The Client: Yu Jin-gwang
The next morning dawned. After accepting Rain's proposal the day before and agreeing to meet again here tomorrow for the details, Elsid parted ways with them and eased the day's fatigue with sleep. The Traveler's Rest wasn't just a tavern—it also doubled as an inn on the second floor, so there was no need to find another place. He simply paid and headed upstairs to rest properly.
"So what am I supposed to do now?"
Stretching as he came down to the first floor, Elsid found Rain and the others already seated at a table. He walked over and asked. Incidentally, during yesterday's conversation, he'd learned that Rain and Arke were a thirteen-year-old boy and twelve-year-old girl who hadn't yet undergone their coming-of-age ceremonies, so he'd started speaking casually to them.
"You need to go meet the client, Yu Jin-gwang, in person."
Rain explained that most requests involved tearing off a guild request form, getting it confirmed by a receptionist, and then heading out to complete it. This one, however, was a designated request—the client specifically selected certain adventurers from the guild and only shared the relevant details with them. It cost twice as much and the guild took a hefty fee, but since no detailed information stayed at the guild beyond the formal records, people who wanted to resolve matters discreetly without spreading word around tended to use this method.
"So does that mean the client's someone shady?"
"Haha, that person? Absolutely not."
After hearing Rain's explanation and asking the question, Rain shook his head and denied it with complete certainty. Seeing that reaction, Elsid asked again.
"Don't tell me it's someone you know?"
"Yes. In a way, he's also our benefactor."
Unable to guess what that meant, Elsid tilted his head. Before long, they arrived at the client's location.
The sign read [Hope Orphanage]. Though weathered, the large building was quite sizable and welcomed them.
"Over there!"
"Where's the idiot who just stands still!"
In the yard attached to the building, children were running around happily. More than ten kids were playing tag.
That was when it happened.
"We're here!"
Rain called out loudly to announce their arrival. The playing children turned their heads at once and, without anyone leading, came running over to Rain... only to rush past him and throw themselves at Robin.
Just as Elsid was about to be surprised that the middle-aged man was so popular—
"You still haven't paid back the ten silver you borrowed a month ago."
"I lent you five silver."
"I gave you twenty silver. Do you remember?"
As expected, Robin was Robin. Elsid couldn't count how many times he'd been disappointed by someone he'd known for less than a day.
"Write an IOU or something! Show me the proof! Life is real, you know! Hahaha!"
Instead of apologizing to the children, Robin shouted confidently, demanding evidence. It was the height of hypocrisy.
"..."
"..."
"..."
At those words, the children who had been clinging to Robin demanding repayment stepped back.
As expected, kids were still kids. Thinking they wouldn't react this way, the children were about to cry—
"Everyone, attack! Let's show that swindler our anger with action!"
—only to pick up stones scattered across the yard instead. A red-haired boy with a small scar on his cheek took the lead. The children who had grabbed stones hurled them at Robin all at once with precise, knife-like motions.
"Y-you little brats!"
Robin, who never expected such a response, was about to be helplessly pelted.
'Haah. I guess I have to help.'
Honestly, he wanted to just leave it alone, but they needed every person they could get to complete the request. Just as Elsid stepped forward to knock the stones away—
"That's enough."
Someone moved faster than anyone else.
"Honestly. How many times has it been now that you borrow the children's pocket money and end up like this...? Sigh."
The man appeared in an instant. His messy black permed hair and neat obsidian-black eyes stood out, and he wore a black hakama from the Eastern Continent with a white cord tied around his waist. In a single moment, he caught dozens of stones thrown by over ten children and dropped them to the ground.
"Robin, aren't you tired of this yet?"
He looked down at the fallen Robin with an utterly exasperated expression.
"Haha, thanks for stopping them."
"If you're grateful, how about returning the seventy-seven gold and forty-four silver you borrowed and still haven't paid back?"
"Haha, it piled up that much? Did you tack on interest or something?"
"It's the principal. Not a single coin of interest added."
