Chapter 51: Registration : Relief
Though their late-night activities prevented them from making as much headway as they could have, Paul and Reida managed to reach a town large enough to support an Adventurer's Guild after twenty-six days of travel. It should have taken around eighteen, but neither Reida nor Paul were in a particular hurry.
"Don't go getting yourself killed the moment I take my eyes off of you, okay? And if anyone gives you trouble, make sure they regret it for the rest of their life. Understood?"
Resisting the urge to answer, "Yes, mom." Paul nodded his head and said, "Sure. I'll see you back at the Inn."
Noticing Paul's subtle and unintentional eye roll, Reida squinted her own before smacking him in the head with her right fist and saying, "Take this seriously, brat. You might be considered an adult, but don't think you're a man just yet. One slip up is all it will take before you're nothing more than a footnote in your family's history..."
Sobering up more as a result of Reida's words than the pain in his head, Paul's expression became serious as he affirmed, "I know. Trust me...I am well aware of what's at stake..."
Surprised by the rather drastic change in Paul's demeanor, Reida found herself at a momentary loss before answering, "Good...so long as you're aware, then it's fine..."
Feeling as though she may have gone a little overboard previously, Reida punctuated her words by smiling and ruffling Paul's hair. Then, with a soft, "See ya around..." she turned on her heels, raised her hand as a gesture of farewell, and made her way towards the Inn.
Exhaling a sigh, Paul took a moment to fix his hair before making his way into the small, single-receptionist Guild Hall. The Milbots Region was one of the safest in the Asura Kingdom, so, while there were branches of the Adventurer's Guild interspaced throughout it, there might not even be a single Adventurer within the town.
Since it was mid-afternoon, Paul was unsurprised to find the tavern-like hall empty. The Receptionist, a young woman with red hair and an ample bosom, was even in the midst of a nap. She had her head leaning against the wall, and, though it was very faint, Paul could hear her snoring before a soft ringing sound promptly awoke her.
"Jackson...?"
As there was only a single Adventurer away on missions at the present moment, the young Receptionist thought the sound of the bell chiming was her friend returning. When she saw Paul, her eyes briefly became as round as saucers as she tentatively inquired, "Can I...help you...?"
Seeing how neat and tidy Paul's appearance was, at least compared to the average commoner, the young Receptionist wasn't sure if she should address him as Sir or an even higher title. Fortunately, Paul made things a lot easier for her by raising his hand, smiling, and saying, "I stopped by to register with the Guild. Can you help with that...?"
"Uh...one moment, please..."
Though she was still a little nervous, the young Receptionist calmed down a lot after Paul's casual greeting. By the time she returned from the back room carrying a large, flat, and transparent piece of crystal, she had even regained a professional smile as she cheerfully inquired, "Is this your first time registering with the Guild? If so, I'll need you to fill out a form. If you can't read or write, I can help you."
Maintaining his smile, Paul casually replied, "I should be able to handle it, thanks."
Accepting the linen parchment the girl handed him, Paul left her slack-jawed by dipping the provided quill into an ink well and writing out his information with smooth and elegant handwriting. He nearly made the mistake of including Notos in his name but managed to fix it at the last moment by making it a simple initial.
"Paul N. Greyrat? Does that mean...are you-"
Raising his hand to silence the girl's murmurings, Paul maintained a relaxed smile as he said, "Please check the paperwork so we can move on with the registration. I have a companion waiting up for me, and I'd rather not keep her too long."
Unable to respond, the young Receptionist just nodded before checking over the information Paul provided. Seeing no obvious issues, she placed the piece of paper on the table before setting the crystalline slab on top of it. Once that was finished, she pulled out a thin, palm-sized, dull metal card before placing another piece of paper in front of Paul and muttering, "Please read this carefully..."
Staring down at the piece of paper labeled 'Code of Conduct', Paul took a moment to read through its relatively few contents while the Receptionist stared at him like he was some sort of exotic animal...
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Code of Conduct(I borrowed this from the Wiki)
1. Use of the Adventurer's Guild
If one registers with the Adventurer's Guild, they will receive services available to Adventurers.
2. Service Content
All Adventurer's Guilds throughout the world offer these services: job offerings, delivery of compensation and rewards, purchase of raw materials, and exchange of currency.
3. Registration Information
Adventurers receive a card with their own information under their control upon registering for the Adventurer's Guild. It is possible to re-issue it if lost, but rank will be reset to F. Also, each area has it's own fine for it.
4. Withdrawal from the Adventurer's Guild
If you request it, withdrawal from the guild is possible.
Re-registration is possible, but rank will restart at F.
5. Prohibited Conduct
The below actions are considered prohibited.
Actions which go against a countries laws.
Actions which disgrace and cause the reliability of the guild to fall.
Actions which interfere or obstruct other Adventurers jobs.
Buying, selling, and trading of jobs.
If prohibited actions are discovered, a fine will be applied and Adventurers guild qualifications will be revoked.
