Chapter Thirty-one: I Would Like a Katsudon Delivery to the Guild, Please
We are gestured to take seats around the low table, so I humbly oblige by moving towards an empty spot… only to make eye contact with the Guildmaster.
His tawny eyes study me intently, blinking a few times before turning towards Mr. Ville.
“Come to think of it, who is that little lady there? An unfamiliar face…”
“She is a valuable cook and porter for the Gourmands. Her name is Rin.”
“Ah, yes! It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Rin. Though inexperienced, I’ll do my best, so I appreciate your guidance and support!”
…A "little lady" when I’m not that young… Well, it takes courage to protest that here.
Mr. Ville responded to the Guildmaster’s tilted head by lightly patting my back as he said my name. Feeling it would be emotionally awkward to remain seated, I stood up while facing the Guildmaster, offering a brief self-introduction before straightening my back and bending at the waist, aiming for a respectful angle of about 30 degrees. After a brief pause, I slowly raised my head, only to find the Guildmaster looking at me as if he had seen something terrifying…
Huh? Did I do something wrong?
“…No way! Ville, where in the world did you manage to recruit such a proper young lady?! Don’t tell me you kidnapped some high-class missy!”
“I didn’t kidnap her! I properly recruited her!”
“…Tch! As much as I want to interrogate you, that’s for later. For now, we need to deal with this fire bear situation…”
The Guildmaster glared intensely at Mr. Ville, who looked exasperatedly back at him.
…Just from a self-introduction, I’m considered "proper"? I tilted my head in confusion until Mr. Ed leaned over whispering, "Adventurers tend to be a rough lot, you see.”
Eeeh… But isn’t it normal for everyone to introduce themselves…? Right?
Ignoring my puzzled look, the Guildmaster and Mr. Ville’s stare-down continued until the former suddenly clicked his tongue and changed the subject. As he shuffled through the thick stack of documents, Mr. Ville, with a face as if he had swallowed a bitter pill, shifted in his seat, looking like he was ready to lash out at any moment.
Firstly, about the subjugation reward this time, the guild has decided to cover the costs.”
"Oh? Since it’s a rescue request from Clover, I assumed they would cover it…?”
"Having a fire bear appear in a beginner hunting ground was beyond expectations. I’m not so cruel as to make them pay the subjugation fee.”
Sipping the tea Sheila provided, Mr. Xenon spoke up. The way his slender, pale fingers gently returned the teacup to its saucer looked exceptionally graceful… Beautiful and scary! Handsome and scary!
The Guildmaster shrugged his heavily muscled shoulders at Mr. Xenon’s elegant demeanor… Those deltoids are incredible, but his trapezius and pectoralis major muscles are also quite remarkable… I kinda want to have him lie down so I can press into his trapezius or perhaps just run my fingers along it…
…Ahem, so the guild is covering the costs!
The Clover did seem to be adventuring to make ends meet, not exactly flush with money. It would probably be difficult for them to pay the request fee, although it’s a bit rude to think so.
And the area around the town is an official beginner hunting ground approved by the guild.
“Factoring the difficulty level of the target and urgency, the reward is 5 gold coins. As for the dropped items, you can have them all. How does that sound?”
“Fair enough. Let’s go with that. By the way, why was a fire bear in such a shallow area? Have there been any similar past reports?”
“Hmm. Well… There have indeed been instances of higher-level monsters appearing in beginner hunting grounds before but at most mid-level threats. Never a report of a high-level monster appearing.”
Whoa, so this was quite an irregular case then…?
Basically, it was like having major league or Olympic athletes crashing a baseball game of elementary school students on a local square who only occasionally dealed with intrusions from high school players before. That’s intense! And yet, it’s impressive that Mr. Ville and the party managed to win!
Looking at Mr. Ville and Mr. Ed, who actually fought, they seem to be quite serious. As for the Guildmaster, he is furrowing his brows and pursing his lips while flipping through documents. There’s an unmistakable sense that this isn’t just a "the bear defeated, crisis averted" kind of situation!
Ehhh… I wonder, is there more to this…?
“…That fire bear’s actual stats may not have been particularly high.”
“What did you say?!”
“The appearance and skills themselves were those of a fire bear, but its actual stats should have been low. It was just too easy to defeat.”
“You can’t possibly mean…?”
“Yeah. It felt like someone forced it to look like a fire bear.”
"…It didn’t even leave a crack in Eddie’s ice wall…”
Ah… This is beyond my capabilities now. It’s getting too complicated. What does he mean by forcing it to look like a fire bear? Is he suggesting someone released a bear and claimed it was a fire bear?! And not even a crack appeared… Wait, are there instances where a crack did appear?!
Even the Guildmaster seems stunned, but everyone else, including myself, looks utterly bewildered too.
For a while, silence reigned in the room.
But the Guildmaster was the first to recover his composure.
Tightening his expression, he slowly scans Mr. Ed, Ms. Aria, Mr. Xenon, Mr. Ville, and finally me.
“…Did any of you check its stats?”
“I didn’t expect it to turn out like this. We defeated it before even appraising its stats. My apologies.”
“I see.”
The Guildmaster smoothed his head again. A habit when troubled, perhaps?
“…In any case, we’ll increase patrols around the surrounding forests and coastline for now. It’s an official guild request. Can I count on your cooperation?”
“You don’t mind if we take other requests along the way?”
“Of course. However, given the nature of this ‘patrol request,’ I’d prefer you don’t accept requests that take you too far from town.”
“We’ve no other pressing matters at the moment. For now, we’ll operate centrally around Ellarge.”
Ohhhhh…! Things just keep developing!
But it makes sense. If things keep getting this confusing, increasing patrols is crucial.
…Still, to be directly requested for patrols by the Guildmaster himself… Considering how easily they defeated that fire bear, Mr. Ville’s group must be an exceptionally strong party, right…?
Eh? Does a party that powerful really need me?
Couldn’t they easily recruit someone more capable instead of me?
“Alright! It’s settled then! It’s too late tonight, but I’ll have the staff’s spare lodgings prepared.”
“How generous of you, Guildmaster!”
“I intend to have you start patrols first thing tomorrow. For today, rest up in the spare lodgings.”
“I see. We’ll withdraw for today then…”
With a firm nod, Mr. Ville rose to his feet, prompting the others to follow Sheila’s lead to the lodgings.
“Ah. Ville and the porter lady, could you two remain for a moment?”
I had started to bow before standing when the Guildmaster stopped me.
Um… I get the distinct feeling that Mr. Ville’s mood has plummeted just now… Is everything okay…?
Thanks for the chapter!
ReplyDeleteI remember the next part of the manga was very amusing, can’t wait! Also, Rin, do you need some water? You really be LOOKING at everyone’s body, huh?
To be honest, if everyone and I mean EVERYONE is THAT good looking, we as a normal human would do the same, right?
DeleteI am also guilty of oggling good looking ppl 😔
ReplyDeleteAlso I too am excited for the next bit lol I like that part of the manga
Thank you for the updates!!