Ruler Vol 4 Chapter 16
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Author: Anit666
Editor: Weasalopes
【Sam’s POV】
The night grew dark after we became Adventurers. The moon shone brightly than the stars outside the window. Given how it was still warm even though night had already arrived, it was probably summer in this world.
Somewhere around 2 am, when Phiria was sleeping peacefully and I was going through the books on the bookshelf, I noticed a presence outside the room, just at the door. The person spying on us was in the corridor.
I had already checked that there were no peepholes in the door, so the spy was probably using another means to spy on us. I took out a normal knife using the magic spell ‘Inventory’ and threw it at the door. The blade went in right till the hilt and the knife got lodged there.
I heard a small creak, caused probably because the spy had stepped back in astonishment, and then the presence immediately vanished. But judging by the creaking sound, the spy was someone heavy. The most probable suspect was Barge.
Well, he wouldn’t come back after being caught, so I guess I can go back to reading.
As the sun rose across the horizon and birds chirped, morning arrived. But this one was special; after all, it was my first morning of this world. Today marked the beginning of my isekai adventure.
I woke Phiria up, and after she straightened her hair and washed her face, we walked down the stairs and arrived at the ground floor. The place was bustling with energy, as adventurers crowded around the quest board, lined up in front of the reception desk and shouted orders to the waitress at the tavern area.
“Yo! Morning, boss!”
I raised my hand and loudly greeted the receptionist who was trying to sneak back into the room where they ‘interrogated’ us to avoid us. He flinched upon hearing my voice, and while averting his gaze, awkwardly raised his hand.
“M-morning……..”
He quickly walked into the room after that.
“That man was spying on us when I was sleeping, right?”
Well, of course Phiria would notice that.
“Yepp, but I shooed him away.”
“You didn’t beat him up?”
She asked as innocently as a child wondering why her father didn’t bring her ice-cream after coming back from work.
“There was no need to.”
“I see.”
The ease with which she accepted my answer was a bit surprising.
Anyway, the first thing one must do after waking up is eating breakfast, so we headed towards the tavern where I would have my first meal in this world. Since it was morning, there were many adventurers who were here to have their breakfast. While I was looking around for a seat, a maid approached me.
“Welcome! Would you like to have your breakfast here?”
She asked as the cat ears on her head twitched and the tail behind waved. But her wording was strangely odd.
“Yes.”
“Please follow me.”
Saying that, she led us to a table in a corner. Thankfully, it was a table for two so we wouldn’t have to share it with anyone. She brought us a menu.
“Please ring that bell once you have decided on your order.”
Saying that, she walked away. This too, was odd. It was as if they were-
“They are treating us specially.”
Phiria voiced her doubts. Of course, if it’s something that I can notice, then she would too. The reason we thought that was because none of the tables other than ours had a bell on them. The customers seated on that table were shouting out loud to call the waitress, while the latter was also treating them roughly. Only we were treated with this much respect.
“Why would they do that?”
“Maybe it’s related to how we killed those bandits?”
“Hmm? How so?”
Phiria asked.
“Remember the moment when I passed those coins to the receptionist, Selica. She frowned for a small moment upon seeing them. Why would she do that? I had made sure to wipe the coins before giving them to her so erase all evidence of them being taken from the bandits. And yet, there was something about those coins which struck her as odd.”
“I see, so you noticed that too.” She reaffirmed my doubts. “Perhaps the coins those bandits had were special. By why would a mere receptionist from the Guild know about those coins?”
“It’s possible that each coin of this world is unique in some way, maybe by a serial number or something like that. So, maybe those bandits robbed a bank or something, and the bank had the serial number of those coins recorded, so she just checked that and deduced that we did kill those bandits. And the reason she didn’t suspect us of being part of that group of bandits is because they already knew the faces of those bandits. But.”
“But that doesn’t explain the special treatment, right?”
“Yeah.”
“What if there is a connection between this guild and those bandits, and by killing them, we fulfilled a necessary condition which makes- or maybe forces- the Guild to treat us specially?”
“That’s the most logical explanation.”
But what’s that connection, and what are those conditions? Don’t tell me…….
“My, your deductions are so on point that it’s scary.”
Just then, a sweet feminine voice came from my side, and before I knew it, someone from the table beside us turned to us.
“Good morning, Selica.”
“Morning, Samael and Mary.”
With that, she picked up her chair and placed it along our table.
“Have you two ordered yet?”
“No, unfortunately not. Would you recommend something for us?”
“It would be my pleasure.”
She smiled and rang the bell. The receptionist came to us, but seemed taken aback to see Selica there.
“Marin, three special meal sets please.”
“As you wish, madam.”
She bowed and went away.
Seems like Selica is not just a simple receptionist, unless the receptionists of the Guild hold considerable power.
Before I could say anything, Selica started the conversation first.
“Say, Samael. I have been wondering about this since yesterday, but why do you wear that mask?”
“Ah, this?” I made a show of touching my face in nostalgia. “Well, long ago, I sustained an injury which disfigured my face, making it nauseating to look at. That’s why I keep it covered with a mask.”
“Ahh…… I see.” She muttered with slight embarrassment. “Sorry for bringing that up.”
“Don’t worry about that.”
An awkward silence descended upon us, but Selica shooed it away.
“Yosh! It’s your turn now! Ask anything you want. I’ll answer if I can.”
“I’ll take you up on your offer then.” It would be a shame if I wouldn’t. “What I wanted to know about was the reforms that you talked about yesterday, the ones introduced by the third princess. You said that the test was only one of the reforms, so there are others, right?”
“Ah, I see.” She muttered to herself. “Before that, do you know anything about the third princess?”
“Nope.”
I arrived into this world only yesterday, ya know.
“So, it’s only natural that you’ll ask that question, eh? All right. The third princess of this country introduced various reforms due to the ongoing war with demons. The testing procedure for new Adventurers’ was presented to make sure that those with talents won’t be lost in obscurity and could actually be useful. She’s also recruiting powerful individuals to her side. She’s the one who passed the order to make guards patrol the city, and she’s also the one who cracked down on various illegal activities that were going on this city, and many more such things. She has completely reformed this capital city.”
She finished while puffing her chest with pride.
But yesterday night, Barge was warning us about smugglers and all that, wasn’t he?
“In fact, she’s also organising a tournament to find the strongest adventurer of this city. Keep this a secret between us.” She leaned closer to us and whispered. “The winner of that tournament will get to work directly at the side of the princess, and he may even get to marry her, you know.”
She winked at me.
Please don’t do that, or you might incur Phiria’s wrath. But marriage? Geez, the power play is too apparent here.
“I see. Thank you for telling me all that.”
“You are welcome.”
But.
“But aren’t you too well informed for a receptionist?”
It would have been fine if it was just the things that the third princess had done, but to know that the winner of the tournament would get a chance to marry her? It’s a bit difficult for me to believe that this fact was known to the entire city, so the only other possibility is that Selica is not just a receptionist.
While I was thinking that, the graceful smile on her face spread even further upon hearing my question.
“My, how rude of me to not properly introduce myself.” An aura of authority suddenly started flowing around her. “I’m Selica, this guild’s manager.”
Welp, here goes my wish to have a normal adventure.
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