"Tetsuya, good morning."

"Yo."

"Morning."

"Oh, morning everyone."

The next morning, I thought I arrived early at the Adventurer's Guild, but Roya and the others were already there waiting for me.

"The other adventurer is already here."

Roya pointed behind him, and there stood a woman.

"…Nice to meet you. I'm Tetsuya. I look forward to working with you today."

I hesitated for a moment because this female adventurer was missing her left arm from the shoulder down. I couldn't tell if it was a birth defect or caused by an accident, but she was a one-armed adventurer.

"Ah, you're the client, Tetsuya, right? I'm Lilia, a B-rank adventurer. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you as well. Wait, you're a B-rank adventurer!?"

She had beautiful short blonde hair and was tall for a woman, around my height, about 175 cm. She looked around the same age as me, with a model-like figure and a stunning appearance. At her waist, she carried a long sword.

"Yeah, but don’t worry. The fee is the same as for a C-rank adventurer. Even though I'm a B-rank adventurer, as you can see, I lost my left arm to a monster and am about to retire. I returned to this town recently and was asked to look after rookie adventurers.

Most of the C-rank or higher adventurers in this beginner’s town are like me, with some kind of reason for being here. Despite only having one arm, my combat strength is still on par with any C-rank adventurer, so no need to worry."

I see. So the higher-ranked adventurers in this beginner’s town are here for reasons like that. It might be a form of volunteer work.

"I see. I’m lucky to have a B-rank adventurer for my escort. I look forward to working with you."

I offered my right hand. I’d heard that handshakes in this world had the same meaning as in my previous one.

"…You’re an unusual guy. Most people would either be creeped out by my missing arm or pity me instead of focusing on me being a B-rank adventurer. Just call me Lilia, and no need for formalities."

She shook my outstretched hand.

I was surprised by her missing arm, sure, but I already understood that this was a dangerous world, so it didn’t bother me at all.

"Alright, then just call me Tetsuya. Nice to meet you, Lilia."

"Alright then, take care and be safe."

"Yes, thank you."

All of us left the Adventurer's Guild and walked to the gates of Al-Flare. I showed my brand-new Commercial Guild card to the gatekeeper, and we left the city.

"So, today’s task is herb gathering. I’ll be the party leader for this quest, but since it’s just gathering herbs, I won’t be giving too many instructions. Let’s discuss anything that comes up openly.

Tetsuya’s request is to observe how beginner adventurers work, so I plan to spend the morning in the plains and then move to the forest in the afternoon. We’ll cover two areas in one day. Does that sound good?"

"Yes."

"Yes."

"Yes."

"I don't expect too much trouble in the plains, but there’s a good chance we’ll run into monsters in the forest. Our formation will be Tetsuya behind Roya’s group, with me taking the rear. If the fighting gets too tough, don’t hesitate to call for me, and I’ll switch in."

"Understood."

"Understood."

"Understood."

"Alright, let's head toward the plains."

Lilia gave us clear instructions, showing her experience as an adventurer. It seemed she was also guiding Roya’s group as part of their training.

"Hey, what’s that thing tied to the side of your backpack, Fal?"

"Oh, this? It’s a knife I use for dismantling and skinning. Since I use it a lot, I tie it to the side of my backpack with a string instead of keeping it inside."

Attached to the side of Fal’s backpack was a small knife in its sheath, tied with a string looped around his pack.

"In that case, ta-da! Let me introduce the ‘Carabiner!’"

"Ta-da…?"

"Oh, sorry, you can ignore that part. But isn’t it a pain to deal with a string that might snap or need constant retying? This carabiner is a metal tool that won’t break and lets you easily attach or detach things like this. Plus, it’s not as heavy as it looks."

"Whoa!"

"That’s neat!"

Carabiners are great for quickly attaching camping gear to backpacks or bags. I’d been using them to hang a cup and shopping bags from my pack.

"Yeah, and it works like this—see how it springs back into place when you let go? Handy, right?"

"This makes it easy to remove stuff, I like it!"

"And if you have several carabiners, you can hook multiple things onto one spot like this."

"That’s awesome, Tetsuya! This is sturdy and convenient!"

"How about selling them for, say, one silver coin each?"

"Yeah, I think I’d buy one."

"Me too!"

"Good to know. I have a few here, so give them a try, and let me know what you think."

I pulled out some carabiners I had stocked up from the outdoor shop and handed them out to everyone.

"…This is pretty useful. Tetsuya, can I buy five of these later? It’s hard for me to tie strings with only one arm, and this would be a perfect replacement."

I see. People with only one arm, or those who are clumsy with their hands, might struggle with tying strings. This carabiner could definitely sell well to people like that.

"Of course, I’ll sell them to you."

It seems like carabiners are a viable product. I plan to have everyone review the rest of my camping gear, so I can decide what to sell in my shop.