G-G-G

  In the bustling lobby of the Adventurers’ Guild, the usual hum of activity unctuated by an iing development.

  G-G-G

  Adventurers, clerks, and passersby looked on as a man impressive heavy armor made his way across the room, his footsteps rattling with each step.

  With a fident, almost smug smile, the man came to a halt before the guild ter. He fshed his blonde hair with a flourish as his eyes met those of his soul mate.

  “I ’t hold it in any longer,” he decred with a blush, his voice filled with ardor. “Thalia, you’re the brightest star in this guild, and my heart has been captured by your radiance.”

  Excited whispers and knowing smiles rippled through the growing crowd as the other adventurers exged amused gnces.

  “Ha-ha! Another hopeful suitor,” one adventurer remarked.

  “You’re kidding! That’s the 6th ooday!” another chimed in.

  “Puy,” a third observer mused.

  A few of Thalia’s colleagues couldn’t help but stare in open delight. The most obnoxious of them leaned over the ter, her impressive bust resting on her arm, resting fortably in her palm.

  “Hehe! This is going to be good,” she squealed.

  “These guys just never learn, do they?” another clerk chuckled.

  “Huhu~ You’re just jelly because no one’s fessed to you yet.”

  PAJIK!

  A blood vessel bulged iemple.

  “Where’s my jerky? I want to enjoy this!” anirl teased, fumbling for a snack amidst the eai.

  The adventurer tinued, his eyes locked on Thalia who stood behind the clerk’s desk with a bsé expression, clearly unimpressed by the fession. “You see, Thalia, I retly stumbled upon a Crystal Field deep in the dungeon. With the gold I earned, I purchased a charming house oskirts of town. Now, all that's missing to make that house plete is a lovely woman by my side.”

  A chorus of ughter and teasing eed from the gathered onlookers. Thalia’s colleagues exged knowing gnces and giggles.

  Thalia sighed, having heard tless love fessions duriime as a guild clerk. She folded her arms, her expressioral. “I appreciate your feelings,” she said with a practiced, geone. “But you’re not the first to express such ses. I’m not looking to settle down just yet; I want to foy work and helping adventurers like you.”

  The would-be suitor slumped his shoulders, his romantic dreams crushed, but he nodded uandingly. He turned away, his dejected footsteps eg in the lobby as he retreated.

  G-G-G

  As the crowd dispersed, Thalia shifted her gaze towards the windows across the room and hat dusk was fast approag. Though she held no joy in causing hurt feelings, she had learned from experiehat being upfront with those who sought her affe was the most passionate approa the long run. By sparing them false hope, she hoped to mitigate the iable sorrow and disappoihat often followed ued love.

  She was just about to figuratively loosen the ces of her proverbial corset and allow her shoulders to sag when a figure seemingly materialized at the ter before her.

  “Oh,” she flinched ba surprise, swallowing the loud and obnoxious sigh she was about to unleash. “Sorry, I didn't see you there.”

  "Huhuhu," the old man chuckled deeply, sunken eyes shrouded beh thick gray eyebrows, giving him an eerie air. "I'm often told I don't have much of a presence."

  “I-Is that so?” she stammered, her lips t into an awkward, lopsided smile as she peered down at the unassuming man whose presence almost felt artificially subdued.

  He stood no taller than 80 timeters i, his hunched posture leaning on an old staff for support. His modest attire hi a humble background, presumably from a rural vilge.

  "How may I assist you today?" Thalia asked, her tone poised and professional as she squared her shoulders.

  "I would like to submit a guild request."

  "Of course," she replied, turning with a practiced elegaowards several stacks of part arranged ly nearby. "What is the nature of your request?"

  “Monsters have been frequently attag the vilge.”

  "Then, monster eradication," Thalia cluded, seleg a single sheet from the corresponding stad it to the elderly man. "Please proceed to fill out this form with all the relevant information. Onpleted, I will determine an appropriate fee for the job."

  The man nodded, purposefully disposing himself to the deed. Gingerly, he elevated himself on tiptoes to reach the ter. He struggled to hold the pen, and his penmanship was less than stelr, but Thalia had seen worse.

  She carefully appraised the finished application, provided a quote for the ission, and bid him farewell. As the elderly man navigated through the expansive lobby, he crossed paths with a duo bearing the markings of seasoned adventurers, sparking a mysterious energy between them.

