I made past to the crowded area of the Merchant District and went straight to the Central Plaza.
I quickly went straight to the Adventurers Bureau, then headed to the receptionist. Fortunately, the reception desk was straight ahead. The counter was manned by a young woman in gaudy makeup who was picking at her nails. She looked annoyed when she finally noticed me approaching her.
"What are you doing here, lady? The receptionist looks with a glare.
"I want to talk to Lord Phillip. This is urgent."
The receptionist and the man inside the bureau broke out in laughter at this.
"Oh, bless your heart. You're just a simple peasant. Listen girly, I think you would be better suited to a job that involves lying on your back. I don't know about your oddball schemes, but you're young."
After the receptionist said that, the three from the counter laughed at me.
"Hahaha…Ain't no way, a peasant girl like you being an adventurer. I've bet there are even some babies out there stronger than you!" the man in the right said
"Hyahahahah, you got to be kidding me! That girl is not even gonna last ten minutes! She'd die so fast that you couldn't even use her as a meat shield!" The man in the center said
"Hahaha, a simple commoner like you deserves to be in the slums… or even a prostitute!" The man in the left said
They mistaken me as a simple lady who came here out of nowhere. The Adventurers Bureau consisted of high ranked adventurers ranging from stone-ranked and above. They'd mistaken me as one of the forsaken due to my attire being a commoner, so I showed them a piece of me.
"Hey Ms. Receptionist, here's my rank."
Then I coldly placed my gold-plated token at the receptionist desk. Their eyes were full of shock.
"W-Wait, are you Roxy? The adventurer who saved Cassius Calico?"
"You bet I am!"
Then the men from earlier started apologizing beside me, kneeling to the ground head-on, knowing they underestimated my rank overall.
"I'm terribly sorry Roxy, I was just joking about what I have said earlier. It was a misunderstanding. I promise…"
"Roxy, don't punish us. We knew that we were just toying you. But seeing your rank is far from enough. Accept our apologies."
"..." The other one didn't respond, shaking in fear.
Then I saw them pleading for an apology from the so-called commoner like me. Earlier, they were making fun of me for being weak and simple, but when I flashed my rank between their ranks. They looked like little dogs wanted to get a treat. As the famous motto says: Never judge a book by its cover.
Then I accepted the apology. There, the man in the middle stood at me. He was about a head taller than me and sported a thin, muscular build. His close-cropped dirty-blond hair gave him a rather clean-cut look. Though an expensive-looking sword hung from his waist, he wasn't wearing armor.
"Sorry for butting in like this, Roxy. My name is Calix Calico, a stone-ranked adventurer in this bureau. Nice to meet you."
He offered his hand. I eyed him with some suspicion before returning the gesture and gripping his large, calloused palm. Though the expression on his face was gentle, the huge scar on his cheek and his powerful gaze betrayed his true abilities. He was, after all, a stone-ranked adventurer.
All adventurers started out as bronze-ranked, no matter what. As they collected more and more bounties, they slowly moved up the ranks and we're trusted with higher and higher paying jobs. It wasn't a profession for the faint of heart.
As I heard his name correctly, I doubted myself that he had connections with Cassius, since he possesses the surname "Calico", so I questioned him.
"Hey Calix, are you related to Cassius by any chance?"
Then Calix widened his eyebrows and explained it briefly.
"I am the first son of Roman Calico, Calix Calico, thank you for saving my wimp brother?"
"Wimp brother?"
As Calix said that, Cassius was more of a pussy, he was barely even an adventurer at that point. And yet, he decided to become free as himself, not knowing the true dangers of being free. Meanwhile, his brother was the exact opposite, Cassius' older brother.
"Calix, can you take me to Lord Phillip?"
"Sure Roxy, follow me."
I followed Calix to Lord Phillip's office, while he asked a sincere question to me.
"Umm, Care to explain why you are wearing a dress instead of your adventurer's attire. It is normal for us to know between an adventurer and a commoner, Roxy?"
Calix asks a simple-minded question, the one was valid to me. So I answered with only two words.
"Why not?"
"Umm, it's just weird to me, seeing a gold-ranked adventurer wearing a simple dress makes me uncomfortable. Even though your rank is high, you still want to blend in with society, do you?"
The reason Calix said that is because a typical gold-ranked adventurer was considered famous by the townspeople. And in history, I was the first gold-ranked adventurer that lived in Town Allure, from which was shocked by the townspeople because that kind of rank is considered rare and few people have that.
Ten minutes later, Calix and I were led to the waiting room, there was a knock on the door. I called for whoever it was to come in, and the door opened. Calix entered the room, accompanied by a man in his late thirties. That man I knew of very well.
"Greetings Roxy, and by surprise, you are here, Calix." Lord Phillip asks
"No worries, Lord Phillip. I guided Roxy to your office." Calix replied
"Very well, mind if you take a seat, Roxy?"
After that, Calix left and I sat at the large sofa as well as Lord Phillip. It was my third time meeting him in person.
"Nice dress you have Roxy, you look more of a commoner than an adventurer."
"Oh, thanks for the comments."
Even Lord Phillip comments about my unusual attire, it's not normal to see a gold-ranked adventurer wearing a peasant's attire. He, too, was mistaken for a commoner.
"It's nice meeting you here, Roxy. What can I do for you today?"
"Lord Phillip, can you address the investigation from the unknown disease that spreads around Town Allure. I know you've been aware of that."
"Oh, that disease, ever since you left Town Allure, strange things are happening inside the town. As well as overpopulating the town with prostitutes, crime rate and this strange unknown disease. How on Earth is this happening?"
Lord Phillip recalled that a lot of issues were happening inside Town Allure, it was chaos, despite the fact that the disease that spreads inside of the town acts as an ebola substitute. This place had some strange encounters.
Then, a maid suddenly approached us, holding a basket of pastries and a jar of ice-cold water. The maid picked up and filled the cup completely, the same as Lord Phillip's cup.
As I was about to drink the water, Plasma interrupted me.
"Roxy, that water you're drinking is poisonous." Plasma said through my thoughts
"Poisonous! Bleh!"
As the water clenched through my throat, I spit it out immediately, Both Lord Phillip and the maid stammered from their discovery. With good timing, Lord Phillip asked me about the fatal flaw, so I decided to explain it to him.
"Lord Phillip, don't drink that water?" I said
"Huh?"
I felt a strange taste in the water, so I decided to check everything we were served with my AI assistant, Plasma. At first, I thought the maid had tried to give us a sleeping drug to give us a famously executed assassination attempt. But based on Plasma's response, the poison is of monster origin and had no immediate effect.
Plasma said that the disease was located at the town's water supply as well as its origins. The water supply was contaminated and the disease was diluted through the town, spreading it easily.
"Roxy, why did you say we shouldn't drink the water? I'm worried that you startled me and dropped my glass in the process. Care to explain it?" Lord Phillip said in anger.
"The water is contaminated by the disease. I was curious, so I did some research and found out that the town's water supply is contaminated. There must be quite a few poisoned monster corpses sinking upstream. I suppose not to drink the water."
Plasma's quick response will come in handy.
"Oh goodness gracious. You saved me there, Roxy. I'm serious, I would've died just by drinking that water. If you didn't warn me about the dangers, I think there will be no more ruler anymore."
"Ugh, thanks, I guess?"
Come to think of it, I saved Lord Phillips' life in the process. But mine wasn't, I drank the contaminated water cluelessly without hesitation. I was so lucky that Plasma came to save the day or I will be experiencing first-hand ebola treatment instead.
"Roxy, you said that the town's water supply was contaminated, am I right?"
"Umm… yes."
"Mind if you investigate the town's water supply by yourself."
"Sure, Lord Phillip."
"Yeah, there are a number of people suffering the initial symptoms, but considering the water source itself is poisoned, it's only to be expected."
"So…"
"Indeed Roxy, I will warn the people about the disease that was lurking into the town's waters. Because of your information, the town was saved once again."
As to why Lord Phillip made an intimate response, it was simple. The townspeople were dying because of this disease, he wanted to become a great ruler of Town Allure much like Snow Flower, who is the former ruler of this town. He wanted to protect the people he'd cared about, especially the townspeople.
"Lord Phillip, where does the town's waterways are usually connected?"
"Oh, east of Town Allure, there was a vast ravine over there, that was the source of our water supply. It's better to go investigate in order to stop this disease.
After revealing the location of the water supply, I left the office.