“…It’s strange. Really strange.”
At the guild reception counter where the sun was setting. In a corner, Liddell muttered with a furrowed brow. Of course, it’s a face she can’t show to adventurers or colleagues. Liddell was very concerned that such an expression appeared unconsciously.
At that moment, there was someone who cheerfully spoke to Liddell.
“Senpai! I’ve prepared some tea, here you go— What’s wrong? You have a face like you found a dead cockroach after moving the furniture.”
“…Please don’t make those kinds of remarks. Especially when serving food or drinks.”
“Ah, I see, you’re from the city, right, senpai? In the countryside, something like an insect is the most normal thing, so I don’t mind it much.”
“That’s fine. I don’t want to know anything about it. By the way, Parfait, what happened with the Werewolf case on the Atend Path?”
“Ah, yes, I just received confirmation. It’s completed! Also, the griffin in Skim Mountain, the Banshee in the communal cemetery, the Scylla in Lake Toya. And today was the Werewolf on the Atend Path! All the worries that were a headache have been completed one after another. In fact, I just received a compliment from the guildmaster. Yay!”
Liddell was a bit irritated to see her kouhai making a V sign with her hand. However, she thought it was inevitable.
The achievement of completing the troublesome preserved requests, of course, belongs to the adventurer. But at the same time, the value of the receptionist who assigned the adventurer for that also rises.
One of the important skills for a receptionist is “Letting adventurers handle problematic requests.”
And it happened four times in a row. That was already significant, and over 20 preserved requests have been completed in a short time, including detailed requests. It was natural for Parfait to be in a good mood.
Beautiful receptionists are the stars of the adventurer’s guild, but their work is not easy. Even if a mistake is made, when an adventurer goes to fulfill a chosen request, they will be rewarded when it is completed—but it wouldn’t always be that way.
The role of the receptionists is to determine if the request submitted by the client is feasible or not and ensure an appropriate reward.
Requests cannot be accepted without money. For example, a farmer who asks for help with tears in their eyes because their family was kidnapped by goblins, but their request is denied due to the small amount of money they offer—as a receptionist, one has that experience.
Speaking of newcomers who choose requests that don’t match their abilities, they are sometimes scolded or even hated.
Also, of veterans with great pride who are asked to accept problematic agreements.
And even a group of rookies annihilated because they thought the request wasn’t dangerous.
Adventurers have sometimes blamed the guild severely for losing comrades due to incorrect information.
Because of that, no matter how good one is, a delicate person will soon quit. Or maybe they will request a transfer.
Nevertheless, the work of the receptionists is tough, and it cannot be done unless one has enough spirit.
In that sense, Liddell, who has been at the reception for over five years, as well as Parfait, who has been present for a year, were women with great spirit.
Parfait regards Liddell as her senpai but has secretly been aiming for her title as a manager for a long time.
The usual Liddell would bitterly say, “That audacity will last for a while,” but she couldn’t say it in the current situation.
Liddell could sense those who were in the shadow of Parfait’s reputation, and it could be said that those people didn’t like her.
“So, what request was entrusted to Luna Maria-san next?”
“Listen to this, senpai! She has been taking on many difficult jobs with little profit, right? So, I presented her with a request from a noble. You know, the Count’s household heard about the griffin subjugation and asked to have it.”
“Ah, the one the master said we should give priority to, right?”
“Yes. I entrusted it as he said, but you won’t believe it. She rejected that promising request to have connections with the count!”
“…I see.”
“I was surprised. And speaking of what she accepted, there was a request from an orphanage a while ago, right? The one to find Aldo herbs in the Tittis Forest. She accepted that instead.”
The reward for collecting Aldo herbs is five copper coins. It’s an amount that would disappear just by buying bread and milk. It was more of a volunteer job than a request.
Usually, this kind of request should be played out at the reception stage, but as a special case, requests from orphanages and rescue houses are not rejected.
They are posted on the bulletin board in anticipation of adventurers’ goodwill. And occasionally, some adventurers take care of it when they have time.
Aldo herbs are medicinal herbs that work against fever. Probably, a disease spread in the orphanage.
However, Aldo herbs grow deep in Tittis. It’s a place one wouldn’t go to as a volunteer unless it’s deep like that.
Of course, that point should have been explained properly when accepting the request.
However, the requester may have had only one hope that someone would accept the request. As a result, that hope is likely to come true.
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Then, Parfait bowed her head and looked doubtful.
“Luna Maria-san has become more active since leaving ‘Falcon Sword.’ In her previous group, it was as if she just followed Lars-san and the others with a smile, but now she’s moving on her own… no, I think it’s actually ‘Parasite’-san who’s really active.”
‘Falcon Sword’ was famous as a young and promising group. One of them, who enters and leaves the guild with a slave collar around her neck, stands out a lot. The circumstances of ‘Falcon Sword’ were already known by many guild officials.
Even a child understands that Sora the ‘Master’ is behind the current Luna Maria.
Liddell opened her mouth with her arms crossed.
“Luna Maria-san and the girl called Seal haven’t moved much from Ishka. In that case, the griffin subjugation and the others are the work of Sora-san. It’s not something a level ‘1’ can do. No, in the first place, there’s no way a level ‘1’ person can defeat Lars-san in a one-on-one fight.”
