#033. The Apprentice is Too Kind (3)

#033. The Apprentice is Too Kind (3)

The apprentice adventurers were brimming with anticipation.

“If Shino’s such a big deal, doesn’t that mean we can take on good quests if we team up?”

“With swordsmanship learned from a master from the Swordsmanship Guild, honestly, a Rank 2 monster will be a piece of cake.”

“Well, it wouldn’t be difficult.”

“Whoa! What’s with the confidence!”

“Did you hear that? Get us some good quests!”

The senior receptionist and Guild Master, eavesdropping on the conversation, had their expressions rapidly darken as they were swept away by the enthusiastic attitude of the adventurers, riding the wave of the heartwarming atmosphere.

“Can they handle it?”

“It’s dangerous.”

That hunting ground has been neglected for too long.

The underground waterway and the forest in front of the village periodically transform small insects and animals into enormous monsters overnight, due to the discarded mana from the mana disposal facility.

If these apprentice adventurers, blissfully ignorant of the danger and merely thinking of a typical hunting ground, venture out there, there could be casualties.

In other times, the Guild might have been able to bury this fact with Vice Guild Master Gomora’s power, even if it was a painful mistake.

But now, with no one to mediate with the Guild Federation, sanctions and disadvantages at the Federation level are guaranteed the moment it’s discovered.

Above all, it was the Vice Guild Master’s faction, not the Guild Master’s, that would be responsible for the casualties.

To create casualties now, after minimizing them even under the Vice Guild Master who condoned them, and after the thorn in his side has been removed, would be utter nonsense.

“So, you’re hoping for high-value subjugation quests in the underground waterway or the forest in front of the village.”

“It pays better than village chores, right? We have Shino now, so let us go too. Huh?”

The adventurers’ earnest expressions.

The senior receptionist could only swallow and swallow back curses, knowing that their actions would claim their lives.

Novice receptionists often struggle to firmly refuse an adventurer’s request.

If they give in, succumbing to sentiment…

And if there’s an accident involving loss of life…

It’s not just the adventurers who are hurt.

The receptionist who authorized the quest is also hurt.

If only I had been firmer back then.

If only I had adhered to the regulations more closely.

If only I had mustered the courage to be disliked and stopped them.

People wouldn’t have had to die.

Every receptionist at the Adventurers Guild carries at least one such moment of regret.

But it’s rare for someone as young as Ian to bear such a burden.

The typical age for becoming a receptionist is higher.

‘Even if he worked at the Guild, he’d usually be doing jobs closer to material sorting, transporting, or calling adventurers, things a child his age would do.’

The thought that Ian’s exceptional intelligence might wound him even more made her resent the decision to have him take the apprentice receptionist exam, driven by the desire to have such a talented child.

Watching the sweat bead on the Sodom Guildmaster’s face, the senior receptionist understood.

The Guildmaster, too, knew the danger of the position he’d created, unable to mask his tension.

This wasn’t done blindly.

The staffing shortage was so critical, it demanded such a daring decision.

‘Please, someone stop him. Don’t let compassion sway you!’

Amidst the collective gaze, Ian finally spoke.

“According to the Adventurer Safety Guarantee Regulations, sending novice adventurers into dangerous situations is forbidden.”

“Ah…”

“Furthermore, the Adventurer Protection Act mandates that the guild prioritize the safety of its adventurers. Until the state of the lower hunting grounds stabilizes, it is advisable that novice adventurers primarily undertake requests within the village.”

A disappointing pronouncement for the adventurers, but a reassuring one for the senior receptionist and the Guildmaster.

Surprisingly, Ian hadn’t been swayed by sentiment; he’d flatly refused permission for external hunting ground assignments.

The apprentice adventurers were greatly disheartened, but Ian wasn’t finished explaining.

“However, if you all join forces and complete all the novice-level requests within the week, the restriction of prioritizing novice requests enforced by the Adventurer Protection Act will be nullified.”

“Really?!”

“It’s because there will be no novice requests for you to carry out, and that counts as an unavoidable request for survival. Therefore, if you rigorously divide labor – assigning operational zones, distributing activity areas, and sharing roles – I believe you can complete all novice requests faster than they accumulate.”

This wasn’t a simple refusal.

It was a presentation of an alternative to overcome the immediate reality, guiding the adventurers to unite and execute cooperative requests.

Sufficient experience.

Synchronization between comrades.

Understanding of each other’s roles – all creating more efficient time, as opposed to rushing headlong into the field.

Even simple chores often required so many hands, they weren’t to be underestimated.

If they could handle all those tasks, perhaps they’d have the capacity to manage the volume of monsters in the neglected Tier 2 hunting grounds.

