CH 13

Chapter 13 - The Adventurer's Guild and the Receptionist

The Ilstadt branch of the Adventurer’s Guild, the second largest on the continent. I vaguely remember, but I can tell that the exterior of the building had changed since 20 years ago. If the building had been expanded, it meant that the adventurer industry is still booming.

“It’s different from when I saw it before. Is that supposed to be a passageway?”

“Yes. It’s connected to the adventurer’s bar next door. I’ve heard that it’s …… so that you can form a party and have a party immediately after receiving your rewards.”

“I see. It might be effective in keeping the customers happy.”

When Souya and Mia entered the building, a woman in a suit-like uniform was working behind the reception desk. It was probably the receptionist. She seemed to have noticed us.

“…… Oh, welcome …… If it isn’t Mia, it’s been a while!”

“Hello, Louise-san. It’s been a while.”

“I’m glad, you haven’t shown yourself in a while, after all. After what happened ・・・・, I thought you might have quit being an adventurer because you felt bad.”

“Heh, I was half considering it, but I came back.”

“Mia, a full-time priest-cleric is very valuable. There are plenty of others who can look after you. And yet…”

The receptionist, called Louise, continues to have a friendly conversation with Mia.

(See, there is someone who understands you properly. But still, anytime, anywhere, the receptionist at the Adventurer’s Guild is wonderful.)

Louise had medium honey-blonde hair with loose waves. Her voice was intoned and easy to understand, and her good looks would be well received by adventurers.

From a distance, Souya watched the two of them chatting. It’s been a while since Mia has been back, so it would be wrong to interrupt them.

“By the way, is that gentleman Mia’s acquaintance? He doesn’t seem to be an adventurer here ……”

Louise asked Mia about Souya.

“Yes. His name is Souya. He has helped me in many ways. Now, I am supporting him to repay him.”

“Yes. What kind of help did he give …… Eh, Ehhhh …… Support him? You mean he’s a pimp?”

Souya’s expression froze for a moment.

(……Mia-kun. I think you’re a little short on what you said.)

Perhaps, I shouldn’t expect such resourcefulness from the sober priestess cleric of the Earth Mother Goddess Micaela, but that’s too rough an explanation. And I wonder if she taught him the word “pimp”.

But as long as the money was borrowed, what Mia was saying is not a mistake. When he looked at Louise, he saw her sharp gaze reflected in her eyes, and Souya averted her gaze for a moment.

“You must be Souya-san, my name is Louise.”

“Yes, I am. My name is Souya. Ms. Louise, pleased to make your acquaintance.”

When he looked at Louise again, she had the face of a smiling, beautiful receptionist. In the midst of his nervousness, Souya forced himself to smile and responded.

“Souya-san. I’m sorry to be so abrupt, but you heard what she just said. What is your relationship ・・・・・・・ with Mia? I’m very curious. Personally.”

Louise came to asked Souya in a single, straightforward manner.

He’s evaluating him. She is probably trying to find out if he is a man who would do harm to Mia, who has finally returned from her troubles with men. He was a middle-aged man wearing a business suit and black glasses, which did not fit into this world. With his appearance, it was understandable that she would be suspicious.

With a slight shift in his gaze, Souya took a bird’s eye view of Louise’s eyes, then her fingers, and then her entire body.

(–She’s strong. She is probably a swordsman or a dagger user. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s on par with or even better than me.)

Louise’s standing posture naturally became that of a waiting counter. A posture of anticipation, reading the opponent’s movements. It was a stance that was said to have been used by a famous swordsman in the real world.

I wondered if it was a cultivated habit for her to display such a stance while working as a receptionist. There is a possibility that she is a former adventurer.

“There seems to be a misunderstanding. In fact, Mia-kun was attacked by wild thieves in the Melborzas meadow.”

“What? ……! Mia? You were attacked by thieves, did they do anything to you? Are you okay?”

Louise leaned lightly over the counter and put her hands on Mia’s shoulders.

“Oh, yes, I’m fine. Souya-san came by just in the nick of time. It was really close, though ……”

“Are you sure they didn’t do anything to you? Like your body?”

Louise touches Mia’s body. Her movements seemed a little erotic, and Souya wondered if he should turn his eyes away, but in the end, he just watched.

“Ahh, I-I’m really fine. Isn’t that right, Souya-san?”

Mia asked Souya. The way things are going, no matter how much Mia says she’s okay, she might not believe her.

“Yes. Mia-kun should have only fallen and not been hurt by the thieves. I wish I could say I had better timing.”

“Is that so …… Thank goodness. If something irreversible had happened, I would have had to root them all out.”

Louise muttered with a horrifying look in her eyes. From the looks of it, she and Mia were close, and she was definitely confident in her strength.

“…… Souya-san. Thank you for saving Mia. I really appreciate it. Also, I apologize for being a little suspicious of you.”

Louise bowed deeply towards Souya. She had been giving off an intimidating vibe since a while ago, but it was probably because she was worried about Mia. Souya was relieved to know that at least she was not a bad person.

It’s not a good start if you have a bad relationship with the face of the guild you’ll be working with for a while, after all. It is very likely that the activity in Ilstadt will become difficult.

“But even though Souya-san is her benefactor, I can’t accept the idea of her supporting you. Mia is just starting out as an adventurer. She’s a novice adventurer, and it must be quite a burden for her to support one person.”

“I’ve spent the last 20 years of my life holed up in my house, practicing magic. I think I got around better than I thought I would.”

“So you’re a magician. When you put it that way, you give me an intellectual vibe …… Is there any particular reason why you wanted to become an adventurer, Souya-san?”

“Well, seeing is believing, as they say. I guess I wanted to broaden my horizons rather than read books in the library. The next thing I knew, I was packing my bags and leaving my hometown. The only thing that happened was that I was caught off guard while camping and my belongings were stolen. I was in trouble when I met Mia-kun and she guided me to the adventurer’s guild, which is how I ended up here.”

Souya embellished the reason why he wanted to become an adventurer with a random thought. I’m really impressed with how many random ideas come out of my mouth. I’ve been in the business for a little over 10 years, and I think I’ve made the most of it.

(T/N: Some parts really change from third person to first person and the other way around when explaining the situation, so please don’t think that it’s strange.)

“I see. I understand the situation. Now then, let’s …… Ahem, let’s do the procedures as an adventurer all over again.”

Louise coughed and returned to her seat at the reception desk, turning to face Souya.

“Welcome to Ilstadt Branch’s Adventurer’s Guild. I’m Louise, the receptionist.”

Louise performed what seemed to be her usual routine and smiled bewitchingly at Souya.