The bustling town was filled with people moving about, some shouting. The morning sun shone brightly, allowing its light to filter through one of the open windows, illuminating a dirty room. But beyond the room, the sunlight revealed two people sleeping on a worn-out bed. The first was Laos, who was still deeply asleep while holding onto one of Maris' boobs.
Slowly, Maris' eyes fluttered open, and she sat up, causing Laos' hand to slip off her boob and fall onto the bed. She rubbed her eyes before getting up and stretching. After that, she walked toward the window and gazed at the noisy streets below. This was their second morning in the town of Iveleth, the adventurers' town. But Maris' expression showed irritation. Whether it was because she had just woken up or for another reason was unclear, but what mattered was that she was annoyed.
"Good morning," Laos muttered as he stretched on the bed.
"Good morning," Maris replied in turn.
After that, Laos began looking around the room. Unlike Maris, he didn't seem annoyed, angry, or display any obvious emotion on his face. In fact, he looked lost—lost between the present and the future. If evil were the enemy of good, then problems were the enemy of Laos. Is my life a problem? That was the first thought that crossed Laos' mind as he remembered the responsibility he now bore as a married man.
"Well, I came up with a plan last night," Laos said, stretching again.
"Let's hear it," Maris said as she returned to sit beside him on the bed.
"First, are there banks in this world?" Laos asked.
"Y… yes."
"Then my plan is to take a loan from the bank. After that, we'll pay the guild fees to become adventurers. Then, we'll work as hard as we can to repay the debt by completing a lot of quests," Laos explained.
"To borrow money from a bank, you need to provide identification or collateral to guarantee you won't run away… In other words, you need an adventurer's ID before you can get a loan," Maris replied. "Oh! Then let's go get our IDs first, take out a loan, and pay the fees!" Maris added enthusiastically.
"Exactly!" Laos clenched his fist and raised it toward the sky.
Suddenly, Maris lowered her head and kissed Laos quickly. It was a long kiss—one that left Laos' eyes wide open in shock from how abruptly it happened. After a while, Maris pulled away, but her tears didn't stop. They streamed down her face and landed on Laos. Then, in a soft, tearful voice, she asked, "Our lives will get better, right, Laos?"
At this moment, Laos slowly extended his arms and embraced his sorrowful wife. He was the only one who truly understood that she longed for a happy life, far removed from her dark past and harsh childhood. This thought had become so deeply ingrained in Laos' mind that he no longer thought about his own happiness as much as he did Maris'. He was convinced that her past was far worse than his. So… was Laos really a bad husband?
"I swear… I promise… just like I promised you before, Maris… We will live a happy life," Laos murmured, his lips trembling, making it clear that he was on the verge of tears.
◆ ◆ ◆
In one of Iveleth's districts, there was a massive building. A large crowd gathered at its entrance, and even more people filled its interior. From the looks of it, everyone inside was an adventurer—they carried weapons and wore armor. This was the adventurers' guild, Alis Guild.
"I hope we find a priest of Iron rank," said a girl wearing a witch's hat. She had long red hair and wore a violet cloak as she walked beside another girl with a sword strapped to her waist.
But just as she finished speaking, she bumped into a medium-height villager walking with a demi-human girl. The collision was enough to make her silver staff fall to the ground. The ones she had bumped into were Laos and Maris. It seemed they had arrived at the adventurers' guild to register and start working.
"Sorry," the witch said as she picked up her staff, which Laos had picked up for her.
She's beautiful… My god, seeing all these adventurers makes me feel so happy. Not just happy, but a sense of belonging, like I'm in Orario! This place is incredible—it fills me with nostalgia. We moved forward into the guild, which was packed with adventurers just as I expected. The building was enormous, made of gleaming white bricks, and had a massive sign with a carved wing logo. Alright, it's time for my favorite adventure cliché… the receptionist girl!
I was excited. I hoped she would be an elf with long blonde hair and deliciously round boobs. It didn't matter, but I was sure she'd be a stunning beauty. But as I stepped forward, my excitement started to fade little by little. As I got closer, I realized something horrifying—there was no beauty waiting at the counter. In fact, there was no receptionist girl at all... Instead, what greeted me was an old man with massive eyebrows and tiny eyes carved into his wrinkled face.
"What's the matter?" the old man asked, surprised by my strange look.
"Ahh... I want to register in this guild," I finally said.
"Thank you for choosing Alis over the other guilds in the town... Please read the terms and conditions for registration and sign them," the old man said as he handed me a paper. So, there are other guilds here, I didn't know that.
I took the paper, which was filled with writing. For a moment, I wanted to copy it and paste it into ChatGPT to summarize it for me. Fuck! I have to read all of this. Well, let's see... There were more than twenty conditions, but most of them weren't important, or at least I didn't understand them, except for four rules.
First, the guild gets all the resources obtained by the adventurer from monsters. Second, if you leave the guild, you are not allowed to re-enter. Third, if you die on a quest, your party or anyone close to you will not be compensated, and all they will get is your weapons, "if the rescue team finds them." Fourth, you must complete at least one quest per day, except on weekends, and if you don't, your contract with the guild will be terminated, and you will no longer be an adventurer. Also, one additional rule is that the rescue team or Alis Guild, in general, is not responsible for your death if they fail to save you after you've requested help.
Fuck, what a messed-up guild. These four rules are terrifying, but the rest of the conditions suit me, like understanding the Lavanian language, which is the language of Yarum, and the second condition: you must be an adult, and the age of adulthood in this world is fourteen years old. Also, the strongest reason for registering in this guild is that they pay double what other guilds pay, and what I need most right now is money.
