Chapter Thirty-two: The Mysterious Foreigner Class
“Now then, the young porter lady. Was it Rin? Anyway, I’m Tori, the Guildmaster of this town of Ellarge!”
With a broad grin, the Guildmaster… Mr. Tori shook hands with me and I sat down next to Mr. Ville… Only now did I realize, that the sofas here are quite comfortable. At least compared to the cheap floor chairs used back in my world, it’s worlds apart.
“So, young lady, I had you stay because there’s something I want to confirm with you based on the report from Ville.”
“A report? Something to confirm?”
“It’s about the summoning of a saint. I felt it was too important to keep quiet about… Sorry…”
“No, no, no! Reporting, informing, and consulting is super important! It’s only natural to report it!”
I hastily wave my hands and shake my head to deny Mr. Ville, who is furrowing his brows as if studying me.
I don’t fully understand the extent of influence the summoning of a saint would have in this world, but I do get that it’s probably better to report something that sounds as serious as the "summoning of a saint" to the top!
Of course, I’m well aware that Mr. Ville is just concerned about me! But I still believe it’s perfectly reasonable to report to Mr. Tori and assess the situation while planning our future course of action, right?
…Hm? Wait a minute. But despite receiving the report, he did act like he "didn’t know about me at all" earlier, right? Could it have been an act?
…That said if the guild’s policy is to "separate her from Ville’s party and put her under national protection"… then that’s something to think about.
No matter how much everyone in the party wants me to stay, they can’t go against the guild’s overall policy.
If I end up under national protection… not only would my freedom be taken away, but I might also get burdened with unreasonable demands in exchange for being protected… To avoid causing trouble, maybe I should cancel everyone’s boarding settings for Campy and make a mad dash to escape…?
…Come to think of it, the party doesn’t really need me as the cook or porter anyway…
Maybe it would be better for us to properly part ways here…? That way, a more skilled cook or porter might be able to join Mr. Ville’s party instead…
“…Rin… You’re not thinking of leaving the Gourmands, are you?”
“Eh!? N-No… I’m not thinking that at all!”
“…Alright. I have no intention of letting you go, Rin. Don’t even think about running away.”
My voice accidentally cracked as his precise remark seemed to have read my thoughts. His strawberry-like eyes sharpened and stared intently at me with a deep, rich red color—ripe and looking sweet enough to lick, yet filled with a slightly crazed obsession. Pinned by those eyes that seemed to say "I won’t let you escape" and with my arm firmly grasped… What choice did I have but to nod obediently when my means of escape were blocked…?
…Does their cooking really suck that much… that even I’d be worth keeping around as a member…?
Before I knew it, Mr. Tori’s eyes had become eeeeeeextremely warm as he watched us.
…I’m not doing anything wrong, but my heart aches, Maman…
"Save the lover’s quarrel for elsewhere, Ville. Anyway, young lady. Is it true that there was a summoning of a saint?”
“Probably… The people in black robes around me were going on about the summoning of a saint, and while two people were summoned, they called the other girl the ‘saint’…”
“I see… I don’t doubt you, but shall we have you ‘appraised’ just in case?”
“…As long as it doesn’t involve anything painful, taxing, or revealing private matters like weight, I’m fine with it.”
“Of course not, my appraisal won’t reveal anything like that, young lady… And Ville, stop glaring at me! I just want to see her class and skills!”
Mr. Tori, with a slightly exasperated expression, chuckled, but I’d rather avoid anything involving physical or mental anguish! I thought it would probably be okay, but it’s better to make sure…
Mr. Ville is glaring intensely at Mr. Tori, but is everything alright?
It seems like the appraisal isn’t as cruel as I feared, and since it’s not cruel, there’s nothing I’d be troubled having seen…
And isn’t Mr. Tori, who knows my name yet insists on calling me "young lady," the one who might be a bit crueler…? Well, then again, it’s like the old man at the corner store calling me "young lady"… Yup, that sort of vibe, yup.
"…Listen, Rin. Basically, your status is something you wouldn’t show to just anyone unless you’re really close, you know?”
“Well, I understand it’s like revealing your hand… But I’m not a combatant, and the ones I’d show it to are the Guildmaster… Oh, and it’s okay for you to see it too, Mr. Ville!”
“…!!!”
As I easily gave my consent, Mr. Ville whispered a warning, but of course, I’m not that naive!
Just like in certain ninja TRPG, there’s always the possibility that if your ultimate move is exposed, it might get countered, and even if not, your strategy could still be deduced from your skill set!
…That said, even if my non-combatant skills are revealed, it probably won’t be a major blow… right…?
Oh, but would revealing the Camping Car skill be bad?
…But based on the name, it could just be interpreted as a horse-drawn carriage for camping. Without seeing the specifics of the skill, it’s hard to know its actual content…
Hmm? Mr. Ville is clutching his head like he’s frozen up, but… did I say something wrong?
I think it’s important for the party leader, Mr. Ville, to understand my skills or stats since we’re acting together as party members…
Even in sessions, we would introduce our characters’ skills and spells acquired before adventuring as players, since it’s crucial information for adventuring… Huh?
