116 - Chapter 8 Prologue
—The Guild conference room.
Staff members gathered by the guild executives were reviewing materials regarding a discovered labyrinth and discussing which parties to assign to it.
Tanya, with her black bob-cut hair, adjusted her glasses while confirming the contents.
(At least ten floors deep. Bosses on every floor have been confirmed. Parties that ventured in and explored up to the third floor have returned.)
The subjugation difficulty was by no means high, some even considered it easy.
That was precisely why they were being cautious in choosing which parties to send. If they sent a large number of adventurers and casualties occurred, it would reduce the number of adventurers the guild had on hand.
No matter how many adventurers gathered in Beim daily, if they sent unskilled adventurers who were then wiped out, it would only cause the labyrinth to activate further.
The meeting was being led by the chief of staff, who was neither a Sweeper nor anything of the sort.
A slender man with a side-parted hairstyle and a small mustache, the staff member checked with everyone while looking at materials only he possessed.
"Does anyone have a party to recommend? Even if you recommend someone, the other party might refuse, so it's better to have a few options. I want to ensure we have enough numbers that it wouldn't be a problem even if everyone participated. Also, please only recommend parties that are available. Parties on requests who might not return in time are no good."
The female staff member sitting next to Tanya, Marianne, was a receptionist who was the polar opposite of Tanya.
She wasn't a Sweeper either, she had straight long blonde hair and drooping green eyes. She gave off the aura of an older sister and was a woman often perceived as somewhat fluffy and laid-back.
She let out a sigh, grumbling that there was no point in her participating in the meeting.
"I'm basically exclusively in charge of rookies."
Hearing this, Tanya chuckled.
"Participation in the meeting is mandatory. Besides, the parties you're in charge of might challenge a labyrinth someday."
Upon hearing that, Marianne shook her head.
"How many years from now will that be? By then, some girl younger and prettier than me will have taken over. I'm handling a few, but they're all young kids who don't know anything. You know that less than half of the people who succeed are those who were flattered into working."
The parties Marianne handled were rookies who had become adventurers without any knowledge of Beim, or parties with poor skills.
There were many staff members like her whose role was to guide such parties to become excellent adventurers for the guild.
Tanya nodded while looking at the blackboard in the conference room. The names of the recommended parties were written there.
"That's true."
Around them, staff members recommended adventurers or parties they were on good terms with. There were many receptionists, and many of them formed close bonds.
It was a kind of networking to ensure that the requests coming into the guild were completed.
Tanya thought for a moment and raised her hand.
"It's rare for Tanya to make a recommendation. So, who are you recommending?"
It was only natural for the chief to find it unusual. After all, this was the first time Tanya had recommended adventurers for a labyrinth subjugation.
For the East Side Guild of Beim, labyrinth subjugation was a huge benefit for adventurers. It provided an opportunity to obtain the treasures in the innermost chamber.
Because of this, many adventurers flattered the receptionists. However, while Tanya was a receptionist on the surface, she was a Sweeper behind the scenes.
She disposed of criminals who were adventurers, but normally worked at the reception. This was so she could keep an eye on the adventurers' faces on a daily basis.
Therefore, she hadn't been very interested in recommendations.
But this time—.
"I recommend the party led by Liel. Their management number is—"
Hearing this, the chief searched through the materials in his hand for the documents containing Liel's records.
"Ah, this party. They certainly are an interesting party. They have adaptability and are basically all-rounders who can handle any request... but isn't it a bit too early?"
Despite being a party that had been in Beim for only a month, they had received high evaluations for completing requests. However, the problem was that not much time had passed since their arrival.
To others, it might look like they were receiving preferential treatment.
"I believe they have that much ability. Besides..."
"Besides?"
When the chief showed interest, Tanya smiled slightly.
"They are a very interesting party, and I believe we should keep them as excellent assets."
The chief rubbed his chin while looking at the materials in his hand and nodded several times—.
Having finished my request, I stopped by the East Side Guild Branch—the East Branch.
Since I had just taken a bath, my blue hair was wet, and since it had grown, I was thinking I would have to cut it soon.
When I entered the guild lobby, the wide area was filled with many people as usual.
Miranda, who had pale green hair, was wearing a coat over her clothes due to the cold.
I was the same, though I was wearing a robe.
