Daily Life at the Adventurer Guild
"So this is the information we got from interrogating that dark mage."
"Yes. I had it verified by the Priest of Truth."
Luna, who had been handling paperwork in her office, wore an intrigued expression at Anel’s report. She had no idea why a dark mage would show up in the North, but the adventurers had earned a real achievement. They deserved congratulations. On top of that, the party had brought back incredible loot aside from the mage himself.
"Awakening a special Mystery must have helped. I never imagined they’d subjugate a young Nepentula on their very first day as adventurers."
"Tell me about it. The whole guild’s been buzzing because of them."
The guild was always lively, but today felt different. After all, three Bronze-rank adventurers and one Iron-rank rookie had taken down a young Nepentula. Anel, who had gone to inspect the corpse pulled from the inventory, spoke with a dreamy look as if recalling a rare memory.
"It only had four legs, but it was still a Nepentula, right? Just looking at the body, I can’t even imagine how terrifying it must be when it’s alive."
Luna gave a small smile at Anel’s adorable chatter. Nepentulas were creatures that didn’t hesitate to devour their own kind. That was why young specimens were so rare. It was only natural to find one fascinating.
Most young Nepentulas died from cannibalism long before they could reach maturity.
"Still, it’s strange. Nepentulas usually don’t leave their mother’s territory before becoming sub-adults."
"That’s exactly what the priest investigated in detail. It’s all in the report."
"Is it?"
Luna scanned the documents after Anel’s explanation. The summary was neatly organized, so it didn’t take long to read through the few pages. She nodded, convinced.
"A group of dark mages headed north to build a secret laboratory and ended up trespassing on a Nepentula’s territory."
Not just any sub-adult territory, either—an adult Nepentula’s domain. And not just any adult, but a mother with several young. After reading the details and thinking it over seriously, Luna met Anel’s eyes.
"These people are properly insane, aren’t they?"
"Right?"
They had dug their own graves. The thought left both women momentarily speechless. It wasn’t as if they had prepared a favorable battlefield. They had marched straight into an area overflowing with the creature’s plants. At that point it was basically suicide. An adult Nepentula’s territory was practically an alternate dimension created solely for the monster. Every plant growing there served as its external senses. The entire environment itself would turn hostile against intruders. To charge in without any preparation… what else could you call it…
"Just a pack of morons?"
A strange feeling rose in her chest at the dark mages’ stupidity. Wasn’t the Flame of Doom supposed to be a fairly well-known force in the Central region? Had the rumors been exaggerated into nothing but hot air? Their actions were so idiotic that the question genuinely crossed her mind.
Had they really traveled all the way north without learning anything about the region?
"Well. Since they wiped themselves out, there’s no need for us to worry about it."
"They wouldn’t have lasted long even if they had made it, so no point stressing over it."
"True. The moment your job class is dark mage, you’re already finished."
Even the most racist humans were preferable to monsters that flew into a frenzy at the mere presence of dark mana. Remembering how monsters foamed at the mouth and rampaged at the slightest hint of black magic, Luna gave a light shrug and read the final sentence on the last page.
"An attack on Orbis Academy…"
"This part is actually important. Of all places, it had to be Orbis Academy."
Luna had heard of the place. It was the pride of the Empire—the greatest nation on the continent—an academy founded by imperial decree that accepted students based purely on talent and potential. Getting in meant you possessed at least genius-level ability. Graduates were eagerly recruited by every country. The fact that the Empire trusted the academy’s standards so completely meant they had no choice but to treat any threat against it as top priority. After all, more than half of its alumni occupied key positions throughout the Empire.
"Well. We’ll just send a light warning and leave it at that. If they’re not idiots, they’ll prepare once they hear that an academy attack is being planned."
"Then I’ll take care of it. The branch manager’s younger sibling happens to be at the academy right now, so delivering the message should be easy."
Of course, neither of them was overly worried. This was Orbis Academy, after all. They believed the Empire would handle the situation properly. What country would sit still after learning their flagship academy was being targeted? Considering how the Flame of Doom had ambitiously marched north only to foolishly annihilate itself, the imperial intelligence division would likely neutralize the threat long before any attack could occur.
"There’s no way they’d fail to stop it and let the academy actually get attacked, right?"
"Ahaha. Sister Luna, your jokes are getting dark. As if that would ever happen?"
The Empire wasn’t incompetent. There was no chance that some illegal organization could breach the academy so easily—especially not when they had received advance warning like this.
The two women laughed cheerfully, checked the time, and rose from their seats.
"Shall we head down to the first floor?"
"It’s lunchtime! Let’s ask the chef to make us something sweet for dessert!"
With the urgent matters handled, it was time to relax. They descended to the first floor together to see how things were going downstairs.
"So anyway, I angled my shield just right and blocked the Nepentula’s tentacles."
"I seriously thought I was going to die. We only survived because the cave was so narrow. Otherwise it would’ve been total annihilation."
