In the past, he once had to dig an entire mountain just to obtain one piece of the relic. Acquiring another piece involved fighting a naval war with his neighboring country just because one of the pieces is hidden deep in the ocean inside a sunken ruin. Yet, none of these endeavors were even the most time-consuming and expensive venture he undertook in his quest to collect the pieces of the relic.

No, the most expensive and time-consuming venture, spanning nearly two decades was to find two of the relics pieces. It was because one resided in the storage room of an abandoned lord's manor and the other? Located inside a farmer's house.

Years passed after he announced to the public that he was searching for these pieces. It took that long for the two genuine pieces to be brought to him, not to mention the mountains of fakes and lies he had to deal with.

Now, his greatest fear is that the last piece lies hidden deep within a river or buried somewhere in the forest or just tucked away at an abandoned house. If that's the case, he's likely facing another long and arduous search, which is why one of his plans involves...

"An adventurers' guild?" Lady Wiena repeated, curiosity lacing her tone. "Is it similar to a merchants' guild, but for... adventurers?" she added.

Keagan nodded, sipping his wine. "Exactly," he said. "A guild that takes commissions from all sorts of people and assigns them to those willing to take them on. That's the general idea, at least. Though, this land might already have something like it established."

Lord Reede and Lady Wiena exchanged looks. "There is the merchant guild, who sometimes hire people to do their bidding," Lord Reede said. "There are also lord's notice boards, though those are more for posting laws and wanted criminals. I don't believe this land has anything like an adventurers' guild."

Keagan smirked and nodded. "That's good," he said. "That means I'll be its first founder."

"And how exactly would it operate? What makes it unique?" Lady Wiena asked, her tone suggesting she was considering whether this business would be profitable.

This was a chance to see if his plan was allowed, and there was no better to say the idea than to a lord.

"To keep things brief," Keagan began, making sure he properly say what he thought without stammering to get his point accross as he searched for words before slowly said, "I plan to find a center location with easy access to surrounding towns and cities. Then, I'll establish an office there, hire staff, and build connections with both merchants and commoners. It will take time, but once I have commissions to offer, adventurers will flock to us. There are many people in need of income, after all. Put simply, this guild will act as a middle-man, center-ring the needs of merchants, commoners, and even lords. The guild will only take a small commission fee, while adventurers will keep the majority of the money and of course, the guild will make sure those who take these commissions are capable enough. That's not all, though. The guild can also gather and provide information for clients, maybe even establish a message delivery service" Keagan explained without going into excessive detail, some words he had to improvise, he added the last one based on his new ability to manipulate birds.

Internally, he thought, 'I need a location with easy access to surrounding areas to establish a foundation. Then, I can gradually introduce my own missions without raising suspicion...'

Then he continued, "Once the foundation is strong, I can slowly expand the guild by establishing branches throughout the land..."

"That is indeed an interesting proposition," Lady Wiena nodded. "But how does one be called 'adventurer' just by this system? Aren't they not too different from mercenaries?"

Keagan smiled at the group. "You may be right, but I believe the term 'adventurer' is much more...romantic than mercenaries, besides there will undoubtedly be commissions that require travel to different towns or cities. The guild might receive commissions for tasks like looking treasures hidden beneath mountains or across the sea. Even simple protection missions qualify as adventures. Imagine a young person wanting to experience more of the world. This guild would grant them that opportunity. After all, isn't that the dream of most youths?" he said, then added, "Besides, a friend once told me the greatest adventure you'll ever have is meeting new people, and I sincerely agree."

Internally, Keagan added, 'At the very least, I need to establish trust and connections with the populace. They'll be the entire purpose of this guild.'

"A wise friend indeed," Lord Reede said, nodding in agreement.

"He was," Keagan replied, a moment of wonder crossing his face as he thought about his friend. He shook his head slightly to refocus, then looked back at the trio. "That's the general idea, at least. I still need to iron out the details and make sure it stands out from anything else."

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"So, you plan to have potentially armed people working under you?" Lady Wiena asked, raising an eyebrow.

Keagan immediately shook his head, he knew it was dangerous to basically raise what seemed like an army, and for a foreigner doing so? Even more, hence... "No, I won't be hiring these adventurers. They'll be completely independent, free to choose whether or not to accept commissions offered through the guild. However, I do plan to establish a registration system. Through the guild, people can earn the title of adventurer. It's mostly a formality, of course, but as long as they don't harm the guild's reputation, they are free to do what they want"

"Registration," Lord Reede repeated his tone questioning. As if for a moment confused by the meaning.

"Yes," Keagan explained. "I plan to create a tiered registration system for adventurers, based on their capabilities. Essentially, the more missions an adventurer completes with positive reviews, the higher their tier will be. In turn, these higher-tiered adventurers will have priority access to high-value commissions and the guild's services. I'm still figuring out exactly what services the guild can offer, though."

