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Stepping into the Guild after Flute, I found it far more crowded and bustling than it had been during my days as an active adventurer. And one thing in particular caught my attention —
"Flute, aren't there a lot of young adventurers here?"
Adventurers younger than me — most likely fresh-faced newcomers who had just entered the profession — made up a considerable portion of the crowd. Perhaps because of that, a scramble was playing out in front of the bulletin board over simple quests that even newcomers could take on.
"Is that okay? All that?"
"It's fine. If it gets out of hand, the veteran adventurers we've hired as staff or instructors will step in. Besides, we've made it so their everyday conduct also factors into rank-up evaluations."
As Flute said that, she turned her gaze toward the staff member who was closely watching the newcomers squabbling over quests.
"So it's gotten stricter than before."
"Well, your case was an exception, Tenma, but it has certainly gotten stricter than it was back then. And for your information, the reason for that is also connected to you."
According to Flute, the Gunjou City Adventurers' Guild had come to be known as something of a "holy land" — the place where this country's youngest hero, namely myself, had officially begun his adventuring career. Lately, a growing number of young aspiring adventurers had been choosing this very spot as the site of their debut. The increased headcount had pushed the rank-up standards slightly higher, but that didn't stop newcomers from flocking here in hopes of catching a lucky break.
"Still, nobody's coming up to us, are they? Some of the veteran adventurers have noticed me — a few are making ugly faces, others are giving me a little wave."
"They're newcomers, so they probably aren't very aware of their surroundings. In that sense, it also means there's no one particularly noteworthy among the newcomers here right now."
As expected, the more the numbers grew, the more gems appeared — but the duds grew even faster. Or perhaps the talented newcomers had simply chosen not to make their debut at a place with so little work available.
"That aside — where is the"
woman
"connected to Tenma?"
While I was talking with Flute, Amur cut in between us to ask her directly. Flute had only said "someone connected to you," yet Amur — and not just her, but all the women in our group — seemed absolutely convinced that this person was female.
"She's over there."
Where Flute pointed with a wry smile was a woman sitting at the reception desk, chatting with an adventurer... Cerna. She seemed to be on great terms with the adventurer she was talking to, wearing a brighter smile than I had ever seen on her.
"
That
...with Tenma?"
"Just so you know, the man she's talking to is her
boyfriend.
"
"
That person
...with Tenma... could totally become friends!"
The moment Amur learned Cerna had a boyfriend, she did a complete 180 in attitude.
"I'd like to go say hi to Cerna too, but... there's quite a line of adventurers behind her boyfriend."
"She's pretty popular, you know."
"Ah! Her boyfriend just got smacked from behind!"
"That happens a lot. Well, if they go too far, the staff will step in, but he'd been hogging the counter for quite a while too. That was just barely within acceptable limits."
Amur made it sound more dramatic than it actually was. In reality, Cerna's boyfriend had only been lightly tapped on the ribs by an adventurer waiting behind him. Well, it may have pushed the boundaries of "lightly" a bit, but when you're flirting right in front of people who are waiting their turn, the way they tell you to move along is bound to get a little rough.
After being called out by the adventurer behind him, the boyfriend quickly apologized and gave up his spot. He then sheepishly moved to a seat a little further away, where he was still getting "lightly" smacked by other adventurers. Cerna, too, had been teased by the adventurer who'd called out her boyfriend and turned bright red, but she quickly got back to work.
Seeing the two like that, I decided to put off introducing myself and headed for the Guild Master's office to talk with Flute and the others.
"So what you're saying is, the Guild Master became more responsible because you had a child, Flute..."
"Yes. At first, just like with Tenma and the others, everyone in this guild was making a fuss, screaming 'It's a fake!'"
"They really were a rude bunch, weren't they? All I was doing was doing my job properly... Well, at least in their case, unlike with Tenma, I could knock them around until they settled down."
Even though he'd been retired for quite some time, he was apparently still a former A-rank adventurer at heart, and he proudly declared that C and D rank adventurers were no match for him.
"Well, whenever B-rank adventurers happened to be around, he'd make me do the explaining."
"That's awful."
"That's the worst."
"What a sorry state of affairs."
"So lame."
In order, that was Chris, Cain, Grandpa, and Amour. Jeanne and Primera hadn't said it out loud, but they seemed to be thinking the same thing. And then—
"Guild Master... you're absolutely the worst. As expected of you!"
Once more, as if summarizing everyone's thoughts, I gave the Guild Master a thumbs-up to "praise" him. He must have been quite pleased, because he sank deeply into the sofa with tears in his eyes.
"I mean, I am technically a guild executive, you know..."
