Faced with a girl acting so oddly, these adventurers' faces had already darkened. If they hadn't noticed that EeDechi's metal badge was the rare orichalcum-level, while they themselves were only mithril level, they would have blown up at her already.
The way EeDechi was sizing people up right now—her movements and demeanor—were exactly like a shrewd shopper at the bustling market, meticulously picking out the best ingredients. Before she could tick off even more people, Barrett quickly grabbed her. "What are you looking for?"
"Isn't this a high-tier adventurer meeting? How come there isn't a single adamantite-level one? It's all 'mithril-level' and orichalcum-level." EeDechi looked listless; it seemed she really hadn't found any suitable "ingredients."
"'Adamantite-level adventurers are the chosen ones—where do you expect to run into them so easily? They wouldn't bother showing up for a meeting like this."
Barrett explained, "In the entire Re-Estize, there are only three adamantite-level adventurer teams in total! Besides, the Adventurer's Guild has no real authority over them—even some mithril-level and orichalcum-level ones didn't bother coming."
EeDechi shook her head over and over. "These adventurers are totally disorganized, no discipline at all, just slacking off and doing whatever they please—what kind of way is that to operate? You mentioned three adamantite-level adventurer teams—what are their names? And which one's the strongest?"
"The three adamantite-level teams are named Red Drop, Blue Roses, and Darkness," Barrett said after a moment's thought. "The strongest team among them should be 'Darkness.'
"From what I know, the Darkness team only has two members, one guy and one girl, while the other teams have several people each. The fewer members in a team, the stronger each individual's fighting power must be."
"Besides, Darkness is an adventurer team that's newly risen in the past few years. They went from total nobodies to snagging the Adamantite metal badge, just as fast as you got promoted to Orichalcum."
Barrett had secretly dug into EeDechi's background and knew she had suddenly popped up in the adventurers' sights, then rocketed to Orichalcum level, climbing the ranks faster than a goat with its tail on fire.
EeDechi nodded. "Interesting—a two-person adamantite-level team like Darkness. They must be folks with a real strong sense of justice. Maybe we can win them over to team up against Ainz Ooal Gown. Gotta find a chance to talk to them."
"Stop obsessing over that big bad demon lord—isn't staying alive good enough?" Barrett pulled out a chair by the table, and the two of them sat down in a corner of the tavern.
"You wouldn't get it. This is my mission." EeDechi stared out the tavern window, the glow from the magical candelabra coating her face with a faint layer of pale gold.
The two chatted casually for a few more sentences. The adventurers in the Golden Harbor tavern were still rowdy as ever. Along one wall of the tavern, a wooden platform was built, usually with a band up there playing classy tunes.
But right now, whether it was the cello or the kettledrum, all the instruments had been cleared away, leaving just an empty wooden stage. No doubt the guildmaster was about to step up there.
Before long, a boy around fourteen or fifteen years old, with a smattering of freckles on his face, scampered up onto the platform. Judging by the boy's gold-embroidered black robe, he was probably a mage apprentice.
The boy stood on the platform and shouted to the adventurers below with a magically amplified voice. "QUIET! QUIET! The master of the Adventurers' Guild approaches!"
But the adventurers kept right on chatting and drinking, bragging and shooting the breeze, the din in the tavern not letting up one bit. Not a single person paid him any attention.
The boy looked totally helpless. He pulled out his wand and cast a sonic boom spell. A white orb of light exploded at the tip of the wand with a BANG—a massive noise that nearly shook the crystal chandelier right off the ceiling.
The adventurers were momentarily stunned by the sudden massive noise for half a second, then all turned their attention to the mage apprentice boy on the platform.
The whole place went quiet for just half a second before the adventurers' racket kicked up even louder, but now it was all aimed at the boy on stage.
"You wanna die? huh..." "Little bastard!" "Ungrateful little punk!" "This is an adventurers' meeting—what's a magic apprentice like you yelling about?" "Little mage, get your ass down here! Daddy's gonna use this bottle of tequila to crown your head with a red magic halo..."
The adventurers' grumbling curses kept coming nonstop. Of course, there were plenty of pretty, mature female adventurers in the mix too, throwing winks at the boy on stage. "Cutie, come play with big sister~"
The boy had successfully grabbed everyone's attention, but he'd never seen anything like this before. He hastily shouted, "Everyone, please quiet down—the guildmaster is about to take the stage." With that, he scampered off the platform, his face flushed with embarrassment.
Once the mage apprentice had left, a man in a light blue mage robe strode up onto the platform. He had a quivering goatee beard, and on his chest was an Orichalcum metal badge shining like the sun.
Barrett and EeDechi both stared hard and couldn't help but be shocked—this guildmaster was actually Old Tony. Barrett finally understood what Old Tony meant by "drinks are on me."
Since the guild guildmaster didn't usually have to show up for much, not many people knew Tony was the guildmaster. Plenty of adventurers below were just as surprised as the two of them.
Some adventurers who knew Tony well started heckling. "Old Tony, did you slip the previous guildmaster a magic poison potion so you could take over as guildmaster? Hahaha."
An adventurer in studded leather armor stood up and shouted, "If you can be guildmaster, then my goose back home could be a lord!"
"Hahaha!" Everyone burst out laughing, and the tavern was suddenly filled with a cheerful vibe—the annoyance from the mage apprentice's sonic boom spell earlier was completely forgotten.
Old Tony put on a fake angry look. "Don't talk nonsense. I have something to say—please quiet down and listen carefully."
The adventurers in the tavern fell silent for a moment, no longer making a racket.
Jokes were jokes, but Tony still had some clout. He was a mage, an elder, and most importantly, a pretty famous orichalcum-level high-tier elite adventurer. Not many folks had any issues with Tony taking the mostly ceremonial spot as Adventurer's Guild guildmaster.
Old Tony scanned the adventurers below the stage, straightened up, struck a dignified pose, and put on a solemn look.
He lowered his voice and began: "As we all know, we adventurers are the blade of justice—cool on the outside, burning within. We carve our own path, striking down evil wherever it hides.
"Adventurers charge into deadly battles, battling all sorts of dangerous magical beasts and monsters, defending the human world from the sharp fangs and claws, ensuring the lives and property of the people remain safe...."
"Bullshit! Save that crap for outsiders—who among us isn't doing this for the gold?"
"Quit beating around the bush—you think you're reciting a magic incantation? Spit it out already!"
The adventurers below kicked up a fuss again. Tony coughed once and had to jump straight to the point. "Princess Renner, the one with the 'Golden Princess' reputation, reached out to me a few days back. She wants to team up with some nobles in the Re-Estize, using her own cash to set up a medical fund for the adventurers in Re-Estize."
The whole thing involved Princess Renner, who had a stellar rep among the people, so all the adventurers zipped their lips, quietly eyeing Old Tony as they waited for more.
Old Tony continued, "Everyone knows adventurers rake in big bucks, but the risks are sky-high too. One wrong move and you could end up badly hurt, missing an arm or leg, or even have your cock bitten clean off down there!"
Barrett shrank back in his seat—he was sure Tony had just shot him a glance.
"Whose cock got bitten off?" An adventurer below blurted out impatiently.
Old Tony smiled, "That's a long story—we'll chat about it later. Let's get back to Princess Renner's proposal.
"Sometimes on adventures, we get badly hurt by accident, and magic potions cost an arm and a leg. Our pitiful paychecks can't even cover the medical bills. Do we really have to end up crippled for life or kick the bucket? Wouldn't it be great if someone lent a hand?
"I bet everyone's seen plenty of skilled, talented adventurer buddies who, because of one slip-up, had to drag their broken bodies away and leave us forever.
"Princess Renner lives up to her 'Golden Princess' name. After learning about us adventurers' tough spots, she stepped up and said she'd team up with some big nobles to fund a medical fund.
"As long as an adventurer keeps registered with the Adventurer's Guild, if they get injured, they can get some free medical gold, plus a nearly interest-free loan to help them through the rough patch..."
Tony's words were gently persuasive, and the adventurers below started murmuring quietly. Gotta admit, Princess Renner's idea was pretty appealing—if they could get some super low-interest cash help in a pinch, adventurers wouldn't have to deal with shady loan sharks.
"What's the catch? What does Princess Renner want?" A steady-faced adventurer stood up and asked Tony on stage.
Adventurers all know there's no such thing as love without reason, no hate without reason, and sure as hell no gold coins without reason. You pay the reward, I slay the monster. Equivalent Exchange is the basic law of this world.
Princess Renner has a rep for being wise, but she's not some royal with money burning a hole in her pocket. Now that Princess Renner has openly offered the reward, what's the monster she wants slain?
"No catch! Princess Renner didn't make any demands!" Old Tony clapped his hands.
The questioning adventurer below snorted coldly, "That's impossible!"
Tony smiled and nodded, his goatee quivering slightly: "Princess Renner isn't a fool, and neither are we adventurers.
"We all know there's a law in nature—Equivalent Exchange. I know what she really wants, and we adventurers can pitch in for it. That's why I called everyone here. Tonight's high-tier adventurer meeting is just now getting to the main point."