job Hunting In Another World With My Ex-Wife

It was the early hours of the morning, and officially, our second day in this new world. After waking up and getting dressed, we left our rusty cabin to go find work in town.

My back and shoulders were killing me. Sleeping on that hard floor hadn't done my body any favors. I stretched as we walked, rolling my neck to work out the stiffness.

"What's wrong with you?" Misaki asked, glancing over, staff in hand.

"Nothing. Just sore."

She shot me a look. "I told you to sleep in the bed with me."

"Nope," I replied, stretching my arms over my head and groaning softly as something in my spine popped.

"I feel better already," I said. It was an obvious lie, but I needed her to drop it. I was not in the mood to be having that discussion.

We mostly walked in silence after that, but waved greetings to the kind people, demi humans, and beastfolk we met on our way to the adventurer's guild. When we arrived, Babs, the guild receptionist, greeted us with a big smile on her face. However, that smile soon turned into a frown when she noticed Misaki standing beside me.

"Ugh. You're here." The blonde woman scoffed at the sight of my ex wife. She leaned back and crossed her arms, blowing a lock of hair away from her face. "How can I help you, I guess?"

Misaki shot me a look that said, Daichi, are you seeing this?

Yes, I was, but what the hell was I supposed to do about it?

"Babs, sweetie, could you hit us with the daily quests for today?" I asked the pretty receptionist, sweet talking the fine gal because she really did help us out with the house. "Oh, and thanks again so much for the assist yesterday." I took one of her hands and gave it a light kiss. "You are an angel among angels."

The blonde woman blushed furiously at this point, and if this was an anime, steam would have been shooting out of her pointy elf ears.

***

"What was that about?"

Misaki and I were both seated across from each other, with my ex wife on the other side. When she asked the question, I already had my nose deep in the files Babs had handed over to us, scanning dozens of notices for high level quests, low level ones, urgent hires, internship openings, and a few top tier jobs that caught my attention.

"That's strange," I muttered as I scrutinized one of the top level quests.

......

Urgent: Help stop the demon king's army.

The demon king's army, led by his son the demon prince himself, and the villainess of Aurelia, have been cited marching on the southern kingdom of Velgrath.

Towns and cities have been left utterly destroyed in their campaign to seize power from the king and queen, and every force sent by the crown has been completely annihilated.

Calling on all able bodied adventurers to help in the fight, to help stop this wave of chaos and suffering. Volunteers should notify their respective guilds before the end of the month, if interested in participating. We need you. The kingdom of Velgrath needs you.

......

"Whoa," I muttered.

Looking down at the paper, I still couldn't believe what I had just read. So the god that sent us to this world was somewhat telling the truth. There really was a demon prince and a villainess threatening this place. Not only that, but it seemed like they were also trying to take over as well. But why did the god act so nonchalantly about the whole thing back when I asked him about it?

"Daichi."

I guessed we weren't summoned specifically to become heroes, and maybe actual heroes with incredible abilities had already been brought from our world to stop this threat. But that didn't change the fact I would love to help out at some point. Misaki wouldn't have to come with me either. I could sign up as a solo volunteer within the next two to three weeks. I just needed to level up and get stronger first.

"Daichi."

The next top level quest was something regarding the resumed mysterious disappearances of Pepplebrook's townsfolk at night. Huh. Pepplebrook. I guessed that was the name of this town. It was a rather cool name, and I liked it. But also, what was causing the disappearances? Was it some kind of organized kidnapping? And at night? Was it a ghost or creature behind the whole thing?

"Daichi!"

"Whaaat?!"

I finally looked up from the stack of papers and yelled at my ex wife, glaring at her.

"What is it? What? What? What?"

Misaki's eyes widened in astonishment, then she leaned back in her chair, arms folded. She seemed pissed off.

"You were flirting with her, weren't you?"

God, I didn't have time for this. I went back to reading, but Misaki quickly reached over and swiped the papers from my hand, including the ones on the table.

"Dude," I said. "What is your problem?"

She hurriedly gathered up the quests and notices, shoving them underneath her seat and securing them with a plop of her butt. "I am not giving this back until you answer me," she said, looking at me with a serious expression despite the ridiculousness of what she had just done. "So you better get to talking. Were you, or were you not flirting with her just now?"

I sighed and fell back into my seat. "Flirting with who?" I teased, using the opportunity to relax while also poking at her jealousy a bit.

"Don't play dumb with me, Daichi. You were totally hitting on Boobzilla over there."

I looked over her shoulder to see who she was talking about. "Oh, you mean Babs?"

Misaki's brows were furrowed in annoyance.

"Okay, and what if I was flirting with her?" I straightened up and rested my elbows on the surface as I spoke. "What if I was interested in her? Is there a problem? You got a problem with that?"

".!"

My ex wife was silent for a moment, words catching in her throat.

"Mhm? Because the last time I checked, we are both allowed to see other people now that we are no longer together."

Misaki still wasn't saying anything. She just looked confused. Or surprised. Or lost in thought. I couldn't even tell the expression on her face.

"So, if you don't mind, could you please hand those over so I can find a safe job that can help afford us breakfast? I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

Still in her stunned silence, Misaki eventually reached down, pulled the files out from underneath her butt, then handed them over. I accepted the stacks of papers from her, and after a few more minutes of scanning, I found the perfect, easy, and most importantly, safe job for the both of us to handle, which somehow still paid a lot.

"Farmwork," I said as I slid the quest over to my ex wife so she could read a little more about it.

......

Urgent help needed.

Pest control and crop harvesting.

Yay! It's veggie picking time! My papa and I need your help to catch all them rolling cabbages and flying carrots! We'll pay you more if you work longer! Can't wait to see you there! Melissa.

PS. Oh! And, ummm, we may have a little pest problem, so come prepared, alright?

......

Misaki looked up at me after she finished reading. "Seems easy enough," she said. "And I'm guessing phrases like rolling and flying are all real attributes these crops possess, right?"

"Aha..." I replied, not particularly surprised about that extra bit of information.

The agriculture of fantasy worlds like the one we were now living in had been known to possess certain deviations that gave the horticulture an animated aspect to them. At least, according to all the media I had consumed on the topic. Transmigration stories, reincarnation novels, those kinds of things.

A good example would be the screaming flowers Misaki kept accidentally stepping on when we first arrived. Certain plants in this world could scream, while others did not. So, I wouldn't entirely be surprised if we ended up coming across flying tomatoes and jumping onions too. It was all part of the magic and beauty of the world, and despite the fact it wasn't your typical monster hunting, I was still kind of looking forward to it.

I was sure the experience was going to be rad.

"Alright, then," I said. "Let's go check it out."