  The two warriors halted iracks, exging curious gnces as they observed the wrinkled old man's departure toward the exit.

  “He smells of shit and piss,” one of them remarked sternly.

  “...And blood,” the other added with a frown.

  Thalia reached for the magic scale as one of the adventurers dropped a saana Crystals on the ter. "Seems like you both had a profitable day," she remarked, a friendly introdu.

  "You could say that," replied the man, the more civilized of the two. "By the way, that old man... he reeks of goblins."

  "Did he?" she asked rhetorically, her toinged with indifference. "He just submitted a request to have the goblins that attacked his vilge exterminated, so I imagine he's had some close enters."

  "...Is that so," the man murmured, his gaze following the elder as he disappeared through the rge front door.

  Thalia didn't dwell oter. As soon as both men had left, she shifted her focus back to the windows across the room. To her surprise, the world beyond had already succumbed to the embrace of night, shrouded in darkness.

  A sigh escaped her lips, and she enveloped herself with a single arm, the ently cupping her cheek. Her thoughts drifted towards her friend, a subtle mencholy settling over her.

  I hope Haxks is doing okay, she thought to herself. It's his first night out on the field assessment, and the noal monsters are known to be more powerful and aggressive than those during the day.

  Little did she know, however, that her yearning was a stark trast to the harsh reality unfoldih the surfad Professor Bayley and the Guildmaster were beginning to suspect as much.

  ***

  In the hushed fines of a dimly illuminated office, two figures were seated, their versation carrying a weight that seemed to press against the walls around them. The air was heavy with ption, and the tensioween them was tangible.

  "So, what's your take on this?" inquired Professor Bayley, his gaze trailing Osten's departure as the youth exited the office, the door closing with a muted thud behind him.

  Guildmaster Baldin, a stern figure with a graying beard, leaned ba his chair and ced his fingers beh his in deliberation. His gaze remained fixed on the closed door, his mind rag, then he exhaled slowly.

  “Well, at the very least, all of their stories are synonymous with each other,” he replied, his voice carrying the gravity of their situation. “But I find it iing that, among all the Locals, not one mao make it back with The Fallen.”

  "Right," Professor Bayley nodded in agreement. "Acc to their report, Haxks' impulsive decisiohem all to fall into a dungeon. Osten and the others were the only ones who exercised caution araint."

  The Guildmaster’s brow furrowed as he thought about the implications. “It’s obvious that Osten’s feigning ignorance,” he mused. “And he seemed more engrossed in his anger rather than putting more effort into his lie.”

  "Osten has shown nothing but hostility towards everyone around him," Professor Bayley admitted. "And he harbors a particur intense reseowards Haxks, who has been protective of the Beastfolk."

  Baldin ched his fingers, finally holding the other man’s gaze. "Unfortunately, as the Guildmaster, I 't afford to leave the guild myself," he expined with a hint of frustration. "Especially given the current state of affairs in the kingdom. Besides, I have to sider the possibility that my departure could be part of a plot orchestrated by an unknown enemy."

  “But, Baldin—”

  “I ’t give preferential treatment to any one persroup,” he added sternly. “That kid, Osten, is affiliated with a rge fa. As a ral anization, we ’t risk stirring the hor’s without proof or reason.”

  “Reason?” the professor’s eyes widened in disbelief.

  The Guildmaster steeled his heart before he responded, his expression refleg a mix of determination and chagrin. "Adventurers perish regurly, so we mustn't exaggerate this particur situation," he stated firmly. "We o sider the well-being of all our members as a collective whole."

  The professor held his tongue, nodding in silent aowledgment of the Guildmaster's perspective.

  “I’m sorry, old friend… but all we do is believe in the children and pray that they will make it ba one piece.”

  Professor Bayley allowed a wan smile. “I have a feeling that Haxks will find a way out and bring everyone home safely; he showed a lot of promise within all aspects of the assessment.”

  The Guildmaster turned in his chair to look out the window behind him. Uhe veil of night, Wonderelle sparkled like a jeweled tapestry, its vibrant hues illuminated by a mesmerizing array of lights.

  “I hope you’re right,” he muttered, his gaze lost in the hues of the evening.