"Huh?"
I turned around excitedly, wondering if someone was inviting me to join their party, only to find a short red-haired nun standing there.
Judging by her habit, she was definitely from the Radiant Cross Society. There were so many churches in the city worshiping different gods that it was easy to mix them up, but the overall blue tint of her robes and the shape of her cross necklace matched what I remembered.
"Are you perhaps looking for a party?"
"Uh... yeah, I am."
Her face looked stern and serious in a way that didn't quite fit her small stature. Anyway, she asked me with that expression. Her tone was so polite that I found myself speaking formally in return.
I quietly scanned her.
Who the hell was this...? She was a complete stranger. When you hang around the guild long enough, you recognize most faces even if you don't know names, but this nun was a total newbie.
A short nun with such distinctive red hair should've stuck in my memory, but I had no recollection whatsoever. She really must be new.
Is she visiting the Adventurer's Guild for the first time?
She looked young—probably underage by my standards—but in this insane world, you were considered an adult once you hit middle school age. It was an unbelievably harsh place. She seemed to have become a nun earning her keep at that age, just like the priests in this world.
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Elise, a junior nun with the Radiant Cross Society."
The nun introduced herself right away.
Radiant Cross Society it was.
I introduced myself as well.
"Oh, I'm Katt, an E-rank adventurer. Were you hoping to party up with me, Sister?"
As an adventurer scraping by, you sometimes end up working with nuns or priests, and like most religious folk in this era, they were usually irredeemable psychos.
Among them, I'd heard rumors that the Radiant Cross Society folks were especially unhinged. I hadn't seen it myself, but the gossip said so. Of course, rumors could be exaggerated... or understated.
She wants to party with me?
"...Hm. If I may be so bold, I've been watching you, and it seems you haven't found any work. Is that correct?"
"Ah, yeah. Pretty much. Nothing left on the board."
Hearing that, I scratched the back of my head, feeling a bit embarrassed. My face heated up. How long had this nun been watching me? Though I guess my looks did draw stares in this world. Mostly because of my hair color.
"In that case, why not party with me? I have a decent job lined up."
She was so straightforward that I nearly jumped up for a handshake.
A lifeline for someone like me, starving for work...?
I wasn't in a position to be picky with my throat as dry as a desert, but the sudden tempting offer made me suspicious. Was this some organ-harvesting scam? My organs weren't worth shit anyway.
"Whoa, I'd love to, but... what's the job?"
"Truth be told, it's what you'd call a quest... or maybe not. It's an order from the church. Interested?"
"A church order?"
Now that piqued my curiosity big time.
I was a sucker for that kind of thing.
"I'm in no position to be choosy. I'd love to work with you, Sister."
"Excellent... Then allow me to explain."
Elise launched into her explanation without hesitation.
"From what our Radiant Cross Society has learned, kobolds have emerged from their dungeon for unknown reasons and are constructing some kind of heretical idol. A large number have been sighted, so the church wants to test my abilities as a junior nun. They've ordered me to destroy the idol and retrieve its emblem."
Kobolds coming out of their lair?
That was intriguing.
Kobolds were bipedal rat-like monsters with ant-like ecology, living exclusively in the underground dungeons they built. They rarely ventured outside, so them crawling up to the surface to build something was highly unusual. Plus, they were basically blind from cave life—their eyesight had atrophied.
I'd never seen or even heard of this before.
I was hooked.
"The church advanced me 2 silver as startup funds, and upon success, the reward is 1 silver."
"...!"
1 silver!
I wanted to jump and shout it out, but I swallowed the urge with superhuman restraint.
1 silver!
What kind of insane amount was that? It was what you'd earn from two or three E-rank quests in one go!
Losing all reason, I grabbed Elise's hands.
"Eh?"
"Count me in. Absolutely. For the glory of the Radiant Cross Society, I'll throw myself into the fire!"
As I shouted that, Elise's stony expression lit up instantly.
"Yes! Excellent decision! Together, we'll smash that heretical idol!"
Her purely joyful face looked just like any ordinary teenage girl.
All Radiant Cross Society followers are nutjobs? What bullshit. That rumor was pure crap. Adventurers' gossip had zero credibility.
