223: Even adventurers' guilds have their tangles, huh.

I decide to dissolve the adventurer party for now.

No point sitting around in the meeting room forever.

"Evie and Professor Jabir will help us decide on our exploration plan. Until then, just live normally, okay?"

Jitarou answers right away.

"Then I’ll wait at Seirara’s place, preparing for the trip!"

"Alright. I’ll do my best to settle things within a few days."

But he’s still not giving up on Seirara, huh? Sure, she’s pretty—but she’s got kids. Not that having kids’s a bad thing. You’ve got other women you’re hitting on, right?

Watching Jitarou skip toward Seirara’s shop, I give up on thinking about it. Wasting time.

I start walking home when a thick arm wraps around my neck from behind—grabbing me tight.

"Craft, come on, join me for a drink."

"...If His Majesty requests it, I suppose."

"Right now, I'm just the adventurer Van. There's someone else here."

"...Yeah."

Raidock, gripping my arm from the opposite side, weakly raises one hand toward me.

Yeah. Can't really argue with that.

"Anywhere you like. Just take us there."

We go along without protest.

Gonna get hell from Jitarou later.

◆

We step through the door of the back-alley bar we sometimes use when just the two of us are drinking.

Van nudges me in the ribs with his elbow, annoyed.

"Hey. You said you'd keep this place hidden."

Van had been with me on plenty of drinking runs before, but this was the first time he'd ever been brought here.

"Most times I drink with Van, there's too many of us. The only places with seats are the adventurers' bars, you know."

…Definitely not the kind of place for a big, noisy crowd.

"Yeah. I told you, so don’t go getting kicked out now."

"You… think I’m talking about you?"

"Troublemaker."

He gave me a half-lidded look.

"Not knowing your own flaws is scary."

"No, I’ll return the favor in full."

Raidock shook both my shoulder and Van’s, shaking his head.

"Both of you—really need to realize that."

"“You too!!”"

We spoke in unison, then noticed the bartender’s icy stare and quietly took our seats at the counter.

…All Van’s fault!

Van raised his glass to toast, then kept right on talking.

"I wanted to talk to you both a bit. About Kyle… I’m sorry. I should’ve stopped you from going to Lucas and Bella’s place."

Ah. So the king couldn’t apologize in public, so he only told the leaders of the adventuring and escort teams—informally, that is.

“Kyle really wanted it. No one’s to blame.”

I kept looking straight at Raidock.

“It wasn’t your fault. The stubbornness of the demon kind. The idea that humans can turn into demons. That was beyond anything we could’ve imagined.”

Raidock opened his mouth, then closed it.

“…I’ll see the escort mission to the Empire through, no matter what.”

Van smirked, playing it cool.

“Only you can do this. Leave it to you.”

“Yeah.”

Looks like Raidock’s gotten himself back on track. Don’t know what’s really going on deep down, but he doesn’t seem to be beating himself up anymore.

"Yeah. I didn’t get to ask during the meeting—were the knights who died protecting Kyle also sealed away?"

Van’s eyebrow twitched.

"Kyle still had a chance because of Marilyn’s sacred magic, Javir’s healing, and the elixir."

"So that means…"

"They were cremated. Honors were granted."

"Honors, huh…"

It’s probably a big deal, but from my point of view as a commoner, so what?

"Idiot. Of course their families were properly taken care of."

"Sorry."

"Even the Mizoho Shrine Nation gave them the title of honored warrior. Their families don’t have to worry about money. Try believing that."

"Sorry."

"Most importantly, the Holy Knights are the Lord’s sword and shield. To pity a knight who fulfilled their duty? That’s an insult."

"Yeah... that's right. Thanks to them, Kyle connected the possibility. A great star."

"Exactly."

We three clink our glasses in a tiny toast.

"Better talk some reality into Craft before he gets the wrong idea."

"What? What's that?"

"If, hypothetically, the squad had been in Kyle's exact situation, I'd burn them to ash."

"Why the hell would you do that! Once the resurrection elixir is done—!"

I shout, and Van waves one hand dismissively.

