Kays Translations

Chapter 57: The Adventurer’s Guild – Ravenstadt Branch

Three days had passed since Heralda’s interview, and that morning, Mother and the others were already bustling about, preparing for the ennoblement ceremony.

From the moment she awoke, Mother followed a meticulously planned routine: breakfast first, then a warm bath to ease the body into the day. Afterward came a massage using scrubs and fragrant oils, followed by a brief rest. Then she changed into her dress, styled her hair with careful precision, and finally applied her makeup.

This time, her ensemble was a carefully coordinated creation, blending ready-made pieces into something elegant. The dress itself was a high-neck, single-piece gown of soft, pale blue, embroidered with delicate white vines. Over it was a sky-blue overskirt trimmed in lace, and her shoulders were draped with a silk shawl that shimmered softly in the morning light.

“—You look beautiful.”

“Hehe, thank you,” she replied with a gentle smile.

Even though she had polished herself to perfection for the ceremony, it was astonishing that what normally took her an hour now took six. Yet, seeing her like this, I could understand why it was worth every painstaking minute. The transformation was breathtaking.

“Tine-sama, the carriage has arrived to pick you up.”

“Yes, I’ll be ready shortly.”

We had our own carriage at home, of course, but it wasn’t suitable for wearing a gown, and preparing a box carriage on short notice was impossible. So, we had asked the Marquis to provide a carriage for the occasion.

“I’m off,” Mother said, her tone calm yet poised.

“Go safely,” I replied.

Only Mother and Heralda, who would accompany her, would ride in the carriage. Stefana stayed behind at home. It wouldn’t do to bring a guard to a ceremony hosted by the Marquis—it would only suggest a lack of trust. Some things simply couldn’t be helped.

“Let’s depart,” the coachman called, and the carriage began its slow, steady progress toward the administrative hall.

“Well, now that Mother and the others have left safely, we can get going too.”

“Are you really sure I don’t need to come along?” Stefana asked, her voice laced with worry.

“We’ll be traveling mostly with Rugena from now on, so it’s good to get used to it while we can,” I explained.

Besides, since I had been entrusted with tasks inside the mansion, I needed to prove my own abilities and gain recognition from those around me. I couldn’t hide behind Mother forever.

“I understand. Be careful,” Stefana said, her overprotectiveness barely hidden.

“We’ll be fine. We’ll see you later,” I replied.

With a wave from the slightly overprotective Stefana, Rugena and I set out on foot, leaving the mansion behind.

We first walked for about an hour from our home in the Fuki district to the plaza in front of the administrative hall. From there, we boarded a patrol carriage and traveled roughly thirty minutes to the square in front of the West Gate.

Riding with Mother would have been easier, of course, but it felt inappropriate to take the Marquis’s carriage simply for comfort—even if he allowed it.

Setting that aside, we disembarked from the patrol carriage and approached a three-story building facing the plaza.

“This is the Adventurers’ Guild—Ravenstadt Branch,” I said, gesturing toward the entrance.

The double doors were wide open, and above them hung a sign that read Adventurers’ Guild.

“—Huh, I’m a little nervous,” I admitted under my breath.

It wasn’t like we were about to negotiate anything tricky, but this was our first time submitting a request, and a little tension was natural.

“Even Arthur-sama gets nervous, huh?” Rugena teased.

“I don’t know what’s so ‘impressive’ about that. Anyone would be nervous the first time, right?”

“Hmm… you might not look it, but seeing you hesitate is kind of cute,” she added with a grin.

Cute? And patted on the head? That wasn’t exactly how I wanted to be seen. Well, I supposed she was just trying to ease my nerves.

“Come on, let’s go!” she urged.

“Hey, I’m walking—I don’t need a push,” I replied as she nudged me forward.

We stepped into the guild. Inside was a spacious hall with a reception counter directly ahead, and hallways stretching further on either side. To the right, a café-like area offered light meals, while the left wall was lined with a bulletin board for requests.

“Look! The reception desk at the far right is free,” Rugena pointed out.

Following her gaze, I saw a man dressed like a mage, carrying a staff adorned with jewels, walking from the counter toward the café. Perfect timing.

