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Receptionists Don’t Fight, Only Negotiate – Part 02

Hikaru was supposed to be protecting Freya. In addition, they were in the middle of a commission for the guild, so they shouldn’t be poking their noses into trouble. The right choice of action would have been for Hikaru to step back and stop Freya.

“Freya?”

But he couldn’t bring himself to do that.

“I agree with what she said earlier,” Freya said. “Adventurers should possess at least a modicum of your manners.”

Anger was emanating from her.

“I said we’d pay, you old hag. What are you whining about?”

“What did you call me?! I’m saying we don’t want customers like you!”

“You give an inch and they take a mile. We’re the Scorching Goblet, you know!”

“Goblet, cup, whatever. We have enough beer mugs here.”

“You bitch!”

“That’s enough.”

The two turned their attention to Freya.

“What is it, sweethe—wait, you’re from the guild…”

Recognizing Freya’s uniform, the man shrank back a little.

“Using your adventurer rank or combat prowess to threaten the safety of ordinary citizens is a violation of the Adventurers Guild’s regulations. Penalties include fines, demotion, and in the worst case, revocation of guild membership.”

“I-I didn’t do any of that. I just asked the place for a favor. And those merchants left on their own.”

“Are you saying that repeatedly mentioning your party’s rank is not a form of intimidation?”

“O-Of course, it isn’t. Am I right?!” He addressed the other adventurers within the tavern.

“Hell yeah, you are!”

“If anything, this place should feel blessed to have Rank A adventurers as customers.”

“I would love to talk to them.”

Voices of approval rose from the adventurers in the tavern.

Oh, I get it, Hikaru thought. That’s why only the merchants left, and the adventurers stayed.

For adventurers, Rank A was a cut above the rest, an existence seldom encountered. Making their acquaintance could yield some benefits.

For instance, invites for when they needed more manpower for a commission. Access to valuable information available only to higher-ranked adventurers. And though it might sound too ambitious, being recruited for one’s skills.

“There you have it,” the man said triumphantly.

Freya couldn’t say anything back. The man didn’t actually resort to violence. He might have if she had waited a little longer, but Freya couldn’t just wait for the proprietress to get struck before making a move.

“Fine,” the woman relented. “Table for how many?” Letting out a deep sigh, the proprietress placed a hand on Freya’s shoulder. “Thank you.”

“But…”

“It’s fine. I’ll try to squeeze out as much as I can from their pockets.”

The woman gave Freya a wink. The receptionist could only frown awkwardly in return.

“Oh, if it isn’t a receptionist from Ponsonia.”

A woman wearing an outfit identical to Freya’s but dyed in a refreshing light blue emerged from the darkness of the night into the tavern’s light. She was beautiful, with slightly-upturned eyes and long, red hair tied down from the right side. She seemed fierce of character.

“Hey, did they have tables available?”

A tall figure emerged from behind, standing at about two meters in height. Contrary to his towering stature, there was nothing lanky about him. His mobile attire made it clear just how much muscle he had in his massive torso and biceps.

Individuals of such size were a rare sight—only the leader of Confederacy of Einbiest, Gerhardt, or the Kingdom’s Knight Commander Lawrence came close to mind. There was no doubt that he was the leader of the Rank A party.

“Are you from Vireocean’s Adventurers Guild?” Freya asked.

The red-haired receptionist smiled. “Yes, we are. Scorching Goblet, led by the Rank A adventurer, Master Zappa, graciously accompanied me as my escort.” She made eyes at the man.

---

The receptionist, Angela by name, had come from Vireocean’s capital’s guild.

According to the adventurers in the tavern, there was no adventurer in Vireocean who didn’t know about Zappa. He had ashen hair braided down his back, adorned with bead-like ornaments. Despite being in his mid-thirties and possessing a robust physique, he exuded more composure than youthfulness. The wrinkles at the outer corners of his deep blue eyes said he smiled a lot.

And for some reason, he was sitting at the same table as Hikaru.

“So, Freya. Where is your escort?”

“As I mentioned earlier, these two people here are my escorts, Hikaru and Paula.”

“Oh my. I thought I misheard you. Only two? They only sent two people to protect a receptionist, the guild’s most important personnel? Ponsonia’s guild sounds very coldhearted.”

The conversation between Angela, the Vireocean receptionist, and Freya went on.

Angela had arrived in town with the same objective as Freya—to survey the new dungeon.

