The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I'm a "Farmer", Not a Demon King! ~ - Chapter 119

The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I’m a “Farmer”, Not a Demon King! ~

Chapter 119   Sophia’s Adventurer Registration

“Is this the capital?”

As befitting the capital of this country, we lined up in an unnecessarily long line at the inspection checkpoint and finally made our way into the city.

Looking around, the city seemed even more lively than the previous ones. Truly feels like a capital.

“Yes… It’s a bit nostalgic.”

“You’ve been here before?”

“A handful of times, before my profession was identified.”

“I see.”

Come to think of it, Sofia lived as a normal noble’s daughter until her profession was identified at the age of ten. So it wouldn’t be strange for her to have come here once or twice.

“Do you remember anything, Vesnar-sama?”

“Even if you ask, I was barely three days old when I left here. I don’t remember anything, and I mean literally nothing.”

It’s not like I’ve forgotten about that time. In fact, I can still recall it now.

However, it’s not like I remember the scenery. After all, despite being reborn, my body was that of a newborn. I couldn’t see properly, and the only solace was that my ears somehow functioned, given that I couldn’t use my body properly. But apart from that, I didn’t remember anything that could be called a memory.

“First, let’s find an inn.”

And so, we proceeded to find an inn as usual, but we were caught by a tout on the way.

However, we were still undecided, so we decided to see how things went and followed the tout to the inn.

“Alright, shall we have our usual discussion about activities during our stay in this city?”

Upon arriving at the inn, I immediately plopped down on the bed, unlike Sofia who began to check the room and started preparing the tools to boil water.

“Yes. Would you like tea for a drink?”

“Ah, sure. …Oh, by the way, I bought these earlier. Do we have tea that goes well with them?”

When we were finalizing our arrangements at the inn, there were some mochi-like sweets placed near the counter, so I bought them on a whim. Since I wanted to eat them, I thought of ordering something to go along with it.

“I see… If we mix a few tea leaves, it should work.”

Can it? It’s not like I was particularly insistent, and I don’t really care about the taste difference, so I just said it on a whim. It seems like she can blend tea according to what you eat.

I always thought that Sofia is quite competent. It’s hard to believe she was originally a noble’s daughter. No, maybe it’s precisely because she was a noble’s daughter?

“However, it’s improvised, so it might not turn out well.”

She says it might not turn out well, but I think it probably will. I mean, watching her, there’s absolutely no hesitation. If she’s that confident, it should be fine. …Well, there are people in the world who project confidence but end up failing, but I don’t think Sofia is one of them.

“Sure, sure. Please go ahead, and even if it turns out bad, it’s not like I’ll die from it. It’ll just become another funny story, right?”

if it tastes bad, well, so be it. I wouldn’t want to drink something bad if I were alone, but drinking something someone else made with someone else can be fun, I think.

“Anyway, you’re pretty good at improvising tea blends.”

“I’ve been practicing this since my noble days.”

“Do nobles really do stuff like this?”

I’ve been taught the basics and all, but I was never taught about tea blends. At most, we learned about which country’s tea is delicious and how the taste changes with the seasons, that sort of thing.

“In my case, it was a bit unusual. To be appealing to a potential spouse as part of the marriage arrangements. I was expected to handle various things in that regard. Since my profession was identified, I hardly left my family’s room, and I had plenty of time, especially with not much to do.”

“…I see.”

“I’m grateful for that experience now.”

“Grateful?”

“Yes. It’s because of that experience that I can be of help to you now.”

As we talked, the water seemed to have boiled. Sofia swiftly acted, starting to brew the tea.

“…In that case, I’m grateful too. Thanks to that experience, I can now enjoy your tea like this.”

And so, on the table were the tea brewed by Sofia and the cut sweets. I got up from the bed, moved over there, and tasted them.

“Thank you. It’s delicious.”

As I expressed my thanks, Sofia smiled gently, then sat across from me, took a sip of the tea she made, and nodded in satisfaction.

“—— So, as for the plans going forward, first off, tomorrow is Sofia’s adventurer registration.”

Up until now, I had almost forgotten, but Sofia didn’t have any identification. For nobles, something with a family crest serves as their identification, but Sofia’s current status is that of a slave. While that could technically be used as identification, it might not be useful when the master is just an ordinary person like me. So, I want to prepare a more solid form of identification.

“That’s right. It’s better to make the identification sooner if we’re going to.”

“And, as for the rest… well, it depends on how I feel that day. Though there are things to do, I don’t really know where to start.”

We do have a goal, meeting ‘my mother,’ but she’s of royal descent. Honestly, I’m not sure where to begin. Even if we try to get close to the nobility, it wouldn’t mean much unless they’re significant. Besides, even if we manage to get close, there’s hardly any chance for a commoner to meet royalty. While revealing my status or background would likely grant us the opportunity, it would unnecessarily create a big fuss.

If possible, I’d like to stay quiet about this until we decide on our plans for the future. Using nobility can be a last resort, for that reason, I ignored the Aldoa family incident and came here.

“However, wouldn’t it be better to raise your rank sooner? You do plan on raising it, right?”

“Yeah, probably. Having a higher rank seems like it would make it easier to resolve issues when they arise. At least a D rank. Ideally, a B would be nice.”

Even if becoming an adventurer grants access to identification, truth be told, F and E, the freshly-made rookies, wouldn’t benefit much from having it or not. Well, it’s better to have it than not, but they don’t possess enough power to brush off problems.

