The adventurer guild was bustling early morning. Adventurers were going in and out with sheets of paper in their hands which was most likely quests.
Veteran adventurers led newbie parties to complete tasks before they are able to do real quests. It was in order to teach them to work hard and earn money from it. It was sort of like chores before finding a real job.
Adventurers who were rank C and above would be assigned to guide such newbies. It was vastly similar to the [Newbie Program] that Alecs implemented in the Guild. The inexperienced players would learn from experienced players like the executives of a guild.
Misteltein didn't have a lot of affiliations with guilds besides a few top ranking guilds. One of which was in the top 10.
'Remembering that kid I mentored is bringing back some nostalgia. I wonder how she's doing? I hope she's working hard to get a job.'
Shaking away his thoughts, Arnold—dressed as Nova—stood across the street and observed the Guild. He was standing there to see if he could spot Lucri.
He hadn't seen any sign of the boy in the past ten minutes that he stood there.
'Is he already inside the guild? This is weird.'
After crossing the street, Arnold entered the guild and was greeted with a familiar sight.
Receptionists receiving and giving out quests and subjugations. Adventurers signing up for raids and other tasks in the guild. There was also an internship for anyone willing to assist the receptionists.
Arnold was wearing a hood on his head so he didn't attract attention. There were probably a lot of rookie hunters looking for him after his involvement with the dragon raid party.
A rookie hunter was a person who hunted adventurers less experienced than themselves. They would also rob the rookies of any money they earn from a quest.
They were basically bullies. Since he started as a level 1 in this city he had been the target of people like that. That was why Liam decided to leave the city when he was high leveled enough.
Arnold spotted a familiar figure sitting in the corner of the Guild's bar.
The boy was gazing out of the window and sighing every few seconds.
"Mind if I take a seat? The bar seems too full."
After arriving at the table, Arnold spoke to the boy who was lazily sipping on his beverage with his gaze still outside.
"Yeah, whatever."
Lucri sighed again. His eyes were like someone who was longing for something.
'What the hell is he thinking about that he can't even notice that it's me?'
Arnold shrugged and leaned back on the seat.
"Why's the guild so full today, friend?"
"…More people joined the guild over the past few days. This was after they heard that a newbie adventurer defeated a dragon."
"I see. So where is your party?"
His words made Lucri sigh again.
"I was in a party with one man but I have no idea where he is…"
"He never showed up after your last quest?"
Lucri laughed bitterly.
"We haven't done any quests yet actually. The dragon raid wasn't something we planned to join at first so we never really went on a real quest before."
"I see, I see. You seem a little down."
"…Hic… It's just that…" Lucri continued gazing out of the window. "Why did he also have to leave…? After saying such nice things to me I thought he'd stay…"
"What things?" Arnold asked with a confused expression on his face.
"That we'll get stronger together and that he'll eat my cooking every night. He'll hold me when it's cold and comfort me when I'm scared. Haaah…Sir Nova… Hic…"
'Huh? When did I say these things?'
He had no memory of saying such things to Lucri, especially to any other man. Both Arnold and Liam didn't swing that way. Even if the person was far prettier than the average girl.
Arnold noticed a tint of red on Lucri's face.
'So he's drunk, huh. Why this early in the morning? He's like an old man.'
He leaned forward and sniffed the mug that Lucri was holding. Indeed, it was ale and not juice like he assumed before.
Was Lucri actually older than 15? He looked no older than Luke so Arnold assumed he was fourteen at least.
"Hey, Lucri. You should look at people when you talk to them."
"Eh? When did I tell you my name—"
Lucri turned his head; immediately his eyes widened and his mouth gaped.
"You'll swallow a fly, you know."
Arnold chuckled.
"Sir Noooooovaaaa~!!" Lucri jumped over the table and hugged Arnold with tears in his eyes.
The scene of two guys hugging caused people to whisper among themselves.
"The hell? That depressed kid's yell startled me."
"Is that his party member? He looks like a newbie too."
"Wait, didn't they say that the newbie who slayed the dragon was a silver haired guy who was in a party with that kid?"
"There's no way. That kid looks too average to be such a heroic figure. O-Only his face is handsome and he's not strong at all. I think."
"Maybe I had too much to drink."
