Chapter 66: Beauty Can Be Distracting

 

We promptly headed to the adventurers' guild of Golden Dawn, which is staggeringly huge. It has an unprecedented number of adventurers registered for a single city, including several B-rank adventurers like Raidock's party—a rarity outside the capital. Normally, a guild would count itself lucky to have one or two C-rank adventurers.

The building itself is extraordinarily large. Kyle, putting great effort into its construction, provided a prime location in Golden Dawn. The building, completed with preferential supply of alchemically strengthened stone, spans seven stories and includes a courtyard with a training area.

The adventurers' guild serves as an expert corps against monsters; no armed group would be sanctioned by the state otherwise. Despite its importance, the guild is often slighted by the nobility and the state, but Kyle, recognizing its significance, always seeks equitable cooperation. As such, the guild holds considerable trust in him.

With this backdrop, when we arrived at the guild, the assembled adventurers greeted us with smiles.

"Hey, Craft, Leifan! Out for more materials today?"

"Don’t be silly, Raidock's with them, it must be business."

"That makes sense. If you guys need anything, just ask!"

"Anything we can help with, let us know! Though, if Raidock’s here, probably not much we can do!"

"Yeah! We owe a lot to both Kyle and you, Craft and Leifan! Feel free to ask us anything!"

Two adventurers were joking around in the lobby, their banter filled with familiarity. They must be a good duo. By the way, someone should mention Jitaro's name too—he looks a bit deflated.

After exchanging greetings with the adventurers, Mika, a cat beastman working at the reception, called out to us.

"Welcome back, Raidock. And hello to you too, Craft and Leifan!"

"Hey, Mika," Raidock replied, giving a casual wave.

Employed at the guild, Mika was part of Kyle’s strong push against discrimination towards beastmen. While there is still prevalent discrimination in some places, it's heartening to see a beastman prominently placed at the guild’s reception.

"Raidock, everyone together—does that mean you've heard about the special task?" Mika asked.

"Yeah. About the survey and mining. And we were asked to accompany a promising party new to Golden Dawn. Have you heard about this, Mika?"

"Hmm, that's news to me. Just a moment."

With the grace characteristic of a cat beastman, Mika stood up and slipped into the back.

Shortly after, the guild master, Sainos Gashur, hurried over to us.

"Sorry to keep you waiting! Lord Craft, Lady Leifan!"

He's likely the person in the adventurers' guild most grateful to Kyle. The guild master’s direct approach and respectful demeanor clearly reflect the scale and significance of our guild.

Sinos was the brother of Urban Gashur, who had served as the head of the Adventurer's Guild before it moved to Golden Dawn. Perhaps his support for coexistence within the guild was intended to appeal to Kyle, but from Sinos's perspective, he was considerably accommodating to us, who were treated as Kyle's close associates.

Rare materials, which are usually sold at high prices, were also sold to us at fair prices preferentially.

"Um, I'm here too, you know…"

"My apologies. Mr. Jitaro, will you be joining us this time?"

"Yes, sir! Leave it to me!"

"Thank you very much. Then, I'll introduce you to the Casper sisters, who are scheduled to accompany us."

"Wow! I hear they are incredibly beautiful!"

Calm down, Jitaro. I think it's better not to raise the bar too high. Rumors like these are unreliable.

"Uh? Oh yes, I think they are beautiful."

"Please ignore Jitaro, Guild Leader."

"That's harsh, Mr. Craft!"

"Just be quiet for a bit. It makes things complicated."

"Alright."

Jitaro readily backed down, but his expression clearly screamed, "Hurry up! Hurry!"

I shrugged my shoulders and prompted the Guild Leader.

"Ah, right over there in the lobby."

Reidock and the Guild Leader looked in the same direction. Indeed, three beautiful women were sitting at the same table, drinking tea. From the way they were looking at us, they were undoubtedly the Casper sisters.

"Then, we'll take it from here."

"Is that so? Understood. Please take care of everything."

The Guild Leader bowed politely and headed back inside. He must be extremely busy, so Reidock probably didn't want to bother him more.

"Whoa! Those are the girls, right? Wow! They really are beautiful!"

Reidock gave Jitaro a wry smile in response.

"Yes, that's them. I've met them before, so there's no mistake."

"Leave the rest to me!"

"…What?"

Reidock froze for a moment at the unexpected comment, and in that instant, Jitaro charged towards the Casper sisters.

"That idiot!"

We were too late, and just as we were about to catch up, another adventurer crossed our path, and Jitaro couldn't be stopped. He was on a full-blown sprint.

"Hello! I'm Jitaro! Wow, all three of you are really beautiful! More than the rumors! The lady with the pointed hat, you look like a true magician! And you, are you a ranger? The very short haircut suits you! And over here, the loose wavy hair looks perfect on you! Are you a cleric? To get acquainted, I'll treat you to something you like!"

