Chapter 546: A Promising Local Young Adventurer

That morning.

At the eastern gate of Swen, three impressive adventurer teams had gathered: the A-minus team Blue Thunder Beast; the popular local B-minus team Silver Twin Mages; and the B-minus team Black-Gold Wings, whose name had become famous throughout the city after they defeated the notorious impostor group even though the real team itself had rarely been seen there.

As a result, the three teams drew the attention of the other adventurers heading out on quests that morning.

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

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

“Then the ones over there must be the real Black-Gold Wings. The fake team looked stronger, though—are these really the real ones? There are even two kids with them.”

“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 among the small handful who had seized rare success. From veterans who had given up on climbing higher to complete beginners, they were dazzling figures.

“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, leader of Blue Thunder Beast, worried that lingering around while attracting attention might leak information about the ancient ruin they had discovered. Once everyone had gathered, he urged the group to leave immediately.

Both Silver Twin Mages and Black-Gold 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 our destination. I still won’t tell you the exact location. As the request states, I want your teams to focus mainly on supporting us along the way. The ancient ruin isn’t a dungeon, but it lies deep underground beyond a cave system. We want to conserve as much strength as possible until we reach it, because our true objective is waiting at the end.”

Jack explained part of the mission to everyone.

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

“Yeah. A guardian protects the ancient ruin. When we found the place last time, our items, stamina, and magical power were already badly depleted, so we turned back without fighting it. This time, with your support, we intend to reach the ruin with our strength intact and put everything into defeating the guardian. That’s why we recruited support teams.”

“…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.

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

As the more outspoken twin, Gemma usually spoke for the quieter 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 indulgent expressions that seemed to say, “She’s young.”

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

Even so, their team’s average age was low for a B-minus team.

Black-Gold Wings, however, was younger still.

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

Yet Tauro, their leader, was an honorary viscount, and every member of Black-Gold Wings had also received an honorary title from the kingdom. In social status, the difference between the two B-minus teams was overwhelming.

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

Still, Silver Twin Mages had gotten along with the fake Black-Gold Wings and took pride in being the most talked-about young team at the Swen Branch. Because of that, the real Black-Gold Wings were difficult for them to accept.

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 moved away, Jimin—the sword-and-shield user—bowed apologetically, leaving a strong impression on Tauro and the others.

“…Well, I’m not saying you have to force yourselves to be friends, but this is still a job. Just get along well enough that it doesn’t interfere with the work,” Jack said to Tauro with a wry smile.

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

“Those twins have been praised as ‘genius twin mages’ since they were children. They were also the youngest top-class adventurers in the city, so your arrival probably stirred up some jealousy. Still, don’t worry—they do their jobs properly once the fighting starts. Now then, about your earlier question—”

As they walked, Jack began explaining the powerful monsters they were likely to encounter on the route and the monsters his team had fought underground during its previous expedition.

From time to time, Fores, Blue Thunder Beast’s forest priest, added details to Jack’s explanation.

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