episode_0062

Everything finally returned to its place.

Departing early in the morning to the guild, checking the request board, and taking on a day’s worth of requests.

In the evening, receiving the rewards for completed requests, and indulging in delicious food on the streets.

It was a simple but truly missed life.

The guild had completed its building repairs and was fully restored to normal, attracting even more adventurers than before.

Rumors spread that the guild master had changed in other regions, leading to many adventurers defecting and coming over.

It was somewhat surprising that the reason for their defection was not due to operations, but rather due to the popularity of the guild master, Algot.

Even Tina, who looked so worn out that even onlookers would feel tired, had a brighter expression day by day.

The dark circles that could have turned her into a raccoon if they got any darker had significantly lightened.

Freed from the hellish paperwork, Tina was gradually regaining the appearance of the saintly maiden she once was.

One day, as soon as I entered the guild, Tina called out to me.

“Yunoa, something big is happening!”

She seemed unusually anxious, not like her usual self.

“What’s wrong?”

“Meluru hasn’t shown up for work!”

“What do you mean?”

“She’s never done this before, she didn’t show up for work and seems to have disappeared somewhere. Have you seen her?”

“No, I haven’t…”

Tina was visibly shaken and genuinely worried.

Meluru.

A mermaid who came all the way from the Helvetika Island to the continent in search of her sister.

She seemed too naive to live on her own, so Tina had her hired as a receptionist.

Taking advantage of her mermaid status, she became responsible for handling interactions with other species in the guild and had become somewhat of a mascot due to her popularity.

But her sudden absence from work was definitely a cause for concern.

Being a rare mermaid affiliated with the guild, if she strayed too far from Kubele, she could become a target for slave traders.

“Where does Meluru usually stay?”

“She rented a small room nearby to live in. I introduced her to it. But she doesn’t seem to be there, hasn’t shown up at the guild, and no one has seen her despite asking around.”

“Is there any clue?”

After pondering my question, Tina spoke up.

“As you know, I gather information related to mermaids entering the guild and inform Meluru separately. Recently, there have been rumors of mermaids being surrounded by monsters in some areas…”

“Surrounded by monsters?”

“It’s uncertain eyewitness accounts. Rumors like seeing a human with a tail being chased by monsters, or a human with fins being surrounded by monsters from a distance.”

The reason Meluru came to the continent was to find her sister.

Tina passing on mermaid-related information to Meluru was initially done out of goodwill to help her find her sister.

But if Meluru had suddenly disappeared, there was only one possibility that came to mind.

“Did she go to find her sister after hearing those rumors?”

But Tina shook her head.

“There have been many rumors like this related to mermaids before. But they were later proven false. Stories of mermaid-like monsters being sighted, or mistaking shadows. This rumor is also of that nature. But suddenly disappearing without saying anything to go find her sister seems unlikely now.”

“Hmm…”

If Tina’s words were true, Meluru’s sudden disappearance was indeed strange.

Being a simple yet peculiar girl, her actions were not easily predictable.

“What’s going on this morning?”

At that moment, Algot appeared as the door behind the counter opened.

“Oh, Master, were you here?”

“I’m always in my office.”

So the guild master also had an office.

Quite different from those obsessed with potion refining.

“Meruru didn’t come to work today. She’s not at home either.”

Tina said to Algot with a worried expression.

“Is it unauthorized absence?”

Algot asked with narrowed eyes in a low voice.

Tina’s expression changed instantly.

“The reason we kept the special counter for different races was to help Meruru improve the guild’s reputation. If she suddenly disappears, it will be difficult for me too.”

“Well….”

It felt like witnessing a subordinate getting scolded by their boss.

Just as the uncomfortable atmosphere was settling in, Algot spoke again.

“If she’s not at home, is she missing? Where could she have gone? Have you asked all her acquaintances?”

“We’re currently looking into it, but no one has seen her.”

Tina answered with a slightly lowered head.

“If there’s no news by lunchtime, we’ll put out a request in the afternoon. I’ll be the client. Keep the reward at 30 gold.”

“What?”

“Didn’t hear me? I’m asking you to put out a request to find Meruru and bring her back safely. Make it a standing request, not a regular one.”

“Oh, okay. Understood.”

Giving Tina an indifferent look, Algot went back into his office and closed the door.

Asking about unauthorized absence and creating a slightly uncomfortable atmosphere, I thought he was going to fire Meruru.

Tina seemed a bit surprised too, placing a hand on her chest and taking a deep breath.

“Is Algot always at the guild?”

I asked Tina in a low voice.

“Yes, ever since his office was completed, he’s always here. He even eats his meals here.”

“I was surprised earlier. I thought Meruru was going to be fired.”

“Me too. But I never expected him to ask us to find her ourselves.”

