After a spot of waiting, the magnificently mustachioed man enters, not from the entrance, but from behind the counter. I guess they have an employee entrance. He quickly spots me and walks over to greet me with a steady gait.

“Pleased to meet you, hunter Yos, my name is Derby” I shake his hand.

“Pleased to meet you, Derby” I have learned that calling people “old” is no longer a sign of respect, and I often have to be conscious of it, or I do it by mistake.

“I have already secured a request for us at the local dungeon, so let us leave for it immediately.”

I just nod. He seems to be a little pushy.

“Where do you live, hunter Yos?” I think about how much I should say.

“About an hour’s walk outside of town” I try to be a little vague.

“Don’t the monsters bother you? Or perhaps, the reason there has been so few of them lately is your effort?” I do pretty often kill the monsters I encounter, and I always make sure there is nothing close to the hut with read before leaving.

“I don’t know; I just kill what I come across.”

“Speaking of, why don’t you move into the city? I am sure we could find a residence for a competent hunter like yourself.”

“No thanks, I am currently staying in a place that’s important to me.” I am only here to keep an eye on Hannah. I guess I could live here and go check every few days, but it is honestly really comforting living in about the same place as I did with Jorgen and Hannah for all those years.

“Are you married?” He continues asking questions, even after we have entered the dungeon.

“No, I am not and never have been.”

“What about the young woman you sometimes enter town with?”

“We are more just living together by some weird circumstance I don’t even understand.”

He just leisure walks behind me, as I cast read to navigate around monster. Our target is on the tenth floor.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

“Where were you born?” I think a little of how to answer.

“I should have been born in this town, but I apparently didn’t live here for very long” Ugh, it feels a little like he is snooping.

“Are you ever thinking of settling down, starting a family? You are well over the average age” I think about it. It’s not something that I really ever thought about, even with Atna’s marriage proposal, starting a family and having kids, huh? Sounds interesting, but I have heard there is no greater pain than your child dying before you, and with me that seems to be an inevitability.

“No, I don’t think I want to.”

“You don’t want to? You are not afraid of the temple?” Oh right, the whole God told people to do it thing.

“Why, are they going to hunt me down for not having kids?”

He laughs. “Well, no, they just really, really hate it and will scold you every day if they find out” sounds annoying, kind of like this old man. We are now on the tenth floor, and I switch to tracking down the signals instead of evading them.

“What was your gift, again?”

“Self-healing”

“Right, right” He muses to himself “Is that why you so rarely take a day off?”

“I guess so” Oh, there is one of the bastards. I quickly lunge forward and place my sword in the throat of it.

“Who taught you? Magic and how to fight?”

“My father died when I was young and I was taken in by a veteran hunter. He taught me to fight, while his wife taught me magic”

“Oh, what a power couple! What are they called?”

“They were Jorgen and Hannah, though Jorgen is not in this world any longer.”

“My condolences…”

“Thank you…”

We are carrying it upstairs. The branch leader has done no fighting or decision making, but he is helping me carry the cadavers of the rather large beasts.

“Are you going to hire any supporters? Or take on apprentices?” Supporters are people you hire, who do not take part in any of the hunting, but will help with dismantling and carrying.

“I don’t really want to, I like being alone.” I have been very hesitant to form new relations. After all, they are just going to disappear one day, and it will hurt thinking about them.

“But don’t you know? All the best feelings in the world comes from being together with other people!” He says enthusiastically.

“So does all the worst pain” I reply solemnly. We are making our way back to the guild.

“By the way, I have both a son and a daughter. My son just recently came of age and has been looking for someone to apprentice under, are you interested?” Does he have the memory of a goldfish?

“No, I just told you.”

“I also have a daughter, though I would not be too happy with her living outside of the city, she will be ready to marry in a few years and I am still looking for a good man, want to come for over and meet her?”

“… Do you have condition affecting your memory or something?” I ask.

He just laughs. “I was just trying to see if you really meant it.” What a weird guy. As we deliver the goods and fulfill the request, he starts up again.

“But don’t worry, even though you’re such a weirdo, you seem both capable and conscientious, I will be sure to have you promoted in no time” He strokes his mustache.

“Sure, thanks” I meekly reply.

Well, time to get back.