Chapter SS3: Young Lit’s Adventure ‘The First Step’

Translator: Tseirp

A 9-year-old girl ran across the town of Logavia, escaping from the castle.

Her beautiful blonde hair was tied neatly into a ponytail behind her head using a red bandana.

She had well-shaped eyebrows on her round forehead.

Her sky-blue pupils shone from the sense of freedom walking on her own outside and her lips parted into an innocent smile, showing her white teeth.

Although she would eventually be called Hero Lit, Lislet was still a small girl at the moment.

At around this age she seemed to had already completely turned into a tomboy princess.

☆☆

Lislet was heading toward the place she longed for.

It was Logavia’s Adventurer’s Guild.

As a building that dated back to the establishment of the Principality of Logavia, its timeworn wooden doors gave off an air.

Probably many heroes walked through that very door to set off for adventures and achieve feats spoken of in legends.

And today, a future hero takes her first step!

That was the monologue that happened in her head as Lislet pushed the guild door enthusiastically with a grin.

But the door was a lot heavier than Lislet imagined so it did not open with a bang but creaked open slowly instead.

“What’s this?”

The adventurers inside the guild looked at Lislet.

Lislet made a triumphant pose.

“A kid huh.”

A nearby adventurer commented and seemed to have instantly lost interest.

He once again returned to chatting rowdily with his fellow adventurers.

“Gununuuu.”

She pouted and glared at the adventurers but at 9-year-old, glaring only made Lislet seem funny.

Lislet gave up and calmed herself before walked toward the lady seating at the reception desk.

“Oneesan!”

“Yes young lady, what’s the matter?”

The receptionist lady said with a smile.

“I’m here to become an adventurer!”

“You wish to register as an adventurer? You’re such a brave young lady!”

The receptionist lady said as she … handed her a small blackboard and chalk near her feet instead of the documents placed next to her hand meant for adventurer registrations.

“Here young lady, please write your name, your specialty, what you dislike doing, your favourite food and what you dislike eating, and your ambition.”

There was nothing written on the blackboard other than a border drawn with chalk.

Lislet found it a little strange but she wrote down her answers honestly as she was told.

“Na … name.”

“Hn, what’s the matter?”

“No, it’s nothing!”

She stopped writing after writing the first word for her name.

Even though she was young, Lislet thought that it was bad to write down her real name.

She thought for a moment before writing a name other than Lislet.

“Well done … you name is … Lit-chan!”

The receptionist lady unintentionally giggled when she saw the name written on the blackboard.

“A cute name fitting for a girl aiming to become an adventurer. Right, I’ll give Lit-chan this.”

The receptionist lady gave her a wooden medal.

Carved on the medal was a shield, the symbol of the Adventurer’s Guild.

And below that shield was Lit’s name written in ink.

“From today onward, Lit-chan is recognized as a children-rank adventurer belonging to Logavia’s Adventurer’s Guild!”

Lislet’s expression brightened.

“I am an adventurer too now!”

“That’s right! From today, you are Adventurer Lit!”

“Yay~!”

“But.”

As Lislet celebrated, the receptionist lady told her with a serious look.

“Adventurers have all kinds of promises that they must uphold.”

“Yes! I will uphold the promises!”

That wasn’t very convincing coming from Lislet who escaped from the castle but thankfully not many people knew her true identity.

The receptionist lady explained in a practiced tone to Lislet about not approaching dangerous places on her own.

“And most importantly, hold pride in being an adventurer.”

“Pride?”

“Yes. Pride that you will become a splendid and proper adventurer. To not steer down the path of becoming a bad adventurer. For example, you shouldn’t tease your other friends by boasting that you are an adventurer.”

“Of course! I plan to become a model for all adventurers!”

“Fufu, so reliable. Actually children-rank adventurers do not receive adventurer requests here but somewhere else.”

“All right. Thank you, Onee-san!”

“You’re welcome. Good luck, Adventurer Lit-chan.”

A few of the surrounding adventurers congratulated her for becoming Adventurer Lit.

“Thank you! I will become a splendid adventurer!”

Lislet ran toward the place she was told to go to as though she could not contain her excitement.

☆☆

“Good work too, Saffy-chan.”

