The Adventurers’ Guild’s Long Day

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…

Morning came early at the Adventurers’ Guild.

“Whoa! There aren’t any requests for the ‘plains region’ left already! Damn it! Miss, put me down for ‘free exploration’! Is the application good now?!”

“Yes, accepted! Since this is free exploration, there will be no reward money from the Guild, but after we appraise any monsters you hunt on the plains, we will buy them at a fair price. If you need carts or the like, please tell the staff at the gates!”

Outside the urban district, beyond the walls, many of the monsters appearing in the plains region were active early in the morning, which meant more hunting opportunities.

“Ah, what a normal morning. The adventurers are lively too. Very good.”

Beyond the counter, a potbellied middle-aged man sat in a chair and watched the entire Adventurers’ Guild.

Margrave Sapan von Teach.

The lord of this city, who loved peace and lining his own pockets more than anything else.

His morning also began early.

He understood. The heart of his city, this city entrusted to him by the Emperor, lay in this Guild.

“Hmm. Hmm, hmm. The amount of giant boar meat in circulation is lower than last month… Hmm, it’s one of our main exports to the Imperial Capital, so I’d like to increase the quantity a little, but…”

“Hmm, petty crimes by halflings are increasing… On top of that, raids on nearby villages are also trending upward. I may need to speak with the Church knight faction once.”

“The ratio of dwarves in the population is falling… Hm, petitions from the workshops and the Merchants’ Guild are increasing too… The cause is the Angel Church’s high blessing tax… But alcohol is their domain, so what should I do?”

The Margrave’s residence went through countless documents. His speed was extraordinary.

“Look, the lord is clearing documents at an incredible pace again.”

“He’s an admirable man. He even does work that would normally be left to civil officials all by himself.”

“The rumor says he and the Guild Master are together, but if he can work that well, maybe it isn’t a lie.”

The Guild receptionists whispered among themselves. But while he was hyper-focused, not a single bit of noise reached his ears.

“Oh, Lady Niece fired another tutor again… He was a famous scholar of ancient Nihon studies even in the Imperial Capital, though… ‘Prepare someone native-level who knows Nihon poems, haiku, and stories,’ she says. Hmph, it would probably be faster to have the Magic Academy develop a spell formula that could go back into the past.”

It was by his intention that his residence stood on the same grounds as the Guild. According to him, it was because he wanted to be even a little closer to the adventurers who influenced the future of an adventure city.

Well, the real reason was something else. But he never let that show.

After reading through the many reports and petitions, he began thinking of countermeasures for each one.

A voice suddenly slipped between his thoughts.

“My lord. Good morning.”

The head of the Adventurers’ Guild.

The Guild Master, “Heidemarie Snabellua.”

A talented woman who, at the tender age of twelve, entered and graduated top of her class from the most difficult educational institution in the Empire, the Landner Imperial Academy.

After that, she worked for the Adventurers’ Guild in the Imperial Capital, and at the young age of twenty-three, she was personally chosen by the Emperor as the Guild Master of the “adventure city Agatra,” making her an excessively excellent person.

“Ah, Marie-kun, good morning. It’s a fine morning.”

Unlike the plump middle-aged margrave, the Guild Master had glamour. Slender legs stretched from her tight skirt, her green hair was carefully arranged, and the Guild uniform pushed up her chest.

“Are you feeling better now?”

Though the two contrasted so sharply, when he and she stood together, they somehow made a strangely picturesque pair. The Guild receptionists stole glances at the two rumored to be together.

“Haha, somehow. …Yes, it was rough. Truly.”

They were two of the most prominent figures even in this adventure city.

But even for those two, there were days of misfortune. Yesterday’s events at the Dragon Embassy could truly be called a calamity, or even a disaster.

“I still had much to learn… I shall try to think of yesterday as a good experience.”

“Ah, yes. I honestly think that part of you is amazing.”

They had been summoned by a dragon, gone to acknowledge and celebrate her marriage, and then, before they knew what was happening, a slave had picked a fight with the dragon and they had been caught in the aftershock.

