Axel.
Around this town, rarely do overly powerful monsters appear. Additionally, its location on the border of the Kingdom of Belzerg, almost on the opposite side of the border fortress facing the demon army's territory, means it is seldom attacked by demon forces. As a result, beginner adventurers gather here, making it a beginner's village.
In many games, there's a beginner village setting. Whether they will become heroes strong enough to defeat demons or weak adventurers who might even struggle to make ends meet, everyone starts their journey from the beginner village. This is the breeding ground for adventurers, the place where the weak take their first steps toward strength.
Here, one more thing needs to be mentioned.
That is—Adventurers!
Adventurers are a group of wanderers who take on various tasks and earn rewards by completing others' requests.
As long as they are not enemies of all humanity—like the demon army monsters—anyone, even if they lack citizenship or don't know where they came from, can be considered an adventurer.
And the Adventurer's Guild is the organization that acts as an intermediary and support system for adventurers.
Therefore, anyone who wants to become an adventurer must register at the Adventurer's Guild to accept various tasks.
However...
"I forgot there was an administrative fee like that!?" Ethan was stunned as he looked at the receptionist girl, who also seemed utterly helpless.
After being chased by the entire town, Ethan finally became smarter. He had Goddess Eris wear his coat temporarily to hide her goddess-like appearance, while he went to the Adventurer's Guild to prepare to become an adventurer.
Unfortunately, the requirements to become an adventurer are very simple. As long as you're not an enemy of humanity, even if you're an idiot, you can easily become an adventurer. However, this simple requirement comes with an additional condition that cannot be ignored.
That is—the Administrative Fee!
Yes, the administrative fee. Actually, such an additional condition is quite normal. Unlike most games where becoming an adventurer is free, in real life, paying an administrative fee is a given.
However, for Ethan, this was unexpected but reasonable.
Because he—didn't have a single penny to his name!
So he couldn't even meet this additional condition!
"Really? Sorry, I left my wallet at home and forgot to bring it. I'll go back and get it in a bit." Spouting the most blatant lie, Ethan left dejectedly under the receptionist girl's gaze.
He never expected that the first step to becoming a hero would be mercilessly thwarted!
However, as Ethan turned around, he seemed to notice a very strange quest notice on the quest board—
[Recruiting team members, looking for someone gentle, someone patient enough to listen even if it's boring, someone who won't mock even if the name is weird, someone who can stay together even if there's no quest. Need a tank, preferably someone around the same age. I'm a Arch Wizard who just turned thirteen—]
'Why does this quest notice seem familiar?'
Ethan tilted his head in confusion, but remembering Eris was still waiting outside, he quickly ran out, unaware of a black-haired girl with red eyes staring at his back.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
"All done?" Seeing Ethan come out dejectedly, like someone who won five million dollars in the lottery only to have it eaten by a stray dog from who-knows-where, Eris tilted her cute head and asked.
"Or, did you fail?"
"Something like that, just a small problem." Ethan looked at Eris, who was wearing his black coat and a matching black hat, hiding her goddess-like face. He shrugged resignedly. No matter how bad his mood was, he always felt happy when he saw her.
Dispelling all the gloom in his heart due to the 'Emperor's efforts being halted midway,' Ethan smiled at Eris and recounted what had just happened to him, one by one.
"Really?" Eris felt helpless and dizzy. She hadn't expected Ethan to encounter such a situation. She also hadn't realized that becoming an adventurer required paying an administrative fee. She hadn't even considered that Ethan couldn't become an adventurer because of the fee issue.
"Adventurers who came from another world before, they brought artifacts that made them invincible right away or strange special abilities, so they never worried about money problems, but..."
At this point, Eris glanced at Ethan, who was smug yet resigned.
But Ethan was the exception, because his cheat was Eris herself!
And because Ethan had taken an unprecedented, even bizarre, innovative action, he now faced the embarrassing difficulty of not even being able to pay the administrative fee.
"But, I don't regret it. Even if I had to do it again, I would still choose Goddess Eris!"
Ethan's sudden confession made Eris's face turn red. "What are you suddenly saying?! Teasing a goddess will bring divine punishment, you know~!"
"Yes, yes, my beloved Goddess Eris, for you, I'm willing to accept divine punishment anytime, anywhere!"
"Teasing a goddess really will bring divine punishment!"
As Ethan continued to tease Eris fearlessly, two thug-like delinquents suddenly came running from a distance.
No! To be more accurate, judging by their rainbow-colored hair, they were definitely very trendy people!
"Thieves or robbers?" Seeing them carrying cloth bags, with what looked like large bills visible from a distance, some even starting to fall to the ground, Ethan smirked.
Where is this? Axel!
Although this is a beginner town, it's still a gathering place for adventurers. To dare do something so blatant here, they really don't consider the adventurers here as human, do they?
"Ah—!?"
Just as Ethan thought, before the two foolish thugs could run far, a very handsome man simply needed to stick out his leg to trip them. The money bags, scattering everywhere, defying the laws of physics, kept rolling.
"Ara—!?"
The money bag stopped, right in front of Eris. Its appearance, like an offering of cabbage, shocked Ethan so much he nearly swallowed his own tongue!
'No wonder my Goddess Eris, even a money bag full of cash rolls toward her as if nailed to Newton's coffin!'
Seeing Eris's confused expression, Ethan could only think that!