Published: February 1, 2026
There are several reasons why Stud is in charge of new adventurer registrations at the guild.
One is that he’s the most unapproachable person in this guild; by forcing newcomers to deal with him first, the guild wants adventurers to get used to that sort of thing.
Conversely, it’s also to thoroughly break adventurers who look down on guild staff right here at the start, so they never get the idea to oppose guild employees again.
Another reason is that he has completely memorized the guild’s numerous regulations, so no matter what kind of question is thrown at him, he can answer it calmly and mechanically.
On top of that, even in the Capital City (Parteda), there aren’t that many new adventurers turning up every day, so during the downtime he’s capable enough to flexibly help with any other task that comes up.
“That concludes the explanation. Do you have any questions—”
He always does his work in the same flat, mechanical manner, but recently there has been a small change.
Stud’s eyes, which used to stare unblinkingly at newbie adventurers with an expressionless, oppressive gaze, now slid away the moment he confirmed a new adventurer entering the guild.
Before the adventurer, who up until now had had no choice but to tremble under that fixed stare no matter who came and went, could notice the oddity, the gaze returned to him.
“No questions? There aren’t any, right? There can’t be any. Say there are none. Say it.”
“Uh—”
“If there are, I am telling you to hurry up and ask. Are you listening?”
The flat, monotone voice feels like it carries pressure that crashes down on you. Anyone who registers with this guild passes through this at least once.
Naturally, there is no one who laughs at the adventurer who’s at a loss for words; on the contrary, because the pressure today is stronger than usual, sympathetic looks gather from around them.
On the shoulder of the adventurer who can no longer even nod or shake his head, the hand of an active adventurer—probably the one who brought him here—is placed with a light pat. They’re adventurers who originally registered in another country, but back when they once tried to act tough toward the staff here, they received Stud’s “baptism.”
Encouraged in silence, the new adventurer lifts his face as if steeling himself.
“I… don’t. Have any… questions.”
Of course, there was no way he could manage to ask anything, and the end of his sentence shrank and even turned polite.
Seeing this, Stud is convinced there really are no questions. He has no intention of neglecting his job.
Before the adventurer can stand, Stud rises from his seat and, without sparing him another glance, walks off toward the completed-requests counter.
He opens the closed reception window there and turns his gaze straight toward the person he’d confirmed entering the guild just moments before.
“You’re earlier than scheduled.”
“It went smoothly. I’m back, Stud-kun.”
The new adventurer, who happens to witness the fearsome Stud quietly enjoying the gentle hand stroking his hair, nearly faints—though he somehow manages to avoid falling off his chair thanks to the “get used to it” whispered to him.
“The Four Keys gang, was it. Sounds like a stupid name, but I’ve been hearing it a lot lately.”
“Stupid-sounding or rather… no, never mind.”
“You were attacked? Understood. The guild will mobilize all our strength and move to exterminate them.”
“It’s fine. We already wiped out the ones who attacked us.”
Seeing one of the guild staff behind Stud frantically crossing his arms in a big X and shaking his head, Lizel gently reins Stud in.
If Stud says he’ll do it, he’d no doubt get it done, but it would probably put an enormous burden on the guild. Leaving them loose is dangerous, but if the guild ends up taking heavy damage in the process, that defeats the purpose.
Stud nods with a “I see,” but there’s an air of dissatisfaction about him as he processes the completion of the request.