episode_0057

I’m Yunoa.

A man who became nothing after his adventurer records were erased.

Unable to accept that the guild’s death processing cannot be reversed on paper, I decided to confront the guild master.

“But where is the master? Come to think of it, I’ve never seen them before.”

“Well… I’ve never seen them either.”

Tina’s answer filled my mind with question marks.

How can someone who works as a receptionist in the guild claim to have never seen the guild master? It was as absurd as working at a butcher shop but never seeing any meat.

“You’ve never seen the master? We’ve definitely had meetings with them before.”

“Well… we only communicate through letters. They’ve never actually come to the guild…”

The guild master, the ultimate authority in the guild, has never shown up at the guild?

Then how am I supposed to confront them?

“But they do have an address. If you go there, you might find them…”

Tina handed me a small note she had written on the spot.

The note had the guild master’s address written in beautiful handwriting.

They write really well.

I took the note and immediately set out to find the master.

***

When I arrived at the address written on the note, I found myself at an unexpected place.

A place I knew well.

Kubel Apothecary.

I had sold herbs here with Meruru in the past.

I remembered it was run by a man named Philstone, who seemed quite cantankerous.

“Is the address wrong?”

I stood in front of Kubel Apothecary, holding the note with the guild master’s address, checking it several times.

Indeed, the address Tina had written on the note was correct.

Furthermore, Kubel Apothecary was located in a secluded area with no other buildings around, due to the strong smell of herbs.

“Excuse me.”

Since I had no intention of looking elsewhere, I stepped inside the apothecary.

Inside, Philstone was still tinkering with potion-making equipment, paying no attention to whether I had entered or not.

“Mr. Philstone?”

I called out his name a little louder.

Even when Meruru and I had come to sell herbs before, he didn’t bother to look at us unless we drew attention to ourselves.

“What is it? I’m busy right now. We don’t usually entertain guests here. If you want potions, go to the general store.”

“It’s me. I came to sell herbs before.”

“Hmm?”

Finally, Philstone turned his head to look at me.

It had been a long time since I last visited, but we had traded several times before.

“Who are you?”

Can’t you recognize me?

Not wanting to bother with introductions until he recognized me, I decided to get straight to the point.

“I’m from the adventurer guild.”

“So?”

“I came here with the guild master’s address, and I arrived here. Do you happen to know anything urgent about the master?”

I didn’t have high expectations as I asked.

Perhaps it would have been better to go back to Tina and confirm the address again, but I didn’t want my trip here to be in vain.

Philstone looked at me with a twinkle in his eye.

It wasn’t so much a smile of joy or amusement, but rather his expression itself seemed to be smiling.

“Handle guild matters with the receptionist. This is an apothecary.”

Well, that’s to be expected.

I should go back to the guild and ask Tina for the address again. Just as I was about to turn around.

“The master of the Kubel Adventurer Guild also runs the apothecary.

They are a master potion maker and an exceptional magician.

Yunoa’s guild master’s address was spot on.”

My steps to leave the apothecary came to a sudden halt.

Philstone is the adventurer guild master?

Why is someone who is a guild master here, buried in the smell of herbs, making potions?

I need to properly confront them at the guild and ask for help with the troublesome adventurer like me.

Anyway, as the narrator said, it was certain that Philstone was the guild master.

I turned back to Philstone and said, “You came here because you couldn’t resolve it with the receptionist, right?”

“Why are you talking about that here? As you can see, this is a potion refinery.”

“Don’t beat around the bush. Aren’t you the guild master of the Kubele Adventurer Guild?”

At my words, a slight crease appeared on Philstone’s forehead.

He looked at me for a moment and then said as if something had occurred to him, “Ah, you’re the herbalist who came to sell herbs with the Suin tribe.”

No, he just realized that now… That’s not important!

Well, there are all kinds of people like this.

I don’t know where his sense of responsibility as a guild master went.

“I’m currently an adventurer.”

“Is that so? Good for you.”

