Chapter 50: To the Forest 5
Grace had gotten used to her new bow, Irene was content with steadily progressing up the tower, and Kaiden still hid her face, probably to cover up her disguise.
Meanwhile, I had successfully bestowed upon Han Se-ah the title of the 'Sad Streamer.'
"Ellis, is there anything from the guild for dealing with the Full Moon Wolf?"
"Of course. It's not upfront cash, but rather benefits like being able to purchase potions or medicinal herbs at a lower cost from alchemists who are allied with the Adventurer's Guild. ...No one told you?"
Ellis replied, ready to scold those who had neglected to inform her favorite novice mage about the guild's rewards.
She then stomped off towards her office.
The guild's staff wouldn't keep this info from a party with a senior adventurer out of spite.
They likely thought that Han Se-ah, being close with Ellis, already knew and so didn't tell her sooner.
Ellis' footsteps seemed like a general marching off to battle.
"What's going on?"
"It's nothing. The reward we should have received...Roland, you knew, right?"
"Yeah."
She turned the question back to me when I sat down at the table pretending not to know anything.
A senior adventurer with ten years of experience should know this, and she raised her eyebrows in doubt.
I just chuckled and answered her.
No matter how she scrunches her face, she's a pretty streamer.
"Uh... then why?"
"I've told you beforeyou're the party's leader."
In reality, the lower potion prices were a small reward that wouldn't even show up on Han Se-ah's quest window, so I left it for her to find out herself.
She was momentarily speechless.
She might've thought she failed as a group leader, but her furrowed brows slowly relaxed.
I decided to add one more thing to that.
"I thought they'd told you. Looks like Ellis is about to kick up a fuss."
"Oh, so I was supposed to get the message?"
"Well, isn't that what the guild's for? It's a group created for adventurer's rights, so they should naturally tell you about any benefits."
At my words, she finally relaxed and nodded.
"Hey, listen! Even Roland says it's not my fault. Should we restrict the chat to only those who have passed the 10th floor?"
She must've been teased quite a bit by the viewers, as she immediately echoed my words and threatened back.
Pretty cute.
As a beautiful streamer holding the title of the world's number one, she must have had to put up with quite a bit.
With a self-satisfied Han Se-ah in one corner of my sight, using my mana-enhanced senses, I could hear Ellis's loud voice coming from the office.
The party started to assemble, one by one.
Kaiden was the first, honest and diligent as ever. Grace followed, who'd started from the same lodging as Han Se-ah but had made a quick detour to the market.
Lastly, Irene arrived, who'd let everyone know beforehand she'd be a bit late as she was helping at the temple that morning.
"Alright, now that we're all here, let's get going."
"Hold on, Hanna!"
We were sat around a table, holding a request to collect materials in the forest.
As we were about to leave, Han Se-ah was stopped by Ellis, who barged through the door, with a man wearing a gloomy face being dragged along.
He looked ordinary, with a neat appearance like an office worker at the Adventurer's Guild.
Judging by both Han Se-ah's and her viewers' lack of reaction, he seemed to be just a regular office worker.
"What's going on?"
"If you have any items you bought after hunting the Full Moon Wolf, could you remember this guy's face, make a list, and pass it on?"
"I-I'm sorry..."
"Well, there's not much, but I'll write it down and send it to you."
From the man's apologetic bow, it seemed that he was responsible for the mistake.
However, Han Se-ah, only nodded since the loss amounted to only a few potions anyway.
Clearly annoyed, Ellis shoved the male employee back into the office, came over to Han Se-ah, casually draped her arm around her shoulder, and whispered in her ear.
Ellis looked beautiful, but right now, her voice sounded a little sneaky.
"If you bought a potion, you should write down about three times the amount... Understand? Think of it as a gift from me."
"...What?"
"Ah, really. You're so innocent, it's a problem. Roland, could you take care of this?"
The one who responded most strongly to Ellis's words was Irene, gaping in surprise.
Her reaction was completely different from Grace, who'd toughed out a hard life in a rural village, and Kaiden, who'd struggled at the bottom of a mercenary group.
Meanwhile, Han Se-ah, at first clueless about the meaning behind Ellis's words, found herself swamped by her chat, like hyenas closing in on their meal.
She seemed overwhelmed.
