Sozai Saishu 23

Chapter 23: The Newcomer with High Expectations

“The request to subjugate Needle Turtles has been accepted. Have a good day and take care.”

When I sent off the departing adventurer with a smile, my colleague Katie came over.

“Hey, the newcomer you were talking to just now was interesting.”

Katie says so while her voice indicated that it was amusing.

When Katie hears such interesting stories and rumors, she often comes to talk about them to kill time.

Since the receptionist of the Guild has to serve customers with a smile all the time, these kinds of breaks are essential.

There are no adventurers at the counter right now too.

The newcomer she mentioned is the adventurer Shuu, who I completed the registrations for.

“Maybe it’s amusing for you, but it was difficult for me.”

“Well, I understand. A newcomer who suddenly tried to receive a higher-ranked request, which he couldn’t’, so he received 3 requests instead.”

She listened to my conversation down to the syllables, didn’t she? This Katie.

According to the rules, adventurers can receive a request one rank higher than their given rank. However, in reality, it is a challenge adventurers can accept after completing requests for a while.

Having no track record, it was not something that an F-ranked adventurer who just registered could do. I could not overlook it as a Guild staff either.

At first glance, the request for collection looks simple, but it is not.

First of all, it takes time to find materials in the vast forest.

To find materials quickly, one needs to understand its characteristics and search for it at its harvesting grounds. However, he said that he has never seen Walking Mushrooms or Crescenka Flowers before.

He knew about Mint Leaves, but I doubt whether he can find all three types of materials without the proper knowledge.

“As for me, I’m more curious about how he broke the plate.”

Remembering the antics of the newcomer, I had to message my temple. Then, another one of my colleagues, Shreddy, came into the conversation.

Since she, an Elf, doesn’t like to chitchat, she rarely enters such conversations.

For her, the fact that an adventurer named Shuu broke the plate seems to be interesting.

“You’re right! I’ve never seen a plate break.”

“But, wasn’t that because the plate was defective?”

The plate was made from magic stones that had magic absorption abilities. There must be something wrong with the plate, as it can’t be destroyed by inputting magic power.

“I’ve been working as a staff member for a long time, but I have never seen such a defect.”

“Eh? By long, how long do――no, it’s nothing.”

Katie tried to ask something unnecessary, but she shut her mouth after receiving a chilled look from Shreddy.

I was also a bit interested, but I didn’t ask because I still value my life.

“Then why did it break?”

“……Maybe, the plate wasn’t able to contain all the magic that was poured in, I think….”

“Does the plate break if you use too much magic?”

“Yes, that happened once in the past when an Imperial Court magician registered as an adventurer.”

I don’t think any Imperial Court magicians have registered as an adventurer for the past few decades.

I can somehow guess how long Shreddy has been working for the Guild, but I don’t go into it.

Katie made a surprised voice, but she immediately slammed her mouth shut and said nothing.

“I’ve never heard that the plate can break if too much magic is poured in.”

“At the very least, It’s impossible if you don’t have enough magic power to overwhelm the limit of the plate.

“Then Shuu has the same amount of magic power as an Imperial Court magician?”

“If my guess is correct, then that will be the case.”

If you have the same amount of magic power as an Imperial Court magician, normally you would be hired as a mage of the royal family or by noblemen.

I wonder why such a person came to register at the Adventurer’s Guild and received collection requests.

“He wrote his hometown as Ferumi Village, but it’s a rural area with nothing there, right?”

Pulling out Shuu’s registration form, Katie tilted her head.

Was it a place that could raise a person with enormous magic power?

“It is taboo to dig any further than what is written on the registration form.”

“Well, yeah.”

It is taboo to ask about an adventurer’s past and origin. It’s not something you will ask about unless the person tells you voluntarily.

“But Rabis is pretty mean too. To recommend a newcomer to collect Crescenka Nectar.”

“If you collect Crescenka Nectar using the wrong method, the bitterness will be mixed in and you will not be able to sell it.”

“I didn’t intentionally recommend it, you know? It was him who said he will accept all the requests.”

Well, indeed, I didn’t teach him how to collect the nectar properly. However, I think it’s for his own sake if he can learn from his own painful mistakes.

It’s unthinkable of me to purposefully recommend a difficult request to anyone just to trouble them.

“Well, I hope he can come back safely in any case.”

I agree with Shreddy. If he can return home safely, he will improve based on his failures.

Even if you tell me to separate work from private life, it’s sad to know if an adventurer I was in charge of passes away.

◆

“Oh, Rabis! The new adventurer is back!”

Katie banged on my shoulder and said so while I was doing paperwork at the reception.

When I raised my face, the newcomer entered from the entrance of the Guild.

For the time being, I was relieved when I saw him physically intact.

However, it’s still just a bit past noon. No matter how you think about it, it’s impossible to have completed collecting all the materials.

I have to scold him a little for not listening to my advice.

He looked indirectly at me and shifted towards Katie.

Usually, it’s logical to come report to the staff who accepted your request? It’s not crowded either.

“Welcome back, Shuu-san.”

I put on a business smile and pressured him to come over this way.

“I’m back, Rabis-san.”

“You are back sooner than I expected. What about your requests?”

“I have collected all of them.”

“Eh?”

I was bewildered from the completely unexpected response.

“Can I put it out here?”

“Ye-yes, please.”

When I urged him, he pulled out jars filled with Mint Leaves, Walking Mushrooms, and bottles filled with Crescenka Nectar from his shoulder bag onto the reception counter.

Eh? Really? ――Did he collect three kinds of materials in just half a day?

Still shell-shocked, I examined all three types of materials and judged that they were all undeniably correct.

But, I can’t let my guard down yet. Quality is important for Crescenka Nectar

If you harvested it the wrong way, we won’t accept it due to the bitterness mixed in.

“I will now use Appraisal on your materials, do you consent?”

“Rabis-san can also use Appraisal?”

“Yes, it is the responsibility of the Guild staff to check the quality of the material after all.”

“I don’t mind then, please go ahead.”

Since I received permission from the adventurer, I activated Appraisal to confirm the quality of the Crescenka Nectar.

Then, in my Appraisal, it was displayed as high quality.

Therefore, it can be said that this Crescenka Nectar was collected by the correct method.

He didn’t know about the material, but knew the correct collection method?

Did he research before going out? No, but if he did so, there’s no way he could return so quickly….

When I also tried using Appraisal on the Mint Leaves and Walking Mushrooms, I found that they were also of high quality.

Mint Leaves must be properly cut from the root with a knife, and the mushrooms must be caught and cut immediately.

“Um, how was the quality?”

“….All of them were collected correctly and the quality is high, so all three of Shuu-san’s requests have been completed.”

“Oh, that’s great.”

Shuu-san, the newcomer adventurer, stood there with a relaxed smile floating on his face.

Despite his humble attitude, he seems quite confident in the quality of his materials.

Maybe he’s an expert who has been harvesting in other locations and just didn’t know about the materials in this area. He may also have the same Appraisal skill as me.

At Grantel, there are only a few adventurers who are knowledgeable about materials. Currently, only requests for subjugation are completed, and the acceptance rate for collection requests is poor.

Shuu-san, who can deliver high-quality materials instantly, may become a precious contributor for the Guild.

As the staff member in charge, I have to watch over him closely.

“Then, I will give you the reward now.”

Holding high expectations for him in the future within my chest, I proceeded to complete the process for his reward money.

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