“The result seems satisfactory. Here is your reward, 13 silver coins,” Faro said as he handed out thirteen silver coins to a male adventurer over a wooden counter. He was wearing a simple white button-up shirt and black pants, looking more like a waiter than a guild receptionist. Nevertheless, with his neatly combed blond hair and blue eyes, the boy looked handsome.
“Thanks, dude.” Taking the coins, the guy turned around at once and walked toward his group of adventurers who were two males and a female. One of the female adventurers waved her hand to Faro with a giggle. He waved back with a broad smile, and the female adventurer looked like she wanted to approach, only to be stopped by the male adventurer who wasn’t looking pleased.
“Come on, we’ve got a job to do tomorrow. We need to rest,” he said, clicking his tongue.
“What? So what? I am a support mage. I am not even that tired,” she protested, at which point the guy grabbed her by the arm.
“Come on,” he insisted.
Growling silently in protest, she complied while shaking his hold on her arm off. “Fine, but I am not your woman. You have no hold over me,” she argued.
While this awkward event was unfolding, all Faro did was put on a smile and simply stayed silent. It was one of the behaviors he was taught; he was to be as parasocial as possible due to the nature of his job. As a guild receptionist, he was bound to encounter a lot of women and he wouldn’t be able to keep up if he made friends with all of them. The solution to that was simple; simply be parasocial and let them do whatever they ought to do. Eventually, the adventurer group left the guild hall, at which point Brian approached him.
“Good job, kiddo. That’s how you handle such a situation.”
Faro let out a sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I am getting used to it, sir, which I don’t think is a good thing…”
Brian let out a snicker. “Be positive. You are quite popular with women. If you find one to your taste, do approach. I won’t stop ya from relationships. I won’t stand in your pursuit of romance. Just don’t hit on everyone like a dog in heat.”
He nodded along and stiffened up as he saw a group entering the guild. He soon loosened up, however, because he recognized them.
“Hey, kiddo, it looks like you are up and running!” Duman shouted at him with a big grin, showing his pale yellow teeth. He was followed by Meizei, Amanda, Ayaan, and Roseline. They all had sizable backpacks on their backs.
“Good to see you, sir,” he replied with a professional smile.
“Oh, wow, he is shining!” Amanda joked, covering her eyes with her arm as if she was blinded by some imaginary light.
Brian walked toward them. “Welcome back. I assume the business is finally done and dusted.”
“Yeppers, boss. The dungeon has been cleared,” Duman replied. “And we left almost everything as is.”
“That place is a ghost town now,” Roseline added. At this point, Ayaan moved away from the group and went upstairs. He wasn’t interested in talking.
“How many left?” Brian asked, purely out of curiosity. It was none of his business anymore, which he was actually glad about. It was just too much work for him. He was initially displeased about having to give up on the settlement but soon became glad after being caught up with the restaurant business.
“Two or three, maybe four at the best,” Duman said with a happy shrug. “Not our biz.”
“Indeed,” Brian agreed with a nod.
“Even whoever is left might not stay for too long,” Roseline added. “Without us, there isn’t really a structure to speak of and there is no one else to sell their loot.”
Supposedly, the prince of Atra was going to send his own people to the dungeon. However, the current circumstance complicated the matter greatly. Kamil was also supposed to support the settlement for the next six months but, if there was no one, there would be nothing to support.
Looking around as if to see whether anything changed, Duman asked, “Anyway, how are things here? We’ve been away for a long time.”
“Nothing much in the guild itself,” Brian replied promptly. “As you can see, the boy has joined up full time.”
“How long has it been?”
“Not long, seven days, I think?”
Faro nodded affirmatively.
“How’s the knee?”
It was perhaps an insensitive question from Duman, but he and his group deserved to know. In response, Faro downcast his eyes, looking stoic.
“It doesn’t bend much.”
He could bend his knee to about 15 degrees which was in fact not much. To demonstrate, he started to walk and he was heavily limping. Amanda and Roseline frowned at the sight for different reasons. The former was displeased about how a handsome boy was limping, ruining his good look. The latter was simply sad as a water mage that she could not heal the boy better.
