Ch.75Queen of the Back Alley – 1

“Damn, there’s a drought of mid-to-low level requests again. What the hell is going on these days?”

“I heard some weird creatures have appeared? They say the monsters have gotten insanely strong. S-rank adventurers are being called left and right. Even priests are charging premium rates now.”

“I don’t know what the fuck we’re supposed to do about it, damn it.”

Two adventurers, both wearing armor and carrying a sword and spear respectively, grumbled as they left the Adventurers’ Guild building. The door slammed shut with a loud bang.

Though this would normally be considered extremely rude behavior, no one frowned or showed any displeasure at the sight.

The mood among the other adventurers wasn’t much different.

Parties seeking priests were bustling about everywhere, while some stared at the request board for a while before turning away with dejected steps.

“Priest! If you join our party, we’ll give you an additional 5% of the profits!”

“We’ll give you 10% more! Come to our party!”

Some parties were competing to recruit a single priest.

The priest hesitated between the two before eventually moving toward the party that had offered an additional 20% of the profits.

The expressions of the two men who appeared to be leaders contrasted sharply.

Though the shares of the other members would be drastically reduced, they seemed satisfied just to be able to complete a request.

I scanned the request board. Every request had a condition requiring a priest.

Requests without such conditions had already been snatched up by people who had rushed in as soon as the guild opened.

From what I briefly checked yesterday, some had been loitering in front of the guild building since dawn. That’s how desperate the situation was.

‘Damn black blood.’

The reason things had escalated to this point was because of the black blood monsters.

Apart from the first one that melted when it couldn’t withstand Christine’s holy water, and the second one that Christine burned with her divine power, black blood monsters had started appearing all over the continent.

Much faster than before. And in much greater numbers.

The mid-to-low rank adventurers, who made up the vast majority of the adventurer population, couldn’t defeat black blood monsters or even the enhanced monsters near them.

Top B-rank or A-rank adventurers could defeat enhanced monsters, but facing the main body was beyond their capabilities.

That left only S-rank adventurers, but even they could only win with the support of priests, and their numbers were ridiculously small.

Moreover, the necessity of priestly support was a major obstacle.

When even the Royal Knights, who were at the pinnacle of human military power (excluding the non-standard beings around me), suffered heavy casualties when trying to take down black blood monsters without priests, how could S-rank adventurers be any different?

The atmosphere was truly returning to how it was in the old days. Back then, priests’ status had also skyrocketed because of the black blood monsters.

‘Thanks to that, Serena can’t leave the Royal Knights either.’

I had originally planned to have her leave the Royal Knights immediately, but the situation was so urgent that I had no choice but to postpone it.

As a bonus, I got to see Serena’s devastated expression when she heard the news, and Charlotte thoroughly mocking her.

Those two are probably out there now, wiping out black blood monsters while searching for traces of black magic. Especially Serena, who’s working even harder since her departure was delayed.

I should be doing this myself, but black blood monsters have been appearing too frequently, so I had no choice but to entrust most of them to Serena and Charlotte.

That’s why I’ve been quite uncomfortable these past few days. If by any chance something related to black magic happens, I’ll have to completely eradicate that area by any means necessary.

“Adventurer, do you have a moment?”

The receptionist’s voice interrupted my thoughts. I looked up. In the distance, I could see the receptionist waiting for me with a somewhat gloomy smile.

As I approached, the receptionist handed me a piece of paper. It was the adventurer application form I had submitted earlier.

A rejected application form and a receptionist hesitating to speak. I could immediately guess what was coming next.

“I’m sorry, but we cannot approve this.”

I knew it would come to this.

“Is that so?”

“Yes. I’m truly sorry. Given our policies… Are you absolutely sure there’s no one who can vouch for your identity? No companions or relatives?”

I do have some, but bringing them here would be more than this place could handle. I inwardly smirked, thinking of the king of this country and the captain of the First Royal Knights.

An identity guarantor was a mandatory requirement for obtaining an adventurer’s plate.

Usually, parents serve as guarantors, but D-rank or higher adventurers, or ordinary citizens who had lived in the city for more than ten years, could also serve as guarantors.

But in my current situation, neither option was feasible.

“I have my circumstances.”

“Then I’m afraid it’s impossible. If you leave the name and personal information fields blank, it’s very difficult for us to issue approval. You might be a criminal from another city trying to wash away your identity. In fact, there are quite a few criminals who try to get new adventurer plates for that purpose.”

The receptionist’s finger pointed to the name and basic personal information fields that I had left blank.

“I’m truly sorry to say this, but keeping your name and personal information completely secret is highly suspicious behavior. I hope you understand.”

With a polite refusal, the receptionist pushed the application form toward me. I had hoped for a different outcome, but it ended exactly as I expected.

