NOVEL WEB Chapter 223
223. There Are Also Entanglements In The Adventurer’s Guild, Isn’t It?
I decide to disband the adventure party for now.
No point staying in the meeting room forever.
“Eva and Jabil will help us decide our next steps, so until then, everyone just go about your usual lives.”
Jitarou is the first to respond.
“Aight, guess I’ll wait at Sealra’s place while preppin’ for the trip!”
“Yeah. I’ll try to wrap things up within a few days.”
But man, that guy still hasn’t given up on Sealra, huh? Sure, she’s a beauty, but she’s got a kid, y’know? Not that having a kid’s a bad thing, but… you’ve got like, what, half a dozen other women you’re chasing too, right…?
Watching Jitarou’s back as he skips off toward Sealra’s shop, I decide it’s pointless to overthink it.
Just as I start walking home for the day, a thick arm loops around my neck from behind, trapping me.
“Craft. You’re drinking with me.”
“……If His Majesty the King commands it.”
“Right now, I’m Van the adventurer. And there’s one more.”
“……Hey.”
On the other side of Van’s arm, Raidoc gives a weak wave.
Yeah. No arguing with this.
“Your usual spot’s fine. Lead the way.”
And so, we obediently let ourselves be dragged off.
Jitarou’s gonna complain about this later, I bet.
◆
We step through the door of a hidden bar Raidoc and I sometimes use for drinking.
Van jabs me in the ribs, looking displeased.
“Oi. You’ve been keeping this place a secret.”
Van’s gone drinking with us plenty of times, but this is the first we’ve brought him here.
“When we drink with you, it’s usually a bigger crowd. Most of the places with enough seats are the usual adventurer haunts.”
“……True, this doesn’t seem like the kind of place for rowdy group nonsense.”
“Exactly. Now that I’ve shown you, don’t go getting us kicked out.”
“You…… What the hell do you take me for?”
“A troublemaker.”
The moment I say it, he glares at me with half-lidded eyes.
“Scary how little self-awareness you’ve got.”
“Nah, I’m throwin’ that right back at ya.”
Raidoc sighs and pats both our shoulders.
“Both of you, please develop some self-awareness.”
““Says you!!””
Right as Van and I harmonize, we notice the bartender’s icy stare and quickly settle down at the counter.
……This is totally Van’s fault!
Van, who led the toast, keeps talking.
“There’s something I wanted to discuss with you two. About Kyle… I’m sorry. I probably should’ve stopped him from going to Lucas and Bella’s place.”
Ah. So since the king couldn’t apologize publicly, he’s doing it unofficially—just to the leaders of the adventurer and guard teams.
“Kyle insisted. Nobody’s to blame.”
I glance at Raidoc and continue.
“And it’s not your fault either. The tenacity of demons, humans turning into them—it’s all beyond what anyone could’ve imagined.”
Raidoc hesitates, then swallows his words.
“……I will see this escort mission to the Empire through.”
Van smirks, playing it cool.
“That’s a job only you can do. I’m counting on you.”
“Yeah.”
Seems Raidoc’s managed to steel himself. I can’t tell what’s going on deep down, but at least he doesn’t seem self-destructive anymore.
“Right. I couldn’t ask during the meeting—what about the Holy Knight who died protecting Kyle? You sealing him too?”
Van’s eyebrow twitches.
“Kyle only had a chance because of Marilyn’s holy magic, Jabil’s treatment, and an Elixir.”
“So then…”
“The fallen knight was cremated and posthumously awarded.”
“A medal, huh…”
It’s an honor, I guess, but as a commoner, I can’t help but think, So what?
“Idiot. It means their family gets full support, obviously.”
“My bad.”
“Mizuho Divine Kingdom also granted them honorary warrior titles. At the very least, their families won’t have money troubles. Have a little faith.”
“Sorry.”
“More than anything, the Holy Knights are the sword and shield of their lord. Pitying those who fulfilled their duty is practically an insult.”
“……Yeah. Thanks to them, Kyle got a second chance. A huge win.”
“Exactly.”
The three of us clink glasses in a quiet “Cheers.”
“Gotta talk practicalities too, or Craft’s gonna get the wrong idea.”
“About what?”
“If—hypothetically—those knights were in the same state as Kyle, I’d still cremate them.”
“Why?! Once the revival potion’s done—!”
Van waves a hand to cut me off as I raise my voice.
“Moron. Even if you made hundreds of those potions, we couldn’t waste one on a single Holy Knight. The whole country—no, all three nations—would be lining up corpses begging for revival.”
“Ugh…”
Van pinches the bridge of his nose and exhales heavily.
“Honestly? The fallout from reviving Kyle’s gonna be a nightmare I don’t even wanna think about.”
“That’s…”
“Nah, this is just me complaining. Zade and I’ll handle it. Don’t worry.”
“Hard not to after hearing that.”
“Hence the complaining. Forget it. We’ll manage.”
“Ugh. Fine. I’ll leave it to you.”
Maybe wanting to change the subject, Van turns to Raidoc.
“Blue-hair. How long’re you gonna stay B-rank?”
“I’d like to know too. The Guild’s too scared to hand out A-ranks, apparently.”
“Never really got the Adventurer Guild’s deal.”
I get where Van’s coming from. This part’s kinda messy.
Raidoc chooses his words carefully as he explains.
“Uh, first off, the Adventurer Guild’s separate per nation. There’s one for the Kingdom, the Empire, and the Union.”
Technically, there are smaller divisions, but the exceptions aren’t worth mentioning.
“Each has its own rules, but adventurer ranks are universal. Problem is, comparing strength’s tricky…”
“Makes sense.”
“C-rank and up get their names shared between Guilds. Like, once a year in bulk, I think? Oh, and they also courier academic stuff around then, apparently.”
Traveling to another country isn’t just life-threatening—it’s on a whole other level. Doing it yearly must be hell.
“Point is, C-ranks and up get shared. If one nation suddenly started submitting way more names one year, what’d you think?”
“‘More strong people’… wouldn’t be the assumption.”
“Exactly. So the Guild’s hesitant to register anyone C-rank or higher. Let’s be real—most of Golden Dawn’s D-ranks could easily be C.”
“What if you registered them honestly?”
“Best-case? The other Guilds just think we’ve lost our minds.”
“I see. An A-rank’s practically humanity’s last line of defense. Can’t hand those out lightly.”
Come to think of it, Jabil once mentioned meeting an A-rank adventurer. He refused to give details, though.
Maybe lightening the mood, Van starts griping.
“Ugh! A-rank adventurers, multiply already! If we don’t fix the roads between nations soon, humanity’s united front’ll stay a pipe dream!”
“Even adding more warp gates is…”
“The tech’s too big a leap. Direct nation-to-nation connections mean spies and soldiers can move freely in no time.”
“Honestly, at this point, hunting down Adamantite or Orichalcum might be easier than roadwork.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. We’ve got samples and research now. With Leafan’s Dowsing Tear Drop, we could pinpoint—”
The Dowsing Tear Drop is a magic tool used to locate objects—mainly underground minerals or water sources. It won’t react unless the user knows what they’re looking for, or the response is extremely weak.
In other words, prior knowledge makes it easier to use.
“What’s wrong?”
I suddenly go silent, and Van peers at me, but I ignore him.
Wait a second…
If Eva used the Dowsing Tear Drop, could we find the hidden mage village?
It’s meant for locations, but it’s worth a shot!
Without another second’s delay, I bolt for the inn where the Casper sisters are staying.
Left behind, Van and Raidoc harmonize.
““That guy’s the real troublemaker!!””
Like I wanna hear that from you two!