The Guild Receptionist Is a Heavy Drinker
“Hey, mind if I join you?”
I was at my regular skewer stand when, suddenly, a woman appeared behind me and asked me a question.
“Oh, Mary, done with work? By all means, go ahead,” I answered.
Mary was a receptionist for the adventurer’s guild, and I’d talked with her a lot ever since I’d accepted my first quest. Speaking with people I didn’t know made me nervous, so I always stood in the line for Mary’s counter whenever she was working. As of now, she was one of the few women who I could hold a conversation with.
“So, what did you get on today’s hunt?” she asked.
“Just goblins, as usual. Also a few horned rabbits.”
“Thanks again, by the way,” the chef interjected with a laugh. He also placed a glass right in front of me. Wait, had I even ordered anything?
“It’s on the house!” added the chef with a smile.
“Why, thank you,” I said as I brought the glass to my lips.
Damn, this is strong! I thought. Uh, did the chef mean to serve me something this alcoholic? Guess I just needed to take smaller sips!
“Whew!” Mary exclaimed. “Chef, gimme a refill!”
Yikes, she downed that glass in an instant!
◇
“Guhhh... I got so drunk...”
Mary was currently clinging to me and wouldn’t let go. Every one of the guild’s stalls had already closed. I’d wound up having to guide Mary back to her home, but I didn’t even know where that was.
“One more spot! I’ve still got it in me!” she cheered.
“Really?” I questioned. “I think you oughta call it a night. Don’t you have work tomorrow?”
“Aww, I’ll be fiiine!”
Unable to resist Mary’s arm-twisting, I followed her to a large pub that was open until sunrise. The place was packed with all kinds of folk, from adventurers and merchants to townspeople who’d just gotten off work. Mary and I took seats in the corner.
“Yeah, cheers!” Mary shouted.
“You sure are a heavy drinker,” I remarked.
“Awww, no I aaain’t,” she said while casually leaning into me. Agh, she smelled nice. I tried to focus on the food to distract myself from my pounding heart, until...
“Hey Mary, that you?”
“How ’bout joining us instead?”
“Sure is one young fella you got with ya, eh?”
A handful of adventurers had called out to Mary. Were they acquaintances of hers? These men clearly weren’t rookies. My knee-jerk reaction was that I didn’t want to drink with people I didn’t know, but Mary...
“Sorryyy, but toniiight, it’s just me and Makoto,” she said, turning them down before I got the chance.
“Aww, oh well.”
“C’mon, let’s go.”
“Some other time, then!”
The men didn’t persist any further and left.
“Mary, are you sure about that?” I asked.
“Totally sure,” she said. “Those guys will hit up aaany woman they see around here. Loook, they’re already onto their next shot over there.”
I peered in the direction she was pointing and, sure enough, saw that the group was chatting up a pair of women. Man, was I gonna act like that someday?
“Makotooo, you better not end up like that,” Mary said.
“Huh?” I blurted out. Had she read my mind?
“You’re puuure, Makoto. You’re better off that way.”
“Maybe, but I kinda wish I had a girlfriend...”
“Want me to do it?”
“Ha ha... Yeah, sure, wouldn’t that be nice.” Even if it’d been just a drunken joke, I did appreciate the sentiment.
“Come onnn, I’m not even joking... Oh, I know! Makoto, when you hit gold rank, I’ll be your girlfriend!” Mary announced with a grin.
“Gold rank, huh...” My adventurer rank was currently stone, the lowest of them all. In other words, she was asking for the impossible.
But, hey, I’d take it.
“Guess I’m aiming for gold rank now,” I stated.
“Tee hee, good luuuck,” Mary said as she patted my head.
...Even if gold rank was out of reach, I could at least aim for iron rank—the point at which adventurers were finally considered mid-level.
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