It felt weird to see Olivia being responsible for once. Yes, that fucking idiot who can't shut her mouth up at the best of times is running around with Zel while they filed out paperwork and reports needed by the guild. I was actually the one not doing anything right now, in fact, I'm just eating the cookies Ehlri baked for us.

"Good. It's good."

It let out a nice crunch the moment I bit into one. Satisfying.

"Can you stop stuffing your fat mouth with cookies and help us write up the reports?!"

"Nope. You guys do it, I'll watch from here."

Jin growled, then she splattered some ink on my cloak with her quill.

"Rude! This cloak is brand new!"

"Please stop fighting. I wish to finish up the report in peace."

Maria frowned and glanced up from her writing towards us. Her yellow and green eyes flickered with magic for a moment, only for a moment. She sighed and put down the quill in her hands.

"Pass me a cookie, please. I need to take a break."

I pushed the plates of cookies towards her. Jin grabbed one as well and angrily bit into it.

"God, I hate this."

"So do I, but it is a must in our line of work."

"No! Not the reports! It's the amount that I fucking hate! Why the hell did we even let Zel talk us into ignoring it for a month?!"

Maria shrugged her shoulders and sighed.

"I do not know. Arthur here doesn't need to write up reports since he usually submits them the day after he finishes a quest. If only Zel has a better work etiquette instead of...."

Maria trailed off and went back to writing up reports. Jin scowled, then groaned, then went back to writing up her own reports.

It has been four days since we returned to Lorren. The townspeople that evacuated are now back, most of them were at least. The last groups are supposed to be coming back today, and from what I heard, a handful of interesting people. The fact that the stores and markets are up and running again is good. I'm nearly out of toilet paper and I don't want to pay for those cheap ones. Speaking of markets, maybe I should buy something to entertain myself when I have time.

"Arthur? Arthur!"

"Hmm? Oh, what's up?"

"See, Maria? He's always spacing out when we need him!"

"I concur. Are you thinking of something, Arthur?"

"Yeah. I'm thinking of going to a brothel."

"Oh, I see, I se- A what?!"

Maria slammed her hands down on the table and Jin caught both bottles of ink to stop them from from spilling.

"H-How lewd! W-What a dirty-"

"Relax, I'm joking. Maybe... is there even a brothel here?"

The two exchanged glances between them and shook their heads.

"No. No! I don't think Zel would be thrilled to hear what you're planning."

"I agree."

"Why not? It's my money and- Oh, hi Zel."

"Hello, Arthur. You finished with your reports?"

Zel sat down beside me. She flagged down a barmaid and asked for a mug of warm milk and another serving of cookies. 

"Olivia went back to the church for today. She wanted to sleep."

"Oh right, she took an all nighter to write up all of her reports. Damn."

Zel nodded and stared at the stacks of paper beside Jin and Maria.

"Ah... That's a lot of quests."

"Of course, you fuckin- We put this off for a month! Of course it would pile up like this!"

"Yes, yes. Sorry for that. Well, we just need to finish up the reports before Fihr gets here."

Everyone at the table tensed up, everyone except me. I looked around and all I saw was them shuddering and writing faster. 

"Well, if the Guildmaster does show up- Oh, thank you! Here, a tip."

Zel flashed the barmaid a smile after handing her a few silver coins. She munched on a cookie then washed it down with the warm milk in her hands.

"Where was I? Oh right. I doubt the Guildmaster would be here by today. But if he does show up, I think we won't get in trouble for it. Probably."

"That's what you said last time. He made us clean the streets for a week because of that."

Zel laughed apologetically while she looked away from Jin's gaze. 

"It's not my fault we led that Wyvern t othe town. Anyways, are you guys ready for the rewards later?"

Everyone in earshot perked up at the mention of rewards. Heads turned towards us and some listened intently to what Zel is about to say. Jin's glare made half of the turn and back to the papers in their hands. 

"Rupert told me that the Guildmaster would be the one in charge regarding our rewards. Although I did hear that it would probably be in installments rather than one, big payment."

"Yes, yes. Taking down one of the Twelve Swords is not just unprecedented, but it is unheard of! Even the highest level adventurers struggle to fight against any of the Demon Lord's elites."

"I'm in it for the money. Just imagine the fucking reward for killing him!"

