Chapter 401: Rumors of Gold

There were a total of five Adventurers Guild in the Imperial Capital of Quinbland, primarily because of the size of the city itself. The central guild, which oversaw the five guilds, did not deal with ordinary adventurers. It had a lot of other work to do instead, such as communicating with the guilds of other countries and negotiating with the imperial government.

However, it looked like an Adventurers Guild nonetheless. It accepted commissions, and adventurers came to the guild on rare occasions.

「Are you free right now?」 the senior receptionist asked. She wore glasses and had an aloof air to her.「There's an adventurer at the counter. Can you show him to the other guilds?」

「Okay!」the new receptionist replied.

Working for the Adventurers Guild was a well-paid and stable job. The level of work required in the central guild, in particular, was even higher, as there were many difficult jobs.

As a matter of fact, the girl heading towards the counter right now was a talented young woman who passed the recruitment exam for guild staff at the young age of sixteen last year. Her excellent results landed her a job at the central guild immediately.

Oh, my...

The receptionist blinked a few times when she saw the person at the counter. Unlike other guilds, there was no space for adventurers to relax here. The only spot available for visitors was a small counter. Noblemen and wealthy guests were immediately ushered into a reception room inside.

There were rarely people at the counter, which meant that the boy there was probably the adventurer her senior was referring to.

He doesn't look like an adventurer, she thought. Looks about the same age as me.

He was wearing a white shirt and a dark brown vest. On his collar was a scarlet bolo tie with a blue clasp that looked like sapphire. He appeared sophisticated, but the cloak he carried on his arm was well-used. He also looked like the son of some distinguished family, except they wouldn't don cloaks normally.

The odd, black-haired, black-eyed boy noticed the receptionist.「I'm sorry. I didn't know I can't take general commissions here.」he said.

「Ah, yes. That's right.」the receptionist replied.「There are four other guilds in the imperial capital. You can try one of them.」

「Do each of them offer different commissions?」

「No. They're all the same, and they update them every morning.」

「So the central guild is in charge of information.」The boy placed his hand on his chin, deep in thought.「Once a commission is accepted, the central guild transmits information in real time to avoid conflicts. That's some advanced system.」

The receptionist stared at the boy. He was musing about the things going on in the guild that even she didn't really think about.

Adventurers sure are incredible. They even know about such things.

She got a perfect score in law, geography, the names of nobles and their crests, but she was a complete novice when it came to magical tools. In addition, she had no knowledge of the materials adventurers brought with them or the names of monsters, as these were not included in the exam.

「Do you perhaps know everything going on throughout the empire?」the boy asked.

「What?! I-I don't...」

「No need to be so modest. I can tell by the bulky files you have in your hand that the central guild does high-level work.」

「I-Is that so?」

The compliment pleased her. The central guild did, in fact, oversaw the other four guilds, but while adventurers fawned over the receptionists of the other branches, receptionists here simply served the nobility. The other guilds often mocked the central guild for being a guild only in appearance. The staff of the other four guilds expressed their grievances, about how the people in the central guild didn't have to deal with violent adventurers yet still got paid highly. Only the central guild referred to adventurers with utmost respect, which only served to fuel the misunderstandings.

Salaries in all five guilds were actually the same. However, the staff at the central guild secretly took pride in the fact that their information-processing capabilities rivaled even the central government's, even in a large empire like this.

That's why she appreciated the compliment.

「Thanks」 she said.「Not a lot of people understand the job we do here.」

「Really? It must be difficult just to keep track of and update the ever-changing status of commissions. And judging by those files, you also have to negotiate with the nobility, don't you? It's a very difficult job if you think about it.」

「Aw, you. You can compliment me all you want, but you're not getting anything.」

She was delighted that her hardwork was being recognized. When she went out to drink with her seniors, one of them would complain while drunk, "Hard?! They know nothing about the work we do!" She understood how her seniors felt. Now she felt the gloom inside her clearing up.

Her glasses-wearing senior always followed it up with something like, "What really annoys me about those receptionists is that they think they're popular! All they have is some slightly bigger breasts!" She would then break down crying.

On a side note, the receptionist and her senior had moderately-sized chests.

「I'll tell you where the other guilds are.」the receptionist said.

「Actually... I know I can't take commissions, but do you mind if I get some information?」

「Information? If it's about commissions, I'm sure the other guilds can help you.」

「No, not commissions. Something broader. There's gotta be some information that only the central guild would know.」

Only the central guild will know.

That line was the clincher.

「Fine. I'm extremely busy right now, but I'll accommodate you. What do you want to know?」

Unable to contain her joy, she flashed a bright smile.

After the assassination attempt on the Emperor of Quinbland, the conflict between the conservative and the progressive aristocrats temporarily ceased.

The nobles, both old and new, worked together to protect the recuperating emperor and revive the country. Or at least, that should've been what they were doing.

The purging of the nobles who participated in the assassination attempt was underway, sending the central government in a bit of a chaos.

On the other hand, there were no major changes in the lives of ordinary citizens.