"No, there are people here more important than the Guild Master, and in the two years I was active in Gunjou City, I never once saw the Guild Master do any work. In the beginning, I even thought Flute was the Guild Master. And when I found out that someone who can't even do half the work Flute does was at the top, I was absolutely stunned."
Hearing my words, Flute nodded with satisfaction, and Primera nodded as if to say she felt the same way.
"Come to think of it, how did the Guild Master even become the Guild Master of Gunjou City? Do you know anything about that, Primera?"
"No, I don't know anything..."
"Oh! I know! It's secondhand, but I heard the story from my father, who heard it from Duke Sanga himself!"
Primera didn't know, but since Cain had a secondhand account to share, we had him explain.
"So basically, as long as the rank and file are solid, the organization keeps running even if the person at the top is useless. And since the Guild Master isn't the type to flaunt whatever authority he has, he's the perfect figurehead."
"And he also said something about how he'd be easy to throw under the bus if anything went wrong..."
Cain's shocking revelation left everyone with stunned expressions—everyone except Flute, that is. She had probably heard something similar from Duke Sanga before.
"I need to take my work more seriously..."
"In the worst case, I can help out, you know?"
"I mean, I can't exactly be a deadbeat dad right when my kid's being born."
"Sure, I get that feeling, but you've been the way you've been up until now. If you suddenly start trying too hard, it'll confuse the people under you. And conversely, things might actually start running worse. So take it easy, alright?"
"Yeah..."
Right after the Guild Master resolved to turn over a new leaf and be more diligent, a rather sad thing happened where Grandpa gently reined him in. And Flute also told him that "it would be better for the Guild," and in the end, the Guild Master was moved to tears.
"Tenma, Serna says she's swamped with work and can't get away, but she'll come by to say hello after she's finished."
"In that case, could you tell her to come to 'Manpukutei' around dinner time? I'll probably be there late into the night. Also, Flute and the Guild Master should come by too if they have time."
Flute went to check on the counter situation and reported back, so I asked her to pass along the message to Serna. When I also asked the two of them to join, the Guild Master was still hanging his head dejectedly, but Flute promised they would both come.
"That wrapped up faster than I expected... I've got some free time, so how about heading over to the Council HQ? Albert might still be there, and there's someone at the Council I'd like to greet as well."
So I made my way over to the Council HQ, but apparently Albert had left in the opposite direction and headed to the Guild. Albert wasn't there, but the person I needed at the Council was Serna's uncle Marcus, so I told the receptionist my business and asked them to call him for me, but...
"Marcus isn't here either, huh... I guess it can't be helped."
Marcus had apparently been running around busy lately, so I asked them to pass along a message: "If you have time tonight, I'd like you to come to Manpukutei."
"For now, let's head back to the Guild. If Albert makes a move, he'll probably try to rendezvous with us. And if that doesn't work out, we'll go to the mansion Albert mentioned."
At first, someone suggested we stay at Manpukutei if we were going to spend the night in Gunjou City, but Manpukutei was a popular inn and we weren't sure we could get enough rooms for everyone. Besides, we'd heard that the Duke Sanga household had a mansion in Gunjou City that they used during inspections, so we decided to stay there instead. By the way, even though Primera lived in Gunjou City, she didn't stay at the Duke Sanga mansion and instead used the knights' dormitory. The reason was that Primera wanted to strike out on her own in the future and earn a title of nobility, so she wanted to get used to living alone as early as possible (it was a dormitory, so it wasn't exactly living alone, but still). Also, the mansion was so spacious that without family around, it felt
unsettling.
...or so we'd heard.
As we were having that conversation on our way back to the Guild, it seemed surprisingly noisy. At first, I thought the newcomers had noticed Grandpa and me arriving, but the atmosphere didn't quite match that.
"Maybe I should just ask Flute inside..."
I was thinking of looking for Flute, but before I could, one of the knights who had been assigned to escort Albert showed up and led me to the Guild Master's office. Inside the office,
"Is the Guild Master still hanging his head? And why is Albert's face all red?"
In the Guild Master's office, we found the Guild Master hanging his head even deeper than before, Albert looking embarrassed, Flute smiling wryly, and the escort knights looking utterly uncertain about what to do.
"Flute, what happened?"
"Well, to put it simply, Albert did the same thing as Tenma and the others. And in Albert's case, he made a ruckus inside the Guild, which got the adventurers watching all riled up, turning it into a bizarre atmosphere... or rather, a full-blown festival."
Albert, who had been at the center of it all, had apparently realized his misunderstanding when he saw the adventurers getting a kick out of the commotion. He'd been in this state ever since just before Flute led him to the Guild Master's office.
