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Waking up in the morning, we simply had some breakfast and left our lodging. It was about time to head back.

“Riche, are you okay?”

“Ah, yes. Why do you ask all of a sudden?”

“You just don’t look very okay.”

Luna, who was following Riche from behind, asked with a worried tone. Riche, seemingly unaware of her odd behavior, didn’t seem to understand.

Despite trying to appear fine, her walking was so awkward that it was obvious something was up.

As Luna and Yui helped her, we were headed toward the Guild Master’s Room.

“Ah, Luke! Just in time, I was thinking of stopping by before you left.”

At that moment, Gideon came up to us, stating he had been looking for us.

“Urgent matter?”

With the raid done, there wasn’t much to discuss. Was he just coming to shake hands before we left?

“I have something to hand over.”

Saying that, Gideon pulled out a crumpled letter from his pocket and handed it to me.

“Cough… It’s a bit wrinkled, but it’s important, so hold on to it well.”

“A bit? It looks like it was squeezed by a fist! This is more than just a bit, it’s practically ruined!”

“So, what is this about?”

“If you’re curious about the contents, you can open it, but just make sure to give it to Argo when you return to the guild.”

“Then I won’t open it.”

If he had said not to open it, I would’ve been tempted to do so out of spite, but since he said it was fine, I had no strong desire to peek.

“Is this how you use a person as a delivery service?”

He was so casual about it; it just struck me that he was subtly making me his delivery guy. Should I just rip it up now?

“Inside that is something good for you, Luke.”

“Ah, why didn’t you just say that earlier!? I can deliver it by rocket!”

I had no idea what was in there, but it was supposed to be good for me? And for free? No reason to refuse.

“Haha! Your personality really doesn’t change, does it? Well then, I’ve given you what I needed to, so I’ll be on my way.”

With that, Gideon immediately made his exit. He was probably planning to roam the continent again.

“Let’s head back.”

I tucked the letter safely into my inventory, and we went to find the World Tree to leave Alvheim. Upon arriving at the meeting room, the World Tree, just like yesterday, welcomed us.

[Welcome.]

“We’re about to head back.”

[I anticipated you would say that, so I prepared in advance.]

Did it see the future? In the middle of the meeting room was a magic circle we had seen a few times before. The elves had set it up for our arrival, but it seems the World Tree took care of it itself for our return.

[By the way, Arthur left early this morning with your party.]

“He skipped out on us.”

I distinctly remembered tying him up before I fell asleep, and when I woke up, there was not even a hint of warmth left on the floor.

It’s impressive he managed to get away on his own; considering his personality, he should’ve kidnapped Riche alongside him. I wonder if my scolding had an effect or something.

[Could you please step onto this magic circle?]

As the World Tree prepared, we stepped onto the large magic circle. To brace myself for the bright light, I squeezed my eyes shut and covered my face. Simply closing my eyes wasn’t enough to shield me.

Sure enough, bright light began to radiate from the magic circle.

[Well then. May your path ahead be safe.]

Thus, we received the blessing of the World Tree and returned to the Empire.

*

When I opened my eyes again, we were in front of the castle walls of the Empire where we had started.

“Teleportation is truly convenient, isn’t it?”

If we had come by cart, it would’ve taken over a week of nonstop travel, but we moved in the blink of an eye just by stepping onto a magic circle.

“The problem is that only a handful of people in the world can use that.”

“The elves used it, so if you three gather your magical power, it should be possible, right?”

Back then, even the elves barely managed to gather enough magical power together, but wouldn’t the three of you, now grown, be able to pull it off somehow?

“Well… we’ll have to try and see. But someone is bound to collapse from magic exhaustion, so you’ll have to carry them.”

“Then let’s save that for later, and for now, let’s head to the Adventurer’s Guild.”

My last memories at the Adventurer’s Guild were of fighting with the elves. After that, we went straight to Alvheim and hadn’t returned for a week. I still had to report on our hunt for the Volcano Dragon, so with nothing else to do, I headed directly to the Adventurer’s Guild.

Upon arriving at the Adventurer’s Guild, I took a deep breath.

“Ah~ the air of the Adventurer’s Guild after such a long time.”

Despite my struggles, nothing here had changed. What could possibly change in just a week? Anyway, the first place I headed was the reception desk where Adela was. She seemed to be busy as usual, but upon spotting us, she showed a slightly surprised expression.

“Where on earth have you been…?”

“Is that what you say right after we arrive?”

“You’ve never come back without a word before.”

