Mandatory Education for Beginner Adventurers

I had uncovered the scammer's true identity.

He was a man ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠named Damon, affiliated with one of the West Continent's major merchant alliances.

Arresting the guy on the spot, however, had been impossible. I had half expected as much—by the time we moved, he had already slipped out of Labyrinth City Labyrinth. Roughly fifty minutes after fleecing me, he left the city. As it turned out, I was far from his only victim; several others had fallen for his schemes as well.

The truly ridiculous part was that he hadn't limited himself to a single type of con. He sold cheap junk as priceless jewels to wealthy tourists, or passed off worthless wooden wands as masterwork pieces from famous craftsmen. Every victim reported that Damon had struck within three hours of his departure. A textbook case of brazen, malicious fraud. He clearly never imagined anyone would catch his trail.

If I hadn't rushed straight to the guild and teared up in front of Enge, the whole matter would have dragged on far longer. Being called a hero and all that probably sped things up compared to an ordinary complaint, but it was still Enge—wife of the guildmaster—who made the difference. Thanks to her help, identifying the culprit took only three days.

"Hero Esilly. In cases like this, Labyrinth City has decided to respond with the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠full weight of punitive force."

The guildmaster fixed me with an unnervingly deep voice and a deadly serious gaze. A hiccup nearly escaped me, but Enge's gentle hand stroking my hair kept it at bay. I had been dragged to the Adventurer Guild half-asleep, only to find myself listening to a report about the swindler who had taken two gold coins from me—and more than thirty gold coins overall from everyone else. They had identified him, yet earlier they had warned me not to get my hopes up about actual punishment.

"Didn't you say before that punishing him would be difficult?"

"I did. But this scoundrel dared to defraud Hero Esilly herself. How could we simply let that slide?"

"Oh..."

"Which is why a special directive has come down from the lord himself."

The guildmaster let out a sigh and gave a wry little smile. What he handed me was a sheet of paper bearing the lord's official seal and detailing the sentence.

The punishment handed down to the man who had scammed me read as follows:

"Permanent entry ban... expulsion from the Merchant Alliance..."

"For damages exceeding thirty gold coins the penalty ought to be even harsher, but since the man is no longer within Labyrinth City, this is as far as we can go."

Even so, the guildmaster insisted the current sentence was already extremely severe and hoped I would be satisfied, offering another bitter smile. When I pressed him for details, he explained that expulsion from the Merchant Alliance alone was a crushing blow. A simple analogy: it was like a franchise owner of a major convenience-store chain being unilaterally stripped of their contract. In a country as brand-conscious and competitive as Korea, how many customers would bother with a no-name independent shop that had nothing going for it? This world worked the same way. To survive as a traveling merchant, you needed credit and a name. Damon had traded both for a mere thirty gold coins in Labyrinth City Labyrinth. Factor in the additional penalties waiting for him back home, and he had come out with nothing but losses.

"What about the fifty-gold fine in his home country?"

"Damon must pay a fine of fifty gold coins to the nation that holds his citizenship. That sum will then be remitted to Labyrinth City and used to compensate the victims."

"I like the sound of that."

The terms were so satisfying I found myself nodding without thinking. On Earth—or even in the kingdom I once knew—I had never heard of a punishment this thorough. Wearing a contented expression, I rose from my seat. Enge, smiling beside me, stood as well.

"I'll leave the rest to you, Guildmaster. I'm going back for another nap..."

"Leaving already?"

"The business is finished, after all. Yaaawn..."

"Dear, you summoned her at the crack of dawn. It's about time we let her go, don't you think?"

"Y-yes... I nearly made another mistake."

I understood wanting to deliver the news quickly, but calling someone to the guild at six in the morning was still a bit much.

"Lady Esilly, will you be all right?"

"Hehe, Enge... I'm so tired I don't think I can make it home."

