Chapter 32: Request from the Princess - Part 1
The day after conquering the dungeon, Chloe and I arrived at the guild early in the morning to discuss our future plans.
"First of all, it's confirmed that the dungeon conquest will be announced."
"...I have a question. Even though higher-ranked adventurers have been conquering the dungeons we cleared, did we manage to clear them faster than those adventurers?"
"As for the announcement this time, it will be based on the 'period from becoming Copper-ranked adventurers to dungeon conquest.' Jin-san and Chloe-san will be announced for significantly breaking that record."
Fina-san explained in detail how we would be announced. Although our conquest time was fast, it wasn't enough to break the record, and there are adventurers who have cleared dungeons solo, so we won't be recognized for that. Therefore, our record will be based on the 'period from ranking up to dungeon clear,' and that's where Jin and Chloe significantly broke the record and will be announced.
"Why do we need three records when two would be enough?"
"That was decided by those higher up. Anyway, we confirmed yesterday whether the record was truly broken. No one became a Copper-ranked adventurer and cleared a dungeon in a single day."
"And Jin-san and Chloe-san didn't deviate too much from the best record in terms of clear time. So, the administrator was contacted to confirm when you entered and when you came out, and that might also be announced."
As I was told by Ricola-san, almost like a double blow, I muttered, "Seriously..." and let out a sigh.
"I was planning to tell you that later, once things settled down, so I'm sorry."
"I-I apologize. I thought it would be better to tell you beforehand so you could have some time to emotionally process it..."
Ricola-san, who was cautioned by Fina-san, apologized to me.
"No, it's okay. I've already come to terms with a lot of things yesterday... I'm just regretting my own actions."
In reality, since it was something I had already done, I was having the discussion today with a much lighter heart. Moreover, the foundation has already been established to some extent, so I don't think there are many people who can do anything about me right now.
The discussion continued, and as one of the countermeasures, it was proposed that we take on a long-term request.
"A long-term request?"
"Yes, by being in the middle of a request, to some extent, you can avoid certain people. Especially if the client is someone important, it would be even easier to avoid people."
"...That's indeed a possible approach. However, we can't prepare such a long-term request immediately, can we?"
I quickly understood that it was a good proposal and asked Fiine-san with little hope.
Fiine-san then smiled and took out a request form from a stack of documents.
"Just this morning, I received a request form for Jin-san and Chloe-san. The client is Princess Fiaris."
"Well, let me see it for now."
I said that and took the request form in my hand, and Chloe and I checked the details of the request together.
The contents were about being the princess's escort, someone to talk to, and asking for some minor tasks.
"The princess knows that I've cleared the dungeon before..."
"Yeah, and she probably knows that Jin-kun wants to escape from the commotion. That's why she sent this request form."
As proof of that, there was a sentence in the middle of the request that said, "It's perfect as a cover-up."
I was worried because I had gained the princess's favor, but...
"Chloe, I want to take this request for my own sake. If you're okay with it, can we accept it?"
"Yeah, I'm fine with it. Thanks to Jin-kun, I have some savings, so it's okay to focus on one request for a while."
"Thank you, Chloe. I'll repay this favor someday."
I said that to Chloe and informed Fiine-san that I would accept the request from the princess.
Afterward, we were told that a messenger from the royal family would come to pick us up tomorrow, so we decided to disband and prepare for tomorrow.