Chapter 15: The Bear Gets Picked on at the Guild Again

The next day, I headed to the guild early in the morning to take on a request.

The reason for going early was to find a good job.

If possible, I wanted a subjugation-type request that would help me practice magic.

Even better if it wasn’t wolves.

With that in mind, I set out early.

As I strolled along, casually looking at the town, someone called out to me from behind.

“Good morning, Yuna-nee-chan.”

“Good morning, Fina. Heading to the guild again today?”

“Yes. Are you going too, Yuna-nee-chan?”

“Yeah, I thought I’d try taking on some work.”

“I see. Please be careful not to get hurt.”

“I hope you find some work too, Fina.”

“Yes.”

Fina smiled brightly and grabbed my bear-hand.

I didn’t brush her off and instead held her hand back.

Her smile widened even more.

Since I never had siblings, I wondered if having a little sister like this would’ve been nice.

While chatting with Fina as she happily smiled, we arrived at the guild.

“Then I’ll go check for work.”

“See you.”

After sending Fina off, I entered the guild.

There was already a crowd gathered in front of the request board.

Maybe I was too late.

One person noticed me, then two, and soon the awareness spread.

But no one spoke to me.

Just as I thought that, someone called out.

“So you’re the girl who defeated Deborane?”

One of the adventurers spoke to me.

He looked about three or four years older than me.

“…Deborane?”

I tilted my head.

I didn’t recognize the name.

“Who?”

I asked, unable to recall.

“You. A girl wearing that ridiculous bear outfit, bear gloves, and bear boots.”

Well, it’s probably true that no one else in the world dresses like this.

If there were, I’d like to meet them.

“I don’t remember anyone named Deborane, but if you mean the girl in a bear outfit, that’s probably me.”

“Because of you, Deborane can’t work due to his injuries!”

“Oh, you mean the adventurer who picked a fight with me?”

That’s the only person that comes to mind.

“That’s right!”

Ah, I remember now.

That was the name of the guy who started trouble with me that first time.

Still, I don’t see why I should be blamed.

Maybe I should call the guild master.

He did promise to handle things if I got harassed.

“That Deborane guy picked a fight with me, I accepted, and he got hurt. I’m not at fault. And besides, there’s no need to make a fuss just because a goblin got injured.”

“You dare call Deborane a goblin!”

“He’s rude, acts tough against weaker opponents, can’t understand reason, and can’t do anything unless he’s in a group. From any angle, he’s a goblin.”

“Don’t mess with me!”

So noisy.

You don’t have to shout—I can hear you just fine.

“Are you also a goblin who can’t understand words? That issue was already settled—it was his fault.”

“There’s no way Deborane would lose to someone like you!”

“Stop it, Lanz. The guild master already explained—she’s not at fault.”

A blonde woman in her early twenties stepped between us.

She was slender and quite beautiful.

“But because of her, we can’t complete our request!”

“That still doesn’t make it her fault—you understand that.”

“Gil, say something too.”

He called out to the large man standing beside the woman.

The guy was built like a smaller version of the guild master.

“Deborane is at fault.”

“What? You too are siding with this weird girl?”

“From what I heard, Deborane is at fault.”

“But that doesn’t mean she had to go that far!”

Was he really that badly injured?

I did punch his face until it changed shape, though.

“It’s his own fault, so it can’t be helped.”

“That’s right. He was close to having his guild card revoked.”

“And that’s because of her!”

“Um… if the three of you are just going to argue, can I go?”

“Ah, sorry. Lanz is angry because Deborane can’t take on requests due to his injuries.”

“That still doesn’t give him the right to complain to me.”

“I know that, but…”

“Then why not take a request the three of you can handle until he recovers?”

“We’ve already accepted one.”

“And if we cancel it, it’ll count as a failure!”

Failures stay on your guild record forever.

They probably want to avoid that stain.

But taking it out on me isn’t my problem.

Deborane started that fight—I’m not at fault.

“Then just give up.”

“That’ll delay our rank progression!”

“I heard Yuna was being bothered by adventurers—so it’s you guys.”

“Guild Master!”

The muscle mountain himself showed up.

Seems like someone at the reception called him.

“I already told you—Yuna isn’t at fault for the Deborane incident.”

“But because of her, we can’t complete our request!”

“That’s your own responsibility. Deborane picked a fight and lost. You left him alone and didn’t manage him properly. You knew he was hot-headed.”

“Well… yeah.”

“Then I have a solution.”

“What, you’ll cancel the request without marking it as a failure?”

