Paradigm Parasite

e toward the direction I heard it.

　There was nothing in particular.

　What was it?

 

　Oh well.

 

　He was running as fast as he could on the cobblestones.

　Ridiculous.
Impossible.

Most of his thoughts were filled with astonishment and could not be coherent.

 

　He had gone shopping in this city under the orders of his new master, but while on the move, he saw something impossible.

The man he had supposedly killed was walking down the street with an air of dignity.

　He seemed to be of a different build, but there was no mistaking his face.

 

He screamed in terror.

He then left the scene as fast as he could in fear.

He stops when he is far enough away that he thinks it is safe enough now.

 

　Breathing out roughly, he thinks.

He has to kill it….

If he doesn't kill him soon, he might come back for revenge someday.

 

It's not only revenge that makes him wary…
it would be even worse if the Lord finds out.

It reminds him of that woman's icy smile.

Cold sweat runs down his spine.

 

There is no way to choose the means, it's a risk, but it has to be done….

　He – Zubel Bonnord, former butler of the Oratorium family – set his feet to his destination, assembling the necessary actions and budget.

 

　After a hearty meal, I was in a good mood and lay down on the bed in the room of the inn I had taken.

　It would have been great if I could sleep now, but that's not going to happen, and that's the hard part.

　What should I do tomorrow?

 

　I thought about my plans for tomorrow in a daze.

　After getting the adventurer's card, I'm going to do some requests right away.

　First, I guess I'll do the standard goblin extermination, right?

 

　Oh, I've already done something like that.

 

　Then, maybe another standard task such as carrying luggage or gathering medicinal herbs….

　I'll think about it tomorrow.

Then, let's practice using the usual roots.

 

　I look out the window.

　I can see the darkness and the moon.

　Dawn is still far away.

 

　The next morning, I headed to the Adventurers' Guild to pick up my plate.

The plate is designed to resemble an identification dog tag and has a chain that hangs around the neck.

　After receiving the plate, a drop of blood was applied to complete the process.
The receptionist gave me a brief explanation.

 

　Adventurers have ranks, starting from the bottom

　Low Yellow 3 to 1

　Intermediate Blue 3 to 1

　Advanced Red 3 to 1

　Highest level Gold

 

　Apparently, you are promoted according to the number of requests you accomplish and the amount of money you earn.

　I guess I'll start at yellow level 3.

　By the way, the higher you go from 3 to 1, the darker the color of the plate becomes.

　Mine was a light yellow and looked cheap.

 

　After listening to the explanation, I decided to accept the request.

　I couldn't take on any big requests anyway.

　Let's earn steadily.

 

　Let's see…housekeeping, cleaning and organizing warehouses, weeding private houses.

　Exterminating goblins in the village, helping in the fields, transporting goods to neighboring villages.

 

　…Which one shall I choose…Personally, I think the hard work will be easier…I won't get tired.

 

Let's clean and organize the warehouse and do some weeding for starters.

 

　Pull out weeds that are firmly rooted.

　When pulling it out, pull it out completely without leaving any roots.

　Pulling out, pulling out, pulling out, pulling out.

 

　The moon was in the sky, the sun was setting, and the area was completely enveloped in the darkness of night.

　Normally, it would have been impossible to pull the weeds because of the lack of visibility.

　But I had no blind spot, having acquired the goblin's night vision.

 

　I had eaten enough food earlier, so I still had plenty of energy to spare.

　Fatigue didn't bother me at all.

While working on the task, I checked the progress.

 

　…Yeah.
If I keep going like this, it will be done by morning.

 

By the time the sun rose, the area that had been requested had been completely cleaned out.

　The client who woke up was surprised that his yard had been cleaned overnight, but he seemed satisfied with my work.

He even fed me breakfast in addition to my fee.

 

　You're a good old man.

　I'll weed for you if you ask me again.

　Okay, next job.

 

　The next task was to clean and organize the warehouse.

　I saw the site and it was a warehouse with a large amount of farm tools and fertilizers in disarray.

They said cleaning would be easy as long as it was organized, but I'm never tired, and if I put my mind to it, I can spare the time.

 

　First, everything inside was taken outside.

　After emptying it, I cleaned inside and put back what I had taken out.

　By the end of the evening, everything was cleaned up.

 

　The client, an old man, was very satisfied and even gave me a tip.

 

　I didn't have any adventures, but I really enjoyed working as an adventurer.

It's not a bad feeling to have people thank me, and the best part is that when it's over, I can just get it over with.

　I don't have to deal with people in depth, I get paid and thanked on the spot, and I feel good about my work.

 

　It's great.

 

　After completing the order, I was walking down the street feeling good when three guys who looked like hoodlums blocked my way.

 

“Hey, you seem to be doing well these days.”

“We'd like to have some of that, too.”

　”We don't have any money for alcohol.
Help us out.”

 

　Each of them pulls out a knife and thrusts it at me.

　Oh, not a guy like that, but a real thug.

　I look around.
Yeah, there's no one here.

 

　Then don't be shy.

I use the arm with the Qatar attached to it to punch the head of the nearest guy with my fist.

　I can feel the impact on his skull.
Instant death.

 

“Huh?”

　”What the hell are you doing?”

 

I pull out the makana from my waist and feed it to the other's jaw.

　Oops, too much force.
He lost his face.

　Hey, hey, hey, hey, thug, you're too weak.
The second class goblin was much stronger than you.

 

The other one tried to run away, so I caught it and turned its head 180°.

　The goon, whose neck was at a funny angle, crumpled to the ground.

　Oh, I'm strong.
I won.

 

　Well, three dead bodies.

Let's just strip them down and eat the bodies for now.

　Thanks to you and your gang, I saved some money on food.

 

　I don't really care, but this is the second time I've been attacked by a thug in my first week on the job, and I wonder if this town is safe.