More importantly, once the urgent matters were settled, the returning adventurers could sweep up monsters along the way, and accept requests near the village again, lowering the hunting ground difficulty.

The hunting ground level would decrease, and the adventurer party’s coordination level would increase.

“A challenge, huh? Maybe aiming for complete graduation and clearing out all the novice requests isn’t such a bad idea?”

“Did other novice adventurers rise up like that? What about your mom?”

“My mom…is quite special, you see. She cleaves monsters in half with her bare hands.”

A butcher-born adventurer spoke, his face paling.

“Even the Tier 4 adventurer-turned-butcher can’t bisect monsters without tools.”

The adventurers conceded.

They admitted they weren’t quite at that level.

The apprentice adventurers carefully selected a multitude of manageable tasks.

Strong novices and weak novices alike joined forces.

A rare unity, an entire generation marching in lockstep.

“Truly…remarkable. To think they possessed this level of aptitude.”

“I didn’t do anything. They’re just kind people who helped each other. Compared to that, all I did was…”

The Guildmaster belatedly realized his mistake.

Ian had completed many requests alongside his mother.

Of course, not as a contributing member of the party.

But as a burden, hindering his mother.

It must be that he was realizing how much of a burden it all was for his mother.

Ignorance might not be a sin, but surely filial impiety was.

It was only natural the young one suffered so.

“You are not bad, child. What is bad is the poverty and hunger that steals your freedom.”

“…Thank you.”

“Once they return safely, achieve their quota, and submit the related documents, the test will be over. The results will be out in two weeks at the latest, I wager.”

Ian’s future as a guild receptionist already seemed inescapable.

Instead of blocking the boy’s path with his own selfishness, the Guild Master soothed his wounded heart.

“Do not grieve so much. You have Anna and Gorgo, and the other party members, don’t you?”

“The Guild Master is right. Thank you.”

He still doesn’t call me Godfather, though.

Sodom saw the regret in the boy’s downcast gaze and vowed to himself not to be hasty.

Even wild animals took time to open their hearts to humans; how could he possibly expect to close the distance between people in an instant? He chided his own impatience.

* * *

The children, who could have shared a true and honest friendship, were now sharing an artificial one, induced by brainwashing.

Someday, when they realize that all of this is emotion manufactured through mind control, from where to where could they believe was genuine friendship?

Perhaps the adventurers of the Sino generation, sharing their tight-knit friendships while even doubting their own hearts, would one day fall apart and scatter to the winds.

‘So I must nurture them even faster, even further. These adventurers of this village. Until my brainwashing is discovered and undone by someone.’

Fortunately, Sino and the other apprentice adventurers achieved their goals safely.

In a mere five days, they cleared all of the beginner quests that had accumulated over two weeks and achieved the feat of qualifying to challenge level 2 quests.

Of course, after the adventurers returned and extinguished the fires, sweeping through the forest and waterways, the apprentices’ external quests now adhered to the appropriate difficulty.

“Working for the Adventurer’s Guild?”

“Yeah.”

“You’ll do well if it’s you.”

His mother was among the returned adventurers.

Unexpectedly, she readily approved of his employment.

Partly because he had received a job offer from the Zeppelin Merchant Company even when he was younger, but also because she had learned through personal experience just how harsh the life of an adventurer was.

“Someday I’ll be receiving your quests, Mom.”

“Hah. That’s a long way off.”

“Your mother speaks truly, rookie. The Teresa Party is my dedicated party, wouldn’t you agree?”

A receptionist with a low rank can only take charge of adventurers with appropriate ranks and can only offer the quest with a limited grade which is depending on their performance and promotion result.

This measure is to prevent reckless reception or casualties caused by unqualified receptionists.

‘In just five days I’ve been promoted to a full employee and can handle up to level 2 quests. In another two weeks I’ll be able to handle level 3, and in another month after that, level 4.’

And in two more months, level 5 will be possible.

Three and a half months from now.

In that much time, he would be able to take on his mother’s quests, which fluctuated between levels 4 and 5.

An adventurer’s life that started because of him.

He should at least be a good support, shouldn’t he?

“Look after the fledglings. Anna too.”

Thanks to the map drawn by Joseph, his mother set out on the third raid of the abandoned mine dungeon.

And then, in just four days, she returned, carrying both the dungeon boss’s head and fragments of the shattered magic circle from the hidden dungeon research lab.

Before even apprentice adventurers dared to challenge 3rd-grade requests, Mom had already been promoted to a full-fledged 5th-grade adventurer.

The fact that the creature guarding the magic circle was a first-part boss made the rapid capture and promotion feel unreal.