No, it probably won’t be a positive experience at all. Even if you lived a hundred years, normally you’d never run into something like that.

Sapan swallowed the words that had risen to his throat.

“Well, yesterday’s incident was basically an accident. An accident. The dragon-dono isn’t on underground duty today, and that dragon slayer is probably still at the embassy somehow or other. Ah, all is right with the world. What fine words.”

Sapan acted cheerfully. The words he continued speaking sounded as if he were trying to convince himself.

Yes, nothing like that could happen again.

He wanted nothing to do with dragon-related trouble. The moment one was dragged into it, a danger to one’s life arose.

But such things did not happen often. Yes, no, no. There would be no more of it.

Sapan nodded repeatedly in his heart. Yesterday’s events, and being exposed to the anger of a dragon and a transcendent being, had completely traumatized him.

“My lord, perhaps it would be better not to say such things… The word common sense does not apply to the Hoarding Dragon-sama.”

“Nahahaha! It’s fine. I vomited and wet myself yesterday, and it was a terrible time. Things like that don’t continue so easily.”

His bright words were entirely forced cheer.

“You wet yourself?”

Marie recoiled slightly at the fact he had casually confessed.

The margrave did not care about that in the slightest, but then suddenly tilted his head.

“Hm? Oh, it suddenly became quiet. I wonder what happened?”

At this hour, it would not have been strange for the Guild to still be filled with adventurers shouting as they fought over requests, but…

“…My lord, I apologize for delaying my report on this matter. Yesterday, I believed you were unwell, so I decided not to report it.”

“Hm?”

Her expression looked difficult to speak with. Her tone too. The moment Sapan sensed Marie’s state, he suddenly felt his stomach shrink.

“After that, while you were unconscious, the Hoarding Dragon and the Dragon Embassy made a declaration to the adventure city, and by extension, to the Empire.”

“A d-declaration?”

“It was that ‘the adventurer slave Tooyama Naruhito’s slave registration is to be erased, the announcement of marriage to him is to be withdrawn, and his own freedom and will are to be respected.’”

“For real?”

A dragon respected a person.

The reverse was obvious, but this was impossible. At the very least, Sapan knew of no such precedent.

“For real. It will take some time before it spreads through the Empire as an official statement. Also, as of yesterday afternoon, he had already descended into the adventure city. Unfortunately, the Guild has not gone as far as monitoring him… However, one adventurer saw Tooyama Naruhito entering the slums.”

“The s-slums? Why would he… Wait, it really is quiet. What on earth happened— Ah.”

The small scream belonged to Sapan.

On the other side of the counter, he peered into the adventurers’ tavern and let out a sound like a small bird being strangled.

“…Please don’t say anything. I beg you.”

Having realized something, Marie crouched down on the spot while wiping her glasses. To anyone who knew her, it was an impossible sight.

“U-um, um um um, M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-Marie-k-k-k-k-kun, you’re the Guild Master, right, right?”

Sapan’s voice beat out a rhythm. His stomach had already become a stormy sea.

The scene he had seen had done that to him.

“Ahh, I can’t hear anything, ahh!”

Being quick-witted and perceptive was a problem in itself. It meant she realized every terrifying sight and every terrifying possibility.

The Empire’s foremost talented woman, the Guild Master of Agatra, the holy land of adventurers, covered her ears like a small child and shook her head, refusing again and again.

“Um, the Hoarding Dragon-sama and, well, her are there!”

And Sapan had no intention of shouldering that terrifying sight alone, nor of letting the Guild Master escape.

“Ahh, ahhh!”

“The Hoarding Dragon and the former Hero Party Archer!! The Tower-Class Adventurer, Miss Wenfilbarna, is glaring each other down! With Tooyama Naruhito between them!”

“I told you not to saaaay iiiit! Nooooo!”

Marie’s scream echoed through the Guild.

The Adventurers’ Guild’s long day began with a glare-off between a dragon and a hero.