The Mid-Rank Adventurer, Rendol Ignis
The maid who returned to the room gave the suddenly appearing beastkin child only the briefest glance before turning her attention away. With professional detachment, she neatly arranged an egg-and-cheese sandwich and a drink on the table. It was the perfect attitude for a teahouse that prided itself on keeping its customers’ secrets.
Whew, but taking Miel out like this still feels a little risky. Ian thought. I’ve never seen a single beastkin while living in Gelian. Even if his fur isn’t silver, a cute beastkin child like Miel is bound to stand out immediately.
In the end, Ian added one more item to his shopping list: a wide-brimmed hat.
While he was lost in thought, Miel was already fully absorbed in eating, his cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk as he chewed on the sandwich. Ian noticed a moment later and let out a small chuckle, gently patting the child’s tiny back.
“Miel, eat slowly. There’s plenty of sandwiches.”
“Mmm… tasty!”
“Is it good? You must have been really hungry. But you still have to chew properly, okay?”
“Mmm!”
The sight of the boy nodding with sauce and bread crumbs smeared all over his mouth was so adorable that Ian, who had just taken a bite of his own sandwich, burst out laughing again.
Once both of them had filled their stomachs contentedly, they stepped back out onto the street looking exactly as they had when they first entered the teahouse. Miel transformed into his small wolf form once more and slipped neatly into the leather bag. The only difference was that, with a full belly, the little wolf fell fast asleep the moment he was tucked inside.
Ian gazed down fondly at the happily sleeping brown baby wolf through the gap in the bag. He closed the flap, fastened the button securely, and began walking with much lighter steps than before.
He had a mountain of things to do today. He needed to stop by the Errand Boy Guild to report a completed request, and he had to visit a clothing store to pick out various outfits for Miel.
When Ian finally stepped into the Errand Boy Guild, his eyes unexpectedly met those of a familiar figure. It was a middle-aged man with tousled, dull yellow hair—Rendol Ignis.
“Hey there, Ian. Fancy seeing you here again?”
“Rendol? What brings you here? Did you come to take on a request?”
Ian forced down the tension rising inside him and greeted the man brightly. He made a desperate effort to keep his gaze from drifting toward the leather bag slung over his shoulder. Fortunately, Rendol seemed to notice nothing and answered cheerfully.
“I was thinking of tackling a decent labyrinth expedition. I’ve been waiting around to see if I could find a reliable pack mule to drag along with me.”
“Haha, then I guess I’m out. Even if I went with you, Rendol, I’d probably fall behind before we even reached the entrance.”
Rendol studied Ian quietly, then the corner of his mouth lifted.
“Hmm. But it looks like your stamina’s gone up a bit since last time?”
The sharp observation made Ian’s eyes widen in surprise. It was true—after the forced march at the Silver Wind campsite, his stamina stat had risen by 30 points, bringing his total to 350.
“How could you tell? I’ve been running around completing requests nonstop lately, so yeah, it went up a little.”
“Heh. I’ve been eating, sleeping, and breathing the adventurer life for years. Spotting something like that is basic for me.”
Rendol flashed his signature bold, manly grin at the still-impressed Ian. But the next words he spoke froze Ian’s heart solid.
“By the way… I wonder if Ian would know about this?”
“Know about what?”
“I stopped by the Silver Wind campsite yesterday for a bit of camping.”
For a split second, Ian summoned every ounce of his willpower to maintain his composure. The fierce desire to protect Miel calmed even the slightest tremor in his eyes. He tilted his head as if nothing was wrong.
“Oh, you did? And?”
“The lady who runs the place couldn’t stop singing the praises of a temporary worker she hired the day before yesterday. Said he was much sharper and worked harder than the new hires.”
Rendol’s eyes sharpened, masked behind a veil of amusement and curiosity.
“But she was so busy she didn’t write down the worker’s name. Her memory’s so bad she completely forgot it. I was wondering if you might know who it was.”
“Hmm, I’m not sure. I only started working as an errand boy a month ago, so I haven’t really gotten to know any of my colleagues yet.”
“Ah, I see…”
In the brief silence that followed, their gazes locked tightly in midair. Ian simply offered the most innocent smile in the world. A moment later, Rendol abruptly stood up from his wooden chair.
“Sigh, suddenly this feels boring and dull. I’d better get going.”
“You’re not going to wait any longer?”
“Nah. I posted a mid-rank request, so someone suitable should bite eventually. I’m off. See you around!”
