“Once again, it’s the same old cliche.”
“Hey, kid.”
“What?”
The voice that called out belonged to a robust and muscular man. With his well-trained steel-like physique and high-ranking monster materials crafted into quality equipment, it was clear that he had considerable experience as a demon hunter.
However, if there was one unfortunate thing, it was that his facial appearance had an unusually low score… in other words, he was plain ugly.
While his physique and equipment were fine, when it came to the appearance factor that people generally value most, this man had a significant disadvantage.
“I overheard your conversation earlier. You probably just sourced or stole those materials from somewhere, right? Dream on if you think you can become a demon hunter like that.”
“I see. I’ll take your advice into consideration. Is that all? I need to proceed with the registration. Excuse me.”
“My point doesn’t seem to have gotten across to you, kid. I’m saying you can’t register if you’re like that!”
The man’s angry voice reverberated, drawing attention to the scene. However, he didn’t seem to mind the commotion and continued his lecture on what it meant to be a demon hunter.
“Listen up. Demon hunters are chosen individuals. Brats like you have no chance of becoming one!”
“I’m not a brat, though.”
“It doesn’t matter! Anyway, you’re not qualified to be a demon hunter.”
“I hear what you’re saying, but what are your thoughts on the matter, Miss Marianne?”
“Huh? Me?”
Suddenly addressed by me, Marianne let out a surprised and disjointed response. It seemed she didn’t expect formal language to come from my usually casual tone, and she appeared quite taken aback. I sighed and directed the question at her once again.
“So, what’s the reality here? Can I register with the Demon Hunting Guild?”
“Well, to register, you need to demonstrate your abilities in front of the guild staff. Normally, your strength is assessed by how well you can fight against an examiner, but today, the examiner is taking a break.”
“In that case, what about this ugly guy? How about I make him half-dead as a test, and if so, I pass?”
“What did you say, brat?! Who are you calling ugly?!”
“Who else would it be other than you?”
I pointed at the ugly man who had been challenging me earlier. He protested vehemently, but I paid no mind and await Marianne’s response.
“Well, Gochel here is a Rank 2 demon hunter, so he would be sufficient as an examiner… although he tends to go a bit overboard.”
“Gochel… not only is he ugly in appearance, but even his name is ugly.”
“You’ve got some nerve! All right, fine. If you’re so eager to be beaten up, I’ll gladly oblige!”
“I’m looking forward to it. So, Marianne, is it acceptable for this Busachel to be my examiner?”
“Who are you calling Busachel?! Don’t give me weird names!” TLN: Here, Busa (ブサ) in Japanese is a colloquial term used to describe someone or something as ugly or unattractive. Meanwhile, the “chel” part doesn’t have any particular meaning behind it. It’s just his name literally.
Well, well, what’s his problem? Isn’t this the most fitting name ever? Anyway, ignoring Busachel, who constantly took issue with my words, we proceeded to the training grounds.
Those who had been watching the situation unfold seem to have their curiosity piqued, eagerly anticipating the showdown between me and Busachel. Or perhaps they were placing bets?
“Let the betting begin! The odds are 1.1 for Busach… I mean, Gochel, and 10 for the kid!”
“It’s unavoidable, but those odds are pretty high!”
“With these odds, no one’s going to bet on the kid.”
Odds of ten, huh? Well, I suppose that would be the case if they didn’t know my true strength. Even so, attaching such odds did come at a significant cost. Perhaps I should let them experience a bit of pain.
“I’m in. I’ll bet a Demon Great Silver Coin on whoever wins. If I win, you owe me a Demon Coin Gold Coin.”
“The person involved can’t bet.”
“Then Marianne will bet. Add two Demon Great Silver Coins for my share.”
“Hey, what are you deciding on your own?!”
I ignored Marianne’s protest and confidently place a bet of two Demon Great Silver Coins for both of us. If I won, it would become two Demon Coin Gold Coins.
Even though he was a demon hunter accustomed to tough situations among demons, I was a genuine monster. Let me show them that while I might not beat the real deal, they were in for a surprise.
“I won’t bet.”
“You should bet. Trust me.”
“Well, if I lose, you better give me back those two Demon Silver Coins.”
She was probably saying that with the intention that Busachel would spare my life, but judging by that ugly smirk on his face, he might just make me history if I lose, you know? Well, I have no intention of losing, though.
We maintained a certain distance from each other. Busachel unsheathed the sword hanging from his waist and assumed a fighting stance. In response, I hook my left middle finger over my thumb in my non-dominant hand and point it toward Busachel.
“What’s your intention? Don’t tell me you think you can take me on with just one finger.”
