Lowest-Rank Adventurer? (3)
That easygoing air only comes out when someone already knows, to some degree, that they are strong.
The distinctive leisure in his manner had piqued my interest, but I did not particularly care for the way Chainber simply took over the conversation and steered it wherever he pleased.
He had barged in while I was still talking with Cab, for one thing. And I still could not figure out why he felt free to drop all formality so quickly.
Of course, that did not mean I was uninterested in raising my adventurer rank.
What I wanted was to face things I had never experienced and pile up new ones. For someone like me, the act of clearing dungeons was interesting in and of itself.
It was true that the beasts I had met in the apprentice dungeon had fallen short of my expectations, but that place had been exactly what the name said—an apprentice dungeon, nothing more.
There was no telling what kind of powerful beasts might be lurking in the higher-ranked ones. If I could snatch some new insight out of that unknown, so much the better.
Even so, there was no reason to rush headlong into it.
The last traces of the father Arnen and Elia were searching for. To even approach the Seven Evil Caves, raising my adventurer rank was obviously necessary. And yes, I wanted to help the sisters if I could.
But it was not so desperate that I would bow and scrape to just anyone.
"I think I need to hear the details first. Exactly what kind of manpower you need, and for what."
"What sort of work would need an adventurer… and an apprentice adventurer at that? Nothing too difficult, I assure you."
Chainber opened the belt pouch at his waist and drew out a single sheet of parchment. On the aged surface was information about one particular dungeon.
"We intend to clear one of the seventy-two dungeons soon—the Ruins of the Cliff. A third-tier Taboo-class dungeon."
At those words, Cab, who had been listening quietly, cut in.
"Mr. Chainber… a Taboo-class dungeon is far beyond what an apprentice adventurer can handle."
His voice carried real concern, but Chainber only shrugged again and brushed it off with that same sly smile.
"No need to worry. According to the advance intel, you have to lift a heavy stone gate to reach the upper levels. We need the muscle for that, and nothing more. We won't be taking anyone further in."
This time I was the one with a question.
"Just for lifting a stone gate, and you're offering to raise an adventurer's rank for that?"
"We're having trouble gathering people we like, so we have to dangle good terms if we want anyone at all."
"…"
He spoke as if he had nothing to hide. Yet there was clearly a reason people were not flocking to the job; I had not overlooked that.
Even so—or rather, because of it—I found myself more drawn in.
A Taboo-class dungeon.
Right now I was still supposed to be clearing apprentice dungeons, and here was a chance to walk straight into a Taboo-class one, with a rank promotion thrown in. It was an undeniably attractive offer.
It might be dangerous… but maybe not that dangerous.
I finished the thought, met Chainber's eyes, and spoke.
"I'll need to meet the party leader myself. It sounds like the final say rests with them, so I'll decide after I hear a firm answer."
"You want to meet them yourself…?"
Chainber narrowed his eyes as if he could not quite believe what he had heard. When I simply nodded as though it were nothing, he pressed a hand to his forehead and let out a laugh mixed with a sigh, then shook his head.
"That's a hard request to grant. I'd like you to remember you're still an apprentice adventurer. Even if I'm the one making the offer so freely, this is not an opportunity apprentices usually get."
"Then I'm not particularly interested either. You're free to leave."
"…Hey. Don't you think that attitude is a bit much?"
The sly curl of Chainber's mouth flattened. In an instant the air around his suddenly hard face changed.
An invisible but unmistakable pressure. A presence that would make any ordinary person instinctively shrink back began to seep outward.
But… honestly, it was laughable.
Flashing your aura like that to show off was something no one back home would ever do—they'd be too embarrassed. Strength is something you prove, not something you parade.
Trying to display power with cheap tricks was low-class. Maybe it was just a cultural difference, but still.
"Bell…"
Beside me, Cab tried to stop me with a worried look. I understood. To him it must have looked like an apprentice adventurer putting on airs.
I paid the stares no mind and simply watched Chainber with a calm face, eyes saying, So what?
Our gazes locked. Neither of us spoke, yet something more than words passed between us in that brief moment.
