465 Episode 0465



"...well, it was a little unexpected,"

 Ray mutters, sitting in a chair in the conference room on the second floor, that it will be crowded soon.
 At the words, Elena stands with her eyes folded slightly near the door of the conference room... no, she looks at the three stone statues on which she sits.
 The stone statue Ray brought was apparently a member of a party called Empty Bell, and the rest of the group had asked the guild to search for it, and he had to wait in the guild to contact the other members as soon as possible.

"But it's not a waste of time, is it because it depends on the life or death of a man? And even Ray can now get paid for fulfilling his request."

 Ray and Elena are the same sitting in the conference room, but they should be said to be ladies of course. mutter in a somewhat flowery tone
 But Ray shook his head slightly at Elena's words.

"Elena, you know what I mean, right? Treatment of petrified conditions costs a lot of money. Even if you ask a recovery wizard, the magic to release petrification is quite difficult, so you should need a considerable amount of money. However, even if you rely on magic items, it's also quite expensive. ... to be honest with you, if you're not such a close associate, there's a good chance that you'll throw out the stone statue and end it. ...is it not?"

 At the end of the word, slowly speak to the door.
 As we were talking, we went up the stairs and stopped outside the conference room to see what was going on.
 You must have understood that you are being spoken to. Eventually the door opens and two people enter the conference room.
 Both men and women in their twenties were dressed as ordinary adventurers, such as leather armour and long sword, while women wore sticks and robes, creating a very wizardly atmosphere.

"...what!"

 The moment she saw Ray... and Elena, she screamed and retreated.
 The man who tried to open his mouth opens his mouth with a stunned expression on his face.

"What's the matter, Neave?"
"Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,"

 Understanding why a female wizard called Neve is in such a situation, Ray calls out to the man.

"We'd better take him out of the conference room for now. Fortunately, the woman's ability to perceive magic does not seem to work so far."

 Until she walked into the conference room and saw Ray and Elena in person, the woman called Neave did not seem to be confused, and it was because she understood it.
 Elena nods in the same way, and a man who is visually prompted by the two takes Neave out of the conference room.

"It's rare to have the ability to sense magic, but there's a lot of talk about it."
"Is that so? Sure, there are people in the military who have that kind of capability, but it's actually quite small. And there's a lot of individual difference in ability to sense it."
"Even if there are few people, many of them are using them to become adventurers."

 After talking like that, you must have finally calmed down. The man who left the conference room comes back into the conference room. ...with Neave.

"Are you okay? If you can sense magic, it's hard to be here, isn't it? You don't have to push yourself too hard."
"No, it's all right. Let me thank you for helping my comrades. --thank you very much."

 Neave bows at Elena's words of concern.
 I'm the one who rescued my party members, not the one who is hostile to me. It was because of that judgment that I was able to suppress my inner fears.
 You must have figured it out. Elena has a little smile around her mouth, perhaps because she likes the camaraderie.
 Both the man and Neave, who entered the room, glanced at the smile and spoke in a flurry, flushed manner.

"Well, thank you for rescuing our comrades this time. Thank you. And I'm late to introduce myself, but I'm e-mailing you. I'm the leader of the empty bell."

 The man, Mel, bowed belatedly, but Ray and Elena saw the two bowed heads with mixed expressions.
 If I had saved them from danger in their own flesh, they would certainly give me a word of appreciation, but this time I saved three people in petrified condition.

"Put your head up. Surely it's something to be thankful for, but look carefully. The three people we saved are believed to have been attacked by some kind of monster and petrified. I can't get rid of this situation..."

 You'll need a good deal of money. Mel and Neave smile a little as Elena tells them so.
 There was certainly sadness in the eyes, but there was also hope in them.

"I certainly can't use recovery magic. But petrified means there is a way to get rid of it, whether it's magic or medicine. It's a lot easier than looking around for three people who don't know where they are and whose lives are unknown."

 Neave says with a smile and a soft tear on the edge of his eye.
 A stone statue of Elf petrified with a bow at the end of his gaze. The gaze at the stone statue is more at one man than at one of his companions.

(I see)

 It's not because they're the same woman, but Elena sees Neave's eyes and understands their relationship.
 Mel breathes relief at the sight of Neave.
 The breath of relief comes from knowing how Neave has been since three people including his girlfriend went missing.

"Anyway, I'm glad you brought me three people. I've heard that you found it on the 14th basement, and can you give me the details?"

 Mel looked at Ray and asked him, but the answer was to shake his head slightly.

"I'm sorry, but when I found it, it had already been petrified. I expected it to be a basilisk, but I didn't see it either. Luckily, there were no monsters petrified of those three, so I collected them in an item box and left. That's all I can say."
"...I see. But why on the fourteenth basement... we all said it was too early for us."
"By the way, may I ask you which class you usually work in?"

 Elena asks if the chagrined murmur to Mel bothered her.

