After returning to Baim, I headed to the Guild with my documents in hand.
It was just past three in the afternoon.
The number of adventurers wasn't particularly large, but there was a tense, on-edge feeling in the air that wasn't usual. At the reception counter, the staff were bustling about busily despite the low number of adventurers.
Watching all this, I checked the bulletin board to see if something had been discovered in the Dungeon too, but there was nothing of the sort.
The adventurers, having noticed the Guild's frantic atmosphere, were huddled together in small groups, whispering among themselves.
"Hey, what's going on? Is there a war breaking out somewhere?"
"If it's between Galleria and Rusworth, things are pretty much business as usual. Did someone pick a fight with Zayin and Rolfis? Or did someone pick a fight with them, rather..."
"Even so, doesn't this seem like a bit much?"
I knew that when a war broke out, the Guild, which managed all the adventurers, would get busy too. But what I was sensing felt different from that.
I headed up to the third floor with the documents, and the third floor looked the same as always. It was all private rooms, so you couldn't see other adventurers or Guild staff, and you couldn't hear their conversations either, making it impossible to tell if anything had changed.
Still, something felt off.
Maybe I was just imagining things.
Thinking that, I stepped into an empty room, and the staff member who had been waiting there stiffened slightly when he saw me.
Sensing the atmosphere, the Fifth Generation spoke from the Jewel.
"Another troublesome situation? That said, the last war didn't have this kind of vibe."
The Seventh Generation, who couldn't stand adventurers, laughed as he chimed in.
"Could some other country be invading? Baim really ought to be crushed once and for all."
Mireia, with an exasperated air.
"Good grief... Always like this. You need to stay in Baim for Lyle's sake, you know."
While still convinced this person was also a member of House Walt, I sat down in a chair and handed over the completed quest paperwork to the clerk.
They accepted it politely, gave me a brief glance, and then—
"Good work on the quest. More importantly, has anything unusual happened?"
"Unusual?"
I had traveled far to complete the quest. I'd also had the waiting members handle errand-type quests, but nothing out of the ordinary had come up.
I wondered if we had done something, but there were too many possibilities to narrow it down. Seeing my hesitation, the clerk quickly—
"No, if nothing happened, that's perfectly fine. Also, could you come in soon to renew your party members' Guild Cards?"
I remembered that I hadn't renewed them before heading out on the quest, and that it had been quite a while since the last batch renewal.
"Then perhaps during our next quest. Although, I'm planning to take a break for a while, so it'll have to be some other time."
I had completed a great many quests. That had given me several weeks' worth of free time.
(I'll want to tackle the Baim Dungeon soon anyway.)
I was making more money than before, but it still wasn't the same as what you could earn in a Dungeon. I had expected the clerk to be disappointed, but instead, they looked somewhat relieved.
The Third Generation naturally didn't miss that clerk's expression.
*'...There's something going on. Shall we look into it right away? Also, Lyle—'*
At those words, I asked the clerk:
"The atmosphere in the Guild has been pretty tense lately. Has something happened?"
The clerk's hands paused for just a moment, but they quickly put on a wry smile.
"Well, I appreciate you asking, but nothing in particular... It's just that I've noticed the strange atmosphere too, and I was hoping an adventurer might know something."
Figuring it was useless to press further with a clerk who was clearly claiming ignorance, I gave up. I could probably get the truth out of them if I used my Skills, but it wasn't worth going that far.
(I'll swing by Rauno's place later, maybe.)
After finishing the paperwork and receiving my reward, I left the guild.
—The Eastern Branch of the Adventurers' Guild.
In the staff break room, the general reception staff were bewildered by the hustle and tension within the guild.
Marianne sat on a chair in the break room, holding a cup of tea on her lap with both hands.
She told herself today was just like any other day, and that if she went back to the reception desk, she'd greet the new adventurers with her usual, soft demeanor.
Marianne's working hours were from early morning until evening. As most new adventurers were assigned miscellaneous errand requests, her schedule was fixed accordingly.
Then, a new staff member who had brought snacks into the break room spoke up.
"Listen to this! I got snacks again!"
The young girl with shoulder-length brown hair styled in two side-up ponytails was a recent hire at the guild.
Her tone was light, but she was competent at her job. And because she was also pretty, she was well-liked by adventurers. As a result, she often received gifts like snacks from them.
One of the other staff members looked at her with a wry smile.
"It's not really good to accept them so often. You didn't ask for them, did you? That could cause trouble, so please stop."
At that, Ryuen said, "No," while shaking her head.
"They insisted on giving them to me. It was from a very capable adventurer's party—the leader, actually. Their income is stable and high, and they're young and skilled. They use my counter a lot."
In other words, she was saying she was liked. Marianne looked at Ryuen and felt a complicated emotion she couldn't quite put into words.
When an adventurer frequently used a particular staff member's counter, it often meant they trusted that person. Or perhaps it was a compromise—adventurers, too, preferred to deal with someone who knew their situation, rather than having to explain things to someone new each time.
It wasn't as if all adventurers had ulterior motives, but it was only natural to have a few such regular customers if you worked at reception.
