Chapter 55: Luggage Carrier ⑬

As the luggage carrier, I carried some of Hoss’s luggage. However, given my build and strength, carrying all of it was impossible.

“Sorry about this. I’m the luggage carrier, but…”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Do you always bring this much stuff on expeditions?”
“It’s a bit more than usual this time.”
“Because of me?”
“That’s part of it. Don’t worry. I’m the cook, after all. Can you cook, Wof?”
“Yes, though just basic meals for myself.”
“That’s good to hear. Those two don’t cook at all.”
“I’m very curious about what kind of meals we’ll have.”
“Then I’ll have you help me out.”
“Of course!”

Dungeon cooking—something to look forward to.

Incidentally, I offered to carry Mineha’s luggage, but she firmly refused.

She gave me a sharp glare, as if to say, “Are you some kind of pervert wanting to carry a maiden’s belongings?”

I mean, carrying things is literally my job… but, well, I could see where she was coming from.

Not long after we set out, a forest came into view. We stopped nearby to take a break.

“The dungeon we’re investigating this time is deep within that forest.” 

Axe explained.

“Does it take long to get to the entrance?” 

Mineha asked as she sat on a nearby rock.

For the record, she hadn’t been walking—or flying—up until now.

She had been sitting on my shoulder the entire time. There was a reason for that.

Given her size, walking alongside us was impractical. Our pace was simply too different.

She could fly, but prolonged flight apparently drained her stamina.

So being carried by someone was the most efficient option. And among our group, I was the only one capable of doing so.

Of course, I couldn’t admit this out loud. Neither could she, but…
I couldn’t help feeling a little nervous about the softness of her sitting on my shoulder.

Also, though I couldn’t say this either, Mineha was heavier than I expected.

That said, given she was wearing armor, she wasn’t unreasonably heavy.

That armor of hers didn’t seem to be made of iron. If it were, she wouldn’t even be able to move.

Though she was heavy, the softness of her sitting on my shoulder balanced it out, so I didn’t really mind.

Girls’ softness really is incredible—borderline a universal truth, I’d say.

Axis looked up at the sky and answered Mineha’s question.

“It’s about midday now, so we should arrive before dusk.”

“That long, huh? So, are you going to brief us about the dungeon?”

“Ah, right. This dungeon is one of the many that appeared after the seismic anomaly. It’s a small dungeon, with only three floors underground. This will be the third exploration attempt.”

“The third? What does that mean?”

“Different groups are assigned to explore it in stages. There are four total expeditions planned.”

“Is this a guild request?”

“Yes.”

“What were the results of the first two expeditions?”

“Both reported no abnormalities.”

“Then why are we even going? That should’ve been settled after the first expedition.”

Mineha furrowed her brow, looking frustrated. Axe responded with a wry smile.

“You’re not wrong. However, the guild decided on four expeditions. After us, another group will explore the dungeon the same way we will.”

“That makes no sense. The results are already in. Why keep repeating the process? Dungeons may be dangerous, but it’s clear there hasn’t been any significant change.”

“I agree with that sentiment.”

“So do I. It feels like a waste, no matter how you look at it.”

“Yeah, no argument here…”

A heavy silence fell over us. Everyone seemed to share the same sense of frustration and confusion.

It was hard to argue—it all felt pointless.

Finally, I broke the silence.

“Maybe it’s to use up the budget.”

Everyone turned to me, their gazes sharp.

“What do you mean by that?”
“What budget?”
“Hm, interesting.”
“What’s this ‘budget’ thing?”

Mineha and Hoss had the same reaction.

This is just speculation… I prefaced, preparing to explain.

“The Adventurers’ Guild isn’t a government organization, but it does receive substantial funding from the state. This funding is distributed to local branches as part of a supplementary budget, which they use to issue various guild requests.”

“Supplementary budget…?”

“I see. So, this request is part of that budget usage.”

“So the guild’s funded by the government? Makes sense, given its origins.”

“But how does that explain the unnecessary requests?” 

Mineha asked, still skeptical.

“This supplementary budget must be fully utilized. If any funds are left unused, the budget allocation for the next cycle might be reduced.”

“What?! So being efficient means they get less money?”

“It’s because being efficient shows they need less funding. That’s how the system works.”

“That’s ridiculous! Doing a good job gets you punished?”

“Exactly. That’s why they create requests that seem pointless, just to use up the budget.”

Axe nodded at my explanation.

“That makes sense. The requests don’t come first; the budget does. They plan how much they’ll spend, then create requests to match that amount.”

“What?! Shouldn’t it be the other way around?!” 

Mineha exclaimed, clearly outraged.

“It should, but it’s not. These requests aren’t about adventurers; they’re about the budget.”

“That’s corrupt. No wonder people hate the guild.”

“Agreed. Even my master used to complain about how pointless some requests were.”

“No wonder the guild gets such a bad reputation.”

“Well, that’s just my theory.” 

I added, trying to downplay it.

Still, I was pretty sure I was right.

The guild’s reputation was bad for a reason.

The more I learned, the clearer it became that so many requests were wasteful and nonsensical. A little digging revealed the guild’s reliance on government funding, which explained a lot.

Support—meaning financial support. I see.

That explains the theory I’ve had for a while now.

“Tch, if they’re going to pull nonsense like this, they should at least raise the reward.”
“Exactly.”
“Now that I’ve heard all this, the reward feels even more ridiculous.”

Axe and the others were clearly irritated. I couldn’t help but ask.

“Is it really that low?”
“Low pay is one of the biggest reasons guild requests are disliked.” 

Axe explained.
“Of course. Even the reward for this request is half of what similar ones usually offer.”
“Wow… Then why did you accept it?”

Mineha answered.

“Because it helps improve our ranking.”

Ah, that made sense immediately.

“Oh, so that’s how it works.” 

I said.

It seemed that rank advancement in the guild depended on contributions rather than skill alone.
That sounded risky—shouldn’t promotions be based on merit and ability?

“Still, you’re oddly well-informed.” 

Mineha said, half-impressed, half-skeptical, as she eyed me.

“You’re almost too informed. Are you really just thirteen?” 

“You’re like my eighth sister—remarkably insightful. This has been… enlightening.” 

Hoss chimed in.

“Reality I’d rather not have known.” 

“Haha… I just read about it in a book once.” 

I replied, laughing awkwardly.

Of course, the truth was that this knowledge came from memories of my past life.
I wasn’t sure if I’d been a bureaucrat, but I certainly hadn’t been a child.

With the break over, we ventured into the forest.
We encountered only a few monsters along the way and eventually reached the dungeon entrance.

It was a gaping hole in the middle of the forest, dark and foreboding.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter