Speed was the name of the game for Ren, who had to take into account the time whichever quest would take up. Sorting through the logbook that the guild girl had handed him, Ren couldn't help but to notice the sheer number of available quests there were— almost all of which were issued by the kingdom's "Ministry of Justice".
'So many choices to choose from… Now that I think about it, that's probably why her boss wasn't too hard pressed on challenging me— I'm guessing all she needed to do was to look good on her end, or whatever,' Ren silently concluded, while reading through each sectioned box that listed the location and its proximity to Floré, the details of the quest, recommended rank, and finally and most importantly, the reward.
Although each quest offered large sums of coin for their completion, Ren knew from all the autobiographies that he'd read that he would need to take into account the fact that the reward would have to be divided up amongst the party members— none of which he had any, at the moment.
With the goal in mind to accept a quest that would grant him the bare minimum of at least twenty gold coins, Ren was willing to accept the easiest quest within the log— that was, until his eyes came upon one listed quest in particular that caught his attention.
RAID QUEST: ELIMINATE TREASONOUS ARC MAGE.
LOCATION: SOUTH REGION OF PATHWAY— Arc Mage Rowena MacDonagh is estimated to be hiding within Mount Ebott, Sicilia Island.
Estimated time of arrival from "Port Floré" to "Port Catan" is sixteen hours by ferry.
Estimated time to walk from "Port Catan" to "Mount Ebott" is eight hours by foot.
NOTE: Vouchers will be provided by Adventurers' Guild to be exchanged at the Port Floré's "PIER 06", in order to receive passage to-and-from Sicilia Island. Vouchers cannot be exchanged for monetary purposes— adventurers who are caught selling or trading government funded vouchers will be subjected to a fine of five-hundred gold coins, and or employment termination.
DETAILS: By Royal decree of King Uther Pendragon, Arc Mage Rowena MacDonagh is wanted for grand theft, arson, treason, and evasion of His Majesty's knights.
MacDonagh is twenty-two years old, blond hair, brown-eyes, pale complexion, standing at 168 cm. Body figure is noticeably voluptuous. MacDonagh has a Northern Accent.
MacDonagh specializes in light-magic, and is highly intelligent as she is dangerously resourceful. Do not question her— His Majesty's orders are to have her executed, on sight.
REWARD: Upon retrieving the gold-plated orb— approximately the size of a melon— and delivering it to Floré's Adventurers' Guild Branch Office, the party will be rewarded the equivalent of two-hundred and fifty platinum coins. An extra five platinum coins will be rewarded, upon delivering MacDonagh's pointed hat.
RECOMMEND RANK: Porcelain.
To say that there was only one red flag that popped up in Ren's mind after reading that particular quest's description would have been an understatement; from the "gold-plated orb", to how bizarre it was that such a high-reward, "high risk" job was listed as "beginner level", the eleven year-old couldn't help but feel both curious, and suspicious.
'Amerika was adamant that it was a man who stole the sternengesang— not a woman… Perhaps she's in cahoots with him? Or maybe she stole it, but… But that'd have to mean that the Kingdom was in possession of it, and… And what does all of that even mean?' Ren wondered to himself, as he found himself feeling more perplexed the longer he dwelled on the possibility of the monarchy being involved in what happened to Amerika.
'Perhaps it's just a conspiracy theory, but… I do remember that guy mentioned something about the Ministry of Justice— that they couldn't know about the "off the record" quest that he'd be given,' Ren recalled, as he thought back to what the bandit leader told him in his last moments. 'He also said that the Completionist was a representative for the Adventures' Guild too though… There's a connection there, surely— or am I overthinking it?!'
Shaking his head, Ren decided to put a hold on the plentra of questions that his curious mind contrived from the quest's details— deciding that it would be best to investigate the matter for himself, and to bring the aforementioned artifact to Amerika before even considering to hand it over to the guild.
"I'd like to be part of this raiding party— the one sailing to Port Catan, please," Ren relayed over to the guild girl, who stared back at him with a conflicted frown as he handed the opened log book back over to her.
Knowing that she wasn't supposed to coddle adventurers, the brown-haired teenager still felt obligated to voice her concerns to the boy who was instructed to service as she would any other member of the guild.
"Just between you and I Goblin Slayer, the last four raiding parties that we sent on that quest never returned," the guild girl informed in a quiet voice, as she leaned over the counter towards where he was still standing on his tippy toes.
'Okay then, that explains why the recommended rank is so low then; they're just sending bodies out there as canon fodder,' Ren sarcastically concluded, while doing his best to ignore the sense of dread that started churning within his stomach upon hearing that grim revelation.