Especially Sofia, to put it mildly, is a beauty. Truly fitting of her former noble status. However, precisely because of that, she’s easily targeted. Even more so when you’re an adventurer.

That’s why it’s necessary to prove that we have a certain level of power. Otherwise, there will be meddlesome individuals.

However, among adventurer ranks, there’s S as the highest rank, followed by ABC. Why am I aiming for B instead of S or A? Because it attracts less attention. Simply put, S is beyond the norm, and A is the pinnacle within the conventional realm according to the general public’s evaluation. Either way, you’d stand out. To avoid drawing attention while obtaining identification to not cause problems, it’s pointless if you end up standing out.

“If that’s the case, how about we prioritize raising our rank first before taking it easy? It would be too late to regret not raising the rank when problems arise because of it.”

“…Well, I guess so.”

“Wouldn’t it be fine to take it easy after raising your rank to a certain extent?”

“Yeah. Then let’s do that.”

With that settled, since we still had time, we decided to head to the adventurer’s guild.

And here we are at the headquarters of the Zaviet Kingdom’s Adventurer’s Guild. Being in the capital, it’s considerably larger compared to the branches I’ve seen before. Frankly, it’s even larger and better maintained than the residences of minor nobles.

Standing in front of this impressive Adventurer’s Guild building, I glanced at Sofia’s attire and, after a moment’s thought, made up my mind and walked into the guild.

Wearing a maid outfit and entering might invite strange remarks or encounters from odd people, but at this point, there was no helping it.

Although I had prepared for such possibilities, contrary to my expectations, no one reacted.

Well, that’s not entirely true, there was a reaction. But despite the reaction, no one approached us.

Thinking about it, it’s understandable. This is the capital. Unlike in towns in the countryside, there are a considerable number of nobles here, and in such a city, it’s natural for children of nobility to aspire to become adventurers. It’s not uncommon for them to have maids accompanying them as their chaperones.

In other words, not just maids, but anyone who appears to be a servant accompanying someone would be unwise to bother. This is similar to picking a fight with a noble.

In smaller towns, there might not be as many nobles, so even if someone has a servant, they might not be a noble but a commoner with wealth, like a merchant or a member of a prosperous family.

Well, I think it’s foolish to meddle with someone who has a servant regardless.

However, unlike in such smaller towns, the situation is different in the capital. Higher-ranking adventurers might somehow deal with minor conflicts involving nobles, but for the people stationed here, dealing with nobles is something they’d rather avoid.

That’s why everyone is just watching and not doing anything.

Well, I’m not a noble, though.

But it’s a relief that they’re not doing anything. So, we headed towards the reception desk to register Sofia.

“Hello there! How can I help you today… eh… a maid?”

It seemed like that was in the manual. The words were flowing smoothly until then, but when the receptionist looked at us—or rather, at Sofia’s attire—she paused and tilted her head in surprise.

“Is there a problem?”

“Huh? Oh, no… there’s no problem at all.”

Perhaps it was when I spoke that she finally noticed my presence too. The receptionist exchanged a few glances between me and Sofia and then lowered her head with a stiff expression.

She seemed nervous, probably thinking I was some noble or something. Well, it’s understandable considering we have a maid with us.

“Um, s-so, what business do you have today?”

“We’ve come to register as new adventurers.”

Responded Sofia to the nervous receptionist.

“A-and registration? For both of you…”

“No need.”

I’m not a noble, but if that’s what she thinks, it might cause fewer complications, so I decided to play along, giving off an impression to support that assumption. It’s not much of acting, just being curt.

To be honest, staying silent and letting things progress on their own seems to work.

So, as I stayed silent and behaved quietly, it seemed like she didn’t want to deal with nobility or assumed she didn’t want to, as we were able to get our guild cards faster than when I initially entered the guild. I handed Sofia her card.

“Here are your cards indicating your affiliation with the Adventurer’s Guild. Um… do you need an explanation about requests and such?”

“Yes, please.”

While I have a basic understanding, Sofia probably wants to hear it again.

The receptionist took a deep breath and cleared her throat before beginning the explanation to Sofia. Her smile seemed a bit strained, but it’s probably just my imagination.

“For newcomers, please start by completing the permanent requests posted over there. For those, you don’t need to bring the request paper to the reception every time; instead, report the results of what you’ve defeated, and we will pay you accordingly.”

“Permanent requests” refer to requests that are constantly posted due to their frequency. For instance, gathering herbs used for healing potions or dealing with goblins. These permanent requests vary by region, but these two seem to be posted in almost every branch. Well, goblins are everywhere, and there’s always a shortage of medicinal herbs, so it can’t be helped.

“If you can complete a certain number of those, you’ll be recognized as a full-fledged adventurer and be promoted to D rank. Once you reach D rank, you can take regular requests, and your rank will increase based on your achievements.”

Oh, and there’s an age restriction. People like me, underage, won’t rank up no matter how many we defeat.

“…That’s all.”

Perhaps because she managed to say it without mistakes, the receptionist let out a small relieved breath. Well done.

“I see. Let’s go, Sofia.”

“Yes.”

Saying that, we moved away from the reception and headed towards the bulletin board with the requests. There were a few adventurers there, but they realized where we were going and quickly left the area.

It feels a bit awkward, but I can’t help but look. Sorry about that.