The hurried footsteps of Aria vibrated through the street as she rushed to the adventurer's guild. Once she reached her destination, without missing a beat, ran up to the guild master's office and knocked loudly. The staffs were terrified when they witnessed Aria's anger.
"Come in." Granzial allowed Aria to enter and when he saw Aria's expression, he knew that something worrisome had happened. "Based on your agitation, I would assume that Rutio has something to do with it."
"Indeed! I would like to know where he is and discuss some matter with him!"
"Calm down. If you are looking for his headquarter, I can tell you where it is, but it is not a wise decision to just charged into his turf and demanding something. His men will cut you down with ease." Granzial offered her some water from his jug and poured it into a spare wooden mug before handing it over to Aria where she proceeded to down the water. After calming down, she explained the whole situation where Rutio's guild purchased the land and properties of the orphanage where Daniel was from and that her step-mother was the one who approved the purchased.
As soon as Aria finished, Raymond came in after knocking. He saw Aria and quickly informed her that Rutio was waiting for her in a nearby tavern. "His men came early in the morning when the sun was just beginning to rise and inform me that if Aria was looking for him, he will be waiting in that tavern after the first morning bell rang. I was wary, but when I heard from other staffs that you came in with such terrifying look, I become concern and decide to inform you."
"Thank you for the information. It seems that man had planned all of this since the beginning. How did he get my prideful step-mother on his side and signed that approval letter?"
"I guess you should find it out from the man himself, but please, be careful." Granzial watched as Aria left and walked to the designated meeting place.
The tavern that Aria entered was the nearest one to the adventurer guild other than the one affiliated with the guild that was located next to the main building. It had a rustic design with strong foundation of stones and pebbles embedded within mortar that walled the entire building with several windows equipped with wooden doors. The roof was lined up with woods and clay harden around the gaps to prevent any water leakage. The interior of the building was warm with a granite fireplace in the middle of the building radiating heat throughout the room. Wooden beams and pillars were lined up at intervals to ensure the stability of the roof.
Aria spotted her target sitting alone in the corner and approached him. "I am here. I want an explanation."
"You are earlier than I expected. Have you had your breakfast? Otherwise, please, come and join me for a hearty meal; my treat." Rutio gestured Aria to sit across while maintaining his smile. "Their bacon and eggs set meal is famous around here and that is why I want to try it."
"Enough with the nonsense. What is it that you want?" Aria took a seat across Rutio.
"I thought you, of all people, would have known. You are quite the special one, being able to take down those unknown beast and being able to craft weapons out of their carcasses. Who would let such precious gem slip out of their hand? Many would have scurry over to you if not for the fact that they are afraid of Lord Sultier."
"But not you. Cornering me was your aim all this time and you have done just that, but a cornered prey will bite its predator."
"The question is whether you can or cannot bite me. Tell me, can you make me bleed?" A waitress came to their table and placed a lavish plate of creamy scrambled egg, few slices of thick-cut crispy bacon, 2 slices of toasted bread and a pile of fried beans.
"Ah, thank you. Can you bring another plate of this for this young lady." The waitress bowed politely before going back to inform the chef. Meanwhile, Rutio took a bite of the bacon with the scrambled egg and commented on its bold flavour.
"You seems pretty relax despite having someone here whom you just angered; and yes, I can certainly make you bleed." Aria exuded an air of intimidation, but Rutio easily brushed it off and continue eating his meal while drinking a warm cup of herbal tea. "How much will it be for me to buy that orphanage from you?"
"Getting straight to the business, I see. Do you not want to ask how I got the Lord to sell that property to me?"
"Is there a need for me to know? How will that help me in this situation? Just tell me how much."
"Ahh... what a serious girl you are. Your father was out of town and so, I approached his wife who has the next highest authority and since she hates you, by sprinkling in some savoury details, she let her emotion takes control. It becomes easy to get her to sell that property."
"The. Price."
"Hahaha, you are an impatient one. I bought it at a discount of 250 gold, so it would be right to give you a discount as well. Hmmm... alright, I will set it at 400 gold. Originally, I want it at 500, but I guess doing so would be too pitiful for a young lady like you."
"Your constant mockeries are getting on my nerve." The waitress came back with another plate of food and placed it in front of Aria. "That is quite the amount that you are asking for. If I succeed in getting the money, you will still profit from this transaction, but if I fail, I have to join your guild and make weapons for you."
"Every big move I make should have benefits. The contract will be delivered to the adventurer's guild. One way or another, I look forward to what will unfold. Please, entertain me." Rutio stood up and walked out of the tavern, leaving his meal half-eaten.
"Leaving your food unfinished?"
"Oh, you can have it. Donate it to the orphanage if you want to. Consider this my initial investment for participating in this game."
***
Aria returned to the adventurer's guild without taking a bite of the meal and saw members of the Will of Wind.
"Miss, I have heard about what happened from the guild master." Gunther spoke in an apologetic tone. "We would like to help, but we are called by the Viscounty of Lutem for several urgent quests to solidify our rank up to Steel rank. If we can finished within 2 weeks, we will return and assist you. The money we earned from the quests can be used to help you as well."
"Thank you for the concern, but this is between me and him. His true aim is me and I do not want to involve others. The orphanage was dragged in because of me."
"Oh missy, no, it ain't ya fault." Noel got down and hugged Aria to console her.
"In any case, I will try to do something about it." Aria approached the guild receptionist and asked: "The quest to hunt down the Rathian, is it still active?"
The question sent shockwave across the room.
"Wait, you are not planning to take that monster down alone, right?" Gunther was the first to gather his senses back.
"Rutio demanded 400 gold to buy the property of the orphanage. Hunting down the Rathian would allow me to earn 300 gold alone. I can top it up with the 50 gold I earned from the Velocidrome hunt and the rest, I can try to hunt another monster."
"That is reckless! You saw how those high ranking adventurers got decimated! What is more, there are the 2 other monsters lurking in that jungle." Elisia wore a worried face as she berated Aria. "We can share the spoil from the previous hunt with you."
"Thank you, but we would still be around 100 gold short. You guys need the money for various expenses such as transport and maintenance of your equipment. It will be helpful if you can make up for the 50 gold shortage though."
The party members were silent. They knew that they needed the money to prepare for the journey to Lutem Viscounty. During their stay, they would need to use their own money for all their necessities as they would not be paid until all of the quests had been completed. However, once they had ascended into steel rank, money would no longer be a problem since many nobles and rich merchants would employ their services for large sum. Once you were a high ranking adventurers, you would be able to live comfortably as long as you were consistent with your performances.
"We will gladly give you the money, but still, it is reckless. How are you going to defeat that terrifying Rathian? Worse, how are you going to deal with its counterpart who is also guarding the nest?" Gunther questioned, worried about having to lose a talented adventurer. "I hope you have some kind of plan to take it down and not just because of your own emotion marring your judgement."
"I do have some kind of plan, but it will be difficult if I do not have any other arrows to shoot in case the first one fail."
"Havin only 1, it's gotta be a death wish fer an adventurer missy!" Mary butted in. "Did'ya wanna gamble with yer life like that!?"
"That is why I need more arrows to secure the success. I will scout the Cloudy Jungle and determine what can be of used to lure the Rathian into my traps."
"That plan of yours may not be feasible." Granzial walked down the stairs while wearing a stern face. "In case you forget, the entry to the Cloudy Jungle is restricted and only high ranking adventurers are allowed to venture into its heart. Aria, in light of your contribution to the last hunting expedition, your promotion to Copper rank have been approved by the guild's headquarter. Congratulation on that."
"It does not sound like a heartfelt congratulation."
"I do genuinely congratulates you, but after hearing your reckless plan, it comes out flat. Please, come up. The Will of Wind party members are welcome as well."
The mentioned members followed the guild master into his office. The mountainous stack of papers and scrolls had visibly decreased, signaling to Aria that the busy period was coming to an end.
"Now then, a meeting between a new promising upstart, a team of rising stars and the guild master who overlook them; I think it is quite the intriguing combination. Reminds me of myself when I first started becoming an adventurer when I was just 10 years old. My mother was against it, but my aunt, who was a guild master at the time, was supportive and became my guardian. I was fortunate enough to meet several helpful seniors who showed me the correct paths. Aria, your situation is similar to mine, but yet, much more difficult to handle."
"Guild master, I know that the entry to the Cloudy Jungle is restricted, but can you grant me the permission to enter? I promise, I will take down the Rathian."
"I do not have a problem with giving you the permission to enter. Others will accuse me of playing favourite, but it is not uncommon; and in light of your recent achievements, they will have nothing to complain. The only problem is your step-mother."
"You mean, she will use her authority to punish me for breaking the rule."
"Yes, in a sense. Most of the time, nobles do not meddle in the affairs of low ranked adventurers and will not be bothered if they are granted some kind of privilege by the adventurer's guild. However, you are a special case. If words got to her that I grant you the privilege to enter the heart of that jungle, she will use her authority to call foul and use that to chase you out of this territory."
"Wait a minute guild master! How did that escalate into chasing miss Aria out of the territory?" Gunther protested.
"The wife of the current Lord, miss Melinda, holds the highest authority in the entire Sultier Earldom since Lord Elrion is currently out of Lapis town. Her reasoning may sound unreasonable, but it holds heavy weight. Even though the guild is the one who enacted the entry restriction, the Cloudy Jungle is still under the jurisdiction of the Sultier family."
"I see. That means that miss Melinda can use the entry restriction given by the guild's headquarter in the imperial capital as an excuse to bypass the branch guild's authority in Lapis and punish miss Aria." Elisia carefully worded her reasoning while looking at the guild master for approval. "She will claim that a low ranked adventurer has trespassed her territory without authorisation from the headquarter and thus, banishing miss Aria."
Everyone nodded, understanding the difficulty in solving the problem. Aria was angry, but she was impressed at Rutio's strategy and picked the best timing to execute his plan.
"In that case, I will set up the traps outside of the restricted area and lure the Rathian out of its nest."
"And how are you going to do that? Incidentally, you will need to enter deep into the restricted area to encounter that beast. If the guards or any other adventurers see you entering the inner recesses of the jungle, the news will travel into the ears of miss Melinda."
"I will only enter once: when I am going to take it down. It does not matter if my step-mother finds out after that. I will have gotten the funds needed and save the orphanage."
"You are prepared to leave the Sultier Earldom, huh." Granzial locked eyes with Aria. "Very well then, I will start preparing for your entry permit, but I will withhold the permit until the day you need it."
"Guild master, are you serious!?" Gunther interjected the decision. "You are really letting miss Aria go! She can be the ace of this branch and help with the growth of this city. In addition, there are more unknown creatures popping out around these areas in the past few weeks and miss Aria is the only one who have the knowledge and abilities to take them down with ease. Losing her will put you and the locals in a difficult spot for the future."
"Gunther, she is indeed a valuable asset, but she has the heart of an explorer, the embodiment of freedom and talent. It would be a waste to keep her lock up in a cage. Besides, I have been receiving reports of some unknown monsters popping out at other places throughout the continent." Everybody were stunned by the revelation, but Granzial remained calm and turned towards Aria again. "Aria, even if you cannot return to your home territory, never forget about us. I will put in words with the Lord when he return to retract whatever punishment that his wife had place upon you, though I am unsure if he is able to completely retract everything. Go out there and explore the world. Lend your talent and knowledge to other branches as well. They will need your help."
"That is a given. If other territories are encroached by these monsters, it is my duty to lend a helping hand to them. That being said, I hope the adventurers here will be able to take the other creatures down."
"Hahaha, we will have to raise them ourselves or wait for miracles to occur then."
Both Aria and Granzial smiled softly and after a short while, Aria left the office to head out to the Cloudy Jungle.