"Idiot. Even if you'd made hundreds of those potions and brought them here, you think we'd use one on a Holy Knight? Bodies'll be piling up from across the country. No, from all three nations. They'll be begging to be revived."

"...uh."

Van sighs heavily, pressing a hand to his forehead.

"Honestly? When I brought Kyle back, the problems that came after were so damn messy I didn't even want to think about them."

"That's..."

"No, that's just complaining. Leave it to me and Zaid. Don't sweat it."

"Once you hear it, you can't help but worry."

"That's why it's just complaining. Forget it. We'll handle it."

"Ah. Got it. I'm counting on you."

Van changed the subject, leaning into Raidock.

"Silver hair. How long you gonna stay stuck at B rank as an adventurer?"

"Actually, I'm the one who's curious. Why does the Adventurer's Guild seem to think pushing an A rank is too risky?"

"Can't really figure out the Guild's logic."

Van's meaning was clear. This part was just messy.

Raidock chose his words carefully and began explaining.

"Uh. First off, the Adventurer's Guild is organized per country. Three separate ones—Kingdom, Empire, and the Union."

Exact details exist, but for now, we can skip the exceptions.

"Each country has its own rules, but adventurer ranks are shared. Still, comparing strength is tricky, huh..."

"Wouldn't be surprising."

"Names of adventurers ranked C or higher get shared between the guilds of each nation. Looks like it’s done once a year, all at once. Oh, and by the way, they sometimes haul academic records along during that exchange."

Traveling to another country isn’t just life-risking—it’s a pain even once a year.

"So, C-ranked or higher adventurers are shared across guilds. What if, suddenly, one country starts submitting way more applications than usual?"

"Wouldn’t think they’re getting stronger."

"Exactly. That’s why the guilds are hesitating to register anyone at C rank or above. Let’s be honest—most D-rank adventurers in Goldendown could easily beat C-rank opponents."

"What if someone applied honestly?"

“Honestly, if they think we’re crazy enough to be considered a threat, that’d be fine.”

“Ah, right. At A-rank, you’re basically humanity’s trump card. Not exactly something you can just pull out on a whim.”

Come to think of it, Master Javil once said he’d met an A-rank adventurer before. Wouldn’t say much about it, though.

Van, seeming to shift the mood lighter, suddenly starts grumbling at us.

“Ugh! A-rank adventurers, just grow already! For real—until we figure out a way to connect the nations, unity among mankind’s just a pipe dream!”

“Even if we increase the teleport gates….”

“The problem’s the tech’s jumping ahead too fast. If nations can link directly, spies and soldiers could be sent anywhere in seconds.”

“But honestly, might be easier just to go hunting for adamantite or orichalcum than try to fix the roads.”

“Is that so?”

"Yeah. I’ve got the real thing, been studying it. With Leifan around now, we can pinpoint it straight away—using a dowsing tear drop."

A dowsing tear drop was a magical tool designed for locating things. Mostly used to find underground minerals or water sources, but it wouldn’t react without knowledge of the target. Or, if it did, the reaction would be barely there.

In other words, if you knew what you were looking for, it’d react easily.

"What’s wrong?"

Van leaned in, peering at me, but I ignored him.

Could it be…?

If Eva used a dowsing tear drop… could she find the hidden mage village?

It’s a location, sure—but still worth a shot!

I didn’t hesitate. I bolted straight for the inn where the Casper sisters were.

Van and Raidock were left behind, chiming in in perfect sync.

““He’s absolutely the biggest troublemaker around!!””

I don’t wanna hear it from you guys!

Out now—The "Jobless" Vol. 7, on sale now!

June 7th—Comic version of "Jobless Alchemy" Vol. 5 hits shelves!

★

Thanks for all your feedback in the comments. Really helps a lot.

Keep 'em coming if you’ve got thoughts or ideas. I love hearing from you.

Seems like most people like it, so I’ll stick with the current approach.

In regular novels, the explanations usually come after the dialogue.

But I’ve always had a tiny gripe with that, so I’m glad it’s being received well.

Guess everyone really wanted to know who was talking, huh? W-well, that’s cool.

Thanks for reading. See you next time.