Kazuki walked into the Adventurer's Guild like a man returning from war. Not a war—his personal, embarrassing one, fought with a ladle and lost dignity.
His clothes were singed. His hair smelled like burnt rat and mold. Mistral the talking cat sat on his shoulder, tail twitching like a metronome of disappointment.
The receptionist looked up. Blinked. Then sighed.
"You again."
Kazuki dropped a small sack on the desk. It squelched.
"Rat den cleared," he said. "May have accidentally caused minor structural damage. Also, a cat yelled at me and hired me as an employee."
The receptionist didn't move. "You brought me a bag of...?"
"Proof of extermination. That one's a rat tooth. The rest is mostly regret."
She slowly pushed the sack off her desk and into a trash bin labeled "Rookie Mistakes."
"Congratulations," she muttered. "You're still alive. Barely. The Guild Master wants to see you."
That was not a sentence Kazuki wanted to hear.
The Guild Master was a retired adventurer named Grelka. She looked like she could kill a wyvern with her left bicep and once allegedly suplexed a dungeon door because it wouldn't open fast enough.
She stared at him from behind her desk with the air of someone trying to solve a plumbing problem with a hammer.
"So," she said, "you're the reincarnated idiot."
Kazuki blinked. "Wow, we're just opening with that?"
Grelka leaned forward. "You burned down part of the storage hall, made a contract with a familiar without paperwork, and then triggered a Class Flag without being ranked high enough to know what a Class Flag is."
Kazuki smiled. "Hi."
She tossed him a parchment.
"Starting today, you're in a party. No more solo quests. You're someone else's problem now."
Outside, Kazuki stared at the party assignment slip.
Team: Provisional Squad 3Members: Kazuki (Cursed), Vera (Mage, Trust Issues), Darin (Swordsman, Too Handsome to Die)Escort assignment pending. DO NOT LET THEM SPLIT UP.
Mistral glanced at the paper. "Oh good. They're babysitting you with other problems."
Kazuki sighed. "I haven't even met them yet."
"I'm preemptively sorry for them."
Ten minutes later, he met Vera and Darin at the quest board.
Vera wore a hood, dark robes, and the same expression you get when someone tries to hug you in public. She looked like a lightning spell waiting to happen.
Darin, meanwhile, was all smiles, muscle, and oblivious cheer. The kind of guy who could trip over his own sword and still land in a heroic pose.
"Hi!" Darin said. "You must be Kazuki. You smell like character development."
Kazuki stared. "I just met you. Why do I already want to punch you?"
Vera didn't say anything. She just handed Kazuki a contract. "Sign it. We're stuck with each other."
As they prepared to head out on their first mission, the system pinged.
[New Party Formed: Provisional Squad 3][Party Buff: Shared XP – 5%][Team Reputation: 0 (Don't Screw This Up)]
Kazuki muttered under his breath, "What could possibly go wrong?"
Mistral, now curled smugly around his shoulders, answered immediately:
"Everything."