“Well, at least he has got both legs,” said Duman, trying to put a positive spin on the matter, and he was indeed correct. He did have both legs, which was far better than having just a leg. Additionally, he didn’t need a cane although it would help him. Carrying a cane at the age of fourteen was just too much, both Brian and Faro decided. The boy was still young and more importantly growing still. There was still a chance that his knee could bend more. If there was any good news, it was that his knee wasn’t going to get worse.
“Come over here, darling. Let me give you a warm hug,” said Amanda who buried his head into her chest, giving him a literal warm hug.
Leaving the two behind, Brian changed the subject. He said with a dark face, “Now, as for the city and further, things are .. complicated.”
Duman and his group had been pretty much isolated for months. They had absolutely no idea how the world had changed for far worse in a span of just several months. However, Kamil did tell them the appearance of the two dragons. Therefore, their shock was rather subdued.
Furrowing eyebrows, Duman replied with skepticism. “So, the duke was telling us the truth. I thought he might have been fucking with us.”
“So, he did tell you, huh.”
“He sure did. I don’t think any of us quite believed him fully at that time, though.”
“I did believe him. Why would he lie in the first place?” Roseline spoke up.
“So, how bad is it?” Duman asked.
Brian answered while scratching the back of his head, “Well, thankfully, we are right in the middle of what I’d call a safe zone. I believe Ceres is literally right in the heart of a fierce storm. Right now, the North and the South are in tatters. None of this is having much effect on us yet, though.”
Duman had originally planned to explore the world to find more places like the labyrinth after getting some rest and preparation in Ceres. Only Meizei was aware of his intention.
“I see,” he replied solemnly.
“Anyway, like I said, we are safe for now. Go get some rest, will you?”
“You sure? I thought you wanted us back ASAP.”
“The business has slowed down a bit with all the commotion, so there is some breathing room.”
“In that case, don’t mind if I do. Meizei, let’s go.”
They went upstairs promptly, leaving Amanda and Roseline. The former was hugging Faro tightly and finally let him go.
“I should take a real bath as well. See you, darling,” waving her fingers toward the boy charmingly, she went upstairs also.
“Roseline? What are you waiting for? Go take some rest,” Brian urged the last one left to go on.
“How bad is it?” Instead, she asked the same question Duman asked a moment earlier, feeling that he wasn’t truly being honest. He had no reason to lie although he did try to hide the severity of the situation from the others.
“Bad, real bad,” he replied earnestly as he folded his arms. “This could well be the end of the world, I was told by someone.”
“I really want to see the dragons, though,” she lamented half-jokingly.
“I believe Atra sent an army after a dragon. None came back. You could go and see one for yourself. Just don’t expect to come back alive.”
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She sagged her shoulders in disappointment. Meanwhile, Faro was doing some miscellaneous chores around while the guild hall was empty and was limping out to a back door. She cast a heavily sympathetic stare at him as he left the hall.
“He is just fourteen…,” she lamented.
“Come on, girl. It could have been worse. Like Duman pointed out, he could have lost his leg. Besides, the kid has got a supportive family. A rich one might I add. I am sure he will do fine.”
“Yeah…, you aren’t wrong.”
“Go upstairs, relax for a bit.”
Nodding along, she lazily walked upstairs at which point Faro returned and limped his way to the counter. He had his own room in the guild in spite of the fact that his home was only a short distance away. In general, boys moved out upon reaching fifteen years old. Therefore, Faro being a fourteen year-old boy, it wasn’t too strange for him to start getting used to life outside his home. Noblemen were an exception where they didn’t move out but they’d be given their own sphere of influence upon coming out of age. They’d be given a large allowance and be asked to maintain a ledger.
The next day, a group of adventurers entered the guild early in the morning, three guys and one girl. They went straight to the mission board to take a look at availability of jobs. Faro stiffened up a bit; he was still not fully used to being a guild receptionist and put on his professional face while he waited for them. Even though it had been only a week since he started working for the guild, it became abundantly clear how group dynamics worked. There were generally two kinds of adventurer groups on an amateur level. One was a harem type where one male adventurer, typically a group leader, would have two or three female followers. The other type was where there was a single female member in an all male group. In the latter case, the female member would be treated like their little sister to be protected and cherished. On a more professional level, members would be enlisted by merits instead of gender. Duman’s group was such a case where gender played no part in selection. Many adventurer groups he had observed so far, the majority of them fell into the amateur level where male members were highly conscious of their female counterparts. The group eventually made their way to Faro.
