After bathing, Finn fell asleep in his room, hoping to rest for at least a few weeks before leaving on another mission. While he slept comfortably, an argument was taking place at the reception desk.
Damian grimaced in frustration. In front of him was a team of five people, Finn's former team. The young blond man banged the reception counter angrily, demanding an explanation from Damian, while the women looked irritated and angry.
"Why can't it be?!" Mark asked angrily. "I'm sure if you bring him here and ask him, he'll agree to come back without a problem!"
"I already told you that's not how things work. Finn already has a team, and besides, you're already five members" Damian replied frustratedly.
"Nonsense. We've seen teams of up to eight members in the guild!" Aria exclaimed, a dark-haired woman with a large bow on her back.
"That's right, those groups carry out B+ class missions and above, but you only carry out C-class missions and have failed almost all of them" Damian replied.
"That's because we need Finn on the team!" shouted Jenna, a young woman with brown hair dressed in a mage outfit.
"Finn was the one who had our backs, without him we'd still be hunted by monsters!" exclaimed Emily, the youngest girl with blonde hair and dressed in light armor.
"That's not our problem. You were the ones who decided to kick Finn off your team to choose young Samuel, who's a hunter" Damian replied, pointing at the young man with brown hair behind the group.
"Ugh, I know that, but isn't there a way for Finn to rejoin our group?!" Mark asked.
"Sorry, but no. The rules clearly stipulate that C-class teams or lower must have fewer than five members so everyone can be paid fairly. Plus, you can't add a member who's already part of another group, like Finn, for example," Damian clarified.
"Tch, you're saying the same thing the other receptionist told us!" Aria exclaimed.
"Is that because of the rules, maybe?" Damian asked ironically.
"Anyway, we just have to find Finn and get him to leave his group and join ours" Mark said confidently, but Damian denied it again.
"I'm afraid that won't work. Finn has made a permanent deal with his group, so he won't be able to leave his partner" Damian revealed, surprising everyone.
What Damian had said wasn't a lie. When Darwin registered Finn as a partner, Amelia requested the transfer of the group under her supervision since she managed the two adventurers individually, and it would be easier if she also managed the group formed by both of them. By taking the group under her supervision, she used a loophole in the guild rules to change the contract from "indefinite team" to "permanent team" so she could keep them under her supervision.
"What? Since when can you do that?!" Aria asked angrily.
"Well, it's a rather complicated process since not only the adventurers have to agree, but also the receptionists who oversee that agreement. Plus, there must be a receptionist overseeing this group, and often the receptionists don't want to give up their adventurers. But in Finn's case, it's different. Amelia, his supervisor, is also the supervisor of the other team member and of the team itself, so there were no problems in making a permanent agreement within that team" Damian revealed, leaving Mark's team speechless.
"So we can't get Finn back?" Emily asked again.
"I'm sorry, but no. The only way for you to be on a team with him is for you to be accepted into Finn's current team, and knowing the receptionist, Amelia, there's no way she'll accept you because of the incident six months ago" Damian finished before leaving the reception area and going to the back of the office to continue watching the video of Finn and Darwin's mission.
Darwin, who was sitting in the reception area watching the news from the capital, watched the interaction from the beginning with a big, mocking smile. He wasn't aware of the fact that they had a permanent relationship, but it didn't bother him at all, because he knew that with Finn, he could advance without problems in the guild, even if it was just the two of them.
'I'll buy Amelia some chocolates as a thank you for showing me such a splendid show...' Darwin thought, amused, as he went back to watching the news. 'Ha, the guild tournament at the end of the year, that'll be a good show to watch,' thought Darwin.
Changing the channel, Darwin saw the queen standing on the balcony of her castle, cheerfully greeting the citizens and reporting on the recent discovery of the ancestral mural.
'Bitch queen,' thought Darwin, changing the channel again.
—
Damian went down the stairs at the back of the receptionist's office and came to a passageway that led to a wide room with several rooms inside. Moans and cries could be heard coming from one of the rooms. Damian entered without hesitation.
In the room, there was a large screen where the video of Finn and Darwin was paused, and in the center of the room was the goblin witch tied to a chair. Two other receptionists were sitting on a small sofa that barely fit them, and Master Rohan was standing right in front of the goblin, waiting for Damian to return.
"Sorry for the delay, Master. Some adventurers were being capricious as always," Damian explained, sitting at a small desk and taking out a pen and paper.
"No problem, son. I know adventurers can be very stubborn" Master Rohan admitted, taking off his jacket and placing it on the table.
Walking slowly toward the goblin, the Master rolled up his shirtsleeves as Damian resumed the video on the big screen.
"Well, goblin witch, you better be more cooperative than the last goblin witch I encountered" the Master said, raising his hand and tapping one of his fingers on the goblin's forehead.