"It was a young one right on the verge of becoming a sub-adult. Without the environmental advantage and Argo, we would have lost."
Dozens of people had gathered on the first-floor restaurant with the three adventurers at the center. The trio was clearly enjoying the attention, recounting the events inside the cave with dramatic flair. Argo sat awkwardly among them.
"I’m still amazed. How did you manage to step so lightly onto the back of a rampaging Nepentula and stab it straight in the eye?"
"I just got lucky."
"You can drop the formal speech! We’ve been through death together—why be so stiff?"
"I worked as a guild employee for so long that polite speech just feels natural…"
"Hey now. Just call me Liliye, okay?"
Watching him already mingling comfortably with the other adventurers, Luna decided there was no need to worry about his adjustment. His affiliation might have changed, but he was still family. She smiled at the sight. One of the adventurers noticed them and called out happily.
"Huh? Isn’t that Sister Luna?"
"Sister’s here?"
"It really is her!"
The adventurers waved with bright expressions. Even though she had retired years ago, they still called her “Sister.” Luna shook her head, knowing she could never correct them.
"I’ve retired. What do you mean, ‘Sister’?"
"Once a sister, always a sister!"
"That’s right! Sister is eternal!"
She let out a small laugh at the adventurers who refused to listen. This was exactly what adventurers were like. Once they latched onto something, they pursued it with everything they had. There was no way they would change how they addressed her. Even if fewer than thirty percent of them had known her during her active days, the rest were just having fun copying the nickname.
…Now that I think about it, it’s kind of ridiculous, isn’t it?
The thought almost made her laugh, but she held it in. She had come down here to rest.
The pair headed toward the restaurant that took up an entire side of the first floor, sat at a table, and placed their orders with the chef.
"Chef, one lunch special and one tenderloin steak, please."
"Perfect timing—we just got some excellent meat in."
At Luna’s order, the chef with the dignified face grinned and signaled his staff. Flames immediately roared to life across the kitchen equipment. A massive cauldron large enough to feed several people bubbled with soup. Golden pizza baked in an enormous oven. Huge chunks of meat skewered and roasting over charcoal. Various ingredients sizzled across a stone slab the size of a bed.
The sight was so mesmerizing that simply watching made one’s stomach growl. The adventurers who had been noisily chatting in the center drifted toward the restaurant as if hypnotized. They stared at the cooking food, drooling.
"It’s lunchtime. Should we eat?"
"Man, if you can keep a clear head smelling that, you’re not human."
"Chef! One lunch special over here too!"
People who constantly used superhuman strength in their line of work burned through enormous amounts of calories. The cooks moved with practiced speed.
"What are you all doing? How can you be that slow?"
"We’re moving!"
"Faster! Keep up with the orders!"
"Yes, Chef!"
The cooks worked with pride, knowing they were the ones feeding the adventurers who protected the North. They picked up the pace at the head chef’s roar. The most impressive was the chef himself. While the others had only just finished prepping ingredients, he had already grilled dozens of massive steaks in the blink of an eye. He plated them instantly, drizzled them with special sauce, and used simple telekinesis magic to float the dishes to every person on the first floor.
The adventurers stared at the meat placed before them in confusion. The chef chuckled and jerked his chin toward Argo.
"This is…?"
"The new kid over there pulled off something big, so this is my treat! It’s free, so eat as much as you want!"
"Ooooooh!!"
The priority purchasing rights for crops fertilized by Nepentula remains belonged to the adventurer branch of the party that had slain it. Thanks to the high-quality ingredients he could now buy at a discount, the chef’s generous gesture earned a thunderous cheer that shook the entire first floor.
"Our chef is the best!"
"Now that’s what I call refreshing!"
"Our youngest adventurer is the best too!"
The ever-hungry adventurers devoured the steaks with abandon. Juices exploded in their mouths, and they moaned in delight at the overwhelming flavor.
"Mmm…! The chef’s cooking really is the best in the North!"
"This is the famous steak from Edenberg’s pride and joy!"
"I knew coming to the Edenberg branch was the right choice!"
Being a cook at an adventurer guild was a position of honor that countless chefs across the North dreamed of attaining. The culinary skill of someone who had risen to head chef was on another level.
"My skill isn’t just the best in the North—it’s the best on the entire continent!"
"Absolutely! Please keep working here for the rest of your life!"
"Obviously! Who else could possibly hold this position?"
"Chef is the greatest!"
"Waaaaah!"
In the branch restaurant at least, the chef was an absolute god. Watching the adventurers sing his praises, Luna and Anel smiled softly and elegantly cut into their own steaks.
"Everyone’s enjoying themselves."
"That’s what being an adventurer is all about."
It was another peaceful day at the adventurer guild. The two women enjoyed their leisurely lunch, hoping these tranquil days would continue. Never dreaming that in just a few weeks they would hear the news that Orbis Academy had been terrorized.