I looked at the card in my hands with a stupid smile on my face.
"I think this is the first time I've seen someone that happy to become an adventurer. Fufu."
The soothing voice of the cute receptionist entered one ear and went out the other.
I focused on the card and started reading it.
――――
Name: Faun
Level: 4
Trust: 0
Type: Jack of all trades / Trickster / Planner / Explosive
Note: Better at fighting humans than monsters.
――――
There was also a small photo of my face on the card. I wasn't going to question how photographs existed in this time period, but it probably had something to do with Light Magic.
"Ooh~, you have a lot of types, huh?"
This time, I reacted to the soothing voice.
"Is that good?"
"It's not good or bad. This just describes your fighting style. Since there are so many types, that means your fighting style is complex, but that also means it might be harder to fit into a team."
I frowned. She chuckled at that.
"Don't worry, you have the Jack of all trades type. That means you'll fit into pretty much any team."
The smile returned to my face.
I wasn't a dumbass, so I was definitely going to join a team in due time. Knowing that it will be easy to do so is relieving.
'But still, this... is scarily accurate.'
For Molot to see through me this much after only one battle was kind of scary. Even if I made the card myself, I wouldn't change anything. ―That's how accurate it was.
This reinforced my idea that experienced people (old people) were the strongest, and the ones I had to be most wary of.
"Say, what does Trust do?"
I could guess what everything on this card meant. Level was my 'Rank', Type was my battle style, Note was just that, a note, and Trust was how much the Adventurer Gild trusted me.
But the reason I asked about Trust was because I didn't know what benefits and demerits it gave.
"Ah, well, you see, every single mission has a Trust level too, but that Trust is hidden from you, only the Guild knows it. Depending on your Trust and the mission's Trust, we might deny you the mission, or advise you to not take it."
I nodded, I got it now.
If I was too untrusted and the mission was something where faliure was not an option, then they might deny me the mission. The reverse was also true. If I had high Trust, and the mission was from an untrustworthy source, they will warn me about it beforehand.
"So there are some missions that are malicious? And that might present danger beyond what is stated?"
"Unfortunately, yes. We try our best to make sure those kinds of request don't get through, but no system is perfect."
'I get that, I get that. So it's preferable that I have a lot of Trust...'
"But what stops a person from writing a higher Trust than they should have?"
She just smiled at me. I was clearly not getting an answer to that.
I looked down at my card. From the outside, it didn't look hard to make a fake.
'But in the first place, there's not much reason to make a fake.'
All an adventurer card allows you to do is to take missions from the Adventurer Guild.
If you fabricate a card, then that probably means you can't get one legitimately. In that case, you will probably die on the job. The same thing goes for writing a higher Level from the one you should have.
But Trust was different. It clearly had its benefits to fabricate.
'There's probably another way they can tell my Trust.'
I focused on the card even more, but didn't find anything that jumped out to me.
There wasn't any design on the card, it was completely plain, and there wasn't anything else out of the ordinary.
I gave up. In the first place, I wasn't planning on fabricating my adventurer card, so it was simple curiosity with no benefits.
"Thanks."
"No problem."
'Ahh, that smile is truly pleasing to look at.'
I smiled back.
***
"Halt. Show you identification."
"Ah, I'm Faun. I come from a remote village, so I don't have any documents yet."
An adventurer card did allow you to get into a city, but it wasn't a 'certified document'. On more important matters, an adventurer card wouldn't be enough to vouch for your identity. As such, it was important to get specific documents.
There's a building inside that allows you to get those, but going straight there would be suspicious. After all, if I didn't have an identity, how did I get into the city in the first place?
As such, I went out of the city, and entered through the main entrance.
"I see, we'll have to get you one then."
The two guards looked at each other. One of them smiled.
"It was your turn last time."
The other one huffed.
"Alright, go on ahead."
Now with a small smile on his face, the first guard started leading me.
After another trip to the middle of the city, we entered a building, after which I was brought to a room.
The guard went back to the main entrance, and I was left alone in that room.
Not long after, a woman entered.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Renina. And I will be asking you some questions."
She had the same smile as the receptionist back at the Guild. It made you feel like you weren't in danger.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Faun."
She nodded and sat down in front of me.
"Could you please give me your hand?"
After a bit of hesitation, I gave her my hand. She put her finger on a certain spot on my arm.
'That's the spot where you can feel the heartbeat, right?'
As soon as she did though, she frowned with a crease in her brow. She quickly hid it, but not perfectly. I could still see that small displeasure.