Underneath were my usual clothes, and I had a saber and a knife hanging from my waist.
I looked around, searching for a line that wouldn't take too much time.
"It's crowded as always. Wouldn't tomorrow have been fine?"
Miranda had just returned, and since she had taken a bath and eaten a light meal, she looked a bit sleepy.
The recent request involved performing multiple tasks in a village near Beim. We had handled monster extermination, as well as helping with village repairs and various chore-like requests all at once.
Normally, several parties would be sent, but since we were a party that could do anything, we could finish it with fewer people, so we negotiated and took it on.
In exchange, we were told we didn't have to take requests for a while.
Since I would be free for a month, I was thinking of challenging the labyrinth of Beim.
"I want to get it over with quickly. Besides, I'm making tomorrow a holiday, so it's better to have the holiday start from the morning."
Holding the envelope containing the documents, I joined the line, and Miranda followed.
"Then, accompany me on my shopping trip tomorrow. Alright? You bought a pendant for Shannon, but nothing for me?"
While laughing "Hahaha," I was panicking in my head.
(Damn it! I haven't given anything to Miranda yet... but didn't I go shopping with her at a request site before? No, that was Aria!)
To avoid letting her notice my panic, I said,
"It was just something cheap. Do you want a pendant?"
Miranda smiled.
"Anything from Liel is fine. If you want to keep it as cheap as possible, I'll let it slide for a kiss."
As Miranda blew a small kiss, I said something like "I'll think about what would be good," while gripping the blue jewel orb hanging from my neck.
(Please help me!)
From the jewel orb I gripped seeking help, the successive heads of the family presented the best course of action in order.
First was the Third Generation, as usual, in a nonchalant manner.
'How could you forget Miranda-chan? She's the one you have to be most careful with... I think she'd be happier with a kiss.'
The Fourth Generation was irritated with me.
'That's why I told you to keep a proper diary! Listen, there are eight of them! There's no way you can remember them all! Write things down diligently and act systematically!'
The Fifth Generation teased the Fourth.
'You struggled even with a single Mama. Rather, Liel... I think it's a bit problematic that you only act after being told. If you maintain a minimum level of socializing, you don't have to get clumsily involved, so be careful.'
The Sixth Generation, since it concerned his favorite Miranda...
'...I told you before, didn't I? Why are you always so hopeless in that regard?'
My grandfather, the Seventh Generation, who was a doting grandfather...
'You lot, give some accurate advice! Liel, coldly pushing her away is also one option. Listen, I've never once been pushed around by Zenoa. In times like this—'
While listening to the Seventh Generation's opinion...
(No, Grandmother had you rolling in the palm of her hand. Now that I think about it, Grandmother was actually quite amazing...)
Around me, where I was on the verge of breaking into a cold sweat, there were other adventurers.
In such a situation, if we kept up this sweet atmosphere...
"Tch! Must be nice to be in such a position."
The one taking an overtly displeased attitude was Airhardt Baumann, who was standing in a different line.
His top was a tank top, but this time he had something like a coat draped over it. He carried a greatsword on his back, and his companions were around him.
He glared at me.
(Do I look enviable to you?!)
I brushed it off with a vague smile, but Airhardt and I were acquaintances who had nearly started a duel shortly after I arrived in Beim. He didn't have a sense of rivalry, but he seemed to be burning with a spirit of competition and was argumentative.
However—.
"Next, Airhardt-kun~. Ah, glaring again! You mustn't!"
When the adventurers in front of Airhardt finished their reception and left, Airhardt and his group went to the blonde, large-chested receptionist with smiles on their faces.
"N-no, Marianne-san. This guy was just being noisy. I'm coming right now."
With a look of infatuation, he was reporting today's results to the staff member named Marianne.
"We split up and cleaned the gutters. Here are the documents!"
"Yes, thank you for your hard work. ...Isn't this amazing! You were 'D' before, but now you're 'C' rank. You've worked hard, Airhardt-kun and others. I'm happy too."
"Ehe, ehehehe."
As Airhardt and his group looked happy, the surrounding adventurers whispered among themselves.
"Hey, that's..."
"Probably. That beauty is exclusively for rookies."
"Those guys don't know anything... poor things."