“I’m not like that foolish ogre who goes all out against goblins. Unlike him, I’m not going to exhaust all my strength. Even if there’s someone with a bit of skill, they’d be powerless before me. Unfortunately, I don’t possess a method that involves holding back any further than this.”
“Cut the crap about mocking people! Don’t regret dying!”
“A frog in a well should know its place in the wide world.”
“Alright, let the match begin!”
With everything set up, Marianne signaled the start of the match. Anytime was fine by me, Marianne, but I had to wonder, was judging that the opponent was ready just because they were pointing their finger at you a good idea?
At the exact moment, Marianne signaled the start, Busachel charged at me with incredible speed. Given the anger mark on his forehead, it seemed my provocation really didn’t sit well with him.
Continuing with his full-on charge, he swung his sword down with force, driving it into the ground. As expected of a demon, his attack, amplified by his enhanced body, gouged the ground and the impact travels through the earth.
However, from my perspective, it was just an attack that raised some dust, and since Busachel’s attacks were large and sweeping, it was entirely possible to avoid them, even with my eyes closed.
I drew Busachel’s attack close, dodging at the last possible moment as his sword struck the ground. Seizing the opportunity, I closed the gap between us.
“What!?”
“It’s over. Boop.”
“Ugh!”
With me approaching, Busachel’s expression turned to one of shock. He might be ugly beyond words, but more than that, it was time to finish this match.
As Busachel got close, I used my left thumb, which had been hooked over my left middle finger, to flick against his forehead. The move, executed with overwhelming force, sent Busachel’s body soaring into the air. His momentum didn’t stop, and his body bounced off the ground two or three times before finally coming to a halt.
“What in the world just happened?” That’s what anyone witnessing this would be thinking, I guess. To think that the burly man who went all out against a child had been blown away like this…
And unbelievably, the one who accomplished this feat was none other than that child. Even if you were to tell those who didn’t witness it, no one would believe it. Only those who saw it with their own eyes…
“It’s over.”
“Huh? Uh, huh!?”
“That settles it. Now you can announce the winner.”
“Th-The winner is…umm, what was your name again?”
“…Whoops, I haven’t introduced myself yet, have I? My name is Rolando.”
After letting out a wild exclamation, I was about to become exasperated at Marianne, who was asking for my name, but I remembered that I hadn’t introduced myself yet. I then give her my name.
And with that, she loudly proclaimed, “The winner is Rolando!!” The demon hunters who were spectating this match started to make a commotion.
“H-hey. Busachel got taken down.”
“Seriously? Isn’t there some kind of mistake?”
“But, he’s literally lying there on the ground, kissing it!”
“By the way, what happens to the bet?”
Approaching the demon hunters, I approached the man who was in charge of the bet for this match and extended my hand to demand the payout.
“So, the bet is… well, actually, Marianne made the bet, so she’s the winner. Let’s settle it with two Demon Gold coins. Pay up.”
“Y-yes…”
Taking the payout of two Demon gold coins from the man, I toss one coin to Marianne. Ignoring her hurriedly grabbing it, I asked just to be sure.
“With this, my abilities have been proven, right? So, does that mean I can register?”
“Y-yes, that’s right.”
“Alright then, I’ll leave the procedure to you.”
“U-understood.”
Afterward, Marianne and I returned to the reception counter and immediately proceed with the registration process. It was a simple process of placing my hands on the offered crystals.
Apparently, the crystals were able to read basic information from the magical energy and then wrote it onto a card, which was quite different from the Adventurer’s Guild.
By the way, before using the crystal, I asked Marianne if it would reveal that I was a human. She mentioned that it only read the name and age, and other information had to be manually overwritten.
“So, don’t worry about things like your height.”
“…I see. (Well, my concern isn’t really about that.)”
Ignoring Marianne’s rather off-target speculation, we moved on to the explanation of the Demon Hunting Guild’s regulations. Just as we were getting into it, the entrance of the guild suddenly became noisy.
“Late, late, late, late, late! Phew, made it just in time.”
“Sigh, Makol. Three minutes late. So, as promised, you’ll be working overtime today.”
“Noooooo, oh my goodness!”
Entering the guild was a lively and spirited young girl. While she maintained a somewhat boyish appearance with her short hair, she still exuded a definite feminine charm. With chestnut-colored hair and deep red garnet-like eyes, her physique might be a bit less developed than Marianne’s, but she seemed to be quite average for her age in terms of growth.
“Sigh, Makol. Let’s get to work right away. Please explain the guild’s regulations to this child.”
“Huh?”
…She’s going to explain things to me? Her, the one who gave that impression? While I did have a slight unease due to my initial impression of her, at this point, as long as she explained it properly, it didn’t matter who did it. So, I decided to hear the guild’s overview from Makol.