"What's your name again?"
"It's Faun."
"Do you have any hostile intentions for this city and or country?"
"None."
"What's your age?"
"Fifteen."
She asked more questions of that type, and the more she asked, the more the displeasure on her face grew.
Eventually, she stopped with the normal questions. Even a normal person would be able to tell that she was not in a good mood now.
"Could you please say the next phrase? "Grass is blue"."
"Grass is blue."
Her displeasure bloomed in full. There was even a bit of bewilderness.
"Say that again."
"Grass is blue."
This time, it was just pure shock. She regained her composure and focused hard, to the point that she unconsciously pressed her finger harder into my hand.
"Say, "I am a demon.""
"I am a demon."
She looked at me suspiciously. She didn't even try to fake smile anymore.
"What's wrong?"
"I... can't tell if you're lying or not."
I laughed in my mind.
'Of course you can't.'
There were multiple methods to tell if one was lying or not. When lying, the heartbeat quickens, and you sweat more. Everything else could be fooled by an act, but those two things remained consistent in telling between truth and lie.
In this world, there was another method. When lying, there was a certain shift in the body's mana. It was hard to catch, but in this world, it was a method with the same consistency as the other two I mentioned.
There was a problem though. You could catch a quickened heartbeat, but this world's technology wasn't good enough to measure sweat.
That's where I come into the picture.
I was a person from another world. My body was not as accustomed to mana as others, so it did not shift with lying like others.
And my heartbeat...
'It's always fast.'
I was a person who worried a lot, and who had a lot to be worried about.
No matter how much I ignored the emptiness, no matter how much I forgot about the massive pressure―
Those two things still existed, and my heartbeat was constant proof of that.
Even when I am standing still, I can feel my heart drumming fast. Even when I am relaxing, my heart feels like it'll burst apart.
The only times my heartbeat isn't fast is when I'm sleeping and when I'm Thinking.
From the moment I wake up, to the moment I go to sleep, the beating of my heart constantly rings in my mind.
So even when I'm lying, that quick heartbeat doesn't get any quicker. Mostly because it can't go quicker.
And I had good enough control of my body to stop any other way of telling whether I am lying or not.
Taking all of that into account―
'Nobody can tell if I'm lying or not.'
I was just like that. Even if I tried, even if I wanted for the person in front of me to be able to tell, they still wouldn't be able to. I can't control my heartbeat and my body's reaction to the unknown (mana) after all.
I could fake it, yes. I could make the mana in my body move. I could constrict my heart for it to beat slower and then release it for it to beat faster.
But it would be just that. Fake. It was no different from lying itself.
That said―
"Grass is blue."
The expression on Renina's face relaxed.
―I didn't mind lying.
"My name is Faun. I am a demon. I am fifteen years old. I do not have any hostile intentions for this city and or country. And you are beautiful."
All the tension on her face went away. She sighed in relief.
"What day were you born?"
"20 of July."
"So your birthday's quite soon."
"Yep."
In fact, it was only ten days from now. But it's not like I have the luxury to celebrate it, so it will be just another normal day for me.
"That's all I wanted to ask. Please wait here for a moment."
She exited the room.
I was left alone with my thoughts.
'―――'
I shook my head and decided to just increase my mana capacity in the meantime.
***
"That'll be two golds."
I pay just that much and take the key to my room.
Walking along the hall, I find the number that matches my key, and open that door.
I take off my backpack and practically jump on the bed.
"I'm so tired!"
I had been forced to stay up for one and a half days straight, due to the weird time shift of the teleportation.
"Well, I guess I technically saved time thanks to that teleport, so it's not all bad."
The teleportation seems to have lasted 11 hours, so I did get to Toride faster than I planned.
But I still missed out on that reward. And it's not like an extra four days of being in Toride will have huge positive effects on my plan.
"So it was still mostly bad."
I was so tired that I didn't even feel like undressing.
With my eyes that were on the verge of closing, I looked at my adventurer card once again.
Countless thoughts went through my mind.
'I'm scared, I don't like this. I don't want this. I'm so scared. My heart is too loud. I'm too weak. I'm too scared. Why? Unfair. My body's too healthy. I'm not fine with this. How could I do so much? This is not me. Why so unfair? I want to rest.'
With my unchanging face, I continued looking at the card.
'...Why must I be so weak? Why... can I not survive?'
I closed my eyes.
'...Why...me?'
With my clenched fist, I wiped away the tear from my unchanging face.
Faun's eyes opened.
"Time for Act 2."
Time to replace even more memories.