Chapter 47
At my words, Hecate's curiosity slowly crept onto her expression.
Before discussing the mutant we encountered during the test, I exaggeratedly looked around and asked, "By the way, where's Mea? I thought she'd just stepped out."
"...She went to the Union."
Hecate spoke after a brief silence that seemed to say. “Are you really trying to change the subject?”
"There's testimony about the recent training, and matters regarding this evaluation too."
"Ah."
Come to think of it, isn't this school on borrowed time?
If they fell from the status of being a regular school, they'd immediately lose city hall funding.
For the Telema School, which had no other revenue model and didn't actively pursue exploration income like other schools, this would be fatal.
That was typically how it went for zombie companies surviving solely on government support and subsidies.
Hearing my concerned, sympathetic utterance, Hecate reflexively shouted, "W-we're fine! With you joining, we're close to meeting the headcount, and with the money you gave last time, we've patched up the urgent matters...!"
The minimum requirement for a school was eight members, wasn't it?
They originally had five, and with me joining, that made six.
The remaining two shouldn't be too hard to find.
Worst case, we could borrow the names of Rei and Leaf.
Though they probably already filled those two empty spots with ghost members who just lent their names.
"Mea conducting your training also scored us some points. Hmm... saying it like this makes it sound like it's all thanks to Roman."
"That's not wrong. The member count, operating funds, evaluation score—I practically provided all of it."
"Oh right, about Mea. I heard she's planning to go back down to the Abyss."
When at a loss for words, change the subject.
Hecate was giving back what she received.
Despite knowing the strategy I had to go along with the topic change—perhaps that was the skill of a proper School Head.
"I heard Mea hasn't joined any guild."
"Right. So I think she might be forming a new team."
Since she had business at the Union, she was probably looking to recruit independent Explorers like herself.
"Being a Devil Sorcerer won't make it easy."
I had secured a promise from Mea.
Not to reveal anything about me.
While Hecate, who had already noticed quite a bit, couldn't be helped, I forbade any further mention about me beyond that.
Unless it was disclosed that I could offset her price, Mea would be trapped by the prejudice against Devil Sorcerers.
"That should be fine?"
"Why?"
Hecate raised her shoulders with a satisfied smile.
"Mea's abilities aren't at Senior level. If we're going by her real skills, she's easily worthy of Expert rank."
I see.
I thought the skill gap between Priscilla, Jake, and Mea seemed too large for them all to be Seniors.
But that aside.
For a school to brag about having an Expert, well...
"Don't schools usually have quite a few Experts? I heard from Holson that the true measure of power is how many Masters you have."
That was exactly what I was going to say.
Faced with Rei’s innocent question, Hecate's head drooped like a willow branch.
"...Yes. We're just a small school without even a Master..."
"D-don't worry! With Roman here, you'll have one soon!"
Though I think Hecate herself could just become an Explorer, she must have her reasons.
"Enough about Mea. So what did you mean earlier? About things getting complicated?"
"Well, about that..."
I began explaining what we'd experienced.
Hecate's gloomy face grew increasingly serious as the story progressed, and by the time I finished, she was covering her mouth with her hand, her expression dark.
"This seems like a really serious matter?"
§
What Mea had done was register a team.
While teams weren't required to register like guilds, it was better to report to the Union for safety reasons.
Having records prevented a majority of reckless behavior before it happened.
Of course, she still needed to recruit team members, but for today, Mea had achieved her goal by creating the team and posting a recruitment notice on the Union's bulletin board.
Maybe I'll listen to some gossip before leaving.
There were plenty of newcomers in the guild today.
The Explorer profession had a rapid turnover rate.
Many died, and many joined.
As a result, when there was a large influx, organizations would temporarily pause expeditions to stay in the city and focus on securing talent.
This was exactly that time.
The Union's pub was buzzing with such talk.
Mea ordered milk and sat in a corner.
With her special hearing ability, Mea could distinguish specific conversations even amidst all the noise.
Sipping her milk slowly, Mea eavesdropped on one table's conversation.
"I heard this batch of newcomers is especially promising."
"The Golden Generation?"
"The guilds are already fighting over the talents."
Competition for talent mainly occurred between guilds.
Schools rarely got involved.
This was because guilds and schools were fundamentally different organizations.
Schools were essentially the society of mages itself.
Mages joined schools to learn magic, train, research mysteries, and spread new insights.
Therefore, schools mainly recruited those wanting to become mages.
What if one was already an accomplished mage?
Well, such mages would have already joined schools matching their class and inclinations.
In contrast, guilds were profit-oriented groups focused on conquering the Abyss and achieving wealth and glory rather than academic achievement.
Encompassing various professions, they target a much broader pool than schools and focus on practical experience rather than development, preferring already accomplished talent.
If the activities of schools made up 30% of Abyss exploration, guilds made up 70%.
Due to this guild identity, those interested in Abyss exploration often maintain nominal school membership while primarily working with guilds.
It was extremely rare for someone to join multiple schools.
However, it was very common for school members to also join and work with guilds.
To summarize, about 50 people from the Union's regular license examination, and hundreds more from large guilds and schools authorized to issue licenses.
With so many new Explorers, guilds were eagerly looking to identify and secure talented individuals.