"Albert... that was just one of those things. Chris and Cain both did the same kind of thing to me, so don't worry about it... well, I can't expect you not to worry, but let's try to file it away as an unfortunate accident. First, how about we head to the manor?"
At my suggestion, Albert nodded obediently. He'd probably had embarrassing moments like this before, but perhaps never one where he was the only one going through it. When I thought about it that way, Lion—who could be dense at times but bounced back quickly—might actually have the strongest mental fortitude of the three of them. Whether that served him well in daily life was another matter entirely.
"Shiromaru, lead the way. Knights, just stay casual but move in formation around Albert. As for the rest, just play it cool... oh, right! Flute, the collars for Shiromaru and the others..."
"They're ready."
"Thank you. Well then, see you tonight."
I fastened the collar with the identification tag around Shiromaru's neck, let him take the lead, and stepped out of the Guild Master's office. The Guild—which had been buzzing with noise—went dead silent the moment we appeared. The adventurers who knew what I'd done clearly turned their faces away, and some were even forcibly turning away the faces of the new adventurers they were looking after.
"Just seeing this reaction tells you how much of a rampage Tenma went on, doesn't it..."
Grandpa said that while glancing around at the adventurers, but it wasn't like I'd gone out of my way to pick fights with them—I'd simply defended myself every single time. So technically, this wasn't my fault... probably.
"Come on, everyone, let's move!"
I hurried everyone who'd been watching along, trying to get out of the Guild as fast as possible, but the only ones who actually followed were Albert and the knights assigned to guard him.
"I really will leave you behind, you know!"
I made it all the way to the Guild doors and shouted, and only then did the rest of them finally start moving.
"I'd heard about it, but... Tenma, you really were quite the troublemaker, weren't you?"
Chris caught up and started teasing me about it, so before I could stop myself—
"—that's exactly why nobody's into you, Chris."
I let slip something I really shouldn't have. The moment the words left my mouth, I realized my mistake, but it was already too late—Chris's hand was closing around my shoulder like it intended to crush it.
"What exactly do you mean by that?"
Chris asked with a smile on her face, but her eyes weren't smiling at all.
"Chris, you had problems back in your student days, which is why guys don't approach you, right? How is that any different from people staying away from me because of all the trouble I caused in Gunjou City?"
I figured now was the time when I absolutely could not apologize, so I doubled down and answered her question with a question of my own. Chris hadn't expected that kind of response, and the grip on my shoulder went slack.
I seized that instant to put some distance between us. Chris muttered "I made a mistake!" and reached for me again, but before anything could happen, Amour inserted himself between us.
"Tenma. Tenma, you're wrong. We may have caused the same amount of trouble, but Tenma has me! Plus Jeanne, and Primera, and... Luna too, I guess? But Chris has nobody. The only person who might've been interested, Lion, is currently being stalked and who knows how that'll turn out. I feel sorry for her, but honestly, nobody at all..."
He was pitching himself while simultaneously trash-talking Chris. Jeanne and Primera, whose names Amour had just dropped, stared at him with stunned expressions, while Aura, who was standing next to Jeanne, kept glancing back and forth between Amour and Jeanne's faces with a "What about me?" look.
"Amour... hold it right there!"
And so began the usual routine—Chris and Amour vanished into the crowd, just like that.
"Alright! Let's head to the mansion!"
Amour had stirred up all that tension he didn't even know how to handle, then irresponsibly disappeared along with Chris. I raised my voice, intending to reset everything. But—
"Tenma... look after my sister for—guh!"
Albert had gotten swept up in the atmosphere Amour created, and then received a retaliatory strike—from his own sister.
"Primera, you... gah!"
"Nn... splendid form."
Before Albert could finish his next sentence, Primera, her face already bright red, drove a second devastating body blow into him, and he went quiet. As expected of someone who trained regularly, she had clearly mastered the art of attacking the human body with maximum efficiency. Moreover, the entire sequence—inflicting pain with the first hit, then precisely taking out consciousness with the second—was so masterful that even Grandpa would have groaned in admiration.
"Tenma-san... did you hear anything?"
"No, I didn't hear a thing! Primera-san!"
The words "Primera-san" had slipped out of my mouth involuntarily, but honestly, there was nothing I could do about that. After all, Cain, who had been about to follow Albert's lead and open his mouth as well, had been so startled by Primera's overwhelming aura that he quickly clamped a hand over his own mouth and turned away... looking thoroughly panicked.
"Is that so? I'm glad to hear it. Also, it seems my brother has worn himself out from the journey, so I'll be guiding you from here on. You there—
this
— carry him!"
