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Chapter 84: Reunited with a former ally, part 1

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Translator: Denryuu; Editor: Ryunakama

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「Sorry, do you have a moment?」, Iris asked as she came to me holding a stack of documents.

「Of course. We’re all quite free for now.」

Earnest adventurers had been coming in since morning, and as usual, we had assigned them quests and sent them on their way. Today was slower than usual, however, and we had more employees than adventurers at any given time.

「It’s from the Master himself, regarding a large-scale quest.」

She spread several documents onto my desk.

「This large-scale quest was requested by the Adventurers’ Association. It’s been a while since anything happened in this region, honestly.」

Taking a look, it appeared that an underground cavern had been discovered nearby and they intended to explore it.

「An underground cavern… should the guild really take the initiative to go where no one has gone before?」

You can run into anything while exploring uncharted territory — rare or undiscovered plants, animals, monsters, beasts, et cetera. While there is a certain risk involved, the pioneers who dare to chart the path for the rest of us might find something valuable over there.

High risk, high return.

It’s quite common for such an exploration journey to become a one-way trip. Therefore, the Association had only tasked us with investigating the cavern. Reading through the documents, I learned how much each adventurer would get in return for supplying relevant information.

「No risk and low return instead of high risk and high return, huh?」

「Seems like it.」

Let’s discuss in more detail inside, Iris said, beckoning me to her office. I followed her inside.

「Master Ta’uro has expressed his wish for you to oversee this quest. Advisor of strategy and all that.」

「Yes, I’m aware of that.」
I wasn’t sure whether to accept or not. Since this request had been issued by the Adventurers’ Association… no, guild headquarters, they probably intended to entrust this entirely to me, the advisor of strategy.

「…Is this just a diplomatic way of forcing me to acquiesce?」

「Don’t say that. Think of it this way — as the appointed advisor of strategy, they have full trust in you.」

It’s because of your reputation, she added.

「Anyway, this takes precedence over your normal duties, so you can be relieved of those for the time being. Will you accept this offer?」

「Very well」, I said, returning to my seat with the documents in hand.

We don’t even know how much military might we need to explore that cavern. It’s really a full-on investigation into the unknown. I leafed through the registry of adventurers, looking for names that might be suited for the task.

「You can’t call it an investigation if the findings are kept under wraps…」

There technically isn’t an upper limit to the number of people that can be recruited for a large-scale quest, but in this case, the cavern itself could be a limiting factor. Allowing a large horde of people to enter without knowing the terrain and layout may prove disastrous — those in front may be blocked by those behind if they ever need to get out quickly.

I concluded that we could only afford to send a handful of highly-skilled adventurers.

「What were you talking to Chief about, Roland-san?」

「They issued a large-scale quest to us, and as the advisor of strategy, I naturally assumed leadership of the whole thing.」

「I’ve heard of this advisor of strategy thing before, but what do you actually do?」

「I lead the adventurers appointed as leaders.」

「Wow, isn’t that amazing? For an employee to have been recognised by the Master himself… that’s amazing, Roland-san!」, exclaimed Milia, clapping in awe.

Due to her loud voice, the other female employees now had their ears trained on us.

「Argan-san was recognised by the Master…?」

「That means he’ll be promoted any time now…」

「He might just become the youngest branch chief in history…!」

「If it’s Argan-kun, he might be transferred to headquarters… and have one shot at living a glamorous life in the capital.」

「No offence to Milia, but I’ll be damned if I let this chance slip by!」

I could feel the killing intent in their piercing gaze. Milia, pure as always, was simply genuinely happy for me.

「So that’s why you were flipping through the registry!」

「Correct. Choosing the right people isn’t easy.」

For the rewards, it’s up to the advisor of strategy to request the necessary amount after all is said and done and split it among the adventurers. In other words, I have to gauge the dimensions of the cavern as well as assess the risk involved in exploring it. After that, I have to assign a rank to it, allowing me to justify the sum of money requested from the Association.

Since this is an investigation, I briefly considered recruiting a couple of knowledgeable veterans, but decided against it figuring that they wouldn’t come along as they didn’t know the risk involved.

「Roland-kun, I know someone fit for the task!」

「An adventurer under my wing is a good fit too –」

Guess it wasn’t just the girls who had been eavesdropping.

「Thank you. I’ll draw up a list –」

「I’ll do that!」

「No, an idiot like you can’t –」

「I’ll handle it. Can’t trust those unrefined guys.」

I don’t know whether they’re genuinely trying to help or just trying to make me obliged to return the favour, but I was nonetheless grateful that they were giving me an idea of where to start.

「Hey, lookit yerselves, flatterin’ him. Ain’t y’all ashamed? Git yer own work done first, why dont’cha?」

No party’s ever complete without Morley, honestly. He might have no tact whatsoever, but what he said in this case actually made sense.

