Chapter 508 – Evaluation and Recruitment

Tauro and his group were visiting the Adventurers’ Guild in the royal capital.

It was the day after we had spent the night in the city of Babylon—the settlement built on the surface above the dungeon—and came to the guild the following day.

“…That’s the honorary viscount who somehow got an outrageous promotion to B– rank.”

Someone inside the guild murmured as soon as they noticed Tauro and his companions enter.

Tauro and the other members of the Black Golden Wings ignored the whisper and stepped inside calmly.

Behind them, a crowd of other adventurers followed.

“It’s been a long time since I last came back to the Royal Capital’s Adventurers’ Guild—nothing’s changed! And to think we made it back safely, and this quickly, it’s all thanks to Lord Tauro. Truly, thank you!”

One of the men, speaking loudly and full of emotion, clapped Tauro on the shoulder.

The other adventurers immediately wondered if there were adventurers trying to flatter Tauro, the honorary viscount, and when they saw the faces of those people, the adventurers in the guild froze in shock for a different reason, as they recognized those faces all too well.

“““““H-Honorary Baron Kars of the A+ adventure team ‘The Five Virtues of the Dragon’ himself!?”””””””

Shock rippled through the guild.

“Wait, what? How is that possible!? They’ve been missing for over half a year!”

“So they’ve finally returned from their expedition? But why are they so friendly with Black Golden Wings?”

“H-Hey, look! There’s also the—A rank ‘Light Tiger’, A rank ‘Blue Tortoise’, and even B+ rank ‘Heavenly Flying Horse’! These are all top-class adventurers from the kingdom!”

Before long, everyone in the guild was surrounding Tauro’s group and the elite adventurers accompanying them, staring in awe.

Tauro and his companions looked slightly uncomfortable about the unfamiliar attention they were receiving, but Kars—leader of The Five Virtues of the Dragon—was unfazed. Putting an arm around Tauro’s shoulders, he winked at the equally surprised receptionists and led him straight into one of the private rooms in the back.

“Oh, this is the first time I’ve seen the A-rank ‘Light Tiger’ before!”

“Forget that—look at ‘The Five Virtues of the Dragon’! They’re said to be the strongest A+ adventurer team in the kingdom! Kars-san is rumored to be powerful enough to easily become a legendary S-rank!”

“But still, why are such legends hanging around with Black Golden Wings—a team that only just got promoted to B–rank and whose leader just became an honorary viscount?”

““““Who knows…”””””

The ordinary adventurers could only whisper in confusion, unable to make sense of how Black Golden Wings, a team that had been on the same level as them not long ago, had suddenly become honorary title holders and we’re on such friendly terms with some of the kingdom’s greatest heroes whose whereabouts had been unknown.

A special room in the back of the Royal Capital Adventurer’s Guild.

There, the elite adventurers—Kars’s ‘Five Virtues of the Dragon’ and the others—who had been diving into the dungeon just until the other day, were reporting on their half-year expedition and emptying their magic storage items to tally up the treasures and artifacts they had collected in the dungeon.

Tauro and his group were accompanying them.

“Even so, I never thought we’d actually be able to return to the surface so quickly…”

Kars, having delegated the accounting to his teammates, sat beside Tauro, exclaiming this sentimentally.

“Hahaha. As expected of first-rate adventurers—you must have incredible luck,” Tauro joked lightly.

Kars and I have been hitting it off since yesterday and have been talking nonstop.

Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that Kars had taken a liking to Tauro.

“Oh, I’m confident in my luck, but in this case, rather than my luck, I think it was your fortune, Lord Tauro, that pulled us through. After all, thirty percent of our treasure haul is going to you as a reward! Hahaha!”

He roared with laughter as he watched his comrades pile up glittering treasures and rare artifacts from their storage magic one after another.

“Would you like me to lower my share a little?”

Tauro offered, feeling a twinge of guilt as he looked at the enormous pile of treasure—it was quite a fortune.

“No need! Even thirty percent is far too little for what you did. If we had continued forward recklessly, we would have been wiped out, and even if we were to turn back, it would’ve taken us months. Considering that, it’s a bargain. Besides, that Spatial Transfer ability of yours… none of us have ever seen anything like it in all our years of adventuring. You more than earned your share. I’m truly glad you appeared when you did. Thank you.”

Kars smiled warmly, watching the guild staff hurriedly working to appraise and record the mountain of loot, and grateful for Tauro’s presence.

“But you’ll still lose some to taxes and handling fees from the kingdom and the guild, right?” Tauro asked.

“Naturally. The dungeon is under royal management—we’re only allowed to enter thanks to the kingdom’s permission and funding. It is only because of the existence of the Adventurer’s Guild that we adventurers can live proudly. We adventurers should pay our dues—it’s only right.”

He grinned as he said it.

Meanwhile, Aeris and the others were listening in awe to the stories of how each treasure had been obtained, their eyes sparkling as they helped the guild staff sort the items.

Every so often, cheers of “Whoa!” or “Incredible!” erupted.

“Lord Tauro, how about joining The Five Virtues of the Dragon? In fact, since you’re an honorary viscount, I wouldn’t mind hand over my leadership position to you.” Kars suddenly offered.

His unexpected proposal drew instant reactions from the other leaders in the room.

“Wait a minute, Kars! I won’t let you get ahead of me!”

“That’s right! We agreed to discuss this after we finished settling the accounts!”

“That’s right! If Kars takes him first, my B+ team will have no chance at all!”

It seemed that the team leaders had already been secretly discussing how to recruit Tauro.

Tauro scratched his cheek, smiling wryly.

“Ahaha… I’m honored by the offers, truly. But I’m the leader of Black Golden Wings, so I’ll have to decline.”

Even as he politely refused, he felt deeply grateful that some of the kingdom’s most renowned adventurers valued him so highly.