Welcome to the Golem Commotion (9)
I led Larilura to the inn called Spring’s Shelter. Hmm. Looks like business is still slow because of the golem uproar. Not many guests again.
“Hey, Dorka! Where the hell are you? I brought a customer!”
“Heh heh. Now that’s music to my ears.”
The gruff innkeeper emerged from the kitchen, wiping his hands. I pulled five silver coins from my pocket.
“Business not going so well?”
“Better to stay moderately busy than to be slammed only during certain seasons. Anyway, welcome. Is the lady next to you a guest too?”
“Yeah. A friend I made in Heisvent. She was looking for an inn with decent storage and good service, so I brought her here.”
“Much obliged. I’ll treat her well. Nice to meet you, miss. I’m Dorka, owner of this inn.”
“Hello☆! I’m Larilura!”
“Heh heh. Quite the cheerful one, aren’t you?”
Dorka wiped his damp hands on his apron and asked, “Have you eaten breakfast? We’re still just in time. Want me to whip something up?”
“Oh. Thanks. And please put me and Franc in the same room. Also, stash this girl’s marionette in the storage.”
“That big fellow?”
Dorka crossed his arms while observing Ringling No. 3. He was clearly estimating its value.
“Hmm. A heavy-duty marionette. If the internal structure is solid, it must’ve cost a pretty penny. Miss? How heavy is this thing?”
“It depends on the equipment loaded inside~? If we’re only talking about the marionette’s base weight──”
“Our storage has a double-layered floor. Which room should we──”
The two of them went back and forth like that, exchanging information about the marionette. Larilura struck a playful pose as if she already knew the answer.
“Understood☆! If the floor is that sturdy, we can take it up to the second floor!”
“That’s right. Oh, and I’ll be busy in the evenings, so if you’re taking it out at night, please pull it from storage before it gets too late. Here’s the key to your room, miss. Take it.”
“Ah, yes~♡!”
“Norde. This is the key to your room.”
“Yeah, got it.”
I slipped the now-familiar key into my pocket. Then Dorka spoke again.
“She’s young but capable. A bard, perhaps? That marionette doesn’t look like it’s for performances, though.”
“Not a bard. Former circus troupe member.”
“Circus? Ah, the one from Romania. Is she here to scout the atmosphere as a promoter?”
“No. One of the two circuses went under and the other moved elsewhere. She’s traveling independently now.”
When I explained, Dorka’s face soured. I personally wished the scary-looking bastard wouldn’t make that face.
“Goddammit. Because of the golem mess? That was supposed to be a money-making chance.”
“Suck it up, you country bumpkin.”
“Damn. What a shame. Sit tight. I’ll open the storage for the young lady and bring out breakfast.”
Dorka, disappointed at missing the chance to fill his rooms, sighed as he hauled Ringling No. 3 to storage. Larilura helped him using her Puppetry and then devoured an early lunch.
“Ahaha♡! The food here is delicious too! Way better than the inn we stayed at in Heisvent☆!”
“Thank you. If you’re traveling, you’re welcome to perform on the first floor of our place for a while.”
“Hehe. I’ll think about it~?”
We took bread from our bags and ate it with Dorka’s soup. Larilura, who usually stored things inside Ringling No. 3’s belly, pulled out her own personal bag and slung it over her shoulder.
“Ah~ I’m so full♥!”
Larilura patted her stomach after scraping the bowl clean. Then her eyes sparkled.
“Senior, you’re heading to the adventurer guild now, right?”
“Yeah. Since I got promoted, I need to pick up my Bronze plate and ask if I can join the golem subjugation force. You coming too? I’m not exactly an expert on the city layout, though.”
“Aah! Really♡! You’re so quick on the uptake~! How did you know I was planning to go scout locations☆!”
“Larilura, unpack your stuff and come down. We’ll get ready too.”
Franc organized the dishes while wrapping up the conversation. We each went to our rooms, unpacked, and regrouped before heading out to the Audumla Guild.