"I see… And have there been any reports of where they were last seen alive?" Ren asked, as he felt the need to properly prepare himself the best he could— reflecting on his mistake of not reading the bandit leader's identification earlier.
Tilting her head slightly to the side with a slight recoil in her posture, the guild girl couldn't help but to appear both visibly surprised and impressed at the eleven year-old's request.
"Huh… Hardly anyone ever bothers asking about our reports— let alone shows any desire of wanting to read them for themselves," the teenager remarked, whilst leaning back in her seat to retrieve a second log book from the cabinet drawer underneath the counter.
Watching her adding his alias to a list of other adventurers with the quill in her hand, Ren smiled bashfully from behind his face-shield from the way her indirect compliment made him feel. "It's like they say: "hope for the best, prepare for the worst,"" Ren mused half-playfully, and felt another boost to his ego, the moment he saw the guild girl crack an amused smirk.
"Hmm, hmmm~! Now, if only more adventurers would adhere to that saying," the guild girl commented under her breath, as she closed her log before setting her quil back into the bottle of ink she had near her organized area of stationeries.
Standing up from her seat, the teenager stared thoughtfully down into the horizontal slits on Ren's helmet— pausing for a brief moment, before letting out a soft sigh. "I'll be right back with a travel voucher, and with those reports," she said, before turning around.
Before the teenager could get more than a couple steps towards the stairwell in the back of the office, Ren opened his mouth to ask her about searching for anything on file— in regards to "The Completionist". However, he stopped himself upon calculating the risk of doing so.
'I doubt she'd even know who he is, but… Inadvertently, I would be running the risk of putting myself in his sights, whether she knew anything or not— what element of surprise we've got going for ourselves is currently our only advantage,' he reasoned to himself, as he quickly decided to give up on the endeavor.
"… May I also see a copy of the last quest I've completed on record? If you have that file, please?" Ren asked instead, as he looked up over the counter at the way the guild girl turned her head over her shoulder to stare back at him from the corner of her intrigued gaze.
Pausing to think for a brief moment, the teenager pursed her lips together momentarily before opening her mouth to reply, "I'll try, but I'll let you know right now that any logged information like that is sent up to the Main Office in Patheon for archiving— the moment whichever branch office finalizes the process."
'… Well, it was worth a shot,' Ren thought to himself, after having tried challenging the idea that Amerika and him had to travel all the way to the Pathway's capital for any crucial information that would help them in their investigation. "Any help would be greatly appreciated— thank you."
Offering Ren a genuine smile, the guild girl turned her head forward before making her way up the stairwell that was near her boss' office— the eleven year-old boy unintentionally taking notice of her panty-outline, that he saw on the back of her black business skirt as she ascended up the steps.
After reading over the four stacks of reports, Ren thanked the guild girl for her cooperation before pocketing his voucher— being told to report to "Pier 06" by that three o'clock to catch the next ferry that was heading to Port Catan.
With only a few hours to spare before needing to catch his boat, Ren decided that his first order of business was to head back to Riposo Inn and Tavern— after, of course, making a quick stop to the Floré "Blackhorse Courier Service" branch office to make a few select purchases.
Focused on accomplishing his task, Ren didn't notice that he was being followed out through the double doors of the branch office— not until he heard a loud whistle coming from the top of the steps leading from the porch, down to the cobblestone courtyard where he had just stepped onto.
"Hey, hold up man! I wanna talk to ya!"
Hearing what sounded to be a young man with a pompous attitude calling out to him, Ren turned his head over his leather shoulder— staring out from the corner of his eye, at where a light-skinned young man with disheveled yellow hair stood looking down at him with a cocky grin across his face.
"… Can I help you?" Ren asked with a wary voice, while sounding genuinely uninterested in what the older male had to say to him.
Though the way his confident expression shifted ever so slightly upon hearing Ren's usual monotone voice, the yellow-haired man in steel-armor quickly regained his cocky demeanor, as he reached into his leather pouch on his belt.
Pulling out a voucher like the one Ren had on his person, the young man held it out in an almost flaunting way towards the confused eleven year-old. "I saw you getting issued one of these babies back inside; I'm assuming you're heading to Catan too, right?"
"Yes, but why does that concern you?" Ren challenged bluntly, while trying to figure out why the blond man who looked to be about six years older than him had taken an interest in him.
"Tch! It's not really a matter of concern, as it is grounds for a potential team up," the young man elaborated smuggly, as he folded the voucher before placing it back into his leather pouch. "You look like you're well equipped, and I'd like to have you on my side— if possible."