They clearly knew each other, yet their conversation sounded exactly like one between a debtor and a creditor.
"""Director!"""
""Uncle Jin-gwang!""
When the man appeared, the children immediately rushed into his arms. Rain and Arke called his name. The black-haired man standing before them was indeed the client, Yu Jin-gwang.
"Phew. Kids, I'll deal with this useless adult today, so go inside and eat the snacks I prepared."
"""Yes!"""
The children's earlier angry expressions vanished like a lie, and they headed into the building with bright faces.
Only three adults and two youths remained in the yard.
"Phew. Well, everyone came except Robin. Rain and Arke, but..."
Yu Jin-gwang let out a tired sigh and fixed his obsidian eyes on Elsid.
"Who the hell are you?"
"Ah, this is the person who helped us when things got dangerous. His name is Elsid. He's not an adventurer, but he's a swordsman who can use aura."
Before Elsid could introduce himself, Rain stepped forward and vouched for him.
"Hmm. A swordsman?"
Yu Jin-gwang scanned Elsid from head to toe.
"Well, it doesn't matter. He's dense and insensitive, but Rain's judgment of people is accurate."
Before Elsid could even draw the wooden sword at his waist to demonstrate his aura, Yu Jin-gwang nodded in acceptance.
"Haha, I can't tell if that's a compliment or an insult."
The conversation was proceeding more brightly than expected.
"Come inside for now. We should talk over some tea."
Following Yu Jin-gwang's guidance, they entered the building and were led to what appeared to be the kitchen. He placed a glass of grape juice in front of each person at the table, just as he'd said.
"Well, since you've come this far, you probably already heard, but I'll say it again."
After everyone sat down, Yu Jin-gwang spoke with his arms crossed.
"As payment for the request, I'll give you anything within my power except my life—items, combat strength, connections, whatever it may be. If it's possible, I'll grant it."
"Is it really anything?"
Elsid asked while taking a sip of the juice in front of him.
"You ask again, so I'm guessing you have something specific in mind?"
"I need the sword belonging to the person called the 'Swordsman of the Eastern Continent.'"
When he'd asked Uncle Tom for clues about Vandel, he'd been told to find the Swordsman of the Eastern Continent. The man hadn't mentioned swords at all, but that was Vandel. He must have forged a sword for him. Having known the guy since childhood through their stubborn rivalry, Elsid could confidently say he understood him better than anyone.
"If it's that sword you need, I'll get it for you somehow—as long as you clear the request I gave you. The new dungeon."
"Don't worry. I've got some skill, you know."
Elsid spoke confidently, tapping the two main swords at his waist.
"Oh? That sounds promising. Still, you'd better be careful. You never know what might appear in a dungeon."
Yu Jin-gwang smiled, clearly pleased with Elsid's attitude.
"By the way, that wooden sword... it's quite unusual."
Yu Jin-gwang's gaze shifted to the wooden sword at Elsid's waist. What? Elsid had thought only his grandfather knew about this wooden sword, but maybe this man did too—
"No, I just thought it was strange to carry something like that."
...That had been a complete misconception. It was indeed an unusual sight to see a wooden sword instead of a real blade hanging at someone's waist. He had simply found it curious.
"A fine piece with durability better than most real swords. If there were wooden sword collectors, they'd pay a fortune for something like this."
"If such a person exists, I'd like to meet them."
Well, there was no way that would ever happen... Elsid was thinking that when—
'Surely... it can't be.'
For some reason, Yu Jin-gwang's eyes narrowed, and his gaze lingered on the wooden sword at Elsid's waist and the other sword, the arming sword.
"Teacher, we finished our snacks."
"Alright. Then shall we have a nice nap time?"
"Yes!"
When the children appeared in the kitchen announcing they had finished eating, Yu Jin-gwang smiled at them as if nothing had happened.
"Then I'll have to move the children to their rooms, so I won't see you off."
"Yes, we'll be on our way."
With those words from Rain, they left to complete the request. Without anyone to see them off, they headed toward the dungeon.