“But what does a standing request mean?”

Earlier, Algot had mentioned a standing request rather than a regular one.

It seemed like there was something different about it.

“Oh, it means a request that is carried out without accepting individual requests. Since Master is from Piphnel, they use this method a lot in that guild. It’s like a bounty, you could say.”

“So, anyone can find Meruru first without accepting the request?”

“That’s right.”

Indeed, it was a good method for finding a missing person.

With a regular request, once an adventurer took it, no other adventurer could accept the same request at the same time.

But with the standing request method Tina mentioned, every adventurer who visited the guild could participate.

Of course, the level of professionalism and focus might be lower than with a regular request, but in the current situation where we didn’t know where Meruru was, it seemed optimal.

Moreover, the fact that the guild master personally put up 30 gold for the request was surprising.

Was Algot unexpectedly someone who valued his employees?

“Tina, I have a favor to ask.”

“Go ahead.”

“Can you also tell me all the rumors related to Meruru that she mentioned about the aquatic beings?”

I was concerned about Meruru’s disappearance.

Personally, I was worried, and if there was a request from the guild, there was no reason not to go and search for her.

Although Tina denied that Meruru had gone to find her sister, I couldn’t think of any other reason for her disappearance.

Gathering all the information about aquatic beings that Meruru had consistently received, and looking for clues seemed more promising than randomly searching everywhere.

“I can tell you, but… I think I need some time to organize it.”

“I’m sorry for being busy, but can I ask for a favor?”

“These days, I can’t really say I’m busier than before. I’ll get it done soon.”

Tina immediately took out a blank piece of paper from the nearby shelf and started writing something quickly.

* * *

Meruru didn’t return to the guild by lunchtime.

A constant request to find Meruru, as instructed by Algot, was posted on the bulletin board.

The reception desk for the different species was temporarily closed.

The different species adventurers who had been dealt with by Meruru had to handle their tasks at the general reception desk as before.

A noticeable sense of disappointment appeared on the faces of the different species adventurers who frequented the guild.

Was this how it felt when a part-time worker who used to come to the store every day suddenly quit because of a pretty new job?

Seeing that, it seemed clear that Meruru’s presence had been subtly helpful in the operation of the guild.

I carefully read through the information about the different species that Tina had given me.

It was a compilation of rumors circulating among people, not official information, so there were many strange things.

“On a night when the full moon was out, a shadow resembling a giant different species flew into the sky and disappeared to the north? What is this…?”

– I saw a strange species with nine tails glowing in the grass, hiding.

– While cutting wood in the forest, I heard a meowing sound from the sky, and saw a shadow of a cat-like human passing by.

– After drinking, I went home and my wife had ears and a tail, but they disappeared the next day.

“There are all sorts of weird rumors.”

There was a reason why Tina denied that Meruru had gone to find her.

No matter how much of a Meruru she was, she wouldn’t be foolish enough to hear such ridiculous rumors and go out looking for her sister.

It seemed that the old information was meaningless…

I only looked at the most recent information about the different species that Tina had organized and handed to me.

– While resting on the west 3rd Trade Road, Sandan was almost attacked by monsters, but when he ran away and looked back, the monsters were chasing another target. According to witnesses, the creatures being chased had ears and tails and were a strange species running on all fours.

And another similar rumor around the same time.

– While hunting in the southwest Halberry Forest, I saw monsters gathering in a circle as if performing a ritual. It was getting dark, so I couldn’t get close and quietly turned back, but in the center of the monsters gathered in a circle, there was a large-eared human-like shadow standing. It was hard to see from a distance.

This was a slightly more believable rumor.

However, the information was too scarce, and the two rumors contradicted each other, so the credibility was low.

Should I exclude the possibility of going out to find her sister, as Tina suggested?

“There are all sorts of strange rumors coming into the guild.

Most of the rumors related to the different species floating around were just baseless rumors.

However, the last two rumors confirmed by Yunoa were actually witnessed events.”

At that moment, the narration suddenly confirmed the truth of the rumors.

If it was the last two rumors… was it the incident on the 3rd Trade Road and the rumor in the Halberry Forest?

But can’t the contents of the two rumors coexist?

One said that the different species were being chased by monsters, and the other said that the monsters were gathering as if performing a ritual around the different species.

If both rumors were true as the narration said, then could one of them have seen it incorrectly?

Moreover, there was no evidence that the witnessed different species were Meruru’s sister, let alone the same species.

Even I, who had confirmed the truth of the rumors through narration, had doubts about whether this was a different species.

Meruru didn’t seem like she would suddenly move upon hearing such rumors.

“Senior? What are you doing here?”

Sitting on a chair near the guild, lost in thought, I heard a familiar voice from behind.

Turning around, I saw Sylphy looking at me with wide eyes.