My name was Galf.
I was once the strongest warrior in Howlin Village. I used to take great pride in that title, but lately, I had come to realize it wasn’t much to brag about. The world was a far larger place than I had ever imagined.
I accompanied Gatto’s disciples when they moved from Howlin Village to the Village of the Great Tree. It was a wonderful place. The food was incredible, the sake was excellent, and people stronger than me were a dime a dozen. I never entertained the thought that I could best an Inferno Wolf or a Demon Spider, but I had hoped I might hold my own against the humanoids. I was wrong. It had been a very long time since I felt so utterly helpless.
My current goal was Daga, the Lizardman. He was incredibly powerful. Even when he agreed to seal his tail attacks, I couldn't manage a single win against him. But honestly, I didn't mind.
After the festival, I accompanied the merchant Michael to Shashato City. Officially, the reason was to broaden my horizons, but I had two other objectives in mind.
The first was to renew my adventurer registration. I had been registered once before, but if a member remained inactive for too long, their status was revoked. To be blunt, I could have avoided the revocation simply by reporting my location periodically, but since I hadn't been able to leave Howlin Village for a long time, I had been struck from the rolls. Well, there was also the fact that I’d simply forgotten about it.
So, I had to register all over again, starting from the very bottom. You can register at any branch of the Adventurer Guild, but considering my future, I chose Shashato City. I had visited the city twice before, but it was far more lively now than I remembered. There were many more new buildings as well.
"How about staying at my residence?" Michael invited me, but I politely declined. I wasn't exactly a refined man. I couldn't have someone like myself coming and going from a prominent merchant’s home; it would be bad for business.
"I see. In that case, please stay at that inn over there." Michael pointed toward a magnificent, brand-new building. "It’s an inn that I manage. There’s no need to worry about the bill."
Michael was clearly prospering. I decided to accept his generosity.
When I first entered the inn, the staff gave me a skeptical look. However, once a butler arrived with a letter from Michael, their attitude shifted to one of extreme politeness. I suspected the room they gave me was the best one in the house.
When I asked if the location of the Adventurer Guild had changed, they offered to summon one of the guild directors for me. I declined that immediately. Calling a director just for a re-registration would have been mortifying.
The Adventurer Guild was in the same spot, though the interior had become quite luxurious. Business was obviously booming. I went straight to the reception desk to get my business over with. The line moved quickly, and soon it was my turn. While it was rare for someone to have their status revoked entirely, it wasn't unheard of. The receptionist handled my re-registration with practiced ease.
My rank was one—the very bottom. By completing requests and rising through the ranks, an adventurer eventually earned the right to take on larger contracts. It was essentially a measure of reliability.
For the record, there wasn't just one Adventurer Guild in the world. There were several organizations. While they all functioned similarly, their ranking systems differed; some used symbols, while others used the names of minerals. Since the criteria for advancement varied as well, you couldn't easily compare a rank in one guild to a rank in another. The guild in Shashato City was one of the major ones, managed by the Korin Religion and spanning many different countries.
As I finished my paperwork and turned to leave, someone blocked my path.
"Hey now, you’re leaving without even saying hello?"
It was the typical guild cliché. How incredibly annoying. The guild staff were aware of these types, but they generally left them alone, believing that anyone who couldn't handle such trouble themselves wasn't fit to be an adventurer. It was considered a "first trial" for beginners.
However, I was no beginner.
"Get lost. I’m just here for a re-registration."
"Oh? You think that old excuse still works these days?"
Thinking back, that line had been a popular way for rookies to act tough when I was active as an adventurer. Even back then, I used to laugh at beginners who claimed they were "re-registering."
Did I really look that much like a novice? Or was the thug in front of me so strong that he didn't even register me as a threat? He certainly didn't look the part, but I decided to test him.
"Fine. Be prepared to have your bones broken."
I was certainly prepared.
"Huh?"
I didn't actually break his bones, but I did pop four of his joints out of their sockets. It only ended at four because a guild staff member finally intervened. If they were going to stop it, they should have done so from the beginning. They knew I was re-registering. As for the thug—if you're going to pick a fight, you should at least size up your opponent first. It was a complete waste of time.
The wasted time continued on my walk back to the inn. I encountered three separate groups of thugs and hoodlums, totaling twelve people. It was a massive headache. Honestly, did I really look that weak? It was a bit of a shock to my system.
I had dinner at the inn. To be honest, it tasted terrible. No, it was likely considered a high-quality meal by most standards, but after eating at the Village of the Great Tree, my palate had become far too refined. Even in Howlin Village, we used crops and seasonings purchased from the Great Tree. Once you got used to that level of quality, everything else was difficult to stomach.
Fortunately, I had a secret stash. When I left the village, the Village Head had given me some pocket money along with a few supplies: soy sauce, miso, and mayonnaise. I felt a twinge of guilt for the inn’s chef, but I wasn't about to suffer.
I used my supplies. It was delicious.
I noticed the guest at the next table staring at me. Sorry, but this belonged to me. I wasn't sharing. It was no use looking at me with those puppy-dog eyes.
...Fine. Just a little. You don't have to thank me, but don't you dare take another scoop of that miso.
