Chapter 546: A Promising Local Young Adventurer

That morning.

At the eastern gate of the city of Swen, three luxurious adventurer teams from the guild had gathered: the A-rank team Blue Thunder Beast; the popular local young B-rank team Silver Twin Magi; and the B-rank team Black-Golden Wings, a team known by name throughout the city for having defeated a notorious fake adventurer team, though they themselves were rarely seen.

Because of this, they became the center of attention for other adventurers heading out on quests early that morning.

“Th-that’s Jack, the leader of Blue Thunder Beast…! It’s been a while since I last saw him, but wow, his presence is on a whole different level…!”

“And there’s Silver Twin Magi, led by the twin sisters Gemma and Gemis—young and rising stars among the local young adventurers. What an impressive lineup.”

“So the ones over there must be the real Black-Golden Wings. The fake team looked stronger, though—are they really okay? There are even two kids mixed in?”

“Either way, that’s an incredible group heading out on a quest together. What kind of quest could it be?”

“We’ll find out after the completion report. That’s how high-level quests work.”

“Seriously… so cool! And here we are, stuck with F-rank herb-gathering. I want to climb up to that rank as soon as possible!”

To ordinary adventurers, high-ranking adventurers were only a handful of people who had seized a rare measure of success. From veterans who had given up on climbing higher to complete beginners, they were dazzlingly in everyone’s eyes.

“There are a lot of adventurers out this early today. We’re drawing attention, so let’s talk details while we move toward our destination.”

Jack, the leader of theBlue Thunder Beast, was worried that if they stood out, information about the ancient ruins they had discovered might be leaked, so once everyone was gathered, he urged them to leave immediately.

Both Silver Twin Magi and Tauro’s Black-Golden Wings nodded in agreement.

The three teams jogged away from the eastern gate. Once they entered a less-traveled road, they slowed their pace and headed toward the Antas Mountain Range.

“From here, it’ll take about ten days at best to reach the destination. I won’t give you the exact location yet. As requested, I want your team to focus mainly on supporting us on-site. The ancient ruins aren’t a dungeon, but they lie deep underground beyond a cave system. We would like to conserve our strength as much as possible until we arrive there. After all, our real objective is waiting at the end.”

Jack explained part of the mission to everyone.

“The real objective?” Gemma, leader of Silver Twin Magi, asked.

“Yeah. There’s a guardian protecting the ancient ruins. When we discovered it last time, we were already drained—items, stamina, magic power, all of it. We turned back without fighting. This time, with your help, we plan to reach the ruins with our strength intact and focus everything on defeating the guardian. That’s why we asked for your support.”

“…I see. I understand. In that case, could you briefly tell us about any powerful monsters we might encounter along the way, and the ones you fought underground? We’ve only just arrived in this region, so we don’t know much about it yet.”

Tauro asked Jack.

“You shouldn’t need to ask about monsters on the road if you’re really first-class adventurers,” Gemma interjected provocatively before Jack could answer.

As the more outspoken twin, Gemma often spoke for the taciturn Gemis, who nodded beside her in agreement.

“Rather than wasting stamina and magic on unnecessary movements, wouldn’t it be better to defeat enemies efficiently and escort Jack and the others safely to their real objective?” Tauro replied calmly, refusing to take the bait.

Aeris and the others watched Gemma’s taunts with warm eyes that seemed to say, ” You’re so young.’’

Though the twins Gemma and Gemis were nineteen, the other members—Jimin, who handled a one-handed sword and shield, and Booder, a ranger who also served as a pharmacist—were in their late twenties, around Ankh’s age.

Even so, for a B-rank team, their average age was on the low side.

That said, the members of Black-Golden Wings were simply far younger.

Tauro and Zion were both only fifteen and still minors; Aeris was seventeen; Ragune was twenty; and only Ankh, at twenty-eight, was in the prime age range for a B-rank adventurer and had the air of a seasoned professional.

Yet Tauro, the leader, held the title of honorary viscount, and every member of his team possessed titles as well, so even though they were all B-rank teams, the difference in status was overwhelming.

Even Jack, leader of the A-rank team, held neither a noble rank nor a title.

Still, the Silver Twin Magi had once hit it off with the fake Black-Golden Wings, and they took pride in being the most talked-about young team in Swen’s adventurer guild. Because of that, they found the real Black-Golden Wings utterly intolerable.

Gemma ground her teeth at Tauro’s perfectly reasonable response, snorted “Hmph!”, and had her team put some distance between themselves and the others.

As they separated, Jimin—the sword-and-shield user—bowed apologetically, which left a strong impression.

“…Well, I’m not saying you have to force yourself, but this is part of the job. Just get along well enough that it doesn’t become a problem on the job,” Jack said with a wry smile to Tauro.

“Haha… We haven’t done anything, though,” Tauro replied with a matching wry smile.

“Those twins have been pampered as ‘genius twin mages’ ever since they were kids. They were also the youngest top-tier adventurers in the city, so your arrival probably sparked some jealousy. Still, don’t worry—they’ll do their job properly when it comes to actual combat. Now then, about your earlier question—”

As he spoke, Jack began explaining, while they walked, about the powerful monsters they were likely to encounter on the way and those they had previously fought underground.

From time to time, Forest, the team’s priest, would step in and add something to supplement Jack’s explanations.

Tauro and Aeris would then ask further questions, and so the group continued onward along the road.