Elora and Josephine had been working nonstop managing the guild and making sure they can examine recruits fairly and quickly.
Some candidates have been considered but Elora can't give her stamp of approval without Nova's permission. As such, those who passed all the tests and produced satisfactory results were listed in a file and told that they will get an answer back within the next month.
Though she was angry that Nova had been missing for so long, it's best to follow the guild process of having both GM's sign off on new members since this can affect the whole guild's reputation.
Interestingly enough, there were many B-rankers who applied than there were A and C-rankers. There were a lot more F and E rankers though.
Josephine apparently had the answer for why so many B-rankers jumped on this boat:
-"A jump from F to E, E to D, C to B isn't complicated if you are an experienced adventurer and follow the usual routine of completing quests and raising your reputation among the guild and populace. However, the difficultly widens significantly when applying for A-rank status. Doing a single A-rank quest isn't enough to grant you that status. You are applying to be one of the faces of the guild. Something like that requires a lot of effort, even more than you've given in prior ranks."
Since Nova is an S-rank adventurer now, dozens of quests were sent to the guild during his absence. He's the "face" of this guild and someone who the empire sees as one of the pillars of adventuring itself. But since he isn't here, Elora had to complete most of them with Galadriel's help. Fortunately enough, the two of them were strong in their own right so people depended on them as well and they were recognized as his equals. There were doubts about Elora even with Admeera's word that she saw what Elora did in Nuaria City but those doubts were now cleared.
After Elora sent in a request to the Guild HQ a few days after Nuaria's destruction, almost a hundred magic sheets were shipped to their guild house. Naturally, she used them to complete the quests that came to their guild. About 82 were left after she used them. Apparently, while it's possible to create magic sheets with spells higher than Third Rank with new technology that humans invented over these past few decades, these scrolls have just been sitting in storage for a long time, some even decades.
Apparently even Freya's tower was filled with magic sheets she created whenever she was bored. But without said person present, no one could get them anyway.
Since Elora is the only one capable of using them, institutions, magic stores and even the empire's Magic Tower, donated scrolls when she requested to buy them in bulk.
Safe to say that for a while, Elora won't be needing anymore magic sheets.
Laying on the floor mattress, next to the couch where she had been sleeping, was Josephine. Their new secretary has been hard at work even though she's not being paid a fair wage yet since the guild is still new.
Since she's a professional who worked in the field for years, Elora is able to work confidently knowing Josephine is there to guide her if she needs a hand. whatever chaos she and Galadriel would've caused alone was prevented just because their skilled secretary was here. If they hired some cheap intern instead… Elora shuddered at the thought.
"How are you never cold…" Elora covered up Josephine with a blanket since she was bare-chested. It seems their secretary likes sleeping topless and with only panties on her bottom.
"Hn?" When Elora left the office, she smelled coffee in the hallway and heard the clanking of pans. Then the gas stove was turned on.
It couldn't be Galadriel since during off days, she sleeps in until noon at least. Last she checked, it was 11am still. Galadriel is only awake before the sun rises when it's a work day, the kind of discipline you would expect from a knight. But she's surprisingly a slob on off days.
An intruder is least likely since they were way too calm breaking into the same guild run by an S-rank adventurer.
'I know I locked the door last night.'
Thinking it must be someone familiar, Elora quietly walked down the stairs and peeked around the corner, staring straight down the hall at the kitchen. She saw a head full of silver hair, broad shoulders and black coat worn by a tall man.
As she inched closer, she managed to get a look at the man's face.
Handsome and masculine with a wild look in his slanted golden eyes.
His hands stopped and as if sensing her, Nova glanced to the side.
"We need to buy a new door." He smiled wryly.
**
Before taking a sip of the tea she brewed for herself, she stared back up at Nova, who was fully immersed in his food.
Somehow, he looks older but still had a young-looking face. The only difference would be how much wider his shoulders after and how bigger his hands became.
"…May I ask where you were?" after thinking for a while, she asked him.
"I was looking for equipment for our guild members." He said briefly before going back to eating.
"Eh? But that isn't the leader's responsibility!"
It was Josephine's duty to secure weapons and gear for the guild since she's the secretary. They aren't a small party anymore so they don't need to go out and buy stuff, only have the secretary order it from merchants.
"Trust me, where I went, no one else could bring the equipment back." He sighed when he noticed her confused expression, "You ever heard of the tales about how the heroes from the past tried to challenge the Dragon God's Lair but got killed on the first level?"
"Yes…?"
"I took their equipment. Turns out that even though they had the best craftmanship on their side, they were still weaklings that couldn't handle weak monsters."
"N-No way, the Dragon God's Lair is the most dangerous dungeon there is but Sir Nova survived the first level!?"
"Uh, yeah… Just the first two floors…"
'He just said it as if he took a walk in a forest of slimes!'
Just when she thinks he couldn't do anything crazier, he proves her wrong.
