Pierre guided Billy's group to the guild… or so Billy thought. While the guild was on the left side, he walked toward a pretty big inn. Jean was probably there.
"I guess this world doesn't know the concept of vacation houses," Billy thought.
Billy glared at the innkeeper, and the plump middle-aged woman frowned when she saw that. He quickly corrected himself because of that… maybe he was developing some kind of trauma toward them due to the previous incident. In any case, Pierre identified himself and the lady told him which room Jean was. Naturally, he was on the tallest floor and in the largest room. A group of five guards was also standing there protecting the place. It was already noon, so Billy wondered why Jean was in his room when he was on vacation.
"Sir, Pierre, and your guest are here," One of the guards said.
"Let them in," Jean said.
The guard opened the door, and then they saw Jean sitting on a chair while being bathed by the sunlight in front of the window while he was reading a book. That certainly was one way of spending his vacation…
"Thank you for your hard work, Pierre," Jean said.
"It was nothing, sir," Pierre saluted.
"It has been a while, everyone," Jean said. "It seems you have a new face in the group. You must be Kate's, Edward's daughter. It is nice to meet you."
"Likewise, sir," Kate said.
"Well, as promised, you can freely use the dungeon, but the guild master of this town is a bit troublesome, so you probably won't receive the permission to take materials to home," Jean said. "Maybe this isn't the best time to do this, but I also have an offer for you, and I want you to think about it while you remain in this town."
"Yes?" Lily frowned.
Just like Billy and Edward had imagined, Jean wanted to hire some of them to work for him for six months. The only exception was Kate and Sarah since they were the daughter of Edward and a tribe leader. Their job was to instruct new kids that failed in staying in the army because things were too rigid there. Jean was thinking that seeing people around their age might make those try harder.
Aside from free use of that inn, they also will have the right to enter the dungeon, they will have free meals and some discounts in shops around town, free use of the carriages that belong to the guild... They also would receive one gold coin per month… they just had to give lessons to several groups of teens there times per week. It seemed an easy job, and the pay was excellent, but Billy had already his answer. Still, for the sake of appearances, he couldn't give it now.
"Because of the previous incident, this will also help to make those rumored disappear and straighten the bonds between both states," Jean added.
The group nodded, and Billy wondered what they were thinking. His friends looked pretty thoughtful… to leave in their town. One could do so using only five copper coins daily. So, with a single gold coin, they basically could live for more than five years without any issues… that was a lot of money. The only downside was staying away from home for six months.
"All right, I am going to stay here for a week, but you can find me at my real home," Jean said. "You can send me a letter with the answer if you stay here for longer than you planned."
It probably wasn't a good idea to send a letter with a negative answer… in any case, Billy's friends looked more interested in that offer than he had imagined. Particularly Alexander… he was by far the most shy of the group. So it was surprising that he was considering leaving home for half a year, even more so considering that he was head over heels for Lily.
"Pierre, please introduce them to the guild master," Jean said.
"... Yes, sir," Pierre gave a weak reply, which was weird.
They left the inn after unpacking their things in two rooms; usually, Alexander would be more excited and would only get serious inside the dungeon, but he was as quiet as a rock.
"Do you need to poop or something?" Billy asked.
"... Billy, what would you do if I say that I want to accept that offer?" Alexander asked.
"I would find it weird, but I wouldn't do anything," Billy replied. "Is there anything for me to do, actually?"
"Well, that will put the part in a difficult spot without one of the front liners," Alexander said. "You can always exclude me from it."
"It is not like we are truly adventurers… we just go and clear dungeons occasionally. You don't have to worry about that kind of stuff," Billy said. "Regardless, do you need the money to buy a house or something to impress Lily?"
"That is only half of the reason… I think I might be able to focus on my training more if I stay here," Alexander said. "Leo isn't the type to joke around, so I will have to train day in and day out to defeat him."
That was a pretty laughable method to get married, but Billy couldn't laugh at the kid's resolve. Alexander was probably also worried afterwards, in the slim possibility that he defeats Leo, then what will happen to the party?
"Even if you succeed, I don't think Lily is planning to settle down anytime soon," Billy said.
"I think so too, so it would be nice if we still could go and explore dungeons together," Alexander said.
"Sure, as long as you don't act lovey-dovey dove while we work," Billy said.
"That actually would be nice," Alexander smiled bashfully and then scratched the back of his head.
"I guess I will ban that kind of interaction as the leader of this party," Billy said.