Marianne was in a different situation; she didn't have any regulars. For better or worse, Marianne handled new adventurers. Once they grew, they'd be reassigned away from her, and she'd have to interact with them differently than before.
So, in the true sense of the word, she had no regular customers.
A female staff member in her mid-twenties looked at Ryuen and offered a word of caution.
"Sometimes we have to ask them to do unpleasant jobs, so keep things professional without getting too attached. Otherwise—"
However, she cut off her own important advice midway.
"I know. But there are plenty of adventurers who'll listen if I'm the one asking, right? Even troublesome requests—they'll do it if it comes from me."
The female staff member, thinking a boasting session was about to begin, cut her off with "That's nice, dear" and left it at that.
Watching the male staff member hesitate over whether to continue, Marianne let out a sigh.
She wasn't annoyed with Ryuen, of course. After all, Marianne herself had once been exactly the kind of person Ryuen was.
(Was I seen this way too, back then?)
Thinking that, Marianne took a sip of tea and set her cup back on the table.
"Oh, by the way… Senpai, you're training newcomers again, right? Working with new adventurers must be tough—nothing but starry-eyed dreamers with ulterior motives. Some of the adventurers you used to handle came to me the other day, you know. They called me cute and whatnot, and I didn't know what to do with myself."
As Ryuen latched onto Marianne, the surrounding staff members wore subtle expressions. But Marianne just smiled.
"Yes. Sorry about that."
Seeming to lose interest, Ryuen sat down, spread out some snacks, and shared them with the other staff members.
Marianne stood up and left the break room——
Back at the mansion, I was looking for Miranda.
It was because I was heading to Rauno's place, and it had become something of a rule to invite Miranda whenever I went to see Rauno.
She had no objections to this arrangement, and it was also their usual routine to kill time with tea or shopping on the way there and back.
Picking up the movement signals within the mansion, I headed toward where Miranda was.
"At this hour… oh, is she taking it easy after a bath?"
When I returned to the Baim residence, the women would typically head back to the mansion and make for the baths. Apparently, they preferred using the large bath here, where they could relax without worry, rather than the public bathhouse installed at the Guild.
It was excessively spacious, so maintenance was a hassle, but that was handled with great enthusiasm by the Automatons. For some reason, they seemed to derive tremendous happiness from it.
(…Were the ancients who made Monica and the others actually perverts?)
I didn't want to speak ill of people who weren't around anymore, but I couldn't help thinking that.
As I walked down the corridor, a voice called out to me.
It was Maxim. Coming from the front, he had the look of someone who'd finally found who he was searching for.
"Lyle Walt, so you're here. A guest has come to visit."
"To me? Well, it's not unusual, but who is it?"
I decided to put off going to Miranda's place and headed to receive the guest instead. Using my Skills, I checked the surrounding map. Sure enough, a guest had arrived at the residence.
I'd been so distracted by Miranda that I hadn't been checking the wider map, which is why I hadn't noticed.
Walking alongside Maxim, who was tall and armored in muscle that looked like plate mail, made me feel scrawny.
"I'm not sure. However, it seems rather urgent. I didn't recognize them, but Novem invited them into the mansion."
I thought it might be someone related to Zayin or Rolfis, but if that were the case, Maxim would either know the person's face or would have said so.
Besides, if Novem invited them, there shouldn't be any problem...
Yes, there shouldn't be a problem.
"Novem, huh..."
There was a lot to think about. But the reactions of the successive heads had been the most astonishing of all. Even just recalling it made my head hurt.
Starting with the Third Generation.
'Is this it? As long as we leave the demi-human relations to Novem-chan, there won't be any problems? That's incredibly helpful.'
'Elves scattered across the continent, Dwarves known for their many artisans, Gnomes with nimble fingers... and then a Divine Beast, too. He's arrived. This increases Lyle's chances of defeating Ceres.'
'Can we really expect that much? Personally, I'm still bothered by the talk of Novem having betrayed us... but that was a long time ago, no matter how you look at it.'
'It doesn't matter. We must use whatever can be used. The overwhelming difference in military power hasn't been made up at all.'
Mireia, in response to the reactions of the Successive Heads, said.
"You all really have a few screws loose, don't you? I think that kind of reaction is wonderful."
Hearing this, the Third Generation laughed as he replied.
"Even if you call it the age of the goddess, that doesn't have anything to do with us. Honestly, the story's gotten way too big for me to follow, but as long as they're on our side, no problem! If they end up being enemies someday, we'll deal with it then. Or maybe we'll have Lyle drain them of their spine — right?"
Working hard for Novem's sake was one thing, but what exactly did these people think of me?
When I shook my head, Maxim looked over at me with concern.
"What's the matter, Lord Lyle?"
"Ah, no... it's nothing."
That was right. What the goddesses had done in ancient times wasn't the problem for us. The problem was that beings like me — the goddess's leavings — and their descendants existed.
(...The goddess's leavings, huh? Who was it that said that again?)
Ceres's leavings, the goddess's leavings — that was what the Successive Heads had called me, and I couldn't argue back. After all, I really had been stripped of many things and sealed away by Ceres.
