“Why is this happening?”
As usual, Nox found a suitable monster hunting request on the general mission board at the Adventurers Association branch, took it to the reception desk, and proceeded to complete the mission and then report in the next city, a simple procedure.
However, upon showing his adventurer’s license, the receptionist became nervous and called someone, and then a man who clearly seemed to be a superior came out from the back and respectfully escorted him inside.
“What have you done?”
“I haven’t done anything…”
As they conversed in hushed tones, the door to the reception room opened quietly.
“Apologies for the wait.”
An older man with an impeccable appearance, similar to that of a noble, appeared.
“The mage Astra, right? I’m Doruku, the head of the Galaxia branch.”
“Did I do something wrong…?”
Although his demeanor was gentle, Nox could sense in this man’s sharp gaze, who seemed competent in his adventurer duties, an aura that raised even more questions.
“We apologize for the wait, both for you and your companion.”
The polite branch head, Doruku, bowed deeply also to Nana.
“This time, there is a particular matter that we would like to entrust to Astra-sama, so we have come to ask for this favor.”
“To me? A special request?”
Adventurers can sometimes be specifically requested by former clients who become repeat customers or through word-of-mouth recommendations that spread their name, leading to personal requests.
“It’s not exactly a personal request… But we trust in the abilities of the five fire mages.”
“Five fire mages?”
Nana’s puzzled expression triggered the explanation.
“He is referring to the ‘insignias’, which are the gems attached to the adventurer’s license based on their achievements.”
As he explained in a low voice, Nox handed a card to Nana.
In fact, there are five red stones attached.”
“What does this mean?”
Seeing the two young people with question marks, it was Doruku who asked in response.
“Do you not know the significance of the stones?”
“We know they are valuable and can be exchanged for money when returning the adventurer’s license.”
Especially the red stones, known as ‘Red Vacations’, even a small stone on the card can sustain a common citizen for a month. Hearing this, Nox had been focusing on accepting challenging missions where he could obtain these stones as rewards.
Then, Doruku made a face suggesting he wanted to say something, cleared his throat, and continued.
“The number and color of the insignias represent the power index of the adventurer in question… Those with five, throughout the hundreds of years since the founding of the Adventurers Association, can be counted on one hand.”
“Eh?”
“Well…”
Nox was surprised by how straightforward it all was, while Nana was secretly delighted. Although their names were different, this showed that Nox was a kind of prodigy that emerged once every few hundred years.
“Among the three types of achievements, red is for the experts in hunting beasts, in the past they were even called heroes… But for mages, five red insignias have only been seen since the first king of Akol.”
“So, the first king was an adventurer?”
“Yes. It is said that he defeated the beast king who had ruled this area and founded the human kingdom.”
Although Nana had received education about the history of Akol, she had never heard this particular story. However, upon reflection, the Kingdom of Akol held adventurers in high esteem compared to neighboring countries.
Some of the nobility did not view wandering adventurers favorably, leading to speculation that as the royals were deified, that past was left unmentioned. And that was the truth.
“Alright, so what task do you want me to do?”
Nox was not interested in the kingdom’s history. He wanted to move forward.
While adventurers would normally be pleased to be compared to the first King and even feel a sense of pride, Nox’s lack of interest puzzled Doruku once again.
“…Here it is.”
Without showing his discomfort, Doruku pulled out a document with the details of the commission and handed it over.
Nox perused the document with interest, and Nana also glanced over his shoulder.
“Eliminate the monster nest?”
The task involved eliminating a monster nest that had recently appeared near the road connecting Galaxia and the capital.
“Dot Spiders… it will certainly be a bit troublesome.”
“Yes… They are quite large and reproduce rapidly. Lately, they have been busy just exterminating the small ones that appear near the road. We requested help from the central headquarters of the capital to get an adventurer who can resolve this at the root.”
Then, Doruku cast a sidelong glance at Nana.
“It seems the young lady here is in the middle of an escort mission, so I can’t impose too much on her.”
Even if Nana dressed like an adventurer, any experienced adventurer could quickly identify someone who did not belong in this world by their mannerisms and movements.
“If Astra volunteers, I wouldn’t mind if we arrived a bit late.”
Even if Nox was assuming the role of Astra, Doruku had no issues with a slight delay.
“Where is the location?”
“A westward detour in a ravine on the way to the next inn.”
“There, huh? Well, I suppose I can make a stop on the way…”
Nox visualized the location in his mind and thought carefully with his finger on his chin. The mention of ‘making a stop’ made Doruku furrow his brow.
“Since it would be troublesome to come back here to report completion, I would prefer someone from the guild to verify and take care of the rest. Also, would it be possible to receive the reward at the next inn?”
“If you accept, there’s no problem!”
Without much delay, Doruku nodded without hesitation.
“Well then. I’ll be going now.”
“N-Now?”
