Pluton Ainzach, the Guild Master of E-Rantel, was a man accustomed to stress.
As a former high-ranking adventurer himself, he had faced monsters that would make grown men weep. But now, in his retirement, he faced a far more terrifying thing: paperwork.
Managing the Adventurer's Guild in a fortress city surrounded by deadly wilderness was a job that turned hair gray before its time.
Ainzach has a well-trimmed mustache and eyes that were perpetually serious, scanning reports of monster sightings, disputes, and budget issues.
He sat in his office, the scratching of his quill the only sound in the room. He was reviewing the sheets of new adventurers and some other papers.
Knock, knock.
Ainzach frowned, his quill pausing mid-stroke. "Come in."
He had explicitly told his staff not to disturb him for the next hour. If someone was knocking now, it was either a somewhat of an emergency or someone risking their job.
The door opened, and a young staff member poked his head in. His face was pale.
"Guild Master... there is a problem."
Ainzach sighed, rubbing his temples. "What is it this time? Did another drunken brawl break out in the guild?"
The staff member shook his head frantically, struggling to find the words.
"No, sir. It's... an adventurer party just returned. They hunted down fifteen Ogres and seventy Goblins."
Ainzach's brow furrowed.
That was hmmm a big thing, but not at that level that he had to be called. A well-seasoned high-ranking adventurer party with enough numbers and preparation could handle fifteen ogres and seventy goblins no problem without any casualties or harm.
"The thing is, Guild Master… there are two problems." The staff member swallowed hard. "First, it was done by a party of two adventurers, only copper plates. And they registered only a few hours ago."
Ainzach blinked. "Rookies? Two of them?"
"And secondly..." the staff member continued, his voice dropping to a whisper of disbelief. "The fifteen Ogre bodies are currently sitting right outside the city gate. The guards say... they say the man dragged them all there by himself. Like they weighed nothing."
Ainzach's eyes widened. He stood up slowly, his chair scraping against the floor.
"What?"
Pulling fifteen Ogres? An average Ogre who is massively tall and not to mention heavy. Fifteen of them would be several tons of dead weight. And why in the gods' names would anyone bring the whole bodies back?
"Copper Plates... a two-man party... and a fifteen of corpses at the gate?" Ainzach muttered.
"Yes, sir. The Guard Captain requested the guild presence immediately to sort it out."
Ainzach grabbed his coat from the rack. "Tell them I'm personally coming."
….
Walking through the streets of E-Rantel, Ainzach tried to keep his expression neutral, but his mind was racing.
Ogres were no joke. A single Ogre could wipe out a village if not protected. A group of fifteen was a threat level that would require a full team of Silver or even Gold rank adventurers to handle safely. For two Copper Plates to claim such a kill was absurd.
'What is their intention?' Ainzach wondered as he approached the gate. 'Are they trying to show off? Are they fraudsters who bought the corpses? But dragging them by hand... that requires a superhuman strength.'
He stepped out of the city gate and stopped dead in his tracks.
The guards were gathered in a semi-circle, keeping curious civilians back. And there, blocking half the main road, was a grotesque hill of ogres or what looked like a hill. Fifteen massive Ogres, piled and tied together with thick ropes.
"Guild Master," a guard captain approached him, looking relieved. "Glad you are here."
"I heard unbelievable things," Ainzach said, staring at the pile. "I had to see it with my own eyes."
"To be honest," the guard lowered his voice, "I wouldn't have believed it myself. But that man... he pulled them here. I watched him do the last hundred meters. He didn't even break a sweat."
The guard gestured to the two figures standing near the pile.
"And they said they brought the bodies because no one would believe Copper Plates killed them if they just brought ears. Honestly? And… I agree with them."
Ainzach nodded slowly. "Logical. But insane."
He composed himself and walked toward the duo.
One was a young man with fiery red hair, wearing a pristine white uniform that looked more suited for a royal parade than a monster hunt. A sword of undeniable quality hung at his hip.
The other was a small girl, barely fourteen, dressed in normal like clothes with a scowl on her face.
Around the man's neck hung the dull Copper Plate, signifying his rank.
Ainzach stopped a few paces away. "I am Pluton Ainzach, Guild Master of the Adventurer's Guild."
The red-haired man offered a small and was about to say something, but the girl spoke first. She looked irritated, tapping her foot on the ground.
"Finally!" Felt snapped. "How long do we have to stand outside? When do we get our money for these monsters? Do you know how hard it was to drag this meat mountain here?"
Ainzach looked from the girl to the hoard of Ogres. "Quite the temper you have, young lady. Did you two do this by yourselves? Or did you have assistance?"
