Chapter 27

The other day, I suddenly came up with a catchphrase to describe this work in one sentence!

It's simply, "A-grade I'm TUEEEE Novel"!!

Even though I don't quite understand it, I feel like the vibe is right, and I really like it. The problem is, I might get scolded wherever I use it, so I don't know when to use it.

The door creaked open, and a wave of noise rushed in.

Without hesitation, I stepped inside the building and immediately felt several impolite gazes piercing us.

(More people than usual. Coming at noon was the right choice.)

All adventurers are good-for-nothing drifters, drinking like they're bathing in alcohol at night and finally waking up to work in the afternoon... or so I've heard, but new quests are added at noon.

That's why adventurers gather at noon, as I remembered from some old guild master's line.

(...We're getting more attention than I thought.)

We're not doing anything special.

Still, as we moved forward, the crowd naturally parted, creating a path for us.

However, I think the attention we're getting is more malicious than friendly.

From the murmurs, I could hear fragments like "A-grade," "incompetent," and "demon."

(Is this the cocktail party effect? Maybe not quite?)

But that's fine.

No matter the reaction, it's important to draw attention right now.

(I didn't mean to, but bringing Resilia was a good idea.)

A clearly dressed all-black A-grade adventurer and a beautiful girl who's been the talk of the guild's training ground walking side by side—this reaction is understandable.

Resilia, looking back a bit, was following me without hesitation.

She's got a strong heart.

Resilia and I, as if wearing the gazes, walked through the guild.

Avoiding the counter where a few people were lined up, we confidently approached the queue handled by a bored receptionist.

"Huh...?"

The receptionist, who had been staring blankly, widened her eyes when she saw me suddenly appear in front of her.

By the way, I know this receptionist from the game.

I think her name is Elina, a named character with her own side events.

She seemed flustered, but true to her professional spirit, she recovered from her confusion in just a few seconds and opened her mouth with a slightly troubled look.

"Um, you're A-grade adventurer Rex, right? I'm sorry, but you're in the wrong line. This is for general... "

"I know."

In such situations, the first move is always the best.

I didn't let her finish and poured a large amount of gold coins from my outstretched left hand onto the counter.

"...Huh?"

The gold coins hit the counter with a sound that made me flinch, forming a pile on the hard table in front of the receptionist, who was still frozen with wide eyes.

The sound caught the attention of not only those watching us but also everyone in the room, who turned to look at me in surprise.

"---Three hundred million in quest rewards and handling fees."

In the rapidly quieting guild, my voice echoed clearly.

"The quest is 'Collection of Useful Equipment.' Here's the quest paper."

"Um, that..."

I gave the still confused receptionist my best smile.

"Didn't you hear? I'm posting a quest. ...I'm putting up this much money. I expect the free-lance adventurers to work hard."

A few seconds later, the noise that had been silenced suddenly erupted, even louder than before.

The receptionist, who had finally realized the meaning of the pile of money in front of her, said, "G-Guild Master!" and ran to the back.

※ ※ ※

In the end, the guild master came, scolded me for my rash actions, and the receptionist glared at me with teary eyes, saying, "An adventurer asking others to collect their equipment... "

But the quest was accepted.

(Well, if someone suddenly puts three hundred million in front of you, you'd be scared too.)

The prices in this fantasy world are quite arbitrary, but the impact is about that much.

I might have done something a bit mean to that receptionist.

I'll try to follow up with her if I get the chance, but for now, we left the still chaotic guild calmly.

On the way back, Resilia, walking beside me as usual, asked me.

"I think I understand the intention, but was it really necessary to go that far?"

"Hmm. I don't know."

I'm not a big fan of throwing money around like that.

But it was all for show.

I just wanted to draw attention and make it known that I had posted a quest.

...During the week that Rad and the others were training, I wasn't just playing around.

I was verifying game elements, converting orihalcum and mineral water into money, and saving up to enrich our equipment and funds.

Good equipment is essential for training.

But as I picked out what I needed, I realized I needed a lot more items than I had imagined.

I tried going to the armor shops and general stores in town, but they adhered to the game's settings and had the same initial stock, with nothing good.

I had no choice but to explore dungeons, but items like "iron geta" and "spring armor" can only be obtained through random drops, and "black cat's blessing coin" has a 0.01% drop rate. I would have gone bald searching for them, I thought to myself, when Resilia came.

Then, when she looked at the item list and said, "Just a bunch of junk," I had an epiphany.

---"If it's too much trouble to collect them yourself, just ask the adventurers!"

If what I was looking for was a popular item that everyone was after, it would have been difficult.

But according to Resilia, most of these items are not very useful to the average adventurer in this world.

If they got them by chance, they would likely part with them without hesitation.

"Then, couldn't the reward have been a bit cheaper?"

"No, that would leave a bad taste."

If they saw us using the items they sold for a pittance and realized their value, they would think they were cheated.

But if they sold them for a large sum, they would just be impressed by the items' potential uses.

"Well, I'm not sure about the nuances, but speed is crucial. To achieve that, the quest needed to be widely known, and for that, impact was important."

That's why I threw down three hundred million.

The three hundred million was the total reward, but the quest was actually divided into smaller parts, with a set amount paid for each item on the list.

"If you need all of them to complete the quest, it would never end."

"I was surprised when you said you'd post a quest to collect equipment, but you've really thought it through. I'm relieved."

While saying something a bit rude, Resilia nodded.

Determined to make her cry later, I averted my gaze from her.

(Well, I think it's a very normal idea.)

In a game, it's one thing, but in reality, where lives are at stake, it's normal not to be picky about how you equip yourself.

In actual MMORPGs, player-to-player trading is often part of the system, and if the adventurer guild wasn't a game setting but a naturally occurring entity, it wouldn't be strange for equipment trading to be part of the system.

(This is a drawback of the game world, or a system constraint, I guess.)

However, in this world, it's almost unheard of for adventurers to post quests, so there's a possibility of backlash.

If that happens, an offended adventurer might refuse to hand over the items...

"But it'll be fine."

That's what the money is for.

At least, with the money deposited in front of everyone, the guild would ensure payment even if there were any issues.

People can't resist the power of money.

Not everyone will cooperate, but most of the items that are found by chance will end up in my hands.

"...You're making that face again."

Ignoring the sisterly comment from the red-haired stranger, I smiled confidently, certain of the success of my plan.

A few days later, my confidence was quickly proven right.

For the first three days, there was no movement, but on the fourth day, one item was delivered, and from there, the deliveries came in like a flood, quickly filling the list.

In the end, within just two weeks, ninety percent of the items on the list were delivered, and without leaving the city, I obtained a large number of useful items.

Next time... or the time after that, it will be a long-awaited dungeon and battle!

Look forward to it! Isn't that great!