As if nothing happened, the dungeon was opened up after only being closed for two days.

  The guild made no public statements, and used its pull and the mishmash of laws already in legislation to keep the press silent.

  With no press coverage, the sudden addition of a dungeon boss became little more than a local legend with some very niche online presence.

  

  RedOwl: The new dungeon guidelines don't allow leaving the forest. They even want people to sign in with their phones.

  Hero194: What if someone doesn't have a phone.

  Popcorn5: ???

  Popcorn5: No phone???

  RedOwl: They'll give you a tracker. Well, you have to pay a deposit.

  PenguinDance: Is this because of the new boss?

  RedOwl: Probably. Though it might not be her idea.

  Hero194: What do you mean?

  RedOwl: Well, she's just a kid, so I doubt she's making big demands. They probably just don't want random people violating her culture or something.

  Popcorn5: I get that.

  Of course, the dungeon regulars were an ever-gossipy lot, whether in person or online.

  However, most people in the city didn't know anything had happened at all.

  But someone was watching.

  ***

  I spent a day or two getting back into my old routine before I went to the portal again, this time to sell some of the mana shards I'd gathered.

  It was busy once again, just like it had been a few years prior.

  Since the imperial government knew who I was, and probably had magical tracking methods I'd yet to even learn of, I figured there was no longer any reason to conceal my identity.

  I didn't recognize many people anyway...

  Suon excluded of course, and he approached me as soon as I arrived.

  This was a bit terrifying.

  Had I done something wrong already?

  "Hey, Kid. Why's your phone been off? You really worried us."

  "Huh?"

  'Ah.'

  The device they gave me probably let them track me while it was on. Such convenient tools often doubled as insidious control mechanisms in these sorts of technological eras.

  And naturally, they expected it to stay active, but...

  "It ran out."

  "You can just charge it at the office on the other side of the portal... ah... but you live two hours away... hmm... I'll get you some battery packs."

  "Huh? But..."

  "Yeah yeah, you don't want handouts. I get that. We can't ask you to keep the phone on if you can't charge it. In other words, they're basically for us."

  I didn't like that deal though, since I wanted to use the phone too.

  I decided I'd use my own mana shards to keep it charged while I was using it.

  It was affordable, provided food hadn't gone up since I last stocked up. I'd eventually be eating the absolute basics again, probably within a month or so, but it could work.

  "By the way, Kid. Now that you've got a Skill, you can get your adventurer's permit. You're an honorary member of our guild, so you can apply through us. You like hunting here, right?"

  "Huh? I guess so..."

  It took me a moment to realize what he was saying, but adventurers were basically people who went into dungeons.

  They needed Skills though, which was why people usually came to beginner dungeons to get them.

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  I wondered why people couldn't get by with just training, but that was the law in this country.

  Since I had a Skill, though, I could now become an adventurer.

  Moreover, although it wouldn't help me fight monsters, it meant I wouldn't ever die if they got me.

  But...

  "Can't only adults become adventurers?"

  "Ah. Yeah, normally. There are a few exceptions, like outsider kids going to their home dungeons, and S-rank adventurers... but beginner dungeons are an exception too."

  I nodded.

  For some reason, he seemed to be getting at something with that last part though, so I stopped nodding and stared at him, trying to pretend like I'd never acknowledged his words.

  'I don't get it.'

  "Well... the law's written in more precise detail than that, and the guild attorney's looking into it, well really, looking into everything about you... but we think you having Beginner means every dungeon counts as a beginner dungeon."

  If he was right, that'd be awfully convenient.

  I didn't know where any other dungeons were, but the phone they gave me could access that information.

  "Even so, you should stick to F or E rank dungeons at first. That's what this forest is ranked."

  I nodded.

  "Okay. I'll check them out."

  "Ah... so you are interested. Hold up a bit, let us get you an adventurer's permit first. Even if the law's on your side, the clerks won't let you through without a permit. Your ID doubles as one for this dungeon, not that you really need one, but that's about it."

  "Oh. I see. How much is a permit?"

  "Nothing. It's just part of being an honorary member."

  After that, he charged the phone for me at the kiosk on the other side of the portal.

  Well, he gave it to the clerk there who did it for him, while handing me the payment for the shards I came to sell.

