CH 192

Episode 192 – Useful Information

At the offer of the woman from Araku Village, it was decided that I would be introduced to the girl who worked here. According to what we had discussed, I would be able to meet this person today since she would be working later in the day. As such, I promised to come back at a different time and left Araku Village.

Well, I didn’t match their requirements and they didn’t really line up with mine either, so I felt that the chances of us being able to form a party were pretty slim. Since we were meeting just because there was no harm in doing so, and because I couldn’t really expect this person to be a party member, I decided to go to the Adventurer’s Guild. It was still the best place when it came to gathering party members, and I had some time until the evening when Araku Village opened for business.

I made my way out of the abandoned bar district onto Main Street, where I once again headed to the Dungeon Area.

―I guess I wouldn’t be able to see the [Azure Alliance] since they just left, huh?

I found myself subconsciously looking around for them, but there was nothing I could do about it.

Anyways… the excitement of the Dungeon Area at noon is really something to marvel at.

I made my way through the crowds to the Adventurer’s Guild, noticing that the buzzing clamor of Main Street lost out slightly to that of the Dungeon Area.

“Wow…” (Lewin)

When I entered the Adventurer’s Guild, I was surprised as always at how densely packed the place was. The number of people outside was crazy on its own, but the number of people inside was even higher. It was so packed that it made Grezesta’s Adventurer’s Guild look empty in comparison.

Among all of those people, the Adventurer’s Guild was the focal point for adventurers gathering from all walks of life. I didn’t come to the Adventurer’s Guild to search for party members… but rather for the ‘Adventurer’s Guild’ itself.

Indeed. Today, I had come to the Adventurer’s Guild relying on one piece of information that Tobias had given me. ‘A profitable piece of information that wasn’t known to any ordinary person in the Adventurer’s Guild.’

I was honestly only half-convinced that the information was true. The employees here were somewhat prickly since the place was always busy, so I would have preferred to just get it over with in a businesslike exchange, but… in order to achieve my goal of catching up to the [Azure Alliance], this was a path I had to take. Doing my best to fire myself up internally, I joined the queue in front of the reception desks.

At the time I’d lined up, there had still been a long line in front of the reception desks. But thanks to the number of reception desks and receptionist ladies, the line moved along quickly. Within just several tens of minutes, it was my turn.

My turn came around quicker than I expected, and I made my way up to the open reception desk, still not fully prepared mentally.

“Next person, please come up to the available reception desk.”

“N-nice to meet you.” (Lewin)

“My name is Lewin Jade, 16 years old. No occupation. What I’d like to request is… a Guild employee to fill in as a party member so we can dive into the Dungeon.” (Lewin)

The receptionist lady’s eyebrows furrowed slightly when she heard my name, age, and occupation. But when she heard the details of my request, her eyes flew open and she took a closer look at me.

That’s right.

What I learned from Tobias is that Guild employees could fill in for parties. Many of the employees at Landaust’s Adventurer’s Guild were originally well-known adventurers who were recruited by the Guild, so apparently most of them possessed both strength and knowledge about the Dungeon.

As a Guild employee, there would be no problems with their behavior, and since they already had a main occupation, it was easy for them to just withdraw from the party. In other words, it was a perfect fit with the kind of members I was looking for.

It was such a good service, so I felt that it should be more of a widespread practice, but… to be honest, the Guild employees’ party fill service had not permeated society as a viable practice because it was only offered to new adventurers, and the commission fee was by no means cheap.

Tobias told me that no one had used this service for around ten years, so he wasn’t even sure if they were still offering it. Judging from the receptionist lady’s reaction, it seemed to still be an existing service.

“……..Umm, this is a service that we only offer to novice adventurers.” (Receptionist Lady)

“To tell you the truth, I haven’t become an adventurer yet and was thinking of registering as an adventurer. I was hoping to ask a Guild employee to fill in as a party member at that time, which is why I reached out to you about this today.” (Lewin)

“……..We also charge quite a bit for the usage fee, is that okay? Wouldn’t it be much cheaper to just commission an adventurer party?” (Receptionist Lady)

“Yes. Money isn’t a problem. I look forward to working with you.” (Lewin)

With the amount of money I had on hand right now, it actually was a little bit of a problem, but… I should be able to handle the money by making good use of [Plant Master].

I couldn’t expect to be able to sell Glutamate Herb here since Clive wasn’t here. But if I synthesized and sold the high-in-demand Magical Grass and All-Herb, I should be able to earn enough to at least pay off the commission fee.

“……….I understand. I will need to get confirmation from my superiors, so could you please wait just a moment? Also… could you please tell me how many members you are looking to fill in at this point?” The receptionist lady asked me with an unpleasant look on her face that she no longer had the grace to hide.

Hmm. How many people should I say?

As I promised with Ahmed, my party couldn’t be over 3 people, so I should be searching for 2 other people… But if the female adventurer from Araku Village ended up wanting to join, then I would only need one.

“I’m only thinking of filling one party slot at the moment, but I might end up having to ask for 2.” (Lewin)

“I understand. Please wait just a moment.” (Receptionist Lady)

With that, the receptionist stepped away, walking briskly towards the back room. I was prepared for this, but it pained me to see such a blatantly unpleasant attitude.

Tobias’s information was correct, but the Adventurer’s Guild was so busy that they probably didn’t want to have to devote human resources elsewhere.

Then why didn’t they just get rid of the service altogether? I thought to myself as I waited restlessly.

Eventually, the receptionist lady made her return.

“Thank you for your patience. We have just confirmed that there is one staff member who can be sent to support you. However, securing a second person is difficult, and, if you so require, it is highly likely that it will take half a year or more to satisfy this requirement. Is that alright with you?” (Receptionist Lady)

“In that case, I would appreciate it if you could send just one person for support. Thank you very much!” (Lewin)

“………Understood. Please fill out the paperwork so we may begin the process.” (Receptionist Lady)