Adventurer's Guild
Adventurer's Guild
The morning sunlight that poured down the moment I stepped out of the inn was stinging.
It felt like a beam of light interrogating a sinner.
The people on the street were lively. The shouts of market merchants, children running and playing.
But in my ears, the moans of Serin and the submissive pleas of Elina that had echoed in the inn room were still buzzing in my head like tinnitus.
"Hey, Captain Rion!"
A rough, gravelly voice.
It was Hans from the Merchant's Guild, who supplied ingredients to our party.
He was someone who usually doted on Miu quite a bit.
"Didn't Miu-yang come with you? I brought in some very delicious fish from the market this morning. If Miu-yang saw this, she'd spin her tail like a propeller!"
"Miu... she says she doesn't have an appetite right now. Next time... I'll go next time."
"Huh? That gluttonous wolf girl doesn't have an appetite? Is she sick? I passed by the inn yesterday evening and heard a crying sound similar to Miu-yang's... so I was worried because I thought Miu-yang was sick!"
Every single one of Hans's malicious-free words tore my soul to shreds.
"She's not sick. It's just... she's tired. I'll be going."
When I pushed open the heavy iron door of the Adventurer's Guild [Iron Footsteps] Rug Branch, what brushed against the tip of my nose was the familiar scent of sweat, old parchment, and cheap ale.
Normally, Serin, with her dazzling silver armor, Elina, with her mysterious aura, and Miu, energetically looking around, would have been by my side.
But now, there was only a cold wind and a dusty staff by my side.
"Hey, Rion! You've finally arrived! How did the Antika Ruins exploration go?"
Veteran warrior Vargas, who was sitting at the central table in the guild lobby, waved his hand heartily and greeted me.
He was a skilled individual who had carried out joint quests with our party quite a few times.
At his voice, the gazes of the adventurers in the lobby all turned toward me at once.
"Ah, Vargas. I just arrived."
I tried hard to lift the corners of my mouth to smile.
But the heart inside me throbbed as if someone had crushed it.
"What's with your appearance? Did you use too much magic power? No, more than that... where are your party members, and why are you alone? I mean Knight Serin and that Dark Elf lady. Miu isn't seen either."
Vargas tilted his head, looking behind my back.
At his question, my heart sank, and my mouth went dry.
What should I answer?
Should I say that my childhood friend is currently shooting fountains to the rhythm of the porter's rotor vibration, my shadow Elina is licking a thug's anus, and Miu has become the livestock of an old coachman and is looking for a doghouse?
"Ah... that is...."
I forced the corners of my mouth up. It felt like I was going to have a spasm.
"Everyone consumed too much magic power during this exploration. They're resting at the inn right now. I decided to submit the report alone as the party leader."
My voice was trembling to a degree that even I found miserable. Kyle tilted his head and examined my face.
"Really? You look terrible. Did you experience magic power backlash or something? Knight Serin isn't the type to send you to the guild alone... Normally, she would have stuck to your side saying, 'I will protect Rion!' Did you have a fight or something?"
Other adventurers around us also listened with intrigued expressions. Since we were rumored to be a fairly famous party.
"Fight... it's just that everyone is a bit sensitive. They're girls, you know. You know how it is."
I answered as calmly as possible and headed to the guild reception desk.
Receptionist Emily smiled brightly at me.
She was our party's dedicated receptionist and was usually quite close with Serin.
"Welcome, Rion-nim! You've worked hard. But really, Serin-eonni didn't come? We promised to go to the village festival being held this time together."
I couldn't look straight into Emily's clear eyes.
Serin at a festival? She would currently be proud of the explicit leather collar Goro gifted her and wiping away his semen residue.
"Yeah, Serin... she says she's not feeling well. She used her holy power excessively to purify a curse... no, powerful magic power in the ruins. She'll probably need to rest well for a few days."
"Oh my, really? I can't believe Serin-eonni is sick. Then what about Elina-ssi and Miu? Elina-ssi is meticulous about writing reports, so she always comes along, right?"
Every time a question followed, it felt like the dam inside me was collapsing little by little.
With trembling hands, I took out the parchment with the ruins map drawn on it from my bag.
