3. The First Commission
I figured since Cheong-ah had gone off to take the exam for raising her adventurer rank, I'd get a relaxing day to myself... lounging around in my room, rolling out of bed late. But then, out of nowhere, she burst in, and before I knew it, I was being dragged straight to the guild.
"What the hell is going on?"
Well, if Cheong-ah wants to go somewhere, I'll follow her anywhere... but getting hauled off like this without a proper explanation didn't sit right with me. I asked her several times on the way, but all I got was, "I'll explain when we get there. Sorry!" from Ju Cheong-ah.
Finally, as we arrived at the guild, I pressed her again, and she spilled it.
"Th-the guild branch manager wants to see us."
"Huh?"
Shouldn't she have led with that? And why the hell does the branch manager want to see us? I was a bit flustered.
"Well..."
Cheong-ah gave me a rough explanation, but even after hearing it, I couldn't guess the reason. If she fails the Platinum Badge exam, she fails—so why is the branch manager getting involved with a personal meeting? Can't she just take the Gold or Silver exam instead?
No point brooding over it alone. I headed into the guild with Cheong-ah.
Maybe because it was a bit later in the day? Instead of the adventurers' usual piercing glares welcoming us, it was Karen's gentle greeting from the reception desk.
"Oh, you're here?"
"Yeah, hi, Karen. Um, why does the branch manager want to see us...?"
I slipped in the question with my greeting, but Karen shook her head apologetically.
"Sorry, I don't know either. I just mentioned Cheong-ah, and he said to bring her and Ian right away."
"Er, um..."
"No idea at all?"
"Nope, Cheong-ah. He just told me to fetch you two."
Karen doesn't know... As I've mentioned before, the guild is seriously understaffed. Even for this massive city of Leventen with hordes of adventurers, the total staff is just Karen and five or six receptionists. That means they often share internal guild info with employees for efficiency and various other reasons.
Especially someone like Karen—a veteran among veterans, always diligent, hardworking, kind to adventurers, and who's been at the guild since she was a kid, building up her skills over years. If even she has no clue, it must be something big.
Is it serious?
"...It's not a huge problem, right? Like, no dungeon outbreak or anything?"
"Nah, nothing like that. Those get shared with us staff first—we don't call in adventurers for it."
"True... No reason to call a scrub like me anyway. Guess we should just head up and hear it straight."
"Mm, yeah. I'll show you the way."
We followed Karen up to the branch manager's office on the third floor of the guild building. Along the way, Cheong-ah poked my side with an annoyed look and whispered,
"Darling."
"Yeah?"
"Stop putting yourself down all the time. It makes me uncomfortable."
"...Huh?"
Did I? I thought back and remembered something similar in my chat with Karen just now.
"Have some confidence. You're the man who owns me."
"Yeah, sorry. Won't happen again."
"Hehe... Good."
We reached the guild branch manager's office on the third floor. Knock-knock.
Karen rapped on the door. "Branch Manager, I've brought the people you asked for."
A man's voice came from inside. "Yes, come in."
"Got it."
Karen opened the door for us, and we followed her in. It was a fairly spacious room, but sparsely furnished—just a desk and chair against the central wall, plus a table and sofa for guests. The only luxuries were a magic refrigeration tool in one corner and what looked like a water boiler. Some might call it frugal; to me, it felt kinda empty.
The man inside was a middle-aged guy with graying white hair. Dressed in an old-fashioned suit, slim build, glasses. He gave off a harmless, office-worker vibe—like someone who'd spent decades behind a desk. Bland and unremarkable.
He'd apparently been working on something at his desk and stood to greet us.
"Ah, nice to meet you. I'm Hopkins, the branch manager of Leventen's Adventurer's Guild."
We nodded slightly in response to his polite introduction.
"I'm Ian."
"Ju Cheong-ah."
"Yes, please, have a seat over here."
Hopkins sat first and gestured to the table and sofa. Cheong-ah and I sat side by side across from him.
"You can head back down, Karen. Thanks for showing them up—you're busy."
"Yes, sir."
Once Karen left, Hopkins stood with an oh right look on his face. "Do you like tea, by any chance?"
"Nah, not really. Cold water's fine."
"...Same for me, then, darling."
"Got it."
He handed us two cups of nicely chilled water, took a steaming hot teacup for himself, and sat back down. Slurp. He downed his tea right away, paused a moment, then spoke.
"I've heard quite a bit about you already, Ian."
"...Me?"
"Yes. Lots of stories these past few months."
"Er, uh..."
Past few months. Rumors about me were never good, and lately...? I gave a bitter smile, figuring it wasn't anything positive.
"Not good ones, I bet."
"Pretty much. Most were bad stories related to Cheong-ah here."
