VRMMO no Shien Shokunin ～Top player no Shikakenin～ - Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14: FIRST QUEST

「Welcome…Ah, I’ve been waiting for you, Hind-sama」 (Claris)

「Hi Claris-san. I’m with my friends but…is that OK?」 (Hind)

「Unfortunately the reward won’t go up, but if that’s OK with you, there’s no problem. I’ll ask for someone to replace me now so wait for a bit. Grandma!」 (Claris)

There were no other players inside the store.

While calling for someone, Claris-san went inside the door further behind the counter.

She said grandma right…?

Since the person is someone older, will it take long for her to come out?

「That’s an NPC…? The way the conversation went was very different from usual…I can’t believe it」 (Yumir)

「Eh? That person was an NPC?」 (Riizu)

「Remember the name that was displayed. The color was different from ours right?」 (Yumir)

「Ah…I see」 (Riizu)

「Shh, Yumir. I heard that the word NPC is discriminatory for people like them. If you are not careful, it’ll affect their mood」 (Hind)

「Is that so…?」 (Yumir)

After being called an NPC repeatedly by players, it seems like the old man from the weapon shop beat them up, so it’s probably true.

From what I heard from him after the fact, he said that 「I don’t really get it, it was a name that got on my nerves」.

There’s even a rumor that says that if you overdo it, you won’t be able to use the shops anymore…anyway, it’s not something we can’t avoid.

Since we are the 「Visitors」, Should we just simply call them 「Natives」?

「I believe it must be some sort of message from the developers. At the very least, while we are playing, they probably want us to deal with them as if they were real people」 (Hind)

「I see…got it. If we think about VR, it’s true that this should be the correct way to enjoy it. In fact, I don’t dislike this way of doing things」 (Yumir)

「With that they make a new world, huh? Games are deeper than I thought」 (Riizu)

「Fufun, Of course they are」 (Yumir)

「I don’t really get why Yumir-san is boasting about it」 (Riizu)

At that moment, an old woman with her back slightly bent appeared from the door.

Right after, Claris-san appeared as if she was supporting her.

The old woman slowly walked towards us and was staring at my face.

I-is something wrong?

「Fuun…I see, he doesn’t seem that bad. Are you going to have him do it? Claris」 (old woman)

「He still hasn’t taken up the request but…yup, it might end up like that. Grandma, I’ll leave the rest to you. Everyone, please come inside. I’ll tell you in detail about the contents of the request」(Claris)

「Yes」 「Fumu」 「Staring at Hind-san like that…she’s quite the impolite grandmother…」

We were allowed inside the shop to a place that was probably not allowed to other players.

It was a normal room with a table and chairs, Claris-san sat down and spread what looked like a contract.

「The details of the contract are written here. Please read it and tell me if you have any questions」 (Claris)

「Yes, I understand. Let’s see…」 (Hind)

『Request: escorting a peddler』

Contents: Accompany a certain person that aspires to be a peddler and escort him/her to Heathrow​ town.

Reward: Skill point book.

Number of people: 1 or higher.

※It’s not possible to take up this request more than once.

…Oh, the contents of the contracts in this game are summed up in a concise way.

While being perplexed I showed the contract to Yumir and Riizu and turned towards Claris-san.

「I-It was quite the simple and easy to understand contract, huh?」 (Hind)

「That was a normal contract in this world…was there anything wrong with it?」 (Claris)

「N-No. Anyway, who is this certain person that this contract is referring to…?」 (Hind)

「R-Regarding that…」 (Claris)

Claris-san started to get fidgety.

Seeing the gap between her adult-like appearance and her actions, my heart started to beat fast.

N-no good, my cheeks are starting to loosen…hah!?

「Aren’t you making quite the dirty face…huh? Hind」 (Yumir)

「So indecent…you can’t be making that kind of face towards people other than me, you know…?」 (Riizu)

「S-sorry…certainly, it was a face that might have given a woman a sense of discomfort. However, since it’s giving me chills, could you stop looking at me like that? With both of you, it feels like I’m going to freeze…」 (Hind)

「Fun. So? Who are we going to escort?」 (Yumir)

「I-it’s…me」 (Claris)

Because of Claris-san’s unexpected words, Yumir and I stood there in shock.

After asking for some time to discuss the quest among ourselves…we gathered in a corner of the room.

Claris-san looked at us with anxiety, but it was not time for that.

「What’s the meaning of this, Hind!? A native is going to move to another place of her own will!? Furthermore, it’s the person that has the important role to work in the second-hand shop!」 (Yumir)

「I don’t get it either. However, now I know why she was evaluating me. Having someone escort you means that you are placing your life in their hands after all…you have to be careful about that. That’s probably why she offered me such a discount and observed how I reacted to it」 (Hind)

To begin with, I haven’t seen any sort of NPCs that could take an escorting job in this village…

Is it that kind of setting? Was it done on purpose?

To sum it up, the appearance of 「Visitors」 was like a godsend for Claris-san.

There’s also the fact that her grandma can act as a replacement, in a certain way, you could say that…this has gone accordingly to the developer’s plan?

「…Is that so? It’s true that I wouldn’t feel safe leaving the job to someone straightforward like Yumir-san and I’d prefer someone that says 「What did you just say!?」 and proceeds to doubt my words. In that sense, I might be the same type of person as her」 (Riizu)

「So, what are we going to do? Hind. If I remember correctly, Heathrow​ town is further up north from the Homa plains? That means that we’ll probably have to get past that ogre. Regarding our chances of victory…」 (Yumir)

「We can win. It’ll be fine in that regard. So, what do you want to do about this request Yumir?」 (Hind)

「Of course we are going to take it! That way it’ll be more fun after all!」 (Yumir)

「Got it. In that case, shall we go?」 (Hind)

We decided to take up Claris-san’s request.

The smile Claris-san made after hearing our reply was like a flower in full bloom. Immediately she took her big luggage out from somewhere and informed us that she was done preparing.

The words above her head 「Second-hand shop Claris」 disappeared and instead 「Peddler Claris」 appeared…I was really surprised.

After all, even the clothes she was wearing immediately changed.

From the clothes of a villager to those of a traveler.

So they are not really careful in this regard…I don’t really get the standards of these developers.

Afterward, we were told to wait for a bit in front of the store, so we stood in front of the entrance.

The players inside the store were surprised at Claris-san’s change…though it was understandable.

Regarding that Claris-san, she was currently hugging her grandma, who was going to tend the store in her stead.

Is she saying goodbye?

「Uu, I’m weak against this kind of scenes…」 (Yumir)

「Huh? Yumir-san, are you by any chance…crying a bit? Didn’t you just meet both of them a while ago? I don’t think it’s a reason for being that moved」 (Riizu)

「To tell you the truth, Claris’ parents died…and today is the day that the female helper she has raised is going on a journey. If we got into that grandma’s shoes…she probably doesn’t wish for her precious granddaughter to go, but she wants to grant her her wish. She’s currently having those complicated feelings…」 (Yumir)

「S-So it was like that? I might have not known, but I said quite the rude-」 (Riizu)

「That’s the delusion I’m having」 (Yumir)

「…Is what I thought about saying, but seems like I was wrong. Please, go and die」 (Riizu)

「Huh? Even without you saying that, once we get into battle I’ll die! Without any doubt!」 (Yumir)

Riizu stood there dumbfounded when Yumir gave such a terrible statement.

Even if you say it as if it was natural…

After Claris-san informed us that we should get going, we headed towards the Homa plains.