While the crowd was speaking amongst themselves, Lucri and Arnold continued with their reunion.
"Where were you!? Hic. You ran away after promising so many things to me!"
'No. You're being delusional. I never promised anything.'
There were only two mugs on the table so Arnold concluded that the kid was a light drinker. He was drunk after only one and a half mugs.
"Hic…Hic…"
Arnold sat the crying Lucri back down. He scratched his head before calling over a waiter.
"Can you bring a glass of water please?"
"Right away."
Arnold turned to Lucri after the waiter left.
"It's only been two days. Why do you look so depressed? And what was that about everyone leaving you?"
"…."
Lucri's face reddened.
"I-I didn't mean anything by that…"
"Well that doesn't matter to me. In any case, did you manage to get the reward money?"
"Yes!" Lucri took out a pouch and showed Arnold.
"That pouch looks pretty heavy…"
"That's because the majority is yours. Many of the people who were with us gave me a coin each. This is the result."
Arnold took the pouch and counted the silver and gold together.
"Ten gold….This is a little much considering how we're F-rankers."
"F-rankers?" Lucri smiled widely, his eyes sparkled as he took out two adventurer cards. "You mean A-rankers?"
"What the fuck!?" Arnold jumped out of his seat to grab the card. The letter "A" was deeply engraved on the surface. "We jumped four ranks for a single quest!?"
Lucri chuckled. "Yes! It was all thanks to the dragon subjugation quest! We're famous people in this city now!"
Arnold looked around and noticed that many people were staring and pointing at him.
"Ugh…" He looked back at Lucri. "Why aren't they coming over? It's weird being the center of attention…"
"Well, I told them that you were a very shy person that never interacted with many people. You're from a secluded village in the mountains after all."
'Ha…Haha….'
"I-I guess that helps. Anyway, would you like to do a quest today? You said earlier that we never went on a real quest before. Wouldn't now be the perfect time?"
'I can also see how strong your magic is.'
He was much too preoccupied with battling the dragon last time that he never got a chance to watch Lucri using his magic.
"Definitely! New quests came in this morning so we'll have lots to choose from!" Lucri gulped down the water and stood up. "Let's go to the quest board."
"Alright."
◇
Arnold and Lucri arrived at the notice board.
He noticed that there were a lot of old quests still on the board. The most recent one dated back to a month ago.
'Bastards. They wouldn't care about small villages since the pay would be little. These adventurers are really…'
"Which one should we pick?" Lucri seemed to consider Arnold the leader since he asked that.
'I'm not really the type who leads.'
Though he was a vice guild master before, he never really led others as Alecs did. She was much more proficient in guiding others and suitable for the positions of Guild Master and leader.
He could remember times when Alecs wasn't there when they had a scheduled boss raid planned. She was a very busy person after getting a promotion at the gaming company she worked at. Without her leading the others, they lost on several occasions and had to brute force their way out if desperate times called for desperate measures. They even lost precious Star-class artifacts.
'Let's see….' Arnold scanned the board.
Quests that were rank A and higher wouldn't be listed on the board since they were higher priority. Arnold couldn't take up such a difficult quest just yet since he didn't know Lucri's full capabilities yet.
He had to take that into account more than anything since the two of them were the only members.
"I feel like it's better if we go for a subjugation quest since those usually pay more." Lucri offered his suggestion. "We don't need money that badly but it's important to invest in our future. I've had this staff for three years by now. I want to at least buy a new one." He pointed to the staff on his back. It was a simple wooden staff with zero enchantments.
"Wouldn't it be better to go to the capital to buy one? Although this city is wealthy and huge, its services to magicians are crappy."
Arnold knew that first-hand since he used to buy magic items during his time in this city. Those items were so worthless that he just left it in his Treasury to rot.
They could go to the Magic Tower in the imperial capital and place an order for a custom staff with pre-installed spells which were useful once you ran out of mana. The prices weren't as bad as others made it seem so it was fairly cheap and was of better quality compared to magic stores.
"…That might be a better idea. But I have never been to the capital before. I have only travelled between the towns in this region."
"Seriously? If you want to be a well-respected adventurer, you need strong equipment by investing in your future. I'm heading to the capital soon."
