Chapter 99

"Jinoid, can I temporarily hold onto the money for you?"

While looking up, he nodded absent-mindedly with a "Yeah." I thought he was shocked, but it turned out he was just captivated by Laurei. I kicked his shin, telling him to get a grip, but my foot hurt. I wonder where Jinoid's anger meter went.

Moreover, does he have no caution at all right now? What if I just run off with it?

"Ah, well, if it's now, I can cancel it and return it to the account."

A female staff member, surrounded by men in black, spoke up.

"Huh, so the operation of life and death is that simple, huh."

"!"

"I'm not going to entrust it. I don't know what will happen to them after this. Next time, it might be because of Jinoid's will as a former party member, and Jinoid might get killed again. I'll have him start over with a new name. Of course, I won't register him here. If he's linked, he'll just get picked apart again."

To be honest, I don't know much about the guild system. When I registered, I heard about the account, but I didn't trust it, so I didn't deposit any money. The guild card itself is over-technology, but the people handling it are analog. I don't know how much information is recorded, but being able to withdraw with just verbal information is no security at all. By the way, you can register as a new adventurer just by changing your name. So, erasing registration as a punishment is meaningless. I've heard this before.

The staff member didn't say anything more. She was taken away by the men in black. Laurei seemed to have given instructions to other staff members during this time. The adventurer guild can't just close down because there's a problem. Laurei is deploying her people to monitor and continue operations. The previous female staff member was probably just incompetent.

"Well, well, I just stopped by this town, you know."

Laurei spread her hands and shook her head.

"Please don't abandon us. The guilds that aren't functioning properly are just a few."

"Sure, they are."

Otherwise, they would have been shut down long ago or beaten up by adventurers. No matter how many muscleheads there are, they wouldn't be unaware of being mistreated. Laurei said she just stopped by, but did she actually come for some information? Or was she on her way to shut down another guild? Who is she, anyway?

In a room at the inn, we were leisurely drinking tea. Jinoid, who had been eating like crazy just a moment ago, was now dozing off, probably because his stomach was full. Koushin and Rada were on either side of me, glancing at the black-clad man standing at the door. Don't be so wary. He's probably a bodyguard, not a lookout. The guild probably sees us as people who started a fight with them. The master was taken away, but we don't know who else might act.

Jinoid is now unemployed. His original rank was D. I decided to reset him on my own, but he doesn't seem to mind much about starting from the beginning. We're supposed to travel together to a city where the guild functions properly.

Whether he joins our party is a bit uncertain. Because, well, he and Koushin don't get along very well. Sometimes Koushin looks at Jinoid with an irritated face. It takes a lot to get Koushin irritated, Jinoid. Rada is just being shy.

By the way, the truth behind Jinoid's "I don't have any money" statement is just a difference in financial sense. I haven't asked clearly, but it seems his family is quite wealthy. I thought of a rural area when I heard about the allowance, but it seems different. The pile of gold coins I saw when I withdrew the money was "just that much," and it would "disappear quickly" for food expenses, apparently.

Differences in personality, financial sense, and likes and dislikes are hard to change. I can't handle the stress of everyday life. I want a tank, but I don't want to cause discord. Well, it will become clear during the journey.

"Hey, this cheese is delicious."

Dinner was served at the inn. Since it's the kind of inn that Laurei uses, it can't be bad. After dinner, they offered wine and snacks, but I'm holding off because we need to take statements. The cheese we bought in the previous town was milder, but this one is quite strong and delicious.

Still, I sigh.

Honestly, I didn't intend to go this far. But since I helped, I can't just leave and move on. I planned to go to the guild, confirm the facts, and ask for proper guidance.

But then that happened.

Because, you know? "He's dead, you know~ (grinning)"? Even if it was a lie, I wanted to say "You're safe!" when I saw Jinoid. But the first word out of his mouth was "Ew." That's when I snapped.

If Jinoid had lost his temper or gotten violent or confronted me, things might have turned out differently. But he was just dazed.

"It's late, isn't it?"

Rada, eating nuts, looked out the window. Of course, it was pitch dark. It was almost time for the date to change. Maybe we could wait until tomorrow.

I heard they were starting with the others. Is someone dragging their feet? It must be more difficult for Laurei than for us. She doesn't seem like the type to leave things to others.

Finally, there was a knock on the door. The man on lookout and guard duty muttered something in a low voice. A small voice replied. Cool, is it some kind of password? The door opened.

"Sorry, I'm late."

Laurei and two black-clad men entered the room. They looked exhausted, but it made them even more intimidating and beautiful.

"Thank you for your hard work."

I kicked Jinoid awake and greeted Laurei. She was seated in the birthday chair. The two men stood behind her, one carrying a stack of papers, probably a scribe.

Then, someone from the inn came in. On the tray were what looked like dinner.

"Sorry, you haven't had dinner yet. It's impolite, but can we eat while we talk?"

Laurei looked at the plates and then at us. The portions were small, either because it was late or because she eats little. Jinoid would probably finish in three bites. Jinoid, don't stare at other people's food.

"Of course. It must be tough. We could have waited until tomorrow, right?"

"No, I didn't plan for this. I want to wrap it up quickly. I'm sorry to trouble you."

"Since we brought it up, we'll stay and help."

"I appreciate that."

Out of consideration, we were given new snacks. They looked like baked goods. The sweet smell of honey tickled my nose. A sinful treat at midnight. I'll eat it.

We started talking about what happened after I first met Laurei. When we got to the part about the conflict with Gandora, she frowned. We were told not to interfere. We concluded the story with Gandora being safely rescued and returning to the forest.

Laurei took a deep breath.

"I'm glad you're safe. Really. And I'm grateful. Gandora could have come to the town in a rage. In the past, towns have been ravaged that way. But if you had died, it would have been for nothing. I'm glad you're safe."

She placed her forehead on her clasped hands and repeated "I'm glad you're safe" like a prayer. I felt a bit guilty for rushing in without thinking.

"Fortunately, there was no thorn attack, so we managed."

Laurei nodded at my words.

"Probably, Gandora wasn't really angry. He was just interested in what was in front of him and tried it out a bit. That's what I think."

"I see. So it was just good luck."

Everyone in the room nodded.

"Alright. Next, I'll ask you, Jinoid."