Bab 22: Scrolls

Both Luke and Nathalia trusted Shiro too much to be worried about the Mansion, not to mention there were other guards, so unless a Boss left the dungeons, everything would be fine.

The half-wolf was very curious to know what Goblins did outside of the Dungeon.

"Could they have escaped?" Luke questioned Nathalia, who seemed to have more knowledge in this matter.

"Escape? I've never heard of a leak in Vasconcelos."

It was common knowledge that monsters get confused when they are outside, so it was even more intriguing to see aware Higher Goblins.

The dirt road remained quiet, and Luke became even more attentive to his surroundings. The rustle of leaves that swayed in the summer wind got in the way a little, but Luke also doubted they'd encounter more complications along the way.

When they got closer to the town center, the pair noticed that everything looked normal.

Carriages moved back and forth with food, drink, and people. Vasconcelos was the typically bustling city, both for the number of brave adventurers and for the merchants excited about the business going well.

"Come, come! We're only selling fifty apples for two hundred copper coins for today! Take it or leave it!"

Among so many stalls and food stalls, one store, in particular, seemed much busier than all the others: Knor, Special Armor, and Spears.

'Knor... ok... Social... and Spars?' Luke tried to read. For him, reading was like a game of guessing letter combinations, which rarely worked.

Seeing that Luke looked interested in Knor, Nathalia took his arm and pulled him inside. Despite not coming to town much, that store was nothing new to her.

When they entered the shop, the half-wolf saw many weapons and armor. Confused, having been pulled in there, he questioned Nathalia:

"What do you want in here? You already have a great weapon."

"I thought you wanted to buy something."

"Me? Why would you think that?"

"For—" Just then, a man in round glasses and formal wear took her left arm.

"You guys have a good spear? Show me. I can pay for it well." His glasses glistened in the sunlight and somehow cast a shadow on his face.

"Hey! No parallel business in my store." An elf yelled from the balcony. His hair was an intense green, and so were his eyes.

"Tsk! Ignore him…" said the man with glasses. "Come on, show me."

Before the half-wolf had a chance to interrupt, Nathalia spoke with a smile: "Even if you worked for your whole life, you still couldn't buy my weapon."

She always seemed very polite in Luke's eyes; however, at the time, she remembered Meredith's way a little.

The man, inconveniently, did not let go of her arm even after the confrontation. However, when he looked into Luke's yellow eyes, his hands shook as he let her go.

"Let's read to the guild." Said Nathalia, who was stressed by such action.

Knor, the elf, regretted not being able to expel that inconvenient man from his shop; after all, he was one of the biggest merchants in the city. If he threw him out, Knor's shop would burn 'mysteriously' overnight.

As they left the store, the half-wolf didn't ask if the girl was all right, because he knew her strength and knew that a grip like that would never hurt her.

After walking through for a while, they arrived at Guild Street. Due to the more than ten floors that the Guild building had, it was not difficult to notice that Vasconcelos was investing a lot in the Adventurer's business.

The place looked more like a small mansion with a clock on its tallest tower and large detailed columns on its exterior. The in and out of people was so much, that the door rarely stopped closed, and as the mission board was right in front, all the congestion was even more intense. The half-wolf couldn't tell if this was on purpose or not.

When they finally entered the building, Nathalia and Luke saw dozens of people sitting at tables as they ate and drank.

'Is this a guild or a tavern?' Luke thought, pleased by the smell of pumpkin pie that permeated the establishment.

Before they could sit down to rest from the walk, the pair of newcomers decided to get in line, to resolve the registration issues as quickly as possible.

The line to the front desk gradually thinned, until Luke and Nathalia could hear a husky voice calling out to them. "Next!"

The old man behind the counter must have been between seventy or two hundred years old. Since he was an elf, Luke couldn't tell his age without uncertainty.

The old man's mustache was admirable, had great volume, and was still curved at the ends. The half-wolf considered asking what product he used to make the threads so resistant.

Tired of his work, the receptionist said: "What do you want? Never seen them around here. If you want to drink, this isn't a tavern or an inn; it's a guild… At least it's supposed to be…"

Saying nothing, Luke placed a rolled-up paper on the counter.

The old man unrolled it, scrunched up his face to see the small letters, but soon gave up and put on his glasses tied on a string around his neck.

That was a handwritten letter by Ayumi Yamazaki recommending two promising adventurers for the Guild. José Kinosuke, the receptionist, in all the years he worked at the Guild of Vasconcelos, had never personally seen the Strogueher seal, yet it was unmistakable. A black shield and a white rose in the middle, whose stem looked like a spear.

As Nathalia did not wish to inherit the family's fame, the names of the two adventurers were not mentioned. This fitted beautifully with the anonymity Luke craved.

Although he understood that his job was to help Nathalia move up from class fast, the half-wolf did not know how long it would take. So, he had to take advantage of his little time at the Mansion to investigate the family and still do an excellent job as a bodyguard, so they wouldn't suspect him when the robbery happened.

"I'm sorry… Are you available for an interview now? I'll put them in the priority queue."

"Please, we are in a hurry," Nathalia said with a gentle smile on her face, which made the old man think that coming to work that day was already worth it.

"What are your names?"

"Nath..."

"Luke."

Mr. Kinosuke nodded, and in a procedure that made those waiting in line angry, he ran to alert the Guild Master.

'Are the Strogueher themselves appointing two adventurers? They must have extraordinary talents, and they certainly came from Renowned Overseas Schools.'