Chapter 105
After spending literally the entire day going around the city, we finally finished all our tasks and returned after the sun had completely set.
Just how many things did we handle in this one day?
Senior promotion application.
Sudden meeting with Fiona's brother, the Grand Duke's heir.
Consecutive meetings with Fiona afterward.
Then the subsidiary guild contract with Conquerors.
Finally, the subsidiary guild contract with Frontier.
It was such a forced march that even two or three bodies wouldn't have been enough.
Looking back after finishing, I wonder if we really needed to make it this tight.
"Would've been nice to wrap up the Enigma side cleanly too."
Maybe because I handled the contract proceedings?
While I was completely mentally exhausted, Leaf regretted not being able to do one more round.
Leaf had surprisingly good endurance.
Come to think of it, I don't think there has ever been a case where Leaf asked to rest because of physical exhaustion?
"Weren't we going to Enigma?"
"They said business hours were over."
We arrived around 6 PM, but they'd locked up right on time.
Despite their reputation as one of the five major guilds, Enigma operated a guild house smaller than Telema School, and even that didn't seem to be running properly.
From the start, Enigma was a small guild with only 13 members.
Their quality was ridiculously high, but their scale was small enough to be called a minor guild.
With everyone except the mandatory one-person holed up in the Abyss, of course, a guild house managed by one person couldn't stay open all the time.
"So I'm planning to recruit guild members first and go back tomorrow."
"Got it."
After briefly updating Rei who arrived late and didn't know the situation, I explained tomorrow's plan.
"Following that, tomorrow we'll each do our own thing."
Leaf would go to Golden Intellect to meet Costin and prepare for promotion.
Rei would contact classmates to recruit guild members.
I would go to Enigma to secure the contract and join up with Rei.
"Since Leaf will probably take the longest, we'll use Leaf as the baseline. Once everyone's gathered, let's look for a guild house."
"But won't it be hard for Leaf to find us like me?"
Rei had beast-folk's unique instincts, making it easy to find us even when separated.
While it might be different in the Abyss, in the city, Rei's instincts were like a navigation system.
"That is a concern. Since I'd have trouble finding people too, I'm thinking we should just set a meeting point and time."
"A Devil Sorcerer who can't find people. Aren't you failing as a Devil Sorcerer?"
"Nope, not at all."
Mea and Hecate weren't good at that either.
People-finding was just bread-and-butter work for third-rate Devil Sorcerers.
Anyway, the meeting ended with setting the time and place.
Well then, dismissed!
§
Next day.
I was standing in front of Enigma's guild house, where I'd already had to return empty-handed once.
At first glance, it looks like just a three-story inn or apartment building, but the nameplate at the door was Enigma's.
No bell…
Analog style?
I grabbed the door handle and knocked, making a bang-bang sound.
No response.
I check the time again.
It was during the hours when guild houses must keep their common areas open.
Due to quest acceptance and Union visits, guilds were required to keep at least one person with decision-making authority in the city and keep the house open during certain hours.
Not the whole house, just enough for outsiders to freely come and go, so they usually just open the first floor or build a separate building for distinction.
But Enigma clearly had just one building.
Doesn't seem like there are other options...
Creeak—
When I pushed lightly, the door opened.
Is it okay to enter?
Cautiously stepping inside, cold air brushed my skin without any hint of human presence.
Do people really live here?
The first-floor lobby at least had the basic guild house setup.
Things like a quest bulletin board and a pub providing simple food and drinks.
But there were no traces of people anywhere.
The accumulated dust only showed this place had been without maintenance for quite a while.
It was hard to tell if they were just leaving it unmanaged or if it was truly an abandoned house where no one lived.
"Hello? Is anyone here?"
"Yes."
What's that?
Where did that voice come from?
Though I looked around, I couldn't sense anyone's presence at all, so I reflexively spread my mana.
But before I could properly sense anything.
My mana scattered, blocked by something.
"How rude. Is it okay to spread mana in someone else's house?"
"Ah, sorry. It was just habit... I'll properly apologize face to face."
"So that's how you're going to play it. You're quite sly, aren't you?"
The voice whose direction couldn't be pinned down gradually revealed its source.
