Volume 4 prologue
At the Crimson Volcano, we defeated one of the three elemental dragons, the dragon of Flames as well as clashed with the members of the Crimson Hounds. I may have shown my superiority over them however it is also possible for a counterattack to occur thus we’ll be leaving Flaregard as soon as possible. Right now I was busy preparing for our departure while Luna and the girls headed to the restaurant we booked beforehand that provided private rooms along plus the store had a good reputation for its services, having no leakage of private information from any customer. Thus, I was currently alone in the guild to report my retaliation against the Crimson Hounds… And the rights for everyone to attempt the boss fairly.

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After entering the guild, I continued the usual pattern of checking the quest board for any quests that could be completed with the items I have on hand before heading to the usual receptionist. Among the quests, there was a collection quest for the Death Scorpion Poison in its natural state. Thankfully I had saved several vials expecting a quest to appear as the demand for potions were high thus the raw materials were equally as valuable.

[Yuuya-san, thank you for all your hard work. Firstly, congratulations for defeating the Coronoa Dragon! It is amazing that you managed to defeat the dragon without any flame-resistant equipment!] (Receptionist)
[It wasn’t just me. It was thanks to my amazing party that we managed to clear the boss room.] (Yuuya)

Information had spread fast, too fast even though I hadn’t reported my victory against the Crimson Hounds since I was busy packing for our travels.

[Yuuya-san is as humble as your are good with words. Also, I managed to set aside an excellent quest for your party.] (Receptionist)

I handed the quest document I found on the board as well as the items required for its completion.

[This much!? You must have found an excellent hunting ground in the dungeons. The rewards and guild points for this quest is a considerable amount this time. Although you have not collected enough to reach a Silver rating, you will definitely be able to become a silver adventurer by the next quest.] (Receptionist)

The ranks for adventurers weren’t just for show. For silver adventurers, it was possible to enter cities without an admission permit with their rank and even caravans and similar transportation could be used free of charge. This was beneficial for both the city and the entering adventurer as the adventurer would be allowed to enter the dungeons inside the city for their own benefits while the city would benefit from the materials and treasures obtained in the dungeon by the adventurer, improving the city’s financial situation. Furthermore, by riding in the caravan the safety of the caravan would be guaranteed. The quest completion process was completed as the receptionist gave me the rewards for the quest. With this amount we should be fine even without the silver rank for a while.

[Oh right, There is a quest that was recommended for Yuuya-san. You can celebrate as It has an even greater reward than the Death Scorpion Poison collection quest!] (Receptionist)

It was an extremely amateurish move by the receptionist to say so even if it was that high. Of course I would be happy at the opportunity to make even more money, however quests provided by the guild isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. The higher the reward meant the higher the risk. With this high of a reward it is unlikely that there wouldn’t be the risk of death. Furthermore, I already planned to leave the town tomorrow.

[I apologize. I have already made plans to leave the city tomorrow with the caravan.] (Yuuya)
[Ug. What should we do. This quest, asking anyone else but Yuuya-san is like telling the other adventurers to die. I’m in a bind.] (Receptionist)

Even if it was a harsh move to refuse, a difficult situation is still difficult. I badly want to leave with the caravan tomorrow in order to escort Selene back to the Laluzulu Kingdom for her inheritance ceremony without any trouble from the Crimson Hounds. However, it looked like the receptionist’s behaviour wasn’t for show as she seemed to seriously be in trouble. What should I do now..?/

[For now, I’ll just listen to the request.] (Yuuya)
[Truth is..] (Receptionist)

I listened to the receptionist’s story while holding my chin as I realized that a huge burden was forced onto her. The quest was too confidential to allow any adventurer in the city to perform and too important to neglect.

[Why didn’t you release the quest on the quest board? Isn’t this a matter of life or death for Flaregard.] (Yuuya)

I rubbed my head over the seriousness of this request. This was even more important than the confidentiality of the request.

[Initially we requested for a famous party to complete the quest. However the party was annihilated by a certain boss monster. Currently we are looking for a replacement candidate and we have only seven days left.] (Receptionist)

I didn’t expect their situation to be this dire. The quest was a quest I am familiar with as it was one of the events that happened during the game. It was an event quest that could cause Flaregard to crumble if the quest was unsuccessful. Any ordinary adventurer party wouldn’t be able to clear the quest as a mid level 40s party was required to clear it. Furthermore it couldn’t be cleared by several parties collaborating. It would be tough for Flaregard as the adventurers here were mostly around level 30 to level 35.