The light blow, completely contrary to what one would expect, caused a small shock wave that sent the goblin flying, still in the chair, into the wall.
"Be careful, Master, you might accidentally kill him" Damian reminded him.
"Sure… Tell me, goblin, how the hell did you discover that ceremonial site?" the Master asked, watching the big screen show the place where the goblins performed the ritual to acquire magic and knowledge. "And how did you get this arrow?"
The goblin could barely stay conscious after the blow the Master had given him. His eyes were wandering from side to side, and drool was dripping from his mouth. The Master sighed tiredly, turning to look at one of the receptionists sitting on the sofa and giving her a slight nod.
"Becca, wake him up," said the Master.
The black-haired woman stood up with a big smile, walking happily until she reached the goblin and placed her fingers on his nipples.
"Wakey, wakey" Becca said, releasing a large burst of blue lightning along with a green light.
The goblin screamed and writhed in the chair for a few seconds until Becca stopped touching him. The goblin, now fully conscious, was breathing heavily, his desperate gaze begging for mercy.
"Answer me, goblin, how did you get there?!" Master Rohan demanded.
"The stone!" The goblin cried, frightened and crying. "The stone guided us there… sob… sob."
"How, where, and when did you find the arrow?" the master asked, approaching and lifting the goblin from the same ropes that bound him.
"It was a year ago!" the goblin confessed again.
The master looked at the other receptionist sitting on the sofa, who nodded, confirming that he was telling the truth.
"Continue…" the master ordered.
"I found it a year ago, in the dungeon. We were looking for humans to breed with when we found the arrow lying at the back of a destroyed room!" the goblin cried. "Then the shining arrow showed us the way to the two murals"
"What dungeon!?" The Master asked.
"The one near the non-human realm, in the mountains behind it. The third highest one has moss-covered doors… please, that's all I know" the goblin said.
"What else is in that dungeon?" the Master asked.
"I don't know. We didn't investigate the dungeon. There were a lot of strong monsters. We had to run for our lives just before finding the room destroyed. We didn't see anything about what was inside or how many more monsters there were," the goblin confessed. "We only saw a tarantula woman. She ate half of my party…"
The Master grabbed the goblin by the head, smashing it in an instant, knowing he wouldn't get any more out of him than he could from the video.
"Octostalkers" the Master mentioned, knowing what creature the goblin was referring to.
"If there are octostalkers there, it means it's not a normal dungeon" Damian stated seriously.
"You're not thinking of sending our little explorers there, are you, Master?" Becca asked curiously. "We just got them, so we better don't lose them."
"Don't be an idiot. Finn and Darwin just became explorers. It's obvious the Master isn't sending them to explore a possible Class A dungeon" said Abel, the other receptionist. "Besides, that dungeon is out of our jurisdiction."
"Abel is right. There's no way I'm sending Finn and Darwin there, not yet. Besides, we need to report this to the other Masters and the archaeologists. Once everyone is informed, we'll discuss our next steps toward the dungeon" the Master stated, wiping the blood off his face with a handkerchief. "For now, we'll work with what we have as best we can."
The Master straightened his clothes and put on his jacket, making sure he looked formal before ordering Becca and Abel to clean everything up and leaving the room with Damian in tow. The two walked toward a hallway that led to an elevator, which took them to the Master's office. The Master sat down in his large chair and began filling out some letters while Damian waited patiently in front of him.
"Did you give Darwin and Finn their payments?" The Master asked.
"That's right, Master. They were both very grateful" Damian nodded. "Darwin stayed in the reception area watching the news, while Finn went to his room on the fifth floor."
"True. Why did he ask for a room so suddenly? Not that it bothers me, but I thought he was living a comfortable life in the building he lived in" the Master asked curiously.
"It wasn't him who asked for the room, it was Miss Cristel, your granddaughter, Master" Damian revealed, confusing the Master even more. "If I remember correctly, Amelia said something about Miss Cristel wanting to teach Finn some 'private lessons.'"
"Private lessons... oh yes, now I remember what Cristel told me about that. Finn is having trouble adapting to the rules and regulations of our world if I'm not mistaken... yes, the lessons will be good for him, the boy will learn a lot" said the teacher satisfied with his granddaughter's effort to help Finn with his problem "Poor Finn, according to what Cristel told me he had a serious problem regarding certain subjects, let's hope she cures him"
"Of course, poor Finn…" Damian commented, rolling his eyes, knowing very well how many adventurers were regarding these matters.
"Whatever. I need you to take this to the other Masters immediately, son" said the Master, handing some letters to Damian.
'I can't wait for next upgrade of the chat function in the bracers' Damian thought wearily. "Of course, Master, I'll deliver them right away."