It was early morning the next day after all the noise in town.
Me and Narsena were on our way to the guild, feeling sleepy after a late night last night.

'It's been a long time since we've been back in the city, so it would have been nice to take it a little longer. ......

On the way to the guild, Narsena blurted out such words.
The Narsena who told me this sometimes looks at the direction of the city as if she were regretting the loss.
And that feeling is the same for me.

I've been back in town for a long time, it might be short, but after defeating the mutated hydra, we hadn't been back in town for about two days.
It seems that the guild was also concerned about the mutated hydra in a short period of time, and the guild detained us and asked us to provide information about the hydra.

As a result, two days had left us deeply fatigued.
Honestly, as far as today was concerned, I just wanted to rest in the inn.

...... I'm sorry. We wanted to take as many of those requests as possible on our own.

'No, no, don't worry about it! Because I'm of the same opinion that you should have taken that request.

...... But we had certain circumstances that left us exhausted, but unable to take the option of rest.

That is the existence of a certain request that was recently put up.
I'm not sure if it's unnecessary, but Narsena and I felt the danger of that request.
That's why Narsena and I decided to accomplish the request ourselves to increase the certainty.

...... At any rate, we understand how terrifying it would be if the worst happened.

I'm going to be able to make up my mind to put an end to the situation as soon as possible.
I'm going to be able to go about my daily life without worrying about anything else.

...... No, that's not the only problem.

But at that moment, I remembered a concern.

'The Guild: ......'

I remembered the concern I had about the Adventurer's Guild.
As I mumbled to myself, the words that Mary had blurted out in a drunken stupor last night came back to me.

The ...... guild is raising the price of materials as if they were trying to get rid of us.

That was honestly an unthinkable word.
Normally, the guild and the city that handles the materials are inseparable, and even if it's dishonest to a certain extent, they can't act in a way that would obviously try to kick us out.

The city sells equipment to strengthen the adventurers and makes money by selling the materials it purchases from the stronger adventurers.
The city then uses the materials obtained from the guild to develop.

That's the relationship between the guild and the city, and if the city's people disappear, the number of adventurers will decrease, and the guild will be hit hard.
With that in mind, maybe Mary's story is unbelievable and should be dismissed as the ravings of a drunk person.

...... But still, I had my doubts about the guild.

I'm not going to be the only one who can do that.
I'm not sure I would lie with such an expression.

And before that, I hadn't trusted the guild.
I remembered the attitude of the guild staff, Hanzam, when I explained about the mutated Hydra yesterday.
While I was speaking, Hanzam was listening intently to me.
He seemed so serious that the image I had of the guild staff was about to change.

But while he listened to me, he remained calm throughout.
He was neither surprised nor relieved.

...... as if the hydra's mutation was a trivial matter.

I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on in the world.
I'm not going to be able to get the same kind of results as the other concern, the request.

"...... can't help it, huh?

But all my concerns about the guild were only imagined.
Understanding that, I let out a sigh.
No matter how suspicious it was, if it wasn't beyond the realm of my imagination, there was nothing I could do about it.

After all, I can't even consider what the guild is thinking in the first place.

I've decided that there's nothing I can do about it, and I'm concentrating on the immediate problem: the request.
I've been unable to accept the request yesterday due to various disturbances, but it's early morning now.
It's the time when the adventurers are least present.
At this time of day, there would be no competition.
...... Well, even with the large number of adventurers, it's not often that these requests are fought over.

But that doesn't change the fact that now is the easiest time for us to visit the guild.

Let's hurry up!

Yes!

We decided to do so, and we started running all the way to the guild: ......



◇ ◇ ◇.



There weren't nearly as many adventurers in the Adventurer's Guild as we thought there would be.
Although it wasn't zero, the number of adventurers in the guild right now was clearly less than in the daytime.

Moreover, those adventurers also seemed to be busy, as if they had business to attend to only in the early morning.
Sometimes they looked at me and Narsena as if they wanted to say something to me, but in the end they left the guild in a hurry without a word.

'Good.'

Seeing the scene, I laugh that no one will disturb me now and walk towards the reception desk.

It's nice to meet you. My name is Nancy.

Ha, ha. ......

....... But tens of seconds later, we came to understand that the adventurers were not the only enemies.

I'm not a fan of that. It's a good idea to have a good relationship with your brother.

It was one of the guild's receptionists, a woman named Nancy, who spoke to me in a very intuitive tone.

''Huh!''

Narsena is clearly annoyed with her.
The fact that Nancy called me her brother seems to have pissed her off even more.

And I almost let out a sigh of relief at the situation.
In fact, I don't like being called big brother by Nancy, and I don't have a good impression of the woman in front of me, Nancy.
After all, she may think she's never met me before, but I remember her cursing at me as well.

...... And by the way, it wasn't the way I talked to her at the time.
Honestly, I wish you would stop because it gives me goosebumps.

Haha .......

But despite that thought, I couldn't leave Nancy's presence.

...... The reason for this was the other guild staff who were giving us a glare, and sending us a glare.

Me and Narsena are not actually recognized as top-tier adventurers.

A first-rate adventurer is just a common name, though we are officially called exclusive adventurers.
The conditions are that the party is officially recognized by the guild and has an exclusive guild staff.

It's not just that we don't have an exclusive adventurer, it's that we're not officially recognized by the guild as a party, no matter how good we are.

Because of ......, Narsena and I were targeted by the guild staff who saw this as an opportunity.

I'm sure that the adventurers who benefit from the exclusive adventurer system are not the only ones who receive various privileges.
The guild staff who are assigned to these adventurers will also be treated very well.

That's why the guild staff is trying to get to know us, the potential future resident adventurers.
As long as we can get the word out that we will be made exclusive guild staff members, they can hire a suitable adventurer and force us to become exclusive adventurers.

"My brother is really cool, isn't he?

...... It seems that there are other receptionists like Nancy who are trying to get the ball rolling.

But right now I have no intention of becoming the resident adventurer and being surrounded by a guild or marrying a receptionist.
But as it is, I can't take the request until I nod my head.
I understood this from the looks pouring in from the guild staff, and I resisted the urge to run away from this place.

...... Really, it's an inexplicable hassle.

I'm not going to be able to get away with it, but I'm not going to solve the problem by running away now.
I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work.

"This guy is not going to be our resident adventurer. After all, he's my party member.

......... Huh?

It was then that someone put a hand on my shoulder and told me so.