“It’s been a while since I was here...”
After receiving information from Allucia and leaving the order’s office, I immediately made my way to the nearby Liberis branch of the adventurer’s guild. It really had been a long time since I’d visited. The last time had been about a year ago, when Surena had requested that I supervise some young adventurers with her.
There’d simply been no reason to drop by the adventurer’s guild since. Surena apparently had her own room on the upper floor, but she was always busy—she didn’t really seem like someone who often kicked back and relaxed at home. Frankly, she seemed to spend more time outside of Baltrain than in it.
If she wasn’t at the guild, I had no reason to visit. She’d also started dropping by my place lately, so that had given me even less of a reason. However, it was now absolutely necessary for me to drop by so I could gather information on her whereabouts. I couldn’t just travel such a long distance with nothing to go on. This guild branch had given Surena the dangerous job in the first place, and they’d also been the ones to inform Allucia of the situation.
Surena could indeed be in Vesparta, but I didn’t even know where that was. Being expeditious and being overeager were completely different things, and though I was driven by impatience, I couldn’t make that mistake.
I entered the building and made a beeline for the counter.
“Welcome,” the receptionist said. “Are you here to submit a request?”
“Aah, no. Is Nidus around?” I asked, getting right to business. “I believe he’ll understand if you tell him Beryl is here to see him.”
“Um... Please wait a moment.”
She didn’t seem to be able to process what was going on, but I didn’t want to waste any time. Sorry about that.
A random old man asking for the guild master without an appointment would normally be turned away at the door. Thus, I was glad I’d helped Surena, which had led me to become acquainted with Nidus and Meigen. I’d ended up having to cross blades with Surena back then due to Lucy’s reckless behavior, but that was all in the past. Regardless of how I’d made these connections, it was best to take care of them—unless they ever posed a serious threat to me.
Not too long after the receptionist disappeared into the back, another woman came out to greet me.
“Master Beryl, thank you for waiting,” she said. “Please follow me.”
“Thank you.”
I’d honestly been gambling on whether the guild master was actually present. I didn’t have an appointment, and I had no idea what his schedule was like. Luckily, it seemed I’d cleared the first hurdle.
“Excuse me, I’ve brought Master Beryl.”
I was guided to what I assumed was Nidus’s office. It had a different ambience to it than Allucia’s office in the Liberion Order’s headquarters—while hers was very neat and tidy, his was somewhat cluttered. It wasn’t a complete mess, of course, but there were definitely a lot of documents and such all over the place.
Much like Allucia, the guild master had to be busy all year round. Not that I’d been here much, but during both my visits, the main hall with the reception desk had been bustling with activity.
“Good day, Mr. Gardenant,” Nidus said, his deeply wrinkled face breaking into a smile as he walked up to me. “It’s been a while...hasn’t it?”
“Yes, it’s good to see you again. Sorry for suddenly intruding on you like this.”
“Don’t be—I don’t mind. Please, take a seat.”
As ever, he had quite the build. He wasn’t huge like Gatoga or Balder, but there was still a lot of meat beneath his clothes. I could tell it wasn’t fat either.
The woman who’d guided me turned to Nidus and said, “I’ll take my leave, then.”
“Good work,” Nidus replied. “Also, keep the area clear for a while.”
“Certainly.”
Judging by Nidus’s order, he knew I wasn’t only here to chat. But if I had to guess, he had his own rules to follow—or perhaps the rules of the adventurer’s guild. I couldn’t just dive straight into the matter at hand. Though this was just my intuition talking, it probably wasn’t far from the truth.
“Now then, what brings you here today?” he asked. “I don’t suppose...you want to be an adventurer?”
“Ha ha ha, sorry, but I’ve got my hands full being an instructor already.”
“Is that so? Well, you’ll always be welcome here.”
“Thank you.”
The first topic was an attempt to recruit me. This old man didn’t miss a step, even if it was just lip service.
I decided to interpret this as a high assessment of my abilities. Looking back on it now, Zeno Grable had been a formidable opponent. It’d been fearsome enough to earn itself a name, after all. And that named monster now served as my sword. I’m greatly indebted to it. This was also a connection and accomplishment I’d made thanks to Surena.
“To tell you the truth...” I started. “I’ll be taking an extended leave. I was thinking of going on a little trip.”
“Sounds nice. A man of your station must always be busy with work.”
“Ha ha, not as busy as you are, I assume.”
I kind of felt like I was speaking with a noble. Not too long ago, I would’ve gotten straight to business without beating around the bush. However, this information was technically confidential, so I had to work within those parameters. I’d never thought that I would have to use these techniques outside of high-society gatherings.
“Since I have the time, I was thinking of taking a look around Vesparta,” I continued.
“Hmmm... I see.”
The moment I mentioned Vesparta, Nidus’s expression changed. He wasn’t clearly shaken or suddenly tense or anything like that. There was, however, a subtle but certain shift in his demeanor. If I hadn’t come here to talk about something so serious, I probably wouldn’t have noticed.
As a bit of an afterthought, I realized that Meigen wasn’t here. I’d figured he would be attending as Nidus’s aide, but he didn’t seem to be around today. Well, my visit had been out of the blue. It wasn’t like he had to be around the guild master at all times. Henblitz wasn’t always with Allucia either.
“Vesparta is quite far away...” Nidus said. “But I suppose you’ve made up your mind.”
“Yes. It’s a rare vacation, so I figured I’d go the distance. My pupil recommended it to me too.”
“I see...”
Naturally, Nidus didn’t believe an outsider had barged into the guild, asked for the guild master, and then proceeded to just chat about his upcoming vacation—he had to be carefully scrutinizing everything I said. Nidus was a capable man, though, so he’d definitely picked up on my intent. Someone who didn’t notice and thought this was just idle chatter wouldn’t be serving as the guild master.