Rose

"Ha?" Elgin made a sound of surprise at the woman's sudden offensive remark.

'She's referring to me, right?'

Her glare was aimed straight at him.

What did he do to deserve this kind of attack?

"Ah.. That's Rose. She... is a little aggressive, but please do not hold it against her." Sheila looked back and forth between Elgin and Rose, cautious as to how this situation could proceed. "She is our branch manager, she's very capable. You don't have to worry about the comment she made."

"I don't get why she was selected as the branch manager if her attitude is like that." Elgin couldn't just accept the clear hostility Rose displayed.

'Does she think I'll just stay silent?'

"What, do you not like how I act? At least I'm not fake like others. I can't change how my natural side is. Fuck off if you don't like me." Rose scoffed.

"Even if you're not fake, you are still unlikeable. Being genuine does not equal being an asshole. You made assumptions against me, I also have the right to do so. Stop whatever you're trying to do. It's honestly doing nothing but making the situation worse. I'll kindly 'fuck off' by myself even if you hadn't told me to do so."

Elgin had a vast amount of experience handling difficult customers. They were the bane of his existence. They just never stopped appearing, making him wonder just where these spawns of Satan descended from.

This woman named Rose had never spoken a word with him, and came out saying those obnoxious words that were clearly looking down at him.

Call him a snowflake if you want, but Elgin hated others underestimating and stepping over him.

"What are you-" Rose was about to retort back, but Sheila knocked down on the table and made a harsh sound that interrupted her words.

Rose knew that it was a way for Sheila to tell her to stop.

"Tch. Sheila, that kid is yours to handle. Be sure to go extra harsh on him, don't let him get away with any mistakes. As a newbie, he's too damn cocky for his own good, don't think he'll have an easy time!"

Even as she left to enter the back room once again, she was muttering curse words under her breath.

"Is she openly trying to discriminate against me? I wouldn't say that's a very good move to make.." Elgin massaged his temples.

"..I'm just really sorry for all the inconveniences. Rose may be overly hostile, but once you get to know her.."

"I don't need to 'get to know her', sorry." Elgin sighed. "She's nothing but trouble, so it seems. Forget about it, all I need in this town is to be certified as an Adventurer. I won't get involved with Rose."

Sheila nodded lightly and didn't mention Rose again. She pulled out the application forms for registering as an Adventurer.

"Ah, right. Are you already aware of the requirements? I assume you've prepared yourself enough before coming here, right?" Sheila asked.

"Isn't it just filling out basic information? What else do I need?"

"Umm.. It used to be like that, but because there was an influx of newcomers that don't perform up to the standards.. We can't just let anyone in. One of the requirements for applying is to get a referral letter from at least a C-ranked Adventurer."

Sheila explained more about the matter.

People somehow began to see the Adventurer job as an asset to exploit. They wanted to get the benefits that came with the title, but never brought justice to that title. Many of them even did terrible things while proclaiming themselves with the title.

As a result, the dignity of Adventurers took a huge hit, with the public forming a dubious opinion on the job as a whole.

Elgin began to form a correlation between Rose's words with this phenomenon. They were likely swarmed with a barrage of new applicants who wanted to take advantage of the system and formed a negative stereotype due to it.

It wasn't an excuse to act that way, though.

"Unfortunately, I don't have one.." Elgin thought carefully.

He never learned about this because there wasn't a guild branch in Ulya. In addition, the news he received were all massively popular ones.

'My knowledge might be more limited than I thought.'

Not only considering how the world would constantly change and could differ from what he knew, his memories also only consisted of major achievements of the Players. It wouldn't be as useful as he thought.

"It's not like there's no other way, but.." Sheila nervously looked towards the room where Rose resided in.

"..Oh, are you being serious?" Elgin immediately realized Sheila's meaning.

His expression turned ugly.

For a town like Valda, a C-ranked Adventurer wouldn't just be found anywhere.

With how Sheila acted, Rose must be his 'other option'.

"Well.. how do you get a referral letter in the first place?" Elgin asked.

"You have to pass their trial. Either finish a task they give, or undergo a skill assessment. You will have to fight against them." Sheila answered.

"Are there really no other C-ranked guys in this town?"

"There are two, but their referral letters are a bit inflexible to get. They run a training school, and you have to finish their full course in order to get the letters even if you think that you can already pass the final tests without being taught anything."

'Troublesome.' Elgin thought.

"Could you let me talk with Rose, then?"

If he wanted to get it done fast, there was no other way other than utilizing Rose's letter.

Sheila agreed. She called Rose over and explained Elgin's situation, to which the woman reacted in a mocking manner.

"Serves you right. I guess my words weren't wrong after all. You're an incompetent newbie who doesn't know jack shit about this field. Why don't I just fail you right here and now? I really don't want to judge your capability."