“That’s impossible. Once accepted, a request can’t be undone. If you cancel, it’s a failure.”

“Then what’s your solution?”

“Take Yuna with you. She’s already proven stronger than Deborane.”

“Hey, don’t decide that on your own!”

“It’s simple. Replace Deborane with Yuna as a temporary party member.”

“No way. Why should I take on some random request like that?”

“Because that’s the cleanest solution.”

“Um, Yuna-chan, could you at least hear us out?”

A woman dressed like a mage spoke to me.

What should I do…

I don’t really want to join a party—I hardly had any party experience even in the game.

It’s not like I had none—just very little.

In the end, I couldn’t find a way to refuse, so I agreed to at least hear them out.

We borrowed a room in the guild, and I sat with Deborane’s three party members.

By the way, the guild master ran away.

Wasn’t he supposed to protect me from trouble?

This is all Deborane’s fault.

“Let’s start with introductions. I’m Rurina. The one who complained earlier is Lanz, and the quiet one is Gil.”

“I’m Yuna.”

At least I gave a basic greeting.

“Now then, the request we accepted is a goblin subjugation.”

Goblin subjugation?

Goblins are low-intelligence humanoid monsters.

Aren’t they beginner-level enemies?

If they need a party for that, are they weak?

“It’s not just ordinary goblins. It’s a group of about fifty. Without Deborane, our frontliner, it’s tough.”

Fifty goblins.

Back in the game, they’d be nothing.

What about now?

I handled a wolf pack easily.

In the game, goblins and wolves were considered roughly the same level.

If that holds true, then even a group shouldn’t be impossible.

“Just to confirm—which is easier, a wolf pack or a goblin group?”

“In terms of request rank, they’re about the same. It depends on the party composition. For us, goblins are easier.”

“Why?”

“Wolves are fast. With only me as a support mage, it’s tough. Goblins can be overwhelmed in close combat.”

Still… goblins.

Humanoid monsters.

I’ll have to fight them eventually.

In a game, it wouldn’t matter… but…

“This is your fault! Help us!”

“Lanz, be quiet!”

I could help, but I don’t like the idea of just replacing Deborane.

Lanz has a bad attitude, Gil just stands there silently, and only Rurina seems reasonable.

And honestly, as a shut-in, dealing with people is a hassle—I don’t want to help.

But I did injure him…

Though it wasn’t my fault.

Hmm… what should I do?

“Can I set some conditions?”

“If it’s something we can accept, then yes.”

“Ah, so it’s about splitting the reward? How greedy.”

I ignored him.

“I’ll handle the request alone. You can take full credit for completing it. You can also keep all the rewards. In return, make sure Deborane never gets involved with me again.”

“Yuna-chan, letting you handle it alone…”

“You’re telling us to just stand back and watch?”

“Why not? You get the credit and the reward—there’s no downside for you.”

“If you fail, it counts as our failure too! There’s no way we can accept that.”

“And it’s embarrassing. Letting someone else do the job and claiming it as our own…”

That’s fair.

If I fail, it becomes their failure.

And Rurina’s point makes sense too—it’s shameful as adventurers.

What should I do…

“Then how about only Rurina comes with me?”

“Why only Rurina?”

“Isn’t it obvious? She’s the most reasonable, the most sensible, the easiest to talk to, and the only woman here. The biggest reason is that I don’t want to work with you.”

“You—!”

“Lanz, stop.”

Rurina calmed him down.

“Yuna-chan, can you really defeat a goblin group alone?”

“I think so. The wolf pack was easy. Besides, having others around would just get in the way of my magic.”

“Yuna-chan, you can use magic? I didn’t hear anything about you using magic during your match with Deborane.”

“I didn’t use it.”

To be precise, I hadn’t learned magic at that time.

“There’s no need to use magic on weak enemies. Rurina, you wouldn’t use magic to kill a small insect, right?”

Lanz’s mouth hung open, humiliated by having Deborane compared to an insect.

“Can you really do it?”

“Fifty Deboranes—I mean goblins, right?”

“They’re goblins.”

“Fine. I’ll go with you.”

“Rurina?”

“Gil, is that okay?”

“I don’t mind.”

“Then Yuna-chan, please help us.”

“So when are we going?”

“If you’re okay with it, we can leave right now.”

“That’s fine, but I haven’t prepared anything.”

“That’s okay. We were originally planning to leave early this morning, so we already have supplies and preparations for four people.”

Lanz silently glared at me, but I ignored him.

Gil didn’t say a word.

And so, I left the guild with Rurina, heading out to subjugate goblins together.