Mastermind City

It was still before noon when Genken and Locus left the building.

The hotel was surrounded by various stores that sold clothes, furniture, tools, cosmetics, and every kind of food imaginable by Locus.

"This way, you can just walk out the door if you need something and don't have to wait for me and my ability."

The guild was at the end of the street. It was a building of tremendous measures, surrounded by smaller but still tall buildings that formed the limits of the location.

"Not every aspect of adventurer administration gets covered inside the guild's main building. Take the transfer of one's progress as an example. There is no real reason to waste precious space inside the guild for that."

Genken drew an imaginary circle in the air.

"Those things can be done outside of the guild in those offices that you can see standing around it."

"Why doesn't the Berthram Guild do it like this?"

"They also have some small offices, but the main reason is the guild's size. The Mastermind Guild has a lot more on their plate and therefore distributes the work."

The two of them approached the main building. It was made out of bare stones that shone in a beige-brown tone. The many windows were all adorned by artful sculptures and patterns.

The strong Aura that lay behind the gates, whose top Locus couldn't fathom to reach even if he stood on Genken's shoulders, was pouring out of the building. The reason was obvious: The gates were open.

"They rarely close the gates. Lots of adventurers go in and out of here all day. If they had to open those huge things every time, lots of time and energy would be wasted."

The building's inside was several times bigger than that of the Berthram Guild. There were different counters and boards for different kinds of missions and administrative concerns.

The ceiling was covered with paintings and chandeliers and supported by about a dozen marble columns. Almost every part of the structure was made out of marble.

"Wow."

"I know. This building feels like it's worth as much as Unipolar City."

The adventurers inside were all equipped with shiny armor or expensive gear.

"This will probably not be the last time we stand inside of this hall."

That meant something like, 'Look around here some other time.'.

"How about we pay a visit to the place of tomorrow's event?"

Genken turned around to leave. Locus, who was still stunned, followed shortly after.

One teleportation later, the two of them were standing by the side of a road leading out of the city.

"We are more than 20 miles away from the city's boundaries."

"This is where we'll attack the carriage?"

"Correct. But don't take it too lightly. The fact that every Monday, money gets delivered to the smaller cities is far from being held a secret. The carriage will probably be guarded accordingly."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that there will probably be either a strong Officer or a Lieutnant present."

"And how strong would you say I am?"

"Ranks aren't distributed just based on strength."

"Still, how strong am I?"

Genken sighted.

"If we just go by skill set, you'd rival a strong Lieutenant. That's how strong I made you. I assumed you'd get to Commander level along the way."

"In other words, you think that I can take on the carriage's security?"

Genken nodded.

"Great! Then there's nothing to worry about. How about we continue with our sightseeing trip?"

"Well, if you insist..."

Locus spent the rest of the day getting shown around the city by Genken and trying some food here and there.

By the time it got dark, they returned to the hotel and had dinner in the hotel's very own dining room. It wasn't cheap, but Genken paid for it, so Locus didn't mind following Genken's wish to try it out.

Stuffed with noodles, the both of them went to bed. Tomorrow would be the day that they launched their first attack on the Mastermind Guild.