"If we… spread this news, it will contribute greatly to our guild's image!" Elora hit the table with sparkling eyes, "Many investors showed interest in us but were hesitant about supporting us! I heard that every piece of equipment, those people that challenged the Lair used, is documented!"
"So?"
"If we wear it proudly and show it to the world, people will invest in our guild!"
No more paying for stuff out of pocket. Magic stores would send crates of magic items, alchemists would send potions, merchants would send food, etc…
This is one of the stepping stones to becoming an "independent" guild, something Elora wanted so desperately.
"Really? I didn't think of it that way. I was thinking of investing my own money in the guild."
"Nonsense! Please focus on improving your own equipment, Sir Nova!"
"No, I don't think money can buy what I'm looking for…"
"—What's with all the yelling down here?" Josephine and Galadriel both entered the kitchen. They stiffened when they saw the Guild Master sitting casually and eating a tower of bacon.
"Sir Nova is back, everyone!" Elora yelled with a smile, "The days of relying on donations are also over since we can now secure investors!"
The two women shared a glance.
…
"…Can I really have this?" Galadriel held a saber in her hand, getting a feel of it. It pulsed with a strange energy and glyphs glowed on the surface of the hilt, radiating heat that empowers its wielder with more vitality and endurance.
"I didn't risk my life in that dungeon just to sell them off so yes, keep it." Nova said from the side as he examined their reactions.
"Wow…" Elora stared at her new staff with a sparkle. Unlike her old staff, this one had a powerful aura radiating from it. She could feel the staff bless her with heightened senses and made her more aware of the mana around her.
"Galadriel, what kind of armor do you prefer?" Nova asked.
"I am fine with a chest plate, wristguards and thigh guards. The rest should be thick leather for easy movement since I despise clunky armor." She sheathed the saber after replying.
"Aren't you from a household of knights? Your family should have conditioned you to wear them." Josephine remarked.
"I prefer agility over defense. That is why I use a saber or rapier. My aura can compensate for attack power lost from my weapon and armor of choice."
"I see…"
"I didn't find the last two things but here's a chest plate I found." Nova rummaged in his magic bag and pulled out a dark green armor plate and handed it to Galadriel, "It should mitigate ninety percent of damage every thirty seconds but don't overuse it by placing yourself in danger constantly otherwise it will need to be repaired and since this armor plate works on runes, good luck with finding someone capable of fixing it."
"…I understand. Thank you once again, Sir Nova."
He nodded then took a glance around the guild. There were a lot of boxes and stuff covered with white cloth. None of the guild members had time to unpack the stuff they bought so they left it there for now.
This is essentially a lounge area to relax while the space past the hall is where quests and applications will be taken. Elora considered budgeting for a bar or using the extra space in the back of the yard to build on and make a tavern but that wasn't something that needed to be focused on right now. What they need is to make the guild a stable source of income first before thinking of renovating.
"Seems quite empty. I thought we would have more members." After looking around for a bit, Nova said.
"We are considering many candidates to split them up into teams." Josephine responded, "Galadriel, Lucri and Sir Nova would be in Team Alpha while Beta and other teams are filled with teams below S-rank."
"How many members are you waiting to approve?"
"About a dozen. Since Team Alpha is the main party, I find it fitting to have only S-rankers so I did not consider A-rankers for the party. Currently, only two S-rankers want to join."
"We should mix Alpha up with S and A-rankers in the future. If I'm gone for extended periods of time, the main party would lose a lot of firepower for quests so competent A-rank adventurers need to be added to Alpha. I want to keep our party at five members while there will be a second Team Alpha that you can fill with A and B-rankers. But make sure they have a good reputation and have completed at least one A-rank quest."
"Yes, Sir Nova. I will go through their profiles and have them summoned to your office by the end of the week."
He nodded.
"Have any of you contacted merchants to have them supply goods to the guild? Equipment isn't the most important thing for quests, especially long ones that require you camp on the road."
"I was working on that but just like investors, merchants are hesitant to work with us. I've been buying bulk for the past month so that we can stock up."
"Huh? How do we have so much money for that?"
"Donations from a few institutions, nobles and the common folk who trust us."
"I thought what I did in Nuaria city would make it easier to form connections," Nova clicked his tongue, "I suppose since I didn't stop the whole invasion, they see me as incompetent despite me killing two Frost Giants."
Elora and Galadriel silently agreed. They won't know what goes through the people's minds. Despite seeing such a great display of power, Misteltein didn't win them over yet.
"Besides the equipment I brought back, we need to make a bigger impact on the world so that even entire nations request our services. Do either of you have ideas? I don't think killing random monsters will cut it. And I won't be able to invest in the guild with my own money for at least a few months."
"Ah!" Elora remembered something, "There's that!"
"?"
"The joint quest we received asking us to help the Elf Queen."
**
After bringing down the letter and map where the queen drew the entrance they should go through upon accepting the quest, Elora handed them to Nova.
