' Is she surprised that I'm an adventurer ? '
Apparently, it was a common reaction, as even the receptionist from Palis thought that he would ask them to publish a mission, and thinking if bringing Mariane with him was an error, he quickly corrected his thoughts as there was no way she would be.
" Is something the matter ? "
" No, not at all, I'm sorry for my behavior, could you tell me what the mission was about ? "
Seeing that she gained back her composure pretty quickly, it definitely seemed that she was used to that kind of scenarios, but he chose to not ask about it and went straight to the point.
" An escort mission, from the Howl company, I was supposed to come here yesterday, but got a bit busy on the side. "
" I understand, I will check in the back for the documents and the payment, please wait here for a moment. "
Being handed back his badge, which he grabbed, he could see a few stares on his hand as people saw the exchange between them.
' Are they that surprised that a rookie got a silver badge ? Or are they trying to guess from where I'm from ? '
Unfortunately for them, the response for the latter wouldn't be obtained, no matter how much they search for the answer.
And while he wasn't bothered by so many looks towards him, most of them were turned towards Mariane, which stood by his side, although a step behind, as they appreciated her beauty.
' Surely, a silver badge should stop them from doing anything dumb.. Right ? '
Thinking that it should be some sort of persuasion method, he couldn't get how wrong he was about it.
In the mercenary guild, it was strenght that proved one's grade, while in the adventurer's guild, it was merits, much more easily obtainable until the gold rank would be reached, and Arthur was just a silver rank, one rank below it.
" Hey hey you brat, how come you have such a beautiful girl for you and I don't ? How about you share her with me ? "
A loud voice, coming from the depths of the hall where adventurers gathered with each other, changed the current atmosphere.
Arthur, being the main concerned, turned his head towards the voice, to see a drunk man almost stumbling while walking towards them, an empty bottle in hand, his exposed arms and stomach showing an unprecedent hairiness.
' .. Is he some sort of beastkin ? '
Looking at the side of his head, he could clearly see human ears, and he wasn't small, so he couldn't be a dwarf either.
" Huh ? What are you looking at me for ? Searching to fight or something ? "
But one thing was for sure..
" He reeks of alcohol, Mariane, have him get some sunlight. "
" Yes, master. "
Ignoring the man that was getting angry from being stared at by him, he gave an order to his maid to bring him out, as he knew that someone in such a poor state would be no match for her, and of course, such an action took other by surprise.
Various glances, showing incredulity along with anger, for him to order such a maid like her to take on a man taller than himself, they thought he had no dignity whatsoever, but before they could say anything, they got their jaw to the ground.
The real beastfolk, Mariane, approached the man without any sense of fear, and the drunk guy, who couldn't understand the order he gave her properly, stared dumbfounded, thinking that he asked her to accompany him, so he showed a smile and opened his arms, ready to embrace the frail woman.
Too bad for him, for showing such a defenseless state, Mariane just lifted her arm and grabbed the collar of his leather armor, and a scene that would shock many happened.
The slender arm, which definitely belonged to a lady in her prime, easily lifted a man big enough to have his ass cover the whole seat of a chair, and threw him, letting him fly outside the building.
" Excuse me, I'm going to borrow that. "
Arthur, the sole man who knew the outcome of it beforehand, approached a table where a group of adventurers gathered before a mission, two women and three men, and deposed a silver coin on the table as he took the clean handkerchief of one of the ladies there.
" H-huh ? Sure.. "
The lady, dumbfounded like many others, didn't react much, especially as she saw the silver coin on the table with more value than the item she brought earlier.
Heading back to Mariane, the only one who could speak in this silence, gave her the handkerchief he 'borrowed'.
" Here. "
" Thank you, master. "
Taking it from his hand, she used it to rub her hand with it and clean it from any traces that could be left.
Even with such a small exchange, the man itself lacked basic hygiene, so Arthur thought that he could at least do that for putting her forward and dealing with him, an action, that most wouldn't consider befitting of a peer, but to someone closer to a noble.
" I'm.. back ? Did something happened during my absence ? "
" Nothing much, just a small disturbance. "
The blonde girl who missed the tiny event, didn't miss the current situation where the chatter stopped and even her colleagues looked at the man in front of her, so she knew that it couldn't be something small, especially as the maid was cleaning her hands as if she did some kind of gruesome work.
" A-alright, I have confirmed the mission and it's success, so here are your rewards. "
A small pouch being handed to him, he took it without checking it's content, as he knew that Marcus wouldn't do him wrong based on the misunderstandings he had so far, but he didn't leave either.
" Excuse me, but I'm going to do some sightseeing inside the dungeon, is there any missions you would recommend for the first floors ? "
" Do you wish for monster hunt requests ? Or collect requests ? "
" Monster hunt. "
Nodding, she looked more rigid in her movements than earlier as she lowered herself and took a few papers from below the counter.
' Is there a shelf down there ? How practical. '
Looking at the few missions, mostly being small and easy to deal with monsters, he picked three of them with the less rewards.
Not because he didn't need money, he knew he did, but because if there was less rewards, it meant that the monsters were more common and he wouldn't have to search far for them.
And once the request was registered under his name, he finally left the adventurer's guild with easy steps, already feeling much better for his journey to really start.
' Now that's what fantasy is all about ! '
A man's romance, exploration of place he never saw, hunting monsters stronger than the precedent one, finding treasures among dangers, and coming back home to grab it's due wealth and honor !...
.. It's just too bad that he wouldn't be the one to fight, but he still looked forward to it.
_________________________________________
After the man, accompanied by his maid, left, the adventurers inside the building started to chat with each other once again, not caring if they were in the same groups or not after such a commotion.
" Damn, have you seen him ? That was really scary. "
" Man, please, I'm more scared of the maid that threw Hugh outside like it was nothing.. "
" Don't even talk about it, I got shivers just from that scene.. but somehow, it didn't look that bad... "
" .. Dude, you're awakening feelings you're not supposed to have. "
And among the chatter, even the three cute receptionists, who had a quick break, started to speak between them.
" Psst, what did I miss ? "
" The maid of that handsome just sent Hugh flying out of the guild. "
To that answer, the poor girl that missed everything showed a strange expression on her face as is she didn't believe it.
" Heh ? She did ? To that Hugh ? The one that always drink in the corner and stare at us ? Are you sure ? "
" That's what happened.. Tell me, do you know something about that maid or that guy ? "
Thinking about her question, she obviously knew something, as it was written on the report of the quest, but if her colleague told her the truth, then maybe there was something wrong in the documentation of the guild.
" So ? Do you know something or not ? "
And her peers, who saw her hesitation, kept pressuring her to answer.
" I do, but.. She's just written as an iron rank, and the man is a silver rank, there's wasn't much details besides that they did a great work and their reward had been greatly enhanced. "
To her response, both of her colleagues wanted to go to the back of the guild to check the report themselves, but before anything, they'll have to finish their share of work.