“Let’s leave it at that for now, young lady. Basically, your status is something you wouldn’t show unless you really trust the other person.”
“Ah, like party members or family? It’s not something to be too open about, huh.”
“Yeah… Well, something like that.”
While casting a sympathetic look at Mr. Ville, who was holding his head, Mr. Tori explained once again. I was able to reconfirm that it’s information you can’t share unless it’s with people you work closely with in battle or your family… Or so I thought, but what’s with this "oh well" kind of atmosphere?!
“Anyway! From seeing your class and skills… While the summoning of a saint is one thing, there’s a high possibility that you came from a different world than this one, young lady.”
“Eh? How can you tell?”
“You have the class ‘Foreigner’, right? This is a class said to be given to those who came to this world artificially or from external means. Apparently, along with randomly gaining a ‘special skill’, the Foreigner class also allows you to gain an additional class.”
“Ooh!”
With Mr. Tori’s explanation, delivered in a deliberately loud voice to change the mood, containing things that ring far too true, I can’t help but let out a surprised voice.
So that’s the meaning behind that class…
…Wait, does that mean the “class” has a significant meaning…? I always thought it was more like a race or occupation, you know, something lighter…
Campy is indeed listed as a "special skill", and I did gain the "Traveler" class too!
Whoa! The Foreigner is amazing! It really delivers great service!
“You’re using a lot of ‘said to be’ and ‘apparently’.”
“Well, it’s not like beings from other worlds come around often! There’s a fairy tale from long ago about a shrine maiden being summoned, defeating monsters, and purifying miasma as she traveled… That’s about it.”
“A fairy tale… Lacking credibility, huh…”
Ah… In my world’s terms, is it like tales of flying monks or centuries-old counts? No, if it’s called a fairy tale, maybe it goes back as far as creation myths or founding legends. It’s impressive that such tales have been preserved… And that summoning can only be confirmed through such tales…!
"…Normally, you can only learn one skill per class. When it comes to being able to add classes and skills without any trouble, then I would have expected summoning to be carried out everywhere…”
"Well, rationally speaking, summoning from other worlds is just a trivial fairy tale. I can’t imagine there being people who would seriously try it, and even if it did exist, how would they provide the magical power needed to pull someone from another world?”
"True. If they had that much magical power to spare, it would be faster to diligently train and increase their classes.”
"Exactly. No matter how many powerful unique skills there are, interdimensional summoning isn’t worth the cost.”
Ehh… It feels like new facts just keep getting revealed…?
…Erm… So normally you can only have one skill per class, but you can increase your classes through effort.
However, with the Foreigner class, you get a powerful special skill as well as an additional class, meaning you inevitably get an extra skill as well.
…Certainly… If interdimensional summoning was easy… then some people might think "Let’s try it to increase our forces." However, in reality, if the last successful summon was the shrine maiden from hundreds of years ago, that means the success rate must be extremely low, or there just aren’t many people thinking "Let’s give it a try.”
…Huh? So does that mean I, by some stroke of luck (or misfortune!), ended up getting summoned because someone actually went through with that dubious plan and it somehow succeeded!?
This is way, waaaay to excessive… Oh no!!!
…But, wait a minute…
What were they trying to accomplish by summoning us… I mean, by summoning the “saint”…? If we believe that old tale…
"Has the monster threat been particularly bad in recent times…?”
“No, not really. It feels like the frequency of monster attacks during quests is the same as usual… if not less.”
"I also haven’t heard any rumors of monster stampedes in this country or others.”
"When you think about it, even the fire bear incident today is just a single case, so we can’t definitively link it to the summoning of a saint.”
I tilt my head in confusion as Mr. Ville also ponders and the Guildmaster strokes his head.
…Hmm… Since it’s called the "summoning of a saint", I had thought it was monster-related, but…
"In any case, we’re currently investigating, so information should come in gradually. For now, please take it easy and get used to this world.”
"…I’m sorry, it seems I can’t really contribute much in terms of information or knowledge.”
"Don’t worry about it, Rin. Your skills have been quite helpful for us. And if you’re helpful to us adventurers, then by extension you’re helping this bald Guildmaster too.”
“I’m not bald, I shave it! Anyway, I’m counting on you for the coastal patrol tomorrow! I don’t think any high-level monsters will show up in an area like that, but still…”
“What are the patrol hours?”
“From around 9 AM when the tide starts going out until around 3 PM after it’s fully come back in should be fine.”
Ohhh! The sea! A coastal patrol! I wonder if we can gather any seafood? If so, can we have a barbecue?
That’s right! It’s important to start with what you can do!
“Rin. We have plenty of time until departure tomorrow, so why don’t we stock up on ingredients and whatnot at the market before heading out!”
“The market! I’d love to check it out!”
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, they say!
To be honest, the scale is so big that I’m not sure what’s what anymore, but I want to steadily tackle what I can do.
First up, tomorrow’s meals!
The translator’s corner
I had to rename Rin’s class from "Otherworder" to "Foreigner".
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