“You are the guild receptionist?” The one in front, presumably the group leader, spoke, sounding a bit surprised by the fact that a boy was standing behind the counter.
“Yes, I am. The name’s Faro. What can I do for you today?”
The lone female member, upon hearing that it was a boy at the counter, took a peek from behind timidly. Her eyes widened at once.
“Wow, you are cute!” she blurted.
The male members immediately glared at him while trying to pull her back.
“Ehm…” the leader was thrown off his track from the comment and took a short moment to rebound. “I have some questions about this mission.” He put down a piece of a paper that had details of a mission on it. It was an escort mission. A group of refugees managed to gather some coins together and put up a request to be escorted to Keviel.
“It says that the reward is to be negotiated. What does that even mean here?”
Faro looked down on the paper and skimmed through. As a guild receptionist, he was also in charge of maintaining the guild board in his spare time. Therefore, he was already aware of this mission.
“You are to escort a group of ten people. They are three families. Because their fund is severely limited and they have to spend money for food everyday, they weren’t sure how much they’d have left by the time they’d be escorted to the destination, hence the ‘to be negotiated’ part.”
The adventurer nodded along with a look of understanding.
“Makes sense,” he said softly. “But I’d like to know exactly how much we will be paid before taking the job. We are interested and just want to know the minimum payment they can muster.”
Faro nodded affirmatively. “I understand. If you can wait for a bit, I can find that out for you.”
“Yeah, we will wait.”
He picked up a bell under the counter and shook it once, sounding the bell. A worker came out of nowhere. He looked to be just as young as Faro. He was dressed in casual attire instead, however.
“You called?”
“It’s about the request #117. They want to know the minimum they can pay.”
“Number 117?” The boy pulled out a small notebook from the back of his pocket and started going through it fast. “Oh, I see. Be right back.”
Then there was a rather uncomfortable silence between him and the group who had moved away from the counter to kill time except for the woman who approached him.
“What’s your name?” she asked. She was a brunette with a pair of brown eyes. Her hair was ear-length which was fairly short for women. Her hair was well combed and taken care of. With a dark gray robe on, she was likely a mage of some sort.
“The name’s Faro, ma’am.”
“How old?”
“Fourteen.”
The guys were clearly uncomfortable with her talking to him but they didn’t stop her. The two would chat for a bit before the boy showed up from his errand. He approached him at once and whispered in his ears. Faro nodded subtly and turned his attention to the guys who stood a short distance away by a round table, beckoning them to come over.
“Do you work here everyday? We can chat later, right?”
He nodded along, not thinking much. He just wanted her to get off him at this point. The reason Faro was popular among ladies was due to one aspect. He was femininely pretty. Muscular men leaking testosterone was a common sight among adventurers and whatnot. But pretty men were extremely rare and it was a breath of fresh air for a lot of female adventurers who were used to traditionally strong men.
“What’s the news?”
“I’ve just been informed that the absolute minimum is ten silver coins.”
“Ten, huh…” He scratched his chin slowly. “Not quite enough…”
“There is a chance that it will go up,” Faro interjected. “You do understand their plight, no?”
“Yeah…, but…” The guy was reluctant for a good reason. The reward, ten silver coins, wasn’t actually enough for his group. There were four of them, and each would end up with two silvers and fifty iron coins at the minimum. After cutting costs associated with the job, he felt it wasn’t worth it. A goblin camp extermination would net far more coins with less overhead. The female adventurer of the group chimed in after deciding to side with Faro.
“Come on. Let’s just do it. The minimum is 10 coins. I am sure that we can get more,” she said with pleading eyes and tone. The guy had a hard time rejecting her clearly; he sighed subtly eventually while shaking his head.
“Fine, we will take it.”
“Thank you.”
“When can we meet them?”
‘We will call them here. So, please wait a moment.”
“Uh, right now?”
“Tomorrow morning then?”
“Yeah, we’ve got some preparations to make.”
Faro nodded while beaming a smile. “Very well, then. I will have them wait for you in the guild hall tomorrow morning.” He said so enthusiastically.