"Um, isn't that fraud...?"
Even if the potion count went up, it would only be a few silver or copper coins.
But Irene's voice shook as if she'd done a serious crime.
Caught up in a heated back-and-forth with her viewers, Han Se-ah missed Irene's quiet comment.
I stepped in to reassure Irene instead.
"It's not fraud; it's the guild showing goodwill for not passing on information properly. So, it's okay."
"Huh?"
"It's like a small payment to ease your worries. Honestly, it's because the guild failed to do their jobs properly."
Of course, these were just words to make our saint candidate feel better.
I'd known Ellis for years and been involved with the guild for quite a while.
Embezzling gold is one thing, but a small amount of silver is like a mother slyly taking coins from a child's piggy bank.
It's a common practice in medieval guilds.
Irene, being of the temple, might not fully understand, but beyond the temple's walls, the world works in such ways.
"It's like... reimbursement? Yes, if today ends early, I should buy some skewers that the kids love."
"You guys always find something to pick on... Skewers are not a bad idea. If you put them in my inventory, they won't spoil. The kids will love them."
"Your inventory magic is truly remarkable, Hanna. Even the mages among the mercenaries would be envious and willing to lick your boots to learn it."
"Ah, haha..."
After enduring torment from her viewers for a while, Han Se-ah finally regained her composure, and we could leave the guild.
Interestingly, Kaiden also saw Han Se-ah as a gifted mage, so she didn't mind when Han Se-ah paused to interact with her viewers, considering it one of her quirks as a mage.
Rebecca, someone she admires, introduced her to Han Se-ah and the group.
She possesses inventory magic, a type of spatial magic unseen even by the Magic Tower.
Within a month of adventuring, she can land effective hits on Horned Wolves, and she tracked down the Full Moon Wolf and solved the city incident.
From Kaiden's perspective, unaware that Han Se-ah is a gamer, she might appear extremely talented.
Of course, Han Se-ah simply responded with an awkward smile and an awkward laugh.
"Everything has been confirmed. Have a safe adventure."
And so, we passed through the gate into the tower, swiftly clearing the 13th and 14th floors until we reached the 15th floor.
Just when the routine was starting to bore the viewers, Ellis arrived with news.
"Um, Hanna? Your party has received a named request."
"A named request, Ellis?"
Ellis approached us with unusual caution as we sat at a table discussing a gathering request.
Han Se-ah looked at her with surprise, noticing the difference in her demeanor compared to her usual lively self.
"It's a request from a small village in the eastern part of the kingdom, close to Count Kolmar's domain. To be precise... it's a request for the party Grace is in."
"Near Count Kolmar's domain? That's where I'm from..."
"The task is to get rid of the wandering orcs that have settled in the nearby mountain range. They've already injured several villagers."
As Ellis continued to explain, Grace's expression darkened. Grace's village was a settlement established by hardy and skilled individuals.
The village housed retired rangers like Grace's father and various craftsmen, but they wouldn't be fully equipped to repel monsters.
I met Grace when I accepted a request to subjugate monsters that had settled near the village.
The further one strays from the kingdom's capital, the more they suffer from monster attacks - a common plight in this world.
"The reward isn't much. Truthfully, the guild could easily reject this request. But because it's for you, Grace."
"...Thank you so much."
Ellis, who had a soft spot for attractive people, must have remembered Grace and decided to ask for confirmation.
I knew they talked to each other informally, but I hadn't expected Ellis to remember even the location of Grace's hometown.
Irene approached Grace, who bore a worried expression, and held her hands tightly.
"Don't worry, Grace. If they're asking the Adventurer's Guild for help, it means the village isn't under attack. They just need some help."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, it is. When I was a mercenary, if the situation was truly dangerous, they wouldn't have been able to ask for help from the Adventurer's Guild. The fact that they've offered a reward, albeit a small one, and reached out to the guild implies that it's not the worst-case scenario."
As Irene comforted Grace and Kaiden tried to reassure her, Han Se-ah's gaze seemed to fixate on something unseen, not on Ellis or Grace.
[Help 'Han Se-ah' the streamer clear her character quest 0/1]
I too, was looking elsewhere.
***
Mmm there's a bonus chap I owe from a while ago. I'll post it later today.
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