Day of Tuar, 2:43 p.m.
At the Adventurer's Guild.
Vivian stepped inside the main hall.
She had her hair tied into a ponytail and her body was draped in White Cloak. She wore her Earring of Mana, her gold necklace with a vertically stretched-out sun pendant, and her Copper I Rank adventurer pendant. And underneath her cloak, she wore leather armor, black stretchable and fitting long-sleeve and pants, a pair of black gloves, a belt pouch on her waist, and another pair of leather boots with metal covering the tips.
As for her weapons, she only had her sword on her waist and her kitchen knife hidden inside her left boot.
She left her poleaxe back at the compound.
"Vivian!" Pana called out and waved.
Vivian knitted her brows for a moment before quickly relaxing it.
She remembered clearly how Pana avoided her gaze yesterday when she came back to submit her quest items, and only Felize, Torr and Gaze dared to talk to her.
What does this woman want from me this time…?
She made her way to Pana.
"What?"
Pana felt a sharp pain in her chest because she could feel the slight distance from Vivian's tone.
And when she saw the White Cloak draped over Vivian's body, the pain in her chest only became stronger.
After all, she was one of the people who knew that it hadn't even been a month since Vivian became a Priest and now she has become a White Cloak. Even outside the Temple of Priests, for people to receive a Class Magic in less than a month was rare.
Furthermore, the fact that the core principle of learning Class Magic of Priests is to ease the pain and suffering of others only proves Vivian's actions.
"Congratulations for ranking up, Priestess Vivian."
Vivian only gave a low grunt and nodded.
"As for the reason why I called you, the Guild Master wants to see you."
Vivian knitted her brows.
"Now?"
"Yes. He's currently waiting inside his office."
"Why?"
"You mean, why does he want to see you?"
"Yes."
"It's…" Pana bit her lower lip before continuing, "It's because of a quest and the incident yesterday."
A quest…?
The Guild Master wants to give me a quest…?
What kind of blackmail is it this time…?
Don't people have anything better to do...?
Fucking losers...
But for the incident yesterday…
I'm guessing it has something to do with that old hag…
"What is the quest?"
"I'm not sure."
Vivian didn't say anything and just stared at Pana.
"I will escort you to the Guild Master's office in case you don't know where it is."
Vivian nodded.
***
The Guild Master's office.
A one-armed man in his 50s was sitting behind a desk and talking to another man in his 30s who was sitting across from him.
There were two seats in front of the desk.
"It's been a while since I've last seen you. So how's civilian life?" asked the man in his 50s.
"My wife is currently at her parent's house and she won't talk to me or let me see the children just because I forgot about our anniversary again."
The man in his 50s let out a hearty laugh.
"Shay, my friend, if there's anything I've learned about married life, women are very particular with anniversaries."
"I've already tried sending flowers and gifts every day to appease her like last time you told me but somehow it's not working," Shay said with a gloomy expression on his face. "Guild Master, please be honest, the thing you told me to do last time, was that only a one-time medicine?"
"Trust the process, young man. Just keep sending for a week. After that, don't do anything so that she or her parents can't accuse you of not making any effort to appease her," said the Guild Master.
"It's already almost 2 weeks…"
"Just trust the process."
Shay stared at the Guild Master with a deadpan expression.
Knock.
Knock.
There was a knock at the door and both men turned their attention to it.
When it opened, Pana and Vivian entered.
And when they saw the color of Vivian's cloak, they were surprised.
Pana bowed.
"Guild Master, the Copper I Rank adventurer and Priestess Vivian is here to see you."
"Thank you, Pana. That will be all."
"Yes, Guild Master," Pana said and bowed before leaving.
The Guild Master turned to Vivian.
"Welcome, Priestess Vivian. Please take a seat."
Meanwhile, Shay got up from his seat and went to the side.
Vivian stepped forward and then sat down at one of the seats in front of the Guild Master's desk.
She specifically chose the other seat that Shay didn't sit on because she particularly didn't like the feeling of sitting on a chair that became warm because someone else recently sat on it.
The Guild Master grabbed a piece of paper on his desk and read it.
While the Guild Master was busy reading, Vivian discreetly tried to check if there were any pendants around their necks and what was their rank.
Her brows knitted together when she noticed there weren't any.
No pendants...?
She glanced at the man in his 50s.
Pana called this old man Guild Master…
And given that he's the Guild Master, the leader, he should at least be Diamond Rank…
I think...
She glanced at Shay.
But this guy…
Why...?
Why is he here…?
He doesn't have an adventurer pendant…
A civilian…?
A guest perhaps…?
The Guild Master was finally done reading the paper and he placed it down before turning to Vivian.
"First of all, I don't believe we've properly met yet so allow me to introduce myself. I am Robert, the Guild Master of the Adventurer's Guild Luxen Branch."
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Guild Master Robert," Vivian said and smiled.
"Now, Priestess Vivian, about the reason why I've called you here, not long ago, there was a Special Silver Rank Quest issued about investigating the cause of the abnormally high count of dead monsters in the forest surrounding Luxen City."
Vivian's heart immediately skipped a beat for a moment but her face maintained a calm expression and she didn't say anything.
"A number of Silver Rank adventurers who took this special quest did some investigation and they all reached the same conclusion. Do you know what was the conclusion they reached?"
Vivian's brows knitted together.
"I don't concern myself with the business of Silver Ranks because I'm only Copper Rank. So I have no idea."
"They all reached the same confusion that the cause of the abnormally high count of dead monsters in the forest surrounding Luxen City was you.
Vivian flashed a surprised expression.
"What? Me? As in me?"
"Overhunting is a crime, right?" Shay, who was standing at the side, said in a casual tone.
Robert, on the other hand, didn't say anything and just stared at her.
Vivian ignored Shay and wore a confused expression.
"Guild Master, I don't understand. How is it me? How is it I'm the cause of the abnormally high count of dead monsters in the forests surrounding Luxen City when I'm only Copper I Rank? That doesn't make any sense."
"They also reported that you have the strength of a Gold II Rank," said Robert.
"Huh? The strength of a Gold Rank? Me?"
"There's no use denying it. Everyone heard how you easily dealt with the Belfair brothers," said Shay.
Vivian whipped her head towards him and her eyes turned to slits.
"Who are you again? And why are you here? Or are you perhaps related to those HERETICS?"
A grin appeared on Shay's face.
Vivian was about to get up and wipe the grin off of his face when Robert's voice interrupted her.
"Shay, cut it out," he said and then turned to Vivian. "Priestess Vivian, please excuse my guest."
Vivian slowly turned her head to face Robert.
"Please forgive me, Guild Master, but I must ask: Is this how the Adventurer's Guild conduct meetings, letting uninvited people attend?"
"Despite his manners, Shay is one of the best investigators in the guild."
Vivian didn't say anything and studied Robert's face.
"Priestess Vivian, do you still deny that you don't have the strength of a Gold Rank? The Belfair brothers, especially Ramus, may not be as active anymore compared to his younger days, but he was still a Gold II Rank. Meanwhile, his younger brother, Ranz, who is also a Gold II Rank adventure is still very active."
"What do you want? Are you here to blackmail me as well just like everybody else?"
"No," Robert said and picked up the piece of paper he read earlier. "I've read your background. You were born and raised at Siera Village and lived your whole life there as a civilian. It wasn't until 2 months ago that that village got attacked by monsters. You were among the few survivors. Your parents, siblings, husband, children and other family members didn't survive. That's when you decided to move to Bridge Town to become a member of the Temple of Thieves and also an adventurer before coming here. And based on your record, you even failed 3 quests back at Bridge Town."
Vivian's jaw dropped.