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Volume 2 Chapter 24 - The One Who Accepts the Request

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The two laughed for a while, even as Allen looked at them with a sour look on his face, and then the elder let out a cough to smooth things over.

“And so, this request is fine as it is. I'm sure Allen will feel pressured on his own and try to finish the request quickly.” (Elder)

“He even goes out of his way to say that there is a hole in the request after all.” (Rebecca)

“Umu. Allen is a wood class, so I can't nominate him for the request, but if I think of this as a substitute for the nomination fee, it's not that strange. I don't think he would listen to me if I asked him to work for me exclusively after all.” (Elder)

Allen let out a deep sigh as he watched the two of them talking like they were friends.

Certainly, it was as they said just now. No matter how much money he was offered, Allen had no intention of taking on the job of collecting medicinal herbs exclusively for the elder.

And since he was reluctant to receive money without working, he would try to collect medicinal herbs as soon as possible to avoid this.

Everything is exactly as the elder’s reading.

“Good for you for becoming friends. Then, that's all my business. I'll finish the work as quickly as possible for the old man who is old and has a short life ahead of him.” (Allen)

“The ‘old and has a short life ahead of him’ is unnecessary!” (Elder)

The elder turned his head and turned his sharp gaze towards Allen, as if the smile and conversation he had just been having with Rebecca had been a lie. His face was seeping with a quiet anger.

Even while bewildered by his sudden change, Allen continued speaking.

“No, weren’t you the one who said you didn't have time yourself?” (Allen)

“I didn't say that. All I said was that time is more valuable than money. I have more than enough money to burn, and it will continue to increase on its own anyway.” (Elder)

“Uwah, money increasing on its own is one crazy phrase.” (Allen)

“Those are dream-like words for a merchant.” (Rebecca)

Listening to Rebecca's voice agreeing with his words, Allen wondered if that was what the elder had said and searched his memory.

And when he did, he realized that he had never said that time is precious because he only had a short time to live. Allen had just associated his words with his appearance.

(I don't think it's wrong to say that time is valuable because we have a lifespan, but saying that seems like a hassle.) (Allen)

Allen made that decision as he watched the elder continued to stare at him sharply. He then judged that it would be dangerous to touch on this matter any further, so he decided to withdraw quickly.

Because Allen had done everything he wanted to do here.

“Well, let's go, Rebecca. I'll bring the herbs as quickly as I can.” (Allen)

“Hmph.” (Elder)

As Allen stood up while urging Rebecca on, the elder turned away and snorted in response.

Next to Allen, who was smiling wryly at that, Rebecca stood up and looked at the elder with a smile on her face.

“See you later, Ojii-san.” (Rebecca)

“Umu. Come again.” (Elder)

“No, isn’t your response completely different compared to me?” (Allen)

“If you think I’d treat a disrespectful man and a sweet, cute girl the same way, you’re the strange one instead.” (Elder)

Seeing the elder quickly change his expression to a kinder one as he replied to Rebecca, Allen couldn't help but try to argue.

However, the words that came out of the elder’s mouth smoothly convinced him, and Allen was actually impressed instead.

“Ooh, that's certainly true. As expected of you, old man, you've captured the truth.” (Allen)

“Well, it's not like there aren't special exceptions, but most men are like that. Missy is quite a beauty after all.” (Elder)

“Rebecca is certainly cute after all.” (Allen)

Allen was nodding his head in satisfaction at the elder’s words, but Rebecca’s face was red and she grabbed his hand and forcibly pulled him.

“Let's go, Len-nii!” (Rebecca)

“O-ou.” (Allen)

While walking as he was being half-dragged along, Allen raised his hand opposite the one Rebecca was holding and waved to the elder, and he responded with a wry smile and a light wave.

Rebecca briskly walked forward. They left the room, passed through the front door, and didn't stop even after passing through the gate, and just as Allen was starting to think it was time to say something, her feet suddenly stopped.

“Hm, this place is?” (Allen)

Allen was so concerned about Rebecca that he didn't really check his surroundings, but when he did, he recognized the scene in front of him and spoke up.

What was there was a guild. However, it wasn't the Adventurers’ Guild that Allen was used to.

“Then I'll go through the formalities, so Len-nii, please wait a bit.” (Rebecca)

“Ou.” (Allen)

Rebecca let go of Allen’s hand, said that, and went inside as he saw her off.

