Chapter 69

Chapter 69

***

The palm stung. There was a slight blood stain on the bandage, but it didn't spread further.

Rickart thought about Marie. But no matter how much he thought, there was nothing he could understand. Was it pity or sympathy? Guilt? Interest? Love? He didn't know.

If he thought deeply for a long time, would he know the answer? Regarding love, Rickart only had the thought that he really didn't know.

Joyful because of love, painful because of love, happy because of love, unhappy because of love.

It was ever-changing, more than a flame, and much hotter. So loving was no different from searing the whole heart in fire. Therefore, Rickart couldn't understand.

"Chomp chomp chomp chomp chomp!"

Rickart's thoughts were broken by the sound of someone eating voraciously. Rickart lifted his head and stared at the person sitting opposite him at the table.

He had seen Sally's meal once before, but rather than eating a meal, it was closer to slaughtering food.

Bori-bori and Delphi stared at her blankly with expressions wondering if such a person really existed.

She was quite a beauty, but the spectacle of her puffing up both cheeks like a squirrel and eating hurriedly was somewhat bizarre. She seemed possessed by a ghost that had died of starvation. The most strange point was that her body shape was nimble even though she devoured food like that.

Anyway, Sally ate frantically for a good while, then drank up a bowl of cold soup in one go, burped heavily, and leaned back on the chair lazily.

"Burp! Whew, I ate well."

"......"

"Mm, so where did we talk up to?"

"That you became the new Guild Master."

Delphi said. Rickart tilted his head and asked.

"What about Dunkel? Is he dead?"

"Ung, right. I killed that cripple bastard. And now I am the Guild Master."

It wasn't really true; it was a mischievous joke. Just, speaking without a smile wasn't very funny.

It seemed they put up Sally as a so-called "pants boss" (figurehead). Because Dunkel's identity was exposed during the war.

One could know that roughly with wits without it being spoken.

"Then simply, is there nothing for us to do separately?"

"No, there is. If graduating from the Academy, anyone must receive a first request in the Guild. A kind of first and last test? Anyway, we divide the rank roughly with that. But you guys have a rank already, let's see."

Rickart and Bori-bori were already High Rank adventurers. When they were students, it was a corresponding status, but as they had graduated now, they were formal High Rank adventurers.

Sally took out a card bundle from her bosom. Flipping through them one by one quickly with skillful hand movements, she picked three sheets in an instant.

And clearing the empty plates and bowls to the side, she placed the three cards face down on the table.

"One is easy, one is hard, and the last one is dangerous. What will you do?"

"What is the easy one?"

Rickart asked.

"I can't teach you specifically until you take the request, so I turned the cards over."

"How hard is the hard one?"

"I know your skill well too. But this isn't sword fighting but manual labor. You have to use your body directly. So it's hard."

"The dangerous one?"

"Sparse success probability. Certain death if failing."

Rickart looked back at Bori-bori, throwing a silent question asking his opinion.

"Let's do the easy one."

Bori-bori said.

"Okay."

But Sally shook her head.

"No. No. You two have to pick one each. You can't do it together. You can receive help from other people or the Clan, but since you two are graduating together, you cannot be together this time. It's a test in its own way, you know?"

Then Rickart picked the easy card without hesitation, giving it to Bori-bori, and picked the dangerous card himself.

"Uh, uh......"

Bori-bori was a bit flustered, but Rickart had already turned over the card.

As soon as Rickart checked it, Sally snatched the card quickly and burned it in the candle fire. She didn't touch Bori-bori's card. Because it was just a Merchant escort mission.

"What is the reward?"

Rickart asked calmly.

"They said they are giving not money but spot goods."

"What is it?"

"Ilya's Holy Oil."

Rickart and Bori-bori stared at each other simultaneously. Because they had talked about that story in the Academy today. The story of the warrior who lived as a cripple from birth until becoming thirty years old.

"Seems like bullshit."

"Try saying bullshit to the Count's face."

"Does such a thing actually exist?"

"I don't know either."

It was hard to believe as it was an item appearing in legends.

"Mm, but do I have to go alone?"

"Wouldn't one trustworthy person be okay? Anyway, don't divulge it as much as possible. I trust you will do well yourself. But you, do you know how dangerous this is?"

"You said choose."

"Though so, you are too calm. As if not realizing how serious it is. You should have just chosen the hard thing."

She said sparse success probability and certain death if failing, but Sally didn't know Rickart would choose that really.

Was it confidence following tremendous skill, or just great guts? The kid seemed not arrogant.

"If you were going to do so, you should have just entrusted the easy thing."

"Then it's not fun."

"Though so."

Whether skill or guts, Rickart was extraordinary. By the way, Sally also wasn't a common sense human.

Maybe because she wasn't Dunkel, Sally seemed honestly a helpless person. Committing work just for interest.

Special Grade Requests were rarely accepted in the Guild realistically. 'Special Grade' meant virtually giving up on difficulty classification, and accordingly, requests used to be neglected.

Simply speaking, things that weren't work a person could do were Special Grade Requests.

"First then, I don't have to start right now, right?"

"Right. First discuss well with your Clan Master. Giving up the request is also one method. Just contact me. If really performing the request, I will support the retainer fee."

Either way, it was a Clan affiliation. An adventurer's course of action was a problem the Clan decides, and the Guild couldn't tell them to do this or that. Like a feudal system.

Just, only the first request after graduating from the Academy could the Guild entrust specially. Originally, the method was delivering the request to the Clan Master, and the Clan Master assigning that request again or deciding by discussing with each other.

Rickart had this and that light conversation with Sally, and rose from his seat.

"I will go."

"Congratulations."

"What?"

"Becoming an adventurer. Surviving in the Academy alone is a great thing."

Sally seemed to think of the Academy of the days when violence ran rampant and students took their own lives abruptly, or took dangerous missions.

However, the Academy was different in the days Sally attended, when Rickart just entered, and now.

Rickart laughing stealthily shook his head.

"Now is different from the old days."

"Ung?"

"I will go. I will see Dunkel also someday again."

Rickart left the Beringen Guild building with his friends. And visited Molti and Lara who decided to give up becoming adventurers and form a family.

He could hear news worth congratulating really from the two. They had a baby.

To Rickart, the two's baby was a bit of a shock. What to say, should he say he didn't believe it well? Just marvelous and surprised.

Molti and Lara looked happy even in poor living conditions, and were neighbors accepted and recognized clearly from surrounding Nord settlers too.

Five people sat around in the cozy house and old stories blossomed; time passed in an instant and it became evening.

So inevitably Rickart, Bori-bori, and Delphi headed to the Guild building again to stay one night.

Rickart looked down quietly at the baby asleep wheezing in the cradle before going out. Still, he couldn't believe it. The baby's existence itself felt just like a miracle.

Suddenly Marie came to mind, but he turned his head with effort.

Trying to sleep in the Guild building, strangely sleep didn't come for a long time. He tried to control his mind which was painful for no reason, but there was no place to run away.

It will pass. It will pass.

While going to Ehrenberg, no particular event existed. They just walked slowly, fully enjoying the autumn of brown and yellow colors with leisure.

Arriving at the Ehrenberg Branch after just not seeing it for three or four months, as the world is so rough, just reuniting safely everyone had a smiling face.

"Volca became a Branch Manager completely?"

Rickart said laughing. Isn't it seeming he gained flesh a bit? Because if becoming a Branch Manager, time sitting in front of a desk is more than activity in the field.

Gaining flesh as not exercising was a natural principle.

If work exists, entrusting to adventurers, and calculating money accurately only was the work done mainly usually.

"Remember Torweil Branch Manager in the past."

