The Clumsy Researcher

Leading up the front, Alex knocked on the door and waited to see if their employer was still residing inside. Almost immediately, sounds of crashing came from within the house. The door quickly flung open, startling the adventurers as they were greeted with the sight of a disheveled-haired young man.

The person in front of them had bags under his eyes and looked to have just hit his thirties. A pair of glasses dangled precariously on his face, being in immediate danger of falling off. The man wore robes that were completely blue in color, with an insignia patterned on it that suggested he was part of an organization, similar to the guards they met at the entrance.

The man's disheveled hair was in a lopsided position, and gave the impression that he just woke up after resting his head on one side of a bed.

"Um, excuse me," Alex awkwardly greeted when he witnessed the man's appearance. "We are adventurers who have accepted your request."

"My request?" the man repeated with glazed eyes behind the lens of his glasses.

Leo and his friend shared a glance with each other as they wondered if they had really come to the proper residence. After all, it was possible that they could have misinterpreted the address by mistake.

A few seconds passed as the young man tapped a finger on his chin in contemplation, glancing upwards to nothing in particular. Finally, his glazed eyes flashed with comprehension, and life seemed to have returned to his body again.

"AH!" he shouted loudly in joy as if awakened from a stupor. "Yes, yes, yes, of course! Please, make your way in!"

Leaving the door ajar, he swiftly returned back into the house as the adventurers were left dumbfounded by their employer's actions. Still standing outside the entrance, they could hear sounds of banging and items crashing onto the floor as the person they just met chaotically rummaged through his home.

"What--?" Alex was too confused to finish his sentence.

"Uhh, how about we just follow inside for now." Judy made a suggestion before eventually striding forward. "Let's first confirm if this person really is the one who hired us."

It seemed that she held some reservations of their supposed employer from just the opening encounter. Indeed, from what the other members have already seen, this individual did not leave a very reliable first impression. Though, that could perhaps change.

Stepping inside, the group of three found themselves forced to carefully sidestep several objects as they made their way to the deeper parts of the house. Although the outside looked a little worn, it had at least seemed to be in decent order. But the interior was a nightmare in comparison, with several numbers of books, items, and countless rubbish strewn about in a disorganized mess. If that wasn't enough, most of the regular furniture were carelessly scattered all over the room, showing further signs of lacking habitability.

Neither Leo nor his friends had ever entered such an overturned home before. Part of them were quite curious about their employer's living habits.

"Sorry about the mess!" the person apologized, having shown up in their sights again in just a short span of time. In his hands were a box of what appeared to be handheld tools and some research papers. "I know I should probably have cleaned up but I have a bad habit of leaving things lying around. And lately, it's gotten worse thanks to my new research assignment."

He moved around the house with relative ease, evading the most difficult areas, no doubt in part due to his prolonged experience of having dealt with this environment before. Using his elbows, the young man pushed away a stack of books to the floor to make space on a wooden table counter. After placing his box there, the researcher hurriedly fixed his glasses and turned around to face the team.

"Let's gather around here," the man said with his best attempt at a smile.

"Eh, are there any chairs here?" Leo asked as he struggled his way closer whilst keeping his eyes on the table ahead of him.

The rest of the team were also facing similar difficulties getting through. In this environment, moving with companions is much more difficult than going alone.

"Oh, uh, the chairs shouldn't be far away. Give me one sec." The man turned back and silently rummaged through the surroundings again. But as he searched for the chairs, he couldn't help noticing the adventurers' struggle nearby. "Er, maybe I should clear away some of this stuff first?"

"That would be helpful," Judy agreed with her shoulder pressed against a stack of books.

A couple moments had passed, and the group of adventurers and their employer finally managed to make an open enough space to gather around. They were currently facing each other in a relatively narrow enclosure next to a circular table.

"Ahem," the researcher coughed. "You people accepted my quest, correct?"

"That's right," Alex confirmed. He placed the quest notice in the middle of the table next to the box. "You previously mentioned you had a research assignment. I take it that's the reason you sought out our guild's assistance?"

"Well, to tell the truth, I initially hired some mercenaries for the job," the researcher admitted while rearranging his glasses. "But they weren't able to handle the exploration."

"It says here that there are some monsters that may be encountered," Judy followed up, referring to the information provided by the notice. "Was that the reason for the mercenaries' failure?"

"You guessed it." The man slightly leaned forward in a humble manner and extended his right hand. "Ah, I should probably have revealed my name earlier. I'm the researcher, Brian. How do you do?"

The adventurers each shook his hand politely as they briefly took the time to introduce themselves. After a round of greetings, they then started focusing on the next discussion.

"Will we be going on the exploration today?" Leo asked one of the most important questions.

"Yes." Brian reached out to take one of the slips of paper in the box. Clearing his throat, he spoke in a formal tone, "The thing is, I am associated with an organization in Everrain tasked with studying its ecosystems and magical phenomenon. During an escapade, one of the members of my organization unearthed a new section of the land with evidence of unforeseen wildlife.

"The quest I've handed out is to help me enter that location and bring back as much needed research data as I can."

"So, this organization specifically assigned you with the task of exploration," Leo inferred. But there was something he was curious about. "Is it okay for you to be seeking outside support? Do they not have other members that can assist you?"

The researcher named Brian awkwardly twisted his head to the side. There was a mark of shame on his face.

"My circumstances are, well, a bit special..." He began twiddling his thumbs while still averting his eyes from the team. "You see, I've often been considered to be a pretty clumsy researcher to my associates. Because of this, no one was willing to be my partner."

"So you're doing this completely by yourself?" Alex raised an eyebrow.

Brian nodded as he turned his head back to the table again. He was keeping his eyes lowered this time, however.

"It's a bit of an embarrassing situation, but that's how it is.

"In any case, this could be considered a chance for me to prove myself. If all goes well, I can probably raise my rank to the higher-ups."

"That still doesn't seem very appropriate." Judy didn't look very happy. Despite the reservations she previously kept, she still had some sympathy for a guy that was seemingly abandoned by his co-workers. "Can't your organization offer you any other form of assistance? Surely they can't just give you an assignment and leave it at that?"

"The higher-ups did allow me to take some expenses," Brian said, raising his hands defensively. "I'm using that as part of the reward for this quest."

Leo sighed from his chair, realizing that this wasn't gonna get anywhere.

"Okay, we understand." He stood up from the table and faced his employer. "Whatever your situation, we're still willing to offer our best support to help you. But I do hope that you'll be able to listen to our orders when the time comes. Is that alright, Brian?"

"Of course." Brian nodded repeatedly as he stood up as well. "Although I can't promise that I can properly defend myself, I'll do my best not to be a burden."

"Don't worry. It's our job now to protect you," Alex reassured the researcher. "Just leave it to us."

After that, the group traded a few more words on other trivial matters before getting ready to head outside.

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Resting leisurely in her seat, Sarah was humming a melodious tune as she happily observed her surroundings. The water flowed calmly underneath and the above sky continued to remain quite sunny. Close by, she could even hear some kids playing a game with each other in the city's neighborhood.