"… We're picking sides now?" Ren asked rhetorically in a sarcastic tone, while turning around to face towards the direction of the yellow-haired adventurer— catching a glimpse of the look of momentary disdain on the young man's face, before he masked it up with his usual cocky grin.
"Hmph, well… In theory, you'd assume that wouldn't be necessary, would you? Seeing how the point of a raiding party is to work alongside one another to obtain the same goal," the young man mused aloud, as he made his way down the steps— stopping once his armored feet stepped onto the cobblestone pavement where Ren was still standing.
"Realistically speaking though, everyone's probably going to be watching their own asses out there— or at least they'll only be bothering to give a shit about their own party members," the young man stated in a cynical manner— smiling, even as he pointed a finger towards Ren and saying, "Think when shit hits the fan, anyone's gonna stick their necks out to save your rude ass?"
'Rude?! Who does he think he's calling "rude"?!' Ren asked himself, while feeling stunned at first from how insulting the young man standing before him was. "… Is there a problem here?" Ren asked in the most calm way he could come across as.
"Aside from the fact that you're being a total prick to me? Nah, I don't think there is— not anymore, at least," the yellow-haired man in armor replied with his brows furrowing and his grin dropping. Huffing out through his nostrils, he began walking past Ren— attempting to establish his dominance by shoulder-checking the eleven-year old, which only resulted in him stumbling backwards and falling into his backside.
"W-What th- what the FUCK…?!" Ren heard the flabbergasted young man curse out loud in a mix between a shout and a yell, and remained standing still as he looked down at where the once cocky adventurer was sitting down and staring up at him with a look of disbelief across his face.
'What's this guy's issue with me?' Ren thought to himself with an uneasy smile of his own forming across his lips. Regardless of how the yellow-haired man had tried shoving him backwards, Ren crouched down on his knees and stuck his arm out towards the red-faced adventurer.
"Let me help you up," Ren offered with the full intention of assisting the fallen man— trying to subtly move on from their abrasive interaction.
As part of him expected though, the flustered man had his teeth bared at him as he attempted to smack Ren's hand away— not moving it more than a centimeter, before immediately reeling it away from him.
"Ow, shit…!" The yellow-haired man cursed with a widened gaze, as he stared down at the back of his gloved hand instinctively before raising his head up to glare distractingly at the eleven year-old. "What the flying FUCK are you made out of?! Freaking iron?!" He asked half-sarcastically, while visibly bewildered at how durable the four-foot preteen was.
Beginning to become more aware of the growing crowd of adventurers who had been not-so subtly crowding around them during their squabble, Ren couldn't help but to feel self-conscious as he stood over the loudmouth man, who had inadvertently alerted the others in the first place.
'I don't want them thinking I'm some push over— these aren't just regular people, these are adventurers! I have to show them that I'm one of them— can't be seen as weak,' Ren reasoned frantically to himself, while trying his best to come up with something remarkable to say on the spot.
"To best understand what I'm made of, you need to look no further than to consider me to be a solid construct— made entirely from a lifetime's worth of pent up rage," Ren declared in the deepest voice he could conjure up— trying his best to emulate how he imagined the main protagonists of the countless books he had read sounded like.
There was an elongated pause that took place, while the yellow-haired adventurer and everyone else around him stared at him in silence. Believing that they were in awe at what he had said, Ren's self-esteem deflated the moment he heard several young women beginning to snicker at his expense— hearing one of them calling him "cringe" felt like a kick in the gut to his ego.
Sensing that it was his chance to save face, the young man's facial expression reverted back to being smug, as he quickly recomposed his demeanor while picking himself up off of the ground. "Whatever you say, Fat-Ass," the seventeen year-old teen said insultingly with an arrogant tone, and smiled maliciously the moment he heard the snickering around him escalate to full on laughter.
Shocked by how callous those who were willing to risk their lives for money truly were— unlike the way adventurers were usually depicted in his books— Ren felt embarrassed as he turned around awkwardly before making his way out of the courtyard— doing his best to ignore the insults being spoken about him, while the yellow-haired man continued to watch him before asking the crowd of entertained adventurers to "join his side" on the raid.
Leaving the premise with hurt feelings instead of bruises, Ren let out a heavy sigh while making his way back onto the sidewalk. Walking away from the branch office of the Adventurers' Guild, with the crowd of pedestrians fading in and moving on around him, the eleven year-old did his best to brush off the bitter taste left in his mouth— focusing instead on the people who were on his side from the get go.