CH 139

Chapter 139: The Guild and the Wizard

Igni: “Okay! We’re going to do a tour of the city, Yoori!”

As Igni felt his blood boil in excitement at the thought of seeking out all the Beast-Ear girls, Yoori stopped him.

Yoori: “Wait, Igni.” Igni: “Hm?”

Yoori: “Why don’t we look for a tour guide in the Capital first?”

Igni: “Oh!! You’re right! We should do that!”

And Igni couldn’t hold back his unusual excitement.

That’s because Yoori’s suggestion was the perfect guise for his plans.

He was now dead set on having a beast-ear girl lead them around the city and the thought made his excitement escalate even more.

Igni: “Now that that’s settled, let’s go to the Adventurer’s Guild!”

Adventurers make a living by taking down monsters and resolving difficult tasks, but if you are just starting your career or are injured and cannot slay Monsters to earn your living, there are times when you will volunteer for other jobs like being a tour guide.

There are many foreigners who visit, but most would not be able to look at a map and understand exactly where they are located. Because of that, tour guides who knows the ins and outs of the city are highly valued.

And on top of that, the quality of their service is guaranteed by the Adventurer’s Guild.

If they do something wrong, the demerits they earn from the Adventurer’s Guild will be severe, so you are insured a certain level of service quality because of that.

But with too much blood and excitement pumping in Igni’s brain, he had forgotten a very fundamental fact.

Yes, the majority of Adventurers are men.

And the chances of finding a female Adventurer……and on top of that, an Adventurer with a Beast Race blood could not be very high.

“Oh, a tour guide for the Capital City? I can put out a request, but you’ll only get F-Rank Adventurers. Is that okay?”

Yoori: “Yes, that’s fine. We are just here on a trip.”

Yoori responds to the receptionist’s question.

They came straight to the Adventurer's Guild, and put out a request to put up a Quest. Although Igni thought the Capital’s Adventurer’s Guild would be more lively, his hopes were betrayed as he only saw Adventurer’s with dead eyes and young Adventurers.

Curiously, he could not find any veteran Adventurers in the vicinity.

“A trip? Ohhh, yes, the Emperor’s Birthday Festival is right around the corner.”

And the receptionist threw an unfamiliar term at them without knowing.

Both Yoori and Igni looked at one another to see if either of them knew about this.

“But you did come at a very odd time to visit the Capital.” Yoori: “Um… is there something going on?”

Yoori innocently inquired.

And the receptionist seemed shocked as her eyes widened with surprise.

“........are you truly not aware of what happened here last week?”

Yoori: “YーYes. We just arrived yesterday.”

“Then you really haven’t heard…” The girl at the receptionist desk let out a deep breath.

“It came. The Dragon.”

Yoori: “.........huh?” Yoori had to inquire once more.

Judging by his face, it was not that he couldn’t hear what words the girl spoke, but rather, he couldn’t understand what was meant by those words.

As Igni observed his friend, Igni also waited for the receptionist to follow through and clarify.

“A Dragon came….to this Capital.” Yoori: “AーA Dragon?!”

Yoori’s voice rose an octave higher, and the people at the Guild all turned their gaze towards him.

A Dragon is undoubtedly, hands down, the strongest known creature.

They are intelligent, strong, and live for many years.

They are one of the few Monsters labeled as SSS Status within the Adventurer's Guild.

A SSS Status indicates that the creature is far beyond what an Adventurer can deal with.

That is why [Extremes] are sent out against SSS Monsters.

Igni: “So seeing that she’s not here, did Miss Celia defeat the Dragon?” The girl at the receptionist’s desk nodded to Igni’s words.

“Yes! Lady Celia fought and sent the Dragon away!!”

The receptionist girl now had a proud smile as she told Igni and Yoori.

Igni: (As expected of her…)

Igni was impressed.

Celia is the [Extreme] of [Life].

She is the First Imperial Princess and was able to reach the heights of an [Extreme] ー hence, she was extremely popular with the general citizens of the Empire.

The common discussion that comes up when bringing up the topic of [Extremes] is, “Who do you think is the strongest?” But in this Empire, the discussion ends with an immediate, confident answer. Everyone who lives here will say that Celia is the strongest [Extreme].

“So the Dragon gave up on the Capital and is currently residing in the eastern port city of Esport.”

Igni: “........I see?”

