SWNOVELXO Volume 1 Chapter 11_ The Best Day of My Life
“I return from the frontier, settle my account at the reception desk, head to the changing room, and take a shower that’s been prepared there.
Ah, it feels good.
Moving your body is nice, isn’t it?
I haven’t moved much in 8 years.
After washing off the sweat and fatigue of my first exercise in a long time in the shower, I quickly change clothes in the dressing room.
Kaede-chan said I could take my time, but I can’t make a girl wait outside.
After I finish changing my clothes, I stand in front of the mirror.
Yeah, that’s me.
I’m not blonde, and I’m not a woman.
Just ordinary me as always.
Satisfied with my average face, I grab my belongings and leave the changing room.
Then, I pass through the lobby and exit the guild.
At the entrance of the guild, a cute brown-haired girl wearing a relaxed white knit and a floral long skirt, with a brown purse over her shoulder, was waiting.
Of course, it was Kaede-chan.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“Huh? That was quick, wasn’t it?”
“I didn’t want to keep you waiting, men are just like that.”
I’m not going to put on makeup.
“Is that so…”
Kaede-chan glances up at me.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen Kaede-chan in casual clothes. You’re as cute as ever.”
“Thank you!”
Well, that’s that.
“But, didn’t you say we were going to a pub?”
“A girl has to be fashionable wherever she goes.”
“Hmm. Do you go often?”
“With my colleagues.”
After work, perhaps?
She said it was nearby.
“…What about then?”
“I wear my uniform… Senpai, let’s correct that. Please read the room.”
Right.
Yeah, I get it.
Kaede-chan dressed up for me.
Her hair, usually tied back for work, is now loose and has a natural fluffy look.
“Sorry, sorry. Shall we go?”
“Yes, this way!”
I follow Kaede-chan’s guidance to her regular pub.
The pub was close to the guild, less than 5 minutes by foot.
When we enter the pub, the staff guide us to a private room with only a table and seats.
“It’s a private room, huh?”
“Everything here is private. After all, if a receptionist came here for a drink after an adventure and started complaining, it would be awful, wouldn’t it? That’s why we drink at places with private rooms.”
I wouldn’t like that.
Especially if it was a complaint about the adventurers I was dealing with.
“I see. Ah, what does Kaede-chan want to drink? Cassis?”
Kaede-chan likes cassis.
“No, I’ll start with a draft.”
I call the staff and order two drafts.
As soon as they were brought to us, I ordered some random snacks.
“Cheers!”
When the staff leaves, we toast and drink beer.
“Kaede-chan, you’re drinking beer. You used to say you didn’t like it because it was bitter.”
“Working adults drink beer. The feeling of it going down my throat washes away my stress.”
No, you’re swallowing your stress with the beer.
“That’s tough. Is it the customer service?”
“Yes. There are few of you when you come in during the daytime, but there are many more from the evening. And there are some with poor character.”
“Character, huh? Complainers? Pick-up artists?”
“Both. And some are just rude. It’s annoying.”
She’s definitely stressed.
“By the way, I didn’t see any other adventurers in Eden’s Forest during the day, but there were more in the evening. Why is that? Do they all start their activities in the evening?”
“Ah, that… Eden’s Forest is a beginner’s area. So, the people who go there are students with school or salarymen considering a career change. That’s why there’s no one there during the day.”
Ah, there aren’t many people like me who quit their jobs to become adventurers…
“And the guild?”
“Well, our guild is unpopular because it only attracts beginners.”
Kaede-chan gulps down her beer.
“Are there unpopular guilds?”
“There are various factors, but ours doesn’t have an A-rank. So, the materials we bring back are poor, and the materials we sell are poor. You could even say our receptionists are unpopular.”
“But you’re there.”
You’re cute.
“The others are incredible. They’re full of beauties to boost sales. Their style is amazing.”
Kaede-chan makes a gesture of big breasts with her hands.
“I see…”
“Ah! Senpai, are you thinking of moving over there!?”
“No, I prefer a guild with you rather than strangers. When I think about it, you’re the only one I talk to.”
I just talk to the old man next door occasionally.
“Senpai…”
“I realized this the other day.”
“Senpai, would you like another drink?”
“I’ll have one, I’ll have one.”
We ordered our second round early.
And as we ate the snacks we brought together, we started to vent our frustrations.
