Heibon na Watashi wa Tonikaku Hibon - Heibon 18. The Agency’s Representative Baldness Appears to be Quite a Hit

The place we arrived at was jam-packed with people.

It was indeed a noisy place and those present were equally noisy.

「Tonic-san, this place must be…」

「It’s a public cafeteria, of course」

「Of course…」

Most of the seats by the table and counter seemed to be taken.

There were people eating and fighting. Some were talking to clerks and others were whispering among themselves in the shadows.

Many people gathered here since this public cafeteria also doubles as an inn.

「Look over there. Do you see the notice board? Any request for contractors is posted there. The clerks here are also acting as an intermediary to the agency. Of course, this is also where you can register as a contractor.」

I quickly ran after Tonic-san who just walked through the crowd of people like it was nothing. He seemed to accustomed to this sort of place…

The place we arrived was a small counter near the notice board he pointed to before. The place was quite secluded, if you ask me.

「Wanzardt-san, are you there?」

「Ou! I was wondering who it was. Apparently it’s you, laddie. Long time no see.」

After Tonic-san called out, a rough looking middle-aged man appeared from behind the counter.

That man had a sturdy-looking physique and stern face.

If I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought that he was some sort of a bandit leader or something.

「You seem to be good as always, Wanzardt-san. But today I came here for a different matter.」

「What’s this? So you’re finally quitting the knight business and going back to working as a contractor?」

「No, it’s nothing like that. I’m here to register this girl as a contractor」

「Hm? It’s unusual for you to bring other people here. And a lassie at that as well… Fuun~….. This seems to be one of those “special circumstances”, isn’t it? …. Let’s talk inside」

Wanzardt-san stared at us and then pointed to a door behind the counter.

With Tonic-san’s nod as a sort of approval, we went behind the counter.

「You can sit anywhere you like.」

Behind the door was some sort of a living room.

Wanzardt-san sat on the only one-seat sofa in the room and urged us to take a seat as well. Rey-sama and I sat on one of the big sofas while Tonic-san and Emyu-san took the other.

「Well, a person from another world is accompanied by a High Mage, an Mid-ranked Mage and even the first Demon Lord? Your friends are always full of surprises, Tonic」

Rey-sama and Emyu-san moved almost immediately.

Rey-sama leaned forward to protect me while Emyu-san had readied a spell on her right hand, ready to be fired at any time.

Their trained reflexes enabled them to move like that, I guess.

There were green spirits gathering around Emuya-san’s hand. So it must be a wind magic?

As for Av, he didn’t move from his seat and just watched the events unfold.

「Calm down, you two. Wanzardt got those that information all from his special ability」

Tonic told us.

「Ability? 」

「Yes. His ability allows him to see information about people who are in his line of sight. Putting it simply, it’s an ability that enables one to see 『Who you really are』」

Wanzardt-san gave Tonic-san a nod to confirm his explanation.

「It’s just like Tonic said. My ability is called 『Information Discovery』. Sorry for peeking at your information without permission earlier, but without me knowing what kind of people who you guys really are, we can’t properly introduce ourselves to each other, can we?

And this also reduces the amount of exposition on your end at the same time.

By the way, my full name is Wanzardt Saada.
I am the owner of this place and also one of the intermediaries to the agency.
Nice to meet you folks」

Wanzardt-san said that as he grinned gleefully. The spirits seemed to take an interest in him and patted his bald head.

I almost started laughing when those spirits began using his bald head as a slide.

Looking at how the spirits dropped their guards, Rey-sama started to relax as well. Emyu-san took it as a sign and dispersed the mana that was gathering on her hand.

I noticed something pretty strange. When we become alerted to something, the spirits also become vigilant as well.

But even so, if they deem our adversary as someone not to be cautious with, they will start approaching the said person.

We could observe their reactions and decide whether to trust that person or not.

The spirits also seemed to be able to judge a person’s character, since most people they liked were good-natured people.

Which means, we could sort of trust Wanzardt-san since the spirits liked him

「Now then, tell me about the situation……」

Hmm…. My situation…
But from where should I start?
And up to what point should I tell him?

Tonic-san seemed to notice my inner turmoil and gave a short laugh.

「You can tell him everything.
Wanzardt is someone I trust and leave my back to.
He took great care of me when I was still a contractor」

Tonic-san seems to really trust Wanzardt-san. I’m kinda interested about their past now.

Since Tonic-san gave an OK, we talked about everything that had happened up until today.

I told him my story without hiding anything.

Everything including information about the spirits who happily used Wanzardt-san’s “shining brightly like a diamond” head as a makeshift slide.

Wanzardt-san showed multiple expressions as he tried to drive the invisible spirits off his head.

Meanwhile, Tonic-san burst out laughing while Emyu-san only gave a dry laugh.

Despite Wanzardt-san’s effort, three spirits didn’t give up and tried approaching his head again. The moment they made eye-contact with me, I couldn’t stop myself from laughing as well.

「Ahem…. So that’s the general situation now….
Okay then! Lassie, how strong are you?」

「Umm…. I can use the highest level of wind attribute magic.

About the other attributes, it…. must be probably around middle…. Yes, mid-level for every other attribute」

「Hee, isn’t that amazing?! Are you specializing in magic?」

「Don’t be stupid.
I also taught her the art of flinging herself headfirst onto the enemies!
If we only count dagger and one-handed sword skills, she was the cream of the crop among the Frontline Vanguard Corps!
However, her bow skills still need a lot of improvement, but at least she’s capable for a simple hunt」

「……」

I could only smile wryly as Tonic-san boasted about what he had taught me.

That’s right. Strong.

I had become stronger.

I was supposed to be strong.

And yet….. I could only shiver in fear when I first saw the bear monster.

All I could do was run away from the bear as fast as I could.

All those knowledge and strength amounted to nothing in a real scenario.

「But…」

I hung my head in self-loath while Tonic-san kept talking…..

*Pon!* Someone patted my head lightly.

It was Rey-sama.

His previously hidden face was no longer hidden by his robe, since there was no longer a reason to do so.

He let out a little smile and turned his line of sight towards Tonic-san.

「The only thing this girl really lacks is the real-life experience.
Even though she is really strong, it doesn’t mean anything if she doesn’t have enough experience.
It’s a fatal flaw.」

「I see.
So that’s why you signed her up for this job?」

「That is right.
As a contractor, she will start accumulating experience with each request she completes.
I… no, we want her to be able to provide for herself in this world」

Tonic-san nodded in agreement.

「She wants to knock down those people who just threw her to the sides from their high horses.
After hearing that, I just had to make her strong enough to do so」

「Wasn’t that…」

I almost couldn’t believe what I just heard.

It was just a small easily-forgettable rant and I only told him about it once.

Yes, it was my sole reason to gain as much power as possible, but honestly, I was surprised that he didn’t forget about it.

「What’s wrong? Did you forget about it yourself, Rio?

Where is the person who is going to strike those people back?

Or rather, would you like to turn your tail and flee instead?」

The smile on his face was so radiant. It was so unexpected of him to give that kind of smile; it made me smile in response as well.

He’s right.

I have to get stronger.

For their sake and for mine as well.

「Wanzardt-san, I want to become stronger.

I want to survive in this world so that I can look down on those people who denied me before.

I have to be stronger than ever.」

「That’s some attitude you have, lassie. Very well then!

I will accept your registration!

From now on, you’re a contractor. I hope you do a good job!」

Wanzardt-san, with his shining head still being patted like a drum by the spirits, accepted my registration.

And with this episode, I registered as a contractor.