Oh, Iyer! Iyerpol! – Chapter 6

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
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Waking up to the cheerful chirping of birds was always pleasant.

It was because the weather in Tillasden, which currently enjoyed its peak season, was already palpable from the morning.

Feeling the slightly chilly morning breeze entering through the window I had left ajar last night, I sat up.

Ugh.

It seemed I had drunk a bit too much yesterday.

I usually didn’t drink like this.

“If it weren’t for that bastard, I wouldn’t have drunk so much…”

Grumbling, I got up and walked straight to where the water was prepared for washing.

I thoroughly washed my face, brushed my teeth, and rinsed with cool water.

Satisfied with the clean skin reflected in the mirror, I left the bathroom.

Hmm.

A good start to the morning.

Standing in front of the mirror, I changed into a shirt and put on my leather mail over it.

After putting on my iron-plated leather greaves, I equipped the rest of my gear over the leather mail.

A dagger at my waist, chest and shoulder protectors, and various auxiliary equipment.

After this series of procedures, finally equipping my gauntlets… My morning preparations were complete.

Oh right.

I almost forgot something important.

I reached for the black cloth on the table.

Then, looking in the mirror, I carefully wrapped it around my eyes.

Tying a small knot at the back of my head, I smiled with satisfaction at my reflection.

Good.

Perfect.

‘There was a saying that adventurers should be like birds.’

‘They have to wake up early to snag the requests that come in during the morning after the procedures are completed.’

And ‘they have to be light sleepers to prevent surprise attacks from enemies.’

There were other sayings too, like ‘always be vigilant of your surroundings’, and so on… but anyway, the point I’m trying to make is that adventurers all woke up early.

That’s so they could grab the honey-sweet requests that come in the morning before others snatch them up.

However, the time I woke up couldn’t be described as early at all.

“Good morning, mister. It’s a beautiful day.”

“Oh, Iyer. I just got some good ones in. How many do you want?”

“Two of the best-looking ones, please.”

After leaving my house and buying two apples from the market street, I walked leisurely towards the guild, munching on them.

Hmm, sweet potatoes.

Are they in season?

Continuing the earlier talk about birds, adventurers need to wake up early, but I don’t.

That’s why I don’t bother with the trouble of waking up early.

Waking up leisurely like this, grabbing breakfast while strolling through the market street, and arriving at the guild before lunchtime… that is, after the morning rush when people are packed in like sardines.

That was my daily schedule.

Why do I do it this way?

It’s because of the characteristics of the requests I mainly handle.

“Next person, please~”

Waiting in the now less crowded line at the counter, I moved towards where the bell was ringing.

Window number 5.

Usually a client-only window when it’s busy, but when it’s this quiet, they also serve adventurers.

I waved cheerfully at Rigati, who was waiting at the counter.

“Good morning, Rigati.”

“It’s almost lunchtime, Mr. Iyer…”

Rigati chuckled, as if exasperated.

As befitting the face of the guild, all the receptionists were beautiful, and Rigati’s smile was especially lovely.

A pleasant sight for sore eyes.

Even though I pretended not to see.

Rigati rummaged under the counter and pulled out three bundles of papers, placing them in front of me.

“Same as usual today?”

“That’s right.”

“I gathered them beforehand. Here.”

I took the documents Rigati handed me and quickly scanned through them one by one.

All the requests were satisfactory.

Three should be enough to handle for the entire day.

“Thanks as always, Rigati.”

“Don’t mention it… We’re the ones who should be thanking you.”

I simply smiled at Rigati’s words, signed the request forms, and left the counter with the documents I needed.

At a table in the corner.

Sitting at a relatively quiet and secluded spot, I looked over the three requests I had received.

“…Good. Rigati picked well for me today, too.”

I smiled with satisfaction.

If someone saw me just now, they might say this:

“Hey, isn’t that receptionist setting aside requests for a specific adventurer?”

It wasn’t entirely wrong, but it wasn’t entirely right either.

This is because the jobs I handled were mostly those that most adventurers wouldn’t even glance at, the so-called “unpopular requests.”

They were practically disliked requests.

Requests with paltry rewards, yet time-consuming, and even after completion, they didn’t offer much recognition.

There was no way most adventurers would touch them.

The requests I mainly handled were those kinds of requests.

So why did I mainly handle these requests?

Because I lacked the ability?

That’s not it.

Until about a year ago, I was quite renowned in Tillasden as an adventurer specializing in monster subjugation.

The income was quite substantial with hazard pay, bonuses, and all sorts of other additions, and it was a job where reputation could be easily built, so I jumped into it with youthful ambition.

But as is often the case, jobs with many merits also come with risks.

It was a life far too different from the peaceful retirement I envisioned with a stable income.

Then, an opportunity came to me where I could earn a living without having to take on such risky requests.

I’ll explain what it was later.

Anyway, the important thing was that thanks to that opportunity, I gained the regular and stable income I had always dreamed of.