“Once again, it’s the same old cliche.”
“Hey, kid.”
“What?”
The voice that called out belonged to a robust and muscular man. With his well-trained steel-like physique and high-ranking monster materials crafted into quality equipment, it was clear that he had considerable experience as a demon hunter.
However, if there was one unfortunate thing, it was that his facial appearance had an unusually low score… in other words, he was plain ugly.
While his physique and equipment were fine, when it came to the appearance factor that people generally value most, this man had a significant disadvantage.
“I overheard your conversation earlier. You probably just sourced or stole those materials from somewhere, right? Dream on if you think you can become a demon hunter like that.”
“I see. I’ll take your advice into consideration. Is that all? I need to proceed with the registration. Excuse me.”
“My point doesn’t seem to have gotten across to you, kid. I’m saying you can’t register if you’re like that!”
The man’s angry voice reverberated, drawing attention to the scene. However, he didn’t seem to mind the commotion and continued his lecture on what it meant to be a demon hunter.
“Listen up. Demon hunters are chosen individuals. Brats like you have no chance of becoming one!”
“I’m not a brat, though.”
“It doesn’t matter! Anyway, you’re not qualified to be a demon hunter.”
“I hear what you’re saying, but what are your thoughts on the matter, Miss Marianne?”
“Huh? Me?”
Suddenly addressed by me, Marianne let out a surprised and disjointed response. It seemed she didn’t expect formal language to come from my usually casual tone, and she appeared quite taken aback. I sighed and directed the question at her once again.
“So, what’s the reality here? Can I register with the Demon Hunting Guild?”
“Well, to register, you need to demonstrate your abilities in front of the guild staff. Normally, your strength is assessed by how well you can fight against an examiner, but today, the examiner is taking a break.”
“In that case, what about this ugly guy? How about I make him half-dead as a test, and if so, I pass?”
“What did you say, brat?! Who are you calling ugly?!”
“Who else would it be other than you?”
I pointed at the ugly man who had been challenging me earlier. He protested vehemently, but I paid no mind and await Marianne’s response.
“Well, Gochel here is a Rank 2 demon hunter, so he would be sufficient as an examiner… although he tends to go a bit overboard.”
“Gochel… not only is he ugly in appearance, but even his name is ugly.”
“You’ve got some nerve! All right, fine. If you’re so eager to be beaten up, I’ll gladly oblige!”
“I’m looking forward to it. So, Marianne, is it acceptable for this Busachel to be my examiner?”
“Who are you calling Busachel?! Don’t give me weird names!” TLN: Here, Busa (ブサ) in Japanese is a colloquial term used to describe someone or something as ugly or unattractive. Meanwhile, the “chel” part doesn’t have any particular meaning behind it. It’s just his name literally.
Well, well, what’s his problem? Isn’t this the most fitting name ever? Anyway, ignoring Busachel, who constantly took issue with my words, we proceeded to the training grounds.
Those who had been watching the situation unfold seem to have their curiosity piqued, eagerly anticipating the showdown between me and Busachel. Or perhaps they were placing bets?
“Let the betting begin! The odds are 1.1 for Busach… I mean, Gochel, and 10 for the kid!”
“It’s unavoidable, but those odds are pretty high!”
“With these odds, no one’s going to bet on the kid.”
Odds of ten, huh? Well, I suppose that would be the case if they didn’t know my true strength. Even so, attaching such odds did come at a significant cost. Perhaps I should let them experience a bit of pain.
“I’m in. I’ll bet a Demon Great Silver Coin on whoever wins. If I win, you owe me a Demon Coin Gold Coin.”
“The person involved can’t bet.”
“Then Marianne will bet. Add two Demon Great Silver Coins for my share.”
“Hey, what are you deciding on your own?!”
I ignored Marianne’s protest and confidently place a bet of two Demon Great Silver Coins for both of us. If I won, it would become two Demon Coin Gold Coins.
Even though he was a demon hunter accustomed to tough situations among demons, I was a genuine monster. Let me show them that while I might not beat the real deal, they were in for a surprise.
“I won’t bet.”
“You should bet. Trust me.”
“Well, if I lose, you better give me back those two Demon Silver Coins.”
She was probably saying that with the intention that Busachel would spare my life, but judging by that ugly smirk on his face, he might just make me history if I lose, you know? Well, I have no intention of losing, though.
We maintained a certain distance from each other. Busachel unsheathed the sword hanging from his waist and assumed a fighting stance. In response, I hook my left middle finger over my thumb in my non-dominant hand and point it toward Busachel.
“What’s your intention? Don’t tell me you think you can take me on with just one finger.”
