The brown-haired girl seemed to notice Sakeer's hesitation. The corners of her mouth lifted slightly as she offered a suggestion:
"If you're a registered adventurer, questions like this are free."
Her expectant gaze lingered on him.
Sakeer's eyebrow twitched. "Can a single person even register as an adventurer?"
"Adventuring is a dangerous job," she explained. "Anyone can sign up, and there's no fixed requirement for team size. But for safety reasons, most groups have at least two members."
Lowering her voice slightly, she added, "Of course, there's no strict rule about it."
"How much does registration cost?" Sakeer asked, his face still expressionless.
"One silver coin!" The brown-haired girl raised a finger and gave it a slight shake, her tone brightening.
Sakeer reached into his pocket, pretending to retrieve some coins. Instead, he discreetly took a silver coin from his toolbox and placed it on the counter.
"I'll process your registration right away!" The brown-haired girl's eyes lit up, and she moved eagerly to begin the paperwork.
"No," Sakeer said flatly, pressing his hand firmly on the coin. "I just need the five-copper information."
His funds were limited — only 2 gold, 6 silver, and 3 bronze coins remained. He couldn't afford to waste money registering as an adventurer when he'd likely have no time to complete guild quests. The journey to the border city E-Rantel would require careful budgeting.
The brown-haired girl's face fell. With a slight pout, she gestured toward the commission board on the wall.
"There's an escort commission heading to E-Rantel," she muttered. "Oddly enough, for such a long journey, it's only listed as a 'Gold-level' mission.
Her voice lowered again, this time hinting at something more.
"It's probably been claimed by that 'Silver-level' team over there."
Following her gaze, Sakeer spotted a team of four adventurers huddled near the commission board. His eyes narrowed slightly in recognition — he'd overheard this group earlier, discussing plans to challenge a Gold-level mission.
After a brief moment of thought, Sakeer released his grip on the silver coin and slid it toward the receptionist.
The brown-haired girl picked it up, rubbed the coin between her fingers to confirm its authenticity, then tucked it into a box beneath the counter. Retrieving eight copper coins, she placed them neatly on the table.
"Thank you."
Sakeer pocketed the copper coins and turned to leave.
"Thank... Thank you?"
The brown-haired girl blinked in surprise, her gaze lingering on Sakeer's retreating figure. Her expression grew complicated — a mix of confusion and curiosity.
In her time working at the Adventurer's Guild, she'd never once heard someone thank her. Most adventurers were gruff, rough-mannered types who barely acknowledged the staff.
Especially someone like her — just a lowly receptionist with little influence.
"He's clearly... poor... or, well, just plain-looking... but oddly polite." She muttered to herself, fidgeting with a loose strand of hair.
Now that she thought about it...
"He's not bad-looking, actually..." Her face warmed slightly. "And that black hair and dark brown eyes... that's pretty rare.
"Is he a foreigner... or from another kingdom?"
Her thoughts trailed off, lingering longer than she'd intended.
Meanwhile, Sakeer stood quietly in the corner of the guild hall, leaning against the wall with a soft sigh.
This is more troublesome than I thought...
He had underestimated the difficulty of tagging along with the escort group. With both the client's and the adventurer team's approval required, his chances were slim at best.
...Basically impossible.
Since the client had hired the adventurer team for protection, they were unlikely to welcome outsiders joining the group. Likewise, the adventurers themselves wouldn't want to complicate things by allowing strangers to tag along.
Yet, Sakeer had to get to the border city of E-Rantel.
Whether it was the Tob Forest to the north or the Katz Plains to the south, both were ideal places to train and grow stronger. Unlike a game, this world had no convenient "monster respawn" mechanic — if Sakeer wanted to level up, he'd need to find areas populated with powerful creatures.
Besides that, E-Rantel's position as the border city between the Re-Estize Kingdom and the Baharuth Empire made it an ideal place to gather information and take care of some future plans.
If safety were his only concern, Sakeer could have stayed within the kingdom's borders, where danger was relatively low.
Most importantly...
Sakeer's limited knowledge of the kingdom's culture and politics meant traveling with a team of experienced adventurers would reduce unnecessary trouble.
Although Sakeer knew a lot about the world's more powerful figures and dangerous secrets, his understanding of the basic day-to-day realities in this world was far too shallow.
If he were strong enough, it wouldn't matter.
But at his current level, avoiding complications was crucial.
Sakeer lowered his head in thought.
Based on what the brown-haired receptionist had said earlier, the journey from the royal capital to E-Rantel was classified as a Gold-level commission — an expensive one that Sakeer couldn't afford.
Hiring an adventurer team directly was out of the question.
However... a compromise might be possible.
Since E-Rantel was located at the far eastern border of the kingdom, there was a large city called E-Rabell along the way — the territory of Marquis Raeven, one of the kingdom's six most powerful nobles.
If I head to E-Rabell first and then proceed to E-Rantel, Sakeer reasoned, the commission cost should be much lower.
But this detour would take extra time... and time was something Sakeer lacked most right now.
Suddenly—
"Miss Daya, has anyone accepted the commission from yesterday?"
A familiar and slightly anxious voice echoed from the reception desk.
"Oh, it's you," the brown-haired girl — apparently named Daya — replied calmly. "You came just in time. Your commission was just accepted by a Silver-level adventurer team. If you're not satisfied, we can arrange a replacement."
"No, no!"
The nervous voice hastily answered. "We don't have any special requirements."
Sakeer's head shot up in surprise.
Nfirea?
He blinked, momentarily stunned. He hadn't expected to run into someone he knew here.
Was the commission to E-Rantel issued by Nfirea?
Sakeer recalled that Nfirea's grandmother was a powerful magic caster capable of wielding Third-tier magic. With such a capable family member, why would he need to hire an adventurer team?
While Sakeer was still processing this, Nfirea had already approached the Silver-level adventurer team. Judging by their conversation, the commission had been officially accepted.
Seeing this, Sakeer hesitated for a moment, then stood up and began walking toward Nfirea.
"Then we'll be counting on you for this journey. I apologize for any trouble we may cause along the way," Nfirea said quietly to the four adventurers before him.
The adventurer who seemed to be their captain clapped a hand on his chest, his black armor gleaming faintly in the light.
"Don't worry about it! We've handled this commission a few times before — your safety is guaranteed!"
Nfirea's naturally reserved personality made him visibly awkward in response. His face reddened slightly, and though he seemed like he wanted to say something more, he hesitated and stayed silent.
That wasn't what he'd been trying to say.
"Hello."
A voice suddenly called out from behind.
(End of chapter)