Chapter 9

It's the second day since I arrived in Tauran. I'm staying at an inn where travelers lodge. This time, I need to find a place to live... but when exactly is my break?

Well... it’s fine. I have time, so I’ll take it easy.

While thinking about such things, I finished breakfast and headed to the Adventurers' Guild. Today, I need to report on yesterday's request first.

"Good morning..."

When I entered the guild, it turned out that a morning roll call was being held. Minae-san was standing at the front. Huh? I didn’t know about this. If there was such a thing, she should have explained it to me first. I’m completely late, aren’t I?

Everyone’s gaze turned to me all at once.

"Tept-kun? You’re late."

Minae-san said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world. I had no words to respond. If that’s the case, I might as well just be straightforward. I’m not at fault. It’s Minae-san who didn’t explain it to me.

"Do you have anything to say?"

I flinched for a moment under Minae-san’s intimidating presence but took a deep breath and regained my composure. Then, I walked straight toward Minae-san.

The guild staff naturally stepped aside.

I stood in front of Minae-san. She was still waiting for my words. Her disdainful gaze made my spine tingle for some reason.

"It’s my fault... "

I’m going to say it! I’m going to say it!! I’m going to say it!!!

"Your fault?"

"Ah... it’s me. I’m sorry. Please forgive me with a punishment."

Damn. It was impossible after all. Minae-san’s gaze was more intimidating than any monster I’ve ever fought. Is this person even human? Why is she so scary?

Minae-san sighed.

"Well, it’s fine. I didn’t explain it either, did I? I’ll forgive you today."

"Minae...-san"

The way she uses the carrot and the stick is really something!!

"Hey, that new guy is something else. He went to Minae-san himself asking for punishment."

"Yeah, it’s not something a normal person could do. He’s scary."

"At least he was forgiven. If he had been punished, he would have had a grudge."

I heard such voices from the guild staff, but I was too moved to really listen.

The morning roll call was a simple affair, lasting less than 15 minutes. When it ended, everyone returned to their respective posts.

I went to my room and changed into my uniform. Then, I took out yesterday’s request form from the drawer and brought it to the reception. No adventurers had arrived yet... in fact, it wasn’t even the time for adventurer reception, and no clients had come either. This should be fine. From now on, I’ll report on requests first thing in the morning.

"Good morning, Tept-kun."

Among the many, I saw Serae-san.

"Good morning, Serae-san."

"Did you have a rough morning? Was it my fault?"

"No, it’s my responsibility. Don’t worry about it."

"Okay, good. So, the request report?"

"Yes, is it okay now?"

"Sure, no one has come yet."

"That’s good."

With that, I placed the stack of request forms I completed yesterday and the monster parts as proof of slaying.

"Wow, all of these are yours?"

"Yes, for now. And the report on the magic pool will be ready by today, so it will be submitted tomorrow."

"Is that so? ...By the way, this amount is not something a normal adventurer would bring in."

"It was easy because the content was simple."

"Is that so? ...But these four sheets alone mean you did it at night, right?"

"Yes."

"Is it really that easy to find Dark Grass?"

"It’s easy. It only takes half an hour."

"And these rescue requests... there are two of them!?"

"Ah, I had a friend help me. I couldn’t have done it alone."

"Huh? Am I wrong?"

"No, Serae-san is always right."

Mainly in terms of personality.

"Ah, thank you. Then, I’ll process these as completed requests. And about the reward, it doesn’t apply to guild staff."

Oh, that’s it.

"It’s fine. I’m not doing it for the reward."

"Thank you for saying that. Let’s go out for a meal again sometime?"

"Sure, anytime."

"Hehe."

Serae-san smiled happily, and I couldn’t help but smile too.

"Then, I have some work to do."

"Good luck, promising new guy."

After parting ways with Serae-san, I returned to my room and started working on the 'Magic Pool Report.' Since the cause was just a spirit moving, it didn’t take long. After putting it away in the drawer, I took out the next task.

"Next... 'Cracking Down on Adventurer Misconduct' and 'Rank Aptitude Test.'"

Looking at it, the Rank Aptitude Test is scheduled for two days from now. I’ll put that off for now. I took out the task for 'Cracking Down on Adventurer Misconduct.'

"What’s this? ...'The possibility that the recent frequent thefts are being committed by guild adventurers.'"

This was about an ongoing incident in Tauran. The culprit, wearing a mask at night, steals wallets from passersby. According to witnesses, the culprit looks like an adventurer and is quite skilled.

I see. Well, if you have the skill 'Thievery,' anyone can do it. It could be a crime committed by someone pretending to be an adventurer. It might not be right to assume it’s an adventurer. ...The best way is to catch them in the act. Adventurers wouldn’t want to be seen in such a light by the townspeople. I’ll do a sting operation tonight. ...Next.

Then, I read the second sheet.

'About the attitude of adventurers waiting in line at the guild reception.'

Of course. ...This needs to be addressed, doesn’t it?

The document mainly discussed how to make adventurers wait in line properly.

Well, the fundamental problem is that there are too few receptionists compared to the number of adventurers, which leads to conflicts. The document even included the amount of damage caused by fights over waiting in line.

"This needs to be resolved urgently."