It wasn't just us who were stunned by Primera's unusual demeanor — her subordinate knights looked equally taken aback. After hearing her order, they wore startled expressions for only a moment before promptly hoisting Albert onto their shoulders and falling into line behind her... It didn't feel quite right to have the future head of House Sanga carried along like a drunk, supported on either side, but that just showed how overwhelming Primera's presence was. I decided it was best not to comment on the matter any further.
"This is the estate owned by Duke Sanga. We only use it perhaps once a year, but proper cleaning and maintenance have been carried out, so there shouldn't be any problems. Also, I need to return to the Knights' HQ briefly to handle some paperwork and collect my personal belongings, so I'll excuse myself for a short while."
No sooner had we arrived at the estate than Primera announced she was heading back to the Knights' HQ. Her tone and demeanor were gradually returning to their usual state, but she was clearly still furious at her own brother — she turned to the knight who had brought Albert and said,
"Get that
thing out of my sight — put it in a storage room or something!" she told the knight. After Primera disappeared from view, Grandpa stepped in to relieve the knight who'd been at a loss over what to do with Albert, and had him taken to an appropriate room. It was a sound decision — even Primera, in her current foul mood, was unlikely to raise objections if Grandpa was the one mediating.
"Shiromaru, Solomon — you can play in the yard, but don't go near the walls or outside the grounds. Slarin, I'm counting on you to watch over the two of them."
I noticed a few people outside who seemed to be watching, likely interested in Shiromaru and Solomon, but I doubted anyone would actually dare trespass on an estate belonging to Duke Sanga, so I decided to let the two of them play. Even if there were intruders targeting the pair, it would be extremely rare for anyone to be capable of handling A-rank Monsters — and even if they did, killing them in self-defense would come secondary to the charge of trespassing on ducal land, so it wouldn't count as a crime. Still, I assigned Slarin as supervisor partly to prevent the two from accidentally wandering outside, and partly because if some reckless
challenger
did show up, Slarin could subdue them without killing. Even if it wouldn't have been wrong to kill the intruder, I still wanted to avoid the pair's reputation being unfairly dragged down.
I asked Gol and Jiru if they wanted to go outside as well, but both seemed to prefer relaxing in the Dimension Bag — which was practically their home — over exploring unfamiliar territory. They just asked for their food and didn't come anywhere near the exit.
"Well, same as always, I suppose... Here, I'll leave your food right here — wait, you've spun more thread again? Thanks."
Gol came to collect the food and handed over a ball of thread in exchange. By the pair's standards, the thread's quality was high-grade — roughly second from the top — but it still surpassed the finest thread commonly available on the market, so I could never have too much of it.
"That said, my stockpile is getting pretty large... Maybe I should offload some of it somewhere."
Basically, Gol and Jiru's thread was only sold to acquaintances, so the people on the waiting list were all expecting top-grade thread, not high-grade. Moreover, since Maria was managing the queue, if anyone tried to request high-grade while waiting for top-grade, they might be pushed to the back of the line. As a result, the high-grade thread with no sales channel was being stored in the Magic Bag and had started to pile up.
"Alright, those two should be fine with Slarin watching over them. As for Raiden, I'll just put him in the stable — okay, okay, I get it, stop glaring at me like that."
When I tried to take Raiden to the stable, he kicked the ground with his front legs in protest, clearly unhappy about being confined in such a tight space (it wasn't that the duke's stable was small — Raiden was just that big). So I agreed to let him loose in the yard, same as Shiromaru and the others, on the condition that he wouldn't rampage, wouldn't run at full speed, and wouldn't destroy anything.
Raiden accepted the conditions and began a slow walk starting from the gate, seemingly intending to do a full lap around the grounds. Incidentally, when I went looking for the three of them to relay the conditions I'd set for Raiden, it turned out Shiromaru had already knocked down a tree and was getting an earful from Slarin.
"...Same old sight, I see. As long as we leave things to Slarin like before, there shouldn't be any problems."
Having my main duties snatched away by Slarin, as usual, was so routine at this point that my only real thought was, "Well, that's one less thing to worry about — I can kick back." Most Tamers would probably see that as a problem, but since everything ran smoothly this way, it was probably the best arrangement for us... or at least that's what I told myself as I headed off to secure a room in the manor.
"Going to grab a room is fine and all, but... with both Albert and Primera gone, I have no idea which room I'm supposed to use."
I picked one at random, then wandered the manor wondering if I should wait for Primera to come back and decide properly. That was when I noticed several presences gathered tightly together in one particular room.