In the days following the grand opening, the hamburger shop's sales grew steadily. Since I had completely stepped back from the kitchen, the burgers weren't the "Exceptional Work" variety that relied on my high Luck Value, but it seemed the sales hadn't dropped in the slightest.
Perhaps the influence of "Exceptional Work" hadn't been that significant to begin with. Or maybe, regardless of what drew them in, people had simply become hooked on the deliciousness of the hamburgers themselves after eating them a few times. Either way, business was booming. Luranna-san was all smiles and in a great mood as a result.
With some free time on our hands at last, we headed to the Adventurer’s Guild. It felt good to get back to adventuring after our hiatus.
"Oh, Lowell! And Tort and Halfa too!"
As soon as we stepped inside, a voice called out to us. It was Zephyr. Eina was standing beside him. The other members were likely still resting, as it was just the two of them.
"How’s the shop doing?" Zephyr asked.
"Ah, yeah. Everything seems to be going fine."
I had actually asked Zephyr to help with some promotion for the opening. "Promotion" was a strong word for it, though—I’d really just asked him to let his fellow adventurers know that a permanent hamburger stall was officially open for business.
"I see. Well then, want to take a job together again?"
"Did you find a good request?"
"Ah, no, nothing’s really changed—"
"Zephyr-san! Oh, and Tort-kun too!"
Interrupting my exchange with Zephyr was Radan-san, the somewhat usel—er, clumsy receptionist. It looked like he had been searching for Zephyr-san, but I was apparently a target as well. He waved us over as if our arrival was perfect timing.
I wondered what this was about.
Zephyr and I exchanged a look. If we were being summoned together... was it about the ruins dungeon in the abandoned village? Come to think of it, they had said they might want to hear more from us later.
"Pardon me, but there is something the guild would like to ask you regarding the dungeon..." Radan-san began.
His business was exactly what I’d expected. However, the person who wanted to speak with us wasn't a dungeon research expert, but the Guild Master himself. Without much of an explanation, we were guided to his office. Since the room was too small for everyone to crowd inside, only Zephyr, Lowell, and I went in.
"Oh, thank you for coming, Zephyr, Lowell. And... ah, you must be Tort. I’ve heard about you from Madrus—the Master in Cygnil. I am Mildas. Pleased to meet you."
"Ah, yes. Pleased to meet you too."
The Master of the Garond Adventurer's Guild was quite an elderly man. I had heard that because the profession was full of rough characters, the position of Guild Master was usually filled by retired high-rank adventurers, but Mildas-san didn't look the part at all. He had a gentle face and a build that was, if anything, rather slender. Perhaps he had been a mage-type adventurer.
"So, what’s this about? If it’s about the dungeon, we already filed the report, didn’t we?" Zephyr asked in a casual tone. Apparently, the "adventurers are equals" theory applied even to the Guild Master.
"No, there were a few things I wanted to confirm personally. My apologies, but could you humor me for a moment?"
"We don't mind..." Lowell replied. Unlike Zephyr, he used standard polite speech. Well, he is the head of his own group, after all. I suppose whether one followed adventurer protocols or social etiquette was a matter of personal choice.
Mildas-san’s questions focused on the phenomena we witnessed when defeating the dungeon monsters and the nature of the dungeon's collapse. We weren't experts, so we could only answer based on what we’d seen. Mildas-san clearly understood that, yet he let out a low groan after every answer we gave. He seemed... flustered?
"What’s the matter, old man? You’re not acting like yourself," Zephyr noted, sensing the tension.
Mildas-san offered a bitter smile and let out a long sigh.
"Haha... perhaps you're right. No, the truth is, a rather troubling situation has arisen. I should probably fill you in. Are you familiar with the underground waterway?"
"Hmm? Oh, the sewers?"
"Correct. It spans the entirety of the Royal Capital."
Apparently, a massive underground waterway ran beneath Garond. In short, it was a sewer system. In this world, the disposal of waste was actually handled quite thoroughly; instead of just dumping it in the streets, everything was designed to flow properly into these tunnels. Considering the general level of civilization, it was an impressive feat. Of course, they’d probably used magic to make it work.
The underground waterway wasn't a place where people usually went, but regular patrols were still necessary. Animals or monsters occasionally wandered in and started breeding. The Adventurer's Guild was the organization responsible for these patrols.
Since the checks were frequent, the danger was usually minimal. It was the kind of low-stakes job typically assigned to rookie adventurers.
Recently, however, an unfamiliar monster had been spotted down there: a Lizard Soldier. While Lizardmen were common bipedal lizard-like monsters, the Soldier was a high-rank species. It was a C-Rank threat, far beyond what any rookie could handle. Fortunately, the party that discovered it managed to escape unharmed, but—
"The real problem happened afterward. A mid-tier adventurer party accepted the subjugation request and successfully defeated the Lizard Soldier... but they reported that the corpse vanished, leaving only a magic stone behind."
...Wait, could it be!?
If that was the case, wasn't this a disastrous situation?
Name: Tort Race: Commoner Age: 12 Level: 15 [3 up] Vitality: 87/87 [15 up] Mana: 81/81 [15 up] Strength: 39 [7 up] Stamina: 46 [9 up] Agility: 61 [11 up] Dexterity: 79 [14 up] Magic Power: 73 [13 up] Spirit: 59 [11 up] Luck: 123 [3 up]
Divine Protection: [Divine Protection of the Job God: Dungeon Explorer]
Skills: [Destiny God's Smile], [Dagger Lv15] [1 up] [Shadow Strike Lv12] [3 up], [Throwing Skill Lv6] [1 up] [Lockpicking Lv10] [1 up], [Trap Disarming Lv10] [1 up] [Sense of Direction Lv8] [2 up], [Cooking Skill Lv14] [6 up] [Light Magic Lv11] [2 up], [Water Magic Lv10] [3 up] [Dark Magic Lv12] [4 up], [Non-Elemental Magic Lv5] [2 up] [Wind Magic Lv7] [New]
Traits: [Cooking Talent Lv1], [Great Luck], [Dexterous Fingertips Lv1] [Magic Aptitude Lv2]
Magic: <Clean>, <First Aid> <Create Water>, <Dehydrate> <Decomposition>, <Night Vision> <Shadow Hiding> <Breeze> [New], <Wind Cutter> [New] <Shredding Storm> [New] <Detect Magic>
■ Bonus Example of "Person A" who recently reached C-Rank
Name: Person A in the Scout Position Race: Commoner Age: 25 Level: 20 Vitality: 116/116 Mana: 72/72 Strength: 63 Stamina: 65 Agility: 90 Dexterity: 86 Magic Power: 55 Spirit: 53 Luck: 12
Divine Protection: [Divine Protection of the Job God: Scout]
Skills: [Dagger Lv12], [Bow Skill Lv15], [Lockpicking Lv10] [Trap Disarming Lv12], [Tracking Lv5], [Observation Lv10]
Traits: [Swiftness Lv1]