An adventurer commented to the receptionist lady.

“You actually gave the child your handmade medal. Didn’t you make that on your free day? And that blackboard and chalk were your personal items as well.”

“It’s just something I made for fun. Furthermore, that child might actually become an adventurer and may even be called a hero someday. I might even be mentioned in the beginning of her memoire … wouldn’t that be great?”

The receptionist lady said as she touched her leg that was missing from below the knee.

“Furthermore, if I could give just a little bit of strength to a future hero, my past adventures … might not be a complete waste.”

“A former adventurer such as Saffy-chan mediating the requests for us is already a great help to us too.”

☆☆

“This is the place.”

Lislet arrived at a regular home at the outskirts of town.

There was no sign and it was a common 2 room with dining and kitchen home layout seen in Logavia.

Lislet knocked on the door while feeling slightly nervous.

“Coming~”

A soothing voice came from inside the house along with approaching footsteps.

“Yes yes, I wonder who is it?”

A well-dressed old man appeared after opening the door.

His white hair was neatly combed and his shirt was ironed straight.

The eyes behind his dark-green glasses seemed kindly.

“Er, erm, I heard that there is adventure to be had here.”

While a little nervous, Lislet showed the medal she received.

“A new adventurer-san? Welcome, this is Logavia Adventurer’s Guild’s children-rank branch. I am Sembold, the guild leader for this branch.”

Sembold smiled and extended his hand.

Lislet returned the smile and shook the old man’s hand in a good mood.

“I am Li-Lit! Nice to meet you, Sembold-san!”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too, adventurer Lit. Yup, that’s a lovely smile.”

Sembold led Lislet into the room.

Lit sat on the chair while Sembold placed milk and cookies in front of Lit.

“Here.”

“Thank you!”

It may not be as delicate as the palace cooking Lislet always ate but it had a homely feel that made it delicious.

“You’re a well-behaved child.”

Sembold commented as he looked at Lislet’s actions.

Although his eyes were kindly, they were sharp in analyzing the opponent.

Lislet unconsciously stopped eating.

Sembold laughed.

“And your intuition is sharp. Yup, you have a great future, child.”

Under Sembold’s urging, Lislet continued eating.

Although it was a short exchange, Lit was a little excited.

(He feels exactly like how I imagine an adventurer to be!)

After eating, Lislet and Sembold moved over to the board hanging at the wall at the end of the room.

There were all kinds of papers attached on the board.

“You may accept requests here.”

Lislet read the papers stuck on the wall while feeling a sense of excitement.

“Erm, escorting and delivering letters, purchasing vegetables, guarding walks, eliminating garden weeds …”

The rewards were only a couple of common copper coins.

It seemed that adults who love children gather here and put in request for little helpers.

They probably thought of letting children who yearn to become adventurers experience how it feels.

Sembold, the Adventurer’s Guild staff and Safi provided this children playground together.

Lislet pointed at one of the notice.

“I want to try doing this vegetable purchase request!”

Lislet said with a lively voice.

As a princess, Lislet had naturally never purchased vegetables from the town’s greengrocer.

A shop lined with colorful vegetables.

The fragrance of vegetables and earth.

The voice of the shopkeeper selling his wares and housewives trying to find good vegetables.

She found that very exciting and attractive.

Sembold smiled faintly and handed a hand-drawn map of the town to Lislet.

“This is a request from Karin who lives here. You should be able to make it if you set off now but she will set off to purchase it herself once it reaches evening. So it is best if you head there immediately.”

“Understood! I will go there now!”

Lislet was about to run off energetically but she stopped before leaving and turned back.

“Thank you Sembold-san! I’ll be in your care!”

“Yup, be careful Lit. Have a good adventure.”

The young Lislet turned around and ran off.

☆☆

Sunset. At Sembold’s home.

After leisurely listening to Lislet’s report on her adventure (errand) while enjoying a cup of tea, Sembold sat in his armchair to smoke his pipe.

There was still a cup on the table as Lislet had returned home just moments ago.

In order to not smoke in front of children, Sembold only enjoyed his pipe after sunset.

He heard a knock.

“Hn, is it Lit-chan? Did she forget something?”

Sembold placed his pipe on the table and moved to the entrance.