"Positive Reviews?" This time, Lady Wiena repeated the phrase, her tone questioning as well. Unsure as to what Keagan meant.

Keagan smiled. "It's basically a feedback system based on the commissioner's experience, or anyone who witnessed the adventurer's work. It considers factors like the adventurer's personality, whether they completed the job quickly and efficiently, and their overall performance on the job."

"This venture of yours... it certainly sounds unique," Lady Aria said. A faint flicker of emotion crossed her tone, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared.

Keagan nodded in agreement. "Thank you, but as I mentioned, I still need to iron out the details."

A part of him did wonder if he'd been wise to share his idea, fearing they might try to implement it themselves. He quickly dismissed the thought. Even if they did create a similar guild, it wouldn't prevent him from building his own or trying new plans.

After all, he'd learned from his past to always have multiple plans in motion.

"Lady Aria is right. Though, while it sounds promising, time and money will likely be your biggest obstacles." Lady Wiena

Keagan sighed. If his ship hadn't sunk during the voyage, he would have approached this differently. He wouldn't have established a guild; instead, he would have started a merchant business focused on acquiring information and archaeological discoveries. He would have created teams to explore nearby towns, cities, and mountains. Once he'd confirmed an area lacked the relic and information he sought, he would have moved on to a new location, repeating the process.

Unfortunately, his wealth was lost at sea, and he'd attracted the attention of the local lords far too quickly.

"Indeed, I will need to work hard, but that is precisely what I expected. So I am not overly concerned about it."

"Are you not interested in becoming a lord of this land? With your strength, surely there must be a way," Lady Wiena inquired cautiously.

Keagan chuckled at that and immediately shook his head. "No, I'm not interested in that. Setting aside the matter of the adventurers' guild, I'm truly not in the mood for noble politics anymore. I suppose you could say I've grown old of it," Keagan added with a wry grin.

Lady Wiena chuckled at what she thought was the continuation of a joke from before.

Keagan noticed a faint sense of relief washes over Lord Reede after his statement.

As they continued to sip their wine, Keagan turned his attention to Lady Aria. "Lady Aria," he said and carefully added, "I'd like to have a conversation with your grandfather about the matter of my items if possible."

Lord Reede and his wife exchanged a glance, their eyes narrowing slightly as they looked back at Keagan.

Lady Aria nodded. "My grandfather would like to speak with you tomorrow regarding that. He has assured me he will return your items for a small favor"

Keagan breathed a sigh of relief. 'Finally,' he thought inwardly. He also couldn't help but complain to himself, noting that the highest-ranking lord seemed more agreeable than the lowest-ranking lord.

"Thank you," Keagan replied.

"And you can stay in the castle for as long as you want," Lord Reede said graciously. Lady Wiena offered a small nod in agreement.

Keagan expressed his gratitude once more. However, another thought surfaced in his mind.

"Lord Reede and Lady Wiena, do you know of any orphanages in your city?" Keagan inquired. Lord Reede immediately grasped his intention.

"There aren't any official orphanages," Lord Reede explained, "And I'm sure you already know the circumstance of the temple at the moment but if I'm not wrong there's an unofficial group living in a house that sometimes accepts them. If you'd like, I can have a servant familiar with the place guide you there."

Keagan nodded his thanks, but inwardly frowned. The city's lack of a dedicated orphanage, with only the Sky Temple taking in homeless children, troubled him. Growing up in a war-torn land, he'd still witnessed orphanages supported by lords and merchants. The thought of innocent children begging for food and potentially dying on the streets was deeply disturbing. He shook his head, pushing the thoughts away.

Lady Aria observed his troubled expression with a thoughtful gaze.

The dinner concluded shortly thereafter, and everyone exchanged goodbyes.

----------------------------------------

"What are your thoughts on him?" her grandfather, Wyan, inquired as she sipped her tea. They sat in a small office-like room after the dinner with the foreigner.

Aria paused thoughtfully before answering. "He certainly possesses an air of confidence that comes with power and it isn't just because of his physical strength," she said. Taking another sip of tea, she added, "I also sensed he was hiding something. All his words seemed to hold secrets, but they also seemed to have truth in them."

As she spoke these words, a memory flickered in her mind. It was the look in his eyes when he mentioned he was married. Now, she understood the flicker of familiarity she'd felt when she'd looked at them before.

They were the eyes of someone who had lost someone important.

"Granddaughter?" Her reverie was broken by her grandfather's voice. A flicker of emotion crossed the high lord's eyes before vanishing as quickly as it appeared.

Aria lightly shook her head and continued her report on the foreigner as the night deepened and sleep enveloped the land.