6. Breach of Contract Compensation
If you fail a job you have accepted you must pay compensation for the breach of contract, two times the amount of the job reward compensation. Repayment period is half a year. If compensation is not paid, Adventurers guild qualification will be revoked.
7. Rank
There are seven ranks from F to S based on Adventurers proven skills. As a general rule of thumb, you can only take jobs within one above or below your current rank.
8. Rank Promotions and Demotions
It is possible to raise your rank by succeeding a regulated number of jobs. However, if you feel that your ability isn't up to standard it is possible to remain at your current rank as well. Also, if you fail a certain number of jobs in succession, your rank will be demoted by one.
9. Obligation
In the case that a country is under attack by monsters and a request for assistance is made from the guild, you have an obligation to obey.
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After committing the more essential details to memory, Paul uttered a soft, "Neat." before meeting the Receptionist's gaze and asked, "Are we about done here?"
Though she was a little startled when Paul looked up at her after only a few seconds had passed, the bewildered Receptionist managed to force a smile as she answered, "Y-Yes. So long as you understand and accept the rules, I just need to issue your Guild Card..."
Placing the flimsy-looking piece of metal on the crystalline tablet, the complex magical formation engraved upon its surface briefly lit up. Then, as if there were a laser engraver within the glistening, rainbow-hued crystal, the surface of the card was promptly inscribed with all of Paul's information.
Once the card was finished being engraved, the marginally less nervous Receptionist proffered it toward Paul, smiling as she said, "Work hard, but don't jeopardize your life trying to increase your Rank quickly. If you end up crippled or lose your life in the process, it doesn't matter if you were F or S-Rank...the most important thing is making it back to the people who care about you at the end of the day. Okay...?"
Accepting the card, Paul nodded in both affirmation and approval as he said, "Excellent advice. I'll be sure to remember it...miss?"
"R-Rufina..."
Nodding his head a second time, Paul surprised Rufina by producing an Asuran Gold Coin and saying, "Keep the change...buy yourself and the people you care about something nice..."
More sure than ever that the handsome boy before her was a Noble, Rufina folded her hands over her lap with the intent to bow, but Paul had already turned to depart, emulating Reida's casual gesture of farewell as he said, "Take care of yourself, Ms. Rufina..."
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"You're earlier than expected. I figured you would walk around town and try to meet up with those two girls that have been tailing us."
Though he was unsurprised by Reida's words, Paul's smile turned wry as he asked, "You noticed them...?"
Giving Paul an 'are you serious?' kind of look, Reida decided to ignore his question and question, "Why not ask them to travel with us? I'm starting to feel a little self-conscious having that little cat girl spying on us all the time..."
Understanding that Reida was talking about Lynette, Paul's smile became even wrier as he said, "Yeah...that one, Lynette, can be a bit of a handful. Still, she and Rosaria are the types that operate better in the shadows. If we were to travel together, they wouldn't be able to move as freely."
Feeling as though she had just lost her scapegoats, a soft sigh escaped Reida's throat as she began to peel away her clothes. Now that she and Paul were alone, she had no delusions about what came next. Since the day they had met nearly two months ago, the only time they hadn't had sex was when she was on her period.
As it had been nearly three years since her last period, Reida had been more than a little surprised by its sudden resurgence. When she asked Paul about it, he hesitated for a moment before revealing that the Visions had the rather ridiculous side-effect of maintaining a person's 'prime' for as long as their ambitions remained. In other words, so long as she never lost sight of herself or her goals, she could offset the effects of aging by years, potentially even decades.
Since she could sense when Paul was telling the truth, Reida would be lying if she said she wasn't a little shaken by the revelation. At the same time, however, she felt excitement comparable to the moment she first entered the realm of Saints. Her age was something that had concerned her for years, not because she was afraid of dying but because she was fearful of atrophying and becoming weak.
Unlike male swordsmen, who could hold the title of Emperor or God for decades, the path of even the most talented female swordswomen went down the drain once they started menopause. If Paul hadn't given her a Vision, Reida knew she only had another five, maybe six years before her physical condition began to deteriorate on a daily basis. Instead, she got to maintain her beauty and physique for as long as she continued trying to improve her swordsmanship.
As grateful as she was for Paul giving her a Vision, Reida also knew it was only a matter of time before the King asked her the glowing purple crystal on her hip. When he did, she would have no choice but to reveal the details due to the magical contract that bound her. She didn't like it, but as the sworn-protector of the King, there wasn't much Reida could do until he killed over.
Fortunately, Paul didn't seem to care in the slightest when Reida warned him about revealing too much information. Instead, he actually thanked her for being honest with him before jokingly saying that if she were ever tasked to kill him, to do it after they were finished making love. In Paul's own words, he had said, "I think I could die with a smile on my face if it were after making love to a beautiful woman..."
In the days following Paul's joking, Reida willfully became a little more proactive whenever the two of them had sex. Before, she just let Paul do her from behind since it was meant to be a way for him to release stress after carrying her for half the day. Now, when she wasn't riding on top of him, Reida allowed Paul to pin her beneath him, her nails digging into his hair and back as he forced her to climax over, and over, and over again...
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