It was the standard question to catch liars. No Copper Plate could do this alone.
"Nice to meet you, Guild Master Ainzach," Reinhard said, his voice calm and respectful. "I am Reinhard, and this is my Lady Felt. And yes, we handled the extermination ourselves."
Ainzach looked into the young man's blue eyes. They were clear. No deception. No arrogance. Just simple truth.
"How did you even find so many?" Ainzach asked, genuinely baffled. "And... you do know that you do not need to bring the bodies of monsters unless they have specific valuable parts? Ogres and Goblins are mostly worthless, aside from the their threat."
He looked at Reinhard's slender frame, then at the ropes connecting the massive weight he had dragged.
"Yes, we know," Felt said, crossing her arms. "But if we had just brought ears or claws, no one would have believed two Copper Plates killed a swarm of monsters. They'd call us liars or scavengers. So, dragging the whole lot here was the only surefire way to get the Guild's trust."
She gestured to the pile of meat. "Of course, this is a one-time thing. Next time, you guys can just trust us, right? Now that you know we aren't lying."
She dug into her pouch and rattled it. "Oh, and there were about fifty to seventy goblins too. We didn't bring their bodies because, frankly, they smell gross and they're small. But we took their ears as proof."
Ainzach stared at the duo. He had been a Guild Master for years. He had seen arrogance, bravery, stupidity, and genius. But this? This was something else. Bringing a mountain of ogres just so they could be trusted… that was something else, he had to say.
"That..." Ainzach paused, choosing his words carefully. "That is certainly a unique way to earn the Guild's trust. I am... impressed. Shocked. Surprised. All of the above. This is the first time in the guild that someone has literally dragged a mountain worth of monsters to us so we can trust them."
"Great," Felt clapped her hands. "So, can we get our payment now? We're starving, and we want to find an inn that doesn't smell like wet dog."
"Ah, yes. Of course."
Ainzach turned and signaled to one of the Guild staff members hovering nearby. He looked back at the red-haired young man.
"Reinhard, was it?" Ainzach asked. "If it is not too much trouble, could you pull this... pile... to the dismantling yard? It's just around the outer wall. This staff member will guide you. While Ogre bodies aren't treasure troves, the meat and hides have some value."
"Of cou…" Reinhard began to agree immediately.
"Hold on," Felt interjected, stepping in front of her knight. Her eyes narrowed. "Isn't it the Guild's job to transport and process materials once they're submitted?"
She looked up at the Guild Master with a sharp, calculating gaze. "Why should we do it? We brought the proof here because we had no choice. But moving it to your butcher shop? That sounds like extra labor. Of course, I'm not saying he won't do it... but we would expect compensation for the additional transport service."
Ainzach blinked. He looked at the girl. She talked like a seasoned well known girl who knows of the world, haggling for every single thing. He had assumed the pretty boy would be the leader, but the reality was different: the knight was the quiet one here, and the girl, well everyone can see it now.
Ainzach noticed that he had called her "my lady," indicating a noble background. He hadn't heard her full name, and he didn't want to be some old man digging for information. They hadn't told him their full names, which meant they weren't revealing who they were. The girl was doing a good job of acting like a commoner. The same couldn't be said about her knight.
He didn't want to haggle over coppers with a lady who has a man under him who could drag fifteen Ogres like it is nothing.
"Of course," Ainzach agreed smoothly. "We will add a transport fee to your final reward. No problem at all."
He wanted to wrap this up. If his instincts were right, and they usually were, these two were next...
They could be the next Adamantite-ranked team.
Hell, they might be stronger than that. There was no way he was going to let them get bogged down in someone else pocket. It would be a waste of the Guild's strongest potential assets.
"The Guild values results above all else," Ainzach stated firmly. "You have eliminated a significant threat to E-Rantel's trade routes. You will receive the full designated rewards for that."
He paused, looking them in the eye.
"Furthermore... with a feat like this, keeping you at Copper Plate would be a waste of everyone's time. The Guild would be foolish to restrict you to copper plates quests only."
Ainzach smiled, the expression of a man who just found a winning lottery ticket.
"If you are up for it, I can arrange for you to take the Rank Up evaluation test immediately. We can skip Iron and go straight to Silver... or perhaps higher, depending on your performance."
Reinhard's face lit up. He turned to Felt, beaming.
"Thank you, Guild Master! Lady Felt, isn't that wonderful?"
Felt grinned, revealing a sharp canine tooth. HehehehehehehAs I expected.
….
A/N: Don't forget to comment and power stones…