She was especially concerned about the strong-willed girl's whereabouts. She had said she was broke, but had she managed to catch up with Setsu?
Serena sighed involuntarily as she began preparing for the guild's opening. In this city, the guild opened its doors a little after sunrise, and adventurers would rush in to snatch up quests.
"Alright, let's get to work at the reception desk today,"
She muttered to encourage herself, straightening the documents in front of the counter. Monster subjugation, escort missions, gathering quests, and so on – the popular ones were already posted on the guild's bulletin board, and adventurers would scramble for them as soon as the doors opened, as usual.
Serena's job was to keep an eye on that while organizing additional quests and documents.
Today, as always, the guild was supposed to be filled with the usual hustle and bustle of adventurers... but.
"Hmm...? Something feels different than usual..."
As soon as the doors opened, the regular adventurers inside the guild were buzzing and scattering, as if taking a step back. Serena followed their gaze and saw a familiar girl standing in front of the doors.
However, the cute vibe she had seen yesterday was long gone.
Her hair was disheveled, there were dark circles under her eyes, and her skin looked somewhat pale. Her clothes were dirty, and there was even an unpleasant odor about her. However, her expression alone was sharp and full of anger.
"...Oh, is that...? The girl from yesterday...?"
Serena recognized her with wide eyes. The adventurers, perhaps frightened by her unfamiliar and eerie presence, were all watching from a distance.
As soon as the doors opened, the girl walked straight towards the counter and faced Serena forcefully.
"U, um, good morning..."
Before Serena could finish her greeting, the girl shouted.
"You tricked me! You... you tricked me, didn't you!!"
Serena flinched.
Her appearance was nothing like when she had come to the guild just yesterday. Her anger was so intense that the regular adventurers were completely intimidated.
"W, what do you mean...?"
Serena asked back in a fluster, but the girl didn't seem to be listening because of her anger.
"It's weird! Saying he left just ten minutes ago is definitely a lie! It was all over! The slime in the sewer! All of it! ...You, you told me the wrong time, didn't you!? Thanks to that, I couldn't even get money for a room, and I had to sleep outside...!!"
Her breath was rough as she rattled on, and her disheveled hair was probably due to sleeping outside. Hearing her words, Serena quickly tried to explain.
"P, please wait! I would never lie to you. Setsu-kun really did leave the guild around that time yesterday...!"
"Liar!! I went all over the place and couldn't find him once, so there's no way that's true!!"
The girl's roar echoed, and the guild hall fell silent.
Some of the adventurers were even stepping back, looking frightened. Serena's senior receptionist, Mirei, was looking at her with concern, but like Serena, she didn't seem to understand what was going on.
"E, um... anyway, calm down. If something went wrong, I'll look into it properly."
"There's no way I can calm down!! I couldn't even eat, and I couldn't sleep at all, and I had a terrible time...!"
At that moment, a loud noise echoed from the girl's stomach.
Gggguuuuuuuuu... the sound of her stomach rumbling as if pleading to be fed. It was so loud that everyone in the room, not just the girl herself, couldn't believe their ears.
"...Ah."
The girl's face turned bright red, but then she lost all her strength and collapsed to her knees. She fell like a puppet with its strings cut.
"Watch out!"
Serena frantically tried to lean over the counter, but the girl seemed to have lost half of her consciousness. Her small voice leaked out.
"...I'm... hungry..."
It seemed that she had fainted from hunger.
◆
A sweet and savory aroma tickled my nose, and I slowly opened my eyelids.
The first thing I saw was something like a toasted bread... this smell was too destructive when I was starving.
My head was filled with the desire to "eat!", and I didn't have the余裕to grasp the surrounding situation.
"...Um, would you like to eat this?"
As soon as someone said that, my hands reached out for the food like a conditioned reflex. I pulled the tray towards me as if I were going to snatch it away, and shoved it into my mouth.
I couldn't even think straight until I was full. I devoured the food with no rationality or dignity, and finally calmed down when I felt a sense of satisfaction from the bottom of my stomach.
