Chapter 355: Biased Requests

　After confirming that the surveillance pretending to be a guide was leaving after a day, Tauro quickly had Reeva at the inn check to see where his former father was.

 “…… He seems to be moving around the territorial capital right now. It would be best to let him swim until his movements calm down and we’re able to pinpoint the location of the assassin guild.”

　Reeva advised Tauro as she reported this.

“I agree. Now we need to find a large, secluded place and prepare to invite the other dragon people from there.”

“I think that would be a good final step, Tauro-dono. We know that the headquarters of the assassination guild is located in the Capital of this territory, so it should be easy enough for us to find it on our own. On the other hand, it might be a mistake to invite other dragon people at this stage. We might end up getting into trouble if they are noticed and arouse suspicious.”

　The red-haired Malak pointed this out to Tauro.

“Of course, this is just preparation. Once we have accurate information, we have to all meet up and formulate a strategy. To do so, we will have to discuss it in the town of Caxart, where everyone is waiting, because we will be conspicuous here. Until then, we cannot stand out too much here, so I think it will be important for us to gather information while taking quests at the Adventurers’ Guild and spending our time as usual.”

“…That’s true. If our side starts acting suspiciously and get snitched on again before we can gather information, there would be no operation at all.”

　Malak nodded in agreement with Tauro.

“Then, starting tomorrow, let’s take on quests at the Adventurers’ Guild as usual, complete them early, and gather information by walking around the capital in our free time.”

　When Tauro suggested this, everyone nodded in agreement.

　The next day, Tauro and his group decided to register with the Bowmen branch Adventurers’ Guild and take on quests.

“……There are a lot of unique requests unlike those of other adventurers’ guilds. ……”

　Ankh blurted out as he looked at the quests posted on the Adventurers’ Guild bulletin board.  

“Indeed ……. This one says, ‘Adventurers with poison resistance wanted for experimentation with new poison’. In the end, this is a human experiment…”

　Tauro, too, was dismayed when he saw the free-quest bulletin board.

“There doesn’t seem to be any content over here that says, ’Seeking sturdy adventurers who are confident in their endurance *Confer with the client about the content’, but there’s like no content ……”

　Ragune got a D-rank band quest and made a pun without even realizing.

“’Seems to have no content’, Ragune, you genius ……!”

　Zumei, who has the appearance of a blonde-haired pretty boy, seemed to  have gotten a kick out of Ragune’s natural puns.

“…… Zumei, you think that’s funny ……?”

　Tauro was a little skeptical of the dragon people’s sense of humor.

“Tauro-dono, there are some safe quests. It is a free quest, but it is to defeat a poisonous cockatrice. The parts to be collected are the snake part of the tail, its venom, and the chicken crown for proof of defeat.

　The red-haired Malak showed Tauro a brand new quest.

“I see…I think it was originally a C-rank quest, but if we can do it for free, it might help everyone rank up, so it might be a good idea.”

　When he received the quest from Malak, he looked it over and agreed.

“A cockatrice? If I remember correctly, it was a monster about 1 meter in size with the body of a rooster and the tail of a snake, right? Is such a monster living near the capital?──But, aren’t there a lot of poison and paralyzing requests in this branch?”

　Ankh grumbled while looking over the bulletin board.

“But fortunately, Tauro and the other members of this group are all resistant, so it should be a relatively easy job.”

　Ragune replied, interpreting Ankh’s blurting in a different way.

“No, no… I’m pointing out a quality problem on the client’s side. Compared to other cities, there are far too many clients requesting poisonous paralyzing materials.”

　Ankh lowers his voice and whispers to Ragone.

“…Is that what you mean? That’s a bias that I think reveals the dark side of this city if you ask me.”

　Ragune also lowers her voice and answers Ankh.

“Well, then, everyone’s up for this quest? Let’s just take care of it and get it over with.”

　After checking with everyone, Tauro takes it to the reception desk.

“These are the members of ‘Black Golden Wings’ who were registered earlier. Of the six, three are in the D rank band and the other three are in the E rank band ……. Is that okay? This quest was originally for the C rank band, but due to the client’s circumstances, we are treating it as a free quest due to the urgency. ……”

　The receptionist felt uneasy, but asked to confirm with Tauro, the D+ rank child leader.*

“Yes, it’s all right. Our members are more than just rank.”

　Tauro answered confidently.

　After all, of the six members, four were from the dragon race.

　Although three of them were not part of the capture group, it is certain that they are the very best and highly trusted by the clan chief.

　Even Ankh, as a former mercenary, has a good track record and is very capable, so much so that his current rank rating is far too low.

　Besides, he is more empowered by the fact that he is wearing magically-modified equipment.

　I thought there were no major blind spots.

“…Okay Then I will complete the procedure. If you feel you are in danger during the quest, please run away. And, as I’m sure you know, be prepared, okay?”

　The receptionist reminds him and hands Tauro a note.

“What’s this?”

“This is something that allows you to pass freely through checkpoints. It is a proof that the Adventurers’ Guild will cover the toll, so please bring it back properly.”

“got it”

　Tauro replied, taking the tags and leaving the Adventurers’ Guild with everyone else in tow.

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