Unsure what to say next, I began grasping at straws. "What about Elves? Can they become Hunters when they’re barely even a teen? Or Dwarves, huh?"
"Miss, our regulations regarding joining the Hunters Guild clearly covers all these points. As you said, Goblins mature faster, so they’re allowed to become a Hunter at age 10. Elves are double that at age 20. And while Dwarves do live longer than Humans, it’s by a negligible enough margin that we apply the same rules for Humans to them. Same goes for most other species, which is why 16 is the general age required to register with us. The rest are exceptions." The woman took a deep breath, and sighed. "And forgive me for assuming, but I don’t think you’re either Elf or Goblin. Not that being the former would help your case at any rate."
I raised an eyebrow, only to realize I was doing it under my mask. Then I shook my head so she could clearly see my displeasure. "And how exactly am I going to prove that? I don’t have any identification."
"If you can just take off your mask to prove you’re a Goblin, I’m sure there would be no problems whatsoever."
"...who said I was a Goblin?"
I saw the receptionist’s eye twitch, and I could not blame her for it; I was being incredibly frustrating to deal with, so maybe she would relent and register me as a Hunter, regardless of whether I was telling the truth or not.
"You did, Miss. You quite clearly implied it to me."
"No I did not," I said simply.
With the last of her strength, the woman managed to muster up a strained smile as she asked the logical question to follow. "If not Goblin or Human, what are you then?"
"..."
She waited for a response, but never got one. I am exercising my right to remain silent! Unfortunately, I was not in America, so it did not work. The receptionist finally had enough.
"Well, Miss, if you can’t provide any identification to me and you don’t want to tell me whether you’re a Human, Goblin, or just an annoying child, I would have to ask you to leave."
"Can’t I just—"
"Come on, little Miss. Stop harassing the poor lady. You’ve had your fun, you can go home now." A voice came from behind me; I turned around to see who it was, and saw a man casually approach me from a table. "I know you kids love to play your little pranks, and I found it quite entertaining for the first five minutes. But it’s been over a quarter of an hour now. You’re just making Agnes’ job more difficult now— she already has to deal with us every night!"
There were a few snickers, and even the receptionist snorted. I cast a quick glance around the room, taking in the scene at the Hunters Guild for the first time since I arrived. Unlike the smaller branches I went to before— which basically just had a front desk, a board filled possible job offers, and a few tables and chairs— the lobby for Locke’s Hunters Guild actually incentivized Hunters to hang around.
The layout was very similar to a tavern: there was a bar in the corner of the room with some barrels of what I assumed to be beer, and a proper waiting staff going in and out of the back to bring out simple food and drinks. And, as previously mentioned, there was a television at the front, although it seemed to be either turned off right now or broken.
While there was space at the front desk for multiple receptionists, only one was on duty right now. It was quite empty in general, with only a few groups of Hunters mulling about the room. Either the Hunters Guild was falling on tough times, or fewer people came in during the night for whatever reason. Regardless, everyone in the room seemed to agree with the man when he told me to leave.
"It’s late, little Miss—"
"Miss."
"Whatever, little Miss. It’s time for you to go home to your parents. They’re probably getting worried sick for you," the man said, patting me on the back.
"I’m not leaving until I become a Hunter." I stood, both my feet firmly planted on the ground.
"You don’t want to become a Hunter, little Miss. It’s a dangerous job. Me and my friends get into trouble all the time. Why, just the other day I almost lost my right hand to a Kobold! It’s definitely not something you should ever get into, even as an adult."
"Why are you a Hunter then?" I asked, giving the man a blank stare. Well, as blank of a stare I could give beneath my mask; even with the holes for me to see with, my eyes were pretty obscured and not visible to everyone unless they really peered into it.
"Because we’re a bunch of broke idiots who can’t get a better job," he laughed.
No, you’re a bunch of broke jerks who can’t just leave a girl alone!
...well, maybe I was the one being the jerk here. The man was genuinely concerned for my safety, and he was only trying to help the receptionist who I had been bothering for a while now. Still, I folded my arms, refusing to move.
"And who says I’m not a broke idiot who can’t get a better job?"
"Well you could always apprentice with