“That’s the general store over there. Stuff’s expensive but the quality’s good. That one’s a bakery. Don’t buy anything except the cheapest bread. The white bread at the shop on Third Street is cheaper and tastier.”
“Hmm, understood. I’ll remember that☆!”
On the way, Franc gave Larilura a tour of the city. Even for someone like me who had simply lived life as it came, the information was incredibly useful. In a world without the internet, you had to either ask around or learn through painful experience, and neither was easy.
“Senior~. Should I join the adventurer guild too~?”
“That’s up to you, but personally I wouldn’t recommend it.”
Being an adventurer suited people who were either greedy for quick success or had no other way to make a living. I fell into the first category, and early Franc had been the latter. Larilura had plenty of starting capital, so unlike me—who had come here after earning a master’s degree—she probably wasn’t desperate to survive.
“Take your time thinking about it. You can decide after joining us on this golem subjugation. It won’t be too late.”
By the time I said that, we had already arrived at the Audumla Guild. Larilura looked around the guild with interest but waited patiently without bombarding us with questions.
“Excuse me. I’d like to collect my quest reward and ask about the promotion exam.”
It was question time with the receptionist. The exhausted-looking clerk stared at me with hollow eyes.
“Ah… yes…. Your name is…?”
Shit, this guy looks like he’s about to drop dead. Was he pulling all-nighters because of the golem incident? It seemed our pathetic Audumla desperately needed more staff. How was it possible that every time I came, a different person was working the counter? It either meant terrible work distribution or that employees kept quitting. Poor bastards. Fucking Namu Amitabha, amen.
“I’m Norde. This is my party member, Francesca Aitrynen.”
“Yes, Mr. Norde── Mr. Norde?”
─Whoosh!
The receptionist, who had been flipping through documents while mumbling, suddenly jerked his head up. His eyes gleamed like a mackerel that had just found water!
“Mr. Norde! Did you say Mr. Norde?!”
“Uh? Yes, yes. That’s me.”
“Oh my god!! Where on earth have you been that it took you this long to come back?!”
─Thud!
The male receptionist shot up from his chair, screaming in a high-pitched voice like he’d just stabbed a stimpack into his balls.
─Clatter!
He frantically rummaged through drawers and pulled out two plates and some money.
“Here you go!! First, congratulations on both of your promotions! These are your Bronze Class plates, and this is the reward for the previous escort quest!!”
“Huh? Um, uh, the plates are already ready?”
“The adventurer who worked with you filed a report, so we knew the quest succeeded and prepared them in advance!!!”
What the hell is with this otherworldly energy? The receptionist didn’t give a damn that the three of us were completely flustered and kept bouncing around like an office worker who’d just been told he could leave at 4 a.m.
“All done now?! You’ve seen everything you needed to see, right?! Then please hurry to the temporary Guild Alliance headquarters!!!!”
He shouted loud enough to draw the attention of every guild member in the building.
“The Alliance has been looking for you, Mr. Norde──!!”
I had repeatedly called the Audumla Guild I belonged to a “shit guild.” Among the overcrowded adventurer guilds, it stood out as the absolute lowest of the low. Of course, that low quality was actually an advantage for someone like me who was hiding his identity. If the guild didn’t pay much attention to its members, there was less chance of my secret being exposed.
Still, sometimes I wondered what it would have been like if I had joined a different guild. Kind of like thinking, What if I had chosen a different university or company? Those thoughts always ended with the conclusion that choosing Audumla was the right decision because I got to meet Franc. But there were times I seriously considered transferring even now.
For example── when I saw the facilities or benefits of other guilds.
“Holy shit.”
Following the receptionist’s directions, I arrived at the Sekhmet Guild and was left speechless by the grandeur of the three-story building. It looked brand new, sparkling clean. It was worlds apart from the Audumla Guild, which felt like they had just bought the cheapest two-story wooden house and slapped a sign on it. Even someone who had casually walked in and out of forty-story buildings in the 21st century couldn’t help but be impressed. The detailed decorations perfectly stimulated that fantasy vibe. It almost felt like a foreign tourist attraction. Though the Narmer-Nile architectural style made it stand out awkwardly from the surrounding street atmosphere.