That idiot! He's gone too far!

True to Jitaro's words, one woman, indeed looking like a witch with a pointed hat, had a sharp gaze. Her crest indicated she was a magician.

One dressed like a ranger or thief, but her crest was that of a swordsman. She seemed to be a light-armored warrior.

The last woman, with loose wavy hair dressed in clerical garb, didn't seem like a sister at all given her prominent curves. Jitaro's gaze was fixed on her cleavage. Of course, she bore the cleric's crest.

The pointed-hat magician gave Jitaro a chilling look, but he seemed oblivious.

The short-haired woman remained expressionless, seemingly indifferent to emotions.

The loose-waved one, on the other hand, kept smiling nonstop.

"Mr. Jitaro, was it? I don't think we've met before. If this is a pickup, I must decline."

"It's not a pickup! It's fate! Let's start our journey together!"

"That's exactly what a pickup is… 'Atmospheric Burst'!!"

"Ouch!!"

Compressed air burst, flipping Jitaro over.

"…Hmm? I did hold back, but he seems tougher than I expected. Just in case, one more shot…"

"Wait, wait, wait! Please wait!"

Reidock and I rushed forward to intercept the pointed-hat lady.

"Mr. Reidock?"

"Our companion has been rude! We apologize, so please calm down!"

"I'm sorry! Our fool is completely at fault, but please, let's leave it at that!"

Reidock and I apologized simultaneously. The pointed-hat lady looked at Reidock once, then turned her gaze to me.

"You are?"

"I'm Craft. Craft Worcken. That fool over there rolling on the ground is my companion."

"Ah. Are you the renowned alchemist I've heard about?"

"I apologize for Jitaro's rudeness. Can we possibly put down the weapons?"

The pointed-hat witch, Jitaro, Reidock, and I exchanged glances.

"I see. So you are the companions requested by the guild."

"Yes. Your beauty probably overwhelmed him, and he went overboard. I apologize for that."

As I apologized, the pointed-hat woman's eyes widened in surprise.

"Beautiful!?"

Ah, perhaps it wasn't appropriate to comment on appearance upon first meeting.

Seeing her slightly flustered, I decided to steer the conversation in a different direction to calm things down.

"That spell earlier was impressive. Quick incantation and just the right power."

"Is that so?"

Complimenting her magic rather than her appearance seemed to soften her expression a bit.

Yes, let's keep going in this direction.

"Shall we move the conversation forward? I apologize for the late introduction. I am Eva Casper, the eldest sister and party leader."

"Thank you. I look forward to working together."

"Reidock doesn’t need an introduction, right?"

"Correct."

The pointed-hat magician... no, Eva’s gaze toward Reidock seemed somewhat detached.

Perhaps she was dismayed by Jitaro's behavior.

Regaining her composure, Eva turned to the short-haired girl sitting next to her.

"This is Camille, the second sister. She holds the crest of a swordsman and fights with dual blades. She's usually quiet, but when she talks, she really talks."

The short-haired Camille turned her face towards us.

It seemed that was her way of greeting. With adventurers, all types are welcomed, so it didn't particularly bother me.

"Nice to meet you."

"..."

For some reason, she looked at us curiously. Her demeanor reminded me of Myne, but Camille's emotions were even harder to read.

Eva sighed in exasperation but didn’t elaborate further, instead introducing the last sister.

"This is Marilyn. She holds the crest of a cleric and is skilled in healing and support magic."

"Nice to meet you."

"Likewise."

The long, loose-wavy-haired Marilyn waved with a soft smile.

She seemed approachable for conversation.

It seemed best to speak primarily with either the leader Eva or Marilyn.

As I looked for the right moment to join the conversation, Lifan stepped forward and took Eva's hand.

"I'm Lifan Haman! Just call me Lifan! Eva!"

"Lifan…? Are you perhaps the head of the Production Guild? I've heard you have a skilled blacksmith."

"Yes, that’s right, but since we're going to be in a party together, I hope we can be more casual!"

"I see... understood. Well then, Lifan, I look forward to working together."

Eva was slightly bewildered by Lifan's enthusiasm but returned his handshake with a smile. It seemed they would get along well, which was a relief.

"Ouch... that was a shock."

Despite having been hit by a fairly powerful spell, Jitaro stood up as if nothing had happened.

"You're quite resilient, aren't you?"

"That's my only claim to fame!"

Eva shot a cold glance at Jitaro, who showed no signs of learning his lesson. It seemed unlikely that he had any chance with her.

"Heh heh... I'll show you my good side!"

Jitaro, oblivious to the mood, was determined to impress.

Well, as long as he's motivated, that's fine.