This time we weren’t even on a request; we just got back from the World Tree, so there was no way others would know.

A lot had happened in that short week. We had a fight with the elves, teleported to Alvheim, and even caught the unsealed Volcano Dragon and demons.

“Indeed, many events occurred.”

“…I suppose so. Considering you haven’t been here for a week. So what brings you here today?”

“Ah. Actually, I have some monster materials I want to sell. I bet you’ll be shocked when you see it!”

“Okay… Well, let’s see it, then?”

Adela looked like she was expecting something strange. But I could confidently say that what I brought this time was a legendary material that would make anyone gasp in awe, impossible to acquire.

Pulling out a black stone-like object from my inventory, I placed it on the reception desk, and Adela tilted her head in confusion.

“What is this?”

“Don’t you know what it is?”

“Um… It’s my first time seeing it?”

Even Adela, the receptionist, didn’t recognize it. Well, it’s been sealed up until now, so it makes sense.

People from the current generation might only know the name, not the appearance. They must have seen it in history books or something.

“This is a piece of the S-Rank Monster, the Volcano Dragon.”

“Excuse me…?”

“This is a piece of the S-Rank Monster, the Volcano Dragon…”

“What?!”

Adela’s rare display of shock drew the attention of the adventurers and surrounding receptionists. Unfazed by the gazes, Adela examined the black object in front of her.

It was understandable to doubt if such a common-looking black stone could truly be a material from an S-Rank Monster. Honestly, even I would think it was just coal if I didn’t know the background story. But what could I do? What I said was the truth.

“This, this, this is… from an S-Rank Monster…?!”

“Yes.”

“Y-you’re joking, right? Are you kidding me?…”

An S-Rank Monster is already so hard to find information on; a monster that has been sealed for ages is an even bigger surprise. It’s hard to believe even for someone else, let alone Adela.

‘How can I prove this?’

Should I have brought the severed head of the Volcano Dragon instead of a letter? I brought it to sell, but if the appraiser doesn’t know the value of the item, it might just be a black stone lying on the ground. I wondered if there could be a good way to prove it.

“Oh, wait. Would you like to see this?”

I pulled out the letter I received from Gideon in the morning from my inventory and handed it to Adela.

“What’s this…?”

“This is a letter from Gideon. I heard it was meant for Argo?”

“Gideon… the Weapon Master Gideon?”

“Yes.”

“……”

Adela stood there blankly for a moment, but soon regained her composure.

“Please, wait a moment.”

Then she left the reception desk in a hurry, dashing up the stairs, probably heading to the Guild Master’s Room. Since I had to deliver the letter to Argo anyhow, I needed to go to the Guild Master’s Room, but it was lucky she was going to deliver it instead. Thanks to that, my workload got lighter.

Three minutes later, Adela returned and relayed one piece of information to me.

“Luke, the Guild Master requests that you come up to the Guild Master’s Room.”

“Right now?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I think you already know the reason.”

Do I really have to meet with the Guild Master just to sell this material? I just wanted to show them the item and watch their surprised faces before selling it, but now it felt like more trouble than I bargained for.

Could it be that the letter was the issue rather than the material? Regardless, since I was called, I headed straight to the Guild Master’s Room.

-Knock knock.

After knocking, I opened the door like it was my own room, and this time, unlike usual, Argo caught my eye as he sat in a chair in front of the reception table.

On the table were the material from the Volcano Dragon that I had shown Adela, along with the letter Gideon had asked me to deliver.

“Ah… you’re here?”

“Yes.”

“First, have a seat over there.”

The sofa in front of Argo. It used to fit three people perfectly, but now with Riche added, we were one seat short. So, I sat Yui on my lap and used her as an armrest while I offered her some snacks.

“Why did you call me?”

“Where in the world have you been to bring back such high-profile materials…?”

Though he acknowledged the materials were impressive, it seemed to include the letter too.

“I went to Alvheim. The World Tree asked for help with a raid on the Volcano Dragon.”

“I see… You must have had quite a busy time.”

“I had an incredibly eventful week. I even hunted an S-Rank Monster on my way back, so this should be good enough to qualify as S-Rank, right?”

“…Actually, I had something to discuss regarding that. Do you know what the letter contains?”

“Not a clue.”

I merely delivered it; how would I know what it said?

“So you met with Gideon in Alvheim?”

“I did.”

“It seems you’ve gotten quite close, huh? He seems to take a liking to you.”

“Unfortunately for him, I only like females.”

“…Is that so? In that case, let me explain the contents of the letter, so pay attention.”

 

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