[A/N: Roxy side-story manga is regarded as canon for this work]
[Roxy’s Perspective]
I graduated and left school around the end of Kōryū Calendar year 409.
Because of issues with my thesis, I had a huge argument with my master… no, my advisor, and we parted on bad terms.
Before leaving school, I also completely fell out with my last remaining friend.
It was quite an unpleasant experience.
My advisor was jealous of my talent.
My friend used me for my abilities.
And there was discrimination too numerous to count.
But it didn’t matter.
I gained power, acquired knowledge, obtained my diploma.
From here on, I could rely on perseverance and effort to live on strongly, and continue to do better and better—just like I had over the past twenty years.
So, according to my original plan, I left the Kingdom of Sharia and crossed the Red Dragon’s Upper Jaw once more, returning to the Asura Kingdom I had longed for.
I really like this strongest country in the world, the oldest nation of humanity.
Not only because the sweets here are plentiful, refined, and delicious, but also because the country is peaceful and tranquil—though the latter makes it completely impossible for adventurers like me to find work.
At least, it was like that when I first came to the Asura Kingdom.
But times had changed.
Now that I had graduated from Ranoa Magic Academy, I should definitely be able to find a stable, high-paying job in this country and settle down happily.
Mm, I’ll settle down for ten years first, then start a new journey!
I’ll eat sweets until I’m satisfied.
In the capital, I found my first job as a tutor for a noble child:
“Not only was I rejected, I was also reported.”
After that came the same kind of bad luck that had happened countless times before.
Applying for clerical work: rejected because I’m a demon race.
Applying for security work: rejected because I look too young.
To earn money, I could only take on escort jobs, traveling with merchant caravans from city to city, only to be rejected again and again in each one.
Next time I’ll definitely succeed…
Next time…
Next…
I was completely fooled!
They said that as long as you had a Ranoa Magic Academy diploma, you could easily find a good job—but in the end, being a demon race still made it impossible.
Finally, at the end of Kōryū Calendar year 410, after a whole year, I arrived at Roa in the Fittoa Region.
I took on a tutoring request for the granddaughter of the region’s lord, but I was rejected by her mayor father without even seeing the girl herself, becoming the thirteenth failed applicant laughed at by the townspeople.
What the heck?
If you don’t want to hire a demon race, then don’t say such self-righteous things.
After that, I saw at the guild a request from a lower noble that had supposedly already rejected four teachers and was notoriously difficult.
I wanted to take it and try, but I was told it had already been accepted.
But I had completely run out of money.
If this kept up, I might have to sell my staff just to afford food and a place at an inn.
Fortunately, while I was doing day labor in Roa, the snow season arrived.
Although the Fittoa Region is located in the far north of the Asura Kingdom, the Kingdom of Sharia where I had previously lived is even farther north, so even though the snow was heavy, I could adapt completely.
More importantly, once the snow season arrived, the number of requests I could take suddenly increased.
It was somewhat similar to the rainy season in the Great Forest of the Beastmen, perhaps.
Requests to assist in subjugating magical beasts came one after another, and the qualification restrictions were not very strict.
Even an A-rank adventurer like me could participate, and most of them even provided free meals.
If I camped, I didn’t have to worry about lodging costs, which saved me a lot.
(The Adventurers’ Guild normally only allows you to take requests one rank above or below your own.
As an A-rank adventurer, I should only be able to take B, A, or S rank.)
Oh, I almost forgot—the dried monster meat I made using the campfire was also very helpful.
And so, not only did I not starve during the snow season, I even managed to save quite a bit of money.
Even in the high-cost Asura Kingdom, I could live for several months without working.
As for the leftover dried meat, it would last me until summer—though it would be inconvenient to carry if I needed to leave Roa.
A bit of a pity.
After the snow season, the new year arrived.
Hello, Kōryū Calendar year 411.
When I returned to Roa and went to the Adventurers’ Guild to look for work again, I unexpectedly saw that same tutoring request from the lower noble with excessive requirements.
I asked the receptionist, and she told me that the knight who posted the request had apparently been busy dealing with magical beasts during the winter, so he had no time to review applicants and had temporarily suspended the request.
Now that spring had arrived, the request had naturally resumed.
The receptionist also mentioned that the number of rejected teachers had increased to six.
Everyone seemed to have been quite shaken, and some had even directly canceled their adventurer registration.
I was a bit surprised—I had thought the request had been completed last year.
Although the receptionist tried hard to dissuade me, I still accepted the request.
As long as the other party did not discriminate against demon races, I was fully confident I could stay.
Not to mention that everything would be reimbursed.
With such a generous employer, they might even let me stay for meals.
After accepting the request, I immediately packed my belongings and headed to the station.
Although it pained me to leave behind the smoked meat, I couldn’t afford to leave a bad impression in that regard for my future employer.
Anyway, I cleverly buried it outside the city.
If I were rejected, I could still come back and dig it up.
It takes six hours by carriage to reach Buena Village.
The fare isn’t cheap, but since it will be reimbursed, it doesn’t matter.
He’d better really reimburse it.
A monthly salary of nine silver coins is actually on the cheaper side when looking at the entire Asura Kingdom.
I don’t think it makes sense that this price could hire a Saint-level Water Mage, but considering how I’ve been fantasizing every day about how great it would be to take on F-, D-, or C-rank requests, I stopped being arrogant about it.
After all, food and lodging are included, and I’m confident that with my ability, I can also earn that bonus—assuming it’s not just written there for show.
That means I could save at least ten Asura gold coins a year.
The teaching should last at least five years, right?
That’s over fifty coins—an amount of money I’ve never seen in my entire life.
I might even be able to buy a big house in the Asura capital, right?
(Absolutely not.)
Although the scenery along the carriage road became increasingly barren, and as I neared the destination village the roadside turned entirely into farmland with barely any two-story houses in sight, the thought of fifty Asura gold coins filled me with motivation.
Even if it’s the countryside, it doesn’t matter, Mr.
Gold Coins!
After getting off the carriage, I asked the villagers working in the fields for directions to the knight’s residence.
Probably because the lower noble named Paul was well respected, everyone was very willing to answer me, though their gazes toward me were still strange.
Well, I am a demon race—strange looks are to be expected.
As soon as I left, they immediately gathered together and began whispering.
I’m already used to this feeling.
Soon, I walked into a well-kept, spacious courtyard and knocked on the door of the two-story house in front of me.
“I am Roxy Migurdia, here to take on the private tutor request.
Please take care of me.”
That was how I planned to introduce myself once they opened the door.
I had already prepared my script.
Including explanations about my race, appearance, age, and abilities.
Then, the door opened.
And I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself at all.
Author’s notes: ps.
At this time, Roxy is actually quite stubborn.
Note 1: What the villagers gathered to discuss was actually that they thought it was pitiful that she was going to Paul’s house to get herself “killed.” Of course, even if Roxy at this time heard it clearly, she would only think they were looking down on her, and would go in with the mindset of “I’ll make them so shocked they can’t speak.”
Note 2: From the side story, it’s easy to understand why Roxy was captivated by the life of being a tutor.
The happiest period of her early life, her academy days, was so poor that she had to hunt for meat and cure it in her dormitory just to save on living expenses.
Note 3: In my personal reading, the side story depicts Roxy repeatedly going from seeing hope to having that hope shattered, becoming increasingly stubborn and twisted, until she was awakened (at least partially) by her experience as a tutor—similar to how Rudeus gradually proved himself step by step.