As soon as the income started coming in, I quit taking monster subjugation requests.

I thought, since I had this income, I didn’t need to take any risks.

However, I quit being a “monster subjugation specialist,” not an “adventurer.”

The reason I was still an adventurer, taking on these unpopular requests, even after quitting monster subjugation, was…

‘Adventurer’s Pension.’

That’s right.

The adventurer’s pension provided by Kalak after 20 years of work as an adventurer.

It increases if you worked for 30 years, and even more for 40 years… a retirement plan guaranteed by the nation for adventurers!

That was what I’m aiming for.

Let me say it again, plans made by humans don’t always go their way.

Mostly.

Usually about 80% of the time.

Therefore, one must always be prepared with various contingencies.

I have a stable source of income now, but is there a guarantee that it will last for 10 years, or even 5 years?

Absolutely.

Absolutely not.

Life is such that you could become a beggar tomorrow.

I’ve tasted that bitterness many times.

In that sense, Kalak’s adventurer’s pension was a very reliable and literally “stable” system.

Unless the nation collapsed, the pension wouldn’t be cut off.

Until I die.

It doesn’t pay out much for just 20 years of service, but if you work as an adventurer for 30 or 40 years, you’ll receive enough to live a comfortable retirement.

To achieve that, all I have to do is maintain my status as an adventurer and keep working.

And the unpopular requests caught my eye.

The rewards were small, but they weren’t dangerous, and the difficulty of the work was overwhelmingly low, so it was possible to complete them even while slacking off.

Since I handled the requests that piled up meaninglessly at the guild, my evaluation within the guild also rises.

Unlike other adventurers who had to rely on rewards for their livelihood, I had a separate source of income, so I could live even without the rewards.

The moment I realized that…

I quit monster subjugation and started taking on unpopular requests.

‘I can relax like a freeloader, take only easy jobs, and after 20 years, I get a pension?’

It was sweet.

Honey-sweet.

20 years? I’ll even do 30, 40 years.

As the crowd thinned out and the guild became quieter, Ayla, the receptionist in charge of adventurers at the adventurer’s guild, glanced at the woman at the next counter.

Then she glanced at the man at the table in the corner, and back at her colleague.

“Your eyes are going to pop out.”

“…”

There was no response from the woman.

She simply stared at the adventurer sitting at the table, shuffling through documents.

Even when Ayla poked her head near her line of sight, there was no reaction.

Wasn’t this close to a serious condition?

Ayla thought so.

“This is driving me crazy. Do you like him or not, or what?”

“…What?”

“You. You’re staring at him without showing it, but you’ve been staring for a while now. Are you interested in him?”

“No. You know it’s not like that.”

“Know what? I know nothing.”

How many things did Rigati, Ayla’s colleague, do for that adventurer without showing it?

She sorted requests early in the morning for him because he couldn’t read due to his blindness.

She even wrote Braille on the request forms for him to read.

She did these things every day.

Would she do such bothersome things for someone she had no interest in?

It would be easier to believe a cat guarding a fish shop.

Ayla, looking at Rigati with disapproval, said,

“You… if you get involved with a man like that, you’ll really suffer for the rest of your life.”

“Why?”

“A man who can’t even see with his own eyes, meddling in everything, taking on jobs that don’t even pay a dime, working practically for free. It’s a good thing he’s somewhat capable, but he’s the type who’ll put his family through all sorts of hardships.”

That adventurer, Iyerpol, was a successful adventurer until a year ago.

An adventurer who hunted monsters with senses sharper than others, despite his blindness.

Whenever someone mentioned famous adventurers in Tillasden, the blind swordsman Iyerpol’s name always came up.

But one day, Iyerpol stopped taking monster subjugation requests, his main source of income.

The reason was unknown.

Rumors circulated about an injury, worsening eye condition, and so on.

But after that, Iyerpol started taking on unprofitable jobs.

Ayla remembered that Rigati started paying attention to him around that time.

“Rigati. Are you listening? Rigati!”

“I am listening, really.”

Was this girl even listening to her?

Even though Ayla was giving her sincere advice, Rigati’s gaze remained fixed.

“…But, you know… Even if it’s hardship, wouldn’t it be happy hardship with someone like him?”

“This crazy girl.”

Was she already this smitten?

Ayla inwardly muttered that it might be too late for her to intervene.

Even though Ayla wanted Rigati, who was like a younger sister to her, to meet a better man, at this point, she felt like she should give up.

Looking at Iyer, who had been staring at the request forms for a while, Rigati recalled a conversation she had with him.

It was about a month after Iyer started taking unpopular requests.

To her question of why he kept taking them, he replied,

‘There are people in the world who need help even with these kinds of jobs.’

‘If no one takes unpopular requests, how would these people get help?’

‘So, I thought someone should do this kind of work.’

His selfless and sincere answer lingered in her mind for a long time.

After a long while preparing, Iyer finally stood up and left the adventurer’s guild.

Watching his retreating figure, Rigati silently cheered him on.

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