After three weeks of shaking in the wagon, we finally reach the territory of Minerva in the Southlight region.
I was picturing a village when I heard it was in the borderlands, but it looks like the feudal lord has been doing a good job building infrastructure. And because of that, this place is thriving as a town.
It has all the necessary facilities. A hospital, school, chivalric order post, and also civilian facilities like an adventurer guild, magic general stores, and weapon and equipment stores.
There are five inns dotted around too, and the whole town feels friendly to adventurers.
And after reaching Minerva, the three of us go to a cafe. It’s perfect to discuss our plans going forward, and the meals are affordable.
New adventurers tend to be frugal, and not have extravagant meals.
We chat as we have lunch, and then start our discussion, with the main topic being ‘Loyd’s fun second life’.
Lela in particular is fired up, and puts on fake glasses and does her long hair into a braid.
Mars and Leila are already adventurers, so they’re going to keep doing what they’ve been doing. But I’m jobless, so I really need to think about what I’m going to do.
I tell them why I’ve come to Minerva, and since they already know about me breaking up with Ruby, they don’t immediately tell me to go back to the atelier, and instead give me kind advice. The way they’re helping me really shows their character.
I need to have a proper plan going forward too, as a way to repay them.
“First, write here on this paper all the jobs you’d want to do. If you can’t think of any, do the opposite and write what you don’t want to do. And then I’ll give you advice based on what you wrote.
If you still can’t think of anything, it can be vague occupations too.”
I’ve always been Ruby’s exclusive mage, so I’ve never done a job questionnaire.
I can’t think of anything I want to be, but I can think of plenty of things I don’t want to do. And so, I write all the things I can think of that I don’t want to do.
“I don’t want to be someone’s exclusive mage.
I don’t want to be an adventurer.
I don’t want to conquer dungeons.
I don’t want to go to school.
A researcher job is out of the question.
If possible, I want a job where I use magic. But not a mercenary.
I have no faith either, so I don’t want to be a priest.
Does that about sum up your wishes for your second life, Loyd?”
“Yes Miss Lela, please give me advice.”
“I won’t deny that I felt like hitting you for a second there, but based on this, I think you should become an adventurer.”
“Be he wrote that he doesn’t want to become an adventurer, Lela. You should respect your sensei, as his disciple. Adventurers are lame.”
“Mars, say your occupation out loud.”
“Adventurer!!”
Mars is in a good mood, as he fills his stomach. He makes a good couple comedy duo with Lela.
“Lela, what I want is a convenient job where I can easily make money and feel fulfilled while not drawing attention. Isn’t there an easy peepeesy job like that?”
“Stop with the sudden sexual harassment. I’ll report you to the chivalric order. And if there was a heavenly job like that, I would be doing it too.”
N-no way…
Reality is harsher than I thought.
“Listen Loyd, a stable job also keeps you captive for life. From what I can tell from talking to you, you’re like a stray cat, so I don’t believe a stable job suits you.”
“Mars, what does being like a stray cat mean?”
“That you keep wandering without self-direction, and you’re a pitiful person that can’t quite gauge his distance with other people.”
“What, you wanna fight?”
I punch Mars without thinking. Sorry.
My right straight punch lands on his face, and he faints.
That was completely my fault, so I cast Heal to treat the wound on his face.
“Oh? You can use healing magic too?”
“Is that weird?”
“Hum, my mother told me that only those who have inherited the blood of fairies can use healing magic.”
Eh, really? I didn’t expect that.
Come to think of it, I’ve never seen anyone else use it. But my parents are both humans, and so are my grandparents. The only thing I can think of, is that there must be a fairy somewhere in my ancestors.
“By the way, I’m very good with healing magic because my mother is an elf.”
“That’s even more shocking.”
You’re a half elf? Now that she mentions it, her ears are a little pointy, even if not as pointy as an elf’s.
A half elf in the flesh… That sounds pervy.
“And, I know I’m bragging, but I can use high rank magic if it’s healing magic. I’m great.”
There goes the supreme ruler of the century’s end again all of a sudden.
Lela doesn’t know, but I can actually use master rank healing magic.
And so, I respond to her bragging with a polite smile
“…We got side tracked because of me, I’m sorry.”