'To meet with my dear enemy, the Caervil head. I also want to search for things that were present in the game.'
The imperial capital was home to many items he could sell for a high price. It was about time he made use of his knowledge of the game. To get money—which was a selfish reason, of course. But as a man who loved money, he didn't care how he got it.
"So why don't you go with me?"
"W-Will that be alright?" Lucri hesitated as he fidgeted. "I'm not someone who adjusts to a situation easily. If I go to the capital I might stick out like a sore thumb."
He was raised in a village after all so it was obvious that he'd be amazed by a lot of things.
"Don't worry about it. I'm a country bumpkin too so I might act worse if I walk the streets of the capital."
Lucri chuckled. "Okay. Then I will gladly accompany sir Nova."
"It's settled then." Arnold turned back to the notice board.
'Oh shit…' He saw something unexpected on the notice board.
There was a portrait of a young woman with purple hair with a very high bounty on her head.
· Flora Luthial. She is a very dangerous target and is involved with demons. If anyone finds this woman, report to the nearest temple.
--Holy Temple of Lockinge city.
Looking around to see if anyone was looking, he pocketed the paper.
Besides that bounty, he found nothing of interest so he just randomly grabbed a bundle of quests so they could do them all.
He walked up to Lucri who was standing by the receptionist to verify Nova's adventurer card.
"A-All of these?"
Arnold nodded at Lucri's question.
"We have to make sure we do a lot of quests in the future unless we want our cards revoked."
"R-Right."
Lucri nodded.
The two waited for the receptionist to come back with Arnold's adventurer card.
As the people in the guild were speaking amongst themselves and drinking, the door suddenly opened up followed by a loud yell:
"HELP!!!!"
"Ah, shit! My beer!" One adventurer was so startled that his mug fell to the ground.
The others covered their ears when they heard the loud yell of a girl resounding from the front door.
'…Why does this voice sound so familiar…?'
Just like the other adventurers, Arnold and Lucri looked towards the door.
A young girl with auburn colored hair came inside the Guild. She was covered in sweat and grass and was panting heavily. She went up to the table nearest to the door.
She slapped her hands on the table.
"Hey, mister! You look strong so can you help me!?"
"What the fuck!? Why are ye yelling so damn loud, ye little runt!" The big ogre-looking guy with a big beard almost fell out of his chair.
"Whaddya want?" The man grunted in annoyance but asked his question.
"Can you help me? Please? I'll pay you! Look." The girl took out a few coins from her pocket. "Huh? I could've sworn I had more than this."
In her hand were two copper coins.
"Gyahahaha!!"
The adventurers burst into laughter.
'Good grief. Why are you so clumsy, Norn?'
Arnold watched the scene along with Lucri.
"Isn't that miss Norn? I've heard about her during my travels."
"Oh? What did you hear?"
While Norn was busy negotiating with the man and his party members, Arnold and Lucri held a conversation.
"She's apparently the poster girl of a bar in the village near the city. It's very popular with the folks."
"Poster girl, huh? So she serves ale to sweaty, old men?"
"Eh, kind of….Anyway, she's popular in every village around this region. There's no one who doesn't know her."
"Should we hear what she has to say?"
Arnold approached the table where Norn was speaking with the ogre-like man and his party.
"—Like I'm saying, I'll pay afterwards!" Norn shouted. "Why can't you just trust me!?"
"Kid, I've been scammed into helping people like you before only to have them run off and not pay me. Do I look like an idiot to you?"
"Eh, ah, um…" Norn frowned. "S-So is that a no?"
"Yes, it's a fucking no. Unless…" He looked her up and down. "How old are you?"
"…Fourteen…"
The lewd expression disappeared from his face as he tapped his knees.
"….Well, that ale was delicious. I should give credits to the brewer. Should we go, guys?"
The man ignored Norn and stood up. His party members followed him.
"H-Hey! Why are you leaving!? I-I'll really pay after!"
The man continued walking away. Norn sank to her knees while holding her head.
"I-It's all over…Big sis…" She mumbled with a dead look in her eyes.
The crowd lost interest and walked back to their positions from before.
"Hey." Arnold crouched down to look at Norn's face.
"…What?" She sniffled.
"I'll hear what you have to say."