Allen thought that he might get in the way if he was at the entrance, so he sat on a bench that was set up against the wall of the guild, which was clearly more refined and splendid than the ones at the Adventurers’ Guild.

“The Merchant Guild, huh. Seeing her enter a place like this makes me realize that Rebecca is also a merchant.” (Allen)

Allen muttered something like that as he casually stared at the entrance.

Perhaps because the Merchant Guild had a different mindset from the Adventurers’ Guild, its entrance had a dedicated doorman-cum-guard, and he greeted people politely and helped them enter and exit.

Because it was the Merchant Guild, many who came and went were indeed merchants, but the majority seemed to be employees of merchant houses or servants from somewhere wearing neat clothes.

There were also a few people who looked like adventurers who came and went.

“The Merchant Guild's requests are delicious, after all. That's why the competition for them is fierce.” (Allen)

Allen remembered such things while feeling nostalgic about the past.

Requests sent by the Merchant Guild are popular among adventurers.

Because, the fact that a request comes from the Merchant Guild means that there is a shortage in the supply of the item, and the reward tends to be higher accordingly.

Other reasons for its popularity include the fact that it is less likely to lead to trouble, and that if you apply with a valid reason in advance, they will offer you some convenience, such as paying part of your reward in advance.

However, accordingly, the competition for those requests was more intense. Especially for a poor adventurer like Allen in the past, a profitable request from the Merchant Guild was a request that he definitely wanted to accept.

That's why he went to the Adventurers’ Guild early in the morning when the request was posted on the bulletin board, but other people thought the same way, resulting in a competition.

Well, no one actually got hit or anything like that, but it was normal to get jostled.

(It's all about staking out after all. I even looked for and researched the habits of the employees who posted them.) (Allen)

As Allen was smiling wryly at the memory of his early days as an adventurer, Rebecca had just come out outside.

As Rebecca looked around, Allen waved his hand and called out her name.

Rebecca noticed this and approached, so Allen also stood up and headed over there.

“Are you done with your business?” (Allen)

“Un. Next, we'll go to the Adventurers’ Guild.” (Rebecca)

“So busy. This is about the treant request from earlier, right? No need to go through the Adventurers’ Guild for that. They'll charge you a handling fee anyway.” (Allen)

What the client pays to the guild is not just the reward for the adventurers. Only a portion of the amount paid to the guild becomes the adventurers’ reward.

Allen was worried about that, but Rebecca laughed and shook her head.

“Nuh-huh, I appreciate Len-nii's proposal, but it would make the procedures quite bothersome. Especially with taxes.” (Rebecca)

“Heeh.” (Allen)

‘Bleh,’ Rebecca said with a disgusted look on her face while sticking out her tongue, and Allen was impressed at that.

Up until now, Allen had only worked as an adventurer through the guild, and had done little other work, so it was refreshing to hear about the procedures that the guild took over.

‘Then, I guess it can't be helped,’ just as Allen was about to accept that, he suddenly noticed something.

“Hey, Rebecca. Your request would probably be accepted, but there's no guarantee that I could get it. I don't know about an unpopular request like the old man’s herbs collecting, but normal requests are posted on the bulletin board.” (Allen)

As Allen said, basically, when the Adventurers’ Guild receives a request, they post it on the bulletin board the next morning, and the adventurer who sees it accepts the request.

In other words, it’s unknown at this stage who will receive it.

Worst case scenario, Allen wondered, he would have to stand in line in the morning and fight for it like the old days.

Rebecca, guessing what Allen was thinking from the thoughtful look on his face, grinned and repeatedly nodded her head, as if all had been according to her plan.

“It'll be okay. I'll nominate properly.” (Rebecca)

“No, I'm not iron class anymore, I’m wood class though.” (Allen)

Because only iron class adventurers and up can receive nominations. It was possible with Allen in the past, but it's basically impossible in the current situation.

That was not wrong, but Rebecca's expression did not change; instead, her smile deepened as she opened her mouth.

“Un. The one I’ll nominate isn’t going to be Len-nii, but iron class adventurer Rebecca.” (Rebecca)

“Haa!?” (Allen)

Allen couldn't understand the meaning of those sudden words and let out a stupid voice, seeing him like that, Rebecca laughed happily.

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