The brown-haired receptionist seemed to notice Irvine Wolf's hesitation. A slight smile curved her lips as she suggested, "If you register as an adventurer, questions like that are free." She looked at him with an expectant gaze.
Irvine's eyebrow twitched. "Can a single person register as an adventurer?"
"Adventuring is a dangerous profession. Anyone can register, and there's no explicit rule about party size. But in practice, for safety's sake, a minimum of two people is the unwritten standard. Of course, there's no explicit rule, you know?" she added, lowering her voice conspiratorially.
"How much does it cost to register?" Irvine asked, his expression neutral.
"One silver coin!" The girl raised a finger and wiggled it.
Irvine reached into his pocket as a cover, retrieved a silver coin from his Item Box, and placed it on the counter.
"I'll process it for you right away!" she said, her eyes lighting up.
"No," Irvine pressed his hand down on the silver coin, his face still impassive. "It's for the five-copper-coin question."
He now only had 2 gold, 6 silver, and 3 copper coins left. Upon reaching the border city of E-Rantel, he would inevitably have significant expenses, so he couldn't afford to waste money on an unnecessary adventurer registration. He simply didn't have time to take on guild quests.
The receptionist's expression fell. She pointed disinterestedly towards a wall where various quests were posted. "There's an escort quest to E-Rantel right over there. It's a long-distance job, yet it only offers the lowest 'Gold-rank' reward. How stingy." Her tone seemed to carry a hidden motive.
"It'll probably be taken by that 'Silver-rank' party over there," she continued. "Since you seem new, let me remind you: if you want to travel with a group like that, you need permission from both the client and the adventurer party that accepted the quest."
Hearing this, Irvine looked in the direction she pointed and saw a four-person adventurer party—the same one he had overheard earlier discussing their plans to challenge for Gold rank. A flash of realization crossed his eyes.
Irvine released the silver coin and pushed it toward the girl. She picked it up, rubbed it with her finger, placed it in a box below the counter, and then counted out eight copper coins as change, placing them on the table.
"Thank you," Irvine said with a nod. He pocketed the copper coins and turned to leave.
Tha… thank you?
The brown-haired girl was stunned. She watched Irvine's retreating back, a complex and peculiar expression on her face. Since she had started working at the Adventurer's Guild, she had never been thanked by anyone. Most adventurers were rough individuals, and she was just a low-ranking receptionist.
"He's clearly poor… hmm, simple, but unexpectedly polite," she murmured to herself. Now that she thought about it, he was quite handsome, and his black hair and dark brown eyes were rare traits. Was he a foreigner… or from another country? Her cheeks flushed slightly.
Irvine walked to a corner of the hall, leaned against the wall, and sighed. The situation was more complicated than he had imagined, or rather, he had initially been too naive.
Requiring consent from both parties made it practically impossible. A client hiring an adventurer party for protection wouldn't want an outsider tagging along, and the party itself wouldn't want to take on unnecessary risk.
But traveling to the border city of E-Rantel was essential. Whether it was the Great Forest of Tob to the north or the Katze Plains to the south, both were prime locations for leveling up. This wasn't a game; monsters didn't respawn. If Irvine wanted to gain levels, he would have to go where magical beasts were plentiful .
Additionally, E-Rantel's location on the border between the Re-Estize Kingdom and the Baharuth Empire would make certain future actions more convenient. If it was merely for safety, traveling within the kingdom posed manageable risks. Most importantly, Irvine's lack of knowledge about the kingdom's current state meant that traveling with an experienced party could help him avoid unnecessary trouble.
He had extensive high-level knowledge of the world, but his understanding of basic, practical information was lacking. If he were powerful, it wouldn't matter, but at his current low level, avoiding preventable complications was crucial.
Irvine lowered his head in thought. According to the receptionist, the journey from the Royal Capital to E-Rantel was a Gold-rank quest. With his limited funds, he couldn't afford to hire a party outright. However, he might be able to find a compromise.
E-Rantel was at the easternmost border. Between it and the capital lay the large city of E-Naeble, the territory of Marquis Raeven, one of the kingdom's six great nobles . Traveling to E-Naeble first and then to E-Rantel should be considerably cheaper. But this intermediate step would waste precious time—the one thing Irvine lacked most.
Suddenly, a familiar voice, tinged with nervousness, came from the reception desk. "Miss Daya, has anyone claimed the quest posted yesterday?"
"Oh, it's you," the receptionist's calm voice replied. "You've come at just the right time. Your quest was just accepted by a Silver-rank adventurer party. I wonder if you're satisfied? If not, we can change it for you."
"No, no need! We don't have any special requirements," the familiar, slightly nervous voice quickly responded.
Irvine looked up in surprise, his gaze turning toward the source of the voice.
Nfirea?
Irvine was stunned. He hadn't expected to meet an acquaintance here. Was the quest to E-Rantel posted by Nfirea? His grandmother was a third-tier magic caster ; did they really need to hire an adventurer party?
As he was lost in thought, Nfirea finished his discussion with the Silver-rank party. It seemed the quest had been officially accepted.
Seeing this, Irvine considered for a moment, then stood up and walked toward Nfirea.
Over by the desk, Nfirea was speaking softly to the four adventurers. "Then, for the journey ahead, we'll be troubling you all. The trip might be a bit arduous."
One of the adventurers, who seemed to be the leader, patted the black studded leather armor on his chest and said with a hearty laugh, "Don't worry! We've done quests like this several times. We can absolutely guarantee your safety."
Nfirea, already introverted, seemed to grow more awkward at these words, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks. He seemed to want to clarify something but didn't vocalize it. He hadn't meant to imply he doubted their capabilities.
"Hello," a voice came from behind him.