Guided Off (1)

Another day to kill.

Or whatever Nine calls it.

After finishing up our morning routine, we had breakfast. Prune and Liliath whipped up some shrimp carbonara and spaghetti aglio olio with grilled salmon. The smell that filled the entire apartment? Mouthwatering. Even Rin looked restless.

Today's schedule was like this. Liliath and Rin would go for an expedition this time. Nine will accompany Prune to the church. I heard Nataline will be discharged today; Nine also wanted to check on Arine's condition.

Coming to the proof that the rescue quest was complete.. Srhro said to leave it to her. There are some things she needs to prepare before she go to the guild. Nine will claim the rewards.

One more thing– that widget came. Unknown approved it– I didn't think he'd actually do that.

Okay. So while bringing the two heroes on a tour, I'll also stop by the meat house and pass the butcher a corpse or two. I'll exchange the rest for points.

Points you say? Yeah. What I requested was a Pointsexchange widget. And the 'small fries' in our inventory sell for about 40 points. Goblins corpses are worth 5 points a pop. So we don't waste resources anymore– and it's environmentally friendly too hooray! I just wish Tea was still alive to do the killing for us.. that would've been absolutely amazing.

Though.. there was a slight chance we'd go overboard and destroy the ecosystem so there's something to be fortunate about.

After a great breakfast; Jennifer-chan sent off to school by Sid-san while Miss Margrett set up shop, the rest of us dispersed.

It's just me this time.

The meeting location is the adventurer's guild: Corry's Friendliess. It's privately owned– so the management method might be different.

The first thing that I saw was that big ass billboard with 'Corry's Friendliess' painted on it. I liked the design somewhat, the patterns and symmetry are well done. It really grabs your attention.

Unlike the Sea Gold Guild that I'm affiliated with, the entrance to this guild was a little less tone. Stepping in, I noticed how homey the place felt. White cobblestone walls, sparkling planked floors, wooden counters polished to a shine, plenty of windows and lights and numerous guild awards displayed just behind the reception for everyone to see. I wonder why Sea Gold didn't do that?

Maybe they have a different marketing strategy– no idea.

Anyways, the adventurers here were chatting about in a lively mood. There's no instructor system in place, and I feel like the adventurers here are younger. Most of them looked like they had just come out of grad school. Though, not with books, but swords, bows and spears.

There wasn't anything like a separate cafeteria section. The food service was integrated in the walk-in hall it seems.

I checked my map and found Aoki and Takata looking at the quest board. Huh, the design looks a lot better than the one at Sea Gold. And the way the quests are posted aren't as complex.

"Hello? Morning, Aoki-san, Takata-san."

"Eh, oh.. you scared me there.." Aoki flinched, and turned to me.

What.. so my lack of intention led to a successful scare? Makes no sense.

"Good morning," Takata greeted.

"Yeah, so are you two good?"

"In a way," Aoki yawned, "It's tiring to wake up so early every time."

The current time was close to 8-something. So they're a late riser? Huh? Don't they have to wake up early for training or something?

"What time does training in the castle start?"

"Around 8 in the morning.. I'm speaking in terms of hours, this world uses a sundial system similar to modern times," Takata explained.

"Alright. So have you two had breakfast?"

""No.""

"Oh.."

I had mine already.. like seriously? Not yet? You know, nevermind. Maybe it's because we're going along with Jennifer's schedule, she has school so early breakfast is inevitable .

I accompanied the two for breakfast.

"You know, I saw this interesting quest to subjugate a Horde of Horned Slugs in the Salicys Village. It's got a good pay."

"Huh? Really?"

Funny as it sounds, I've never really considered going for these long-tripped quests. Sea Gold does have these but because our movements were restricted to Erudite kingdom, long term trips were not a viable option..

Scrap that. I think we've been making excuses.

"How far is Salicys Village from here?" I asked. I seriously did no research on this world's geography.. oh wait. Here it is, on map, Salicys village. It's not that far, maybe half a day trip if we really tried.

"We should take the quest. Just in case someone else gets to it first. Since there's a one week commission period, we still have enough time to complete it if we rested today."

"That's a good idea."

The two heroes were having a balanced meal of salad, meat and potatoes in gravy. The cost was higher than the food sold at Sea Gold.. but the variety of dishes here definitely won by far.

"Here are your bills."

"Oh, thanks." Aoki paid the waitress that came with their last item– a side of grilled fish chips.

"Try some," Takata shook the basket of chips.

"Um.. yeah, thanks."

"It feels improper to eat when you're not eating, are you sure you don't want anything?" Aoki asked.

"I'm good.."

If only they knew I ate a full course spaghetti bolognese and carbonara this morning..

"Does this place have a no outside food policy?"

"Hah? I don't know actually, maybe not?" Aoki said as he downed a forkful of salad.

"Nevermind then." I actually thought about sharing some of the leftovers stored in the inventory with them.

I don't know how much of an issue this is but.. just in case. I wouldn't want the spaghetti to be confiscated– not that it would. But I'm not even a member of this guild so.. it might be impolite.

I mean like.. this guild feels very proper and uptight. There's like something about it that just screams law and order. Not that Sea Gold guild is bad but.. the mood here is just a lot lighter.

"Reina-san, Yoriko-san, Miu-chan, Yomi-san, good morning!" Takata waved.

"Hm? Oh, morning."

"Morning.. "

"Good morning."

"Breakfast so early? You found another party member?"

A group of four girls came and dropped by.

"Ah no, he's not another party member. He's the guy I told you about last time," Aoki said.. wait.

"What did you say?" I asked.

"About how you were going to take us on a tour."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Sakurai Reina, party leader for our group."

"Takahashi Miu, nice to meet you."

"I'm Nagushi Yomi."

"Chiba Yoriko is the name," this one pointed at herself, being the most chuni of the four.

The four of them introduced themselves.. it'll take a while for me to remember them all so I'll have to depend on you [APPRAISAL].

"So where' you going after this? Do you mind if we joined you? We haven't had breakfast yet either."

"Sure."

A waiter helped out with grabbing the chairs. The table was large enough to accommodate all of us, it just became more cramped, that's all.

I stayed silent. Like.. no shit. I'm curious what exactly Aoki told the girls about me– my group in general. Hopefully he didn't say anything like how we have direct connections with Bleu? Or anything of that sorts? He doesn't seem like that guy but who knows..

I'm getting myself into a huge mess. Help.

Swept by the flow, I also ordered some light tid bits to eat. A simple basket of fries and a warm cup of coffee.

"Owh? How about joint teamwork then?"

"That's a good idea, what do you think?"

"Then we can also take on the other quests on the way. I think I saw a caravan escort one."

"Which one?"

"The one about the merchant who wants to bring a large amount of goods to his store. I don't know the details."

"Miu-chan! You have to try this!" Yoriko said.

"Hm? D-Delishious!"

"Noel-san.."

"Yeah?" I turned to Aoki. My hand supported my chin as I grazed on a fry.

"Well.." he looked troubled.

Well, well..