But Igni tilted his head in wonder at what the girl said.

It’s true that Celia is the [Extreme] of [Life]. But as far as instant destructive power goes, she is nowhere near Lucas or Igni’s level.

Hence, not being able to slay the Dragon and making it retreat away from town made sense.

But the Port City of Esport is a very famous, critical location for the Empire that even Igni knew.

It is a city not far from the Capital and is the centerpiece of the Empire’s trade route.

As it now affects the Empire’s economy, no one has gone and fought the Dragon there?

Igni: “What is Miss Celia currently doing?”

“Well……….she said something about other dangers in the country and left.”

Igni: “uh……….I see?” Many [Extremes] are under the governance of nations, and they will perform duties that will benefit the country of their allegiance. Because of that, their top priority always involves their country, and they will take on assignments that either maintain or expand their countries territory or influence.

Igni: (But would any assignment be more important than dealing with a Dragon?) Igni: “That means right now Miss Celia isーー”

“I don’t believe she is currently here in the Empire. I wonder if she’ll be able to make it back by the Emperor’s Birthday Festival…….”

And she looked worried and disappointed at the prospect.

Igni: (Ah, she must be a fan of Celia…..)

And Igni was confident with his assessment.

As strong men are popular, strong women are popular as well.

ーーin many ways.

Yoori: “Thank you so much for the important information. We’ll be passing time in the cafe over there.”

“Yes, once someone accepts the Quest, I will come and get you.”

There was a cafe built inside the Guild exactly for that purpose.

So with that, Igni’s group moved to sit at the cafe.

Igni: “Sara, you can order anything you want.”

Sara: “Igni. What’s this?” Igni: “Hm? Let me see.” There was something labeled “Float” something, and it was a popular drink with an icy snack.

As Igni recalled the time when he stood in a long line while he was checking out popular dating spots, Igni told Sara.

Igni: “This is a drink with a cold, icy dessert on top. It’s really good.” Sara: “Then I want this one!”

Yoori: “I think I’ll have one too.”

Igni: “Me too.”

And the three of them all ordered the same thing as Igni and his group looked at one another.

Igni: “......a Dragon, huh? I didn’t think there would be one out here.”

Yoori: “Is the reason why your grandfather came here…….to fight the Dragon?”

Igni: “No, if that was the case, he would have done it on the way over here.”

Yoori: “OーOn the way…….”

Igni: “If we avoided it and came here, he must have his reasons.”

Yoori: “A reason…….?” Igni: “Well, thinking about it won’t do us any good. Let’s just enjoy our tour of the city.”

And honestly, Igni was far more interested in seeing a Beast Race girl’s ears than a Dragon.

Though Igni has never fought a SSS Rank Monster, he was confident that he could do something about it if the time came.

Sara: “Igni. What’s ‘Empire’?” As Sara continued to eat her icy dessert, Sara asked Igni.

Igni: “The Empire? What is it? ……that is a hard question.” But since a girl asked, Igni was going to answer no matter what.

Igni: “The Empire….is a country that was built by the first Master Swordsman, and it’s Alicia’s country.”

Sara: “Alicia.”

And Sara had a strained expression as she said Alicia’s name.

Igni: (Oh yeah, Sara didn’t like Alicia that much.)

Igni: “Oh, but Sara. This is the country that made that bracelet you’re wearing too.” Sara: “Really?” Igni: “Yeah.”

Sara: “Then I like this country!”

And Sara’s smile was like an angel’s.

Igni: (So cute.)

As they chatted away, a girl with a hood covering her head appeared before them.

“So you are the bone-heads that came to the Capital during this time?”

And she sat down in the last remaining seat at their table.

“The Guild told me. I am a F Rank Adventurer that will be your guide. My name’s Elie.”

As the girl spoke, Igni’s eyes gradually gazed upwards.

Igni: “............?!”

Igni: (ThーThat shape on top of her head……!!)

Elie: “Oh, you noticed? Is this your first time visiting the Imperial Capital?” And as soon as she took her hood off, light, golden hair floated down.

She had milky white skin and blue eyes.

Igni: (It’s the same as Alicia….are there a lot of blonde-haired, blue-eyes in the Imperial Capital…….?!)

Though Igni wanted to retort badly, there was something else that caught his eyes before he could.

Igni: (C………..!)

Igni: (C…………..!!)

Igni: (CAT EARSーー!!!!!)