「Y’all can just leave it to him. Roland can bear the responsibility. We can just do our work like we usually do.」

Digging in his nose as he spoke, he really had no persuasive skill at all.

「You’re right that this was assigned to Roland, and we’re just outsiders, but… as colleagues under the same roof, shouldn’t we… all cooperate for the greater good? Even Roland-san will find it tough, doing it alone…」, countered Milia, silencing the crowd for a moment.

「…She’s not wrong.」

「Yeah, advisor of strategy sounds like a tough job!」

「Shall we decide the date we begin the investigation, then?」

Even more employees had been drawn in by the earlier conversation.

「A party I know personally is scheduled to return in five days. How about starting this whole business in seven days, then, if circumstances allow for it?」

「Thank you. Since you already have people in mind, we can set that day aside as a placeholder first.」

Other more senior employees spoke up as well.

「Okay, all of you! Think of any adventurers you know who might want to take up this quest! We’ll compile a list of them!」

「Especially if they’ll be free in seven days’ time! Include their skills if you can!」

「Don’t forget people who can work as a team!」, added one employee, to which everyone laughed.

Many solo adventurers tend to have trouble working with others. It’s a shame though, as the most skilled adventurers usually go solo.

「How do we procure supplies, like water and rations?」

「Things like that can be included under our expenditure. We can claim it from headquarters afterwards.」

「Is anyone free? Get a quotation for consumable items from the hardware store!」

As everyone behind the counter got busy, a certain man was swivelling around on one of the chairs.

「As a senpai, guess I have to lend one of my kouhais a hand, eh? Yer got anything for me to do Milia-chan? Anythin’ can do!」, boasted Morley, pointing at himself and flashing his million-dollar smile.

「No, not really. Please continue with your own duties.」

「…’Kay.」

My eyes met with Morley’s, whose lonely expression disgusted me. Swivelling in the other direction, he faced the adventurers’ side of the counter, where there wasn’t even a shadow to be seen.

With everyone’s input, a list of around forty adventurers had been drawn up in no time, ranging anywhere from E to A rank. Everyone had recommended the adventurers they knew, including all the relevant details such as their skills, specialities and personalities. Some were even extremely knowledgeable and possessed mastery of their domain despite their low rank.

「Excellent work, everyone. I’ll have a good look at this list.」

「No problemo. Just let us know if ya need anythin’」, replied Morley instantaneously with a smug expression.

A large amount of water, portable rations, potions and other supplies had been officially sent for, said an employee as he returned.

「Thanks for helping.」

「Mhm. You’re always helping us, Roland-kun, so don’t mention it!」

I thanked everyone once again.

Confirming that everything we needed would arrive in due course, I scanned the list that everyone had created and tried to form a suitable party. This is an investigation, no matter what transpires — we’ll need more than just people who can fight.

To add to the mess, even if I knocked on their doors and personally explained the quest to them, it’s unlikely that they’ll agree. After all, from their perspective, who would want to sign up for a quest for which both the risk and reward are unknown?

I’m sure I could manage on my own, but that will mean that none of the adventurers get to claim any of the credit or rewards. Having an employee complete the quest is equivalent to saying that adventurers are unnecessary, which won’t reflect well on the guild either.

Just when I was getting worried about the number of names I had crossed out, Dee showed up at the guild.

「Roland-sama, I’m done with my quest!」

「Oh, you’re here. How convenient.」

As a vampire, she couldn’t feel more at home in the dark recesses of the cavern. Not to mention that she had already died once — she no longer had to worry about the sun’s rays, and nor did it pose any risk to appoint her as the vanguard.

「Me, a tool of convenience? That makes me happy…」

Having agreed before I even explained a single detail, Dee thus confirmed her participation in the quest. Things would be much easier now that we had someone that could reasonably mitigate all the risks involved. However, just because Dee’s around doesn’t mean that everyone else will be safe too. We needed more members as powerful as her.

I went home that day still racking my brains about the other options.

Fortunately, though, Rodje was present.

「You’re late, human! Lylael-sama has already prepared dinner and is waiting for you, so it will do you good to at least say thank you!」

「There we go, another one who doesn’t have to worry about the risks. Be it vanguard or rear guard, you can be positioned anywhere. We don’t even have to pay you, since you’re not an adventurer.」

「What are you talking about?」

I sat down at the dinner table and explained everything, to which Rodje snorted.

「There’s only one person who can use me, and that’s Lylael-sama, so no can do!」

「Oh, didn’t we agree on this earlier? Give him a hand, Rodje.」

「Okay, if that’s the case!! I, Rodje Sandsong, will accompany you on this journey!!」

And that’s how I managed to get this blindly loyal elf to come with us.

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