I tore up the rejected application form and threw it in the trash. Perhaps our conversation had been overheard, as I felt suspicious gazes from those around me.

Trying to obtain an adventurer’s certificate and plate with all name and personal information fields left blank was indeed suspicious behavior, so their reaction was perfectly normal.

They didn’t know what kind of person I was.

The suspicious gazes didn’t subside until I left the Adventurers’ Guild building, and only after the door closed could I finally be free from those stares.

‘Charlotte did say to tell her if I needed a new identity.’

The reason I needed a new identity was simple. It was because my lack of a name was gradually becoming like a name itself.

The curse placed on the very concept of me was extremely vicious, and even if I was initially called by a nickname, it would become subject to activation the moment people recognized it differently.

That’s why I needed to change my identity periodically. Of course, with all information about my name and personal details left blank.

It would be simple to ask Charlotte, but she’s currently investigating whether black blood monsters are related to black magic, and I didn’t want to call her for such a trivial matter.

Although it’s inconvenient that all matters requiring identity verification are impossible, what can I do? It’s not like I’ll die from it.

I had considered using Alesia as a guarantor in the city where I had rented a carriage and erasing her memory once more, but I immediately gave up on that idea.

An adventurer vouched for by the Royal Knights would attract a lot of attention. That was absolutely out of the question.

Additionally, from what I had briefly heard before leaving that city, the female adventurer who was the sole survivor of the annihilated party eventually had her mind broken and became incapacitated.

What did Christine do to her?

“Hey, mister!”

Suddenly, someone grabbed my shoulder. Wondering what was going on, I turned around to see a man with eyes that slanted upward at the corners and short blonde hair.

His skin was generally on the darker side. Judging by his swaggering posture and expression, he didn’t seem like a particularly good person.

I searched my memory. There was some weirdo sitting in a corner on the first floor, watching the adventurers, who looked similar to this guy.

“What is it?”

“I saw everything. What just happened. You’ve got quite the nerve, trying to get an adventurer’s plate without revealing your name or personal information.”

The man’s thumb pointed at the Adventurers’ Guild building behind us.

“And I was rejected. If that’s all you have to say, I’ll be on my way.”

“Hey, hey. You’re quite impatient, aren’t you? Just listen to what I have to say for a moment. It won’t be to your disadvantage.”

The hand on my shoulder tightened. He was stronger than he looked. When I stopped walking, the man continued with a smirk.

“Looks like you need a new identity, right?”

I was about to say that I didn’t desperately need one, but I changed my mind.

If a decent and seemingly good-natured adventurer had approached me with such words, it might have been an offer of help, but when someone who clearly looked like a back-alley thug approached with such words, it was unlikely that he was offering to help me obtain an identity through normal channels.

Either through illegal routes for a bribe, or demanding money in exchange for serving as a guarantor. Especially the latter case was not uncommon.

Though one’s head would roll if caught.

“Why do you ask?”

“I know a very good route. All you need is a guarantor to get an adventurer’s certificate, right?”

“That’s true, but are you offering? If I go with someone who looks as shady as you, they’ll hardly agree. It’s like you want to crush my remaining hope and leave me with no lingering attachment. Great idea.”

“Hey now. I’ll have you know I’m a C-rank adventurer.”

“Sure. Let’s say you are. What’s your point?”

“Let’s say I am? Ha, you don’t believe me. Anyway, if you want to get an adventurer’s certificate, I know a way. What do you think?”

He looked around and lowered his voice, seemingly trying to appear cautious of his surroundings.

“Is this ‘very good route’ you mentioned possibly an illegal channel?”

“Hey, illegal? Let’s just say it’s a path slightly different from the orthodox method.”

“Isn’t that the same thing? It means it’s not normal after all.”

“Look, mister.”

The man placed his arm on my shoulder and whispered in a subtle voice.

“You’ve got a shady past too, don’t you? If you were a normal adventurer, you would have filled in your name and personal information back there. From what I can see, you’ve probably caused some major trouble somewhere far away and came here for a fresh start. Just do as I say. No one will dig into your past. I’ve seen many people like you, and they’re all living well here now with completely washed identities.”

“…Why approach me?”

A smirk returned to his face.

“Money, of course. People with shady pasts are generous spenders when it comes to self-preservation. If the service is reliable, they’re willing to open their wallets.”

“Didn’t you consider the possibility that I might not have money?”

“Then you can pay with your body. If you need to wash your identity, you’ve probably already killed quite a few people, right?”

“…”

I remained silent for a moment, trying to choose an appropriate response, but this man seemed to take my silence as confirmation.

Smiling, he slapped my back a few times with audible thumps, and despite my disgusted expression, he went so far as to put his arm around my shoulders.

“Let’s go see the lady. She’s the expert in these matters.”