A short while later, the two of them sat on a bench outside the Guild entrance, each holding a fresh serving of fried potato balls.
"Um… while I'm very grateful that you bought a snack, mister…"
The palum girl nad Liliruca gave an awkward smile.
"You still haven't answered my earlier question."
"Mm…"
Only then did Drake realize that he had probably developed a habit of feeding people.
Whenever he saw a creature even smaller than Hestia, he instinctively ended up buying them a serving of fried potato balls.
After thinking for a mont, he answered casually, "A supporter, huh? I do need an assistant."
"Eh?! Really?!"
That answer made Lili extrely excited, her amber-colored eyes sparkling brightly.
Her gaze couldn't help drifting toward the crest on Drake's chest.
That was the emblem of a well-known artisan Familia in the city—the Hephaestus Familia!
For a supporter like her, who had little combat ability and suffered constant mistreatnt, if she could latch onto a mber of the Hephaestus Familia, that would certainly be far more reliable than following adventurers from so small, no-na Familia.
And Lili had her own little sches as well.
Since he belonged to that forging goddess's Familia, this black-haired guy might very well be carrying so high-grade equipnt for protection.
After all, equipnt produced by the Hephaestus Familia was famous for being both excellent and expensive.
If she could steal one or two pieces and resell them, she'd make a fortune!
While thinking that over, Lili slapped a hand to her chest and eagerly recomnded herself to Drake without hesitation.
"Lili is a very experienced supporter!"
"Mister, would you be willing to bring Lili with you into the Dungeon?"
The petite girl looked up at Drake expectantly with innocent, pure eyes.
And Drake gave his reply without much thought.
"I could, sure."
"But I haven't registered yet."
"…Eh?"
Liliruca froze for a mont, as if trying to process what he ant.
"'Haven't registered'—does that an you're not officially an adventurer yet, mister?"
"Just like you said."
'This is bad.'
She'd thought she'd found a rich easy mark! who would've thought he was actually a completely fresh-off-the-shelf rookie adventurer?
A faint trace of disappointnt flashed through Lili's eyes, though she concealed it well.
"Then mister must be planning to go to the Guild and register as an adventurer, right?"
"I can wait outside until you're done with the paperwork!"
Drake gave Lili a thoughtful look.
'So even without running into Bell, this child had already beco a habitual scamr of rookies.'
'A naughty child like this… really needed to be taught a proper lesson!'
If she actually did try sothing against him, that might be a good opportunity.
After thinking it over, Drake put on a puzzled expression.
"You're not coming into the Guild Hall with ?"
At that, the palum girl scratched her head and put on a pitiful expression.
"The hall is full of fierce-looking adventurers. If a weak little supporter like Lili appears in their sight, I'll get bullied."
In truth, Lili was simply afraid that other adventurers in the Guild, or even the Guild staff, would recognize her identity and warn Drake to stay away from her.
Still, what she said wasn't exactly an exaggeration. Supporters truly had very low status among adventurers.
It was common for adventurers to exploit supporters, withhold their shares of loot, and delay or refuse paynt.
Lili herself had suffered greatly because of this and had experienced many such incidents.
"I understand."
Drake nodded and didn't force the matter.
"Then I'll trouble you to wait outside for a while. I'll finish the registration as quickly as I can."
After reaching out to pat the small hood-covered head of the palum girl, Drake turned and left, following the crowd into the Adventurers' Guild.
Only after his figure had completely disappeared did Lili let her smile fade and murmur under her breath, "…What a strange guy."
If it had been any other rookie adventurer, even after agreeing to hire a supporter, they would have imdiately started laying down rules in a tough manner, especially regarding the distribution of profits from exploring the Dungeon.
But Drake acted as if he didn't care at all, not taking the matter seriously in the slightest.
He had even brought her to a food stall and bought her a serving of fried potato balls first thing.
For Lili, who had once been exploited by a heartless adventuring party and had even been forced to pay for her own supplies out of pocket, this was a first.
"Am I really going to betray him during the adventure, just like before?"
"…There's no helping it."
Lili's gaze gradually dimd, and the light in her eyes faded.
"After all, Lili is weak. If I want to survive in Orario, I have to do whatever it takes."
…
At the Adventurers' Guild, reception counter—
"Hello, I'm here to register as an adventurer."
The boy's clean, crisp voice made Eina lift her head from the mountain of docunts in front of her.
From her long, pointed ears that curved slightly upward, it was easy to tell that this receptionist of the Guild and the world of adventure had half-elven blood.
Eina's gaze fell on the boy before her, and she had already ford a rough judgnt in her heart.
'A child I haven't seen before. Human, most likely.'
'Judging by human standards, he's probably only just co of age.'
'At such a young age, is it really all right for him to explore the danger-filled Dungeon?'
Although many thoughts urging her to discourage him flashed through her mind, Eina still put on a professional smile and took out a registration form.
"Of course. May I ask whether you can write in the common language? I can also fill it out for you if needed…"
"No need. I can do it myself."
Drake replied casually as he took the form and began filling it out with practiced ease.
That surprised Eina quite a bit—she had seen many powerful adventurers at the Guild, but very few who could write so fluently.
After all, most people who beca adventurers were rough types with little education.
Most of the ti, it was enough if an adventurer could write their own na.
And if their vocabulary was enough to understand the notices posted on the bulletin board in the hall, that was already considered passable.
Only clerks like her, who had attended the School District from a young age, generally received a higher level of education.
Yet this boy finished filling out the registration form in less than five minutes.
'Drake, human, age… sixteen. So he really has only just co of age.'
Eina's eyes slipped ever so slightly over the top of the form in her hands, secretly observing Drake at the counter.
But when her eyes reached the "Familia affiliation" field, Eina couldn't help crying out in surprise.
"Eh? You've already joined a Familia?"
"And it's… Lady Hephaestus's Familia?"
In her impression, most mbers of the Hephaestus Familia, famous for forging, were burly blacksmiths.
Although there were exceptions, like the female "master smith with the single eye," those were rare cases.
"That's right."
Drake nodded and asked curiously,
"Is there a problem?"
"No, not at all—sorry. I was just a little surprised."
Eina quickly shook her head and continued scanning the rest of the form.
A mont later, she had gained a rough understanding of Drake and looked up at him again.
"The information you filled out is very complete. There's nothing that needs to be added."
"However, before you can officially register as an adventurer, you'll need to choose an adventure advisor."
"Adventure advisor?"
Noticing the puzzled look the boy gave her, Eina cleared her throat and explained,
"In order to prevent rookie adventurers from suffering excessive losses in the Dungeon due to a lack of common knowledge and other issues, the Guild established the Adventure Advisor system in the hopes of reducing such casualties."
"An adventure advisor gives new adventurers appropriate advice and information based on their progress."
"At present, several staff mbers are in charge of this work, including—"
Suddenly, Drake interrupted her.
"I'd like Miss Eina to be my adventure advisor. Is that possible?"
"Eh? I am indeed one of the staff mbers responsible for advising new adventurers."
The half-elf girl froze for a mont and answered instinctively.
"But there are also other experienced senior staff mbers in the Guild. You can take your ti and decide later—"
"There's no need."
Drake smiled, his tone decisive.
"I trust Miss Eina."
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