"I just want to buy some new clothes, man. Probably a new set of armor."

I wasn't wearing any armor right now. In fact, I don't even have any in spare. The chestplate I wore was destroyed by Nehuet, the sword I used was also destroyed, only my cloak survived that night and it was in tatters. I would've bought a new set of armor and a better cloak if only I had the money to spare.

Well, I do have a sword. Nehuet's sword to be more specific. It didn't disappear when he died, although it did became a regular shortsword when I picked it up. Oh, it's still magical and filled with runes, it's just... smaller. And it didn't feel like a regular sword, either! It was light but the weight is perfectly well balanced and it looked brand new. It was a damn good sword but I'm not sure if I should use it.

Or maybe I should just display it as a trophy.

"-isn't it? We should be doing quests instead of sitting around in here."

I looked up, my thoughts stopped abruptly when Zel brought her fist down to the table like a mighty hammer.

"As much as I want to agree with you, I think it is for the best if we meet Fihr to discuss our rewards for now."

I didn't really pay much attention to the conversation that's happening in front of me. I tuned them out while I drank the milk in front of me. 

While they talked about rewards and paperwork, I sat back and and watched them silently. I bit into a cookie and sighed in silence. Listening to all of this made my head hurt. It was like being at the dinner table while my mom and dad talked about the rent or how the restaurant is doing. It felt boring, uninteresting, mundane. 

Cruunch.

The cookie was a tad bit overcooked but still tasty. Anyways, I've had my fill of this fantasy world. Sure, the first few weeks is amazing. It was great, in fact! But after a while, it just becomes... mundane. I mean, paperwork? Paying rent?Reports? Some giant monster coming to slay everything in the surrounding area? Okay, the last one is pretty rare and hopefully it will not happen again but the rest just becomes repetitive after a while.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

I was about to go to the bathroom when the doors suddenly flew open. Everything inside the guild went silent and I felt a shiver ran down my back. Everyone looked at the door and waited. An idiot dropped a mug of ale and spilled it all over himself while another spilled his ink all over the table. 

"He's here."

"No shit, Zel. Only Fihr can command a room like that."

"Shh! He might-"

"Guildmaster! Welcome back!"

"Welcome back, Guildmaster Fihr!"

Rupert and those closest to him extended a warm albeit forced greeting. The rest of the staff scurried over to the front desk and bowed with them as well. 

"Uniform's a mess. Dust everywhere. I've been gone a month and there are still some requests that haven't been finished."

The voice was... childish? No, it wasn't like it was silly or anything. It just sounded young. Really young.

A pair of bunny ears popped out from the door. It sprouted from the top of someone's brown head. The person's chestnut hair was tied into a neatly behind him. He walked forwards, his height made it hard for me to spot him, but I could tell that he was probably shorter than Jin by half a head.

"Rupert! I need my stool. I can't see half the room from down here!"

"O-Of course! Ah, thanks."

Someone dragged a chair out of the breakroom and placed it in front of the notice board. Moments later, a small child climbed up onto the chair and stood tall. His black eyes looked around the room while he counted the people present silently.

"The Guildmaster's a child?"

Eyes turned towards me and Zel smacked me on the back of my head.

"Quiet! He's the Guildmaster!"

My eyes turned towards the small child looking at me intently. 

I took in the child's- no, Guildmaster's feartures. He definitely looks like a child. His face looked like he was younger than me by four years, probably five. But his eyes and posture didn't feel like a child's. Around his shoulders hang a green mantle and he wore a simple white shirt underneath his iron chestplate. 

"Hmm? You're new around here."

He pointed at me with a gloved hand while he tapped his foot repeatedly. His leather boots must've been heavy because the sound of each tap bounced off the walls loudly.

"H-He registered here a month ago. I am sorr-"

"No, no. It's fine. You must be Mister-"

"Arthur. Arthur McKinley. Hello and nice to meet you."

Jin kicked me from under the table and Zel glared at me. She was mouthing something to me, but I couldn't quite grasp what she wanted to say.

"Arthur? Arthur... Arthur... Oh! I know you! You're the one in the reports!"

"Huh?"

"Yeah! You're the Swordsman in Lockhart's party! Speaking of Lockhart..."

"Oh no..."

Zel hid let out an exasperated groan as all eyes turned towards her. He grinned at the Knight beside me and folded his arms together.