Bori-bori helped with one word. The Alter Branch Manager of Torweil was a person giving this and that instruction when chasing deserters. He looked closer to just a neighborhood uncle than an adventurer.

Volca wasn't to that degree yet, but his body seemed to be changing so.

"Euhihi, honestly painful at first only, why I didn't do this good thing I don't know."

Volca grinned only, having no pride. Gee, have to say fortunate looking happy.

"Euhyu, if nothing to do, stand up and move alcohol barrels at least."

Diligent Delphi unpacked luggage without resting as soon as coming, and rolled up sleeves setting out. Wiped the table, and wiped cups and tableware.

While doing so she introduced the kids the Branch hired. The kids were working each drawing water or moving laundry etc now so didn't come in front of Rickart and Bori-bori greeting. Just stared blankly walking from afar only.

"I will teach the kids. That one is Locke, that one Remy, that is Rona, Elga went somewhere for a moment it seems."

Looking quietly everyone seemed to be about 10 years old.

"Benny is?"

"She is still young."

"They also seem young."

"Still passed 10 years old."

"Ice is?"

"He is also gaining a belly like me."

Volca said.

"What?"

"Joke, and must be calculating money in my room? Even doing that only, a belly doesn't come out like me. First unpack luggage. Wife! Bring alcohol a bit."

Volca shouted looking at Delphi at last. Did the two marry?

Though only about a few months passed, it seemed there was a need to adapt a little.

Rickart unpacked luggage in the room used with Bori-bori, and coming out again knocked on Volca's room door smart. Opening the door looking inside, Ice really was calculating money sitting at the desk head.

"Uh?"

Ice opened his eyes roundly. What to say, Ice seemed to have expressions becoming richer gradually the more time passes.

"We came. Come out. Let's talk a bit."

At Rickart's word come out, Ice rose from his seat laughing stealthily.

Other adventurers were also many in the Branch, but Rickart's Viola Clan was the Core Clan. That is, virtually the owner of this building and if counting as a feudal system, was like the Lord family of this Ehrenberg.

As Rickart and Bori-bori, Volca, and Ice took seats in front of the fireplace, Delphi brought four wooden cups full of alcohol all at once.

"This is cut from your request reward?"

"Really?"

Thinking she was giving just but saying cutting from reward, Bori-bori's eyes became wide round. Delphi just shrugged her eyebrows ambiguously and walked straight again.

"Hey, I will buy so don't worry and drink."

Volca said.

"Have to pay price huh."

"Where is free in the world. If doing Branch Manager role have to become a miser."

"Adventurers gathered much?"

"So so. Mostly wanderers but few seem usable still. Doing this I might become a Clan Master."

Clan Master meant a person leading several clans under command. Of course, even if Clan Master, not automatically lower clans followed well. It depended on the Clan Master's individual capability.

"Seems belly comes out more the more leading clans."

"Euhihi, doesn't matter even if belly comes out."

Seemed not becoming lazy working hard in his own way, but Volca seemed satisfying in life now really.

"But didn't you guys receive a 'First' request?"

Ice asked drinking alcohol one sip.

"Uh. But I don't matter, Ricky's seems to have a problem a bit. Even entrusting the request Sally tells not to do."

Bori-bori said pointing at Rickart sitting next. Then Volca frowned impression Puck at the name Sally.

"That gluttonous Auntie still doing Master role? Aissi, spoiling alcohol taste."

"Why so?"

"That Auntie has no thing called thought. Last time gave work duplicate with other Branch so almost blade fight occurred. Why doing this bullshit having won war with effort, really. Why Dunkel Uncle entrust work to such Auntie of all places and hiding."

"So, that request is what?"

Ice asked.

"Don't know if I can say, know you guys only. Special Grade Request. Killing High Vampire."

As Rickart spoke, Volca froze as is tilting the alcohol cup. Didn't spew alcohol, spilled alcohol to the side of his mouth. Ice's expression disappeared like old days at the word Special Grade.