“It’s my fault for hitting Mars in the first place.”
“I really think being an adventurer is what suits you.
It’s not a very stable living, but I think a job where power matters above all else is what is right for you.
You are strong enough to instantly kill a giant Sandworm, so I’m sure you would reach the highest rank in no time.”
“Aren’t you overestimating me a little? I was at the very bottom when it came to exclusive mages.”
“Even so, you are excellent as a mage. I think you have more than it takes to be an adventurer mage.”
Lela keeps complimenting me.
I’m happy that she values me so highly, but there’s a clear reason why I don’t want to be an adventurer.
Adventurer picking quests aren’t that different from what I did when I was an exclusive mage. The difference is that I would be delivering materials to the guild instead of Ruby.
But doing something that similar might draw Ruby’s attention. Adventurers tend to be well connected too, so rumors spread quickly.
Even I, who wasn’t an adventurer, would occasionally hear the names of adventurers who caused trouble in the capital.
“I think not doing a job because you’re afraid of Ruby is putting the cart before the horses. And it’s strange that you’re worried about her finding out in the first place.”
“Why? She might come for me if she does.”
“Let’s think about it another way. It doesn’t matter if she does come.
No matter how you look at it, you’re the one who gets to choose if you go back to the atelier. No matter how much she complains, if you don’t want to go, that’s the end of it.
If you’re doing well as an adventurer, you have no reason to return to the atelier, right?”
Lela’s words finally make me realize it. Yes, she’s right. When did my goal shift to running away from Ruby?
Running from her is only a means for me to be happy, not my goal. If I can be successful in this new land, there’s no problem.
“Not to mention the many perks of being an adventurer, like friendly younger senpais like us, and the thing you need the most right now, information.
In another job, you would have to start over from scratch, but if you’re an adventurer, you have the groundwork laid for you because we’re here to help.”
Lela is smoothly listing the advantages of being an adventurer, and the more I listen to her, the more appealing it seems.
She’d be great at selling suspicious vases for high prices.
“I’m not telling you to be an adventurer for the rest of your life, but how about you try it?
It’s more fun than you think.”
Lela finishes off with a smile.
It’s not like there’s anything else I want to do, so I’ll give being an adventurer a shot.
Lloyd’s world-view (and self-view) is warped. Not surprising since he has been power-harassed for a quite a while. Although in all fairness, the pressure Ruby was and is under most certainly led to it, given she is being required to make things like the legendary Elixir, which even other top alchemists have trouble creating.
As a result she started pushing him to reach the same heights as herself (top in the country if not the continent) and became increasingly agitated and then angry when he could not keep up. And with each failure her drive to succeed forced upon him she came to view him increasingly less, leading to the derisive comments / harassment.
Taking out her anger on him was a mistake that will now cost her – likely greatly, as I doubt either she or those ordering her to make such wonders truly realize how difficult it is to acquire the rare ingredients she requires. On the other hand, it was in comparing himself to the other 2 exclusive mages that he points out he is lesser for not being able to non-chant-cast master-level magic.
So perhaps one of the other 2 will be ordered to assist Ruby in acquiring materials. It depends on whether the royals / nobles ordering her consider her products of sufficient worth to use their influence to see them completed – or whether they consider the products too expensive to be worth creating if doing so would require use of political capital. If the latter is true, then Ruby herself has been taken advantage of for quite some time, and the forced reduction in work will be good for her.
Except… those who are used to working in black conditions (Lloyd and perhaps Ruby) can sometimes have trouble getting used to less intense work schedules. Ruby may suffer a break-down due to the change, especially if she has become a work-aholic due to the pressure-cooker conditions she has labored under (which sounds like it may be the case).
But returning to the issue, he is the #3 exclusive mage in the kingdom, where exclusive mages are considered to be above most other categories of mage. And if there are a dozen other countries in the author’s world-building (unlikely, but possible), then that still means he is in top 50 of all known mages. A very over-worked and under-appreciated top 50 mage, but still in the top 50.
When it comes to seeking a job that would be easy, I think he will be surprised to discover how many ‘difficult’ jobs he may find are ‘easy’ (to him).