Chapter 1-41 : The Girl Is Getting An ID Card
「Before you can issue an ID card at the guild, there are things you need to know.」(Ingrid)
「Alright, I’m listening.」(Elle)
「First of all, you’re still a child, so you need a guardian to get your ID. I can be your guardian.」(Ingrid)
「My guardian? Are you sure?」(Elle)
「I don’t mind at all. As I said last night, you will be under my protection while you’re in this city. And since I will be your guardian, you need to use my family name for your ID.」(Ingrid)
「I see. What is your family name?」(Elle)
「Fermete. My full name is Ingrid Fermete.」(Ingrid)
「Fermete? Isn’t that the name of the forest you came from?」(Elle)
「Yeah. We use the name of our homeland as our family name.」(Ingrid)
「I see. Does that mean my name will be Elle Fermete?」(Elle)
「That’s right. Also, if you use my name, you will be able to access the Magic Engineers Association building since I work there.」(Ingrid)
「That would be great. Alright, I got it, but… Is that really okay? I mean, it’s not my real name.」(Elle)
「Don’t worry. You don’t need to use your real name to issue a lower-class ID. We’re nothing but workers in this city, so the government doesn’t really care about our names.」(Ingrid)
「What about the middle and upper-class?」(Elle)
「Middle and upper-class people are mostly nobles and rich people with influence in this country, so they need to use their real names for their ID.」(Ingrid)
「So, nobles can’t fake their names?」(Elle)
「Yeah, and depending on which noble family or faction you belong to, there are facilities you can and can’t enter. You see, many nobles have buildings in this city, and they don’t want their enemies to enter.」(Ingrid)
「Make sense. Anything else?」(Elle)
「Yeah, you will need a guarantor, and I will act as one.」(Ingrid)
「Guarantor? So you will be my guardian and my guarantor. But, why do I need a guarantor?」(Elle)
「Because you’re not from this city. You need someone who can assure the government that you won’t cause harm to this city. If you were caught committing a crime, not only you, but I, as your guarantor, would also be punished too. It’s a system to reduce the crime rate in this city. 」(Ingrid)
「I see… Of course, I won’t commit any crimes. I promise.」(Elle)
「Fufu. I’m not worried about that. I know you’re a good girl. However, you should be careful not to fall into evildoers’ traps. You were almost accused of selling a fake magic stone last night.」(Ingrid)
「U, un… I’ll be careful.」(Elle)
「Oh, right. Speaking of crimes, the punishments for lower-class people when they commit crimes are much more severe than those for middle and upper-class people. For example, lower-class people will be locked up in the dungeon for a few years for stealing, but middle and upper-class people will only be locked up for a week to a few months.」(Ingrid)
「What? Why is it so different?」(Elle)
「It’s none other than discrimination against lower-class people, which is getting stronger day by day. A lot of people are against it, but it’s very difficult for us, lower-class people, to win against those with power.」(Ingrid)
「That’s terrible…」(Elle)
「It is, but some lower-class people haven’t given up. They conduct campaigns against discrimination from time to time. They’re not wrong for expressing their concerns, but I’m afraid they would go on a rampage and cause chaos on the streets someday. It would be difficult to stop.」(Ingrid)
「That would be horrible…」(Elle)
「Yeah. This city is not safe now, so I suggest you leave as soon as you find your dad.」(Ingrid)
「Un…」(Elle)
「Well, anyway, that’s all you need to know. Shall we go to the guild now?」(Ingrid)
「Alright. But let me clean up first.」(Elle)
Now that they have finished their breakfast, they have enough energy to walk to the guild.
Elle cleaned up the cooking tools, plates, and the teapot while Ingrid washed her face and changed.
They then left the house as soon as they were ready.
◇◇◇
After leaving the downtown area and following the main street toward the center of the city for about thirty minutes, a huge three-story brick building came into view.
「Wow! This building is so big!」(Elle)
The building was so tall that Elle had to turn her head all the way up to see its tip.
「Haha, it’s the guild after all. This building is one of the city’s largest and has become a prominent icon, alongside the royal castle and the clock tower. Let’s enter.」(Ingrid)
「Un!」(Elle)
Elle nodded to Ingrid energetically and followed her into the building. It was the first time she had entered such a huge building, so she was kind of excited.
There were so many people of various races inside the guild. Humans, dwarves, harpies, beastmen, and many others. Most of them were adventurers and laborers who came to look for work, but there were also some people who came to obtain an ID card just like Elle.
Elle didn’t attract attention when she entered since she wasn’t the only child in the building. There were some kids with their guardians too. Some of them had living stuffed animals standing next to them, so Yoyo and Neige were not drawing attention either.
However, unlike them, the dark elf Ingrid stood out a bit since there were rarely dark elves in the city. Realizing the gazes from the surrounding people, Ingrid put the hood of her cloak on her head and hid her ears. She didn’t want to draw too much attention.
After waiting in the long line of people for about twenty minutes, they finally got their turn to speak to the receptionist.
「…How can I help?」(receptionist)
The tired-looking female receptionist didn’t greet Elle and Ingrid with a friendly, welcoming smile, but a scornful look instead.
「This girl needs an ID card.」(Ingrid)
「Is she from this city?」(receptionist)
「Nope.」(Ingrid)
「So you’re her guardian and guarantor?」(receptionist)
「That’s right.」(Ingrid)
「Can I see your ID?」(receptionist)
「Here you go.」(Ingrid)
The not-so-friendly receptionist took Ingrid’s ID and checked it. She then handed Ingrid a piece of paper, that seemed to be the application form, and a pen.
「Elle, you can write, right? You want to do it yourself?」(Ingrid)
「Un!」(Elle)
Elle excitedly nodded to Ingrid and took the form and the pen.
Watching Elle filling the form, the receptionist opened her eyes wide in surprise. She didn’t expect the child in front of her could write.
Elle filled the form with her name, her age, her race, and her class as a citizen. She then returned the paper to the receptionist after she was done.
「It’s done.」(Elle)
「L, Let me check… Elle Fermete, twelve years old, human, lower-class citizen… Is that correct?」(receptionist)
「Yes.」(Elle)
「Alright. We’re going to make the card. You can wait there.」(receptionist)
Saying that, the receptionist pointed to the rows of wooden benches next to the reception desk. She then handed the form to another guild employee, and they took it to the back room.
Meanwhile, Elle and the others sat down on an empty bench that the receptionist pointed out and waited.
「I don’t like that receptionist at all.」(Yoyo)
「Me neither! How could such an unfriendly person work as a public servant?」(Neige)
It seemed that Yoyo and Neige were not fans of the female receptionist.
「Haha… I think she just doesn’t like a dark elf like anybody else.」(Ingrid)
「No, I think she’s just tired.」(Elle)
Ingrid thought it was her fault, but Elle immediately denied her, and it made Ingrid happy. She couldn’t help but smile and pat Elle’s head.
After waiting while watching the people in the busiest place in the city for ten minutes, Elle’s name was called.
「Elle Fermeteー」(receptionist)
「Yes!」(Elle)
She then hurriedly approached the receptionist and received the freshly made ID card from her.
「Thank you!」(Elle)
「..…」(receptionist)
After thanking the unfriendly receptionist, Elle returned to Ingrid and showed her the ID card.
It was a simple card made of wood with Elle’s information written in magical ink on it.
「I finally got my ID card.」(Elle)
「Congrats! Now you’re officially a citizen of Porcelain Blue.」(Ingrid)
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