Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 462

Chapter 462

“…….”

“…….”

Numerous noises ceased, and the surroundings instantly fell silent. Not only the Soul Reliever personnel but also the other guests were frozen, staring at us. It was no wonder, considering a giant spirit had suddenly appeared in the middle of the room. Among them was the innkeeper, whose face I had become familiar with over the past few months. His mouth hung open, and the coins he was counting cascaded from his hand. It seemed inevitable that we would have to move inns today.

Amidst all this, the center of attention, Ciel, gently descended. She landed on the table between me and the Soul Reliever’s Master, right where I had left the documents I was reading. *Thud*. The documents, trampled under the wolf’s paws, were instantly soaked.

“Oh, they’re all wet now. I told you to take them away sooner. The ink has all run; there’s no saving them now.”

“W-What on earth is this……?”

The Soul Reliever’s Master stammered, his face pale as if he were about to collapse. Coming to meet a Spirit Master with only swordsmen as backup, this man was more naive than he appeared. Did he think he could stop me with such meager protection, or did he believe I wouldn’t resort to force? Either way, he had gravely misjudged me.

“You’re the one who doesn’t understand. I’ve told you several times that I refuse. If I were interested in your guild, I wouldn’t have been avoiding you all this time, would I? Changing my route was quite a hassle for me.”

“……Umm, what do you mean……?”

The eyes facing me trembled violently. Why bother pretending not to know? It was such a pathetic attempt that I couldn’t hide my scorn this time.

“I was in a good mood, so I let your little games slide. You should have taken the hint. Coming all the way here is going too far.”

*Now I have to move inns.* I’ve accumulated quite a bit of luggage, and just thinking about moving it all is a pain. I wonder if I can get a refund for the money I paid in advance for the long-term stay?

The waterlogged documents were clumped together. I threw them as they were at the Soul Reliever’s Master. Frozen, he couldn’t dodge and meekly accepted the wet wad of paper. Whether his clothes got wet or not was none of my concern.

“So, I’ll take it you understand, and we’ll end the conversation here. I’m a busy person, you see.”

Since the guild schedule was added, my training time had become even tighter. These days, every minute and second was precious to me. I didn’t want to waste any more time on this, so I stood up. As I turned to leave, I glanced back to see the Soul Reliever’s Master staring blankly up at me, his Adam’s apple bobbing.

“If you pull a stunt like this again, you’re going to have a very interesting experience.”

A fun aquatic adventure, if you’ve ever heard of it. I’m confident I can create an experience he’ll never forget.

* * *

“Ah, that bastard.”

I ran into the Soul Reliever’s Master again a few days later at the association. I looked up at Chris’s grinding teeth and saw them walking towards us from the opposite side. Judging by their fancy attire, most of them were nobles, and the Soul Reliever’s Master was among them.

I’m a pacifist. No matter how annoying someone is, I don’t particularly plan to do anything just because we happened to run into each other. But it seemed he didn’t feel the same way. Shortly after spotting me, the Soul Reliever’s Master flinched and quickly led his group past us. It was obvious he was avoiding me.

*Well, it’s easier and better for me if we don’t run into each other.* It’s much better than him brazenly trying to talk to me again. At least he understands what I’m saying. I was inwardly pleased when Chris turned to me with a strange expression.

“El, what did you do to that Theo guy?”

“Nothing in particular?”

“It doesn’t seem like you did nothing. He’s not the type to avoid someone first.”

“I really didn’t do anything. He was bothering me a bit lately, so I just told him to stop.”

Chris’s eyes wavered. He seemed to have caught on to the situation with just that casual answer. With a contorted face, he glared intensely at the receding figures.

“Could it be that you moved accommodations because of him this time?”

“Well, I can’t say it wasn’t.”

“……Damn it. He’s the best at behind-the-scenes maneuvering on the continent. He didn’t try to do anything to you, did he? Tell me if he comes looking for you again. I really won’t let it go this time.”

“I’m fine. I told him clearly, so he won’t be coming back.”

“……Did you do that again? Threatening with a smile.”

“Again? Anyone would think I’m a scary person.”

“Well, yeah, maybe. Anyway, it’s refreshing to see him running away like his tail’s on fire.”

Chris grinned and ruffled my hair roughly. His face, filled with relief despite his apology, was full of pride.

“But how long are you going to live in an inn? The place you moved to this time is a special room too, right? Wouldn’t it be better to buy a decent mansion with that money?”

“Well, it’s not that I haven’t thought about it, but managing a mansion would be more of a hassle. I’m not uncomfortable with my current life, and it’s just right. And I’m not planning to settle down in the capital anyway.”

I needed the guild to connect with the Blue Dragon Lamias, and once that’s resolved, I don’t know what will happen next. If I find Lapis here, that would be great, but if not, I’ll have to go meet other dragons. That’s why I told Chris from the beginning that I would only do the guild work until a certain point. Since that point hasn’t been discussed yet, Chris seems to occasionally forget that I’m someone who will eventually leave.

“Ah, right. You just needed a guild to borrow the name from temporarily.”

He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly and turned back with a bitter expression.

“But you’re not going to quit suddenly, are you?”

“If I were that disloyal, I would have quit already when the guild work wasn’t going well, right?”

“Hehe, that’s true.”

“Don’t worry. At least, even if I quit, I’ll quit after resolving the issue with the Soul Reliever guild.”

That way, I can sleep soundly even after returning. Even though it’s a disappearing civilization, the lives of the people living here now are real. I don’t want Chris to be in trouble after I leave. I’ve already seen him broken once, so even more so. If I go back without resolving it, it will definitely keep bothering me.

“What? El, are you leaving the guild?”

A surprised voice came from behind us. Simon and his group, who had just arrived, had a look of dismay on their faces. They must have misunderstood, hearing our conversation as they arrived.

“No, no. Not now, it’s a long way off. I just meant that I might quit someday. I’m not planning to settle down in the capital yet.”

“Ah, I see. I thought you were leaving right away.”

Surprisingly, the three of them didn’t seem to mind that I was planning to quit at all. Maybe it’s because I left a suspicious impression from the first meeting, and they guessed that I had another job.

After a light conversation, we headed to the counter to receive a request. The association employee, whom we saw every day, greeted us warmly.

“Ah, Dawn, everyone. You’ve come at a good time. There’s a request that you might find interesting. Would you like to take a look?”

Of course, none of us were tempted by those words. How many times had we been hooked by that employee’s bright fishing? We nodded indifferently, and the employee eagerly took out the documents.

“This time, it’s really interesting. Really.”

“Yeah, so what is it?”

“It’s an investigation request.”

“Whose background check? Is another philanderer cheating again?”

“Oh, no, it’s not like that. It’s a support request from the Western Branch a while ago. A few months ago, an inexplicable phenomenon occurred in the Louisa Forest of the Jeremy County. Anyone who enters the forest disappears. Of course, all the teams that went to investigate have not returned either. The branch there couldn’t find any more guilds to take on the task, so they requested support from headquarters.”

Huh? Wait, what did I just hear?

I reflexively turned to Chris. He was also looking at me with a dazed expression. The slouching posture had disappeared, and everyone straightened up with a sense of urgency. The association employee, seeing us like that, had a triumphant look on his face, as if saying, “I told you it would be different this time.”

“What’s the grade of this?”

“It’s a Machina grade.”

Simon gasped. Machina grade was the third highest grade from the top. It was clear that our guild, which had barely managed to handle Arma grade, the lowest, or at best, Caliga grade, one step above that, couldn’t even dream of taking on such a request. As we stared blankly at the employee, he scratched his cheek with an embarrassed expression.

“Well, it’s just that Dawn is a new guild, so you haven’t had many opportunities, but it’s not like you’re lacking in power. After all, you have two Axis-grade hunters.”

“I’m grateful that you recognize that.”

“Ahem. Anyway, don’t make a decision right here and discuss it carefully. I said it’s Machina grade, but it’s practically an unconfirmed grade.”

“What do you mean?”

“This request is one where the grade has been continuously raised. It started as Caliga grade, then rose to Manatess [likely a typo, should be Equus], and now it’s been upgraded to Machina grade.”

The request grade is initially assigned arbitrarily by the association, and if it fails, the grade is raised by one level. In other words, the last team that didn’t return had an Equus-grade ability, which is the stage before Machina. Since no one has taken it on since then, it could mean that it might be even higher.