"Phew... I'm alive..."
Looking around again, it seemed that this was a room deep inside the guild. I seemed to have been lying on a bed, and I quickly wiped the oil dripping from the corner of my mouth as I sat up.
In front of me was the receptionist I had seen yesterday – her name was Serena, according to her name tag. She was smiling kindly, but behind her was a woman who seemed to be her senior, arms crossed and looking at me with a half-amazed expression.
"A, are you okay? Are you full?"
Serena gave me a smile that seemed a little relieved. I felt an indescribable embarrassment as I got off the bed.
"Um... thank you for saving me..."
As I said that, I remembered my frustration from yesterday. That's right, wasn't it because this receptionist had lied to me that I had such a terrible time...?
"...I mean, it's your fault. I couldn't get a single sewer cleaning job yesterday. I ran around so much, but it was all over...!"
When I pressed her hard, Serena shook her head in a panic.
"N, no... I didn't lie. Setsu-san really did leave about ten minutes before you came..."
The woman who seemed to be Serena's senior – a calm person with her hair neatly tied up – interjected.
"Serena isn't lying. I also saw Setsu-san leave yesterday, and it was definitely about ten minutes before you came. Isn't it just that you couldn't catch up?"
"I couldn't catch up? There's no way!"
Seeing me raise my voice unintentionally, her senior made a "well, well" face. Serena was also tilting her head. It seemed that neither of them realized how strange this situation was.
"...You know, I feel like I've seen you somewhere before."
The woman who seemed to be her senior was saying something while looking at my face, but I didn't care about that.
Looking at Serena's smiling face with a "I'm in trouble" expression, she didn't really seem like she was trying to deceive me. But I was still not convinced.
"...Then, let me meet this Setsu person. I'll question him directly. He must be cheating somehow!"
When I demanded in a strong tone, Serena and her senior looked at each other and thought for a moment. Eventually, Serena opened her mouth.
"Well, Setsu-san comes to the guild about once every three days. He doesn't come every day, and he usually comes around noon..."
"Once every three days? He's not coming today?"
I unintentionally raised my voice. Her senior shrugged and added, "That person always takes a lot of sewer cleaning jobs and then disappears for a few days."
"Then tell me where I can meet this Setsu person!"
When I insisted, Serena frowned with a "even if you say that." Her senior still had an amazed expression. Certainly, there's no way that a simple receptionist would know the adventurer's destination in detail.
"Okay, I'll wait here! I'll stay in the guild until Setsu comes!"
When I declared that, Serena lowered her eyebrows in dismay.
"It's okay for you to be in the guild, but... are you sure about the money? You can't earn money just by waiting, and if you can't make a living..."
"...Ah."
Come to think of it, I was short on money and couldn't afford a room, so I slept outside yesterday. If I waited for three days, I would not only be bankrupt, but it would also be physically difficult. As I was wondering what to do for a moment, I saw the adventurers in the distance fighting over the morning's quests.
That's right... I can earn money by taking a quest there. If I can make it through for three days, I can meet Setsu!
I moved immediately.
I jumped out of the counter and charged into the corner where the adventurers were fighting. I snatched a quest that caught my eye and held it in my hand.
"Hey, I was aiming for that...!"
"Hey, give it back!"
Tragic voices flew around, but my heart was already set. I opened the snatched quest with a bang, glanced at it, and then turned to Serena.
"Tell me if Setsu comes! You have to!"
Serena nodded with a slightly bewildered expression at my angry question, "U, um!"
I slammed the guild's door open and rushed outside in one go.
Setsu... I'm going to expose you no matter what!
I shouted in my heart as if to confirm my thoughts. I felt like Serena and the adventurers behind me were saying something, but now wasn't the time to listen. First, I need to earn money with this quest and get a proper room. That's where the real game begins.
"There's no way anyone can beat my speed... I'm going to find out what's going on, no matter what!"
Clenching my fist, I ran through the main street in front of the guild with that foot. What was burning in my heart was a burning desire to settle things with Setsu.
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