Chapter 8: Registration and DoubtsHidingInTheNovels

  Luna Pov

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  "Fifteen Mon please," the guild receptionist says.

  "Sure. Here."

  Registering in a guild also costs money. That is why no entrance exam is required. It is a rule to accommodate the merchants who register for profit.

  Now, the obvious question is: "Why would the guild accommodate them, given that it is a governmental structure and therefore would get the income either way?"

  The answer is logical once you think about it. To register, you must first pay the entry fee anyway. After that, to profit from it, you'd have to enter four more times. By then, the economy would have benefited from you enough to make up for most future losses.

  A merchant who takes his adventurer rank all the way to C-Rank would also benefit the economy, not to mention that the completion of all those quests will help the guild more.

  Finally, hiring an examiner would cost money. Now, the reason not everybody is registered with the guild in their city is that they don't leave the city anyway.

  "So, what kind of adventurer name do you want to have?"

  In this world, adventurers go by adventurer names. There is no need to expose the real name, primarily because verifying it is way too complicated. I already decided which name I would choose.

  "Lunar Rabbit."

  She looks at my hair before seemingly understanding my name choice. Well, there are more reasons than my hair, but I don't care where she thinks I got the name from.

  She brings out a crystal ball. "Please put your hand on it," she says. This ball is capable of finding out when a person was born and therefore my age. Of course, I could resist it or even fake my age, but I see no reason to do so.

  As I put my hand on the crystal, it shows an eight. In this world, there is no age restriction for becoming an adventurer. After all, like I said, it is the only way to survive for many kids in this world.

  "Okay, done. From now on, you are an official adventurer. Please wait for a few minutes for us to create your guild card."

  "Sure," I say and turn around. There I see the muscur guy from before, just standing there. "Still didn't snap out of it? Are you pnning to stay there and block this space forever?"

  Hearing my voice, his previous dazed demeanour suddenly sharpens, and he turns to look at me.

  "I've thought about it. Aren't these orphans throwing their lives away? Isn't there a better way?" He asks me, completely forgetting his accent and that I'm eight years old.

  "If you had a choice between dying for sure and struggling to maybe not die, then you'd struggle too, right?"

  He nods. "Then why are you trying to take that right away from them? The right to struggle to become stronger. The right to hope for better days. The right to strive for even that minimal chance to turn their lives around. These children took this job with determination. A determination you are belittling,” I scan the crowd that had silently supported his actions, “a determination you could neither hope to reach—nor beat.”

  Silence once again. I go around him and exit the building, feeling a grateful stare on my back.

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  3rd Person Pov

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  The silence in the building persists for several minutes. Shocked faces look at each other. Finally, a voice echoes through the quiet hall: "Was that really an eight-year-old?" the voice asks, as if to forget what the girl just said.

  "Didn't you see the age crystal? It clearly said eight."

  "But really? Which eight-year-old could say that?"

  A discomforting silence once again. Then the muscur man speaks: "Are you sure we were correct? Did we really help those kids by sending them out like that?"

  "I'm sure we did," someone retorts, "or should we really send them to their deaths?"

  "But didn't we?!" Now the muscur man's tone is slightly urgent. "Every single time we prevented them from registering, and every single time they went out anyway! Every single time they died! Did we not stop them from getting information through the quest description? Did we not drive them to their deaths?!"

  Silence for a third time. Finally, the man sighs and turns to exit.

  "I'll go now. I'm not in the mood for anything. I need to think." Saying that, he leaves.

  "Me too," a voice echoes.

  Slowly, the guild thins out until only the guild receptionist, who observed the whole discussion silently, but with a slightly gratified smile, is left.

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  Luna Pov

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  After leaving the guild, I stop the nearest person.

  "Excuse me? I'm new here. Can you tell me where to find an inn?"

  It was something I pnned to ask in the guild, but forgot. And now I can hardly go back. Wouldn't it completely destroy my cool character if I did? I mean, I know it will be destroyed eventually, but still, one can hope.

  "Just follow the street. It's that building there." The man points toward a three-floor building in the distance.

  "Thank you very much."

  A few minutes ter, I enter the Inn.

  "A room for a week, please."

  "With food and bath?"

  "Only food. I have ways to bathe myself."

  "Sure, that makes thirty-nine Mon please. Twenty-five for the room and fourteen for the food."

  "Okay." I hand her the money. As the subdimension surprised the guard back then, I have learned. I now make it seem like I am taking the money out of my pocket. I did the same at the guild, too.

  "Here is your key." She hands me a key. "It works for the second room on the right after you move up the stairs."

  "Thank you very much."

  I thank her and move to my room. After entering the room, I am satisfied with its size, approximately nine square meters. Then I leave the inn. I presume that the guild card is done now, so I enter the guild again. Everything is empty. The only people I see are the receptionist and the barkeeper. When they hear me entering, they both turn toward me.

  "I'm here to get my guild card."

  "Sure."

  The receptionist pulls out the guild card from under her desk. I look at it. On top, it says "Lunar Rabbit, age 8". On the bottom right-hand side, there is the official stamp of the guild. On the bottom left-hand side, there is a small writing that says "Bruk". In the background, an F is visible through a slightly darker shade.

  Satisfied, I look up. "Thank you."

  "No problem."

  As I turn to leave, she calls out to me.

  "Wait!"

  "What is it?" I turn around and am shocked by the scene. She bows at a ninety-degree angle toward me.

  "Thank you for the matter with the kids. I've tried to tell those guys myself, but they wouldn't listen to me."

  "Ah, I only spoke my thoughts. Also, the guy was blocking the way."

  I turn around again and leave for good. I don't pn to take a quest today. That can wait till tomorrow. Reaching my room in the inn, I set up a barrier that warns me when somebody is about to enter my room and teleport to my usual training pce.