[Adventurer, Anastasia - 03]
[Adventurer, Anastasia - 03]
Royal Capital Adventurer Guild.
It was the first adventurer guild, and simultaneously the largest, and fundamentally, it was the place where the Grandmaster resided.
Of course, the Grandmaster couldn't sit still and wandered here and there, but fundamentally, if you wanted to meet the Grandmaster, you had no choice but to come to this Royal Capital Adventurer Guild.
They were famous for not taking appointments easily, and much like the Saintess-nim, they had a strong "my-way" temperament.
However, the Grandmaster had the track record and honor to match that.
If you asked how great of a person they were, it was because they were a benefactor who came to help when the kingdom of the past was becoming devastated for various reasons.
Because of that, they were such an incredible person that a saying became popular: "Even nobles develop social skills in front of the Grandmaster."
There were even rumors that they had essentially walked through history alongside this nation, and while they were lazy, they ultimately tried to protect the country.
Having become friends with the King of the past, they moved for the sake of the kingdom as much as possible, but since they likely didn't have that much attachment to it, no one knew when they might leave for somewhere else if a line was crossed.
I don't know about humans, but since they were a High Elf to begin with, there was no reason for them to be obsessed with the kingdom.
They apparently went around openly saying that if they got sick of the guild, they would just give it to someone else and leave.
Still, the reason the guild was the backbone of the industry and maintained order was because the Grandmaster was there.
Just like the saying, "Politeness comes from fear," thanks to the Grandmaster, there were people who didn't run wild when they otherwise would have, and clients didn't refuse to pay their fees.
Even if a problem arose during the quest process, the guild made the judgment.
For example, if a quest was to rescue someone but many wounds were inflicted during the rescue process, or if it was to gather herbs but the herbs were heavily damaged, the guild would intervene in these matters where it was easy for people to argue or get emotional, saying "This is how it is," and re-distribute the rewards.
After all, mercenaries couldn't be free from such problems.
"Are you really going to go in?"
"I came for this, let's go."
Kkii-ik, as the door opened, the bustle of the guild could be felt.
The guild was basically set up so that adventurers could utilize up to the second floor. The first floor was divided into the area where guild guides handled administrative work, the area where quests were posted, and the cafeteria.
Since there was a saying that many stories are told while eating, one-third of the first floor and the entire second floor were the cafeteria.
You could eat food, and you could drink alcohol.
There was no better place than the guild for a solo adventurer to form a party, and there were people who simply chose party members from among those in the guild while eating together.
"Puhuhut!"
"Hey, what are you doing, you filthy—!?"
"L-look over there! Over there!"
"Over there?"
Naturally, the Saintess-nim's appearance was bound to stand out.
Beautiful white hair, pitch-black eyes, and a charm that felt mysterious, as if she alone had been rejected by color in this world—a swirl of beauty and intensity sufficient to draw people's gazes was mixing together.
"Is that the Saintess-nim?"
"Saintess-nim......."
"I-is it for real?"
"It's real. I was injured a while ago and went to the Cathedral and got treated by the Saintess-nim. Why did she come to a place like this?"
"You idiot, if the Saintess-nim came, she must have business with the Grandmaster."
"Aha, I see. The Grandmaster makes even the Saintess-nim come to them instead of visiting her?"
The Saintess-nim moved her feet elegantly.
In these past few years, it seemed she had truly developed a grace befitting a Saintess-nim.
It was highly likely that inside, she was thinking things like, 'I, giving the first impression of a perfect Saintess-nim, am awesome.'
As I have emphasized several times, I thought it wasn't a big problem because what one shows on the outside determines more than 90% of a person, regardless of what they were thinking in their heart.
Isn't it much better than a guy who kills people while thinking good thoughts inside?
Especially in cases where they think good thoughts inside, there were truly many instances where they didn't hesitate to do cruel things because they thought they themselves were justice.
There was nothing more dangerous than guys who thought they were righteous, rather than just evil guys.
Because they could just dump all their sins and the responsibility and guilt for them onto justice or a great cause.
"S-Saintess-nim! W-w-welcome to the A-adventurer Guild. What brings you here? T-the Grandmaster is currently absent, though."
"No, that is not it. I did not come to meet the famous Grandmaster."
"T-then?"
