“That’s because you’re special, Setsuna… In more ways than one.”
“What do you mean? It’s not just because I can use Time magic, right?”
“No, of course not. Let me explain. When someone becomes an adventurer, there’s so much to learn that we purposely don’t go into detail about the Cubes. That can wait, since the mana reserve lasts a whole year. After six months, most adventurers reach green rank and can handle the extra information, so that’s when we retrieve the Cube and explain everything.”
“All right. So the reason I didn’t know was just because I haven’t been an adventurer for six months yet.”
“That’s right. Any adventurer who’s green rank or higher normally knows this already,” Halman said with a sheepish smile. “Anyway, once we collect the Cube, it’s sent to headquarters, where we can store more Time mana inside. We only need a small amount to convert the Cube’s attribute from Void to Time.”
“And then you need someone who can use Void magic to revert it to its original attribute?”
“No, that’s not necessary. Once the Cube has accumulated a year’s worth of Time magic, its attribute will automatically switch back to Void. We don’t really know how it does that, either. There used to be more detailed manuals, but they were lost in a fire long ago.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt. Please continue.”
“That brings us to why we’re here today. The Time sorcerer who used to help us convert that mana recently passed away, so now we have a problem supplying the Cubes.” Halman’s expression darkened as if he were remembering what had happened. “We still have spare Cubes for now, but they’ll run out soon.”
“…”
“Most of the guild’s funding comes from the profits of processing and selling monsters that adventurers capture using the Cubes. If we lose that source of income, the guild’s finances will be in serious trouble. Without the Cubes, it will become far more difficult for adventurers to store and transport monsters, which will lead to a huge drop in monsters from hunts.”
Adventurers weren’t the only ones who fought monsters, but it was far easier for them compared to mercenaries or soldiers, thanks to the Cubes. Take away the Cubes, and it was clear that fewer monsters in general would be slain.
“It won’t just be adventurers and the guild who’ll suffer if that happens. More people will be killed by monsters,” Halman explained.
“But if word gets out that the Adventurers Guild might collapse, the world will fall into chaos. We can’t risk telling anyone,” Nancy said.
“We planned on sharing everything when we decided to ask for help from a Time sorcerer. But, obviously, we couldn’t share such information unless we knew for sure you could use Time magic.”
“I understand the situation and the trouble you’re in, but it’s hard for me to forgive what you did,” I told them.
“You have my deepest apologies,” Nancy said.
“I’m really sorry, Setsuna,” Halman said.
“It was wrong. Please forgive us,” Drum said.
I still felt some resentment, but the survival of the Adventurers Guild really did matter to me, too, just as I’d thought earlier. So I decided to set my anger aside.
“I’ll accept your apology as long as you promise me this will never happen again.”
“Of course. You have my word.”
The three of them exchanged relieved looks.
“So what exactly do you need me to do?” I asked.
Halman rubbed his chin. “About that…” He pulled out a cylindrical magical tool. “This is a component of the apparatus from the Adventurers Guild headquarters that converts the Cubes’ attributes. This tube here is where the conversion takes place. You place a Cube on the left end, grip the tube, and channel Time magic into it. The Cube then moves to the right, and during that process, its attribute changes to Time.”
“I see. May I try it?” I asked.
“Of course, please do. We can’t operate it ourselves, so it’ll be faster for you to understand if you use it yourself.”
I took the tube-shaped device and set it flat like Halman had said, then placed the Cube on the left end. Next, I imbued it with Time magic, and sure enough, the Cube began to glide through the tube like it was on a conveyer belt. It stopped at the right end and started flashing with different colored lights.
“Oh, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen that,” Halman commented. “It means Time mana is being stored in the Cube.”
“What’s with the lights?”
“They’ll stop once the Cube’s reserves are full.”
“So that means it worked, right?”
“Yes. Thank you. We’d like you to do exactly what you did just now, every day.”
“Channeling magic into a Cube isn’t hard at all, so I’ll help. It’s not like I have to carry it around with me.”
The amount of mana I’d expended to activate the device was so slight I could’ve done it while cooking dinner. I told Halman that, but his expression darkened.
“No, you don’t understand. It can only be done at the guild headquarters.”
“Why? It doesn’t seem like a complicated process.”
“The process itself isn’t, at least if you say so. But the problem is the number of Cubes that need to be processed.”
“How many are there?” I asked.
“About thirty thousand per day.”
I was dumbstruck.
Thirty thousand a day… If I worked eight hours, that was three thousand seven hundred and fifty an hour, or sixty-three a minute. It took about a second for the Cube to finish processing: Sixty a minute was thirty-six hundred an hour, meaning I’d have to work eight and a half hours every day.
It was hopeless.
“That sounds terrible. I couldn’t keep working as an adventurer if I did that. I take it you came even though you expected to refuse?”
“Yes,” Halman said. “We’ve prepared a written oath forbidding you from disclosing any of this. We’ll look for someone else if you decline, but—”
“The search for Time sorcerers hasn’t gone well,” Nancy cut in. “You’re the only one we have left to ask. We’re begging you.”
“If you’d like to continue as an adventurer, then as your compensation, we can promote you to black rank,” Halman said. “It’ll take time to process, but I can guarantee it. We’ll also pay you an annual salary of ten thousand gold.”
“Please, Setsuna.”