"Hah..."
Saying it so bluntly—didn't peg him for the type despite his harmless look. Cheong-ah's glare sharpened for a second, but he stood, went to his desk, and fetched an envelope.
The seal was already broken.
"Anyway, the reason I called you two... is this."
"A letter?"
Wonder what's in it.
"Take a look first."
Commission Request
From a certain person affiliated with the royal family of Tronen.
Details: The crown prince has met a sudden death. The First Princess, studying abroad, is rushing back to be appointed crown princess.
Request: Escort protection for the princess's return journey.
"This is..."
"A commission request. From the royal family... well, someone connected to it."
"...I can kinda read it, but why show it to us?"
I glanced at the letter. Piecing together the words I recognized—Tronen, princess, crown prince, death—I got the gist.
"Ian, you can read?"
"A bit, yeah."
Pure lie. Karen's been teaching me lately, but I'm still crap at it. Had to bluff to avoid looking like a total idiot.
"Impressive. More capable than I thought, Ian."
I ignored the subtle jab from Hopkins and pretended to scan it. The familiar words stood out: Tronen, princess, crown prince's death. Connecting the dots, I inferred the content.
"This is..."
The crown prince died suddenly—a total secret right now—and the First Princess was being hastily summoned back from abroad to become the new crown princess. Why leak this to a nobody like me?
"Why show this to us?"
"Why? Same reason the guild shows commissions to adventurers: to assign it."
"Even so, this is..."
"Yes. An escort commission."
"Escorts are for the Mercenary Guild, not Adventurer's. Why us? And me?"
Hopkins removed his glasses, pulled a cloth from his pocket, and started cleaning them.
"Several reasons. First: You've been scraping by as a bottom-tier adventurer in this guild for three years. Right?"
"...Yeah."
Stabbing right at old wounds. I swallowed a curse and nodded.
"Exactly. So you're no assassin."
"What makes you say that?"
"Who'd endure three years of humiliation as the guy who can't even kill a goblin, thinking some unknown future might pay off? Anyone that patient would just assassinate me laughing."
...Ouch.
"Fine, whatever. But I'm trash at this. How am I supposed to escort? Especially a princess."
"You've got Ju Cheong-ah, don't you?"
"Huh? Me?"
Cheong-ah, who'd been itching to smack Hopkins for dissing me, blinked in confusion.
"Yes, you. Ian, you've got her with you. Word is she's only been in the guild three months, but her skills are top-notch. Gold Badge level at least, from what folks say."
"True enough."
I acknowledged Cheong-ah's prowess. Gold Badge? Tch, blind fools.
But a question nagged.
"Okay, I get trusting me. But why trust Cheong-ah? She's only been an adventurer three months."
"Well, obviously..."
"Obviously?"
"We've been watching you two these three months."
...What?!
I shot up and grabbed Hopkins by the collar. Watching us?!
"You pervert!"
Installing hidden cams in our room?! Voyeurs deserve a beatdown so bad they never try it again! Only allowed in eroge, anime, manga, novels... and maybe voyeur-themed porn!
I swung for his face, but he casually caught my fist and yelled,
"Whoa, hold up! Whatever misunderstanding—no, that's not what I meant!"
"Like hell! You hidden cam freak!"
A bit embarrassed my punch got blocked, but no backing down. Stealing peeks at my Cheong-ah naked?!
"Fuck, Cheong-ah's my woman!"
"Oh my... Darling."
Even if I'm a worthless shitstain, you think I'll let some asshole steal my girl?!
"Calm down, Ian! Not like that! I meant we heard from Karen and other adventurers!"
"Oh."
That so? My boiling head cooled instantly. I released his collar, straightened his rumpled suit, and sat back down.
"Y-you could've said so sooner... Sorry."
"Without giving me a chance to explain?"
"Uh, yeah. Sorry."
After apologizing for the little scuffle, Hopkins explained why he picked us for the escort.
"Karen's high praise... How Cheong-ah treats you, how you treat her. And recent rumors: Adventurers badmouthing you suddenly had their gear shredded by some unseen sword swing."
"Gear shredded...?"
"Yeah, leather armor, sturdy iron swords—all sliced clean."
I glanced at Cheong-ah; she averted her eyes guiltily.
...Ah. Right.
"All bore clean sword cuts. And they all had one thing in common: trash-talking you behind your back."
"S-so?"
"Watching all that, you two seemed perfect. Skilled and trustworthy."
"Oh..."
Trustworthy, huh. I kinda liked that. My lips tugged into a grin.
"So, what's the pay for this gig?"
"Well..."
Hopkins held up five fingers.
"Gold coins."
"Five?"
"Fifty."
"...We'll take it."