“It may sound strange, but… I would like to invite you, Mr. Lee Kanghyeon, to serve as an adviser to the Firebird Guild!”
“?”
Jeong Yerin’s statement came completely out of nowhere.
What was this about suddenly becoming an adviser?
Faced with the abrupt scouting offer, I was at a loss for words for a moment.
“…….”
What is this? What could it be?
What in the world is she thinking?
Honestly, I was flustered.
The Firebird Guild was one of the top guilds in our country.
And she was offering me not a position as a guild member, but as an adviser?
If I had done a lot of public work and caught the Firebird Guild’s eye, that would be one thing, but that wasn’t the case.
The only thing I had done recently was enter a dungeon with Maru. And that alone wouldn’t be enough to attract the Firebird Guild’s attention.
‘Is there something I don’t know about?’
Without saying anything, I stared at Jeong Yerin’s face.
When a brief silence fell, Jeong Yerin wore a somewhat anxious expression.
She looked restless, like a puppy whose owner had disappeared.
“For now, I’ve heard what you have to say, Ms. Jeong Yerin.”
“Then does that mean you accept?!”
I hadn’t even given her a definite answer yet, but her face brightened.
“That’s not it.”
As soon as my answer ended, she immediately drooped.
I felt like teasing her a little more, but the joke ended here.
What I was curious about was why she was making a scouting offer to me.
‘Surely she hasn’t noticed my ability, right?’
If so, that would be dangerous.
Depending on the situation, an unfortunate accident where I had to get rid of Jeong Yerin here might occur.
So I asked carefully.
“I don’t understand why you’re making such an offer to me.”
I truly didn’t understand.
At my question, she began to answer.
“I’m not sure where I should begin… Ah, right. When we first met at the café back then—”
Jeong Yerin’s not-so-short story began.
Through her story, I was able to guess why she had tried to scout me.
“That is why I truly hope you will come to my team as an adviser, Mr. Lee Kanghyeon!”
At some point, Jeong Yerin had even straightened her posture and was asking me politely.
“Huh….”
And after listening to everything she said, I once again lost the ability to speak.
The reason was none other than this.
‘This… she’s completely mistaken about me, isn’t she?’
Jeong Yerin had misunderstood me to a degree that could only be called her own delusion.
‘Don’t tell me she believed only what I said at the café back then….’
A very trivial misunderstanding had created the current situation.
At the time, I had been managing the dungeon through my smartphone at the café.
It was back when I was still mistaking it for a game, not an actual dungeon. And I had merely read the explanation about the Goblin Lord on the screen, but it seemed that to the woman before me, it had sounded like something else entirely.
“…So when you did as I said, you were able to defeat the Goblin Lord?”
“That’s right! There was no strategy for the Goblin Lord, but thanks to you, Mr. Lee Kanghyeon, I survived!”
I was dumbfounded.
The truth was, at the time, I had thought it was just a simple game too.
I had only read the in-game setting without thinking much of it.
It said that if the number of goblins around it decreased, the Goblin Lord would weaken, and I had thought it was just a setting the game developer had put in.
But to think she trusted only my words and entered the Goblin Lord Dungeon just like that….
That woman didn’t seem ordinary either.
Jeong Yerin had been speaking excitedly, but soon lowered her head.
“I apologize for listening in without permission back then. In return, I’ll do whatever I can to repay—”
Jeong Yerin’s story was simple.
In short, since I had told her the strategy for the Goblin Lord, she wanted to compensate me for it.
‘I don’t mind, but….’
If she said she would compensate me, it wasn’t like I wouldn’t accept.
However, I intended to refuse the adviser position.
At least now that I knew why she had scouted me, it was true that the uneasy feeling had disappeared.
But accepting the adviser position created one problem.
‘My time will decrease.’
It was simple.
I had to manage the dungeon and run dungeons together with Maru.
A situation like the previous auction, where I had to go to the Eldorad Continent, might arise again.
But if I took on an adviser position, wouldn’t I become incredibly busy?
Above all, I had also been able to hear the details about that adviser position.
It wasn’t simply an adviser to the Firebird Guild, but an adviser to the team led by Jeong Yerin.
‘I never imagined she’d have such a complicated family situation.’
As it turned out, Jeong Yerin was the daughter of the Firebird Guild’s guild master.
‘No wonder they had the same surname, Jeong.’
The current guild master’s name was Jeong Taeksu.
I had known that the vice guild master was the guild master’s son, but this was the first I’d heard of Jeong Yerin.
It made sense, since she was apparently the child of a concubine and wasn’t widely known to the public.
Because of that, Jeong Yerin was discriminated against within the guild despite sharing the same blood.
Mainly by the vice guild master, that is.
