Catherine Walker

Catherine Walker (キャサリン・ウォーカー) is the receptionist of an Adventurer's Guild in the town of Brooke.

Appearance
Catherine is a middle-aged woman with a large, but well-built figure.

According to Ilwa Chang, Catherine was known for her unparalleled beauty in her younger days.

After relocating to the Heiligh Kingdom to aid in the capital's reconstruction, Catherine's appearance changes dramatically. She is more youthful and slimmer to the point that almost anyone looking at both versions would consider them two different people.

Personality
Catherine is a kind woman that likes to assist those in need. Although she does have a mischievous side to her and likes to joke around at times. She is also the voice of reason in Brooke since the whole town erupts into a frenzy and obsessively worships Hajime after she leaves for the capital.

Background
Catherine was the former chief secretary of the Adventurer's Guild main branch in the Heiligh Kingdom. She later became a guild instructor, in which more than half of all the branch chiefs learned their trades from her. She eventually moved to Brooke Town with the retired adventurer Crystabel, and married its mayor named Adam. Her marriage announcement was very sudden that it brought a great shock in the whole capital.

Chronology
Catherine met Hajime Nagumo when he arrived at Brooke in order to resupply for his journey and to sell some off some items. Catherine could tell that Hajime had expected to meet a beautiful young female guild receptionist and started to jokingly lecture him. Hajime then proceeded to sell his items to Catherine. He decided to register as an adventurer after learning from her that he could make more money off of his items if he became one. When Hajime finally got around to his initial goal, Catherine was surprised to see the rare assortment of items that Hajime wanted to sell. She suggested that he sell them at a larger branch since he could earn more money for them there, but Hajime was content for what he could earn for them currently. After Hajime sold his items, Catherine also gave Hajime one of her hand-drawn maps of Brooke and suggested that he find a decent inn for his female companions.

After Hajime and the others successfully completed the Great Reisen Labyrinth, they returned back to Brooke on order to rest up for their journey. Catherine provided Hajime a free room in the Adventurer's Guild building so that he could secretly practice the Ancient Magic he acquired from the Labyrinth in peace. When he and his companions were ready to leave Brooke, they came to say goodbye to Catherine and to ask if there were any guild quests that would take them to the Independent Merchant Republic of Fuhren. Catherine offered Hajime a quest to escort a merchant convoy that was heading to Fuhren as well, to which Hajime accepted. As a final good gesture, Catherine gave Hajime a letter and told him to present it if he ever got into trouble with the guild.

When humanity's god Ehit was prepared to wipe out all life on Tortus, Catherine was among those that participated in the fight against the mad god's forces, and was acting as the assistant for the leader of the Adventurer's Guild Balse Laputa.

After Ehit was defeated, Catherine temporarily moved back to the Heiligh Kingdom's capital in order to help with its reconstruction. She once again met up with Hajime at the capital's Adventurer's Guild while he was visiting Tortus with his family for a holiday vacation. Hajime didn't recognize her at first due to her being a lot slimmer from helping to rebuild the kingdom, but was soon surprised at how much she changed after realizing who she was.

Adam Walker
Her husband and the mayor of Brooke Town. Adam deeply misses Catherine after she goes to the capital to aid in the reconstruction effort following the battle against Ehit.

Ilwa Chang
Ilwa was trained by Catherine during his days as an adventurer and respects her very much.

Hajime Nagumo
Catherine takes a liking to Hajime and offers her support when dealing with the Adventurer's Guild. Hajime is very impressed with Catherine's skills and considers her to be the most rational person in Brooke Town.

Powers & Abilities

 * Map Making - Catherine is able to draw quality maps that even managed to impress Hajime.
 * Expert Management - Catherine has earned a reputation as an excellent secretary and instructor in the Adventurer's Guild. She is also considered to be the only one in Brooke Town that is able to keep it citizens from getting into trouble.
 * Expert Appraiser - Catherine is able to appraise items with great accuracy.

Quotes

 * (To Hajime): "Ahaha, don’t underestimate a woman’s intuition, boy. We can read you men like an open book. Your two friends over there won’t like it if you keep looking to ogle every girl you meet, you know?"
 * (To Hajime): "What are you doing, walking around penniless with two cute girls like that? I’ll give you the bonus for everything, so just make sure you treat them right, okay?"
 * (To Yue & Shea): "Make sure you take care of yourselves, alright? If this brat ever makes you cry, then make sure you drag him back here. I’ll wallop him good for you."
 * (To Hajime): "You better not do anything that’d make these girls cry, you hear? Even if you manage to escape my wrath, God will surely punish you if you do."
 * (To Hajime): "From the moment you walked into my office, I always thought you’d do something big... but I never imagined you’d end up deciding the fate of the world. I consider it an honor that I was the one to handle your guild registration."

Trivia

 * The name Catherine is derived from the Ancient Greek name "Aikaterī́nē ‎(Αἰκατερῑ́νη)", which in turn derives from "katharós ‎(καθαρός)", meaning "clean, clear, pure". In turn, the name means "pure, clear of dirt, clean of shame or guilt, purified". It is linked to the Greek goddess ". Furthermore, the surname Walker is of Anglo-Scottish or German origins. This name may signify either a fuller or an officer whose duty consisted of walking or inspecting a certain space of forest ground. This name is derived from the Old English "wealcan", meaning "to walk", which in turn derives from the Proto-Germanic "*walkaną", meaning "to move around, to revolve".
 * Catherine does not appear in the Anime.