The guild employee was trembling, suppressed by the Saintess-nim's presence.
It looked like the worry of 'What if I make a mistake?' was written all over their face. It seemed they were truly flustered by the bomb that was the Saintess-nim, who had suddenly arrived during this peaceful, sunny morning.
Though I also thought it was understandable to be flustered.
"I came to register as an adventurer. Is this where I do it?"
"Yes?"
"I came because I want to become an adventurer?"
"......Uh, yes?"
It looked like a blue screen of death had popped up in their brain.
How should I put it.
Not just her, but everyone around who heard those words was making a similar expression.
Eris looked at the cafeteria next to them and said.
"They say there's cheese corn sold only at the adventurer guild? Is it okay to eat it?"
Stop eating, you pig.
And that's a snack to eat with alcohol.
"Starting from F-rank? Ed?"
"Even if you are a legendary hero, the adventurer guild starts from F-rank. Even if your actual skill is S-rank, at the point you join, you have no choice but to start from F-rank and climb up."
"I see....... Then the quests I can accept will be limited as well."
"That is the reason why adventurers are desperate to raise their ranks. As your rank goes up, the number and types of quests you can accept increase, and not only that, but the amount of the reward changes as well."
Basically, as long as you didn't get greedy, C-rank was a level where you could live off it as a profession.
B-rank was a level where you could effectively trust them as a skilled adventurer, and A-rank were excellent people.
Lastly, S-rank meant there was some part of them that was exceptional.
Whether it was tenacity or whatever, they became S-rank because they produced 'results'.
Depending on the case, there were instances where they became S-rank as a result of silently doing their job without any major feats.
Because they had an exceptional part called diligence.
"Look, it's Adrian Valtus."
"Is that the real person? I heard he was the Saintess-nim's aide, but it's true."
"He's the h-hero of the Monster War, right? I wonder if I can get an autograph?"
While the Saintess-nim was looking for quests, the voices from around us could be heard.
Eris went Hee, heard all the sounds around us, and approached me.
"Master, you're really famous. 'Hero of the Monster War' is the thing I hear the most."
"I don't particularly like it."
"Is that so?"
There was so much I had lost, and the lives that slipped through my fingers were so sad.
That was why, even if everyone called me a hero, I couldn't take my eyes off the corpses of my comrades lying behind me.
If even I forgot them, who would remember?
They were all heroes too, but because I was the one who survived, I was the only one receiving the hero treatment.
Since I was receiving the hero treatment that they should have received, I had no choice but to remember them.
As the number of mementos or last words I delivered increased.
As the number of graves I made increased.
As the number of comrades who didn't even have anything to put in those graves increased.
My head started to ache more and more, and there was me, who kept thinking that I must not forget.
"Still, I think you're cool."
"......."
I looked at Eris for a moment and smiled.
"Is that so?"
"Ed, Eris. I've chosen."
"What is it? You didn't suddenly pick an A-rank quest, did you?"
"I consulted with the guild employee properly and chose it, so I don't think there will be any problems."
The Saintess-nim smiled and showed me the quest sheet.
Gathering herbs in the Echo Forest, huh.
Monsters lived in the Echo Forest, but they weren't that powerful, and even if there was something a bit powerful, it wouldn't be a big problem for the Saintess-nim.
Not only that, but since the mission itself was to bring back herbs, not to hunt monsters, it wouldn't be a big problem at all.
"It seems like it will be fine."
"That's good, then let's go right away. What I'm aiming for is S-rank. I have 3 years until I become an adult, and even for me, it might be difficult to attend The Academy while living an adventurer's life, so I hope I can climb up to S-rank within 3 years."
She said that with a fresh face, despite the fact that she had said she just wanted to obtain the title of S-rank adventurer along with the title of 'perfect Saintess-nim' when she entered school.
The Saintess-nim approached me carefully and said.
"Ed, if I cut off the head of the strongest monster in the Echo Forest and bring it, will my rank go up quickly?"
"If it's not an official quest, there are many cases where it's not recognized. However, if you provide it to the guild, it is recorded as an achievement, and it is applied quite favorably when promoting."
"Ed."
"Yes."
"Let's wipe out the monsters in the Echo Forest. For the safety of the people."
"It's for safety, right?"
"Of course."
Yes, let's work hard.