After my conversation with Paul, I found that there were still no suitable jobs available.

I waited for a few days, but nothing came up.

Still, since there was always the possibility of work showing up, I kept heading to the guild anyway.

"Another fruitless day, perhaps," I thought, my shoulders sagging unconsciously.

I couldn't help but sigh, but before I could, I heard a small sigh from beside me.

"Haa..."

Tatiana let out a long sigh.

"Rafa, at least you still have some money. I’m really down to my last coins… Haa… I thought I’d be making money left and right with good skills, but things never go as planned. My master always said life is hell, and he was right."

The term "hell" doesn’t actually exist in this world.

There’s another word used to mean the underworld.

"Uh, do you know what ‘hell’ means?" I asked.

Tatiana sighed again. "It means things are difficult. It’s a word only witches use. Though the only witch I know is my master."

That’s not what it means.

Well, I suppose if you interpret it a certain way, it’s similar, but “hell” doesn’t mean difficult.

And it definitely isn’t a term exclusive to witches.

She mentioned that her master was quite old, and I assumed she was from a generation far before mine, but maybe the time axis between Earth and this world is different.

Life is hell.

At least that saying doesn't belong to the grandparents’ generation.

Perhaps her master is closer to my age or maybe slightly older.

I thought it might have been nice if I could have met her master.

While we were walking, sighing and talking, we soon arrived at the central plaza where the guild was located.

The guild building was visible in the distance.

"If there’s no job again today, let’s just go hunt a few beasts," I suggested.

Beast-hunting, depending on the type, was still a reliable way to make money, even without a formal request. The guild bought most parts of beasts, like their meat, hides, organs, and horns, since these materials were always in demand.

"Is it because of Rella?" Tatiana asked, glancing up at me.

I had shared with her my suspicion that I might have essentially kidnapped Rella.

"Yeah, I’m hoping her mother might take her back."

My shoulders slumped slightly.

Rella was adorable, and I had grown quite attached to her.

To be honest, I wanted to keep her with me.

But if her mother was alive, and if there was even a slight chance she would accept her back, then it would be the right thing to return Rella to her.

I had no real confidence in my ability to raise her properly as a great phoenix.

Not to mention that she wasn't even really flying yet.

Rella tried—she really did. She would flap her wings, her eyes full of determination, and she almost looked convincing. But then she'd just drop down with a thud.

Sigh.

Wild animals usually abandon their young once they’ve been handled by humans, but according to Tatiana, phoenixes are different from typical wild animals.

Phoenixes live for a very long time, but they only give birth to one or two offspring in their entire lifetime, which makes the bond between parent and child much stronger than in ordinary wild animals.

So maybe, just maybe, her mother would still recognize her, even with all the human scent on her.

"Will she really?" I pondered.

Animals are known to recognize and distinguish with their sense of smell. What if she attacked Rella instead?

The worries I’d wrestled with last night started creeping back in.

Sigh.

When I sighed, Rella gently pecked the top of my head.

"Chirp!"

I guess she didn't want me to sigh. Maybe she thought I was feeling down and was trying to comfort me.

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"..."

No, that probably wasn’t it. I didn’t think she was that perceptive.

She probably just didn’t like all the sighing.

As I walked across the plaza, sighing, I noticed the guild doors swing open.

Jenny hurried out of the guild building, almost running.

She looked like she was in a rush, a piece of paper clutched in her hand.

"Please, don’t let it be another beast attack," I thought, unconsciously quickening my pace. Jenny spotted me.

"Rafa! Tatiana!" she called out, running toward us.

It seemed she had come out to find us.

Jenny, now standing in front of us, slightly out of breath, spoke.

"It's been tough finding the right job here, so I contacted other guilds… and it turns out they were just about to send a request to us as well."

Jenny held up the piece of paper with a smile.

"A request for a phoenix feather."

"..."

The timing couldn’t have been more perfect.

I was already thinking of going to find a phoenix.

But accepting this request came with complications.

It’s not like I could just ask a phoenix for a feather and expect it to comply.

It would have to be taken by force.

But… Phoenixes are far rarer creatures than even dragons, which, surprisingly, could be found here and there.

Almost no one knows where phoenixes live.

When Tatiana first met me, she boasted that she could tell me where to find a phoenix, and now I understood why it was such valuable information.

Back then, I didn’t know. But now, I do.

So, if I were to go hunt for a phoenix, the closest place would be the Forest of Enchantment, and if a phoenix lived there, it was likely Rella's mother.

Since I was planning to return Rella anyway, it was natural for me to think of going there. But if I were to pluck a feather while I was there, it would feel wrong.

As I struggled with my thoughts, Jenny quickly continued.

"But there’s a catch with this request. Normally, when a phoenix feather is requested, it doesn’t matter if it's slightly broken or a bit worn out, but this time, the condition is that the feather must be completely intact."

