Chapter 842: Rookie Adventurers and the Legendary Chivalrous Thief ④

The second character rough draft illustration has been published in the Activity Report.

Since we were originally on our way to the guild, Hapti-san ended her conversation with Neun-san and Dr. Vier at some point, and went back to our original purpose, heading to the Adventurer’s Guild.

The place where we met them was close to the Adventurer’s Guild already, so it didn’t take us long to reach the guild.

Aoi-chan and Hina-chan had already arrived in this place to take the short course, but this was my first time visiting, so I was imagining what kind of place it would be…… but seeing the exterior of the guild, what first came to my mind was that it kinda looked like a city hall.

It was a large, plain-colored, function-oriented building that was well-cleaned and quite beautiful on the outside.

No, of course, I knew from Alice’s explanation that this wasn’t a rowdy place filled with ruffians like I imagined, but it was still a surprise to see it in person.

The inside of the building was also really beautiful, having a big counter that kinda looked like one of those ones in a hotel lobby, and looking around, I could also see some sort of cafeteria, and people are eating there.

[Well then, I guess we should get our quest…… but before we do that, Kaito and I need to sign an agreement form as companions first.]

[Agreement form?]

[Unnn, to explain it simply…… If something happens to us while we’re with your group, that would be our responsibility and we won’t hold the guild responsible. Well, there are always people who complain unreasonably, so this is just a countermeasure. Incidentally, if you take a companion without informing the guild, or if you have a companion who hasn’t signed the agreement, the adventurer who brought that companion will be held responsible and will be facing penalties.]

[I see.]

Thinking about it, I guess it was only natural. The Adventurer’s Guild in this world was quite firm with the way they handled things, and from what Alice told me, they would cover some of the medical expenses if an adventurer was seriously injured…… It seems like they have some kind of worker’s compensation system, and they seem to be taking a lot of responsibility as the adventurers’ employer.

However, this is only for properly registered adventurers, and there is no need to take responsibility for companions who follow the adventurers without permission.

It was a very natural thing to do, but there are probably some people who don’t understand something as natural as this. In order to avoid unnecessary trouble though, it was necessary to have some kind of agreement.

As I thought to myself about how they really did have a lot of systems in place, I looked over the documents Hapti-san brought me, before I signed them.

[Incidentally, Aoi and Hina may have heard about it in the short course, but there were also quests posted on the bulletin board over there. However, the quests there were only environmental investigations, not for subjugating monsters.]

[Is that so? It might just be my own imagination, but I thought they’d just have to take the quests posted there and bring them to the counter themselves.]

[No, you’ll basically be referred to quests at the Quest Counter. The Adventurer’s Guild had a responsibility to mediate jobs. Most of the time, they referred jobs to adventurers based on their aptitude.]

Hapti explained my question in simple terms. The basic flow of the process is that you give your adventurer number, which was given to each adventurer when they registered, at the counter, and the receptionist would refer to them several quests based on their achievements.

This seems to be a measure to prevent those with insufficient skills from taking on dangerous quests. Therefore, quests that were safe but required a bit of work, such as periodic environmental investigations, or those that require a certain amount of time are posted on the bulletin board, and any adventurer can take on these quests regardless of their track record.

When we reached the counter while Hapti explained, the receptionist asked us to show our adventurer numbers, to which Aoi-chan and Hina-chan took out cards with numbers on them.

Adventurers really weren’t required to show their adventurer’s card, and they could just verbally tell the receptionist their adventurer numbers, but since there are many digits, most people show the card with the number they received after the short course.

[……This will be the first quest for the both of you huh. It looks like you have two companions, but since this is your first time, I recommend these quests……]

Just as the receptionist pulled out a file containing several pages, Hapti spoke.

[Quest number 0021, please.]

[……Understood.]

The receptionist’s expression changed when Hapti-san said this and, putting away the earlier file, she revealed a magic box from which she pulled out a sheet of paper.

[This is a Special Investigation Quest. Would you like to hear about the details?]

[I’ll be explaining it from here, so it’s alright.]

[Understood. Well then, processing the quest for Kusunoki Aoi-sama and Yuzuki Hina-sama…… completed.]

After some unfamiliar exchange, Hapti-san received the sheet of paper and left the counter, and we followed suit.

Thereupon, pointing towards the dining area…… cafeteria attached to the lobby, the four of us went there and sat at a table.

[……Now then, you look a little confused, don’t you, Aoi and Hina? But first, a little explanation for Kaito. As you can imagine, the quest number is a number used to manage the quests. It is written on the quest form along to match the date it was issued. For example, quests issued from the first day of the first Fire month would be quests on the series number 11xx.]

[I see.]

[Alright then, Aoi and Hina, your questions.]

[Yes. Errr……. We were taught in the course that quest numbers start from 1001……]

[Quests on the series number 1xxx’s are Normal Quests, quests on the series number 2xxx’s are Guild-Issued Quests, and quests on the series number 3000’s are Designated Quests.]

After giving a quick explanation to me, Hapti-san urged the two of them, and Hina-chan and Aoi-chan asked questions with curious expressions on their faces.

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[Unnn, that’s right. Normally, there are no quest numbers that start with 0…… for the public, that is. Well, they actually do exist, they’re just not openly known to the public. It’s a number that’s used for what’s commonly known as “Special Designated Quests”. They’re quests that are quite special, and their numbers are randomly assigned between 0001 to 0999, regardless of the turn they were issued.]

[Special Designated Quests?]

[Yes, to put it simply…… These numbers are used for special quests, such as quests from extremely high-ranking people or quests that need to be solved in secrecy. These quests have a special feature which is that “they aren’t recorded in the adventurer’s personal record”.]

In other words, they’re top-secret quests, right? I see, that’s why the receptionist’s expression suddenly became stern……

[……Unnn? But Alice arranged for you to escort them on this mission today anyway, right? Why bother with such a quest?]

[Ahh, it’s something simple. Because I’ll be their escort this time, I want the two of them to have experience fighting monsters while I’m here…… However, the receptionist would be held responsible if she “assigned a new adventurer to work in a monster-infested area for their first job”. It’s a measure to avoid causing unnecessary trouble.]

Now that she mentioned it, that certainly was a good reason. For both of them, the best way to experience their first battle would be in a safe situation where they would have an escort.

[That’s why Phantasmal King-sama made sure to prevent that from happening…… Incidentally, the client this time is the Guildmaster of Symphonia Kingdom’s Adventurer’s Guild, and as you might have already expected, they’re Phantasmal King-sama’s subordinate. The quest is to investigate a special area, with no required reports, no deadline, and no obligation to report anything other than what the client deems necessary…… Well, in essence, it’s just a quest that only has the area written on it.]

Even though she was quite nonchalant when she said it, the head of the Adventurer’s Guild was also Alice’s subordinate huh….. I don’t know if I should say that it’s to be expected or not, but they seriously are everywhere.

As I was thinking about this, Hapti-san, who was looking at the quest form, held it out to me.

[……Here, Kaito. It seems like the client has a message for you.]

[……Eh? Why?]

Tilting my head, I looked at it, wondering why the head of the Adventurer’s Guild would bother to write a message to me on the quest form……

“I have been comfortably using the gloves you’ve given me. Once again, I express my deepest gratitude.”

……A- Ahhh, I see, so that’s how it is…… The Guildmaster of Symphonia Kingdom’s Adventurer’s Guild…… it was actually “Catastro-san”!?

Serious-senpai : [That was an unexpected reappearance…… No, I guess I can’t really say that she appeared huh…… However, how is it that even when she has such a position and is also on the payroll of being Phantasmal King’s executive subordinate, is still unable to eat?]

? ? ? : [That decaying narcissist will soon be buying all the fancy clothes, jewelry and art today. She says that what her beautiful self wears must always be the best…… Moreover, even though she feels hungry, her appearance itself doesn’t change because she is already transformed, so she’s putting off food expenses to the fullest extent. In other words, she’s reaping what she sowed.]

Serious-senpai : [……The Ten Demons really is a group of perverts huh?]