Volume 1 - CH 25

Having enjoyed her day off to her heart’s content—which mostly involved lazing around in her cosy bed—the next morning saw the start of the attack on the Tower of Chalk.

It was a pleasant morning, with blue skies and a refreshing breeze, but when Alina disembarked the carriage, her shoulders were slumped as she trudged gloomily towards the guild headquarters.

‘My paid leave…’

Alina muttered, her eyes downcast, her voice downbeat.

Receptionists are entitled to twenty days of paid leave per year. These days are, according to Alina, as gifts from the gods above, days when you are free to take time off (as long as it doesn’t interfere with business) and still be paid during. But fate is a cruel mistress, for today Alina was forced by circumstance to forfeit one of these god-given days.

‘My paid leave!’

Alina sniffled and bit her lip.

Thus far, Alina had been very deliberate with how she used her paid leave. Even on occasions when she felt a little unwell, she stubbornly reported for work. Why did she do this? Because Alina is the kind of person who wants to take all of her paid leave at once. Aiming for a time when things have calmed down at work, she releases all her paid leave she has been saving up all at once, making sure they coincide with regular holidays, thus creating one long holiday where she can spend day after day locked up in her own house, being as lazy as she wants. It is the ultimate luxury afforded only to those who work, the reward granted only to those winners who endure the unendurable, bear the unbearable, who continue to overcome the desire to waste their paid leave.

The thought of having this reward be cut short one day had overwhelmed Alina with sadness since this morning.

‘Didn’t the guildmaster say you can take special leave?’

Alina’s spirits must have been lower than expected, because Jade, walking beside her, was desperately trying to find the words that would cheer her up. But nothing he could think of could ease the grief of losing one of her divine vacations. Alina glared at Jade with moist eyes.

‘I’m just a mere receptionist at the bottom of the guild’s totem pole. It would draw far too much attention if someone like me took special leave at the guildmaster’s behest.’

Special leave is only granted when the guild recognises it as being necessary and requires permission from the guildmaster. In all her years in the guild, Alina had never heard of a receptionist receiving it. Of course, people wouldn’t immediately make the connection between her and the Executioner if it got out that she was given special leave, but it would inevitably draw people’s attention towards her, something she wanted to avoid.

The reason Alina decided to take paid leave with overwhelming sorrow was to desperately defend her peace and quiet as a receptionist. To be able to capture the dungeon quietly and without arousing suspicion, and return to living as normal.

‘You have a point.’

‘Besides, there’s no way we’ll be able to capture the dungeon in one day, so I’m going to have to dip into my leave every day it drags on! Do you know what that means?!?!?!?!’

Unleashing her soul’s lament, Alina grabbed Jade by the collar and shook him violently back and forth.

‘Paid leave! Is! The reward! For! The working woman! It is as precious as human rights!’

‘I’ll ask the guildmaster if if there’s anything he can do about it later! I will, so please let me go!’

‘N—Now, now, Alina, please calm down.’

Bu the time Jade’s face was turning blue for lack of oxygen, Rururi stepped in.

‘We’ll finish capturing the Tower of Chalk in no time! Bish, bash, just like that!’

‘Ugh…I hate to say it, but you’re right. It’s all for the sake of ending overtime!’

Alina muttered bitterly and clenched her fists.

Exactly. Glenn had promised to double the number of receptionists at Ifühl Counter if Alina helped the Blades capture the Tower of Chalk. By simple arithmetic, two receptionists could be assigned to a single counter, which would half the workload and not only cut down on overtime but also make it easier to get time off.

A wonderful future lay before me! I’m going to win it, come what may!!

Alina made her resolve.

Alina looked up at the huge crystal structure in front of her. In the centre of the square inside the guild compound stood a crystal gate used exclusively to teleport adventurers to the dungeons. What made this gate different from others of its kind was that you need to have an adventurer’s license to use it.

‘The search party that discovered the Tower of Chalk already built a gate on the other side.’

