Welcome to the Special-Grade Guild! ~ The Beloved Elf Poster Girl Soothes Everyone’s Hearts ~
Chapter 183

183. Side Eugene (Part 1)

“That’s why! I said it’s impossible right now!”

“If you can’t accept the condition, I can’t allow it.”

“We’ll search for him properly! So just let us through for now!”

“No. Bring him here, now.”

I’m currently in the middle of an argument with the incredibly stubborn Dwarf patriarch. Honestly, he’s so stubborn! I want to head to the human continent and find Meg, now!

“Is there no other condition, Rodrigo? I understand how you feel, but you should also be able to understand how we feel! We want to find our daughter!”

“If you want to find her quickly, then go find my son and bring him back. That’s the condition! Stop asking the same thing. We’re busy. Come back when you have him with you.”

Rodrigo, the Dwarf patriarch, spat those words out and went inside the mine. When we tried to follow, two well-built Dwarves guarding the entrance blocked us with their pickaxes. …It wouldn’t be difficult to knock them aside, but if I do, they’ll never let us in again. I have to be patient.

“Eugene, should we torch the place?”

“Idiot, Ash, don’t.”

Ash has a lower boiling point than me. I understand how he feels, and I honestly agree, but that’s going too far. I put my arm around his neck and pulled him back.

Maryla, Owen, and Wyatt’s mission had been surprisingly swift, so Ash had arrived here almost at the same time as me. Those three, they can be useful if they put their minds to it. It’s Maryla who’s amazing. It seems like she was eager to finish the job quickly.

But still… Ugh, this isn’t good. We’re too hot-headed right now. We’re trying to stay calm, but talking to that stubborn old man just isn’t working.

It seems like that stubborn old man’s son had gone somewhere and never came back. His son, who’s apparently kind for a Dwarf, would spend his days off, communing with animals and plants in the forest. For Dwarves, who live to be inside the mines, staring at rocks and forging, he must be quite the oddball.

“Ash, looks like we have backup.”

“Hmm? The Shadow Eagle?”

“Yeah, Gil’s coming too, but he has a reliable comrade with him.”

“Hm, I look forward to meeting them.”

A Shadow Bird emerged from my shadow and delivered Gil’s message. It seems like he’s arrived. This is great, we’re about to lose it from all the frustration. I headed over to Gil with Ash, to change the mood.

“Hey, Gil, Adol. You’re early.”

“We flew here in one go.”

“I see. That’s great, that stubborn geezer’s refusing to budge.”

Gil, transforming from his beast form to human, said this with a cool expression. It seemed like Adol, who had been riding on his back, was the one who was actually exhausted.

“Adol, you okay?”

“Yes, somehow. I’m reflecting on how I can’t just stay cooped up at the reception desk forever.”

Adol, with his baby face, looked like a young boy, even though he’s quite a bit older. His words, though, showed how sharp he was. You can’t judge a book by its cover, especially with demi-humans.

Well, it can’t be helped. Adol mostly does desk work. I hope he’ll focus on exercising more after this.

“Demon King-sama, it’s a pleasure to meet you. My name’s Adolforien. Thank you for having me. Is Kron-san not with you?”

“Mmm, it’s nice to meet you too. Kron’s… well…”

“She’s incredibly busy right now, so if you two leave, work’ll grind to a halt. Just listen to her complaints when you get back.”

“It’ll probably last for three days… Kron’s nagging…”

“That’s an exaggeration,” I thought, but then I reconsidered. Kron would do it.

“Don, a situation report, please.”

“Ah, right. Adol, listen carefully.”

I felt bad asking him this as soon as he arrived, but we’re pressed for time. I started by talking about my negotiations with the stubborn geezer.

“My daughter was teleported to the human continent, so I want to head over there immediately, to search for her. I told him to let us use the teleportation magic circle. There’s no point in beating around the bush.”

And then, the patriarch asked about compensation. It’s something we’d experienced before, so I’d expected it, but… I’d hoped we could settle this with money or items, but he immediately demanded something. And that was—

“To find his son, who’s gone missing, and bring him here…?”

“That’s right. And bring him here, right now.”

He’d given us quite the impossible task. But well, searching for people is our specialty. It just so happens that we’re also searching for Meg. So I asked him to let us through, telling him we’d search at the same time… And!

“That stubborn geezer…!”

“He refused to budge. He won’t let us use the circle until we bring his son here. …I’m going to turn him into charcoal…”

“O-Okay! Okay! Please calm down! Especially you, Demon King-sama!”

That was close. We both lightly punched each other on the shoulder to dispel our murderous intent. Sorry, sorry, Adol.

“But… that Dwarf’s son… Could it be…”

“You think so too, Gil-san?”

It seemed like Gil and Adol had realized. That’s right, his son’s still a minor. And he also has a considerable amount of magic power.

“…Don’t tell me he was forcibly teleported… just like Meg…?”

“That’s definitely what happened. This place is closer to the human continent, there’s no way they’d teleport Meg but not his son.”

I nodded in agreement with Gil’s words. Ash was also nodding.

“Did you confirm that?”

“Of course we tried. …But that stubborn geezer.”

“O-Okay. So basically, he wouldn’t listen to anything you said, and just kept demanding you to bring his son, right? Please calm down.”

Adol, seemingly flustered, cut me off and then placed a hand on his chin thoughtfully. A few seconds later, he turned towards Gil and Ash.

“How long would it take to confirm that the Dwarf’s son’s not on the Demon Continent?”

“Mmm, even if we did our best… it would take five days…”

“Yeah… same here.”

Adol muttered, “Five days,” and then started muttering to himself. He’s probably calculating in his head.

“Well then, if the two of you split up, it would theoretically take half that time. And I’ll continuously cast support magic… So, one day. Let’s complete the search of the entire Demon Continent by this time tomorrow.”

“One day… !?”

“…It seems like we have no choice.”

Ash, wide-eyed in surprise. And Gil, used to it, just accepted it. I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“…Eugene, is it a hobby of those in your guild to push people to their limits?”

“Well, yeah. But we don’t make unreasonable demands. Right, Adol?”

Adol, at my question, smiled brightly and answered, “Yes.” …It’s not that Ortus is a black company or anything. They’re people who want to work really hard, but I make sure they take their days off, even if it’s forced!

“Don, I apologize, but could I ask you to restore my magic power? Demon King-sama and Gil-san will probably be fine, but… I won’t last even half a day.”

“No, even the Shadow Eagle and I would get tired…?”

“You two can drink a recovery potion once you’re done. I got it, leave Adol’s recovery to me.”

Support magic, there’s some that continue working once cast, and others that you need to continuously cast. The one Adol’s using is probably the latter. He could drink a recovery potion, but it puts a strain on the body… It’s better if I just slowly supply him with magic power. It’s more efficient and better for his body.

And I’ll be bored, just waiting.

“Well then, let’s start immediately. Discuss the missing Dwarf’s characteristics and the search area. Five seconds.”

“You truly have no mercy!? Everyone in this guild!!”

And so, we spent the whole day searching the entire Demon Continent. Gil didn’t utter a single unnecessary word, his work, as always, was flawless.

And Ash, even though he complained, did everything he was told perfectly. He really is the Demon King, I thought. But I wonder why he keeps giving us these resentful looks. Every time he does, Adol glares at him, and he straightens up. …Adol’s a bit like Kron, isn’t he?

Well, I’m just… exhausted.

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