“Let’s go,” Rugena whispered.

“Y-yeah,” I muttered, relieved.

Perhaps it was a quiet time after lunch, but we were able to reach the desk without any chaotic events typical in stories.

“Welcome to the Adventurers’ Guild. How may I assist you today?” the receptionist asked, glancing between us.

I stepped forward to speak.

“We’ve come to submit a new request. Here is a letter of introduction.”

“May I see it?”

She checked the wax seal, broke it, and retrieved the letter. Mother had written it herself, guaranteeing both the summary of the request and the payment.

“—Thank you. Since this is a new request, we will discuss the details in a meeting room. Please wait in the Third Meeting Room down that hallway,” she said.

We followed the corridor to the room marked Third Meeting Room and entered. Inside stood an eight-person table. I sat on the right, while Rugena positioned herself behind me, ready to act as my escort.

“Thank you for waiting,” the receptionist said, entering with a stack of books and documents.

“Welcome again. I’m Elsche, responsible for reception at the Ravenstadt branch of the Adventurers’ Guild,” she introduced herself, standing across the table.

“My name is Arthur, son of Martine Felde. And this is Rugena, my escort,” I said, gesturing toward her and encouraging Elsche to sit.

“Thank you. Now, please tell me the details of your request.”

“Before that, could you tell me which spider-type monsters inhabit the surrounding area? It’s no use submitting a request if they don’t live within the collection range,” I clarified.

“And which type specifically are you looking to collect?” she asked.

“I don’t know the exact species, but would ‘large-bodied spiders with a low recommended rank for hunting’ be enough to identify them?”

Spiders were common, but their size and traits varied by species, so I referred to those we had hunted in Helvendorp for clarity.

“Understood. Please give me a moment,” Elsche said, flipping through her books for reference.

“The ones that fit your criteria are the Ambush Spider, recommended for E-rank hunters, and the Cape Spider, recommended for D-rank hunters,” she reported.

The Ambush Spider reached about a meter in length and inhabited the forests east of Lake Löwen. The Cape Spider, slightly smaller at 40 centimeters, lived in caves in the Levient Mountains to the northeast of Ravenstadt. Its higher rank reflected the danger posed by its pack-hunting behavior.

“Additionally, though farther away, the White Spider has been confirmed in the unexplored lands to the west,” she added.

The White Spider, which we had hunted in Helvendorp, grew to about 80 centimeters and was also recommended for E-rank hunters.

“I’d like to compare the yields and costs before issuing a repeated collection request, so could we start with a trial collection?” I requested.

A repeated collection request sets a fixed quantity over a set period, preventing resource depletion or oversupply. A trial collection, like this one, allows the guild staff to evaluate the effort and costs alongside the adventurers.

“Shall we focus on the Ambush and Cape Spiders?” Elsche asked.

“No, please include the White Spider as well,” I said. Though it would take about a week by carriage to reach its habitat, I wanted to be prepared in case the other two proved unusable.

“Understood. We will conduct trial collections for all three: Ambush Spider, Cape Spider, and White Spider,” she confirmed.

“Yes, that’s fine,” I replied.

Elche prepared the request forms, summarizing the collection methods, precautions, and fees. For a trial collection, the base fee was two silver coins per request, plus one silver for the accompanying guild staff, and one copper coin per collected item. Because the White Spider’s location was distant, an additional five copper coins were added.

“The results should be available in two to three weeks. We will contact you once the collection is complete,” she said.

“Understood,” I replied.

Having successfully submitted the request, we paid nine silver and five copper coins for the fees and left two silver coins for purchasing collected items before exiting the guild.

“—Hahhh… that was exhausting,” I exhaled deeply at the patrol carriage stop.

“Did you do alright?” Rugena asked.

It was our first transaction, so I had carefully adjusted my appearance and manner of speaking. Mother’s letter gave us credibility, but as the saying goes, “trust begins with appearance,” so I had done everything I could.

“You were confident and looked the part, Arthur-sama,” Rugena reassured me.

“That’s good to hear,” I said, relieved.

If Rugena, who ran a workshop, thought we handled it well, then it must have been fine. Now all that remained was to wait for the results from the Adventurers’ Guild.

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