Chapter 31
"Th-This is terrible!"
Three adventurers rushed into the Adventurers' Guild.
The swordsman-looking man at the front shouted loudly.
As everyone's gazes focused on the swordsman, a female guild clerk spoke to him.
"What in the world happened?"
The swordsman answered the female clerk's question urgently.
"It's an irregular! A Quad Skeleton has appeared on the third floor!"
The Quad Skeleton was a famous monster that normally appeared on the fourth floor.
If the man's story was true, it was a situation that needed to be dealt with immediately.
The woman's expression changed.
The adventurers around them began to stir.
"Please wait a moment."
The female clerk hurried back behind the counter and brought out a map of the third floor.
"Where is it?"
"Right here."
The swordsman pointed to a spot on the map.
"Understood. An emergency request—"
The clerk told another male clerk to arrange an emergency request.
"I-I'll arrange it immediately."
After confirming the message had gotten through to the male clerk, the woman turned back to the swordsman.
"Are all of you safe?"
"Yes, well..."
Clenching his trembling fist, the swordsman spoke.
"We're a party of four."
There were only three of them here now.
The people around them, not just the female clerk, understood what had happened.
"The three of us managed to escape somehow, but one of our companions..."
A single tear slipped from his tightly shut eyes.
"She made herself the decoy and let us escape. Damn it!"
The swordsman punched the counter beside him.
"Rinka really was such a good girl!"
The female mage cried out.
The other man, a healer, stood silently with a confused expression.
"Then, Miss Rinka..."
"Yeah, by now..."
He forced the words out between sobs.
Their acting was worthy of the stage at the royal capital's theater, and no one suspected a thing.
Besides, Rinka's abilities were well known, and infamous for all the wrong reasons.
Everyone in the guild heard the story and concluded that Rinka had no chance of surviving.
"Miss Rinka, is it? I'll check whether she's still alive, so please wait."
The female clerk returned to her station and operated the terminal.
Even from a distance, the terminal could read information from an adventurer's tag and determine whether its owner was alive or dead.
The result brought a smile to the female clerk's face.
"Good news! Miss Rinka is still alive!"
A considerable amount of time had passed between their encounter with the Quad Skeleton and their return.
Since she was still alive at this point, it was safe to assume she was out of danger.
At the female clerk's words, the entire guild burst into cheers.
News that an adventurer everyone had assumed was dead was still alive.
Even when it was someone else—or someone they didn't like—it was the kind of news that made people want to share in the joy.
Some were already raising their mugs in a toast, while others clapped their hands in excitement.
Meanwhile――
"Huh?!"
One man looked bewildered.
It was the swordsman who had made the report.
Though he should have been happier than anyone, his face showed shock, anxiety, and unease.
The other two members also seemed unable to hide their agitation.
The experienced guild clerk wasn't about to miss that.
Just as she was about to question the swordsman—
"Then we'd better hurry and go rescue her. We'll go—leave the arrangements to us!"
A handsome man rose briskly to his feet.
His companions rose after him.
They were members of Meteor Shower, the highest-ranked—and only A-rank—party in this town.
"We'll defeat the Quad Skeleton and rescue that girl."
Roger, the leader of Meteor Shower, declared confidently.
A great cheer went up.
Cheers erupted throughout the guild.
If they left it to them, there'd be no problem.
The guild hall was suddenly transformed into a festival.
A chilling voice cut through the celebration from the entrance.
"There's no need."