Solasidor, I'm back!

Karina-chan here! Solasidor, I'm back!

First, the gate check. I figured I'd use my universal ID for Dea if needed, but he apparently has proper ID, so we'll use that.

 

 

"Heya, gate guard. Traveling merchant Karina Shonin here."

"Mm, a Merchants' Guild peddler… Hm? What about the girl with you? Show me her ID."

"Um, here."

"…! M-my apologies! Please proceed!"

One look at the pendant Dea pulled from his chest and the guard's attitude completely changed from how he'd treated me.

Probably some noble thing. They didn't even check my baggage. I'd prepared it for inspection, but whatever. It's just lotion and massagers.

"Let's head to the Adventurers' Guild."

"Yes, Onee-san!"

I took Dea's small, soft hand and headed for the guild.

 

*

 

When I opened the door, the guild was buzzing with adventurers.

Eyes turned to my chest. Busted… Oh wait, they're looking at Dea. Well, he does look like a cute elf girl. Femboy, though.

"So this is the Adventurers' Guild. My first time here."

"Véraldo's looks the same. Oh, Blade-senpai! Hey!"

I spotted Blade-senpai and his crew having drinks just as we walked in.

"Yo, Karina. Back from Véraldo, huh. Wasn't worried, but you look fine… Who's the kid? A secret child of yours?"

"Yup, my cute kid — kidding. Do I look old enough for a kid this big?"

"Nope. Looks like an elf… Not a slave, so 'circumstances'? Is she crazy strong too?"

"Hehe, Dea-kun is, as you can see, super cute! Brilliant and soothing. My companion now."

"R-right. Cute… I'm Blade. Nice to meet you."

"I-I'm Dea. Pleased to meet you."

Dea-kun bowed his head politely to Blade-senpai and the others.

"Let's register and make a party, Dea!"

"Hey Karina. Just wondering, but why are you using '-kun' for a girl…?"

"Ah, I'm a boy."

"… Right. Well. If you ever get sick of Karina's antics, say the word. I can hide you."

With just that one line from Dea-kun, Blade-senpai instantly grasped the situation.

Hey now, don't make it sound like I'm the root of all evil.

Either way, Dea's registration was quick.

He had proper ID and the fee — so F-rank to start.

I asked the receptionist to go ahead and form a party while we were at it.

"Could you provide me with the party name?"

"Oh… Dea-kun, any ideas?"

"Hmm. Since we'll mainly be peddling, how about 'Fakers' — as in 'Peddlers'lying?"

"Sounds good. 'Fakers' it is."

"Understood. I'll process it."

Once the receptionist stepped away, Dea-kun quietly whispered to me.

"Fakers actually means 'Impostors.' Fits Onee-san's double life."

"You came up with that on the spot? Genius…"

"… Actually, I've been thinking about party names all day."

"So you were excited to party up with me? How cute…"

And thus, Dea-kun and I formed the party "Fakers."

Now to earn quick coin and bump Dea-kun to E-rank.

Lumberjacking maybe… ah, the buy price tanked — down to half. I should stop; it's hurting the real lumberjacks.

Something easy and profitable… ideally hard for others, easy for us. Hm? Wild boar culling?

That boar from the other day? Let's turn it in. They want tusks and hides as proof if possible. Hm.

"Excuse me — we've probably culled one already. Can you check?"

I submitted the hide and tusks.

"Yes… Ah, yes. These are definitely wild boar tusks and hide… The butchering's rough with a lot of meat left over, but the hide's clean and still fresh… Including the hide, the reward comes to two large silver… One per party member, then."

"Oh, then maybe…?"

Earn a silver in a month — E-rank.

"Yes. We can bump Dea-chan to E-rank. Would you like to? It'll look like a boost, so I don't recommend it, though."

Power-leveling. Nobles do it to pad their credentials, but having rank without skill isn't advised.

And yeah, Dea is noble-ish and I did the killing. It absolutely was a boost.

"Let's match ranks. It's just E-rank — apprentice level — so it won't matter. Sound good, Dea-kun?"

"… I'll only adventure with Karina-neesan anyway. Please raise it."

"Understood. Congratulations on E-rank."

Thus, Dea became E-rank a day after registering.

Fast? Yes. But boosted ranks happen all the time — nothing noteworthy at all. Period.