Published: August 2, 2025
"Yes, you may pass. Good luck with your exam."
"Thank you very much."
Receiving encouragement from a slightly mistaken gatekeeper, I exited through the East Gate.
Before me unfolded a landscape different from the North and South.
"So this is what it looks like here..."
Wooden fences lined both sides of the road, enclosing cows and horses. Even larger magical beasts I had never seen before roamed freely inside. It felt just like a ranch.
A large building visible a little further ahead was probably a branch of the Tamer Guild. With silo-like towers standing beside it, it really did look like a ranch.
"Excuse me."
The atmosphere inside was different from the guilds in town. Most people were wearing work clothes, and without prior knowledge, one might mistake it for a break room. Looking closely, even the people standing at the reception desk right at the entrance wore casual, comfortable clothing.
"Over here, please."
Perhaps sensing my hesitation, a woman at the reception called out.
"Nice to meet you. I heard I could take the beast taming magic aptitude test here. Here are my documents and my Guild Card."
"I'll take those. Ryoma Takebayashi-kun... yes, this is your first time. The examination room is in the back. Go straight down that hallway and enter the room at the end. Give this to any available staff there."
"Thank you."
Following her instructions, I turned left past the reception and walked straight down the corridor leading deeper inside.
Upon entering the room at the end, long benches lined the right side, and five counters were on the left.
It looked like a waiting room at a bank.
However, it seemed few people came to take the aptitude test.
Only the two counters at the far end were occupied, and no one was waiting on the benches.
"Ah, please take a seat at one of the open counters and wait."
A woman attending to someone rang a handbell, probably to call a staff member.
As I sat at the nearest counter, I heard a door open somewhere on the counter's side almost simultaneously.
"Thank you for waiting. Oh? Ryoma-kun?"
"Branch Chief!"
The staff member who came over was, for some reason, Branch Chief Taylor.
"Why are you here?"
"This is also part of the Tamer Guild. I sometimes work here as part of my inspections. Otherwise, I rarely have the chance to talk with younger members or stay in touch with the field atmosphere.
You're here for the aptitude test, right? Now that I think about it, I hadn't recommended it on your registration day."
"I headed straight to the Adventurers' Guild that day. Also, I had no intention to change my familiar then... and I still don't."
"That's fine. But it's good to know which magical beasts you have good compatibility with."
Branch Chief Taylor filled something out on the documents in front of him, then pointed to the door opposite the one I had entered through.
"Let's get started. The magical beasts for the test are gathered beyond that door."
There were two adjacent doors across the counter. Passing through one, a strong animal smell hit my nose.
The smell was like an animal park... or rather, a pet shop?
The room was filled with many small cages containing various magical beasts: slimes, small rats, cave bats—creatures I had become familiar with since arriving in this city—and even cluebirds, which I had once contracted with.
"This room holds small magical beasts. Further in are medium-sized beasts, and beyond that, spaces for large magical beasts."
The Branch Chief came out from the other door and explained.
"As you can see, we have various magical beasts here. You will make actual contracts with magical beasts here... but we can skip the slime and limule birds. Have you contracted with any other magical beasts before?"
"I once contracted with a cluebird."
"Were there any problems then? Could you follow commands and understand their emotions?"
I answered that there were no issues and I could share their vision.
"If you managed that in your first practice, your compatibility seems good..."
I peeked at the paper he was filling out; it had a list of many magical beasts with marks beside them.