Chapter 1 – I’m Quitting Being an Adventurer

Yesterday, I committed my first act of unauthorized absence from work.

If I had to make an excuse, it was because when I woke up, it was already past noon, and I was lying on the hard floor in front of my entrance.
I vaguely remember that I couldn’t stop crying for some reason.
Why couldn’t I just make the effort to walk a little further to my bed? What a useless person I am.

Because I missed the monthly joint meeting of the Adventurer’s Guild at the beginning of the month, I decided to skip it altogether.

After sleeping for a night and getting some sun in the morning, my melancholic mood improved somewhat, but I still felt weighed down.

Will I get scolded again?

I drag my feet heavily, not wanting to go to the Adventurer’s Guild.

“Good morning.”

As soon as I arrive, I submit my guild card to the reception counter.
I have a backlog of requests, so I don’t need to look at the request forms on the quest board.

“Good morning, Aix-san.
By the way, the Guild Master has something to discuss with you, so please wait a moment.”

The receptionist disappeared into the back yard.

I don’t want to be called.

I don’t want to see him.

After a while, as expected, the Guild Master with an angry expression appeared.

“Hey, defective mage.
Explain to me what unauthorized absence means.
Of all things, you didn’t attend the joint meeting I came up with.”

“…I’m sorry.”

Although the joint meeting at the beginning of the month was just him giving a long lecture, it seems to have been popular with other adventurers because it motivated them.

“The buff magic you cast on the participants, which is your job, I asked Aries, a B-rank mage, to do it instead, so make sure to thank her later! The adventurers were delighted, but it cost me a lot.”

“…Yes.”

When the Guild Master grinned, he thrust his thick arm out in front of me.
I saw that my guild card was clenched in his hand, and he applied pressure, causing my card to deform with a cracking sound.

Rank: E

Title: Defective Mage

Name: Aix

Sex: Male

Age: 19 years old

Data: 160cm, 45kg

Job: Magician

Specialist: Extension of Effect Duration (Ex-tension)

Sacrificial Karma: Can only use beginner-level magic

There was a crisp sound from the Adventurer’s Guild counter.

It was the sound of my guild card being ripped in half, and the sound of my heart being broken.

The Guild Master, grinning and nasty, had torn my card in half.

“Don’t you have the mentality of an adventurer? As punishment, start over from the bottom of the F-rank.”

This is the third time I’ve been unfairly demoted.

I’ve finally fallen to the bottom rank.
I’m quitting being an adventurer.

I look at the blank card with the rank F that was handed to me as if it were sliding across the counter.
If I let one drop of blood fall on it, I can register again and use it as an adventurer.

I can restart my life as an adventurer.

“……”

While I continue to stare at the card, the guild master looks at me with a very curious expression, not moving at all.

“What’s wrong? Hurry up and shed your blood.
You don’t have time to play around.
You must have work piled up today, right?”

I can’t take it anymore.

I ju