Rendol waved his hand carelessly without looking back and disappeared through the guild doors. The moment he was completely out of sight, a single bead of cold sweat that Ian had been holding back slid down his temple and dropped to the floor with a soft plop.
Ian roughly wiped the cold sweat that had formed heavily on his forehead with the back of his hand. His eyes trembled as all sorts of thoughts flooded his mind.
Is Rendol really a tracker? Was he sitting here watching all the errand boys coming and going?
The thought suddenly occurred to him as he let out a shaky breath.
With those sharp eyes that could instantly notice even my tiny change in stamina, it doesn’t make sense that he wouldn’t have noticed Miel sleeping inside my leather bag.
No, no. It’s all just my own speculation. Maybe he really was just looking for a skilled porter. So whether there was a small living creature sleeping in my bag or not, he simply didn’t care.
He could truly be nothing more than a good-natured, free-spirited mid-rank adventurer who had simply drifted into Gelian. Everything might be nothing but an illusion born from his own excessive anxiety, and Rendol could be an ordinary person who had been active here for a long time.
But…
His gaze was definitely strange. Why did he stare at me so intently? He wasn’t like that last time.
Wasn’t he? Hadn’t he looked straight into my eyes during our previous conversations?
What was it like? Ugh… my head’s such a mess I can’t even remember our last meeting. What do I do? What should I do now?
Ian’s pupils shook violently and his breathing grew ragged. At that moment—
“Ian.”
“……”
“Ian!”
“Hah!”
At the sharp call, Ian’s head snapped up. The person before him was the guild receptionist with her usual expressionless face. She stared at him with her characteristically calm gaze. It was a quiet look, as if trying to soothe the storm of anxiety swirling inside him. Thanks to her, Ian was gradually able to calm his pounding heart.
Ah, but the receptionist knows exactly what requests I’ve taken.
Just as he opened his mouth in confusion, she spoke first in a low whisper.
“I basically keep secrets. I never reveal to suspicious outsiders what kind of requests you errand boys have carried out. …Of course, that’s only until you safely complete your fifth and final request and become a ‘full-fledged errand boy.’”
At the subtle insight and consideration in her words, Ian quickly handed over the completed request form. When she stamped it with a heavy completion seal, the paper transformed into a faint glow and scattered. At the same time, the wooden shell of the temporary tag hanging around Ian’s neck crumbled away and disappeared.
As Ian stared in bewilderment at the empty necklace that now held only a string, the receptionist took out a transparent tag glowing with blue light and a sharp needle from her drawer and handed them to him.
Grade: Lower Rank
Name: Ian River
Issued by: Gelian Branch
Blood Contract Complete. Official registration confirmed.
“This is…”
“It is a mandatory procedure to become a full-fledged errand boy. It’s a form of blood contract.”
Before she could even finish explaining, Ian pricked his thumb with the needle. He smeared the droplet of blood onto the transparent tag. A magic circle flashed for an instant before vanishing, and letters were engraved onto the smooth surface.
“Ah… so I’m really a full-fledged errand boy now!”
“Yes, congratulations. From now on, if you complete 100 lower-rank requests and 20 mid-rank requests, you can advance to the next stage and become a mid-rank errand boy.”
The receptionist went on to explain various other benefits in detail. As a full-fledged errand boy, he would receive priority recommendations for special requests issued by noble families. If he continued working steadily, the guild would even pay the 20 gold in regular taxes he owed to the territory on his behalf. Although there was a condition that he must complete at least five requests per month, for Ian who was ready to run without rest, it was an incredible perk. He was also granted the practical right to have request submission fees halved when applying directly through the guild.
“And… you must always carry your tag with you. Understood?”
“Ah, yes! I’ll keep it with me even when I sleep so I never lose it.”
“Good. That will be all.”
Though his face was still a little pale, Ian left the guild with as steady a gait as he could manage. Thanks to the receptionist’s calm, monotonous voice that had guided him, his wildly beating heart slowly began to settle back into place.
That’s right. We still don’t know for sure whether I’ve been found out or not. If I keep panicking, the kid will get anxious too. I need to stay as calm as possible.
With his resolve firmly set, Ian stopped by a nearby children’s clothing store and spent a generous ten gold without hesitation to shop for clothes for Miel. His arms were heavy with bags, but his heart felt much lighter. Now, only one final hurdle remained—introducing Miel to Aunt Massa.