ch21-ch40 · 036-inter5

Interlude: From Interview Voice Data ①

Adventurer License Center — Training Instructor

Thank you for having me today.

Yamana... You mean Mr. Sai, right?

Right. My first impression... sorry to say, but I thought he was a criminal.

I figured he was someone who'd had their license revoked for violating Adventurer Law.

Yeah.

I mean, with that build and presence of his, there he was at a beginner's course to get his license for the first time.

If I'm being completely honest, I checked for a criminal record right away. (laughs)

...Ah, of course, someone who's had their license revoked can never have their adventurer license reissued. Yeah. It's the rule — if we find someone like that, we look them up by name and face immediately.

These days, facial recognition is pretty accurate too.

If you run a check, they'll definitely get flagged.

Even if they've had plastic surgery, fingerprints give them away.

But in his case, nothing came up. I was surprised.

Impression during the course, you ask?

That too. He was definitely someone who'd done something in the past.

When you work as an instructor, you really start to notice — the kinds of questions people ask end up revealing more about their character than you'd think.

During one of the lectures, we were talking about gathering.

All the plants that grow naturally in the tower are rare, after all.

Younger people tend to ask things like "how can I sell the materials for a high price," but Yamana asked about what happens after you gather things, how it affects the ecosystem.

Of course, even outside the tower, say with wild mountain vegetables that grow on their own — you don't take all of them, right? So that kind of question isn't particularly strange. But he asked about things like that very carefully.

Another thing I noticed... you know the picture of a corridor in the textbook?

The one that warns you to watch out because there might be monsters on the other side of the door.

In that situation, the best option is "get ready and attack the monster," isn't it.

But Sai answered: "If you sense a monster, aim to neutralize it, but also watch for traps at the same time."

What was it now... I think he answered: "Ideally, because monsters sometimes use traps themselves, and the room itself might be a trap, you want to neutralize the trap, or if possible, use it to your advantage to take down the monster."

That's a completely experienced-person remark, right?

But when I checked, nothing came up. No records of him entering the tower either.

Honestly, I was really amazed.

Then there's the combat training.

That was handled by a different instructor, but from what I heard, it was something else.

You know the mock battle where one person fights multiple opponents?

That's essentially training for how to defend or retreat when you're up against an unwinnable situation.

But despite that, he won without breaking a sweat.

It was a five-on-one situation, but he tripped the one who charged at him, made him fall, then pressed a short sword to the necks of the rest, one after another, as their movements stalled.

They showed me the video. His movements were so smooth even the combat instructor was amazed.

And that was with a freshly obtained F-Rank adventurer license.

It's practically fraudulent.

That's why...

Yeah. Seeing how well he's doing now, it all makes sense. ◇ A Certain Rookie Adventurer

Yeah, thanks for having me.

This is about old man Sai, right?

We were in the same beginner course. That was where I first met him.

We're university students, part of an adventurer club. We all turned twenty, so we went to get our licenses right away. Adventuring's dangerous, but it pays well, right? There's the appeal, the dream too. So we talked about it — once everyone in the club turned twenty, we'd go get our licenses together.

Back when I first entered the tower, I was like that, but now? Not at all. I seriously want to go back and slap my younger self. I finally get what the senior club members were saying.

They told us to get our bodies used to it up to the second floor when we first got our licenses. To let the magical power settle in. But we completely ignored that.

Huh? My impression of Sai from the course?

At first, I felt sorry for him. An old guy at a beginner course at his age.

You know, like a middle-aged guy who lost his job and is trying to make a comeback as an adventurer~ then gets seriously injured~ that kinda thing. I used to see it on the news a lot when I was a kid.

I figured it might be that pattern... ah, don't tell the current Sai-san, okay?

But when I looked more carefully, he had a good build and didn't seem down-and-out, so me and my buddies were guessing what he used to do. Like, former military, maybe.

Then my buddy Tetta, who was in the course with me, went and talked to him.

That guy, he'll chat up anyone, even total strangers.

When we asked, he said he'd been overseas, just like we figured.

So we laughed and said, "See, told you — former Foreign Legion mercenary."

Ah, don't make that face!

You asked how I felt back then, so I'm being honest!

To us, he's a huge benefactor.

Now I've got nothing but respect!

That's why we asked Sai-san to teach us, and why I seriously wanted to learn the secret behind his strength!

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Thank you for reading.