On top of that, she said that if things had gone according to the original plan, the moment she failed to subjugate the Goblin Lord Dungeon, she would have disappeared from the guild.
‘In the end, the situation changed because of me.’
Then, by chance, she heard my muttering at the café, and Jeong Yerin learned the strategy for the Goblin Lord.
As a result, Jeong Yerin subjugated the Goblin Lord Dungeon and secured an enormous foothold within the guild.
On the other hand, her second older brother collapsed after failing the Incubus Dungeon.
He had filled the roster entirely with male Hunters, yet he failed the Incubus Dungeon. It was truly a cruel twist of fate.
That was why Jeong Yerin said she needed my help.
Even if not immediately, she was certain her eldest brother, the vice guild master, would keep her in check.
If I followed my feelings, I did want to help her at least a little.
But the problem was that I didn’t have that level of ability.
“Thank you for your offer, but the adviser position is beyond my capabilities. To begin with, even if I joined, there would be controversy over preferential treatment.”
“No, that’s not true! You’re from the Academy, Mr. Lee Kanghyeon!”
This woman really had investigated a lot.
But my mind was already made up.
“Since it’s already in the past, I won’t say anything more about the strategy.”
Well, Jeong Yerin also said she hadn’t spread that strategy widely, so I wasn’t in a position to say anything.
In the world of Hunters, information was originally the most important thing, so that was only natural.
“However, I will refuse the position you have offered me, Ms. Jeong Yerin.”
“…….”
At my nail-in-the-coffin answer, Jeong Yerin looked as if she was about to cry.
No, was this really something that sad?
“As expected… the position I offered isn’t satisfactory, is it? Someone like you, Mr. Lee Kanghyeon, could even be a guild master without any trouble.”
Huh?
What is she saying now?
Why would I be a guild master?
“I understand how you feel. If I were in your position, an adviser position at a guild no different from a corner shop would be…”
She was comparing the Firebird Guild to a corner shop?
Then what should other guilds be compared to?
“But I truly need you, Mr. Lee Kanghyeon!”
Jeong Yerin’s unrestrained remarks continued.
At that moment, Ciel, who was in the kitchen, covered her mouth with her hand.
‘No. It’s not what you’re thinking.’
Jeong Yerin did not stop.
“And the moment I came here, I realized it. The fact that there is no one like you, Mr. Lee Kanghyeon.”
Beside Ciel, Maru was clapping silently.
“That is why I have decided.”
Even the gargoyle I had moved into the room earlier had somehow poked its head out and was looking this way.
‘Wasn’t that thing only supposed to move when an intruder appeared?’
When everyone except me focused on Jeong Yerin’s next words—
“Mr. Lee Kanghyeon, please be with me! You don’t have to come to work. Ah, you won’t have to do any separate tasks here either! Instead, you only need to give me simple help when I need it. Even then, I’ll come here to find you! I won’t bother you, so please!”
Huh? The flow of the conversation is getting strange, isn’t it?
“Of course, I’ll promise you all the benefits guild members receive, as well as a salary that won’t disappoint! If you need any items or have anything you wish to sell, our Firebird Guild will cover all related taxes!”
So she was saying that even if I didn’t go to work and just played at home, she would give me a salary and all the benefits?
On top of that, even tax deductions?
Wouldn’t that make me no different from an unemployed person who only had his name listed in the guild?
‘She’s insane….’
Literally, the current Jeong Yerin looked like she had a screw loose somewhere.
* * *
A man stood in front of the Adventurers’ Guild.
His race was dhampir.
A half-blood born between a vampire and a human.
Though he was a half-blood, his appearance was not very different from that of a human.
However, if one looked closely, subtle differences could be felt.
First of all, his skin was paler than that of ordinary people. His pure white skin, as though it had not seen sunlight even in the dead of winter, was striking.
But that white skin gave off a mysterious and alluring atmosphere rather than making him look sickly.
Whenever he opened his mouth, his fangs would occasionally show. However, they were not very large, so unless he deliberately revealed them, they did not easily stand out.
Aside from those traits, he was a being no different from a human.
“Is this the place?”
The dhampir’s black eyes swept over the Adventurers’ Guild office.
He had come here to carry out the order Celia had mentioned.
The order given by General Administrator Celia was one thing.
For the sake of the Great One, he was to work as an adventurer and build up recognition.
“So I’ll be active here from now on.”
After muttering that, he soon entered the building.
When he opened the door to the Adventurers’ Guild, lively noise greeted the dhampir.
As soon as he stepped inside, what spread before his eyes was a hall full of adventurers of every kind.
“Isn’t this mission too dangerous? You’d need to be at least silver rank to do it.”
“It’s fine. With our skills, we can handle it!”
