She was styling a short bob, with some of her chestnut hair held by a shiny emerald pin, which strangely didn't match her outfit or her brown eyes, which made it feel out of place.
Paulina's smile radiated throughout the room, reflecting her innocence and enthusiasm as she began her new job. Her porcelain skin was only faintly flushed, as she stared at Jiro with excitement.
"Mr Jiro! You came to the right place!" she exclaimed brightly. "Let me explain to you exactly how our Guild operates." You see, the adventurers are divided into ranks, starting at the F rank, going all the way up to "
"Let me stop you right there", said Jiro, raising his hand in front of her face "As much as I'd love to know more, we just had a whole chapter of desk sitting, and I'm afraid if we do it again, the novel is going to be cancelled"
"Are- are you sure? I had the whole speech prepared."
(She really did. Five pages, handwritten)
Paulina's puppy eyes stared at Jiro with a silent plea to let her do her job.
"I'm entirely sure. Maybe another time. This time, I need you to tell me how I can get the guild's ID card so I can be on my way"
Young receptionist's eyes lost their spark, and with a pout, she crossed her arms.
"Fine! But don't blame me if there's something you don't understand" sigh "To get a guild card, you need to fill out a form and complete one quest. That's it"
She takes out a single piece of paper with a prepared table already on it—clearly, a registration form for newcomers.
"Name?"
"Jiro"
"Age?"
"18"
"Birthplace?"
"Japan"
"Is it like some remote village?"
"Island country in a different dimension"
Paulina looked at Jiro for a second, but then continued nonchalantly.
"An otherworlder, huh? Ok, next-"
"Hold on a second", Jiro suddenly interrupted her. This confused him at the City Hall, but he was too intimidated by Carmen to ask, so this was his best opportunity. "Are otherworlders really common here? It seems nobody's surprised I'm not from this universe."
"No. You're the first one I've heard of," Paulina responded as if it were self-evident.
"Then… why aren't you more surprised?"
Paulina thought for a second, tapping her lip with her pencil.
"I don't really know how your last world worked, but here, magic makes our reality really weird sometimes. Last Friday, my nephew enclosed the soul of our great-grandfather in my teapot, and now it screams every time I boil some water. And just before you came in…" she pointed at a table on the other side of the guild where Jiro saw a small furry creature in armour "… I was processing a quest completion for a talking raccoon. Trust me. Being from another world is hardly the weirdest thing I've seen this week. You'll need to try harder to surprise me"
As she said it, Paulina giggled slightly and winked playfully. Knowing he's not a completely extraordinary person in this world somehow brought him a sense of security and grounded him after a whole day of absolute insanity.
"Class?" she continued, no longer pouting.
"3C"
Paulina sighed.
"Mr Jiro? I don't know what 3C is. I'm asking for your class, like a warrior? Wizard? Sorcerer? Druid? What are you exactly?
Jiro thought for a few seconds. He wasn't quite sure, since nobody had told him exactly what class he would be classified as. He gave the best answer he could think of.
"I guess…. Hero?"
"Hero huh….. Hm? Hero?" Her head suddenly snapped at Jiro, then on his holy sword she only just noticed, and then back at Jiro again, "HERO?! Like- like- like- like- the all-mighty, summoned, blessed by the goddess hero?!"
Jiro nodded.
Paulina fainted.
(Remember that grounded feeling I had a second ago for not being a weirdo? Gone. Cheers)
After a minute, Paulina's eyes started to open very slowly. Her eyelids were heavier than your mum's (gottem).
"W-what happened?" she said with a confused voice as she searched for any clues through her foggy memories.
Finally, she managed to focus her sight enough to see Jiro standing above her, realising she had been lying unconscious on her desk as he used the registration to fan her, providing her with a gentle breeze.
"Mr Jiro?" she asked softly before her eyes shot open with such speed that they sounded like someone slamming open a heavy door "MR HERO?!"
Paulina immediately jumped up as if her loss of consciousness was only a dream and bowed repeatedly.
"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to faint so suddenly"
Jiro smiled awkwardly, seeing Paulina's grovelling, and raised his hands to calm her down.
"It's ok. You don't have to prostrate yourself in front of me like that. How about we calm down, ok?"
"B-b-but you're a hero, and I'm-"
"I'm a hero in name only, so there's no need for any respect in that remark", said Jay with visible embarrassment in his voice, leaving Paulina confused
"What do you mean by that?"
Jiro looked around and leaned closer. He whispered to the young receptionist.
"Can you keep a secret?"
Paulina nodded so fast, you could hear her neck snap in seven places.
"Ok. So actually I was summoned this morning to the palace and then…"
Jiro told her everything. Clearing up the misunderstanding was the primary catalyst for this explanation. Still, deep down, he had waited a whole day to tell someone about the absolute nightmare he had experienced in less than ten hours. He told her about being suddenly summoned, about the king and princess, about the Demon Lord dying because of a rubber ducky, about not being able to go back home, about being kicked out, about kicking a hole into someone's house with a single pebble, and even about the City Hall. The only thing he didn't mention was the slave market, as it was one thing he was truly ashamed of.
Paulina listened to him attentively with wide eyes, nodding from time to time. Although Jiro never expressed evident sadness, she could sense a hint of nostalgia for his home and even a small drop of fear in his voice, which would be apparent if someone were dropped into an unfamiliar land with no help or connections.
"So…. The demon lord is dead?" she asked. "No wonder we've had a lot fewer quests over the past few days." Even the monsters seemed to mellow down"
"Well, I guess you have a nice life of peace now, right? Not like it was my doing, but I'm happy for you."
There was an awkward silence after that. Neither of them knew how to continue the conversation after this heavy lore drop. Jiro was the first one to break the silence.
"Can we… get back to the ID? I do really need it"
"Oh, of course! Sorry!" Paulina said as her cheeks blushed with a soft pink, which seemed even brighter in contrast to her fair skin, "We have your registration form filled out, so all you need is to complete a single quest. How does killing five goblins sound? We have some herb collecting quest, but given your situation, I bet that quest would be easier for you"
"Right… I guess so. Thanks."
Before leaving, Paulina gave Jiro an adventurer starter kit, which contained a rope, scissors, a few bandages, a map of Rosalia, and an adventurer's rule book. Those were the first truly useful and handy things he received since arriving in this world, so it was a sentimental treasure for him—more than anyone could imagine.
With everything set in stone, equipment at his belt, sword in his hand and a quest in mind, it was finally time to embark on his first adventure.
As his eyes scanned the little bag he received from Paulina, and looked around the busy Adventurer's guild, he pondered about everything that transpired since arriving at this building. Unfortunately, he arrived at a tragic conclusion.
(We just spent another chapter at a desk. I'm definitely getting cancelled after that)