“Actually, we made proposals to large guilds in advance. But no one seemed willing to take it on.”

“So that’s why we got the opportunity.”

“To be honest, yes. That’s why I’m telling you to decide carefully.”

The employee added that we should decide within a few days and handed over the request form. It was a long-awaited high-level request, but the expressions of the group leaving the counter were not so bright. Chris looked at the request form with a troubled face.

“What should we do? Hearing it’s Machina grade made my ears perk up, but a forest that eats people is a bit creepy. And the fact that it’s an unconfirmed grade.”

“But wouldn’t it be okay if it’s just an investigation? We can pull out right away if it seems dangerous.”

“I’m against it. Do you think the people who went before didn’t know that? Even if El and Chris are Axis grade, I don’t think this is a request that a small guild like ours can handle. It’s a shame, but it’s better to just give up.”

“Della’s opinion has some merit. But if we refuse this one, won’t it be harder to get the next opportunity?”

Following Simon and Della, Nev spoke his opinion in turn. The opposition and support were split exactly in half. Chris, with deeper contemplation, turned to me.

“El, what do you think?”

“Well, I…….”

“Excuse me.”

As I was about to give my opinion, someone’s voice interrupted. I turned my head and saw a man approaching us. Judging by the uniform he was wearing, he seemed to be an association employee as well. Wondering what was going on, I looked at him, and he suddenly bowed to me.

“Thank you for then.”

I was flustered by the sudden greeting, but somehow his face looked familiar. After examining him for a while, I realized where I had seen him. He was the person I had reflexively saved when the monster appeared.

“I should have greeted you sooner, but I haven’t had the chance. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. Are you feeling better since then?”

“Yes, I’m safe thanks to you.”

“That’s good.”

As I smiled and nodded, the man hesitated a little. He seemed to have something else to say. I waited patiently, and after a while, he carefully opened his mouth.

“That request from earlier, it would be better not to take it on.”

“Yes?”

“That’s probably not Machina grade. Actually, the Soul Reliever guild went on a preliminary investigation at the request of the association president. And they said it would be Axis grade.”

“……Is that so?”

“Yes, I definitely heard that. That guy from earlier, he told you to think carefully, but he’ll probably recommend it again. I saw the Soul Reliever guild master secretly instructing him to get the Dawn guild to take on that request no matter what.”

*Ah.*

That alone was enough to understand what it meant. As I nodded to indicate that I understood, the employee’s face brightened even more, and he bowed again before quickly returning to his seat. He must have felt that he couldn’t ignore it since I had helped him. It was the moment when everyone simultaneously sighed.

“Damn it, it’s ruined, it’s ruined. There was no need to worry.”

Chris, with a deathly expression, grabbed the request form with both hands. I was the one who stopped him from tearing it up.

“……? Why?”

“Should we just do this?”

“Huh? Didn’t you hear just now? It’s Axis grade. You know that the request grade set by the association is based on a group of five, not an individual, right? That means it’s a request that can only be done if the average ability of the five people is Axis grade. How can we do this?”

“Even Axis grade varies depending on the type. This is because it’s an unknown phenomenon. In my opinion, investigating it wouldn’t be a difficult problem for me.”

Most of the strange phenomena that occur in this world are due to gods or thoughts. Since both are related to the world of spirits, it would be easier for a Spirit Master, especially me, who belongs to the same system, to find out. As I roughly explained that part, Chris’s expression became serious.

“Really?”

“Yes, so I think it’s good to try it out. Since it’s a request that everyone has refused, if it goes well, our name will be known even more. It’s a good opportunity to rise to prominence at once.”

“Hmm, if it goes well, of course, but…….”

“Either way, they’re going to try to get us to take it on. We might as well make it look good. They’ve set up the stage for us, so shouldn’t we respond?”

*And Soul Reliever Guild Master, I’ll see you when you get back. If you want to do an aquatic adventure that much, I’ll have to let you.* Hehe, as I smiled darkly, Chris flinched. Even so, his eyes were already sparkling. The others also had faces that seemed to have made up their minds. After exchanging glances for a moment, we soon nodded.

“Okay, let’s do it.”

That’s how the guild’s first external schedule was set.