As they both entered a quiet private room hidden somewhere in the upper levels of the Adventurers' Guild, Fainyx remained exceptionally cautious as to why this powerful old man suddenly wanted to speak to him.
Fainyx made sure not to make his scrutiny obvious, but his sharp senses easily told him that this old man was incredibly strong.
'Based on the sheer density of his hidden power, he is easily on par with Mr. Weinhart, the elite mage back at the mansion.'
"So... um... Sir Fain, this gentle old man is actually our esteemed Guildmaster," Elene introduced politely, gesturing toward the giant sitting behind the desk.
"So you are the famous Fain, huh? It is an absolute pleasure to finally meet you properly, lad. I am Leo Krusher, the Guildmaster of this fine Adventurers' Guild, and I must say you are quite a mysterious lad for constantly hiding your features behind that dark leather mask."
[ I was unfortunately involved in a severe magical accident in the past, which left a highly repulsive scar across my face. That is the sole reason I prefer to hide my features from public view. ]
This was the standard, convenient excuse he had prepared to maintain his secret identity.
He absolutely could not afford to let a single person in this city see his true face, even if he was currently using his advanced mana to make his features look significantly more mature than his real six-year-old self.
For now, keeping his true lineage completely hidden from the public eye was his highest priority.
"Oh, I see. My sincerest apologies for prying into your past, lad. To tell you the truth, I actually had a remarkably similar experience when I was young,"
Leo said, a massive smirk breaking across his scarred features.
The giant knight then proudly pointed a calloused finger directly at the jagged lines tracing his own left cheek.
"Do you see this beauty right here? I earned these deep marks from a vicious wyvern ambush over twenty years ago, kehehe.
" I successfully slaughtered five adult wyverns during that raid, and I ended up getting slashed like this simply because I was trying to protect a lovely damsel in distress back then."
" Hehe~ I guess I made the absolute best choice of my life though, because that beautiful young lady eventually became my loving wife, kuhahaha!"
The old man laughed boisterously, his deep voice echoing against the walls, while Elene merely rolled her eyes, fully used to his dramatic storytelling habits.
She stepped forward and placed an incredibly heavy canvas pouch directly onto the wooden table.
"Haha, that is more than enough storytelling for today, Guildmaster. We have some highly important business to settle here with our guest, remember?"
"O-oh, right, right... my bad, lad, I just got a bit carried away by the memories, ahaha. Anyways, this lovely Elene here is actually my daughter-in-law, kuhaha!"
" She is currently my son's beautiful fiancée, though I honestly have absolutely no idea how my dense son managed to win a wonderful girl like her. "
" Oh, and for your information, Fain, I cannot have you flirting with my daughter-in-law here, because she is officially taken by the Krusher line."
"Guildmaster..." Elene sighed, her face turning a bright shade of pink as she crossed her arms.
"What~? I am just stating the facts, my dear. I don't want any handsome masked adventurers trying to steal you away from my boy."
"Sigh... please accept my apologies for this chaotic behavior, Mr. Fain... Fa—ehem, I mean, the Guildmaster is always exceptionally talkative whenever he meets a talented rookie..."
[ It is perfectly alright, Miss Elene. I am not bothered by his words at all. ]
'Phew, this old warrior is truly an incredibly loud and talkative guy, but at least he seems genuinely nice.'
"Ehem... anyways, let us officially get down to discussing the main matter,"
Leo said, his expression turning a bit more professional as he tapped the heavy pouch resting on the table, opening the drawstrings to reveal hundreds of gleaming gold coins tightly packed inside.
*Clink clink!
The ibside if the sack contains gold coins
Fainyx was completely shocked by the view.
'All of this gold... just for a single batch of regular herbs that I casually made?'
"The rare mana herbs you brought to the desk last time were actually of an exceptionally high quality,"
Leo explained, his eyes locking onto the mask.
"And since the raw materials were so pure, the specialized health potions our alchemists brewed turned out to be incredibly potent. "
"Even a mere half-drop of the liquid was strong enough to instantly heal the severe injuries of our vanguard adventurers. "
" Thanks to your herbs, a single basic-sized potion can now easily save two dying men instead of one."
The Guildmaster leaned forward, his voice dropping into a lower, more solemn tone.
"The reason this sum of gold is so massive is because regular adventurers weren't the only ones trapped in that brutal subjugation battle. One of the Duke's high noble sons was actively leading the vanguard in that territory, and because of the quick distribution of your potion, his life was successfully saved. He was actually resting on his deathbed because those mutated monsters had sliced through our elite defenses, but because of the magical herbs you brought us, we successfully saved almost every single life that day."
Leo stood up from his chair, offering a deep, respectful bow across the desk.
"So, on behalf of every single adventurer who survived that bloody field... thank you very much, Fain."
'How did such a very normal herb quest turned into this...'
He sighed internally as he just wrote something.
[ I am genuinely happy to hear that the herbs proved to be highly useful for the vanguard, but how exactly does that save connect to this ridiculous amount of gold coins? ]
"Ah... actually, the vast majority of the wealth inside that pouch came directly from the Duke's son himself," Leo chuckled, sitting back down with a grin.
"The young lord was so profoundly grateful to his anonymous savior that he personally ordered his accountants to award you a bonus of five hundred gold coins, kuhaha! You truly are an incredibly lucky lad."
[ I see, I am deeply grateful to the young lord for providing such a generous reward for my efforts. ]
'Damn it... I just handed them a random bundle of herbs that I easily grew in the soil of the Aetherium, and to think that a named character from a Duke's family was saved by them... is this an absolute coincidence, or am I just cursed with plot magnets?'
"Oh yeah! I almost completely forgot the most important detail, my lad," Leo shouted, slapping his forehead.
"Because of your massive contribution, you have actually been officially invited by the high officials to attend the grand royal banquet for the King's upcoming birthday! Isn't that an absolute honor for a rookie, lad?"
...Eh?
Fainyx's mind completely blanked out at the terrifying announcement.
[ What exactly do you mean by an invitation to the royal banquet? Isn't that palace event strictly reserved for high-ranking nobles? I am nothing more than a common, unranked adventurer. ]
"Actually, since your actions saved so many influential people, including the Duke's biological son, there are several other high noble families who are currently feeling deeply grateful to you,"
Leo explained, his face turning a bit complex.
"And since your achievements have been discussed in so many noble tea rooms... well, the King himself eventually caught wind of the story. His Majesty wants to see you rewarded personally, and he even bought out a small portion of the leftover herbs for the royal treasury, so I think he is highly interested in your talents, my lad, kuhahaha!"
'...Eh... Ehhh?! But why in the world is this happening to me?! I literally just picked a simple, low-tier gathering mission from the common board to earn some pocket money, and now it has somehow spiraled into the King wanting to reward my efforts in the capital palace... can I please just decline this?'
[ Um... is it legally possible for me to decline this royal reward? ]
"You unfortunately cannot decline it, lad,"
Leo said, his voice turning deathly serious as he shook his head.
"The King has already dispatched a formal royal invitation to ensure you arrive at the capital safely, and if you choose to refuse a direct summons... well, you will be heavily punished according to the imperial laws decreed by the crown itself. The law explicitly states that those who dare to refuse the generous rewards granted by the King shall face severe, painful consequences."
'Why in the world does a freaking law like that even exist in this country?! The King of this nation is completely insane!'
Fainyx recalled the character profiles from his memories of the hardcore game.
Although the King was widely known to be a benevolent and merciful ruler toward the common populace, he was actually an incredibly calculative and obsessive person behind closed doors... the moment he grew interested in a person's unique abilities, he would absolutely never leave them alone until they were under his thumb.
That was precisely why he was close friends with Duke Arthur, and why he consistently pestered Master Yong as well.
'I literally just arrived in this capital city, and a massive plot hook has already dragged me down. If I had known my herbs would cause such change, I would have just gathered some regular weeds from a dangerous forest instead... Haa...'
"Here is your official royal invitation card, lad," Leo said, sliding a golden, stamped parchment across the polished table.
"I truly hope you have an exceptionally pleasant journey traveling toward the imperial palace, kuhaha!"
'It isn't funny at all, you dynamic old man...'
Fainyx thought, letting out a heavy sigh behind his leather mask.
Without saying another word, he gathered the heavy canvas pouch of gold coins, slid the golden invitation safely into his cloak, and left the private office, leaving the Guildmaster and Elene alone in the room.
***
"He truly is a remarkably interesting lad, kuhaha!" Leo laughed, leaning back in his chair the moment the door clicked shut.
"Sigh... Guildmaster, you really shouldn't tease our members like that," Elene scolded gently, cleaning up the desk.
"Please call me father instead, my dear daughter-in-law~. Anyways, how is my son doing these days? Has that rascal been secretly sneaking out to go drinking in the taverns again?"
"Huhu, absolutely not, Guildmaster. Since I have been personally looking after his daily routine, he hasn't touched a single drop. And besides... I explicitly told my older brothers to watch his movements around the plaza to ensure he doesn't buy any alcohol, so his health is perfectly fine."
"Kuhahaha! You truly possess a highly unique and terrifying set of brothers, my dear. But no worries, those fierce men are basically my own sons now since you are officially engaged to my boy~."
Elene paused her cleaning, her expression turning a bit worried as she looked toward the doorway.
"But shifting back to the topic... do you think we should be genuinely worried about Mr. Fain? To be honest, I really don't want him to go to the imperial palace alone. That place is completely filled with arrogant nobles who love nothing more than to trample all over the commoners."
"You don't have to worry about his safety a single bit, my daughter," Leo said, his playful demeanor completely vanishing as his eyes turned sharp.
"He is actually incredibly strong... in fact, I think his raw power is significantly higher than my own."
"Huh?!" Elene gasped, her eyes widening in absolute shock. "How could you possibly know that he is stronger than an elite veteran like you? He looks so small and frail under that cloak."
"It is pure warrior instinct, my daughter~ "
Leo explained, lifting his large hands to show her.
"Even though his physical frame looks completely weak and unconditioned, my eyes couldn't locate a single opening in his posture while he was walking, and his eyes... Even though it was hidden I can sense the exact moment I made contact with him across the desk, I could clearly sense a terrifyingly powerful aura radiating from behind that emotionless expression. The sheer pressure was enough to make my hands sweat and tremble, see?"
He held out his calloused hands, and Elene could clearly see that the Guildmaster's fingers were actively sweating and shaking from the residual stress of the meeting.
"Oh my... to think that someone living in our city is actually stronger than the Guildmaster himself. Well... I truly hope he never suddenly decides to become an enemy of the guild."
"Do not worry about that outcome, my daughter. I have a strong feeling that he is completely uninterested in committing any of that evil, destructive stuff."
"And what exactly makes you say that with such certainty?"
"It is just a deep feeling resting in my guts, my daughter~."
"Geez... please stop relying on your weird warrior instincts and gut feelings all the time, Guildmaster Leo~"
Elene teased, letting out a soft laugh as she finished her work.
"But it is always entirely true, kuhahaha!" Leo laughed boisterously.
Then, the seasoned Guildmaster turned his scarred face to look out the glass window at the dark night sky, his smile fading into a look of deep reverence.
'My gut feeling has never proven to be wrong a single time in my entire career.'