Journey to Godhood Begins in Frieren

"Hello, is there something I can help you with?"

The person asking Shichen was a mature woman, her face looking very gentle, with slightly wavy hair and a well-endowed figure exuding a mature woman's charm.

In fact, Shichen had deliberately come to this reception desk. There were four receptionists in total—two men and two women—and she happened to be the prettiest.

As a normal man, isn't choosing the prettiest woman perfectly natural?

Besides, he found her somewhat familiar—probably that guild staff member who often appears. He vaguely remembered she was a recurring presence, though he forgot her name. Not that it really mattered.

"Hello, I'd like to register as an adventurer. I've only just arrived and don't know where to begin," Shichen replied politely.

"I see." The female staff member smiled warmly.

She might have overheard some rather explosive conversation earlier, but given Shichen's appearance, it didn't matter whether or not those rumors were true. It was rare for Axel to have someone this handsome appear; she certainly wasn't going to let him slip away so easily.

"To register as an adventurer is quite simple, but there's a registration fee involved—would that be all right?"

"Registration fee?" Shichen paused, suddenly recalling that little detail.

"What's the matter? Don't have funds on you?" The staff member's friendly tone remained unchanged. Instead, she offered kindly, "I can lend you some money, if you'd like."

"I can lend you some as well!" The other female employee who'd guided Shichen over chimed in.

"Actually, me too!" A third female employee at another desk hastily joined in.

"Huh...? Really?"

"Of course—"

"Hold on a second!"

Megumin squeezed in next to Shichen along with Yunyun, dropping a small wallet on the desk with a smack.

"Shichen doesn't need to borrow money from any of you. We'll lend it to him ourselves!"

She glared aggressively at the three staff members, her gaze ultimately landing on their rather generous bosoms, her eyes sharp.

"Uh..."

They were just facing a little girl, yet the three women couldn't help covering their chests with their hands.

"You two, why are you here? Yunyun, didn't I ask you to take Megumin over there?" Shichen asked, exasperated.

"W-well..." Yunyun didn't know how to explain, reddening and lowering her head.

"Why shouldn't we come? Without us, where would you get the money?" Megumin said huffily, directly questioning Shichen.

"All right, all right."

No money—there was no way around that.

"Sorry about them; they're just kids and tend to speak without filter. Please don't mind," Shichen apologized to the receptionists.

"Heh, no worries at all," the three responded in that professional manner, smiling in unison.

"Shall we continue, then? How much is the registration fee?"

"It's just one thousand Eris."

"All right. Here you go."

Shichen withdrew a thousand Eris from Megumin's wallet and handed it to the staff member, then returned the wallet to Megumin.

"Eheheh~ Now you've used my money, which means I'm 'keeping' you. No more bullying me!" Megumin hmphed twice, proclaiming her terms.

"'Keeping' me? Stop making stuff up," Shichen retorted. "I'm just borrowing from you. I'll pay it back soon."

"No way—I'm not letting you pay me back."

Megumin lifted her nose, smug. "Hmph~ We can't sever our ties. I mean, you've done those things to me, so what's wrong if I 'keep' you for a bit?"

"Stop talking nonsense in front of everyone!" Shichen felt a headache forming.

Megumin really was a liability, ready to blow up his reputation at any moment.

The three receptionists were already looking at him differently.

"I'm telling the truth, aren't I?"

"What truth? What'd I ever do to you?"

"Hugging me when I couldn't even move my body—"

"Stop!"

Shichen quickly clapped a hand over Megumin's mouth, then turned to the employees to explain. "Please don't misunderstand. She'd used up all her mana at the time and couldn't move, so I carried her back to the carriage—nothing more than that."

"R-right. I see." The three staff members relaxed. Given the choice, they much preferred trusting Shichen's version.

"Tsk~" Megumin, feeling thwarted, clicked her tongue.

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Shichen muttered, irritated, giving her head a light smack.

"Ouch—again with the hitting! Why bother explaining to them, huh? It's because you're attracted to that huge-chested lady, right? Yunyun's even bigger, you know!"

"Megumin!" Yunyun tapped her in protest.

"What does explaining have to do with anything? I just didn't want to be misunderstood! I'd rather not be pegged as some pedophile or deviant the moment I arrive!"

"P-pedophile?" Megumin froze.

"Who else would it refer to besides you?"

"Urgh—How dare you!" Megumin fumed, lunging at Shichen with her little fists.

But he easily fended her off and scooped her over his knee, pinning her in place.

"Stop that, at least until I'm done registering, okay?" he chided.

"Let go of me!!"

"If you don't behave, I'll spank you."

"Mmph..."

Megumin instantly fell quiet.

"Ahem, let's continue?" Shichen said to the receptionist, as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening.

"S-sure," the receptionist nodded.

Although it was her first time seeing such a chaotic spectacle, her solid professional training kept her calm.

"Those two don't need to register as adventurers?" she asked.

"That's none of your business! We're Crimson Demon Clan members—we've already got adventurer cards," Megumin declared arrogantly, still pinned face-down over Shichen's lap.

"Heh, I see." The receptionist smiled politely. "Even so, maybe you'll want to listen in—assuming you'll also work as adventurers, right?"

"Listen to what?"

"Important tips for adventurers. I doubt your Crimson Demon Clan taught you these."

"That's... true..." Megumin said, cooling off.

"Megumin, let's hear it," Yunyun suggested.

"Hmph, fine."

"Excellent. Since you want to be adventurers, you surely know a bit, but I'll explain from the start." The receptionist's expression turned serious.

She took out a small card, handing it to Shichen. "Please look at this—it's got a section for 'level.' In this world, everything has a soul. Whenever you kill or consume something—ending its life's activity—you absorb a portion of its soul's memory: that is 'experience points.' Generally invisible, but—"

She tapped the card. "So long as you hold this card, any experience you gain will display here. Likewise, your level—which is the measure of an adventurer's power—will also be displayed. Once your level crosses a certain threshold, you'll experience rapid growth, also known as breaking through. Long story short, the more experience you rack up, the more benefits you get, including skill points for learning new abilities. So please do your best to level up!"

"Got it," Shichen nodded. He found it easy to understand. It basically sounded just like in a game.

"Now, please fill in your height, weight, age, and other physical traits on this form."

"All right."

Taking the form and pen, he noted down:

Height: 179cm

Weight: 66kg

Age: let's say 18

Hair color: black

Eye color: brown

Mm?

As he wrote, Shichen sensed a soft weight on his shoulder. Turning, he saw Yunyun peering curiously at his form.

"Ah—sorry!" she exclaimed, flustered, stepping back.

"Ooh~ Eighteen years old, huh?" Megumin piped up, lifting her head from over his knee.

"You both, hush." Shichen tapped Megumin lightly on the head, then handed the completed form back to the receptionist. "All good now?"

"Yes, thank you. So you're Shichen-san, correct? Let me see... Strength, stamina, mana, plus agility, dexterity... Wh-what is this? How can that be?"

She stared at the card, incredulous. "All your attributes are so high! Are they maxed out? That's impossible—y-you're amazing! Who in the world are you?"

Excited, she grabbed Shichen's hand. "With these parameters, you can pick any job you like—mage, crusader, even swordmaster with the highest offense or high priest—practically every advanced class is open to you right from the start! Shichen-san..." Her eyes gleamed with admiration.

~~~

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