While the Adventurers Guild maintained neutrality as an organization, individual employees might hold their own opinions. Hence, personnel had been dispatched from both Ponsonia’s and Vireocean’s branches.

They had crossed the border since the only road to Lake Tseng Ti was located in the kingdom.

“Hikaru is highly capable, and I believe he’s qualified to be my escort.”

“Hmm… He must be at least Rank B then, right? Don’t tell me he’s Rank C.”

“Well…”

Hikaru realized that the Adventurers Guild wasn’t exactly a monolith, as evidenced by these receptionists trying to assert dominance over the other. Actually, it was more like Angela instigating, and Freya just being annoyed.

“…”

“Is there a problem?”

Zappa had been staring at Hikaru for some time now. There was a blend of scrutiny and amusement in his eyes.

What a pain, Hikaru thought. Go get your own table.

Scorching Goblet had around twenty official members. Assistants for carrying baggage and managing affairs brought the total number to over thirty.

Occupying the tables vacated by the merchants, they and the other adventurers were staring in Hikaru’s direction, including the red-haired man from earlier.

Hmm?

Hikaru noticed a few people standing in the corner of the tavern—assistant members of Scorching Goblet waiting for a table. Among them was a boy shorter than Hikaru, about the same height as Lavia.

Is that kid also a member? Not my concern, I suppose. Time to head back to our rooms.

“Apologies for the delay. Shall I serve drinks for everyone?”

The proprietress approached, addressing Zappa with a displeased expression.

“Hey.”

Zappa rose from his seat, towering over the woman. Without giving her a chance to react, Zappa—surprisingly—bowed his head.

“I apologize for my colleague’s disrespectful behavior.”

“What?!”

The apology caught off guard not only the proprietress, but everyone present.

“I was the one who asked him to secure us tables, and I’m responsible for my party members’ conduct. I’m sorry.”

“I, uhh…”

The unexpected turn of events left the proprietress momentarily flustered.

Zappa straightened himself. “As a token of my apology, how about I treat the young lady to the finest drink this tavern has to offer?”

He flashed a youthful smile. His massive hands made the coins appear as small as marbles, but their golden gleam was undeniably real.

“Wh-What?! That’s too much!”

“Apologizing with money is crude, but I can use it to buy you a drink instead.” Zappa gave a wink.

The proprietress suddenly appeared fidgety. “I-I suppose that’s true… Fine. But I don’t want to see rude behavior like that again, understood?”

“I’ll talk to him.”

“Did everyone catch that?! Tonight, drinks are on this gentleman right here!” shouted the woman.

After a brief moment of silence, the other adventurers erupted in cheers.

“I meant to pay for your drink,” Zappa said.

“I have a husband and children. I can’t let other men buy me drinks.”

Smiling, the proprietress tucked the gold coins into her apron pocket and left. Zappa awkwardly put a hand on his head as he watched her go before taking a seat.

“I-I’m sorry for embarrassing you, Boss!”

The adventurer who had clashed with the proprietress came to the table, placing his hands on the floor and lowering his head.

“Do you recognize your fault?”

“Yes… I’m sorry.”

“Good. Don’t do anything stupid like that again. I understand that you only had our best interests at heart.”

“Thank you.”

With tears in his eyes, the man bowed repeatedly before returning to his table.

“…”

“…What?” Zappa asked when he noticed Hikaru watching.

“…Nothing.”

Hikaru had heard that reaching Rank B or higher as an adventurer required not only combat skills but also a solid character. Zappa’s commendable conduct and ability to reign in unruly party members indicated that he was indeed Rank A.

However, Hikaru couldn’t fathom the idea of Zappa being surrounded by members who seemed to idolize him. Given the potential complications of getting involved, he reconfirmed his decision to return to their room immediately.

“Master Zappa, we’re almost at Lake Tseng Ti. How about we drink all night?” Angela pulled her chair right next to Zappa and snuggled into him.

Zappa laughed. “Many of our members would love to share a drink with you. It’d be fantastic if you could indulge them.”

“B-But I want to drink with you.”

“More importantly—Hikaru, was it?”

As Hikaru was finishing his meal, Zappa shifted his attention to him.

“…What is it?”

“…”

After another scrutiny, Zappa asked, “Are you two in a party?”

“We have one more member, but they didn’t come with us for this commission.”

“I see.”

Zappa crossed his arms. The wooden chair creaked, struggling to support his size despite its sturdy build.