"So, what do you think?" I asked Maris, who was reading the paper as well.
"Loas! You should decide here," she replied. Fuck, she threw all the responsibility on me. I have to bear the consequences if something happens to us here. But look, there are so many adventurers in this guild that the quests board is completely hidden by the crowd. It's the most famous guild here. I won't regret it.
"I'll sign," I said.
"Okay, me too."
"Do you both want to register?" the ugly receptionist asked.
"Yes," Maris answered.
After that, he gave us another paper, and we signed it. I hope I won't regret this decision. Then, the receptionist took the two papers, looked at us calmly, and finally said:
"The registration fee is four nova."
"What? Wasn't it three?" Maris asked loudly.
"Yes, but the war is affecting the guild's operations, so the price was raised until the war ends," the old man explained.
"Well, we will pay by deduction," I said, staring at him while her eyes were fixed on Maris, as if she was the only one here.
"Oh, even deductions are no longer available. Alis is facing several problems because of the war, so they need money, and we cannot guarantee that the deduction will return our money quickly. As I said, Alis needs the money," the old man replied.
Oh my God, what the fuck do I do now? Well, I don't think it's a big problem, because we'll go to borrow money from the bank afterward. So, I'll pay for today, but why am I starting to feel nervous... Fuck, what do I do? What's this wave of anxiety that hit me suddenly? Yes, it's the same feeling I get when I want to ask something from a stranger... Come on, I have to do it, it's not that hard, just tell him what you'll do...
"Uhh... We'll go borrow money, then pay today," I said, nervously.
"Okay, what's your name, age, and origin?" the old man asked.
"Loas... Loas Martin, sixteen years old, from Pascal," I replied. Well, I don't want to reveal my real identity. I just want to be an ordinary adventurer. Also, I want to hide the fact that I am from another world.
"Maris Ellitol, seventeen years old, from Pascal," Maris replied. Ellitol? This is the first time I hear Maris' last name.
"One moment..." the old man said, as he handed our information to another employee.
We waited for a long time, and finally, our IDs arrived. They were small cards, with our name and origin written on them, but there was no age listed. Also, in addition to the Alis logo, there was a small engraving of a leaf. Well, this is the adventurer's ID that I've always seen in isekai stories. Oh my God, this is so exciting!! "Loas the Adventurer," my story is taking a good turn, right? I hope I live a good life from now on.
After that, we left the crowded guild and headed to the bank. Fuck, it's a bad start to the adventure arc, a beginning full of debt. I just hope I can pay it off quickly, or I'll be killed... Hah... What a great morning, especially when looking at all these adventurers. Although I feel a bit envious of them, I haven't gotten upset yet. When will I become one of you? Just when? What are you saying, idiot? You're an adventurer now... Eeeh, yeah but... I can't see myself as one because of the debt. I need to pay off this fucking debt soon!!
"So, where's the bank?" I asked Maris.
"I don't know, we need to ask someone," she replied, looking around as if searching for someone.
"Excuse me, where is the bank?" I asked a demi-human adventurer who was walking alone.
"There are two banks in Iveleth, which one?" he asked.
"The closest one."
He then showed us the way. The bank was also massive, not as big as the adventurer guild but still quite large. It was a brick building with a sign displaying a rose with a coin for a head. The place was nice and quiet, surrounded by small shrubs. I hope this is a reference to beautiful elves inside. Well, the guild let me down, so I hope there's a receptionist with long ears and long blonde hair, and let's not forget a beautiful figure.
When we entered the bank, the scent of flowers hit my nose, and when I turned, I saw several large flower pots—some on the ground and some on the windowsills. Is this really a bank? Oh, I get it now, that's what the logo on the sign outside meant. As I approached, I saw a girl. What the hell?! She was the strangest thing I had ever seen in my life... How do I even describe this creature?
Well, I won't deny it, yes, she had elf ears, but what's this? Her hair was made of green plants. I'm not kidding. It was literally plant material, with flowers blooming from it. She was wearing work clothes, and her skin had a slight green tint. What the fuck! is this what elves look like in the world of Staria?! Her chest was even flat. Fuuucckk!
"How can I help you, sir?" she said with an elegant smile.
"We'd like to borrow some money," I replied.
"Thank you for choosing our bank, Lotus Coin. We're honored. Please provide us with your identification," said the talking plant.
How much should I borrow? I haven't eaten in two days, and I might die. Fuck, I just remembered I won't be eating anything. This is terrifying! Okay, I'll borrow twelve Nova! Eight for the ID and four for food and lodging. I know it's a huge amount for us right now, but I'll fight to pay it off, no matter the cost.
"First, I'll explain Lotus Coin Bank's policy," she said, handing me my ID back after inspecting it.
"When you borrow money from us, you must set a repayment date. For every day you delay, one Nova is added to your debt. To be more specific, how much would you like to borrow?" the tree said.
"Twelve Nova," I replied.
"And when will you repay it?"
"In a week."
"Alright. In that case, you'll need to repay nineteen Nova, not twelve."
So that's the interest. Fuck, nineteen Nova is a huge amount. I don't even know how much I'll earn from guild quests, but I no longer feel excited. I'm losing hope in being able to pay it off. Will I really be able to repay it? Oh my god, I feel terrible. How could I have been blind to these things? I thought transitioning to another world would be easy, like any other isekai story, but what are these massive responsibilities, on god?!
"It seems like I won't live a good life..."