"Bring your party to my office. I need to speak with all of you. Rupert, you handle the celebration. Everyone here deserves a congratulations for saving the town."

"S-Sir?"

The Guildmaster jumped off the chair and walked towards the stairs at the back of the reception area. 

"You heard me! Celebrate the victory! Oh!"

He turned back towards Rupert and pointed at our table.

"Bring cookies as well. Make it two for my guests."

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

"First of all, I would like to commend you for saving this town."

He sat behind a large desk with a plate of cookies and warm milk placed in arm's reach. Olivia is snacking on some of them noisily but he didn't seem to mind it. 

All of us were standing in front him while I was admiring a pair of katanas that hung on his wall. The room itself looked like a museum with items and books that looked like they were decades, no, centuries old in fact! Everyone would glance at me from time to time but after seeing that I'm just looking and nodding at the various displays, they would usually ignore me save for the occasional question.

At the moment, they seem to be discussing things about the attack and how we handled it. The Guildmaster insisted on waiting for Olivia before we started. It took someone from the guild thirty minutes to find her, but now that she's here the talks can finally begin.

"Regarding the bounty-"

"Ah, the bounty. About that, there's been a complication with the bounty."

"Which is?"

"Well..."

"C-Can the payment be in installments?"

Zel raised a brow at his words. The Guildmaster laughed nervously at Zel and pulled out a small parchment.

"And why is that?"

"W-Well, let's just say that the bounty would be hard to deliver..."

He slid us a piece of paper and tapped it with a finger.

"In one piece."

"What do you- Ah."

Her surprised gasp made everyone look over at the piece of paper. Out of curiousity, I glanced over Zel's shoulder to see what all the fuss was about. 

It was just a bounty. A bounty on Nehuet. A bounty worth...

"T-T-T-Two... Two... two..."

"Arthur! Get a hold of yourself!"

"Six zeroes. There's six zeroes on this bounty."

"D-Dear Gods, w-what is-"

"Two million weiss? A-Are you sure about this, Fihr?"

"Yes. I'm sure. Each of the Twelve Swords is a 2 million weiss bounty."

The five of us looked at each other in disbelief. Two million divided between us is five million each, and five million is still a large number.

"Well, the issue of dividing the loot will be up to your discretion. Now, for more pressing matters... Miss Lockhart, your father asked me to deliver this message to you."

Fihr pulled out a letter and handed it to Zel. She eyed the letter warily and opened it slowly.

"Ooh! Is that a wax seal?"

"Yes, it's my family seal."

Zel put away the letter in her pocket and leaned back in her chair.

"Anything else? Do you have anything else to discuss with us?"

Fihr tapped his cheek with a finger. His eyes turned towards me, then he pointed.

"Yeah. I wish to speak with him."

"Oh, can't you do that with us-"

"In private."

Zel tensed up, her mouth opened and she raised a finger but no words left her lips. She clearly wanted to speak up, but she didn't do it. Everyone glanced at each other, then to me, then back at Fihr.

"If you wish to cash in your bounty, I think Rupert will help you. Although I can't promise you that you'll get it all, probably just a quarter of-"

"See ya, Arthur! Have fun!"

"I believe that my wand has been damaged in the fight with Nehuet."

"I'm going out to drink with the Dwarves! Bye!"

The three of them streamed out of the room, followed by Zel as she reluctantly followed behind Olivia. She turned back towards Fihr one last time and glared at him. He laughed and waved her goodbye as the door closed behind her.

"Now... We're all alone."

Shit. That sounds scary. 

I turned around and eyed him warily. Fihr was watching me closely while he sat in a relaxed position on his chair. It felt like he had an aura of power around him, and it was like his very presence made the air heavier. He was intimidating, he wasn't doing this earlier but now I could feel it clearly. I glare at him and sat down in front of him. His lips curled into a smirk and he chuckled softly.

"Arthur McKinley. Swordsman, rookie adventurer... and otherworlder."

The last part made me flinch and jump back. He lauged at my reaction while I raised my fists defensively.

"Relax yourself, Arthur. Your secret is safe with me."

"Why the hell should I trust you?!"

"Because you're not the only person that came from another world."

He stood up stretched his arms. Then he pointed at the katanas on the wall.

