Adventurer's Guild

I stopped in my tracks, blocking traffic. People around me gave bitter glances as they pushed past. I quickly got out of the moving crowd going in and out of the adventurer's guild and put my back on the wall right beside the door.

Why were my friends here? Were they signing up as adventurers? It had only been at max two or three hours since I left the inn. How did they make that decision so quickly?

I took a deep breath and weighed my decisions. Either I could continue as planned and register while trying not to be noticed, or leave and come back to get an ID card tomorrow.

But what if the process for becoming an adventurer would take more than a day, and they would come back tomorrow, too? Plus, why would it matter even if they do notice me? It's not like I'll have to join their group again. I chose my first option and went through the doors with the stream of people.

Inside, the atmosphere felt like that of a lively bar or casino, though there were no drinks nor games. At small, round tables sat diverse groups of adventurers chatting and laughing. When I listened in on one of the conversations, I heard a man talking about slaughtering something that sounded like a mythical creature. Was that the type of things adventurers do? It sounded like fun.

Abby, Ari, and Em still stood at the same place on the right side of the room. They were talking to a woman behind a reception desk. That was probably where new adventurers apply. There were more free assistants behind the long desk, but I decided to find an empty table to sit at to wait for my former companions to leave.

As I sat at my table at the corner of the room, I watched the three. Abby looked to be negotiating with the lady behind the desk, with Ari joining in every once in a while. However, Em still had her head down, and it looked like her grip on her staff was the only thing preventing her from crumpling to the floor. So has she not recovered yet? Why did they have to hurry here, then?

However, I wanted to get a closer look when a large, muscular man blocked my view. He sat down right across from me at the table, and two others did the same. First, it was a woman with black hair pulled back in a short ponytail, who sat to the left of the man. Then, a shorter man with short, curly black hair made himself comfortable to the right. All three had an impressive build and carried similar sheathed swords to their sides.

"Sorry, there wasn't anywhere else to sit. Hopefully, you don't mind us staying here for a while," the first man said to me.

What was with this person's manners? Could they at least have asked if I minded before sitting down? I wanted to stand up and leave, but when I looked around, I didn't see any other empty tables. So I simply nodded my head and turned to the side, looking away from them.

"So, is that a yes or a no?" The woman asked?

"Yeah, do you mind or do you not?" The second man explained.

Seriously, do they really need to ask that? With these three people of huge statures looking down at me, it felt like I was being interrogated.

"No, I don't mind," I said, shaking my head without looking at them.

"Okay, then, you seem like a cool kid," the first person said. "What was the last world you've been to?"

I turned back at them. They were looking at me with interest. Couldn't they just mind their own business? I looked past the man at my friends to check if they had finished yet. They hadn't.

"Oh, are you perhaps new?" The woman asked me, then let out a chuckle. "It's pretty much a tradition for us adventurers to share our stories here."

"Yeah, you wanna hear about our last adventure?" The other man continued. "It was so eventful!"

I shook my head and continued to watch my friends.

The woman responded to that quite harshly. "Oh, that's a bit rude, you know."

"You're the ones that are rude," I muttered under my breath with a sigh. Shoot. It was only a few hours after leaving my companions and I was already back into the habit of muttering to myself. And it came at the worst moment, too.

"Oh, did we really come out that way to you?" The woman leaned back with a hurtful expression. She stood up along with two companions from her seat.

"Kid, you might need to learn some manners," the man in the middle said, leaning towards me. "There is a certain type of etiquette we adventurers have here."

The man to the right lifted his arms and cracked his knuckles with a menacing look. "You should know that the law protects us from being punished for a lot of types of crimes, right? And I'll also let you know that we're all A rank adventurers, too."

I looked up at them but stayed seated. How had this situation become like this? All I did was whisper a short comment, and these people took that much offense from that?

I swept my eyes through the room. Some people had already stopped talking to watch the new commotion. It wasn't that I was afraid of the three people I had angered—worst-case scenario, I could just run away quickly. However, I was afraid of attracting more attention. I just wanted to get my ID card without being noticed by my friends, after all.

"So, you scared now, kid?" The leader of the three continued. "I'll sure love to see your crying face as you run out of the guild in a few moments."

Well, I guess that option of escaping was out of the box now. My pride already got the better of me. I rested my elbow on the table and combed my fingers through my hair in frustration. "Can't you guys just mind your own business? Go find another table or something? I'm sure other adventurers would love to hear your stories."

That was the last straw. I knew I shouldn't have said that out loud, but my steam was rising too, and I just had to say it.

The man pulled his arm back, charging his fist for a punch. Rank A adventurer, huh? In the time he's taking, I'd probably be able to take out my dagger and slit his throat.

However, the man continued to stay in that position, until I finally noticed it. He pushed forward and tried to rotate his body, but he was stopped. A voice spoke from behind him.

"Sorry, man, but Day's with us."

"Who the hell are you!" The man yelled as he turned around, revealing Ari, who was holding his arm in a firm grip.

Ari smiled and released his hold. But immediately afterward, the man sent a punch at Ari's head. My friend reacted quickly and dodged the attack. Upon seeing that, both of the man's companions lunged in and sent their own fists through the air. Ari hopped back nimbly and the attackers missed each other by a hair. Before they pulled back to prepare for another attack, a hand rested on their arms.

I blinked with surprise. A woman had just appeared in front of the man and woman seemingly instantly. She wore the same uniform as the attendants behind the reception desks, so she must be here to stop the fight from escalating in the building.

Beside the woman stood Abby, who crossed her arms and winked at me when we locked eye contact. Was she the one who had called the woman over? I felt like thanking her, but I also felt angered that she was poking her nose into my own business.

"Sirs and Madam," the new woman said, lifting her hand off the two adventurers, "If you would like to fight, then please take it outside."

"Oh, please, beauty," the man in the middle argued, "we were just teaching the boy a few manners of the house."

"And if you would like to teach him manners, then I would also ask you to do it outside, sir."

"But is it not just a few points of politeness he needs to learn? Why must we go out—"

"Sir, you should know that the adventurer's guild can demote the status of any adventurer when they see fit, right?"

The woman held up a small metallic card, causing the person's eyes to widen in surprise. He searched his clothing for a while before the lady handed his card back.

"Please, if you and your companions could kindly step out," she said with a warm smile.

The man swiped his card back and shoved it deep into his right pocket. He stormed to the exit with his companions following him. Just before he opened the door to walk out, he turned around raised his middle finger furiously.

"You stupid fucking organization with your stupid fucking contract! Fuck! You!"

The door slammed shut, and the now quiet room resumed activity again. The woman gave me the same smile she gave the man a while ago, sending chills down my back.

"Well, now that that is cleared out of the way, my job here is done." She turned to Abby and bowed. "I must thank you for pointing those troublemakers out for us, Miss Alexandre."

Abby flipped her hair back pridefully. "It's my pleasure, Miss Lucy."

The woman turned and strolled back to the reception area. I watched her, amazed by how quickly she was able to chase those three A rankers out. Just how much power do the receptionists have here?