"No other party members? You must've scouted some solid folks already if you're out here recruiting yourself."
Elise froze at that.
"Of course, after receiving the order, I approached several people."
She hesitated a bit.
"But it was harder to recruit than expected. For some reason, they all turned me down. You're Katt, right? I saw you get rejected at the counter and approached half on purpose... You're the only one so far."
"I... see."
Hm, all rejected, huh.
Makes sense.
Who'd jump into a party with a random junior nun they'd never met? Adventurers prefer familiar faces from past runs, not total unknowns for vague jobs.
And if it's the notoriously shady Radiant Cross Society? Forget it.
Plus, it wasn't a guild quest—it was a direct church order from Elise. No guild record, no performance boost. No wonder others dodged it. It screamed risky.
"Yeah, that tracks. You'll find people eventually. Let's keep looking."
But no big deal.
Smart as I am, I figured the church wouldn't send a young junior nun on a suicide mission.
Priests and nuns were the church's firepower. They'd cherish her. Probably some kind of training exercise.
"Thank you."
"No need. So, four people total sound good?"
"Four...? Pardon?"
Something wrong? Elise looked shocked at the number.
Standard party size for quests was four. More meant splitting rewards too thin and guaranteeing one dead weight. Fewer was too risky.
Four was perfect.
But Elise acted like even that was too many.
Does it need more people? That big a quest?
I didn't know what the kobolds were up to, but since they were aboveground, not deep in their lair, it shouldn't require a huge group.
"Truth is, the startup gold from the church is 2 silver... Including you and me... More than three would be tight."
"Huh?"
What the hell kind of nonsense was this?
"At 1 silver per person, two hires max."
I felt a bit confused. The conversation wasn't adding up.
Did she not grasp 1 silver's value? Or was the quest that hardcore? Kobolds were the opponents—cave-dwellers with near-zero eyesight.
Even on the surface, they couldn't do much unless their eyes suddenly worked. Weird they'd build a heretical idol, but whatever. No other jobs anyway.
Still, I asked.
"Wouldn't it be better to offer 50 copper each and grab four?"
"50 copper? No one would take that low."
Good lord.
No wonder she seemed new—she was clueless about prices. Probably fresh from church life into the secular world. The rigid church folks never taught her economics.
Ignoring that, getting snubbed at 1 silver explained her misconception.
"Uh... most folks would snap it up. Anyway, let's find one more. Melee fighter or mage would be ideal."
Better than 50 copper, so I shut up about it.
Risk? Fuck that against kobolds. No money, no options but guts.
Especially outside their dungeon—E-rank experience laughs at them. They're dangerous in pitch-black hordes underground, but surface stragglers? Punching bags.
"Sounds right."
And so, Elise and I scrambled to recruit one last member. But of course, no dice. Glancing at her, people bolted mid-explanation. Kinda pitiful.
"Fuck."
But I felt worse. No one even listened to me. They straight-up ignored me.
"Hey, party with me—"
"Sorry, got prior commitments."
I even mustered the courage for an acquaintance, but got ditched in seconds. These asshole pricks... I got no friends here... Total isekai loser, huh?
And since I was chatting everyone up, I overheard the gossip.
"That black-haired guy... Katt or whatever?"
"Oh, the squinty-eyed barbarian? Heard he's trash at his job."
"But can barbarians even enter the city? That's what bugs me."
Barbarian label didn't surprise me anymore.
Discrimination since day one in this world. Black hair marked you as foreign nomad savage—a barbarian trait.
Thought I'd adapted to E-rank, but nope.
Come to think of it, got beaten for it back when I was dirt poor.
Positively, at least not orc-level hate for East Asian looks. Would've been shanked already. Haven't seen real orcs yet. Fuckers anyway.
"Fucking bullshit pricks."
Tried a few more, all rejections.
At this rate, might as well grab some clueless F-rank newbie. But as a vet, picturing an F-rank riding my bus for 1 silver made my stomach ache. Nah.
How'd I grind from F to E?
I'm petty and greedy by nature.
"Katt. No luck recruiting."
"Same here, damn it."
Elise returned glumly. I was glum too.
Wasting time like this wasn't my style. Time for a call, admiral...!
"Alright, Sister Elise! Screw it—just you and me!"