NOVEL WEB Chapter 29: A Commission
"Explore the Peyton Manor on the outskirts of this city and eliminate the undead and evil creatures within. Reward: 150 gold coins; Requirements: at least one orichalcum-level adventurer, one mithril-level adventurer, one female cleric, no more than five people, and the team must be from out of town."
Barrett furrowed his brow. The conditions—an orichalcum-level, a mithril-level, and a female cleric, all from outside and not exceeding five members—seemed tailor-made for them. With EeDeChi's formidable combat ability, completing this task should be a breeze, and the reward was extremely generous.
Typically, adventurer teams and clients would haggle over rewards and hidden conditions, but with such an ideal opportunity landing in their lap, Barrett felt a flicker of unease.
"The client who posted the task saw your team's information on the list and is very impressed with you. They specifically requested the the Last Defender of the Way team for this job. The client mentioned that if the reward isn't sufficient, they can offer more," the receptionist said sincerely.
"I'd like to meet the client…" Barrett started to speak, but—
"We'll take it," EeDeChi said, handing the parchment back to the receptionist with a decisive wave of her hand.
Although they were not short of money at the moment, EeDeChi maintained her commitment to helping the weak and punishing the strong along the way. Moreover, as an adventurer, she needed to use her role to disguise her true identity and investigate the whereabouts and details of the Dark Lord Ainz Ooal Gown.
Meanwhile, outside the Adventurer's Guild, in a three-story building across the street, a tall old gentleman stood by the window, his long, gray eyebrows furrowed as he gazed intently at the direction of the guild.
If EeDeChi were to see this old gentleman, she would recognize him as the exceptionally refined and distinguished man who had recently entered the Adventurer's Guild.
In front of the old gentleman was an old-fashioned magical device resembling a phonograph, with a large, trumpet-shaped horn pointed towards the Adventurer's Guild. However, instead of playing pleasant music, the phonograph emitted only static noise.
"Has EeDeChi accepted the commission?" the old gentleman asked without turning his head.
Behind him stood a beautiful young woman with golden hair, probably in her twenties. Her slightly curled, lustrous gold hair fell gracefully over her shoulders, and her well-tailored maid's outfit perfectly accentuated her voluptuous figure.
If others knew that such a delicate and beautiful woman was merely a maid, the nobles of the Baharuth Empire would likely go to great lengths to have her in their service.
The beautiful blonde maid unfolded a parchment scroll in her hands, marked with the Adventurer's Guild emblem. A magical seal on the scroll had changed from gray to emerald green. This was a message scroll sent to the client by the Adventurer's Guild.
"Report to Lord Tian, they have accepted the task," the blonde maid responded.
Sebas Tian, the old gentleman, nodded. "Let's prepare for the next steps. Also, inform Lord Ainz that this magical device has failed and still cannot eavesdrop on EeDeChi's conversations."
He frowned at the phonograph-like magical device in front of the window. This was a high-tier artifact from the Great Tomb of Nazarick, capable of breaking most anti-detection magic of the tenth level. Yet now, the device only emitted a monotonous static noise as if it were broken.
"As you command," the blonde maid said, putting the magical device into a pocket in her maid outfit. With a flash of white light, their figures vanished from the window.
EeDeChi walked out of the Adventurer's Guild. She had a fleeting sense that something like a gust of wind had brushed past her, but after looking around and seeing nothing unusual, she paid it no more mind.
According to the task information, the client would meet them tomorrow morning to discuss the details and some intelligence about the exploration mission. For now, they needed to head to the outskirts to prepare for their adventure.
The next day, the Last Defender of the Way adventuring team, consisting of four members, arrived at Peyton Manor by carriage. This was their first serious task since forming the team.
The seasoned adventurer Barrett had everything in order, with all supplies and equipment prepared. The cleric Stella, clad in chainmail and holding a gold and white staff, appeared nervous. The archer Sean had spent the night enchanting his arrows with simple holy magic to boost their effectiveness against undead creatures.
EeDeChi, as usual, carried only a giant sword and brought nothing else, looking relaxed and at ease.
A four-wheeled carriage came to a slow stop in front of them, and a tall figure in a black tailcoat stepped out. Barrett's eyes lit up; the client was the distinguished old gentleman from the adventurer guild hall the day before. After stepping out of the carriage, the old gentleman did not immediately approach them but instead opened the carriage door and helped a blonde woman down.
The adventuring team was surprised. It turned out that the distinguished gentleman was merely a steward-like figure. The client had quite a noble background.
The blonde woman wore a vest-style dress, her full figure and striking beauty rivaling even Stella in her cleric uniform.
She cast a haughty glance over the four adventurers, lingering on EeDeChi for a moment, before slightly turning her head and speaking to the old gentleman steward beside her.
EeDeChi patted Barrett on the back, signaling the deputy leader to handle the negotiations. She wasn't familiar with adventurer-related matters and didn't want to risk getting scammed.
Barrett reluctantly tore his gaze away from the blonde noblewoman's ample cleavage, shook his head, and walked over to speak with them.
After some discussion, the four of them understood that this large estate was owned by a noble. Recently, the manor seemed to have been tainted by corruption, possibly infested with necromancers and undead creatures. They hoped the adventurer team could clear out these evil beings. With the establishment of the Sorcerer Kingdom in the distance, the number of undead creatures in the world seemed to be increasing.
They didn't receive crucial information like the number or types of undead, but EeDeChi didn't mind. She led her fully armed and vigilant teammates towards the gates of Peyton Manor.
As the Last Defender of the Way adventurer team disappeared through the rusted iron gates of the manor, the steward turned to the blonde noble girl, his voice laced with significant displeasure. "Solution, what's going on with this manor? I specifically mentioned buying a run-down house near the city."
"This was Lady Shalltear's decision." The blonde woman, Solution Epsilon, lost the earlier aristocratic arrogance in her gaze. She returned to her role as a Pleiades maid of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. "Lady Shalltear said to simply clear out the people in the manor, without wasting money."
Sebas frowned. He knew what "clearing out the people in the manor" meant for the True Vampire Shalltear.
"And what were these people in the manor doing?" Sebas asked. At this point, he had little room to object.
"They were a group of human mages holding a gathering, supposedly focused on 'exploring the ultimate secrets of 6th Tier magic.'" Solution's refined face displayed a hint of disdainful smile. "What secrets of 6th Tier magic are there to explore? Narberal was right—they're just a bunch of insignificant bugs."