The Crimson Hounds were capable enough to clear the quest, however due to the circumstances the city couldn’t afford to allow a bunch of crooks to complete the quest.

That is why the guild had been scrambling to search for adventurers who were capable enough to clear the quest. The moment they received word that we managed to defeat the Koronoa Dragon without any flame resistant equipment, they decided to nominate us who were equally as capable as an adventurer party in the mid level 40s. It was a crisis for Flaregard and I strongly wished to do something for the city. Furthermore there were various merits to completing the quest.

Firstly, somewhere near the midpoint of Greenwood and the Laluzulu kingdom, was our destination, a town called Grannel. However for adventurers we would require an admission letter to enter the city which required a process of examinations which would take a day. However, if we were at least Silver-grade, we would be exempted from this.

Second, we would be allowed to enter a special dungeon that a normal adventurer wouldn’t be able to enter. There are materials there which couldn’t be obtained otherwise.

The Temple of the Primal Flame was a special quest during the game where the door of the dungeon would only open when the quest was available, and the door would close when a party was attempting the dungeon.

Thirdly, the guild would owe me a favor, and having a guild owe me a favor is a huge opportunity.

[I understand, I accept the request. However I have several conditions. I want you to lend me a carriage for my raptor to pull. That way I will be able to rendezvous with the caravan in the next city. No matter what I have to join that caravan.] (Yuuya)

The caravan would pick up and drop passengers in every city. For this quest, no matter how quickly we cleared it, it would still require two days for us to clear it. However, with Raptor we could catch up with the caravan in the next town by heading over right after the quest.

[If that is all, then we could arrange it for you. Speaking of which, please wait a moment… Where is that document…. Found it! Actually, we were planning to exhibit a double-raptor operated wagon for the guild-sponsored auction next week .Do you wish to buy it?] (Receptionist)

The guild regularly purchases the items and materials obtained by adventurers in the city and sells them using their connections to trade unions and other sources. However for larger guilds, they still regularly hold a large auction. It was a largely anticipated event as the items sold there were much cheaper due to the items going straight to their customers. I have also been saved by them several times in the past.

[Certainly it would be much more convenient for us to have our own carriage than constantly travelling with a caravan.] (Yuuya)

[That’s right. All high level adventurers have their own carriages as their travelling ability was most important.] (Receptionist)

The merit of a caravan was the security as well as the leisure of enjoying the ride as passengers. However they travelled extremely slowly since the load was much heavier and the horses would require more rest breaks. Furthermore it was also frequently delayed by large-scale activities. They may not be travelling to the town you wanted to go either.

In regards to this, having a horse carriage would allow us to travel multiple times faster since we had a Raptor instead of a horse plus we were able to leave anytime we want. Our party were also considered high-levelled and we would be able to protect ourselves. Currently with a carriage we should be able to travel much more freely than before.

[No it’s okay. I can’t wait until the auction next week.] (Yuuya)
[You don’t have to wait for it. Since it’s a carriage managed by the guild, we could get it to you right away. With this, what do you think?] (Receptionist)

The receptionist showed me the price which was cheap despite the fact that it was a used carriage, at roughly 60% of the market price. However, it wasn’t an amount anyone could carry around leisurely.

[It is an attractive proposal. I’ll make my decision after I take a look at the real thing.] (Yuuya)

Since the carriage was a used one, I had no way of knowing what it’s condition currently is.

[Of course. Now then, this way to our warehouse.] (Receptionist)

Afterwards, following the receptionist’s lead we headed towards the guild’s warehouse. The guild’s warehouse was much larger than a usual warehouse as mountains of goods were constantly being transported in and out of the location. If they had a surplus of magic bags they could make due with a smaller warehouse, however magic bags were expensive which is why they decided to make a larger warehouse. Thus, I carefully inspected the carriage that the receptionist presented to me. It was a good carriage which was spacious enough for five people to idle comfortably. Although as expected it would be too cramped for the five of us to sleep in, so we would have to set up a camp and sleep in our tents at night.