  "You really do hunt a lot," Suon commented, whistling.

  Of course, I had to wait about half an hour or so for them to finish charging my phone. Suon wanted me to carry it around the city too, so it was a total waste.

  'It's not like I had this earlier anyway...'

  ***

  The next day, he showed up at my home at around noon, while I was making lunch.

  "Huh. I wondered how you were surviving out here, but you... bake bread?"

  "It's cheap."

  "I see... and what's with the robe?"

  I was wearing my robe, since I hadn't intended on being seen by anyone, not that it was a big deal anymore since everyone who saw me knew I was something odd.

  As if my hair and eyes didn't already give it away.

  "I... came with it, when I started existing here."

  "Huh... do you know what it means?"

  "Yeah. It's like my name."

  There was no reason to mention its true origin... but there was no reason to go out of my way concealing it either.

  If they had translation magic, I'm sure someone could eventually figure it out anyway.

  "Your name... like Kid, or...?"

  "No. Not that name."

  "I see..."

  There was a brief moment, before he decided to change the subject. Maybe he'd gotten the hint it wasn't something I was thrilled to talk about.

  After all, I'd never see that world ever again.

  "Uh... so, I brought a few of these. You can use them to charge your phone, and when they run out of mana, the clerk'll charge them for you. It'll take longer than your phone, about an hour or so, but you can just drop them off and pick them back up later."

  He handed me a bag full of small devices, similar in shape and size to the phone, though lacking any of the same features.

  "How do they work?"

  "Just put your phone on it, and it'll charge it up."

  "I see."

  They were awfully convenient, but I didn't see the point. After all, since I was earning shards of mana, it stood to reason that using them directly ought to be more efficient.

  But if they wanted my phone on at all times, I figured it was fine to let them pay for the times I wasn't using it.

  When they notice I'm costing them less than I ought to be, they should understand that I wasn't wasting their good will.

  ***

  "Who's that red-haired girl hanging out with the guildie?"

  "Oh, that's Kid. She's just the dungeon boss."

  "Wait, seriously? Should we be, like... attacking her?"

  "What? No, dumbass! Why would you even think that?"

  "Well... I thought adventurers were supposed to fight bosses."

  "Monsters. Adventurers fight monsters. Does she look like a boss? And besides, you're not an adventurer anyway."

  "Look, I'm sorry! I was just asking, sheesh."

  "Just... think of her as the dungeon's mascot or something. If you pick a fight with her... your career as an adventurer might be over before it began."

  "Huh, she's that important?"

  "Well, who knows... but those aren't just random guildies. The Azure Dragons control this dungeon. If they're protecting her... you get it, right? They're one of the big five."

  "Geez. Wasn't this dungeon for rejects and losers? Ah, no offense, I'm here too, but... that's pretty serious."

  ***

  It's true that I could probably have just researched everything at a library, but the strength of this device as a research tool went beyond just the access and convenience it offered.

  I could make it read words out loud for me, and even define them.

  It was like having a personal research assistant.

  At a dozen or so shards per long research session, it was a relatively cheap investment.

  The trouble was that I didn't make much money.

  Really, even most teenagers working part time jobs made more in a day than I could in a week.

  Labor laws were against me too. There were a bunch of exceptions for outsider kids, but not many applied to me unless someone wanted to hire me as a guide again... and since even I would probably get lost going through the cave tunnels, I wasn't very qualified as one.

  Still, if adventuring was an option, apparently people could make decent money at C rank dungeons and up.

  Yeah, the ranks Suon suggested didn't make a lot of money. It was still apparently more than what I made, though, so it was worth a try.

  However, it wasn't worth risking my crossbow over, so I decided to just go with a cheaper backup slingshot and a few knives, as well as a spear of my own making.

  By the way, the phone really was a communication device too.

  Apparently, Suon sent me a message while it was out of power. All he said was

  But after researching dungeons for a bit, I decided to ask him.

  I blinked.

  The phone indicated he was responding almost immediately.

  Had I been impolite to not respond even days later?

  Well... I didn't want to make friends, so as long as it wasn't so rude that he hated me for it, it was fine.

  

  I had a bad feeling about this, like he was about to do more than was strictly necessary... but I responded with,