"That's…."
Gerrick grew silent and stayed that way for several moments. He even stopped walking. But Ackster didn't urge him to say anything or continue moving since he wasn't insensitive not to have noticed Gerrick was reliving a sad memory.
But eventually, even without Ackster reminding him, Gerrick started moving again. He looked at Ackster. His face had regained a gentle smile.
"...Is something I will tell you in the future if I get the chance."
Ackster rolled his eyes in response to the mischievousness that peeked through Gerrick's eyes. It was obviously a way for Gerrick to encourage Ackster to stay safe and return someday in the future.
The sadness Gerrick had shown probably wasn't fake. But he wouldn't just go around spouting his life story to any random person that asked. But if it were someone he had helped when they were young and that would come back in the future to visit or repay an old acquaintance, that would be a different story. He wouldn't mind sharing some of his personal life with someone like that.
"Looks like we're here."
Gerrick pointed at a building on the street they had just rounded a corner to reach.
Although Degrest wasn't a city that adventurers flocked to since its surroundings were relatively peaceful. The Degrest forest did have some greater threats, but none that posed a threat to the city itself.
But the guild building still had to maintain a minimum degree of splendor to show off the power and influence of the Adventurer's Guild.
The large building matched in with the mainly wooden and stone houses around Degrest. But it was larger, and its materials were clearly of greater quality than the other ordinary shops and buildings around it.
The mansion-like building had an inn and a bar attached to it on either side. But Ackster's focus was only on the large wooden doors, a part of which was a smaller human-sized pair made for human-sized visitors.
The large wooden doors with the Adventurer's Guild decapitated dragon's head emblem on them were for guests or adventurers of irregularly large stature or for when a large monster had been slain and was transported to the Guild.
Compared to those doors, the one Ackster and Gerrick entered was tiny. But it was still more than enough for Ackster and Gerrick to enter next to each other with a wide margin.
"Welcome to the Adventurer's Guild's Degrest Branch Office!"
A cheery voice greeted Ackster and Rick as soon as they entered the large well-lit hall, which was made to suit the large doors on the front.
The light worried Ackster since his disguise would be easier to see through, but he acted like it was nothing and looked toward the receptionist at the side of the hall.
"Oh, Gerrick? Caught another one, didya?"
The receptionist didn't have any other customers or adventurers to attend to, so she didn't have anything stopping her from chatting with Gerrick, who was apparently familiar with the receptionist.
The receptionist with hair like grass grinned at Gerrick before looking at Ackster with a more serious expression.
"Before you get worried, that was a joke. Gerrick won't kidnap you."
Ackster had basically already confirmed that, so he wasn't worried. He could also tell what a joke was.
"You're not his type."
The cheeky receptionist stuck out her tongue with another grin.
Gerrick looked at Ackster.
"It seems like we were unlucky. Maybe we should come back another night."
"Hey, I was just joking. Do you know how boring it is to be stuck with the night shift? There's nothing to do!"
Gerrick gave the receptionist a scornful look."
"If you did your job properly, Melia, you wouldn't have gotten assigned to the night shift, you know."
Melia ignored Gerrick and looked at Ackster.
"Am I right if I assume that you're here to register?"
"Yeah."
Melia looked at Gerrick.
"And you're here as his guarantor and sponsor?"
"Yep."
Although there wasn't exactly a limitation on who could become an adventurer, there were still some rules that had to be followed. A new applicant's identity or integrity had to be verified by someone the Guild could trust or hold responsible. It wouldn't be any good if thighs and criminals joined the Guild and tarnished its reputation, after all.
People who already had some renown or an honorable reputation before registering didn't need it.
But even new applicants who were trustworthy would still need to pay a small fee before joining to prove their willingness to sacrifice and to pay for the creation of a new Nominus Card.
The fee alone wouldn't be enough to pay for it, and it was more symbolic since the Adventurer's Guild, as one of the largest organizations in Millmeria, wasn't desperate to squeeze their adventurers for money. But they couldn't give things out for free, so new applicants still had to pay a small sum to complete their registration.
So, when Melia held out her hand, Gerrick handed over a couple of silver coins.
Ackster would have been more than capable of affording it had he brought along even one of the gold coins from his room. But at the moment, he didn't have anything valuable on him. His clothes were rags, his feet were bare, and his sack was cheap.
"Thank you."
Melia took the coins and placed them on the desk. Another symbolic sign of trust that the Guild wouldn't take any money until they had done what they promised.
"Just a minute."
Melia bent down below the desk, and Ackster saw for the first time how short she was as she fiddled with a drawer.
Gerrick watched Ackster closely and was slightly surprised when Ackster didn't show much of a reaction to Melia's small stature. It wasn't noticeable from a distance or from the right angles since her proportions were the same as a normal-sized human, but when she moved, it was apparent that she was another race.
Melia shortly returned to the world above the desk with a flat wood-like card the size of a palm, an ordinary human's palm.
"Now then, before I hand this over, what do you know about The Guild and being an adventurer?"
Melia looked at Ackster with an expression of seriousness that made her previous playfulness seem like an illusion.
"The basics."
Ackster shrugged lightly and gave an honest answer.