Like some kind of omnidirectional voice, the scattered sound eventually converged in front of me.
"There, better? Now apologize."
Huh?
Um... is this right?
"Are you... the person?" I asked with difficulty.
For good reason—what was in front of me wasn't a person.
Literally.
Not simile or metaphor.
Just straightforwardly not a person, but an object.
"What? Never seen a flying book before?"
Isn't that obvious?
As I nodded blankly, the book spoke, "Such a newbie. You'll see much stranger things exploring the Abyss. Getting shocked already? Anyway, the apology."
"I apologize for carelessly raising mana."
"Accepted."
Despite being a book, its graceful flight conveyed a sense of dignity.
It really felt like dealing with a person.
"Your business?"
"Well, I did come with an introduction..."
"Introduction? Who? Ah, you're that one. The one Hernan recommended."
"Yes."
"Hmm, what to do? Our guild is full."
I know.
Hernan said it would be difficult to join right away even with his recommendation.
Enigma's fixed number was 13.
One Pioneer, three Masters, and nine Experts.
Thirteen total.
An ultra-elite small guild that didn't even accept regular members below Senior rank.
That was Enigma's motto.
"You're Senior rank? Okay if you're entering as an apprentice."
If that was the case, I would've said I had a recommendation letter rather than an introduction.
"No. I came today to make a subsidiary guild contract."
"A subsidiary guild contract?"
The book that had been excitedly flying around stopped abruptly.
It seemed dumbfounded by this completely unexpected development.
"With us?"
Though they had some apprentices, the total was barely over 20 members.
Around 20 would barely qualify as medium-scale, but due to their strong individualistic tendencies, Enigma rarely united properly.
There was essentially only one case when they all moved together.
When retaliating for harm to a guild member.
And even that only applied to regular members, excluding apprentices.
If apprentices were outside their scope, would they protect a subsidiary guild?
For this reason, unlike the other four of the five major guilds, Enigma had almost no subsidiary guilds.
The few they did have were more due to personal relationships with individual members rather than the guild itself.
For example, say I became a subsidiary guild because I was friends with Enigma member A.
Then A died or got seriously injured fighting for our guild.
That would be when they moved.
All of Enigma that was.
In other words, if one had deep enough connections that a regular Enigma member would risk their life for you, becoming a subsidiary guild could work.
"Did Hernan tell you to come in like that?"
"No."
"Right? Hernan's too weak for that."
Though an Expert, since he got his rank through the Head examination, Hernan's actual combat power was Senior level.
While that was enough for his goal of completing the Second Floor map, it was far too weak to serve as backing.
"Then?"
"Actually, we already have subsidiary guild contracts."
"...You mean joint subsidiary guild?"
A reaction not much different from Frontier's.
However, that reaction quickly shattered.
"We've made contracts with Frontier and Conquerors. Enigma would be the last."
"Huh?"
What's this?
Looks interesting?
The book, which must have lived in boredom in the city while other guild members excitedly explored the Abyss pursuing their aspirations, showed great interest despite having no face.
"You... just wait. I'll ask right away!"
Ask? Who?
"The Guild Master, of course. Ah, they might pop out hearing such big news."
The book flipped its pages while chuckling.
Only then did I realize the book's true identity.
It was an artifact.
At least an A-rank high-grade artifact fully imbued with Abyss mana.
Scratch—scratch—
Without a pen, words began appearing in the book.
"Amazing, right? It's an artifact called Conference Without Borders."
Conference Without Borders.
This somehow familiar name was amazingly enabling communication across Abyss floors.
That's an S-rank artifact.
Real-time communication ignoring spatial restrictions.
Looking at the name, it seemed it wasn’t just one-to-one, but possibly multiple simultaneous communications.
Perhaps Enigma's 13-member limit was because this artifact could only register 13 people.
Just as I was thinking I should tell Philon about this later.
"There, got an answer!"
"That was fast."
"Our guild considers wasting time a sin."
The book, speaking proudly, stayed true to that creed and declared without any hesitation.
"Contract approved! Shall we write up the contract? Want to choose your paper?"
While saying this, the book flipped through itself, showing various types of paper.
Hmm, this might be a bit indecent.