"Elina is also busy organizing the ruins research data. Miu... you know, as soon as we arrived in the village, she smelled meat and ran to the restaurant district. They're all doing their own thing."
My voice might have trembled a little.
Emily examined me as if puzzled, then soon took my hand with a worried expression.
"Rion-nim, nothing happened, right? Your complexion is too bad. Like someone who met a scary monster in the ruins..."
"No, it's okay. I just haven't been able to sleep."
I hadn't slept. That was also true.
Because I had to listen to the groans of my companions coming from beyond the wall and the curse-filled sneers directed at me all night long.
I hurriedly started the report.
The structure of the Antika Ruins, the discovered ancient language inscriptions, and the traps lurking there.
But I kept my mouth firmly shut about the most important curse of the mirror.
If the fact that the Empire's Holy Knight and Dark Elf mage were cursed and became playthings became known, they would have nowhere to set foot in this world even after the curse was lifted.
Ironically, I was still worrying about their tomorrow.
"This is the report on the internal structure of the ruins and the magic power concentration. Please check it."
Emily accepted the report and frowned.
"Huh...? Why is the state of the report like this? It's wet in places... and the smell is a bit strange too? There's some kind of fishy smell, it's like some monster slime got on it..."
I broke into a cold sweat and hurriedly made an excuse.
"That... the ruins boss was a slime monster. Elina must have gotten some on it while writing in a hurry. You can see all the important figures, right?"
Kyle sniffed the report as if puzzled, then soon shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, as long as the content is certain, it's fine. As expected of Elina-yang! To calculate magic power figures precisely even in extreme situations."
"Anyway, that's all the report content. The reward... I'll receive it right now."
"Yes? Usually, you receive it on the settlement day. Is there some urgent matter..."
Leaving Emily's puzzled gaze behind, I snatched the reward pouch.
The weight of the heavy gold coins would have meant new equipment for our party or a delicious dinner banquet in the past, but the sensation transmitted to my palm now was nothing more than a cold and unpleasant lump of metal.
"Rion-nim! You need to sign the reward statement! And the holy catalyst for Serin-eonni's share has arrived too...!"
"Later... I'll come later. I need to rest a bit now."
I escaped the guild as if running away.
Behind my back, I heard Vargas's hearty shout, "Hey, Rion! Let's have a drink later!", but that voice was distant like noise.
As soon as I stepped out onto the street, I hid my body in an alleyway. And leaning against the wall, I gasped for breath roughly.
It smells fishy.
That one word from Emily slashed through my brain.
The image of the guild members praising that dirty paper as the result of our party's greatest intellectual made me feel nauseous.
"Haha... Hahaha..."
A dry laugh burst out. I opened the reward pouch and checked the gold coins.
The price of the fame and trust we had built up while shedding blood was converted into just these few gold coins and held in my hand.
And this money will probably disappear into the drinking money of those trash guys and buying new toys to be filled into their bodies.
With trembling hands, I detached the emblem, the proof of being the party leader, from my chest.
The old copper badge that Serin and I had made by mixing our magic power when we first formed the team 10 years ago.
Now, this faded object felt too heavy.
...Should I disband it?
For the first time, that word that couldn't come out of my mouth brushed through my head.
My heart sank.
It's been 10 years.
From the day I swore to entrust my back to Serin while learning swordsmanship, the days I saved Elina who was dying in the slave market and explored the secret garden of magic together, and all those moments when I took in Miu, who had lost her parents and was discriminated against alone, and made her family, flashed by like a revolving lantern.
"Rion, as long as you are here, my sword will never break." Serin's face as she said that and smiled brightly.
"You are my savior and the only mage I respect." Elina's belief and devotion as she whispered that.
"Rion-oppa is Miu's real family! We'll be together forever, right?" The warmth of Miu as she hugged me.
Soon after, I took out a piece of paper from my pocket.
The Adventurer's Guild official party withdrawal application form.
I took out a pen and wrote down my name. My hand was trembling so the handwriting was a mess, but I didn't stop.
Party Name: [Dawn's Light]
Reason for Disbandment: Destruction of trust between party members and loss of purpose.