"!!" Norn's head instantly jerked up and her eyes widened. "Really!?"
'Ugh. So damn loud.'
He complained on the inside but was calm on the outside.
"Let's sit and talk." Arnold beckoned Lucri over.
Lucri sighed and came to the table to sit down.
"You're in a party with him?" Norn pointed to Arnold.
Lucri nodded.
"First, let me introduce myself. My name is Norn and I am here to seek assistance from adventurers. I don't know if you have heard but I seemed to have lost my money…"
Norn's face reddened.
'Seemed? Your money is definitely gone.'
"How did you get here, if I may ask? Your attire is unlike the city girls I see walk around here."
"I-I had to jump over the walls of the city. I couldn't wait in line at the gate so I ran here."
'She was probably pickpocketed while running past the people at the gate.'
Norn was dressed very lightly. She had a simple sweater and shorts so both her arms and legs were bare. Her legs attracted the most attention. They were long, slender and unblemished.
'No wonder that guy was looking at her sexually. Well, he asked for her age first so he's decent at least.'
Most would accept a helpless girl's request and drag her to who-knows-where then rape her. It wasn't uncommon even in this city or the imperial capital where girls were vulnerable to the dangers out here.
Be that as it may, the law here wasn't as strict as it was on Earth so many cases go unsolved or are never even opened.
'It's a relief she came to the Adventurer Guild where people have some morals at least. Were it the Mercenary Guild…'
Arnold didn't even want to think about that. They were a bunch who didn't follow the law and would cause trouble for everyone around them.
The term guild signified an organization with morals and rules but it didn't fit them(mercenaries). They would plunder starving villages and kidnap women and children during wars. They would also join armies during wartime to make a name for themselves or make some extra money.
"My name is Nova and I am an A-rank adventurer. This is my companion, Lucri of the same rank. He is a mage and I am a swordsman."
"Hello." Lucri waved his hand.
"Now tell us what's the matter."
'I hope it's not something drastic.'
Arnold had that thought when he saw the sad expression on Norn's face. She was biting her lip and holding back her tears.
"My…My sister and many other people were…kidnapped by goblins," Norn began speaking. "It was a normal day for us. The men would go out to hunt in the deeper parts of the forest and the women would tend to the crops or pick herbs and fruits in the forest. My sister was part of the latter group. It was a routine that she followed every morning. Although it changed a little if it was winter season since plants and fruits don't grow during that time.
She left alongside ten other young women with one man as their guard. Some children were also with them to help carry the supplies. We haven't encountered any trouble with strong monsters before so we thought it would be relatively safe…"
Norn gulped.
"There were so many…so many of them. They raided our village. They killed many of our livestock and destroyed most of our crops. It's been two days now…"
Lucri gasped with his hand on his mouth.
Arnold frowned hearing the sob story.
'Luke's training will be interrupted if he hears about this.'
Arnold was tired of Flora prolonging Luke's training so he kept pushing her. If it was disturbed midway like this then the hero wouldn't want to be away from the village anymore. He would most likely also refuse to become the duke. There would also be no hero to speak of in the future.
Marcus promised that his village would prosper as a condition for his acceptance. That condition was seemingly already broken.
"Shit…" Arnold cursed under his breath. "Are there any able-bodied men left?"
"Yes. They are preparing to attack the goblins' den if I fail to bring help from this city."
'I see now. So if they find no one willing to help then they'll attack and risk being killed.'
There were probably more ordinary humans than capable fighters. The hunters would be the main attack force since they held the most attack power.
Norn's eyes were looking at Arnold and Lucri in expectation.
Arnold looked at Lucri and noticed him staring at Arnold as well.
His eyes were also expectant.
'So it's my decision?'
He was the leader after all.
With a sigh, Arnold nodded.
"Very well, miss. We will help you."
"R-Really!? T-Then please introduce your other companions so that we can leave at once!"
"Other companions?" Arnold tilted his head. "You are mistaken about something miss. Before you stands the strongest swordsman of the south, Nova. With him is his companion, the rising elite magic caster, Lucri. We are the only ones in this party. We are…" Arnold thought of a name to call their party. "Misteltein!"
Arnold stood up.
"Let us leave at once and save your village!"
"Y-Yeah!"