“What? The dungeon had issues?”

“Don’t look so shocked. Dungeon anomalies aren’t exactly unheard of.”

Lore snorted dismissively, needling Monroe.

“The dungeon we delved into this time had abnormally strong and numerous monsters. We went to the deepest level to investigate, and found signs that the dungeon was on the verge of an uprising.”

“In the end, dealing with the Dungeon Lord to stop the uprising took up too much time. We didn’t have any left to collect other materials. Practically all the money we made came from selling the Dungeon Lord’s remains.”

Lore’s words instantly caught Hulim Heyerar’s attention.

“Ms. Lore—did you just say a dungeon uprising?”

“I did,” Lore nodded casually. “But don’t worry too much about it. With so many dungeons in Bongisto, something like this happening every now and then is perfectly normal.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about……”

Hulim said slowly, her voice thoughtful.

“It’s just that I encountered the exact same situation yesterday. That’s why I find it a bit odd.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Lore, Luigi, and Monroe all froze, their expressions shifting to surprise.

Even Monroe, who’d been acting so carefree up until now, suddenly turned serious.

“Two dungeons showing signs of uprising at the same time…… This is no mere coincidence.”

“Mr. Monroe—what do you mean by that?”

“It’s just a hunch for now. We’ll need to look into it further to be sure. Say, Hulim—are you free tomorrow?”

“I am.”

“Good. Then tomorrow, the four of us will head to the Adventurer’s Guild Headquarters together. My gut tells me there’s something fishy going on behind all this……”

After that, the dinner wrapped up quickly amid their serious discussion.

On her way back to the inn, Hulim looked out at the still bustling and prosperous Bongisto. But beneath all the bright lights and lively crowds, she felt an undercurrent of unease stirring beneath the surface.

……

The next morning.

Hulim arrived at the Adventurer’s Guild Headquarters as promised.

To accommodate Lore’s habit of sleeping in, and to avoid the morning rush of adventurers heading out on quests, the four of them didn’t show up until mid-morning.

“Yo~! Everyone’s here.”

Monroe, clutching his cheap wine bottle, sauntered out from inside the guild building.

A guild staff member followed closely behind him.

“Please come this way, everyone. His Excellency has been waiting for you.”

The staff member addressed the four of them politely.

At his words, Hulim nodded silently to herself. It seemed that Monroe had already informed the guild of the general situation when he’d arrived.

Given his status as a Rank A Powerhouse, it was only natural that the guild would take his words seriously.

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But just which high-ranking guild official wanted to see them?

Curious, Hulim followed the staff member into the depths of the guild building.

As they ascended one floor after another, a faint sense of confusion crept over Hulim.

Where exactly were they going? It felt like they were heading straight for the top floor.

Sure enough, her hunch proved correct. The staff member led them to the door of a room on the highest floor of the guild building.

“Everyone, you may enter inside on your own. I shall wait for you here.”

“Got it!”

Before Hulim could ask who exactly they were here to meet, Monroe pushed the door open with a loud, careless bang.

BOOM!

Yet the moment the door swung open, he slammed it shut again—faster than lightning.

“???”

The other three stared at him in confusion.

“Senior Brother? What’s wrong? Aren’t we going in?”

Luigi asked, frowning slightly.

“N-Nothing…… It’s nothing……”

Monroe shook his head, avoiding their eyes.

Even though he claimed nothing was wrong, his pale face, the way his voice had suddenly shrunk, and the complete disappearance of his usual cocky attitude all screamed that something was definitely wrong……

After a moment, Monroe took a deep breath, mustered up his courage, and carefully pushed the door open a second time, stepping inside hesitantly.

Hulim, Luigi, and Lore followed closely behind him into the room.

Click!

As Lore, who’d walked in last, closed the door behind her,

the entire room fell completely silent. All sounds from the outside world vanished without a trace……

Lore looked around the room in fascination.

“I’ve never been up here before! I had no idea this room had such amazing soundproofing!”

Yet no one paid any attention to her exclamation.

Monroe had turned uncharacteristically well-behaved the moment he stepped inside. Luigi was naturally quiet by nature. And as for Hulim……

At that moment, she was staring intently at the only other person in the room besides the four of them……

She hadn’t sensed a thing.

Not once had she detected anyone else’s presence in this room when they’d walked in.

And yet, he was standing there, plain as day.

Then, the figure with his back turned to them slowly turned around.

Hulim finally got a clear look at his face.

Beneath a head of messy silver hair were a pair of deep crimson eyes. He wore a simple white robe, and the hands hidden within the robe’s loose sleeves were etched with intricate magic array patterns. A faint, gentle smile played on his lips, and not a single wisp of magical aura emanated from his body—as if he didn’t exist at all.

“Your Excellency Firuvin.”

Monroe bowed deeply to the man before him, his posture one of obvious respect.

The sight left the other three gaping in astonishment.

“Monroe. You’re much more polite than the first time you came here.”

“U-Uh……”

Monroe laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.

“That was because I didn’t know who you were back then. Ahem—you three!”

Monroe cleared his throat loudly, turning to the others with a serious expression, and introduced the man in front of them.

“Show some respect! This is the Guildmaster of the Adventurer’s Guild—one of the few Rank S Powerhouses on the entire continent, the ‘Adventure King’—Firuvin Bore Carl!”

“Huh? No way! This is the Adventure King?!”

Lore stared at Firuvin in shock, her eyes nearly popping out of her head.

Hulim finally realized what was going on.

No wonder she hadn’t been able to sense any magical fluctuations from him……

Only those beings who stood above Rank A had the ability to evade her perception.

But what she found even more curious was why someone who stood at the very apex of the world had personally come to meet them.

“Please, have a seat.”

Firuvin gestured to the sofas around them, then walked over to one and sat down himself.

“Would any of you like some refreshments?”

“Yes.”

Hulim spoke up abruptly, catching everyone off guard.

For a split second, the eyes of the other three at the table all snapped over to her.

Firuvin blinked in surprise, then smiled warmly.

“The refreshments are on that table over there. There’s coffee too, Hulim. Help yourself to whatever you’d like.”

“Thank you. I won’t hold back then.”

With that, Hulim strode straight over to the table.

Firuvin was about to continue speaking when Hulim suddenly turned to ask, “Do you have any sugar cubes?”

“……They’re in that jar over there.”

“Thank you.”

Hulim poured herself half a cup of coffee, picked up the jar of sugar cubes, and began adding them one by one.

At the same time, she turned to Lore and asked, “Ms. Lore—would you like some?”

“Huh? Me? Oh…… Sure, thank you.”

At that point, Firuvin simply fell silent, watching Hulim with amused interest instead.

So this is the person he’s always talking about…… Meeting her in person is even more interesting than watching her from afar……

Before long, Hulim returned to her seat, carrying a plate of refreshments and two full cups of coffee.

Lore picked up one of the cups casually and took a sip.

The very next second—

SPLUTTER!

Lore spat out the coffee instantly, staring down at the cup in her hand with eyes wide with disbelief.

“I-Is this…… coffee?”

“Ah, my apologies. You picked up mine.”

“???”

Once Hulim and Lore had finally settled down, Firuvin got straight to the point.

“Monroe. I hear you have something important to report. I happened to be free, so I thought I’d listen to it myself—something that even you consider important.”

“U-Uh, Your Excellency Firuvin. It’s like this……”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep