I drank what looked like green tea in a tea shop next to the administration office.

The people accompanying me were a 7th rank employee from the administrative office, Shawina, and her best friend Ragna. By the way, this was not our first training camp... After getting to know each other, during the execution of a sewer request, we gathered several times on Shavina's initiative for gatherings or tea parties. If we talk about frequency, it was about once a month.

"Oh! Share this with your companions when you come back later. They are sold in a new cookie store near our office and have been very popular lately.

— ... For sure. Thank you.

Most of our conversations were about trivialities, but the reason I kept coming to these meetings was simple. Sometimes I came across useful information.

"Oh, that's right! Did I mention that the system that reduces the fee for exchanging mana gems based on seniority is canceled?

"How sure are you?"

"Our boss believes that it has almost been canceled.

Bloody hell. For a researcher with less than a year of experience, this was like a bolt from the blue.

— When do you think it will be implemented?

"Well, maybe not earlier than next year, or no later than a year from now?"

"That's at least good news.

As always, after exchanging useful information, the conversation turned to the usual things. Around the moment when I was starting to get bored, even more useful information flew out of Shavina's mouth. Only at the second training camp did I realize that this was not a coincidence.

It's like I'm being manipulated or something.

Shavina knew for sure that without such bait, I would have no reason to participate in these boring gatherings.

Probably, she is doing all this for the sake of this girl.

"And you?" Ragna? Has anything interesting happened to you in recent days?

I didn't know at first, but librarian Ragna Litaniel Peprok had the same social skills as a rock. Maybe that's why Shavina wanted me to make friends with her? Did she consider herself her mother or something?

"No, nothing.

"Is that so?" You don't want to say anything to Mr. Yandel?" You've been so silent ever since.

"Say something?... Actually, maybe there is something.

"Yes?" Then lay it out. You're already friends, right?

Shavina looked at me, and I sighed softly and nodded.

— Yes, we are friends.

It was a friendship formalized by a handshake at the first meeting. To be honest, I didn't know what it could mean. But what could I do? Working in the administrative department, Shavina had a lot of information that could help me. Not only that, but she also entrusted me with requests that were not related to the sewers, so I only had to do what they said like a good boy.

"Friends...

Did my words embolden her? Ragna, who had been sitting motionless as usual throughout the conversation, stared at me with an expressionless face and spoke as if she were reprimanding me.

"B-Bjorn Yandel." You should not give up reading books.

"Oh, I've been busy these days.

It was true. After leaving the labyrinth, there was not a single day when I would rest properly.

"Then... Will you come tomorrow?

"If everything goes well today.

I still had the Dragon Slayer Sword, but there was nothing I could do about it until Bloody arranged for me to meet. As soon as the recruitment of the mage is finished, I can rest for a while.

Therefore...

— Ragna Litaniel Peprok

It was time to move on to the main topic. It would not be an exaggeration to say that it was for this purpose that I took part in the meeting, despite my busy schedule.

"If you have anything to say, just tell me. We're d-friends, right?

— Of course! When Ragna first used the word 'friends', Shavina smiled happily and agreed.

Okay, the basics should be enough.

"You don't want to become an explorer?"

— ... This is the same offer you made then.

— Yes.

I have already made the same proposal, but then the situation was somewhat different. Our team became much more diverse, and we were now "friends", a-.

"N-NO!" What're you talking about!? While I was waiting for Ragna's answer, Shavina screamed madly, as if her attack button had been pressed.

It was an unexpected situation.

"Ragna?" You're going to refuse, aren't you?" Of course, you will refuse. You know how the labyrinth works!

It was a mistake. I thought Shavina would help me by saying that being a researcher was also a social experience, because she seemed to be friends with several researchers. I thought it would be less disgusting to research. That's why I brought it up when the three of us were together. I never thought that she would ruin my plan.

— ... Shavina, don't be so afraid. I'm not going anywhere.

Ragna gently took Shavina's hand. Only then did Shavina come to her senses and sit down again with an embarrassed face.

There was a bitter taste in my mouth.

"Then you refuse my offer.

— Yes. I like working in the library.

She liked being a librarian, didn't she?

To believe this, I would have to ignore the clear memory of her looking into the distance and saying, "Who cares about this place?"

It would be wiser to accept that she could not leave for some reason.

The recruitment failed.

I was a little disappointed. After gathering with them a few times, I learned that her Magus rank was very high. She was at least a rank 5, but she was also young and had the opportunity to grow further.

Well, the fact that she works as a librarian means that there are some personal circumstances here.

I erased all my regrets. She would have been a great recruit, but there was nothing I could do about it right now. At our level of acquaintance, even if I asked her what her circumstances were, I didn't think she would tell me so easily.

Shavina, coming to her senses, asked:

"Isn't there a mage on your team, Mr. Yandel?" Administrative Mage-...

"He's dead," I replied curtly.

"Oh...

This is the end of today's meeting.

***

After meeting my "friends", I went to the magic tower. This was my first visit in the last two months. Wow, so much time has passed since the end of the research cooperation.

"Huh?" Mr. Yandel?

"It's been a long time. Can I come in?

— Well, of course.

In Raven's personal laboratory, everything was the same.

Documents were piled up like mountains, magical materials were scattered everywhere. I thought it would be nice to put things in order, but...

"Don't just put it anywhere, give it to me." I have to remember where I put it.

Mmm, it was a system that didn't need to be cleaned because it remembered where it put it? Perhaps this was more reasonable than it seemed. After I handed over the document lying on the chair, Raven immediately asked:

"So what happened?" You haven't visited me for two months.

She used to at least bring me water in a flask. Didn't we even have business relations anymore? Well, it was nice to get straight to the point. No matter how much I flatter her, no matter how much I ingratiate myself, it will not change this girl's decision. If the outcome is already decided, then you need to at least save time.

"I have a proposal for you."

"Tell me."

"There's a mage vacancy in my new team.

- In a word, this is another recruitment proposal.

Raven grinned.

It was a very different attitude than before when she made a blank face as soon as I asked. Well, that was before I got the nickname Little Balkan.

"Mr. Yandel, do you remember what I said then?"

"You said it would be nice if all the crew members were above rank 6 and had a priest.

"And?" The result?

I honestly introduced the team members, starting with the fact that there is no priest, and Misha is a rank 7 melee fighter.

"Hmph, rank 7?

"Within a month, she will be promoted to rank 6, so don't worry.

Seeing her incredulous expression, I listed the ranks of Misha's essence, and Raven softened her face.

"As you say."

The next was Einar. Since we were clearing the Blood Citadel together, I didn't have to explain it for long.

"You're so confident, is she a rank 9?" No, moreover, why is she still rank 9? It absorbed the essence of the Bone Knight.

"She's just like Misha. There was no time to apply for a promotion.

It was not an excuse, but the truth. Right now, the two who had started a huge fight yesterday were supposed to visit the Explorers Guild and apply for a promotion. She will receive at least a rank 7 score. Einar currently had one rank 7 essence and one rank 4 essence.

"Has she inherited a rank 4 essence?" Well, that makes a difference.

"The grade may be of the 7th rank, but it is safe to say that it is of the 6th rank. I've fought it and evaluated that part myself, so there's no doubt about it.

"I can find out for myself. And the last man?

—Abman Urikfried, a 5th rank researcher from the Black Bear Tribe He uses a large crossbow as a weapon.

When I told her about his summoning tank beast, Raven's expression changed slightly.

"That's enough to make him welcome, anywhere. Why did he join your team?

"We've crossed paths before. He said that at least I wouldn't stab my teammate in the back.

"Well... In this sense, you are trustworthy.

Raven agreed with this surprisingly easily and moved on. But when she heard the composition of the participants, she doubted.