“What do you mean ‘miss, you’re cute’? I’ve known that since I was born! Don’t pick up a 24-year-old when you’re a high school student!”
She’s really fired up.
“Ah, Kaede-chan, don’t take my Tsukune. You’ve already eaten, haven’t you?”
“Still the same, such a small person. Just order another one. You’ve won the lottery, right?”
Drunk, huh?
Surely, I can’t show this to other adventurers.
“I’m not small.”
“No, you are small. Even when we went drinking together in the past, you counted the number of fried chicken.”
… That is small.
“I don’t recall going drinking with you alone, do I?”
We’ve had simple meals like lunches a few times, but usually we drink with everyone.
“It’s at the after-party. We extended the night together, didn’t we?”
“Oh, that happened.”
Recalling the youth of ordering fried chicken at after-parties.
Still young though!
“This is the first time we’ve drunk just the two of us.”
“Well, we were college students then. If we were to go, we should go together.”
We’re not in a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship.
“Four years since then… I got sick at heart working for a black company, and I want to quit and return to being an adventurer now.”
Huh?
“Were you an adventurer?”
“Yes. I took the qualification test while working part-time after you graduated. I didn’t want to work.”
That’s your motivation…
“But, you quit?”
“I continued until before I graduated from college, and there was profit. But the party I was in disbanded. You wouldn’t understand because you’re a master of the sword, but going solo in the frontier is something only a fool or a friendless person does… like you!”
Kaede-chan pointed at me with an effect sound that felt like a “doon”.
And then she laughed out loud immediately.
She’s totally drunk…
“Why did you disband?”
“The leader said he was tired. It’s not really a long-term career.”
There are many risks, too.
“You quit before graduating from college. Wasn’t job hunting tough?”
It’s too late to start job hunting from there.
“No, that leader got re-employed as a guild master. He invited me. That’s why I became a receptionist.”
I see.
So, the guild master of the Ikebukuro branch was the leader of the party Kaede-chan was in.
He probably considered her situation as a student.
“Wow, you’ve had it tough.”
“Well, the pay is good though.”
At least, it seems better than my previous salary.
“Hmm, I should’ve invited you to be an adventurer when we were students.”
“By the way, why didn’t you want to be an adventurer? You had a swordsmanship level of 5 from the start…”
“I wanted to live a normal life. Get a job, get married, have kids. That kind of life.”
It might sound boring, but that’s the life I wanted to live.
“Is that so… and yet, the company you joined was black.”
“That’s how it goes. Life doesn’t always work out as planned.”
“Well, that happens. But you’re still 26, right? You can do it!”
“By the way, is 10 million enough?”
Will you marry me?
“No, I think you can do more. Let’s aim for a billion! Yay! Cheers!”
“Cheers! I’ll take you on a round-the-world trip!”
“Sounds great! But your ideas, like the Hokkaido crab earlier, are totally commoner’s thoughts.”
You’re noisy!
Kaede-chan and I continued drinking and chatting, and when it got late, we decided to call it a night.
Looking at Kaede-chan’s state, I thought it was impossible, so I asked the waiter to call a taxi.
“Senpai, what about the second place?”
When I tried to get the completely drunk Kaede-chan into a taxi, she asked a stupid question.
“We’ll do that next time. Next time, I’ll bring you to my 30-year-old apartment for the after-party.”
“Move out. I want a clean, double-bedded apartment!”
It’s decided that I’ll buy a double bed when I move.
“Alright, alright. Go home and sleep.”
“Senpai, thank you for today. It was great.”
“Thanks for introducing me to a nice place, too. I managed to keep my earnings for today.”
I thought I’d lose the 35,000 yen I made today.
“Earn more. We’re talking about a billion here!”
“I get it.”
She’s such a hassle.
“Senpai, see you tomorrow! Oh, and let’s go to a BBQ place next time!”
You’re off tomorrow…
“Alright, alright. I’ll take you to that famous place.”
We had that exchange of messages before.
“That’s a promise! Senpai, I love you!”
“Driver, I think I’ll take her home after all.”
Um, hotel, hotel…
“Oh, damn, this is serious. Driver, to Nerima Station.”
Kaede-chan seemed to sober up.
“Get home soon.”
“Good night.”
“Good night.”
I went shopping at a convenience store and took a taxi home after the taxi with Kaede-chan drove away.
Four years since graduating college… I think today was the most fun day.