“I’m not like that foolish ogre who goes all out against goblins. Unlike him, I’m not going to exhaust all my strength. Even if there’s someone with a bit of skill, they’d be powerless before me. Unfortunately, I don’t possess a method that involves holding back any further than this.”
“Cut the crap about mocking people! Don’t regret dying!”
“A frog in a well should know its place in the wide world.”
“Alright, let the match begin!”
With everything set up, Marianne signaled the start of the match. Anytime was fine by me, Marianne, but I had to wonder, was judging that the opponent was ready just because they were pointing their finger at you a good idea?
At the exact moment, Marianne signaled the start, Busachel charged at me with incredible speed. Given the anger mark on his forehead, it seemed my provocation really didn’t sit well with him.
Continuing with his full-on charge, he swung his sword down with force, driving it into the ground. As expected of a demon, his attack, amplified by his enhanced body, gouged the ground and the impact travels through the earth.
However, from my perspective, it was just an attack that raised some dust, and since Busachel’s attacks were large and sweeping, it was entirely possible to avoid them, even with my eyes closed.
I drew Busachel’s attack close, dodging at the last possible moment as his sword struck the ground. Seizing the opportunity, I closed the gap between us.
“What!?”
“It’s over. Boop.”
“Ugh!”
With me approaching, Busachel’s expression turned to one of shock. He might be ugly beyond words, but more than that, it was time to finish this match.
As Busachel got close, I used my left thumb, which had been hooked over my left middle finger, to flick against his forehead. The move, executed with overwhelming force, sent Busachel’s body soaring into the air. His momentum didn’t stop, and his body bounced off the ground two or three times before finally coming to a halt.
“What in the world just happened?” That’s what anyone witnessing this would be thinking, I guess. To think that the burly man who went all out against a child had been blown away like this…
And unbelievably, the one who accomplished this feat was none other than that child. Even if you were to tell those who didn’t witness it, no one would believe it. Only those who saw it with their own eyes…
“It’s over.”
“Huh? Uh, huh!?”
“That settles it. Now you can announce the winner.”
“Th-The winner is…umm, what was your name again?”
“…Whoops, I haven’t introduced myself yet, have I? My name is Rolando.”
After letting out a wild exclamation, I was about to become exasperated at Marianne, who was asking for my name, but I remembered that I hadn’t introduced myself yet. I then give her my name.
And with that, she loudly proclaimed, “The winner is Rolando!!” The demon hunters who were spectating this match started to make a commotion.
“H-hey. Busachel got taken down.”
“Seriously? Isn’t there some kind of mistake?”
“But, he’s literally lying there on the ground, kissing it!”
“By the way, what happens to the bet?”
Approaching the demon hunters, I approached the man who was in charge of the bet for this match and extended my hand to demand the payout.
“So, the bet is… well, actually, Marianne made the bet, so she’s the winner. Let’s settle it with two Demon Gold coins. Pay up.”
“Y-yes…”
Taking the payout of two Demon gold coins from the man, I toss one coin to Marianne. Ignoring her hurriedly grabbing it, I asked just to be sure.
“With this, my abilities have been proven, right? So, does that mean I can register?”
“Y-yes, that’s right.”
“Alright then, I’ll leave the procedure to you.”
“U-understood.”
Afterward, Marianne and I returned to the reception counter and immediately proceed with the registration process. It was a simple process of placing my hands on the offered crystals.
Apparently, the crystals were able to read basic information from the magical energy and then wrote it onto a card, which was quite different from the Adventurer’s Guild.
By the way, before using the crystal, I asked Marianne if it would reveal that I was a human. She mentioned that it only read the name and age, and other information had to be manually overwritten.
“So, don’t worry about things like your height.”
“…I see. (Well, my concern isn’t really about that.)”
Ignoring Marianne’s rather off-target speculation, we moved on to the explanation of the Demon Hunting Guild’s regulations. Just as we were getting into it, the entrance of the guild suddenly became noisy.
“Late, late, late, late, late! Phew, made it just in time.”
“Sigh, Makol. Three minutes late. So, as promised, you’ll be working overtime today.”
“Noooooo, oh my goodness!”
Entering the guild was a lively and spirited young girl. While she maintained a somewhat boyish appearance with her short hair, she still exuded a definite feminine charm. With chestnut-colored hair and deep red garnet-like eyes, her physique might be a bit less developed than Marianne’s, but she seemed to be quite average for her age in terms of growth.
“Sigh, Makol. Let’s get to work right away. Please explain the guild’s regulations to this child.”
“Huh?”
…She’s going to explain things to me? Her, the one who gave that impression? While I did have a slight unease due to my initial impression of her, at this point, as long as she explained it properly, it didn’t matter who did it. So, I decided to hear the guild’s overview from Makol.
