WJ 04 – Hardships

“For starters, these monsters are called slimes and goblins. They’re the usual monsters we recommend for rookie adventurers to earn their keep daily.”

Dill takes a closer look at the pages in Miss’ hands before leaning back and squinting his eyes  to check out the said monsters which he’s also a bit familiar with. 

[Can someone like me beat those?]

[I believe you’re more than enough to beat these monsters though.]

[Will there be any problems fighting two of these monsters at the same time?]

[There shouldn’t be any problem fighting goblins as long as it isn’t close to their burrows, and slimes, on the other hand, basically don’t move in groups so I think it will be fine.]

Beating either of these monsters one at a time won’t be rewarding enough for Dill to live daily.

A slime will give him at least two copper coins while a goblin will give three copper coins.

Considering the cost it will take to have two meals a day and his costs of lodging, he won’t be able to get enough money just killing a few of these monsters.

[If you have what we call a subjugation certificate, it will serve as a proof of the numbers of monsters you defeated and the guild will pay you for it. You’ll be needing your Guild ID for that though but… oh, I almost forgot. Here’s your temporary certificate.]

Dill is actually wondering how many monsters he would have to defeat to even send money to Thor when he receives the pale purple paper from Miss and looks at it.

The words ‘Temporary’ are written so big that even Dill can’t help but feel grateful that he can read the texts with no worries. 

He folded the certificate in two so it won’t get wrinkled and put it in the pocket of his clothes.

[For the time being, as long as you can beat these two monsters in a steady manner, then you shouldn’t have any problems in ranking up. But… since it’s you, Dill-san, I think that’s not something we should be concerned about.]

[Oh, right, there’s this thing called ranking, huh…]

‘That guy from earlier was supposed to be C-rank, is it…’

He remembered that the man he had defeated was a C rank, but Dill decided not to talk about it. 

Everyone starts from E, then to D, followed by ranks C, B, A, and S. Or so he had been told but Dill isn’t particularly interested in it.

‘What if I decided to seriously try and climb these ranks now and I just passed away right in the middle? That would be hilarious.’

‘As long as I can eat three times a day, then things couldn’t be better.’

This is what Dill is thinking regarding rankings. For better or worse, he doesn’t have any grandiose ambition as an adventurer at his age.

‘As long as I can earn a good amount of money, save some of it and send it to Marill so she can get a taste of all the food she wants to eat, then that’s more than enough for me.’

Gears started to run inside the old man’s head as he tries to calculate how many monsters he need to defeat to earn enough for himself and his family when suddenly —

‘Ah! I forgot I didn’t check how much things are being sold in here…’

‘For starters, I need to secure the costs for lodging and meals. I need to be able to sustain my food, clothes and shelter…’

With that on the way, Dill decided on what are the things he needs to do next.

[So, this is a map that shows where you can find medicinal herbs. Prices vary depending on the type of—]

[Oh, sorry, but I don’t plan on picking medicinal herbs much, so we can skip that part.]

[Oh, but if you don’t work on gathering and collecting quests, then you won’t be able to rank up…]

[I don’t mind it, really. Besides, if I ever pick up these herbs, rather than slimes and goblins, it would be my waist which will kill me!]

His skill Foresight can optimize his movements as he needs. 

However, no matter how much he optimizes the gesture of picking up, standing up, sitting down, and lowering his back, he knows there ain’t no enough optimization to save his back.

‘Monsters that I can beat up or  perhaps weaken in a single blow should be perfect for these old bones.’

[…If you won’t work on the gathering of materials quests then you can also do public service. So about the ranking… please think about it.]

[I see. If that’s the case then I’d have to reconsider.]

Dill, in his mind though, is just actually saying things just so the young lady won’t make any further mess out of it.

‘The young lass regards me so highly I’m starting to get a bit worried now…’

Well, Dill decided not to say anything unnecessary for now though and listen to Miss. So—

As an adventurer, if you get attacked, that’s on you.

However, being too unruly would warrant you a free trip to the offices of the guards and authority.

Even if being an adventurer seems a rowdy and ruffian job, they need to still act with manners too.

‘That’s the gist of the guild’s rules, I guess.’

Dill thinks so as he turns his neck from side to side as he starts to feel sleepy.

Would an old man have a strong enough will to listen to such boring conversations like rules and anything similar? Of course not.

[…That being the case, did you understand everything I said?]

[…Of course, of course – loud and clear.]

[Please, you don’t have to lie. I’m in front of you and I can clearly tell you’re about to snooze.]

[I’m so sorry, I fell asleep for a moment. I swear I was with you until the half though so could you forgive me?]

[Ha… you should take this seriously as it can affect your future, you know?]

[I’m already in my twilight years so let’s not stress ourselves too much about it.]

Dill tries to talk more to Miss and check on how she is doing emotionally. Although still a bit awkward, he thinks that the young girl is now feeling a little bit more comfortable compared to the beginning.

As much as Dill wants to stay longer and help the young lass fully calm down, Dill knows that he still has a lot of things he needs to do for his own future. 

[Well then, let’s take a break from here.]

[Oh… Are you now taking your leave..?]

[I’d really want to find a place to stay before the sun fully sets.]

‘She looks obviously disappointed… Is this how it feels like to leave a daughter?’

Dill almost groaned involuntarily seeing the sad look on the young girl’s face and almost hesitated.

[But I’ll definitely see you tomorrow so cheer up, okay?]

[You mean it!? You said it, okay!? It’s a promise!]

‘Ah.!’

Seeing how the girl’s mood took an immediate turn around, Dill realized –

‘So that was just acting!’

‘She got me there.’

Although Dill finds it hard to keep up with Miss’ sudden mood changes, he feels a little relieve that the girl can now at least laugh after her traumatic experience.

Then, together, the old man and the young girl descended the stairs.

[Come again next time! You promised!]

Leaving the adventurer’s guild behind, Dill stroked the beard on his chin and looked up at the sky.

[Even at the age sixty… A girl’s heart remains a mystery to me.]

Perhaps even that forlorn look on her face that made him think of doing something about her was part of the act as well.

‘Might be, but who knows, and who cares.’

Dill decided not to think about it. 

After all, as long as she can smile, then isn’t that more than enough?

Even though Dill feels like he’s been tricked by a fox, he smiles and walks forward.

[Now that the registration is out of the way, I’ll now have to secure the lodging and meals next.]

Dill taps his pocket, which became quite lonely after he paid for the carriage, and then starts looking for an inn that he could stay at for the day.

Translator’s Notes:
1. Hi! It’s been a while! And no, I’m not yet really back! T.T I’m sorry for letting you all readers down but that tax season’s been pretty brutal and I barely had any sleep the past few months T.T (6 hours max on weekends! IMAGINE! THIS IS UNTIL JUNE 30!)
2. Thank you for all of your support and I’m really really sorry. I will try and continue to do my best and try to translate full time later this year like the prior releases before the abrupt break T.T
3. Also, for readers of Villainess Father who are also checking this out, I’m sorry but the series is currently at chapter 142 (last released from January 16, 2023 – Kakuyomu) latest so I thought there be a lot of chapters when I continue but it barely moved — I also checked Alphapolis where the authori publishes his work as well but the last release in there is from 2020. I haven’t read any news from the author though about stopping the story but I can see him updating his other series (this one). I’d really want him to finish his arc before proceeding though as I don’t want to be cut short! T.T
4. Anyway, y’all, I hope you all safe and doing well! Once again, sorry! T.T