He silently read through the letter while checking the map. The very same map had a detailed sketch of the world tree and above it was a banner with the name "The Kingdom of Thalivielle".
Truth be told, Elora didn't even know the elf nation's name before she opened this map. It's as if they wanted to keep it hush-hush for humans. Is it because they think humans aren't worthy enough to know the name? Is all of Elven culture like this where they find humans unworthy of something so they choose to keep it to themselves? And why don't elves outside the nation ever say its name?
What a strange species, she thought.
"When did this come through?"
"A month ago, while you were away. I met with Miss Cameria and she said Red Storm received the same letter."
"Where is Red Storm right now?"
"Are you thinking of teaming up with them?" asked Galadriel, "Doing this alone may have a better impact on your reputation since it will be our accomplishment."
"We know very little about the World Tree's lower roots so going with bigger teams to rely on each other is key to completing this quest. I'm not going to be a smug fool who thinks I can kill anything in this world. Uncharted lands are especially something to be cautious about. Like Setariah says in this letter, we need to be extra careful and that brute force alone won't be enough to succeed here. We should expect corrupted spirits as well. Whatever is stripping the World Tree of its nutrients won't be as defenseless as a slime."
"Then allow me to head over to their guild and ask them to meet us here tonight. I heard they are on vacation and visiting every bar in the capital."
"They're having a fun time, aren't they. Alright, I'll leave it to you, Galadriel."
Galadriel nodded once then took off immediately.
"Have you back heard from Sylphiala yet?" while checking the map, Nova asked, "I have a proposition for her."
"She visited the guild a week ago… Unfortunately, she couldn't stay long because she's following a trail of kidnappers that kidnapped many young Elves. While visiting every village that was impacted by this raid, she found out that her sister was also abducted."
"Dammit, we need her to enchant our equipment. I'm not good with spirits, especially the corrupted kind. Oh, speaking of…" Nova stuck his hand in his magic bag again, "In the event of an emergency, I want you to use this."
"What is this…?"
"An all-purpose scroll I got from a shady merchant who knows everything. With this you can cast any spell on or below 9th rank."
"EH!?"
"Save your surprises for later. Have you been training like I said you should?"
"…" She blushed and averted her eyes.
"Haa… I'm sure you didn't have time for it so it's fine. But remember that when we're out in the field, I'm relying on you as well. I might be strong but if my opponents are formless, are faster than me, can ward off physical attacks and deal lethal magic damage, I need your help to deal with them."
Her heart stung. She could tell he said those words with sincerity. It's true that there are monsters or entities even Nova wouldn't be able to defeat. Him defeating the Frost Giants might be an unthinkable feat given the threats they are but those giants are like rocks, prone to break if hit hard enough, while there are monsters out there that are like water that can drown you.
And with them heading into uncharted territories in the coming weeks (the World Tree's roots), who knows what calamities are down there that could pose a threat to their party.
"I-I'm sorry, I'll get started with my training after work…"
"Just remember you're not alone out there." he patted her shoulder.
She gave a small smile but could obviously feel the pressure despite his words.
The person she admires wants to rely on her… How could anyone not feel the pressure?
"About the other parties of our guild, I'll take a look at the candidates you selected and interview them by the end of the week. I won't be around this weekend but I want to make sure we're ready to tackle this SS-class quest in a few weeks, if Cameria is on board."
"We're going that soon!? B-But I'm not sure I'll be ready."
"You don't need months to get ready."
"…."
How is he so certain!? Sometimes she just wants to go inside that head of his so that she can know what he sees in her…
"Remember what you did in Nuaria city? You can do even more amazing things if you just study and prepare yourself. It's not as easy as reading a chant but with the restrictions like stat requirements lifted, you can surpass every other magician out there, including the Archmage."
"How are you so sure…? Do you know that much... about what I can do?"
"…I had a friend who is knowledgeable about these things. He called people like you 'Magic Manipulators', magicians capable of casting any spell with mana being their only restriction to the heights they can reach. This is something that can easily be solved with enough magic items that increase your mana stat. Unlike everyone else who is limited by their intelligent stat, you can cast any spell above your own stat restriction. That's what makes you special and why I want to watch you grow."
"A-Am I really that great?" she blushed and twirled her hair with her finger, unable to meet his gaze. He was looking at her so seriously.
"Yes, and I consider you as not just a dear member of my party but also a friend."
It felt like blood rushed to her head at that moment. Why did she feel so happy hearing that? Wasn't the fact that he kept her around, even though she thinks she's useless, proof enough that he values her?
If she had a tail, it would wag from side to side.
The front door's bell rang and a familiar voice came from the reception area.
"Lucri, are you up yet? The newbies finished clearing the goblin nest! Earlier than I expected, in fact!" It was Lucia's voice.
"I thought the guild was closed today." Nova remarked.
"Miss Lucia was observing how well our two new recruits for Beta squad do in the newbie tests." Elora said hurriedly before leaving the lounge area to go greet them.