Published: February 1, 2026
Inside the adventurers' guild in Astarnia, an unusual atmosphere hung thick in the air.
It was still early morning—early enough that adventurers wouldn’t normally be coming to accept requests—but a single visitor had arrived, disturbing the usual calm. The man, stout and imposing, settled himself into a guild chair, his large rings glittering as he clicked them together with a smug air. He folded his hands and looked down on the adventurers passing through the guild with a disdainful glare.
Opposite him sat a guild staff member, recognizable by his shaved head. Folding his arms to keep his irritation in check, he spoke slowly and calmly in a low voice.
“I’ve told you many times already — it’s just not possible.”
“It can’t be impossible.”
The man sneered, clearly mocking.
He was a regular at the guild, a merchant by trade. His business often took him from country to country, and thus he frequently submitted escort requests to the guild. Though his personality was difficult, he was a generous payer, so the guild accommodated him by assigning adventurers who were adequate but unremarkable, handling his requests as designated assignments with a premium fee.
“If you’re using the usual, ordinary trade route, no matter how you fudge the numbers, it won’t be above rank b.”
“I’m saying I’ll pay extra. It’s simple enough to prioritize sending me an adventurer worthy of my status, isn’t it?”
“We sort ranks based on the difficulty of the request. Just throwing money won’t get you a higher rank.”
But even the guild’s maximum consideration didn’t get through to the man.
He brazenly demanded that the guild assign high-ranking adventurers to his escort, simply because he paid more. The guild could not accept such a demand.
“It’s not like it’s impossible—adventurers are free to take low-rank jobs even if they’re high-rank.”
The staff member admitted reluctantly, recalling a fact recently forgotten. He tightened his mouth, trying not to twist it into a grimace.
“Then you should work on convincing them.”
“Choosing which requests to take is entirely up to the adventurers. Honestly, escort requests aren’t popular, so there’s no benefit. The likely outcome is being turned down.”
“Turn down my request? …As expected of barbaric adventurers who don’t understand value.”
A tense murmur rose among the adventurers in the guild. The staff massaged the sore spot between his brows in frustration.
He regretted not handling the matter in a private room, but it was too late. The unpleasant man had scorned the idea of a cramped, stuffy room earlier, saying he wouldn’t tolerate it.
The man probably assumed that if he brought up his request here, the surrounding adventurers would fawn over him. Indeed, the reward was high for appearances, but such behavior was exactly why his requests were unpopular.
(If you want to feel superior, come back as a decent human being first, you pig…) The staff muttered inwardly, wishing the man had a better personality so the situation could have unfolded positively.
It was the staff’s job to find adventurers willing to accept requests. They struggled every time, so they hoped for some understanding.
“Hey, you! Don’t sit there quietly and talk nonsense, pig!”
His internal restraint vanished instantly.
“Wh-who do you think you’re speaking to? Are adventurers not trained?”
“I’m talking to a pig!”
“You’re the one who needs training! Stop squealing with that disgusting voice!”
The adventurers’ sharp, threatening voices made the merchant man let out a small, involuntary scream. It was understandable—their battle-hardened aura was worlds apart from that of common bullies.
“Enough, kids!”
The staff slammed his desk with a thud, trying to quiet the rowdy adventurers.
After all, the man was a regular customer and a good payer. It was better to keep good relations, and if things got out of hand, cleaning up would cost a lot of time.
“Old fart, don’t just take the abuse lying down! This pampered pig’s the one who should be kowtowing here!”