Truth be told, I was curious about this man's strength—whether the leisure he showed on the surface matched a Special Class Warrior from my homeland.
Having lived in a place where force settled everything, I found that way more comfortable. Maybe I had been completely dyed by it. That was hardly a good thing, but still.
Then Chainber raised an eyebrow.
"Are you really an apprentice adventurer?"
"Did you think I'd flinch just because you tried to scare me?"
"…"
Chainber turned his head toward Cab, eyes asking for confirmation that I truly was an apprentice. Cab let out a deep sigh and nodded.
"…Remarkable. I'll give you credit for the guts."
The pressure that had been pouring from Chainber vanished in a single breath.
"Fine. You said you wanted a firm answer from Estelle? Then come to the inn called Hillside Sunset tonight. Alone, of course. What we need is a strong man, not little kids."
His gaze lingered for a moment on the Arnen sisters sitting beside me. He left those final unpleasant words hanging and walked away.
Irritating bastard.
I almost found myself missing the people back home who simply settled everything with raw strength. Still, I had no desire to grab him and make a scene. I had only just become an adventurer; I was not so tone-deaf that I would start a fight inside the Adventurers' Guild building.
Once things settled, I left the guild with the sisters. Cab told us to come find him whenever we wanted to clear an apprentice dungeon, and he quietly added that if I had any questions about the Blood Blade party I should come see him. For some reason, after Chainber left, Cab's manner toward me had softened.
We chose an inn where we would stay for a while and went to our separate rooms. Arnen said she would share with Elia; I took a room alone.
The room was simple but enough to rest in. I stayed there until evening, then finally opened the door when it was time to eat.
We had dinner together on the first floor of the inn. While I had been resting, Arnen had clearly been busy. With her usual calm face she quietly told me what she had learned.
"The seventy-two dungeons are divided into five ranks in total."
The lowest was Anomaly-class; twenty dungeons belonged there. After that came Threat, Taboo, Calamity, and finally Apocalypse.
The seven worst dungeons known as the Seven Evil Caves were all Apocalypse-class. The last trail of their father that Arnen had found was the Cave of Specters—an Apocalypse-class dungeon. More precisely, accepting a request to clear it had been his final recorded act.
A shadow briefly crossed Arnen's face as she spoke.
"To take part in an Apocalypse-class clear… you need to be at least a top-class adventurer. We've only just become apprentices, so it will take a long time before we can even approach that place."
"Mm…"
Before I could offer any words of comfort, her expression returned to normal—the same calm, neat face as always. Only now it held a resolve harder than before.
"It isn't something I didn't expect. So for now I plan to do what I can. Raise my rank step by step, and try to find the person who gave Father that request."
"…Sounds like you'll be busy."
It would take quite a while; that much was easy to predict. Even Chainber, who had radiated such leisure, was only an upper-class adventurer. And in my judgment Arnen was still far short of even his level—especially if the pressure he had released was only a fraction of his true strength.
Arnen gave a small smile.
"What I wanted to say is that we'll chase after Father in our own way, so I hope you won't waste time on our account. For example, what happened this afternoon…"
"You mean I don't have to go to Hillside Sunset?"
"Yes…"
I shook my head lightly.
"Well, this might disappoint you, but I wasn't planning to take Chainber's offer just for your sake. I've got things I want too."
At that, Arnen's face actually brightened.
"I see. That's a relief."
After finishing dinner I left the sisters at the inn and set out for the place called Hillside Sunset.
It was closer than I expected. A few questions to people nearby and everyone pointed the way at once.
When I opened the door, every gaze in the crowded room swung toward me at once. They even set down the cups they had been drinking from and simply stared, as if the entire place had been waiting for me alone.
Then a voice drifted from the deepest corner.
"You? The one who didn't even blink at Chainber?"
I turned toward the sound. A woman with blue hair that fell in waves to her waist sat with her legs crossed. She wore a coat long enough to brush the floor, and she slowly raised her glass while locking eyes with me.
A faint smile touched her lips as she spoke.
"Those eyes… I like them quite a bit."