“S, sure, see you tomorrow, then.”
He waved just as the female adventurer waved back as the group headed out of the guild hall.
“Kid,” Brian called out from a distance, having watched the scene.
“Yes, boss?”
“Be impartial.”
“Pardon?”
“I will let this pass today but, as a guild receptionist, you need to be impartial. If they don’t want to take the job, then so be it.”
“Boss, but -”
Brian interjected at once. “Kid, they may die on the job. It’s not a joking matter. It’s fine if it was their decision, but you pushed them to take the job. So, tell me. What if they die on the job? It will be on you.”
Faro’s face darkened as he understood his point. He wasn’t wrong. They would run into monsters at night, and there was a chance that some, if not all of them, would not make it.
“I apologize,” he said while bowing sincerely.
“That’s fine, kid. You are learning, and I do understand where you are coming from. I am simply telling you from experience. We have to be impartial, or you won’t be doing this for long because your guilt will catch up to you eventually.”
Faro glanced at Brian who was looking clearly displeased.
“Have you … had a similar experience before?” he asked very carefully.
Looking frustrated, Brian scratched the back of his head relentlessly.
“Yeah,” he replied eventually. “I wasn’t a receptionist but pushed a job onto a group out of pity for a client. The end result? All of them died due to frostbite. I was sent as a leader of a search party as a punishment and saw the outcome of my actions firsthand. You don’t want to go through what I went through, kid.”
“I see,” he replied solemnly and asked out of the blue. “Do you think the duke is doing the right thing? You know, forcing the refugees to leave.”
“I don’t disagree with him. If we take them in, we are going to face a famine. It’s us or them. I know it sounds cruel, but I’d rather protect those who I know rather than strangers.”
Faro said no more although he didn’t look entirely convinced.
“By the way, have you ever had a girlfriend?”
“Ehm…, why do you ask?”
“You handled the woman well. I could tell that you’ve had some experience with women. If you were a complete virgin, you would have blushed and did everything the woman asked for.”
Faro snickered weakly. “I think I had one.” He recalled Esther’s face. She was probably the prettiest girl he had ever met. It was true that getting used to her did help him handle women better in general.
“Oh?”
“We were forced to break up, though.”
“Forced to?”
“We turned out to be cousins.”
His answer really piqued his interest.
“If you don’t mind, who was it?”
“The ruby of Ceres.”
“Esther?!” Brian recoiled in shock. “And she is your cousin?!”
“Aye, boss.” Faro beamed a bitter smile. His answer confirmed everything for Brian meanwhile. He knew that Esther was of a noble birth and he was also aware of Kamil’s origin. Her being Faro’s cousin meant that Kamil’s family was indeed connected to the Fenchel. However, again, he had absolutely no intention to expose the duke’s questionable background.
“Boy, you had one hell of a girlfriend. No wonder you showed little reaction to the woman before.”
Faro chuckled. Indeed, Esther was far more beautiful. Being used to such a woman meant that he had little trouble handling other women in general. Brian gave him a thumbs up with a broad grin.
“Boy, that’s another credential you’ve got there. Maybe you are born to be a receptionist.”
“Ehm, that’s not much of a compliment, sir.”
Brian let out a pleasant laughter and gave a powerful pat on his back.
“Anyway, keep up the work. And hang in there for a bit longer. Once your training period is over, you will work only a quarter of a day.”
A guild had several guild receptionists, and this was true to Brian’s guild as well. The only reason Faro was working full time was because he was training. Generally, two receptionists worked in shifts a day. One would work in the morning. The other would work in the afternoon. After Brian left, Faro massaged his shoulders and cracked his fingers while exhaling. Was this his place to be? He wasn’t sure. In fact, he was never sure about where to be. He was a carpenter once, then went on to become an adventurer. Then here he was, working as a guild receptionist. He would have never imagined becoming one. Was he content? Sort of. He was feeling peace at least.
“Is this my place to be?” he whispered. Then he saw a group of adventurers entering, a guy with three women. He had his arms around the women and was casually chatting. They were approaching the counter, presumably to turn in a request. He had a job to do. Beaming a professional smile, he told them.
“Welcome to the Ceres guild. My name is Faro. What can I do for you?”