"You recognized those, didn't you?"

I nodded at him and glanced at the katanas on the wall. They're probably katanas since they look as long as the ones I saw in the videos. Fihr laughed softly and walked over to the spot on the wall where they were affixed to.

"They used to be my friend's weapons. They looked like weapons from Zipangu, but he told me it is a fixture in the games he played in his world."

"Ahh... I see."

"Dwarves forged it and the Elves weaved magic into the metal as they did. The steel itself was mixed with mithril and it made the sword light but durable. It is a weapon that served him well until the end."

"What happened to him?"

Fihr shook his head and sighed.

"237 years ago. He died just a year after his wife and fellow friend of mine did. Both came from your world."

"T-Two hundred- Wait, you look like a kid!"

"Ahaha! That's what they all say!"

Fihr shook his head while he laughed.

"I was an adventurer once. Bathed in the Fountain of Everlasting Youth after being spirited away by the Faefolk. Now I'm immortal but forever a child."

"Doesn't sound like a curse to me."

"Yeah, try saying that after being thrown out of brothels! Do you know how hard it is to bring a woman home with this face of mine?!"

"Fair... Fair point. Wait, two hundred years ago? H-How the hell did they know about games then?"

"What?"

"T-Those guys know- Bah! Nevermind! I'll ask Illyria about it."

Fihr raised an eyebrow at me.

"You can speak with the Goddess? Haruki met her once but- You can talk to her whenever you want?"

"N-No. It's more... complicated than that."

"Ohhh! Do tell! Do tell! This sounds interesting!"

The two of us sat down and I started telling Fihr how I got here. From the moment I died, to the moment I died to those Golbins, and to the moment where I died to Nheuet. Fihr listened quietly, his eyes locked intently on me while I told Fihr about the quests and how Zel and the others have been treating me. He laughed whenever I complained about Olivia, saying that not even he could stop that idiot from doing whatever she wants on a whim.

Minutes turned into hours and I found myself having lunch with Fihr while we emptied a bottle of fine wine. The topic moved from place to place and we were now on the subject of Lorren's bath house. It seems Fihr here is an avid fan bathing during mixed bathing hours. It still felt weird to hear flirting tips from a person that looked like a 12 year old.

"Now, now. That's enough tales of my exploits. I could tell you more later but for now, let's continue this later. I still need to file the reports on what happened with Nehuet. What time is it? Noon? Ah, it seems I must introduce you to a-"

"I-I'm not interested in any of the girls you mentioned just now."

"What? No! I'm introducing you to someone from your world. I think she's already here in town. We need to discuss more about your circumstances, but for now... go have fun with your party for the moment."

He looked out of the window and beamed brightly.

"Ah, what a nice day. Well, why don't you head down for now? I'll call you when it's time to go."

The Rabbitman walked over towards the door and ushered me out of the room.

"Oh right! Bring Zel and the others up here later this evening. I want to hear the full story on how Nehuet was defeated."

"Sure. About this other-"

"You'll meet her when you meet her. Bye!"

Fihr closed the doow with a slam. I sighed and walked downstairs to meet up with the other four.

Maybe a quest might do us some-

"I'm buying every last keg and barrel of booze in this place!"

That's not good. 

I rush downstairs and I found myself staring with a wild-eyed Olivia as she held up a large bag that jingled with each motion of her arm. Jin's now holding a new pair of daggers which she was tossing around in the air haphazardly and Maria is swinging around a new staff that was glowing bright red and making everyone in the guild nervous. 

"Where is Zel when you need her?"

I said to myself with a long sigh before walking down the last flight of stairs.

"This team is a mess."

I watch those three make a mess of the guild while Rupert ran around frantically, trying his best to stop them from causing any more trouble. And in the corner of the large hall, Zel looked at it all with a wide smile on her face, drinking a mug of ale while Maria threatened to show off her new Skills.

"But they're my team, I guess. Ehlri! I'll have today's special and some ale!"

I yelled out as I passed the kitchen door and the sounds of a surprised Elf girl and falling pots and pans made me wince and regret that decision. 

Well, today is pretty mundane compared to most days, but...

"Jin! Jin! Want to see me cast a [Fireball]?"

"Sure! I'll try to fucking stop it with my new enchanted daggers!"

Today is a nice day.