For some reason, childish whining just poured out of me whenever I was in front of Enge. I was starting to understand why Erna turned into such an innocent, adorable daughter around her mother. Enge smiled with gentle eyes and stroked my hair—softly, carefully.

"Then why don't you rest with me for a while in the women's staff lounge?"

"I'd love that~ ♬"

Decision made, Enge took my hand and led me out of the guildmaster's office, urging me to hurry upstairs. I followed her into the women's staff lounge with a vacant, happy smile and no thoughts in my head at all.

Looking at it from the outside, it probably seemed as though I spent entire days loafing around after every expedition. In reality, I was working hard every single day. Labyrinth City boasted everything from low-difficulty labyrinths to high-difficulty ones, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so adventurers flocked here in droves. That meant a veteran powerhouse like me never lacked for jobs—rescuing stranded parties deep in the safe zones of high-difficulty labyrinths, for instance. I took on a surprising number of those commissions. Most were standing contracts with excellent pay, so people gritted their teeth and accepted them even when the work was grueling. The recent expedition into the Sacred Aldebaran Underground Arena had been one such designated commission, which explained the handsome reward.

"Even so, I never imagined they'd put us in charge of beginner adventurer classes."

"I'm more of a bonus instructor, if you look at it that way."

The main assignee for this designated commission was, in a sense, Lumine. An A-Rank adventurer and former chief mage of a lord alliance—it made perfect sense the request had come to her. Me? I was still only C-Rank, with a résumé worth less than a pebble on the roadside.

"Lady Esilly, I think you undervalue yourself far too much."

I wasn't sure, but Lumine seemed even more displeased with the situation than I was; her lips pushed out in a little pout. If we had been back in our hotel room I might have pounced on how cute she looked, but work was about to start, so I held myself in check. As Lumine had said, today's designated commission was a class for beginner adventurers—teaching them the basics inside the low-class labyrinth known as Lake Calcia.

"More of them showed up than I expected. Twelve?"

"Including the two still running over there, fourteen in total."

In the direction Lumine pointed, a boy with a sword strapped to his back and a girl clutching a staff came sprinting toward us. Whether they were close friends or a couple, the way they held hands as they ran was rather striking. A boy-girl pair... something that had nothing to do with me, of course. For the record, these beginner classes were mandatory for anyone under sixteen. Every student here was between thirteen and fifteen.

"Lumine, want to hold hands too?"

"W-w-w-what all of a sudden?!"

The moment I held out my hand, Lumine stammered and spun away, face flushing crimson—probably trying to hide it.

"What's so sudden about it? We've held hands more days than not while walking around Labyrinth City."

"Th-that may be true, but we're working today! No!"

"Tch."

Nothing for it. I would just have to focus on the job for now and save the teasing—no, the playing—for later.

"W-well then, let's begin the lesson. Everyone, sit starting from the front and count off!"

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

"Four!"

...

...

...

"Thirteen!"

"Fourteen! Count complete!"

The last student dropped into a crouch and shouted the final number. Even their cadence was perfect. True students of an adventurer class. Once she had a rough headcount, Lumine tucked the attendance roster into her magic bag. In Labyrinth City, underage adventurers were required to complete this education before they could enter any labyrinth—except the Forest of Terraria, of course. That place only had rabbits and squirrels.

"For the next week I will be conducting your lessons. My name is Lumine. I look forward to working with you."

"We look forward to working with you!"

"And the person standing here with me is..."

"Lady Esilly, right?!"

"Yes, that's correct. I'm impressed you already know."

Lumine wore a rare, thoroughly pleased smile toward complete strangers—looking even happier than I felt.

"My mother said Lady Esilly is the benefactor who saved Labyrinth City!"

"I heard the same! When they said you performed another great feat on the recent expedition, my heart nearly burst with pride!"

"Ahem..."

"Oh my? Lady Esilly, your face looks a little red~ ♬"

Lumine, who knew perfectly well how weak I was to praise, whispered the teasing remark right against my ear with a wicked little smile.

Lumine... just you wait until later...