Then, he opened the door.

He suffered a strong strike to his head and his vision turned black.

“Ah … ga …”

Sembold fell to the floor after receiving a blow to the head from a lead-filled club.

“As rumored, this seems like a home of a rich person.”

Two men entered the home.

One held the bat that struck Sembold while the other held a sharp short sword without a sheath.

“Uh, gu …”

“Hey now, you didn’t kill him?”

The man holding the short sword smiled thinly.

“What? Kill? The punishment will be harsher if we are caught.”

“Hey now, our punishment won’t change no matter what we do to one or two more people. Just how many people do you think we’ve killed until now.”

“Hehe, that’s true.”

The two were thieves.

Furthermore, they intentionally aimed for homes with elderly and children. Low-life thieves that were despised by even their fellow thieves.

Sembold tried to stand but he had no strength in his arms and legs.

He could only watch the thief raise the club up in slow motion to deal the final blow.

However, the club did not swing down.

“Gugya.”

Air leaked from the mouth of the thief.

“Wha-what!?”

The other thief who was searching for valuables deeper in the house raised a bewildered voice, failing to understand the situation for a moment.

The thief’s body collapsed.

A single blow to a vital point such as the back of the head has enough force to knock an adult man out.

“Sembold-san!”

Lislet rushed over.

The young girl glared at the thief and readied the club in her hand.

“Ru-run, Lit …”

Even while collapsed, Sembold worried for Lislet with a weak voice.

When Lislet heard that voice, a strange emotion welled up in her heart, a mix of intense anger and calmness.

She had already decided to not run and thoughts of ways to defeat the thief formed in Lislet’s brain.

“Th-this brat! You’ll pay for what you did!”

The thief threatened as he charged at her.

Lislet swung her club which has superior reach in order to prevent the thief from closing in.

But the thief was a scum who had killed many people.

His divine protection level may not be high but his combat experience was vastly different compared to Lislet.

The thief knocked away the club that Lislet swung and screamed in an intimidating manner as he swung his left fist down onto Lislet.

“You’re just a girl! Just one battle cry is enough to stop you in your tracks!”

The thief did not hesitate even though he was about to punch a girl.

But Lislet was not afraid.

“Now! Earth Spirit-san!”

The club in Lislet’s hand wriggled.

The club she used as a weapon was an embodiment of the Earth Spirit.

Unlike the other thief she rendered unconscious with a strike from behind, Lislet knew that she could not fight on equal grounds with the sword-wielding thief even with an Earth Spirit in club form.

So she relied on the counterattack timing.

The Earth Spirit wrapped around the thief’s neck before his fist could hit her.

“Gah!?”

The thief’s red face from anger quickly turned reddish black as he couldn’t breathe.

Subsequently, arms emerged from the Earth Spirit.

“Hiiii …”

Fear showed on the face of the thief as he tried desperately to tear the Earth Spirit off.

Then, the Earth Spirit rained punches onto the thief’s face.

“Gya! Stop! Help! Help!!”

Lislet’s divine protection level was one.

The Earth Spirit she could summon was the weakest of all spirits.

The spirit’s strength was similar to an ordinary adult male.

It was a weak spirit that has no special ability other than changing its shape to a certain extent but can’t even be used as a weapon.

But punches with the strength of an adult rained onto the man’s face endlessly.

The Earth Spirit pounded the thief mercilessly, reflecting Lislet’s anger.

At the moment, Lislet could only maintain the summon for a minute.

But the thief could no longer move after the Earth Spirit disappeared.

“Sembold-san, are you all right!?”

Lislet rushed over to Sembold’s side.

“Water Spirit, please lend me your strength!”

Sembold felt the pain in his head go away little by little.

However, the strength was only at the level of a novice adventurer.

Her strength was many levels lower than the thieves.

She won against the thieves not by using strength but by bravery.

(That is the greatest character required in a hero.)

When Lislet looked at Sembold’s injury, tears formed in her eyes as though she was the one that was injured.

Sembold was astonished that this kind young girl could defeat two thieves filled with ill intent.

Having seen many adventurers as a former staff member of the Adventurer’s Guild, Sembold felt that he caught a glimpse of Lislet’s future.