One day, the heads of every branch of the Adventurers’ Guild convened for a grand conference. There were tough men with muscles hewn like solid rock, old wizards with long, white beards, fearsome women with bodies covered in old scars...all of them formidable enough to rein in the rowdiest of adventurers.
As well as masters of their individual guilds, they were each former A-Rank adventurers. After all, combat strength was one of the qualities most desired in a guildmaster, if for no other reason than to avoid the scorn of the adventurers they were charged with managing. There was a notable exception to this, however—the head of the largest Adventurers’ Guild branch of all, the Royal Capital branch itself, was an unassuming man who had worked his way up through the bureaucracy. He had no ability in combat whatsoever. Surrounded by so many overwhelmingly powerful warriors, he seemed completely unable to form a coherent sentence. In fact, just being there seemed to be causing his anemia to act up. He looked like he might faint at any moment.
“Don’t tell me...” said Melissa, the Royal Capital branch receptionist. She glanced down at the guildmaster curled in on himself in his seat at the round table. “Is this why you insisted on bringing a mere receptionist along?”
“I’ll stand by the decision, Melissa,” the guildmaster managed, even as he sweat under the combined pressure of the other guildmasters and Melissa’s own piercing glare. “You’re the best fighter in the Royal Capital branch. Why, from what I hear, just the other day you took down a former A-Rank with a bounty on his head, all on your own no less!”
The guildmaster was a small, mustachioed man who lacked the charisma of a natural leader, but had a brilliant mind for delegating work. It was that talent that had earned him his position.
“I had fortune and allies on my side,” Melissa said. “It wasn’t just my own power that won that fight.”
Kanata had given her training, after all, and she had been wielding a genuine magic sword made by Lily the genius blacksmith. Still, for a mere former B-Rank who had been away from the field for some time, overcoming a foe with such a grim reputation and steep bounty was nothing short of a miracle.
“That just makes you all the more valuable, you know,” the guildmaster said. “I’m certain my eyes aren’t mistaken.” He had first scouted Melissa for her current role based on her achievements as an adventurer. “This is just between you and me,” he went on, “but you’re a lock for a senior position as far as anyone’s concerned. We’re just waiting to make it official.”
“What?! Don’t be absurd!” Melissa exclaimed, drawing glances from all over the room. “E-Excuse my outburst,” she added, lowering her head in apology. As a mere receptionist, her presence at this meeting was already out of the ordinary. Who knew what punishment she might receive if she was thought to be showing disrespect? Fortunately, the conference proper had not yet started, and the various guildmasters turned their curious glances away from Melissa to resume their own conversations. “Wh-What do you mean?” Melissa asked, making sure to keep her voice down this time. “I don’t have anything near the experience or qualifications for senior staff!”
“No, I’m sure you’ll find you do,” the guildmaster told her. “You’re a bit young, it’s true, but you’re certainly not wanting for ability. Officially I brought you along for ‘personal protection,’ but I’m also trying to give you an opportunity to gain experience. And look! You’re a bit tense, but you seem to be holding up just fine surrounded by all these bigwigs. Meanwhile I can’t even keep my hands from trembling for the sake of appearances!”
“You don’t seem to be shaking so much now...” Melissa observed.
“And that sharp, calculating eye of yours is another one of your assets!” the guildmaster insisted. “You are extraordinary, I assure you. You’ve got the skills. You’ve got the guts. The adventurers like you. Look, the senior staff appointment is just a stepping stone. My hope is you’ll keep building experience and moving up in the world until you’re ready to replace me as guildmaster.”
“I’m afraid I’ll have to refuse,” Melissa said.
“The position comes with a suitable salary, you know. Your receptionist salary is pretty decent, but it’ll be nothing compared to what you’ll make as senior staff.”
“I don’t want it,” Melissa said. “I know what will happen if I take the job—you’ll work me so hard that I won’t have any opportunities to enjoy the extravagant salary. The last vice guildmaster quit over the workload, if I’m not mistaken.”
The head receptionist at the time had been promoted to vice guildmaster in their place, and they, too, had already begun to develop the same dead look in their eyes. Melissa did not want to end up that way herself.
“Do what I do, then!” the guildmaster implored. “Raise up new talent and put them to work to give yourself some free time!”
“I’d rather you did some work yourself, honestly,” Melissa shot back.
In fact, Melissa did have her eyes on a particular junior of hers—a new receptionist by the name of Bella. She was a quick learner, and popular with the adventurers as well. She acted less like a proper receptionist than a waitress at some disreputable bar, but that was something Melissa hoped she could learn. However, Melissa was not interested in making Bella into an underling to boss around. She had only one objective in cultivating her talent.
“I’ve told you that I intend to return to adventuring once things calm down a bit at the guild, haven’t I?” Melissa said. “Besides, you yourself promised that I would only be helping out for a short while back when you first scouted me...”
And yet, it had already been years since she was recruited. She had been working at the guild long enough that she now had juniors to show the ropes.
Her former adventuring party had split up for some insignificant reason, or else she would have never accepted the offer in the first place. It was common for B-Rank adventurers and above to operate in fixed parties of the same rank, which made it hard for someone in her position to find companions to adventure with afterward. Melissa had worked in parties her entire career up to that point, and was having a hard time adapting to a solo career. Meanwhile, she was running into trouble finding any parties recruiting adventurers of her rank. That was when the guildmaster approached her with a job offer. The salary the guildmaster offered her was much higher than what she could make as an adventurer, and she jumped at the opportunity without a second thought.