At first glance, she was young. You wouldn't find it strange if she were called a child.
However, she had a dagger at her waist. Her hair was tied up high, giving her a cute atmosphere, but her stance suggested she had been through actual combat.
"...Excuse me, is this the reception desk?"
Serena returned a smile as she looked at the girl with the dagger at her waist. The girl was staring at her with firm eyes, but Serena also sensed a lack of composure.
The time was already past noon, a late time to be accepting requests. Serena leaned forward slightly from her chair to respond as politely as possible.
"Welcome. This is the reception desk, but what can I do for you? If you're looking for new registration, the procedure is..."
She asked, but the girl shook her head slightly. It seemed she already had a guild card.
"No, I want to accept a request. I'm a traveler who came to this town..."
Serena nodded in understanding and looked at the rack of request forms next to the counter.
"I understand. I'll check if there are any requests left."
The rack was lined with cards for requests taken in the morning, and there were hardly any unassigned tags. After noon, most of the jobs were usually taken.
"I'm sorry. Actually, almost all the requests were taken this morning..."
Serena said, bowing her head, and the girl's shoulders slumped in disappointment.
She looked desperate, her eyes wandering as if searching for words. After a while, she spoke in a hoarse voice.
"I see... I guess I was too late. But I want to accept any job, even a dirty one... You have drain cleaning, right?"
The moment she heard the words "drain cleaning," Serena remembered the adventurer from earlier. He—Setsu-san—had just taken about thirty drain cleaning request forms.
"I'm sorry. Actually, Setsu-kun, an adventurer, just took all the drain cleaning requests."
"Eh!? Really!? Usually, no one wants to do it, so it should be left over..."
The girl's shoulders slumped dramatically. She must be in desperate need of money.
"Um, to be honest, I really need to make money today... The thing is, I don't even have money for tonight's lodging... So, I know I'm asking a lot, but is there any way you can give me a job...!"
The girl said, bowing her head deeply.
Having been begged this desperately, Serena didn't want to turn her away. She pondered if there was anything she could do to help.
"If you'd like, how about trying to catch up with the adventurer named Setsu-san? He hasn't been gone long, so you should be able to catch up to him soon. If you join him along the way and help him, he might share the reward."
The girl looked at Serena with a half-believing expression.
"Um, do you think that will work? I don't even know where he went..."
"If you'd like, I'll give you the list, and if you search in order, there's a high chance you'll meet him somewhere. He's probably in the residential area on the north side, which is the closest from here."
At Serena's persuasive words, the girl lowered her gaze and thought for a moment before nodding decisively.
"How many minutes ago did Setsu-san leave here?"
At the girl's question, Selena said, "Let me see," and checked the clock on the wall before saying,
"I think it's only been about ten minutes."
"Then I should be able to catch up quickly. I understand. I'm sorry, but can I have the list?"
Serena prepared a paper with the list of addresses and handed it to the girl.
"Thank you. If I meet him, I'll try to negotiate to help him with some of the drain cleaning and get a share of the reward. I don't know if it will work..."
"Setsu-san is a kind person, so I'm sure he won't refuse your request. However, he's a bit awkward with words, so please don't misunderstand that."
Serena smiled to ease the girl's tension.
He might be clumsy in his interactions with strangers, but in the end, he would surely give in. Serena knew best that Setsu-san was kind.
"You've really helped me. Thank you, reception desk lady. I'll go right away."
The girl said, accepting the map and the paper with the addresses from Serena. She thanked her again before heading towards the guild door and quickly left.
(Setsu-san is a kind person, so it should definitely work out.)
And if Setsu-san were to meet the girl, what kind of interaction would they have? Serena's imagination was stimulated, but she began to organize the documents at hand. She suppressed the slight jealousy and anticipation that was growing in her chest and concentrated on her job as a receptionist.
"Hmm, I feel like I've seen that girl somewhere before..."
Those were the words of Mirei, the senior receptionist who had been next to her all along.
When Serena turned around, she was groaning and holding her temples, unable to remember.
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