An adventurer of the lowest class who seems to have a talent limit—no, why did a former adventurer suddenly become so strong?
Liddell had doubts about that, but Parfait, who was not interested in Sora at all, had come to a completely different point.
“Ah, about that. I also want to see it. I mean, I’m in charge of ‘Falcon Sword,’ so they should have called me instead of you, senpai.”
“I was there as the reception supervisor. Anyway, Luna Maria-san and the others’ behavior is strange. If possible, we shouldn’t give them too many requests, but…”
Parfait laughed at Liddell’s concerns.
“I don’t think you should worry so much. The requests that no one wanted to accept are being completed. Shouldn’t we be thankful? Maybe ‘Parasite’-san is desperate to return to the guild.”
“When the master was going to welcome him as a ninth-class adventurer, he declined. I don’t think he wants to return to the guild at this point.”
“He may have been carried away by his emotions and declined, but perhaps they regretted it. He surely can’t say they want to return to the guild after what Falcon Sword. That’s why he’s trying to show his usefulness through Luna Maria-san. If you think about it, isn’t that kind of cute?”
“…I don’t think he’s that simple of a person.”
Liddell said it in a negative tone, but looking at Parfait, it was clear she wasn’t going to listen to her words.
In Parfait’s case, the “Falcon Sword” group she was in charge of, which was also a powerful way to elevate her reputation, was inactive.
Surely she must think that as long as Luna Maria and Sora elevate her reputation instead of the “Falcon Sword” group, it doesn’t matter what they do. That way of thinking isn’t wrong.
Rather, it’s the right approach. The requests given to Luna Maria are all that the guild needs to fulfill. That action is beneficial for the guild, the client, and the city of Ishka.
Liddell was trying to accuse those actions without any solid evidence.
“If you’re an adventurer or a member of this guild, you should remember that you have an obligation to work for Ishka.”
More than two months ago, she remembered the words she said to Sora when he was sentenced to be expelled.
Now Sora was the one working for Ishka, and Liddell was trying to undermine that with her suspicions. The roles had clearly been reversed. There was no way she was was the main cause of this situation… but Liddell unconsciously bit her lip.
The expelled adventurer took care of the griffin, defeated the Banshee, and subdued the Werewolf.
It was as if he were saying, “You made a mistake by expelling me.” Sora’s actions seemed to mock the guild in some way.
It’s also said that Sora, who stayed at the Blue Bird Inn, gives a large amount of tips to the innkeeper’s daughter every day.
“Next time you come, make sure to have enough money to leave a tip.” It was clear that the innkeeper’s daughter said those words to him when he was expelled. It makes sense to think that he’s doing the same for the guild.
But Liddell was convinced that it wasn’t just that. Despite the various circumstances, a person who had enslaved his former companion and beaten the group couldn’t be satisfied with just that.
Liddell’s thoughts would soon become reality.
——————————————————————
One day, Luna Maria submitted a notice of withdrawal from the guild and officially abandoned her status as a sixth-class adventurer.
At the same time as her withdrawal, several clients withdrew their requests from the adventurer’s guild.
It was better to entrust them to someone other than the guild, as their requests made no progress no matter how long they waited.
that someone were a group of adventurers who didn’t belong to the guild.
A new clan led by the one who defeated the griffin, stopped the Scylla, and subdued the Werewolf.
Their name is “Bloody Sword.”
A clan is a group of independent free adventurers outside the guild. In exchange for not being able to benefit from the guild, they have no restrictions from the guild.
They’re not bound by guild fees or commissions. It’s troublesome to handle everything on their own, from receiving orders to obtaining rewards, but if successful, they can receive much greater rewards than when they were in the guild. It’s not uncommon for a well-known group to create a clan and leave the guild.
There is evidence that there are clans easily reaching triple digits when looking only at the city of Ishka.
However, about half—or rather, around 70%—are kept waiting like open stores, hoping for customers.
The remaining 20% have become a “Catch-all Store,” barely earning a daily living, and some engage in criminal activities. In fact, less than 10% maintain their clan functions as adventurers.
The adventurer’s guild, which can operate on a continental scale across borders, has an overwhelming number of human resources and a wide range of information.
The accumulated history and the trust built are not the same as those of emerging countries. Adventurers who dont fight under the guild’s umbrella usually can’t do much.
It’s not uncommon for adventurers who created a clan while loudly accusing the guild of their lack of profits to return to the guild within a year.
By the way, regarding the “Peaceful Way of Dealing with the Guild (Introduction)” that I devised, the goal was to fulfill the neglected requests that the guild had set aside, so that everyone would doubt their capabilities.
Of course, this is not the end. If it were the end, I wouldn’t have put “introduction.” If there’s an “introduction,” there’s an “interlude” and a “climax.”
The clients I obtained from the guild were few. Moreover, the guild surely determined that “those who withdrew are clients with neglected requests, so it’s not a big problem.” For the guild, it’s not something that particularly affects them; in fact, they would be grateful for it.
But no matter how small, there are those who have chosen my clan, “Bloody Sword,” over the guild.
This fact is important. Changing “0” to “1” and “1” to “2” has completely different meanings even if “increasing by one” is the same.
As with anything, it’s difficult to rise. Once you rise, the effort to run is not significant. Besides, I had some ways to increase “1” to “2.” One of them is…
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