“But I can’t do that anymore. I’ve been marked as deceased.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

“How can it not be reversed?”

“It can’t be.”

Philstone answered without a second thought.

It was a response that was so briskly rejected that I didn’t even consider arguing.

“No, it’s the guild’s mistake. I’m perfectly alive, but I’ve been marked as deceased, so I can’t continue my adventurer activities.”

“Register again.”

“If I register again, will I be restored to my original rank? As a master, you should have that authority, right?”

“Sorry, can we talk about this later? The extraction time for the refinery is up.”

This guy seemed to have no intention of listening to me properly.

But at least he didn’t deny being the guild master now.

Fine.

I won’t move from here until the problem is resolved.

How can I make a living if I can’t work as an adventurer?

Of course, there may be a way to re-register and climb back up from bronze, but I couldn’t accept that.

It’s not my fault that I was nullified, and I can’t bear such a loss.

I watched Philstone extract the potion from the refinery using a transparent vessel filled with a bright red liquid.

He transferred it into a vial and then mixed it with various colored liquids prepared next to him.

Every move he made exuded the feeling of an expert, even though I, who knew nothing, could sense it.

I watched Philstone extract potions from the refinery for a while.

Even though I tried to speak again in the middle, it seemed like he couldn’t hear me, as he continued with his work.

After a long wait, Philstone finally finished his potion refining work and looked at me, saying, “What’s wrong? You still haven’t left?”

He genuinely looked curious.

“Restore my adventurer record to its original state, or cancel the death record. I won’t leave until then.”

“It can’t be helped.”

“Will you do it?”

“I want to explain why it can’t be done.”

“…”

“All guild tasks are documented. Full documentation of tasks, that’s why I can run the refinery here and still maintain the duties of a master.”

The culprit who always buried receptionists in piles of documents was right here.

Does he know that Tiena’s face is becoming more and more pale because of him?

“Processed documents are received and confirmed by me once a month by mail. And all documents are handled by receptionists according to the rules. If we make an exception here, it will tarnish the guild’s operations that have been running smoothly so far.”

“Isn’t the fact that I, who was marked as deceased, being perfectly alive here a bigger tarnish?”

“If you were processed as deceased in the guild, there must have been a valid reason. It’s strange that you’ve come back alive. We can’t apply exceptions to every unique case like this. Are you suggesting that we leave a flaw in the guild’s entire processing system just for you? Once exceptions start being made, they’ll keep coming up again and again.”

Filstone’s words were absurd yet strangely convincing, which only made me angrier.

In the end, it meant that they couldn’t change the entire guild’s process just because of me.

So, how am I supposed to be compensated for unjustly losing my adventurer rank?

“Yunoa was dumbfounded by the guild’s principled operation and found it absurd.

Filstone believed that reversing a once nullified document was akin to bringing back the dead.

Regardless of Yunoa’s life or death, the guild’s principles were more important to him.

Begging for the revival of further nullified records would be a waste of time.”

The narration once again confirmed Filstone’s stubbornness.

Was registering as an adventurer with the guild my only option, despite feeling unjust and desperate?

“However, on the other hand, following the guild’s principles while regaining the adventurer rank meant there was no problem.

The nullified records could never be recovered. It was as difficult as making the Demon Lord dance naked.

But if one could prove their abilities sufficiently through adventurer registration, they could potentially receive a higher rank from the start.”

As I listened to the narration, a scene flashed through my mind.

It was the memory of when I first registered as an adventurer, answering various questions and signing documents.

Yes, it was clear that the guild had a process of verifying a person’s abilities and background when registering as an adventurer.

And because I had nothing to show for, I couldn’t even receive a Bronze rank and ended up with a Novice rank.

So, if I could prove my abilities and experience, couldn’t I potentially receive a Silver rank from the start?

“Um… I understand for now.”

In the end, I reluctantly agreed with Filstone.

Instead of trying to convince him here, it seemed better to go back and consult with Tina.

If I could easily receive a Silver rank by registering as an adventurer again, then honestly, it didn’t matter.