However, phoenixes are formidable, and they use fire. To capture one without damaging it at all is almost impossible.

Maybe I’d find a feather lying around in their nest, but a phoenix wouldn't let a person get that close without a fight.

Obtaining an undamaged feather was, in essence, like trying to catch a falling star.

"So no adventurer wanted to take this job," Jenny explained. "When Helga was active, she handled similar requests involving undamaged feathers, but now there’s no one with that level of ability. It’s such a difficult task that the reward is very high."

I hadn’t given my answer yet, but Jenny seemed to assume I’d take the job. As we walked towards the guild, she continued explaining.

"There’s another condition too: whoever retrieves the feather has to deliver it directly to the location specified by the client, and the payment will be made there. But don’t worry about deception—this client is a well-established merchant group, so there’s no chance of any tricks."

Though rare, there have been instances where clients killed adventurers to take what was delivered or simply vanished after receiving the goods.

They might ask you to wait while they bring the money, and the next thing you know, you’re unconscious on the floor.

"To prevent this, especially with high-value requests, clients are sometimes asked for a deposit, though it doesn’t fully eliminate the risk."

Jenny frowned slightly as she spoke.

"And there’s another issue," she continued, her tone more serious. "The deadline is very tight. Such requests can sometimes have deadlines of several years, but this one has less than a month left. There’s no time to try and locate a phoenix. That’s part of why this request was passed over to us."

Jenny stopped in front of the guild building.

"To be honest, if it were anyone else, our guild wouldn’t have taken this request. But I think you and Tatiana have a chance."

She took a deep breath, as if she found it difficult to say what came next, and looked directly at me.

"There’s a phoenix living in the Forest of Enchantment."

I know.

It lived there.

Jenny led us inside to a section of the guild that I hadn’t entered before.

It was one large open space, but this part was separated from the rest by shelves and supplies.

Jenny took a box out of a desk drawer and placed it on the table.

Inside were several old maps.

Jenny pulled one out and spread it on the table.

"This is a map of the Forest of Enchantment and its surrounding area."

Mountains were drawn with triangular peaks, and cities were small enclosed shapes representing fortresses.

It was much different from modern maps.

It almost looked as if a child had drawn it.

"Our guild is located here," Jenny said, pointing to one of the small fortress symbols.

"And this is the Forest of Enchantment."

Her finger moved to a forest symbol a short distance away.

"The Forest of Enchantment is incredibly dangerous."

The beasts there are too numerous and powerful, and few who venture deep inside ever come back.

The few who do make it are an exception.

For that reason, the Forest of Enchantment is also known as the Forest of Death.

Despite the danger, the number of magical beasts and unique herbs that grow there means that many adventurers attempt to explore it every year, honing their skills, even though some of them never return.

When someone talks about going to the Forest of Enchantment, they usually mean only its shallow outskirts. Hardly anyone ever ventures deep inside.

"But phoenixes don’t live in the shallow parts of the forest. You’d have to go deeper, probably all the way to the center."

Jenny’s finger tapped the center of the forest symbol.

"No one knows exactly where a phoenix lives or which area it occupies, but there have been rare sightings. The guild collects and keeps all those records, no matter how minor they are, because you never know when they might be useful."

Jenny traced her finger in a circular motion in the center of the map.

"We believe that the phoenix’s habitat is somewhere in this area."

"..."

Tatiana studied the map for a moment and then asked.

"But this forest is practically the size of a country, isn’t it?"

"Yes," Jenny confirmed.

"Then the area you’re pointing to is bigger than several cities put together, right?"

Jenny let out a small sigh and nodded.

"That’s correct."

In other words, they didn't really know where the phoenix was.

"And there’s one more problem," Jenny added, her expression turning serious as she looked between Tatiana and me.

"Helga lives in the Forest of Enchantment. Of course, the forest is so vast that the odds of encountering her are almost nonexistent. Even the many search teams that have gone in have never found her."

Jenny glanced at me briefly.

"But there’s still a chance you might run into her. And if that happens, there might be a confrontation. However, since you’re from Enorthos, I think Helga would treat you differently than she would a search team. Still, if you think it’s too dangerous, feel free to decline."

Tatiana looked between Jenny and me, her expression difficult to read.

Since she knew I was Helga's son, this conversation must have seemed very strange to her.

It felt strange to me too.

When I thought about how Jenny might react when she eventually found out the truth, I felt a pang of guilt. It would be awkward and embarrassing, and it filled me with mixed feelings.

But I had no intention of revealing that I was Helga’s son.

I cleared my throat and nodded.

"I’ll take the job."

If I met my mother, I could ask her where the phoenix's nest was.

There should be at least one fallen feather in the nest.

There likely wouldn’t be multiple phoenixes there, so it must be Rella’s mother.

I didn’t want to kill her, nor did I want to pluck a feather from her like a chicken cruelly.