The Holy Land of Swords was celebrated as a swordsman’s dream destination, but most outsiders arriving for the first time had the same initial impression:
It looked like an ordinary town.
There were inns, weapon shops, restaurants, taverns, and naturally an Adventurers’ Guild—the organization whose branches could be found across every continent.
Even on the streets, adventurers and merchants could frequently be seen hurrying back and forth on business.
If there was anything unusual, it was that nearly everyone staying here, along with most local residents, practiced the Sword God Style.
You absolutely could not judge people by appearance in this town.
Even a scrawny local child with barely any visible muscle might be stronger than a hulking adventurer.
Young people wearing training uniforms and carrying wooden swords were even harder to evaluate.
They might be Beginners.
They might be Intermediate or Advanced swordsmen.
A Sword Saint wasn’t impossible either.
The closer one traveled toward the center of town, the fewer merchants and adventurers appeared.
In their place came more and more young people who looked like students or disciples, along with an increasing number of dojos and training halls.
Following the main road straight through the snowy landscape and down the valley-like path would eventually bring a traveler to an enormous compound completely surrounded by tall walls—the central dojo and headquarters of the Sword God Style.
Noah, however, had been born outside the main dojo, so he was far more familiar with the ordinary town surrounding it.
This was where he’d spent his childhood.
Holy Land of Swords, Adventurers’ Guild.
Adventurers streamed up and down both sides of the street.
Every now and then, some wonderfully civilized gentleman at the roadside would unleash the Water Breathing technique known as “ptooey!” while another went “bleegh…”
That second guy had obviously just staggered out of a tavern.
The whole street surrounding the guild was exceptionally lively.
Noah could make out all kinds of storefronts: steaming food spread across tavern tables, shopkeepers haggling loudly with adventurers over weapons, merchants advertising goods…
The Adventurers’ Guild at the center of it all was just as busy.
Voices spilled from the building even before they entered, producing exactly the kind of swords-and-magic otherworld atmosphere Noah would have imagined in his previous life.
He followed Koloki and the others toward the guild, explaining various things to Nina and Jino along the way.
If he hadn’t been merely another member of the party, Noah would have gladly played host and shown them around properly.
The moment they entered, Koloki went straight for the counter.
Classic Sword God Style.
“I’d like the latest information on the request involving the merchant caravans that were recently attacked.”
The beautiful receptionist behind the counter responded with a professional smile.
“Of course, sir. Please show me your adventurer card.”
Koloki took out a card and handed it over.
He had become an adventurer before pursuing his ideals to the Holy Land of Swords, where he eventually advanced to Sword Saint.
Naturally, he was already registered with the guild.
Noah, Nina, and Jino stared curiously at the little card.
Noticing their gazes, Koloki suddenly remembered that none of these children were adventurers yet.
“Ah, right. Let’s register these three first.”
He really was a babysitter on this trip.
The receptionist looked over Noah, Nina, and Jino.
Ante and Silas obviously didn’t need to register, so only the three children required forms.
She pulled out three sheets of paper and a sharpened charcoal pencil from beneath the counter.
The forms were identical.
Noah could roughly make out fields for name, profession, obligations, prohibitions, and other basic information.
“Please fill these out.”
The receptionist maintained her smile, then added politely,
“If writing is inconvenient, I can fill them in for you.”
This was the Holy Land of Swords, after all.
Illiteracy grew here like weeds.
Adventurers were often rough people too, so being unable to read or write was hardly unusual.
“No, I’m fine.”
Noah took the sheet and looked over the contents.
Registering with the Adventurers’ Guild granted access to its services throughout the world: accepting requests, collecting payment, posting requests, exchanging currencies, and more.
Those rights naturally came with obligations.
Adventurers were expected to assist during events such as monster stampedes, earthquake relief, and other large-scale disasters.
Of course, trying to completely bind a bunch of freewheeling adventurers with obligations on paper was another matter entirely.
There were also various prohibitions, but Noah didn’t bother dwelling on every one of them.
Documents like these were generally safer to fill out personally.
Noah remembered plenty of ridiculous stories from his previous life caused by someone else registering paperwork in another person’s name.
There was only one charcoal pencil, so Nina and Jino would ordinarily have to wait until he finished.
“Once I’m done, I’ll fill yours in too.”
Noah turned toward the two of them.
Such was the effortless confidence of an educated intellectual.
“Mm.”
“O-okay. Thank you, Noah.”
Nina and Jino nodded like pecking chicks.
Scratch, scratch, scratch!
Noah rapidly filled in his information using the Human Tongue.
He still didn’t know Demon God Tongue, Beast God Tongue, or Fighting God Tongue.
Merchants of demon races rarely came through here, so he’d never had much opportunity to learn them.
“Miss, I’ve finished. Could you check it?”
Noah handed over the form.
The receptionist’s eyes brightened slightly as she looked at him.
A child who could read, had manners, and was handsome to boot was surprisingly rare.
After checking the form, she confirmed there were no problems.
Noah then filled in Nina’s and Jino’s forms, asking them questions along the way to make sure he didn’t record anything incorrectly.
Koloki and Ante stood nearby watching him write, their surprise completely undisguised.
Turns out the kid really was literate.
The shock of the illiterate masses!
Once all three forms were completed, the receptionist pulled out something resembling a transparent game console from beneath the counter.
A magic circle was engraved in its center, and she also produced three metal cards.
“Please place your hand here.”
She gestured toward the transparent plate.
Noah obeyed.
The receptionist tapped several places on the device with her fingertips.
The magic circle glowed red, then faded.
His adventurer card was complete.
“Here is your adventurer card. Please keep it safe.”
She handed the finished card across the counter.
Faintly glowing letters appeared on the otherwise ordinary metal plate.
Name: Noah Emiya
Sex: Male
Race: Human
Age: 8
Profession: Swordsman
Rank: F
The same process was repeated for Nina and Jino, producing two more brand-new adventurer cards.
Once all three were registered, Koloki tapped the counter again.
“Ahem. Thank you for the trouble. We’d like to accept the request I mentioned earlier. Could you tell us everything currently known about it?”
“Of course. Several merchant groups have been attacked along the main road southwest of the Holy Land. Based on traces reported by adventurers who later discovered the scenes, the bandit group is believed to be operating somewhere in that region.”
The receptionist continued,
“The guild previously issued a request as well. An E-rank adventurer party accepted it, led by an Advanced swordsman. They failed to complete the request and haven’t been heard from since. The guild therefore assumes the party met with disaster. The request has now been raised to D rank.”
After explaining, she looked uncertainly at Noah and the others.
“As a rule, adventurers may only accept requests at their own rank or one rank above or below. Since these newly registered members are only F rank, we normally wouldn’t allow them to participate in a request with such a large gap in difficulty…”
“There’s no need to worry,” Koloki replied calmly.
“Noah, Nina, and Silas are Advanced swordsmen. Jino is Intermediate. Ante and I are both Sword Saints. That should be sufficient.”
That was the kind of foundation a major sword school possessed.
The receptionist looked genuinely startled.
Adventurer registration recorded only basic personal information.
Regardless of actual combat strength, everyone began at F rank specifically to prevent people from lying about their abilities, accepting requests far beyond them, and dying as a result.
She had already suspected something when she saw those three surnames.
She had read their information and knew their ages.
She simply hadn’t expected their strength to be so wildly mismatched with those ages.
The children of those famous swordsmen truly were extraordinary.