(There are mountains of problems that need solving... I just hope this isn't another troublesome matter.)
But my feelings were easily trampled upon.
The one who had come to the reception room was Tahnia.
She wasn't wearing the staff uniform you'd see at the Guild, but she wasn't dressed casually either.
She was wearing a suit, and looked somewhat tense.
(Ah, I guess Maxim and the others wouldn't know Tahnia. Even though I registered as an adventurer, they basically handle all the quests.)
I greeted Tahnia, who was seated on the sofa, and sat down myself. Monica was preparing tea nearby, and Novem, who had been dealing with her first, wore a slightly stern expression.
"Is something wrong?"
Judging from Novem's expression, I was expecting some unfavorable news, when the Seventh Generation chimed in.
'Oh? Have you come to pick a fight? That saves us some trouble. We'll take that fight, Adventurer Guild!'
Why do they hate adventurers so much...
Leaving the Seventh Generation to his own devices, I looked toward Tahnia, and she gestured for me to look at the envelope she had placed on the table.
"This is information known only to a very select few within the Guild."
Reading the document she indicated, I found details about the village I had seen at Rauno's place.
However, the Guild's report stated that the situation was extremely dangerous.
Tahnia continued.
"A Dungeon in a rampaging state. This hasn't happened in the Baim area in twenty years. It seems someone who retired from adventuring and returned to their hometown was involved."
Skimming through the documents, I realized that in the few weeks I'd been away from Baim, the situation had deteriorated significantly.
It was stated that conquering the Dungeon was impossible, and it appeared Baim had already decided to mobilize for defense.
Novem spoke up.
"...That is a regrettable outcome. But why bring this matter to Lyle?"
Novem glared at Tahnia, as if on guard.
Tahnia took a sip of the tea Monica had served.
"The Baim Adventurer's Guild—the Guild Headquarters—holds Lyle in very high regard. For this defensive battle, we would like you to participate."
I noted that she had invoked the name of the Guild Headquarters, not the Eastern Branch.
(HQ's decision means it'll be a real pain if I refuse later. But what's the point of pressuring a single party this much?)
Then, the Fourth Generation's voice came from the Jewel.
'I see. They want to keep Lyle, who has influence over Zayin and Rolfis, on a leash. At the very least, Baim wants to pressure them into asking, "Will your two nations abandon your benefactor?"'
Following that, the Fifth Generation spoke in a low voice.
"You're underestimating us. We would have participated regardless — and even without us, we could probably protect Baim. But this is an opportunity."
Successive Heads who saw the Dungeon's rampage as an opportunity were definitely a few screws loose.
The Seventh Generation included.
"A defensive battle, then. It would certainly help raise Lyle's name further. And as a bonus, we'd earn Baim's gratitude as well. However, having Zayin and Rolfis participate on Lyle's behalf would be troublesome. There's no benefit for those two nations."
The Third Generation spoke in an amused tone.
"Now that you mention it, those two nations owe Baim a debt, don't they? Isn't that interesting? How about we take the lead and participate, and ask them to reduce our debt in return? Heheh! This is getting exciting! The enemy is an army of tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of Monsters! We need to start preparing!"
I wanted to bury my face in my hands, so I looked down. Tahnia seemed to think I was considering a refusal.
After all, once a Dungeon went berserk, it would dry up — but even then, it would still spew out Monsters by the tens or hundreds of thousands.
Throughout history, many nations had fallen to Dungeons, which was precisely why managing them was so difficult.
Tahnia spoke.
"Indeed, this commission is quite demanding. However, this time is extremely important—"
"It is Lyle who will decide. Or perhaps you intend to force him to participate?"
I raised a hand to restrain Novem, who was practically intimidating Tahnia, then lifted my gaze.
(...I can't exactly refuse to participate here. If I can earn some goodwill, I might as well. Besides, I need to keep Zayin and Rolfis's debts reduced.)
I offered Tahnia a smile.
"Of course we'll participate. Lyle Walt will rise to the occasion in Baim's time of need. To that end, I'll first secure the cooperation of Zayin and Rolfis! Leave it to me — I'll have both nations on board in no time. Incidentally, Baim will be paying the two nations for their involvement, correct?"
Having laid that groundwork in advance, Tahnia's cheeks twitched.
"W-Well, I'd need to consult with my superiors before I can say anything—"
"Then let's move quickly! Novem, begin war preparations!"
"Yes, Lyle."
I watched Novem rise to her feet with a smile and leave the room, thinking to myself.
(…What exactly does "preparations" even involve?)
I'd experienced small-scale battles before, but large-scale ones were entirely new to me. Unlike what I'd been through with Zayin or Rolfis, this time I'd be clashing with Monsters in a serious, full-scale engagement.
Beside me, Monica kept glancing my way with eager, expectant eyes, as though hoping an order might come her way too, while I listened to the voices echoing inside the Jewel.
"Oh my, oh my," Mireia remarked, watching the Successive Heads work themselves up in all sorts of ways, and then offered a single comment.
"How delightful they all look. I wonder if Lyle is getting excited too?"
(Not a chance in hell!)