Chapter 103: The Guild Master

“Ren-kun, I’d like a word with you.”

After the bell marking the end of work had rung, Ren was stopped by the deputy guild master, Mikaila.

“Eh?”

Victor and the rest of the Young Branch Squad had received the tags showing the request was complete and were setting off to collect their pay. The Black Wolf Band went with them. Loren and Fred were already making plans to play with the letter boards.

“We’re doing letter boards later!”

“I’m not losing next time!”

They were heading for the counter in a cheerful racket.

But Ren alone had been called back.

“Um, I was going to collect my pay as well…”

“Yes, of course. Let’s talk over this way.”

With that, Mikaila walked off behind the counter. Ren began to feel uneasy.

Did I do something wrong…?

Was it the letter-board game?

Was it suggesting the matches?

Or had he taken too many liberties with the sorting?

He followed after her nervously.

The office area on the far side of the counter, where adventurers weren’t permitted.

They passed through a room lined with shelving.

The staff were working busily away. Ren felt himself tense a little.

Further in still.

Mikaila stopped in front of a single heavy door.

Knock, knock.

“Master, I’ve brought him.”

“Come in.”

A low, thick voice.

Did she just say Master?

Ren swallowed hard.

Mikaila opened the door.

“Go on, in you go.”

Ren stepped nervously into the room.

At the far end was a large desk, and beyond it sat a man.

The man sitting on the other side of it. A bearded face. Shoulders unnaturally broad. Arms like logs. Sun-darkened skin. Old scars across his face.

There was an air of strength about him.

This is… the guild master?

“Ho.”

The guild master ran a hard look over Ren.

That gaze alone was enough to straighten Ren’s back.

“So you’re Ren.”

“Y-yes!”

His voice cracked before he could stop it. The corner of the guild master’s mouth twitched slightly.

“I’m Randolph, guild master of this Adventurers’ Guild.

No need to be so tense. I’m not going to eat you.”

“Yes…”

“Ren-kun, there really is no need to be so nervous.”

Mikaila laughed. Ren only grew more nervous.

Randolph picked up the papers on his desk.

“First, the reward for the request.”

A leather pouch was set down.

“The reward for the sorting work itself.”

And another beside it.

“The fee for devising the classification scheme.”

And another still.

“And the fee for making the reference guide boards.”

Ren’s eyes went round.

“Eh?”

“What, did you think you’d be paid the same as the other workers?”

“Um…”

He had thought exactly that.

“This time, the value is in the system you came up with,” Randolph said.

“Anyone can do the sorting.”

“But working out how to sort it’s another matter.”

Ren picked up the leather pouch.

It was heavy in his hand.

“20,000 G. Two gold coins.”

“…Eh?”

“Did you not hear me?”

“T-two gold coins!?”

His voice went up in spite of himself.

Randolph snorted.

“If anything it’s cheap.”

“But that’s…”

Ren stared at the pouch. It was more money than he had ever held in his life.

Randolph went on.

“That said, it isn’t finished yet.”

Ren lifted his eyes from the pouch and looked at Randolph’s face.

“You said so yourself.”

He tapped the reference material on the desk with a finger.

“That the ‘other’ category is still outstanding.”

“Yes.”

Ren nodded.

“Anything hard to classify has been set aside for now…”

“We’ll put out a request for it in due course,” Randolph said.

“But for now, wait.”

“Wait?”

“We watch how it gets used.”

Mikaila filled in the rest.

“We went to all that trouble organising it, after all. I want to see how the adventurers actually use it before we move on to the next stage.”

Ren was satisfied. It was true enough.

Randolph lifted another sheet of paper.

“And then, the letter boards.”

“Ah…”

“Could you add another two sets or so? We’ll put out a separate request and pay you for it.”

“Yes.”

That much he had seen coming.

But the conversation wasn’t over.

Randolph took two items from a drawer in the desk.

A char quill pen and a char-core quill pen.

They were the ones Ren had handed to Mikaila.

“It’s these I want to talk about.”

Ren’s back straightened.

Mikaila leaned forward.

“Ren-kun, these are marvellously handy.”

Mikaila’s face lit up.

“You don’t have to carry an ink bottle about, and you can write out in the field. No worrying about knocking an inkpot over.”

“Yes.”

Randolph cleared his throat.

“This quill pen here is a consumable. You can only write with the part that sticks out. But the char-core quill pen is another thing altogether.”

Ren nodded.

“Yes. That one can be used over and over.”

“Just so.”

Randolph folded his arms.

“By rights this is a matter to report to headquarters.”

Ren went perfectly still.

The Adventurers’ Guild headquarters in the Royal Capital.

He had never expected to hear a place like that mentioned.

“So here is my proposal,” Randolph said.

“For a while, I want to trial them among the guild staff.”

“Among the staff?”

“The staff use them first. How much one of them will write. How they handle.”

Mikaila took it up.

“We’ll pay for them, naturally. Which is why we’d like you to make more.”

Ren stared blankly.

Something he had made, bought from him.

Really? Something I made?

Ren’s heart began to pound. Randolph set one more small leather pouch on the desk.

“Payment for the quill pens we took.”

Ren gazed at the pouch. His hands shook.

For the first time in his life, he felt that someone had recognised something he had worked out for himself.