The next day, I focused on my second objective: participating in the Shashato City martial arts tournament. There had always been a tournament in the city, but the participants had been unremarkable, making it little more than a neighborhood brawl. Michael had invested heavily to transform it into a proper event. Now, they held Small Tournaments every month, Large Tournaments every three months, and a prestigious Special Tournament once a year. It drew competitors from the Demon Kingdom and beyond. I had been intrigued when Michael told me about it.
The preliminaries were scheduled for five days later.
The tournament ended. I was the winner.
However, I felt absolutely no sense of accomplishment. My opponents were far too weak; they weren't even worth discussing. Even the "General Division" matches back at the Village of the Great Tree were higher quality than this. To make matters worse, my opponents had spent the entire time trying to provoke me before the matches. I wondered if verbal sparring was the latest trend in the city. On the bright side, the prize money was substantial. Several nobles invited me to join their service, but I turned them all down.
I did recognize one face in the crowd.
"Galf, right? From the Village of the Great Tree."
It was Randan, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon Kingdom. We weren't close, but we had spoken briefly during the festival. Given the timing, he must have headed straight to this city after leaving the village. Being a high-ranking official looked exhausting. Out of respect for the village, I gave him a polite bow. Randan looked significantly stronger than anyone else I had seen at the tournament.
"If you had entered, things might have been a bit more exciting," I remarked.
"Hahaha, give me a break. I’m just a civil official. More importantly, wasn't it a bit unfair for you to enter? That was practically bullying."
"Hmm? You think so?"
"I do. Well, I suppose that’s why you used that weapon... but to anyone who didn't know you, it looked like you were mocking them. They were losing their cool before the fight even started. Was that your plan?"
What? I looked down at my weapon. It was the wooden sword I used for practice back at the village—the one the Village Head had carved for me. I was so used to it that I hadn't even thought about it.
Ah! So that was why everyone thought I was weak. My clothes were ordinary civilian attire, too. I wasn't wearing any armor. Against the people in the Village of the Great Tree, armor was useless anyway; they’d cut right through it. I had learned to prioritize speed and took the armor off... and because of that, people here assumed I was a pushover. I wanted to believe that was the reason.
Still, if they could be handled with a practice wooden sword... I’d have to tell Michael to find some stronger competitors, even if it was just for the monthly tournaments.
As it turned out, this had actually been the annual Special Tournament. That explained why Randan was there, but it made me wonder if the turnout had just been poor this year.
Well, objectives achieved. After that, I spent some time wandering around to broaden my horizons. I definitely wanted to participate in the next tournament at the Village of the Great Tree. For the return trip, I decided to act as an escort for Michael’s goods. I checked the schedule and saw that shipments were frequent.
I still had time. I considered visiting the Royal Capital of the Demon Kingdom, or perhaps boarding a ship to the Southern Continent...
Twenty days later, I was back in the Village of the Great Tree.
"You're back already?" the Village Head asked.
"Yeah. Here, I brought souvenirs."
I handed him a large collection of folk crafts I had purchased in Shashato City: dolls, puzzle boxes, animal carvings, and ornaments. I had spent nearly all of my prize money and the pocket money he’d given me.
The verdict was in: Urza and Nart were already pestering the Village Head for the dolls. Alfred and Tiselle were showing a keen interest in the animal carvings. It seemed my choices were correct. Though, I really wished the Mountain Elves wouldn't immediately start dismantling the puzzle boxes to study their internal structure. I was interested in the mechanisms too, but still.
"You shouldn't have spent so much," the Village Head said.
"Don't worry about it. I’ve received far more than this from you."
When I was in the village, I helped Gatto and my daughter with their work, but otherwise, I was free to do as I pleased. I spent my time training with the Lizardmen, the High Elves, and the Mountain Elves. I had even been allowed to practice horseback riding recently. On top of all that, I was being fed. A few souvenirs could never repay that debt.
"I see. Well, Draim is visiting today, so we’re having a banquet. Eat your fill."
"I will."
I knew Draim was there; the dragon was the one who had carried me back to the village. I had been looking forward to this. The food here was just as delicious as I remembered, as was the sake.
Eating here made me recall the trials I endured in Shashato City. Soy sauce, miso, and mayonnaise—my indispensable travel companions. They could make even a mediocre meal taste like a delicacy. The soy sauce, in particular, was a perfect match for the seafood in Shashato.
But I had run out. Even though I’d been given a generous amount, it didn't last. It wasn't that I was giving it away, but people kept pestering me for it. Especially Randan. Once I let it slip that I had real seasonings, he targeted me. He made off with a quarter of my stash. He actually used his authority as an official to pressure me into it.
And then there was that fellow at the inn who begged for a taste every single time I sat down to eat. He made sure to coordinate his meals with mine and always sat right next to me. I hadn't realized that the duration of my journey was tied directly to my remaining supply of seasonings.
That was a grave oversight.
But it was an important lesson. I was starting to think I should seriously consider moving here permanently. My daughter was here, Gatto was here, and there were plenty of strong warriors to challenge. The next time I returned to Howlin Village, I would have to discuss it with my wife.
A new request appeared at the Adventurer Guild:
"I am looking to secure a supply of seasonings known as soy sauce, miso, and mayonnaise. They appear in my dreams. I am desperate. If that is impossible, I wish to contact the warrior named Galf who won the tournament in Shashato City. Please."
The client was the young master of a certain noble house. The reward offered was an astronomical sum.