Chapter 182: The Adventurer’s Guild of the Imperial Capital
“Mi, Mithril Plate…”
The staff member eyed our Adventurer’s Certificates with suspicion, but her hand suddenly froze. Perhaps she remembered something with that startled expression.
“Could you please wait a moment?”
With that single line, she took our certificates and disappeared into the back. Ivan was curiously glancing around the guild, while Phonia was breathing heavily, clearly excited.
“So this is the guild… Amazing!”
I wasn’t quite sure what was so amazing, but it seemed to impress her. Phonia, you should take a page from Nil’s book. Look, even now, she’s sitting there with a serious expression, keeping an eye on the other adventurers, and then letting out a big yawn… Ah, never mind.
“Thank you for waiting. Please come this way to the back room.”
After a little while, the staff member returned and guided us deeper into the guild. It seemed like this was the moment we would meet the Guild Master.
“Your companions may come as well.”
“Oh, yes.”
We all shuffled into the back room, three of us and two beasts. It seemed like every time we came to the guild, we ended up in a private room more often. Once inside what appeared to be a conference room, we each took our seats. Phonia attempted to sit in a chair in her beast form, but upon seeing Nil sitting quietly in the corner, she chose to sit beside him.
“I couldn’t sit…”
“Well, that’s to be expected…”
I could only respond to her sad words with that. Perhaps she hadn’t had many opportunities to spend time in her beast form until now.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
After a while, a stout man with brown fur framing his head, cheeks, and chin entered the conference room. The female staff member from earlier followed behind him.
“I’m Buldriff, the Guild Master. I’ve heard about you. You must be Shu and Rio… right?”
It seemed my guess about him being the Guild Master was correct, but why did he look at Ivan and Rio with a questioning expression?
“I’m Shuu.”
“What!? My apologies!”
Among the three of us, I was the shortest, and it was clear that Ivan from the Bear Tribe looked stronger at first glance. Should I try to exude some intimidation? After introducing myself again, we all took our seats.
“We’re currently processing your Adventurer’s Certificates. Please wait a little longer.”
“Understood.”
“Let’s take care of the remaining matters while we’re at it.”
“Then, please take this.”
I handed over the Sea Emperor Turtle’s Head Delivery Completion Certificate.
“Hmm. Indeed.”
He confirmed it and passed it to the female staff member behind him.
“Next… was it the registration of your tamed monster?”
“Yes. I’d like to register that Mystic Fox over there.”
I pointed to Phonia, who was rolling around in the corner. While Nil was calm, having a large, rolling Phonia around was a bit bothersome. Is she a child or something? Be quiet.
“What!? A Mystic Fox!?”
The Guild Master stood up with a loud thud.
“…Is that it?”
Perhaps because he pointed at her and drew attention, Phonia stopped moving and looked confused.
“I thought a tamed monster of an S Rank Adventurer would be something extraordinary, but…”
I understood what he meant. After all, she was essentially a child in spirit.
“But she has five tails, doesn’t she?”
“Five tails!?”
This time, the Guild Master kicked his chair over with a loud crash.
“D-Don’t worry, Guild Master. She’s properly tamed.”
The female staff member hurriedly reassured him about Phonia’s status. She must be the one handling the taming procedures. If she can appraise her, she’ll know whether she’s tamed or not, which is good for confirming safety quickly.
“I never thought I’d get to see a five-tailed Mystic Fox…”
“They say she’s quite a rare monster.”
“Ah, indeed. I’ve only encountered up to four tails in the past… and even then, they were A Rank monsters. If she has five tails, she must be S Rank.”
“Wow.”
He gulped as he explained, but I wasn’t surprised since I had a good idea of what to expect. Looking at their statuses, Nil leaned more towards physical strength, while Phonia leaned towards magic. If Nil was said to be S Rank, then Phonia must be S Rank as well.
“A five-tailed… S Rank monster…?”
Ivan trembled as he spoke, clearly shaken by the thought of being with such an extraordinary fox-eared creature. He glanced between me, Rio, Nil, and Phonia in turn before dramatically slumping over the table.
“Could it be that I’m the weakest among us…?”
It seemed that wasn’t the case.
“Understood… I’ll register her as an S Rank tamed monster. What name will she have?”
“I’m Phonia!”
“Phonia, then.”
“Very well. I’ll prepare the tamed monster tag. Lastly, we need to register that man as an adventurer, correct?”
“Yes, please.”
As she spoke, the female staff member smoothly handed over the registration form. She passed it to Ivan, who was still slumped over the table.
“…I can’t read or write.”
Considering he had been a slave until recently, it wasn’t surprising that he couldn’t read or write. The literacy rate in this world seemed quite low.
“Ivan-nii, you’ve been pretty pathetic today.”
“Haha, it can’t be helped. Don’t tell him that; it’ll just make him feel worse.”
“Huh? Why not?”
No, no, just stop already. Ivan’s life points are already at zero. Phonia probably couldn’t read or write either, right? When I explained this to her, she seemed to accept it.
“Then I’ll write it for you.”
“Thank you…”
“Do you want me to look up your profession?”
“Oh, I know what it is, so it’s fine.”
“Eh? Seriously? …I didn’t hear about that!?”
When I declined the kind offer from the staff member, Ivan shot back with a fierce retort. Seriously, he was busy today, going from making comebacks to slumping over.
“You weren’t asked, you know. By the way, it clearly states ‘Hunter’ here.”
“Wait, what!? Seriously…! Yes! I got it—!”
Now he was completely pumped up. Come to think of it, the chances of a profession being revealed were less than fifty percent, so if it was clearly stated, he was indeed lucky.
“Yes, the registration form is all set. I confirm it has been received. With this, Mr. Ivan is now an F Rank Adventurer.”
“Hmm. That wraps up all the requirements.”
“Indeed. Thank you very much.”
“Your Adventurer’s Certificates will be ready soon. I’ll have them brought here once they’re done. …By the way…”
As the Guild Master looked around the room, he muttered.
“Among the three of you and two beasts, there are two S Ranks and one F Rank… Quite an interesting combination, indeed.”
With a hearty laugh, the Guild Master’s words sent Ivan, who had just been on a high from learning his profession, crashing back down to earth once more.