Published: July 4, 2025
The day after Ryo and Abel arrived in the city of Boago.
The two slowly enjoyed their breakfast and headed towards the counter of the adventurers' mutual aid association.
"Huh? Did we manage to get a room while the princess's entourage is in port?"
"No, we didn't."
"We slept in the park."
"Yesterday was rough, and it's all Abel's fault."
"No, why is it my fault? The rooms in this city were just booked due to the princess's visit."
"Fortunately, the park was available, and I had a robe while Abel had a cloak, so it worked out...”
"It's normal for adventurers to sleep outdoors, isn’t it?"
"Yeah... that's true. Recently, we've been staying in inns, so we've gotten a bit soft. Abel, you're getting soft!"
"Yeah, Ryo, you are too."
Ryo sharply pointed this out, and Abel replied easily.
Inside the adventurers' mutual aid association, it was still relatively empty past ten o'clock.
"Yeah, this is how a Guild should be."
"It's really strange to hear Ryo talk about what the Guild should be."
"Did you say something, Abel?"
"No, I didn't say anything."
Even Abel would have felt odd hearing Ryo, who was never a typical adventurer in the kingdom, talk about what the Guild should look like.
With a cheerful smile, Ryo inquired at the window.
"Excuse me, but I would like to ask if there are any carriages available for adventurers to the imperial capital from here?"
The clerk at the window seemed a bit surprised by Ryo's question but quickly regained his composure.
This area was indeed managed by professionals.
"There isn't a direct route. However, it is possible if you transfer to several carriages."
"Oh."
"However, there are restrictions for adventurers depending on the time."
"Restrictions? What do you mean by that?"
Ryo tilted his head, as the clerk's words were not very clear.
Behind him, Abel was also tilting his head.
"If a national event is taking place, access to and from the imperial capital and surrounding areas may be restricted. Right now, there is the wedding event of the sixth prince, so until it concludes, adventurers below the eighth rank cannot enter."
"What did you say...?"
Ryo muttered in shock.
The sixth prince was indeed the fiancé of Princess Shio Fen.
And both Ryo and Abel were eighth-rank adventurers.
"How long will the restrictions last?"
Abel asked from the side.
"Well..."
The clerk flipped through some documents to confirm before answering.
"About nine months left."
"That's long."
Ryo couldn't help but exclaim.
Not being able to enter the imperial capital for nine months was astonishing.
"Are you two below the eighth rank?"
"Yeah. Sorry, here’s the card."
Abel pulled out his card.
When the clerk held the card up to something, data was outputted on the table.
"Oh, you came with the princess's fleet. Indeed, you are eighth rank… If it were a request from the fleet, you would have been allowed to enter directly..."
The clerk frowned.
It seemed a significant pain to have to disembark from the ship.
"Also... if you complete about ten eighth-rank requests, you can level up to seventh rank."
"Ten requests, huh..."
Ten days at one request per day.
The clerk then seemed to remember something and turned to the side.
There hung a large poster.
"If you participate in this mountain hunt, it counts as ten eighth-rank requests."
"What?"
It was written in large letters.
"Special request from the daimyo: Tiger Mountain Hunt, now accepting applications."
"Tiger Mountain?"
"A mountain hunt?"
Both Ryo and Abel tilted their heads.
"We have discovered a group of gray goblins at Tiger Mountain, and we are requesting their elimination. Three meals will be provided, and rewards according to each rank will be given. We have enough adventurers of sixth rank or higher who can actually fight on the front lines, but we are still recruiting adventurers of seventh rank and lower for food escort at the headquarters. Since eighth-rank adventurers do not go to the front line, the rewards aren’t high, but the contribution to the mutual aid association will be significant. Departure is set for tomorrow."