Side Story: The Peculiar Adventurer Applicant

I am a gatekeeper.

Not to brag, but I am a veteran.

I'm bragging, but I can spot a suspicious person on sight.

So there I was, standing watch at the gate, when a pair of travelers approached.

A black-haired man and a small girl with similarly black hair.

Black hair is rather unusual in these parts… Could they be siblings?

… But the man has the girl carrying all the luggage while he walks empty-handed… No, wait, is he holding a sword?

At first glance, I thought they might be brother and sister, but looking more closely at the girl, she was a dog-type beastkin, a slave by the looks of it. I see, that explains why she's carrying the luggage.

Still, making such a small girl carry everything feels wrong, even if she is a slave.

Could he be prejudiced against beastkin? No, but then her clothes wouldn't be so decent.

The pair gave off a strangely mismatched impression. Either way, I have a job to do.

"Halt! State your business in Tsuia!"

When I called out, they stopped obediently.

"Ah, sorry about that. I'm from the countryside, so… Is there something I need to do to get in?"

It seemed they had no intention of being hostile or forcing their way through.

I secretly activated my lie-detecting magic tool. All gatekeepers carry these to check for falsehoods during interrogations at the gate.

A veteran gatekeeper like myself can spot a suspicious character without relying on such things, but right now there's some noble bigwig visiting from the capital, so I was told to use it without fail to avoid any mistakes. Rules are rules.

"… Answer the question. What is your business in Tsuia?"

"Well, I was thinking of becoming an adventurer, so I left the place I was living."

I see. That didn't appear to be a lie. Aspiring adventurers are common enough; you hear it in every success story. Young people with no work looking to strike it rich. Of course, the reality isn't nearly that easy.

"Hmm… Is that a slave? Does she belong to you?"

"That's right. I happened to pick her up."

That didn't seem to be a lie either. Owning a masterless slave is perfectly legal, so there's no problem.

Bandits have been running rampant in this area lately, so that probably accounts for stray slaves wandering about.

As for why she's dressed so well… Perhaps this man doesn't treat her like a slave?

"Why did you come at this particular time?"

"Well, since those knights came through to subjugate the bandits recently, I figured the roads would be safer now. And sure enough, nothing happened on the way here. Peace really is wonderful… Hm? Wait, is this a bad time to visit or something? Sorry, I'm a country bumpkin so I don't know about these things."

Hmm, not a lie. He genuinely doesn't seem to know much about the current situation.

People have their circumstances, so I don't mind if there's a small lie here or there. But this man hasn't told a single lie; he must be quite the honest fellow.

"Oh, I see. Sorry about that… We've got some important officials in town right now. They're connected to those knights you mentioned."

"Is that so? That must make your job tough. So, may I pass? Or is there something else I need?"

Oh, right. I need to do my job as a gatekeeper.

I handled things in my usual businesslike manner. When I mentioned money, he seemed to be worrying about his wallet.

I promptly brought up the guide service.

It's a job where I guide newcomers at a cheap rate until they can get proper identification.

I'd noticed earlier, but this beastkin slave is different from the usual ones; she seems to follow him happily of her own accord.

She appeared to have volunteered to carry the luggage. He must treat her quite well.

When the man patted her head, she looked delighted… Hmm, I'm starting to understand.

For the time being, he doesn't seem like a bad person. With that, I permitted them passage through the gate and decided to personally escort them to the Adventurer Guild.

Along the way, both master and slave were drawn to the skewer stalls, which was rather heartwarming to see.

If he's registering as an adventurer in Tsuia, that means he'll be using this town as his base. In that case, we'll probably meet again. When that happens, maybe I'll treat them to some skewers.

Upon arriving at the Adventurer Guild, we headed straight to the counter.

I was prepared to write for him if he couldn't read or write, but he said it was fine and called the slave over.

And, to my surprise, this slave was called "Niku."

That's… um… Niku, that is… if my memory serves correctly, that's a term for a sex slave. It's closer to a derogatory label, really.

In other words, this man… with a child this young… he has those tastes? Ah, so that's why her clothes are so nice. It finally makes sense.

… Well, how he uses his slave is none of my concern.

However, to actually register her as an adventurer under the name Niku… This means that even if this beastkin girl is freed from slavery someday, she'll still be called Niku.

While registered names can be changed, it's basically something you don't change until death. It costs even more than the initial registration fee.

And yet, he purposely spent what little money he had on hand for this registration… What a villain. Perhaps I was too hasty in letting them through the gate.

He appears to dote on her, but who knows what kind of hatred lies hidden beneath?

… Then again, the slave herself seems strangely happy about it, so perhaps it's not my place to interfere.

The guild receptionist was muttering something like, "Such an adorable girl… Kuh, I have to protect her," but…

Yeah, that's right, this has nothing to do with me. I confirmed their guild cards, so from here on out, it's no longer my concern!

Hmm hmm, so his name is Kehma, huh? Alriight, from this point forward, I am completely uninvolved.

With that, I decided to hurry back to the gate.

Well then, back to work.

I am a veteran gatekeeper, after all! Ha ha ha!