“Welcome~.”
But all those impressions vanished the moment I reached the reception desk. Unlike Audumla, where the staff actually felt like receptionists, this place felt more like adventurers simply changing clothes and getting on with business. Look at those faces, fuck. If I took off Beast Regression, I’d probably lose. Since it was a guild specialized in monster subjugation, even the female receptionists looked like they could throw down. Damn. Me, the guy who dreams of being the perfect trashy bastard, losing in muscle mass.
“Excuse me. I was told the Guild Alliance was looking for me.”
Since they had called only for me, I had split from the party and come alone. Franc was probably showing Larilura around Sargadis right now.
“Eh? Ah, are you that guy? The one with the hobgoblin’s power stone?”
“Probably.”
I nodded at the receptionist’s words. I had already heard the rough explanation on my way here. Apparently, the big shots were looking for me because of the drop item I had taken from the hobgoblin last time.
Mr. Norde, we were going crazy waiting for you to return! We thought we were going to die from the pressure!!!
The receptionist’s explosive reaction had apparently been because of that. Since I had been gone for several days on a quest, the Alliance had been sending people every single morning asking, “When is he coming? When is he coming? When is he coming?”
“Go to the right side of the third-floor hallway. The temporary alliance headquarters is the one with the Sargadis territory emblem flag.”
The muscular female receptionist said this while yawning. Hmm. Seeing how other organizations ran made our own company look relatively saintly by comparison.
─Step. Step.
As I climbed to the third floor, I started to feel nervous. Why the hell is there a territory emblem at the Guild Alliance? There was no way the lord himself would be here, which meant people important enough to have received crests directly from the lord were waiting inside. Why was I being dragged into a place like that? If they had questions, couldn’t they just send someone to write it down?
With those thoughts in mind, I reached the door with the flag. I took a deep breath like a new recruit reporting to the company commander’s office and knocked.
─Knock. Knock.
“Excuse me. I’m Norde, an adventurer from the Audumla Guild. I was told you were looking for me.”
“Who? Wait, did you say Norde?”
─Bang bang bang!
─Creak!
There was a commotion inside, and the door flew open. A large middle-aged man stepped out. He wore equipment that looked like a guard captain’s formal armor with extra decorations. Was he the captain of Sargadis’s guard?
He laughed heartily and pulled me by the shoulder.
“Hahaha!! You’re finally here!! Come in, come in!!”
“Uh, yes? Ah, yes.”
I was dragged inside while making sounds like someone frantically clicking units in StarCraft. Caught in his powerful grip, I was shocked in multiple ways by the scene inside the alliance headquarters.
First, I was surprised that this was a large conference-room-sized space. More than ten adventurers and mages were either standing or sitting inside.
Second, I was surprised by the woman sitting at the head seat beneath the Sekhmet Guild flag. It was Nefertiti. The Mythril-class whip-wielding adventurer I had met near the ruins where I obtained Beast Regression. She must have held quite a high position in the guild as well, because she naturally occupied one of the only four chairs in the room.
Finally, I was surprised to see Tirsi among the group from the Mage Guild.
“……Hehe.”
Wearing the same robe she had worn during the sewer quest, she looked surprised to see me, then secretly smiled. I couldn’t even respond before I was dragged along by the guard captain.
“This adventurer is the one who obtained the hobgoblin’s power stone that we’ve been using as our clue!!”
─Slap!
The guard captain stood me beside his chair and patted my shoulder as he spoke.
“Now then, Mr. Norde!! Please tell us everything!! The full story of how you acquired that item!!”
What he pointed at was the black power stone I had taken from the hobgoblin. Every single person in the room turned their eyes toward me. They all looked like impressive adventurers or mages who could walk around with their shoulders back anywhere.
─Thump thump!
My bio-arc reactor—aka my heart—began pounding with tension.
Fuck. I really shouldn’t have come here.