On one side, party members about to set out on an adventure were discussing strategy, while on another, adventurers who seemed to have just returned after completing a request were chatting and laughing loudly.
The inside of the guild was lively in the truest sense of the word.
The dhampir took in the sight for a moment and looked around.
“Welcome! Welcome to the Adventurers’ Guild!”
A bright voice rang out. It was a guild employee standing behind the counter.
She seemed to be a receptionist.
Thinking that, the dhampir moved toward the counter.
“I’m Catherine, and I’m in charge of reception at the Adventurers’ Guild’s Seil Kingdom branch! Ah, originally there was another employee, but they resigned for personal reasons, so I ended up taking over as receptionist like this! The weather today is really—”
“I came to register as an adventurer.”
The dhampir cut off Catherine’s words and immediately stated his business.
If he left her alone, it seemed she would spend the entire day talking.
“Ah! So you’re a first-timer!”
Although the dhampir had cut her off, Catherine paid it no mind and took out a sheet of paper.
“May I ask your name?”
At Catherine’s question, the dhampir was about to speak immediately.
“My name is Dham—”
He stopped for a moment.
Dhampir was his race. Of course, it wouldn’t matter if he used it as a name, but there was still a need to be careful.
“Yes, my name is Dambi.”
“Ah, your name is Mr. Dambi? That’s a rather cute name!”
He had merely given his name, but the following procedure was completed in the blink of an eye.
A short while later, the iron tag in Catherine’s hand was proof of that.
“This is a kind of identification card. Since it’s made of iron, it’s called an iron tag. And starting today, Mr. Dambi, you can work as an iron-rank adventurer.”
Catherine smiled brightly and gestured.
Following her hand, he turned his head and saw a large bulletin board.
“First, requests are posted on that bulletin board over there. The reward differs depending on the difficulty and rank of the request! Ah, here’s a tip: if you want to raise your rank quickly, you should often take high-rank requests! Of course, if you die while doing them, that’s not my responsibility, okay? Hoho.”
Whether she was cheering him on or holding a ritual for his death, Dambi headed toward the bulletin board.
There truly were a variety of requests posted on the board.
「Herb-Gathering Request Even Beginners Can Do Easily」
- Iron-rank adventurers accepted.
「Village Festival One-Day Security Part-Time Job!」
- Iron-rank adventurers accepted. Adventurers of the same rank preferred.
Simple requests that even beginners could do were lined up.
However, they did not seem efficient for the time required.
Dambi’s gaze moved elsewhere.
「Seeking Companions for Ancient Ruins Exploration」
- Recruiting 2 adventurers of gold rank or higher.
- Expected relic excavation and monster subjugation.
- Difficulty judged to be at least silver rank or higher.
- Reward: 2,000 gold coins + share of relics
「Subjugation of a Notorious Bandit Gang」
- No questions asked, 200 gold coins per head
- Extremely difficult. Combat experience preferred.
Requests with higher difficulty than the earlier ones came into view.
The rewards were certainly decent, but unfortunately, Dambi’s current adventurer rank was the lowest iron rank.
Most requests like that required silver-rank or gold-rank adventurers.
Regrettably, Dambi began looking for another request.
While he was in the middle of scanning the bulletin board—
“?”
He saw a strange request.
「Capture of a Living Zombie」
- Capture and bring back one zombie alive
- Reward paid differently depending on the zombie’s condition
“Hmm.”
Capture a zombie alive?
It was a request Dambi could not understand.
After he stared at it for a while, the receptionist Catherine approached.
“Ah, don’t take that request. It’s a request to capture a zombie alive, but do you think that’s possible? It’ll probably be really hard.”
She was right.
A zombie was in a state where its entire body had rotted.
Even while being brought back, it would keep resisting, and pieces of flesh would fall off.
Bringing such a zombie back intact would be nearly impossible.
“And the person who posted that request… there are some bad rumors about them. Even if someone brings them a zombie, they nitpick and try not to pay. And they say that zombie is for research purposes, but actually…”
Dambi listened carefully to Catherine’s words.
“That… to relieve sexual desire… Oh, you know, that kind of thing. Just like there are all kinds of people in the world.”
“Ah.”
Despite Catherine’s words, Dambi had already decided to take that request.
The request to capture a living zombie.
For others, he didn’t know, but for Dambi, it was as good as an easy task.
“Are you really going to take that request?”
Even at Catherine’s worried question, Dambi did not hesitate.
And as he left the guild office, he left behind one remark.
“I’ll be back soon.”
Dambi’s destination was a dungeon with zombies.
And recently, zombies had entered the dungeon of his great Master in large numbers.
If he just took one from there, the request would be a success.
In other words, it was a free ride of a request.