21 - The Old Man From The Countryside Is Recommended Again
“Hmm… this doesn’t seem to be a fake, does it?” Alexia said.
“Naturally,” Selena said. “Forging official documents is a grave crime.”
Alexia stares at the letter Selena just pulled out.
I don’t know whether or not it is a genuine article, but Alexia claims it’s not a fake.
“… So what’s it about?” I asked.
I can read but I don’t want to peep.
So far as I can tell, this is the Adventurer’s Guild addressing the Knights of Revelio, so I thought it wouldn’t be my place to look.
Although I have the position of a Special Instructor, my authority in the Knights is quite light.
I don’t have the right to order any members around.
I’m just a person who trains them, I have no say about their internal politics or their operations.
Of course, I’m now affiliated with the Knight Order of Revelio, so how to transfer its staff is under the jurisdiction of its Knight-Captain, Alexia. Or possibly Henblitz, the Vice-Captain.
It’s a mystery why the Guild wants to borrow me, but since that’s the case, Alexia will decide whether or not I could be. As expected, the Adventurer’s Guild shouldn’t have that much power.
“They want to get your help training newcomers and young adventurers, Master,” Alexia explained. “There’s no particular reason for us Knights to oppose, but neither is there a reason for us to agree.”
“Training for newcomers, huh…?” I asked.
Hmm, was it initiation for new members?
It’s not that I’m uninterested, but like Alexia just said, there’s no reason for the Captain of the Knights to lend me to another organization.
And if you’re a young adventurer, survival skills are much more important than swordsmanship skills, aren’t they? It feels like my specialty is inherently different from what they need to learn.
And in the first place, it’s strange for the Master of the Adventurer’s Guild to borrow me by name.
I’ve got no business with the Guild.
“… I don’t think I should… Selena?” I asked.
“Of course, I recommend you,” Selena said.
“Yeah, of course, you would,” I said.
I shouldn’t have even asked.
Why are you looking so smug? I already get enough of that from Alexia. What did you want me to teach Adventurers? This difficult decision is too much.
“Citrus, I think it’s a good opportunity for him to get to know both the Adventurer’s Guild and the Knights of Revelio,” Selena said. “It wouldn’t be bad, would it?”
“I see, that’s one way to look at it,” Alexia said.
Her face changes from my former disciple to the Knight-Captain in a snap.
I think they are advantages and disadvantages both with lending me to another organization.
“But what do I even do if I’m training Adventurers…?” I asked. “It sounds like a lot of trouble.”
“Of course, if you don’t want to, Master, I’ll refuse,” Alexia said. “Immediately so.”
“… I don’t think you had to say it that strongly,” I said.
Speaking personally, I’m not uninterested. I’ve come all the way to the capital city, Baltrain, and I’m certainly interested in experiencing something like that.
However, when it comes to training newcomers, I honestly don’t know what to do. It would be different from teaching swordsmanship at the dojo, and I’ve got no idea what to do.
Besides, it’s temporary lending, so I don’t think I’ll be teaching them continuously. It’s not a hands-on learning experience, so once I start teaching, I want to give them a solid period of instruction and lessons. However, judging from the nuances, it seems this wouldn’t be the case.
“What will I be doing on the ground?” I asked.
“It’s mainly accompanying a dungeon raid,” Selena replied. “It’s a way to ensure they have the necessary combat and survival skills, and you’ll be the muscle in case of an emergency.”
“A dungeon raid…” I said, my face darkening.
I don’t have many good memories of them is why.
Dungeon raids.
It refers to any acts of invading archaeological sites, labyrinths, caves, etc. that are scattered all over the world.
There are large and small dungeons on the continent of Galea, where the Kingdom of Revelis is located.
It could be mysterious ruins of past civilizations, a mysterious space where magical forces were acting, or just a natural cave that became a monster-infested territory.
There had various shapes and names but all of them were collectively referred to as “Dungeons”.
And on that note, they were most Adventurers’ dreams.
That is, going on a dungeon raid.
Put simply, monster materials sold extremely well for the effort, and if it’s an unexplored ruin, you could expect huge treasures. If you’re successful, it could lead to great wealth and fame for the rest of your life.
A dungeon is a right risk to bet on if you want to turn your fortune around.
“Will that be alright?” I asked. “They’re just young rookies, so White or Bronze rank… at best, we’ll have about Silver Ranks?”
But, of course, dungeon attacks carry great dangers.
It’s not uncommon for the monsters there to kill you, or for you to get caught in a trap at some ruins and die.
Your abilities VS the risks of the dungeon.
Those who misunderstand either will die.
“It’s not a problem,” Selena replied. “The dungeons under the jurisdiction of the Guild are under investigation and we know the monster populations that inhabit them. It’ll be fine, so long as we have a proper party leader.”
“I don’t think I’m suited to be a ‘proper leader’…” I said.
Why do Alexia and Selena think so highly of me?
“With your help, Master, there shouldn’t be any problems, but… hehe,” Selena said.
“No, there is a problem,” I said.
I’m an old man.
Even though I can handle myself more than fine, the challenges of a dungeon raid are too steep if I have to watch over newcomers at the same time.
Hmm. It may be safer to decline.
If it was just a matter of education, I would have felt fine about it, but I can’t take responsibility for lives on the line. If I were strong enough to give my consent just like that, it would have been a different story.
“Selena, I’m sorry but I think this is a bit too much for me–” I started.
“Oh, I didn’t know you were here,” someone else’s voice interrupted.
“Hello, Ms. Lucy,” Alexia said. “It’s rare to see you around here, isn’t it?”
“Yes, I was having a little chat with the Master of the Adventurer’s Guild,” Lucy replied.
And the one who arrived was a young girl with dazzling blonde hair.
Lucy, Head Magus of the Magic Division.
“You talked to the Master?” Selena asked. “Did it have anything to do with this?” she continued as she showed off the approval letter from them.
“Hmm?” Lucy said, peering intently at the letter before she nodded. “… Ah, yes, it did.”
And, of course, these three have been talking with each other.
After all, if you become the Knight-Captain, the Head Magus, and a top-rank Adventurer, you’d be acquainted, won’t you?
“I was familiar with his name,” Lucy said. “Which is why I also put forth my recommendation.”
“Huh?” I asked.
LUUUCCCYYYY!!!
“So it’s a recommendation from the Adventurer’s Guild Master, a Black Rank Adventurer, and the Head Magus of the Magic Division, huh…? It will be hard to reject this,” Alexia said.
“Huh, wait,” I said.
Hold on. You can do this, Alexia.
This is mainly about my life and the lives of the novice adventurers entrusted to me.
“It’s settled then,” Selena said. “Then, Master will be under our care for a while.”
“Very well,” Alexia said. “I’ll explain it to the rest of the Order.”