The moment Alina held out her license card, her entire vision filled with blue light. After a brief moment of feeling like she was floating through space, her boots were back on terra firma. Once her vision had recovered from the dizzying light, she looked around and found that she was no longer in the guild square.

‘Wow.’

The party found themselves at the edge of Elm’s Gorge, in a desolate, auburn wasteland. The pristine wilderness of the gorge was located in a region of the continent where few dungeons had been discovered to date.

The small crystal gate stood not far from the valley. Although the existence of the Tower of Chalk had been announced, it had been classified as an S-rank dungeon, so the requirements for entry were strict and there were no other adventurers around yet.

Alina’s cloak fluttered in the dry wind blowing through the wasteland. Satisfied that no one else was around, Alina took off her hood and gazed at the otherworldly structure at the edge of the valley.

‘So that’s the Tower of Chalk.’

The pure white of the tower stood out against the reddish-brown wasteland. Alina had pictured the tower to be your typical straight, cylindrical structure. Instead, it was shaped like a conical spiral, wide at the base and tapering as it climbed, while the outer walls curled beautifully like a twisting cyclone. The rugged view of Elm’s gorge stretching out behind it nought but heightened the tower’s presence.

‘So. Let me introduce myself once again.’

While Alina was busy marvelling at the Tower of Chalk, Rururi stepped forward.

‘I’m Rururi, the white mage of the Blades. No one dies as long as I’m the party’s healer!’

Rururi boastfully thumped her chest. With her bob-cut hair, her childlike face, and a stature smaller than even her rod, she looked like a child of tender years who should have no business wandering around dangerous dungeons.

However, Alina knew that contrary to her childlike appearance, this girl’s overwhelming healing power together with her cute appearance made her be called “everybody’s soothing” among the adventurers.

‘I’m Loewe, a black mage. I specialize in attacking from a distance, so I’m counting on you for the frontal charge.’

Loewe grinned in his all-black attire, from his robes to the rod in his hand. His slightly slanted, feline-like eyes made a striking impression, and although he didn’t make it onto the junior receptionist Laila’s hot-or-not list, he was neck and neck with Jade in terms of popularity.

‘Still, a hidden quest… I never thought they really existed.’

Loewe said as the group headed for the tower, his arms crossed in contemplation. Jade nodded.

‘It makes sense that no one has been able to accept a hidden quest so far, considering that nobody is mad enough to destroy a relic.’

‘What are you trying to say?’

‘I’m not trying to say anything. Ah, it looks like frivolities have to end here.’

Suddenly, Jade’s eyes narrowed and his gaze shifted towards the tower.

There was a hint of seriousness in his lowered tone. Perhaps it was the sense of responsibility that the tank, the lifeline of the party, carries, for his gaze turned sharp, in stark contrast to before, as he looked at the tower.

From a distance Alina didn’t think the tower looked all that tall, but perhaps it was the fan-shaped construction that made it look unexpectedly large and imposing as they got closer. When they reached the base of the tower, the entrance was wide open.

‘That reminds me. Before we go into the dungeon, take this.’

Jade handed Alina a light-green crystal decorated with silver. Encased in the rough, uncut gem was the mark of Dia, and carved into the silverwork was a crest of two crossed swords—the symbol of the Silver Blades.

‘A relic?’

‘This is a “Shard of Guidance”, developed by the guild using a relic as a base.’

‘Huh.’

‘When the owner of a shard is on the brink of death, or when one is destroyed, the remaining shards will guide their owner towards it. In other words, it’s an emergency communication tool that lets you know when a party member is in trouble.’

‘I had no idea such a useful item existed.’

Alina studied the crystal shard closely. A chain was threaded through the ornamental part, so that it could be hung around the neck.

‘You can get a pretty sum if you sell it, you know? It’s a rare item that’s not on the market.’

Tee hee, Loewe laughed cheekily until Rururi’s rod hit him square in the face face.

‘Ouch!’

‘It also serves as a proof of being a companion of the Blades! It’s not just some rare item!’

‘It was just a joke…’

With Loewe’s pained voice in the background, Alina and the others stepped foot inside the Tower of Chalk.