I entered the carriage in order to ensure its craftsmanship and decided that it was okay although it looked somewhat shabby, it had been made by excellent craftsmen and was durable. It had also been well maintained. I was also impressed by its design as the weight of the carriage was minimized by removing unnecessary areas while maintaining its durability.

[So what do you think Yuuya-san?] (Receptionist)

[It is too good and I feel bad for buying it at such a low price.] (Yuuya)

[There’s a simple reason for that you know. It’s worn out and unlike ordinary carriages, raptor carriages are much plain-looking as even the decorations on the carriage were removed for efficiency. Thus they were only used by adventurers.] (Receptionist)

Raptors were stronger and faster than normal horses, however it had a tendency to eat the weaker people and were mostly only obedient to adventurers. People who owned carriages were often the rich who craved recognition and time in the limelight, thus they would avoid this sort of carriages which were much more plain than normal carriages.

[I understand. I’ll buy it. There is also something I have to report. After defeating the Koronoa dragon, I was ambushed by the Crimson Hounds who were upset and we successfully repelled. Because of that, they are somewhat persistent towards us.] (Yuuya)

This was my other purpose for coming to the guild.

[About that, you do not have to worry about it. Outside of the dungeon, among the Crimson Hounds, four men including Gardo Kelrose, the leader of the Crimson Hound had attacked Yuuya-san’s party. It was also reported that you had done it in self-defense against their party as they had been sexually harassing the girls in your party. Because of that we have already detained Gardo on the premise of assault and sexual assault. Of course, Yuuya-san wouldn’t be convicted of any charges.] (Receptionist)

Just how did she know that much? I wanted to ask but I fought back the urge. The only explanation that came to my mind was that there was a spy planted into the Crimson Hound by the guild. I intended to file an assault report in the city but this was a pleasant development.

[I’m glad. I was regretting that fact that I had to resort to attacking once or twice and that I would be punished for doing so. Now I feel much more at ease.] (Yuuya)
[Please leave it to us. It is the guild’s responsibility to punish lawbreakers and detain them. Another curious matter we had was the matter about how you managed to pull out ahead of them and reach the boss without confronting them first.] (Receptionist)

[About that, I’ll reveal it on the condition that it is spread to everyone else in the guild. It isn’t fair for one party to occupy the boss room.] (Yuuya)

Regardless if their boss is detained, the Crimson Hounds won’t stop chasing us for the secret. Thus I plan to expose it to the public as it would be difficult for them to secure both the front and back doors with just seven parties. By sharing the information with the guild, it was possible to share the information with effectively the entire population of adventurers and thus, I told the receptionist everything I knew about the hidden path.

[I understand now. So it’s that kind of method. However, are you sure about publishing it in the guild? Having this sort of information could benefit Yuuya-san’s party greatly. ] (Receptionist)

[I don’t mind it. Please do so.] (Yuuya)

[I understand now that you do not want to keep the information confidential. In that case, the information will be confirmed by the guild today and we’ll publish them tomorrow. Next, do you need help purchasing a Raptor? There is no use for a carriage if there isn’t anything to pull it. There is a ranch dedicated for the guild where you will be able to purchase an excellent raptor.] (Receptionist)

[Ah. Then I’ll have one. I already have one Raptor so I’ll just need a second.] (Yuuya)

As expected it would be too much to expect Raptor to pull a carriage with five of us by himself. With this, our business at the guild was completed.

Until we left the guild, we were allowed to rent the rooms meant for the guild’s guest. With the current situation, it is now possible for us to obtain a high-quality carriage at a low price, secure a safe living quarters while becoming a silver-grade adventurer by the next city. We were also given the opportunity to enter the special dungeon where the Temple of the Primal Flame exists. Over there we’ll be able to obtain a final souvenir before leaving the city. It’ll be great news for Luna and the girls who are waiting at the restaurant.

It’s about time for me to head to the restaurant as I’m sure Luna and Til are already completing and crying out their hunger since I hadn’t arrived yet.

Note: the Primal flame came up previously in the previous volume however I am unsure what I named it back then. I’ll be changing it to the Primal Flame instead.