"What about the scout?" The long-awaited question followed. Since people perceive information differently depending on how it is presented, I spoke about it as if I had just remembered.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. Urikfried is a guide.

— ... It's true?

"Do I have to take an oath to make you believe me?"

"No, but...

I grinned, squared my shoulders confidently, and threw away the remorse that was beginning to tremble.

Well, I wasn't lying, really, right?

Mr. Bear is a guide. It's just that he's a poor conductor.

In general, after revealing Mr. Bear's talent, the rest was easy.

Raven pretended to think about it, as her pride was at stake.

"This will be a good opportunity for you too. Didn't you whine that you didn't have enough money? For now, the goal is to get to the 6th floor, so there will be no shortage of money when the serious expedition begins.

"Hmm...

"As you can see from the composition of the team, we need more than an ordinary mage. We need an experienced mage like you.

"Hm?"

"Oh, and one more thing. Since we have a guide, there will be a few occasions when we get into the Chasm or discover hidden rooms in the labyrinth. A magician like you should know the price of this, right?

"Hmmm...

When my answer sounded more convincing, Raven swallowed her pride and nodded.

"Good. Since you are asking so sincerely.

This was quite expected, because she did not refuse immediately after the offer. If she hadn't been interested in the expedition, she wouldn't have listened to me at all.

"But I have one condition.

— ... Speak.

"Expedition will always come second to me, and my magical research will come first.

"Keep it simple."

"If I have a research topic, I can take a break for a month or two, or leave the team altogether. I hope you understand this part.

I secretly tensed up, but it wasn't an unreasonable demand. We were not an official clan. Sudden vacancies are common in this industry, especially for an arrogant magician. Yes, it wasn't bad at all.

"Good. Just warn me in advance. If you leave forever, I'll have to look for a new mage. For a month or two, it is enough to use mercenaries.

"Good. Then that's it.

That was the final member: Arua Raven, a mage of the Altemion School.

"It looks like we're really colleagues now.

"I'm counting on you.

The recruitment was successful.

***

After that, we talked a little more. The foundation for the formation of the team has been laid, but the team itself has not yet been created.

"We're all getting together to register the team with the Guild and talk about distribution. When is the right time?

Usually, the team breaks up at the gathering stage, so I wanted to hold the meeting as early as possible. I realized that there was less and less time left to find new members.

Unfortunately, the final meeting dragged on for more than a week.

"My dissertation on the Guardian Vampire is in its final stages. Next week, everything, including the conferences, will be over, so maybe we can get together by then.

I decided to think about it positively. If I had come to see her next month, she would not have even thought of listening to my proposal.

The timing was good in many ways. With her technical characteristics, she could really find a better team than ours.

"Then let's meet on the 17th, I'll discuss the place and time with the others and send you a letter."

"I'd appreciate it."

After that, I left the magic tower and met with Misha and Mr. Bear separately. Having decided on the place and time, I returned to my inn and slept well.

The next day I visited the library, and then my daily life went on uneventfully.

"Wow! I've never seen such a huge mace!

In sparring with Einar, I practiced the "True Gigantization" mode.

"Do you buy me this even after you've given me cotton candy?" Bjorn, are you a shaman's cornucopia?

"I'm not buying it for you, it's an investment... No, I lend you money. When you earn money later, you will have to pay it back.

The three of us, including Misha, came to Commelbi to upgrade Ainar's equipment. Misha moved into the next room, which was just vacant.

"And what about your old home?" I asked. "There isn't much room to cook here.

"It's okay. I'm going to buy everything now. Anyway, she steals all my food!

We visited Mr. Bear's shop and almost killed him when Mike spilled the beans.

"Honey, have you been deceiving me all this time and entering the labyrinth alone!?"

"Y-dear?" I was wrong. Have mercy on me...! Think of the baby in your belly!

Thus the quiet days passed.

And...

[23:59]

With only one minute left until midnight on the 15th, I sat comfortably on my bed.

[Your soul has resonated and is drawn to a certain world].

That time has come again.