Forced mobilization for Silver rank and above? They just want to squeeze free labor out of us, don't they?
But then again, Bronze rank is pretty rough if you're trying to make a living.
Well, I'll figure that out as I go.
"Oh, and to avoid having your registration canceled for inactivity, you must periodically complete quests until you reach Bronze rank."
"Ah, right—Medea did say something like that."
"You have one month from your initial registration."
Ugh, what a pain.
Well, I guess I ought to do it.
After parting ways with Gilmas, with whom I'd signed a slave contract, we each entered the adventurer's guild separately.
When I walked in, everyone glanced my way for a split second before going back to normal.
Not that that isn't exactly how it should be.
Anyway, she said any quest would do, so I scanned the board and found one with no penalty fee and no rank requirement, memorized the quest number, and reported it to the receptionist.
The receptionist was, naturally, Medea.
"Um... are you really sure you want to take this one?"
"Is there a problem?"
"H-hiek!"
I wasn't threatening you or anything.
I just asked a question.
"There's no penalty fee, but the reward is only five copper coins, which barely covers the price of bread at a street stall..."
I'd only skimmed the details, but this one was a person search. A kid named Māru had gone missing two days ago, so it was a search-and-rescue request. No penalty fee, but they hadn't returned from the Eastern Forest, so that was the search area.
The Eastern Forest was recommended for Bronze rank, making it tough for Coppers who took these jobs to earn daily wages. Apparently, even Coppers wouldn't take search quests where there was no telling when—or if—you'd find someone. The cost-to-reward ratio was just too bad.
"I heard I need to complete at least one quest within a month of registering, so can I not take it?"
"No, it's not that—I'd be grateful if you took it since it's probably going to go unpicked otherwise. I'm just wondering if it'll be alright, since failing would mean you wouldn't meet the registration requirement."
Was Medea worried about me?
No, probably not.
Judging from the way she kept watching my expression, it seemed more like she didn't want to get blamed later if something went wrong.
"I won't come crying to you if I fail. As long as you don't make unreasonable demands beyond the regulations, we're fine."
"H-hiek! Sorry, then I'll go ahead and process it..."
The truth was, I'd barely looked at the quest details at all, but I couldn't bring myself to say "actually, never mind"—that would've been way too embarrassing.
◇◇◇
As for how to find someone, these kinds of quests were exactly what scout-type skills excelled at.
So—[Reverse]!
Which got me [Gentleman Thief].
My scout aptitude had swung so far into the negative that by inverting it, I acquired the highest-tier scout skill.
Next, I headed to Māru's house and spoke with her mother.
The only one home was Māru's frail mother. Her father was gone.
Apparently, Māru had been gathering medicinal herbs in the shallow parts of the Eastern Forest to give to her mother, but never came back.
A concerned neighbor, unable to just watch, scraped together what little money they had and filed a search request at the guild on Māru's behalf.
So I borrowed Māru's handkerchief from her mother.
Then I activated [Gentleman Thief]'s skill, "Perfect Research."
As long as there was some kind of connection to the target, I could pinpoint their location.
The result came back: deep in the Eastern Forest.
I didn't know why she'd gone that far in, but according to the skill, she was still alive.
If I dawdled, she might die.
I spammed [Sword God]'s "Shrink Step" and raced toward the location indicated by "Perfect Research."
◇◇◇◇◇◇
Skills: [Reverse], [Divine Eye], [Sword God], [Gentleman Thief]
Thank you always for reading!