Several days had passed since that commotion. Rock had left the city of Rustela and was walking along the highway heading west. On his back was the wooden puppet. The feel of the hardwood against his shoulder felt strangely reassuring now. The request he'd taken from the guild was to exterminate two Forest Boars that had appeared in the hilly region. It was a request he wouldn't have touched before. One, maybe, but anyone would say that taking on two at once was too heavy a burden for a solo D-rank adventurer. But Rock was different. (I'll show them.) He bypassed the outskirts of Elde's Demon Forest and arrived at the area of rolling hills just past noon. The smell of grass at summer's end hung thick and heavy in the air. Something moved deep in the thicket. Rock lowered the wooden puppet to the ground. He tapped it lightly near the hip joint. "[whispers] I'm counting on you, partner." He closed his eyes. Magic flowed from his chest, down his right arm, and into the Queen's magic stone embedded in the puppet's chest. He could feel it. The puppet's joints, its torso, its head—it was all like an extension of his own body. The thicket split left and right. Two Forest Boars emerged. They stood as high as an adult's waist. Their thick tusks glistened wetly with saliva. One snorted fiercely, and the other scraped at the ground. Rock slowly exhaled. A short spear in his left hand. His right focused on manipulating the puppet with magic. The wooden puppet rustled through the undergrowth, dashing to the right. "Bwomoo!" One of them reacted to the moving puppet. It turned its head, trying to chase the small enemy. (Good, the first one went that way.) Rock sprinted low in the opposite direction. The remaining boar finally noticed him. But it was too late. The spearhead aimed for the base of the boar's neck. Thunk! A heavy, solid impact. The boar squealed in agony and staggered. Rock threw his weight into it, driving the spear deeper. Thud. The first one collapsed. In that instant, Rock was already heading for his next target. The wooden puppet had completely captured the second boar's attention. Every time the boar thrust its tusks, the puppet dodged nimbly—hop, hop—as if dancing. A faint smile touched Rock's lips. (It's like my own arm, reaching out.) A sensation he hadn't felt in years. As a child, he'd watched a puppet show the old man had shown him—that wonder of puppets moving as if they were truly alive. Now, this hardwood puppet moved faster and more precisely than his own hands. Rock approached quietly from behind and readied his spear. "[serious] Right there." A second strike. This time, he aimed for its flank. Shunk. The boar screamed and toppled sideways. Its legs kicked frantically, then went still. In the silence that returned to the hills, only the smell of blood, the scent of earth, and Rock's ragged breathing remained. He was drenched in bloodspray from head to toe, but he didn't have a single wound. "[gentle] ...We did it." The wooden puppet came trotting back. Rock crouched down and gently patted its head. Its clumsily carved smile looked prouder than usual today. --- The Adventurer's Association, Cardina Rustela Branch. When Rock trudged through the entrance, dragging a heavy sack of materials, the atmosphere in the room shifted slightly. The adventurers gathered around the reception counter glanced his way. "Hey, is that two of 'em?" "That Puppet Master... took them alone?" These were the same people who had once mocked it as a disappointing skill. No one laughed out loud now. They just fell awkwardly silent, their eyes darting between the material sack and Rock's face. From behind the counter, Ganetta Horn looked up. Her short-cropped hair mixed red and white. Her golden-brown eyes, set beside her laugh lines, fixed on Rock. "[excited] Hey there, Rock. Is that two of 'em? Fine work, handling that alone." Rock dropped the sack onto the counter with a thud. He was out of breath from stumbling over the step at the entrance, it was so heavy. "[tired] Yeah, well... the puppet did a pretty good job as a decoy." Just then, the wooden puppet on his back started to slip off. Rock spun around in alarm, but the puppet was already using its own head to shove up the edge of the heavy sack. It seemed to be trying to keep its balance. Rock hurriedly readjusted his grip, holding both the puppet and the sack. It was a bizarre sight. Ganetta spoke, her expression deadpan. "[sarcastic] ...So that skill works for carrying luggage too, huh." "[embarrassed] I'm still practicing that kind of thing." A wry laugh escaped him. Rock gave the puppet's head a pat. As Ganetta began processing the material purchase, she flipped through the ledger at hand. It was obvious at a glance that Rock's record of completed requests had grown considerably over the past few months. Her finger stopped at the entry for his promotion from E-rank to D-rank. "[serious] Rock." "[curious] What is it?" In her straightforward, no-nonsense tone, she said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "[serious] It's about time you put in an application for a rank-up." Rock blinked, dumbfounded. "[surprised] Huh? Me? To C-rank?" "[calm] Who else would it be? You're the only one here." "No, but... with a skill like mine, would a C-rank application even go through?" Ganetta set down the quill pen she was holding and looked straight at Rock. "[serious] I don't judge based on skills. I judge based on results." She tapped a stack of request forms piled at the corner of the ledger with her fingertip. "[gentle] The exterminations and gathering jobs you've completed these past few months total twenty-seven. Zero failures. And you've got a proven record of taking down two boars solo without a scratch. There's no reason to reject this." Rock stared at his own hands for a moment. Thin but dexterous hands that supported the puppet's body. Ganetta cleared her throat lightly. "[embarrassed] And also... this is just me being meddlesome, but..." She turned her face slightly away, looking a bit awkward. It was a habit she had when she was embarrassed. "[gentle] Lately, I've been the one recommending you to clients." "[surprised] Wha—!?" "[calm] Hey, I haven't done anything shady. I just introduced you to requests that fit your aptitude. Those gathering quests, the escort jobs—I told them they'd be safe with your skill. To overturn a reputation, you need someone backing you, right?" Rock was speechless. "Netta-neesan... you've been doing that, all this time..." She waved her hand brusquely, as if to say the subject was closed, and dropped her gaze to the next document. Rock bowed deeply and left the counter. Netta-neesan had been supporting him from the shadows all along. That fact spread a gentle warmth through the center of his chest. --- Evening. As Rock passed by the "Weathervane" inn, a familiar face was standing there—a young errand boy. "[shy] Rock-niichan, this is from Baldo-jiichan." What he handed over was a small, folded message slip. Scrawled on it were just the words: "Come to the Blue Bottle Shop." Baldo rarely summoned him on his own. Tilting his head slightly in curiosity, Rock headed toward the city center. The Blue Bottle Shop was a small herbalist's store. When he opened the door, the sharp smell of chemicals mixed with the scent of dried herbs stung his nose. Baldo was at his usual compounding table. His gray-streaked, curly hair was tied back, and his tired, narrowed gray eyes were fixed on the mortar in his hands. "[casual] Baldo-san, you called for me?" Baldo turned around slowly. The old silver pendant hanging from his neck chimed faintly. Seeing his expression, Rock immediately realized this wasn't a casual matter. The face of a man usually so expressionless held a quiet resolve today. Without a word, Baldo held out a single envelope to Rock. He took it. It was high-quality paper. On the front, in careful cursive, was written: —To the Material Shop "Seisou no Choba," East Cobblestone Street, Royal Capital Granselta— "[surprised] This... is a letter of introduction?" "[serious] It is." "[curious] What kind of shop is this 'Seisou no Choba'?" Baldo stared at the pestle in his hand for a few seconds, then answered curtly. "[serious] ...A skilled one." He said no more. That was typical. As Rock carefully tucked the envelope into his bag, Baldo spoke again. "[serious] You'll be able to make good use of it." A low, hoarse voice. But those few words carried a strange weight. Holding the envelope in both hands, Rock stared intently at Baldo. He remembered that night. That rainy night when he'd helped him at the "Red Fox Tavern" after he'd been accosted. When Rock had reached out his hand in the back alley, Baldo had silently, but firmly, grasped it in return. The feeling of that grip and the weight of today's letter felt like the same thing. "[gentle] ...Thank you." Baldo had already turned back to his compounding table. Yet, his back seemed to want to say something more. "[serious] Don't go hungry on the road." At that final, muttered addition, Rock nearly burst out laughing. "[laughing] ...Worried about me even before I leave for the capital." When he left the shop, it was already completely dark outside. --- Night. Rock sat at the counter of the "Red Fox Tavern." The house specialty, wild boar stewed in dark beer, was steaming. The meat was meltingly tender, and the bitter dark beer sauce was exquisite. The owner, Hark, slid over a copper tankard of ale. "[casual] Good work out there. I heard you took down two of 'em today." "[calm] Well, I just got lucky." Hark grinned and pulled a sealed letter from under the counter. "[casual] Oh yeah, a letter came for you." "[curious] For me?" Seeing the sender on the envelope he received, Rock froze. —Liria— It was a letter from that elven earth mage, the one whose investigation in the Demon Forest was taking so long. He broke the seal. The stationery inside was filled with elegant handwriting. 'To Rock. The investigation in the Demon Forest is proceeding smoothly. The other day, I found several interesting things. I believe they are fragments of ancient magical tools, but analysis is still to come. More than that, I want to see your wooden puppet again. I am very interested in how stable your Link Field has become. However, the next time we meet, please come alone. Last time, repairing my golem was quite a task. Liria' Rock read it three times. "I want to see your wooden puppet." She hadn't written anywhere that she wanted to see him. Rock glanced back at the wooden puppet propped against the next chair and gave a wry smile. "[whispers] ...It's not me, it's you, huh." The wooden puppet just stared back at him with its clumsy smile. The tips of Rock's ears flushed faintly. "...But I don't remember beating up her golem, though." (Is it me she's taken a liking to, or the puppet? Which is it?) He couldn't find an answer. Just then, a young voice called out from the next seat. "[excited] That's amazing, senpai!!" When Rock looked up, a young man who had apparently been drinking ale alone until just moments ago was staring at him with sparkling eyes. He looked about eighteen. The sword at his hip was still new, and his leather armor wasn't very worn. A rookie adventurer. "Uh..." "[excited] I heard about it at the guild earlier! That you took down two boars solo without a scratch! And that you can use a support skill called Link Field too. That's incredible! I want to be like that someday!" Holding his tankard of ale, Rock blinked two or three times. "[embarrassed] Ah, yeah... well, I'm still practicing, though." To hide his embarrassment, he patted the puppet's head. (Senpai, huh.) Until just recently, he'd been eating alone in the corner of the guild. He'd been someone who just watched the