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Chapter 40: At the Guild
While not as grand as the capital, many adventurers gather in the trading city of Gilbadia. It is easy for adventurers to obtain new weapons and magical tools, as well as essential items such as recovery potions. In addition, the city’s accessibility is also attractive to adventurers.
Therefore, it’s no surprise that the appearance of the Adventurers Guild in this city is quite large and impressive.
“Um, can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
The smell of alcohol and food and the sound of laughter could be heard even from outside the guild, giving a hint of the lively atmosphere inside it. After parting with Eleonora, Luke and his party arrived right in front of the “Adventurers Guild”.
It was Zach who raised his voice just as they were about to enter the Guild.
“Well… as you may know, there are occasionally former nobles among us adventurers, but most of us are commoners like me. There may be some who are rude to you, Luke-sama. If possible, could you overlook it a little?”
“Hmm, very well.”
“Huh?”
Zach was surprised by Luke’s unexpected agreement.
“What? Is there something else?”
“N-no, that’s all. Thank you very much.”
At the blacksmith shop in Dalkin, Zach had somehow managed to accommodate Luke’s requests and calm the chaotic situation. And for some reason, he felt a strange sense of familiarity.
Luckily or unluckily, Luke also had taken a liking to Zach to some extent.
“Then let’s go inside. Lead the way.”
“Y-yes, understood.”
Zach paused for a moment and silently wished that nothing troublesome would happen.
(please, don’t let anything happen…!!)
He steeled himself and entered the building. For Zach, the sight was familiar, but for Luke, it was his first time seeing it.
“Ha ha ha! Oh, Zach!”
People wearing armor were stationed everywhere. The guild had a bar attached to it, and it was very lively.
However, the commotion abruptly died down when someone else entered after Zach. In this town, there was no one who didn’t know Luke, the legitimate son of the Gilbert family.
Everyone wondered why he was there. And more importantly, it stirred up traumatic memories in the adventurers.
“Kyaaaahhhhh!!!!”
“Eh!? Mockel!?”
Suddenly one adventurer went crazy and ran off to a back room as if to escape from something.
“…What was that?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he has a stomachache or something. What an idiot. Ahaha…”
Zach’s dry laughter echoed loudly in the now-silent guild.
However, he knew who the person, Mockel, was.
He was a well-known A-ranked adventurer in this town. He was also one of the victims who had his pride shattered and had a traumatic experience implanted by Luke about three years ago, just like Zach.
(… Stay strong, Mockel)
Zach offered a silent prayer in his heart.
The waitress holding a dish stiffened and spoke to Zach, while glancing at Luke and Alfred tentatively.
“Umm, Zach-san, what brings you here today?”
“Actually, about registering Luke-sama as an adventurer—”
“Ehhh?”
Zach murmured in fear, and at that moment, not only the waitress but almost everyone present was shocked.
“I-I’ll call the guildmaster right away!!”
The waitress hastily placed the dish on a random table and ran back up the stairs.
“…”
“… hiii.”
Silently sensing that Luke’s mood was getting worse, Zach let out a small scream. However, the situation was about to get even worse.
“Gahahaha!! What a pathetic bunch of adventurers in this town!”
A large man stood up and walked towards Luke. At the same time, Alfred’s expression became slightly more serious, and he stepped forward to protect Luke.
(T-This is the worst!!)
Zach lamented. Most of the adventurers in this town were acquaintances, but that man was not in Zach’s memory.
He immediately realized that the man must have only recently arrived in town. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be doing such a foolish thing.
“Hey, hey, a nobleman becoming an adventurer? Hahaha! What a joke—”
At that moment, three other men stood up simultaneously and dashed towards Luke.
“Staaaaphhhh!!”
“BoBahh!!”
With their momentum, they punched the large man who had gotten tangled up with Luke and sent him flying.
“…”
Luke sighed with a mixture of resignation and the realization that he was starting to get used to these kinds of situations.
“What are you thinking!?”
“What the h**l are you thinking!? Grrrrr”
“Well, I just—”
“You idiot! You moron! You’re not joking around, are you?!”
“Don’t mess around!! Grrrrr!!”
“Well…”
Immediately afterwards, the three men who had rushed over turned around and said,
“We’re sorry for the trouble!”
“…”
As if they had coordinated beforehand, they all bowed their heads to Luke at the same time.
“Hey you! Aren’t you going to apologize too?!”
“Ow! …S-sorry.”
Immediately afterwards, they forcibly punched the big man’s head down and dragged him away somewhere. As they were leaving, one of the three men who appeared later glanced at Zach and quietly gave him a thumbs-up.
“Y-you guys…!”
These men were fellow adventurers who were especially close to Zach. Actually, this was a traditional rite of passage that every rookie adventurer had to go through. The big man who had gotten involved was simply following that tradition.
Adventurers face danger to their lives. Therefore, in addition to their skills, their courage is also tested as to whether they can continue being an adventurer or not.
However, this time, it was inevitable that he had misjudged their opponent. If Luke became displeased, there would be consequences. That was a well-known fact among the adventurers in this town.
In other words, the three men who had rushed over were just being friendly towards a fellow adventurer, and were protecting the big man who had just arrived in this town.
“Well, well! Luke-sama! And, Al-san… I mean, Alfred-san! Welcome to the Adventurer’s Guild!”
At that moment, another man appeared in a fluster from the back. That man was the guild master, “Dolce Pannacotta”.
“… So you’re sure you want to register as an adventurer this time around?”
“Yeah.”
“Very well, I will take care of it for you.”
“…”
(Despite being in front of the counter, which should be the place to register as an adventurer or request a job, why did the guild master have to personally come out… Is it because I’m a noble? It’s such a hassle.)
Luke felt somewhat annoyed by the troublesome things that came with his noble status.
“Well then, this way please. I will explain the job details, system, and rewards in a separate room. By the way, what about Zach…?”
“I will be joining Zach’s party for a while.”
It was a casual response from Luke to Dolce’s casual question.
“…Eh?”
Zach had intended to give a simple greeting and escape from Luke as quickly as possible.
Therefore, he couldn’t immediately understand the meaning of those words. Slowly but surely, the meaning of the words sank in and—
“Ehhhhhhhhhhh!!!”
It was a scream, a scream from his soul.
Reflexively, Zach looked to his fellow adventurers for help. However, everyone in the room, including those who had helped him with the large man earlier and his close friends, looked away.