Chapter 227: A Commission of the Adventurer’s Guild

The next morning, I got out of bed pretending nothing had happened. Maxwell planned to tell Cortina and the others about Klein’s whereabouts himself, so there was nothing I needed to do.

Or rather, it would be bad if I did. I was barely managing to hide my identity as is, so I didn’t want to do anything else that’d make me look suspicious.

Honestly speaking, I wanted to teleport there and deal with this case myself, but this time it was better to hold back and stay.

“Good morning, Cortina. Finia.” “Good morning, Lady Nicole.” “Morning, looks like you’re as lively as ever. Despite your weak constitution, you strangely don’t catch any illnesses, huh?” “That’s because I’m training my body.” “I wish you stopped training until you collapsed, though.” “Where are my parents?”

Looking around, I suddenly noticed that Lyell and Maria, who should be staying here until this incident was settled, were nowhere to be found. They would normally be up at this hour and clinging to me to a depressing degree.

“Oh, those two got called by Maxwell. I have work, so he said he’d fill me in later at the Academy.” “Is that so?”

I returned a nonchalant reply, but I naturally knew the contents of their conversation. Maxwell made haste to inform Maria and Lyell about Klein’s whereabouts. It would’ve been easier if Cortina went with them, but it would’ve been bad for education if she kept putting off her original job as a teacher.

Especially at my age, children were sensitive about these things… Apparently.

“Well, I can’t keep on leaving the Academy unattended for so long. I am still bothered by Margrave Serwa’s situation, however.” “Why not have Elliot substitute you when you need it? He is an assistant teacher, after all.” “Well, Elliot himself has been surrounded by his guards and is unable to move as he likes as of late. It’s a natural outcome after what happened.” “Normally, he would have been dragged back to his kingdom.” “That shows just how much they trust us. That runny-nosed brat has grown up into a fine man.” “You sound like a grandma, you know?” “Whaa-!?”

We were messing around since early morning, but most likely from tomorrow… Or in the worst case, today, she would not be able to show up in the Academy. Leaving Klein Stolla Serwa to his own devices posed that much danger.

He was someone who targeted Elliot’s life. Letting someone like that roam free would be leaving a stain on Raum’s reputation. And as I had seen Mateus’ face, I was also their target now.

Knowing this, not only Maria and Lyell, but even Cortina wanted to bring this incident to a close as fast as possible.

As expected, after Cortina headed to Maxwell’s chairman’s office, we ended up having to self-study the rest of the day. Maxwell also seemed to have stepped out, too, perhaps heading towards either Qaum or Lilith.

Maria alone remained behind as my guard. Honestly speaking, I felt very worried that they decided to confront an assassin without taking her, the pivot healer, along.

“Teacher Cortina seems to have left on business again.”

After school, Letina and I joined up with Michelle, and then went to accompany Cloud to the Adventurer’s Guild.

Ever since the incident, entry to the forest had been banned due to the ongoing investigation, but that investigation had come to a stop after a week so the ban should be lifted from today.

As such, I planned to take Cloud to the forest with me today. But there was no fun in just hunting forest animals as we always did, so we decided to take on some simple tasks like herb gathering and try finishing the commissions while we looked for prey to hunt.

“It cannot be helped. I don’t understand what matter is occupying her… However, it seems that it is still not finished. And she is not skipping lessons, she’s using up her personal vacation for it.” “So she’s basically free from work, huh?” “It was Lord Maxwell’s order, so she couldn’t exactly oppose it. Well, Lady Cortina is also a Hero, but still…” “One is the board chairman while the other is just a teacher, after all. Looking at it from that perspective makes her look quite a bit weaker in standing, doesn’t it?” “T-That’s n-… Could it be?” “Why’re ya asking me? I don’t get how big-wigs like them act!” “Aren’t you receiving Lord Lyell’s training now? I’m so jealous!” “…Heheh.”

Observing the noisy trio, I opened the door to the Adventurer’s Guild with a smile. As the ban on the forest was lifted, it was still packed full of people despite it being close to evening.

The majority of them seemed to be Adventurers who were done with their day’s work and just came to deliver their spoils, but there were also some enthusiasts mixed in who wanted to go for one more job.

That was quite hard working of them, considering the sun was about to set. Well, we were basically about to do the same, however.

I managed to squeeze my way through that crowd and arrived at the counter.

“Good day. We would like to gather some medical herbs until evening, but is it okay?” “Oh, welcome, Nicole.”

I stood on my tiptoes and poked my face at the counter.

The counter was situated at a height where an adult would put their elbows, which was a bit… quite a bit high for me. It looked like I was resting my chin on it, but this was no different from the usual.

“Let’s see… I suppose it would be fine if you simply look near the forest area? But don’t go too deep inside. There have been sightings of an Ogre there. If you do encounter one, drop everything and run.”

The lady at the reception gave me instructions with a docile face. We were kids, so she was worried about us more than the other Adventurers. Also, the Ogre in question was a total coward, so she didn’t have to be so worried.

Rather, he had already moved places to Alecmarle, so there was no chance of anyone encountering it. That said, I couldn’t exactly tell them that. Thus, I replied to her with a similarly docile face.

“I understand. So what herbs are you lacking now?” “It seems that a cold has spread in the Elven villages, so we are in need of Millud leaves. They could be found even on the roadside, and we pay one silver per bundle of ten leaves.” “…Isn’t that quite an attractive deal?”

Millud leaves were pain and fever-relieving herbs that could also be used as wet compresses. They were quite often used, so they were bought at a decently high price. Still, the current remuneration was twice the usual.

“This is quite a jackpot for children of your age. But you have a lot of rivals, you know? The Millud trees near the city have all been left stark-naked already.” “Wah, we have to hurry, then.” “Right, do be careful, though.”

The lady sent me off with giggles, but I stopped just as I turned around. As for the reason… Up ahead, I saw Cloud being surrounded by older Adventurers.