"Oh, I don't have to hide it in particular... but you're benefactors." I usually act on the tenth basement. We reached the 15th basement level, but at that time we were hired as a porter for our senior's party, so the desert class was heavy on us. That's why I was mainly active on the 10th basement floor, which is also the front floor of the desert...Foolish bastard."

 a chagrined e‐mail

"There must have been some reason. or he wouldn't go to a place like the 14th basement without telling us anything."
"I know," -- you know, I've been missing for nearly a week, or you've been found in stone."

 Clenched fist claws pierced the skin and a few drops of blood dripped to the floor.

"Melle, it's all right that she wasn't dead. All we have to do is make money and treat them."
"Oh, absolutely. I'll definitely put it back in place, ask why, and then hit you."

 Looking at the two encouraging each other, Elena gently pulls Ray's dragon robe and turns to the door.
 Understanding his intentions, Ray nodded softly and as he was leaving the conference room, Neave noticed."Oh, wait a minute! Well, I'd like to thank you for this incident.
"I didn't help him just for the reward." I don't need it in particular.
"Well, you too need a lot of money to treat those three, don't you? Spend it there rather than pay us for just bringing them by chance." I will explain it to the guild staff."
"But, you know... you've been so kind to me."

 Or, if the Lays had been short of money, they might have been paid. However, since Elena is a Duchess and a Shogun in the first place, she is not troubled with money at all, and so is Ray.
 I've been paid a lot of money for selling the materials I got from the dungeon, and for Spear Frog, Ant Hell, and the three corpses that existed at that time.
 With that in mind, I didn't think I'd get paid here until I had a bad aftertaste.
 ...though he spends considerable sums of money on Ray, Sett, or Elena's food.
 Ray and Elena didn't care at all, but Neave himself couldn't stand being taken care of unilaterally.
 Maybe Neave himself is an adventurer, and he thinks it's only natural to pay for his request.
 Therefore, Neave tries to open his mouth again, but Mel reaches over his shoulder and shakes her head silently.

"...if there is anything we can do one day, please let us know. You are my benefactors who saved my comrades. I'll repay you for this kindness at any cost. I'll tell them exactly about it."
"Do as you please,"

 When Ray decides that he will never back down after more arguments, he and Elena leave the conference room.
 Mel and Neave bow silently behind them.





 Going downstairs, Ray and Elena head straight to the guild staff.
 Originally, it was a different window because we had achieved our request, but we decided that it would be better for someone who knew the situation.
 In addition, Bune and Vichela had already left the guild, but they were nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, Mr. Ray," Mr. Elena. About your request?"
"Yes, but I didn't bring him here with the intention of fulfilling his request, so I'm not going to get paid this time."

 Ray's words give the guild's staff a momentary look of surprise, but they soon nod in small.
 Even guild officials know they need a lot of money to treat petrochemicals.
 Still, just in case, I will open my mouth as a final confirmation.

"Do you like it? If I ask for the reward again later, I won't be able to pay it anymore."
"Oh, again, it's just a coincidence that we brought the three petrified people. I hadn't even received a request in the first place."
"... I see. Let me thank you for saying this. Thank you very much."

 a guild official who bowed deeply
 Ray himself did not know that the guild staff had been employed as guild staff at the same time as the empty bell party members came to Egzil, which led to a private relationship with the empty bell.
 That is why I bowed my head in gratitude.

"We have declined the reward, but it will be hard on them."
"Yes, that's for sure," However, I think that the fact that your comrades are not dead helps you overcome the difficulty. And... I'm sure it'll be all right if it's Mel."

 The last words were muttered only in the guild staff's mouth, but were clearly audible to Ray and Elena, who had five sharper senses than usual.
 Still, Ray only recognized that the guild staff in front of her, the woman in her 20s, was worried about Mel, but Elena wasn't. From what I saw in the conference room, I could imagine and mutter in my heart.

(It seems that there are a lot of complicated relationships.) though it may well be that the Guild's receptionist and adventurer are easily acquainted.)

 At that moment, Elena's mind was in the guild of Guillum, the receptionist of the Cat Beast. More precisely, I saw him through his memory.
 Or perhaps it was influenced by the sight of the fox beast woman, who was also the adventurer of the sky bell.

"What's the matter, Elena?"
"...no, nothing. I was just thinking a little, so don't worry."

 Elena replied reflexively to Ray's question, but it was clear that she was still in a somewhat bad mood, and Ray couldn't understand why.
 Guild officials, watching the two men, smile a little and then look inside the guild.
 It was already early in the evening and the number of adventurers gathering in the guild was increasingly increased.
 In fact, there have already been queues at the other buying counters we've been talking to Ray and others.
 He hurriedly opens his mouth to the gaze of guild officials at those counters.

"Well, now that I'm getting busy, I'll go back to work. Thank you very much for today."

 He hurriedly bowed his head and left the guild after Ray and Elena finally told him that they didn't have to worry.