The people having this conversation apparently weren't guild members.
Otherwise, they couldn't talk so detachedly about it.
Active guild members were busy scouring the city and First Floor of the Abyss with burning eyes, searching for promising talent.
"So which guild do you think will win this talent market?"
"Probably Frontier or Conquerors. They're the two leading guilds right now."
Frontier and Conquerors.
These two guilds, each possessing one of only eight Pioneers, had always won the talent wars, befitting their position as leaders in Abyss exploration.
"I heard Frontier Guild Leader's youngest disciple is among them this time."
"Thousand Blade? I heard they're quite skilled."
"It's more than that. Ahem... this is information I obtained with difficulty. You know about the attack on the regular training center?"
Mea's long ears perked up.
Training center attack?
She'd heard Roman came from the training center...
While Mea was thinking about Roman, the men's conversation continued.
They seemed quite well-informed about the training center attack.
Though the Grand Duchy, City Guard, and Union did their best to suppress information and prevent rumors from spreading, they couldn't stop underground whispers.
Those who knew, knew.
The Abyss Worshipers' attack on the training center was only that secretive.
The youngest-looking of the three lowered his voice to a whisper, "They say Thousand Blade was the one who repelled the attackers."
"Indeed. Thousand Blade is truly this batch's top rookie. Even the Grand Duchess and Joyful Wind fall behind."
"Well, they were trained directly by a Pioneer. Though the Grand Duchy and Schools are impressive, compared to a Pioneer..."
Just as those at the table finished speaking, a man sitting alone at another table like Mea stood up abruptly with a loud scraping of his chair.
Taking one large step to the next table, he slammed his palm down.
"Are you folks from a school?"
"What?"
"What's this about!"
"We're from a clan."
The eldest of the three answered.
"Ah, a clan. No wonder you're so out of touch."
Guild, School, Clan.
The three major organizations Explorers joined, excluding Golden Intellect which only accepted alchemists.
Typical of clans, known to be the most closed-off, to be unaware of the latest information.
That was what the man thought.
"It's not Thousand Blade. This generation's most promising talents are one of these three."
The man paused as if about to continue.
The one who'd revealed their clan affiliation gave a dry laugh and flicked a coin.
A gold coin.
"Is this enough?"
"Of course. The top prospects are either the Devil Sorcerer, the Spirit Summoner, or the Beast-folk Battle Mage. That's certain."
"...Are you joking?"
They reached for their sword hilts as if ready to draw.
Mentioning the three lowest classes was like saying, “I'm mocking you.”
But the man was serious.
"Calm down. I was an examiner this time. You'll think you got this information for cheap later."
Showing proof of his examiner status, the three clan members seemed to reluctantly accept it, though still skeptical.
The gold coin probably wasn't worth much to them anyway.
"Well, good luck. It must be tough recruiting for clans?"
"You're one to talk. Being an examiner and selling information—you must be pretty desperate for money."
"Not really? This is more like returning a favor."
The man, Jake, smiled thinking of the three who had saved him.
So capable, with such talented peers, yet unaffiliated.
They were probably trying to raise their value before joining somewhere, so as someone who owed them his life, he should help out.
As Jake looked around wondering where to spread rumors next, he suddenly turned at a presence behind him.
There’s no one there?
"Down here."
Jake looked down at the quiet voice from below.
A Dark Elf.
A very small one.
"...Need something?"
"About Roman? Just now."
"You too...?"
As Jake recalled something about Devil Sorcerers having a school, Mea spoke, "I've found one team member."
"...Huh?"
Team member? Who? Me?
While Jake was confused, unable to process the situation, someone else moved to seize the opportunity.
"Me too! Could I join too...?"
"Hmm."
This girl, it's her.
Mea quietly observed Priscilla with disapproving eyes.
The viper who tried to make a move on Roman.
That was who Priscilla was in Mea's memory.
"What about your school?"
"Well, I've been kind of ostracized at school since that day... Nobody wants to team up with me. So… could you..."
Despite the circumstances, Priscilla had ultimately become a failed expedition leader who barely returned alive after losing six members.
Since Explorers constantly neighbor death, many were sensitive to jinxes.
Even mages who uncovered the world’s truths through magic were like this, and among martial artists, there were even more eccentric characters.
Mea read Priscilla's desperation.
It reminded her of Hecate struggling with the regular school reauthorization review.
Besides the connection to Roman, she was at least an acquaintance of Mea's.
For someone from a major school to want to join such a new team was already unusual.
"...Fine. I'll take you."
"Yay! Thank you! I'll work hard!"
The dynamic of Priscilla desperately appealing and Mea reluctantly accepting.
Jake could only laugh wryly watching this.
Isn't she from Blostma School?
What could she possibly be lacking…?
Roman, who exactly are you? Frontier, Alexandria, City Guard, and now even Blostma—have you conquered them all?
Terrifying, truly terrifying.
How far does your web of connections extend?
In the end, Jake handed, mostly by force, over his name to Mea.
Thus, the names Priscilla Lewanson and Jake Müren were added to Mea's team "Chosen”.
The recruitment notice Mea had posted disappeared from the bulletin board before a full day had passed.
The reason: “Recruitment Complete.”