I tilted my head, wondering if Airhardt and the others were the ones to be pitied. However, they themselves looked extremely happy and were following the proper path of an adventurer.
(...For them, this might actually be better.)
As I watched, Airhardt and his group looked back at me with triumphant faces. They seemed to be boasting that their exclusive receptionist was a beauty.
Then, my cheek was lightly pinched.
Miranda was smiling.
"You shouldn't look too much. You'll get jealous."
Moving Miranda's hand away, I let out a sigh.
"Don't lie. You look like you're enjoying this."
I knew Miranda's personality. If she truly became jealous, Miranda was the type who might eliminate the target by any means necessary.
Though, she would likely take various measures to prevent it from reaching that point.
"Well, it's interesting to watch, but don't stare so much. It's better to just peek secretly."
Miranda also seemed to have noticed that Airhardt and the others were being skillfully used. I stopped looking so blatantly.
The line moved, and it was our turn.
Today's receptionist was a staff member I had never seen before and whose name I didn't know.
As the two of us sat in the chairs, the staff member took the envelope and guild card I presented.
They opened the envelope carefully and checked the contents, though their expression didn't change, they nodded and thanked me for my hard work.
"All 'B' evaluations. Thank you for your hard work. They were requests of several different types, but it seems there were no problems. I have high expectations for you in the future."
They processed everything efficiently and returned the documents and guild card to me. The staff member stood up to go fetch the reward.
Once the person stepped away, Miranda looked a bit let down.
"Quite a difference from Alamsars. I heard they were educated, but I didn't think it would be to this extent. I had a rougher image."
I wonder what she was expecting?
The staff member, who returned quickly with the reward, asked me to confirm the amount. But at the same time...
"Liel-san, was it? Since you've completed several requests, please bring your fellow adventurers to the guild or stop by about once a month. There are also procedures for updating guild cards, so I'd like to ask you to show your faces periodically."
The polite response reminded me of Hawkins-san, who had handled me when I first became an adventurer in Darion.
"Right. I'll do that soon."
"Please do. Would you like to update yours as well?"
When Miranda presented her guild card, the staff member took it and updated it immediately.
"Ah..."
The staff member suddenly looked as if they had remembered something, so I looked at their face with a serious expression, wondering what was wrong.
The other person apologized with a "Sorry" and returned Miranda's guild card.
"A labyrinth subjugation request has been issued for Liel-san and your party. If you are going on the subjugation, it would be helpful if you could finish the guild card update before you leave."
I looked at Miranda, and then we both looked back at the staff member.
"Labyrinth subjugation?"
The staff member looked a bit troubled but explained it to me.
"Yes. A labyrinth was discovered, and a subjugation request was issued... Huh? Had you not checked?"
I knew that information about labyrinth subjugations was posted on the lobby's bulletin board. However, it hadn't been long since we arrived in Beim.
When I explained this to the staff member...
"I see. But the request was only just issued, so you can refuse it. The departure is scheduled for one week from now."
I told the staff member,
"I want to talk with my companions, so I'll decide whether to accept it or not by tomorrow. Is it alright to report back tomorrow?"
The staff member nodded.
"Yes, that's fine. The sooner the better, but as long as it's by about two days from now, it would be helpful."
Having finished the procedures and received the reward, Miranda and I stood up and began walking through the lobby to leave the guild.
Miranda said,
"That was sooner than I thought."
"Yeah, I feel like it's a bit too early."
I had thought it wouldn't happen for at least three months.
But unexpectedly, a labyrinth subjugation request had been issued to us.
From within the jewel orb, I heard the suspicious voice of the Sixth Generation.
'Things are going too well. I hope nothing is wrong...'
I wondered if they intended to trap us, but I couldn't see any reason for the guild to do that. Even if they were cutting corners, it was a fact that we were powerful adventurers for the guild.
(Is there something going on?)
As I pondered, Miranda looked at the bulletin board hanging on the guild wall.
"Ah, there really is a labyrinth subjugation request. The numbers are listed too."
Listed there were the management numbers in Beim given to the adventurers and parties for whom the labyrinth subjugation request had been issued.
They were engraved on the guild cards, and I checked the number on the bulletin board.
"It really is listed."
I felt a slight sense of incongruity, but being able to challenge a labyrinth this early was a happy miscalculation.