Information about the attempted assassination of the emperor had leaked out, but although it made the citizens feel sorry about their ruler, it did not change their daily lives.

Of course, there was no information about the three people wearing silver masks who were instrumental in settling the case.

「So I was thinking, this is the perfect time to leave the capital.」Hikaru said.

He was having tea with Lavia and Paula while talking about future plans. Tired of being caught in the middle of a conflict between aristocrats and constantly running around, Hikaru didn't want to be involved anymore. He had been hiding for the past ten days.

Hikaru the Adventurer spent his time holed up in an inn, reading books and strolling around the capital, enjoying his life.

Circulation of goods had been restored. Hikaru thought he had eaten too much of kounatsu dishes for a year. Lavia, however, still had not gotten sick of the food.

「I think it's a good idea.」Lavia said.「I've read all the notable books I could find.」

Paula laughed.「You really only care about books, huh?」

The emperor himself said they could take any book from the palace library, which resulted in Paula learning the spell Angel Judgement.

The spell was not directly lethal, but it gave a shock proportional to the crimes that one committed, which would be quite brutal in the eyes of evildoers.

While they were told they could take the book with them, Hikaru decided to leave it, not because he wanted to say something cool like "I got it all memorized," but for practical reasons. Books in this world did not come in paperback sizes, the most common ones the size of an armful. They were not suited for adventurers who were constantly on the move.

While Lavia was glad to be able to read the books in the palace library, she wanted to read something else as well, so she spent the next ten days visiting the book lending shops in the capital and reading all kinds of books.

「Hikaru-sama, how was the Adventurers Guild?」Paula asked.

「Hmm. Seems like all the countries are quiet for now. Apparently many adventurers flocked to Grand Dream, and some of them are short in manpower.」

What Hikaru wanted to ask the receptionist at the Adventurers Guild was the current state of the world.

If there was conflict, he would not resolve it. He gathered information to specifically avoid conflict zones.

「We have a few things we can do next.」Hikaru continued.「First, we can stay here and just laze about.」

Hikaru's mind rejected the idea, but if Lavia and Paula wanted to take more time off, that was fine with him.

「Two: visit some resorts and tourist spots.」

「That sounds interesting. I'll get to see a lot of books.」

「Sounds nice! We can go to different churches!」

Both of them were very enthusiastic about the idea, but they seemed to have a hard time deciding on a destination.

「Third.」The third option was the one that Hikaru wanted to recommend.「Go adventuring.」

「You mean work?」

「No, that's not it.」Hikaru told them about the most fascinating information he obtained.「The hottest topic among the Adventurers Guild right now is the Phantom Mountain Tribe.」

「Oh.」Lavia's eyes lit up, the adventurer spirit inside her ignited.

「They're called the Pozi people. According to legends, they lived in golden settlements, their ornaments were all gold, and when people met them in the mountains, they thought the sun itself had come down and began walking.」

「Interesting.」

「But there's also a lot of questionable tales about them. No one knows if they're real or not. They haven't been talked about, let alone sighted, in decades. But about two months ago, a wealthy man died and various scholars were called in to assess his belongings for auction.」

The wealthy man, who was also a scholar, had left behind many things that might not even be useful.

One of them was a memoir.

「A record from a certain geologist. And it says...」

『I met the Pozi. As the legend goes, they adorned their bodies with plenty of gold. But they said they were suffering from a declining population, and now there were less than twenty people in the village. I suggested that they come down the mountain, but they insisted on staying. Apparently, the fewer people there are, the more gold they can monopolize. They measure their worth in how much gold they have. Gold has them captivated.』

「The memoir was written eighty years ago. There's a very good chance that all the Pozi people are already dead.」Hikaru placed a simplified map on the table and pointed at a certain location.「From the descriptions, I'm guessing that they met Pozi in the Potterat Mountains, which border Forestia. There's a river here that spewed out gold dust in the past, and the Gordon Mine, the largest gold mine in the empire is located there. In short, there's a chance that we'll find the Pozi people there, so...」Hikaru realized that the girls were staring at him, grinning.「What's the matter?」

「It was just unexpected.」Lavia said.

「I didn't know your eyes could twinkle like that when talking.」Paula added.

Hikaru quickly covered his face with both hands. The girls' grins grew wider.

「I-I just thought it sounded interesting, but if you two are not up for it, I won't force you.」

Who wouldn't get excited about golden people and golden villages? Hikaru thought. Is it because I'm a guy?

「It's settled, then.」Lavia said.

「Yup.」Paula agreed.

「No, really, let's decide together.」

「It's rare for you to say what you want to do, so I want to cheer you on. I'm also a bit curious.」

「A bit?」

「Quite curious, to be honest.」

Hikaru felt relieved that Lavia was just like him. He finally removed his hands from his face.

「Is that all right with you Paula?」

「Of course. Anything's fun with you two!」

「Good.」Hikaru said.「Our destination is the Potterat Mountains, where we'll search for the Phantom Mountain Tribe and their village.」