The server at the Adventurers Guild had a bit of a headache.
She had worked in the service industry at the Adventurers Guild for over twenty years, and she had never seen an adventurer who could eat so much.
Right now, the young girl with white gauze wrapped around her eyes had already devoured over a dozen bowls of seafood soup, over a dozen grilled fish, a dizzying array of shellfish, and more than thirty pieces of rye bread.
The stacked bowls were nearly tall enough to hide the girl from view.
Yet the girl remained entirely unhurried.
With a calm expression, she put fish into her mouth one after another, swallowing them down.
The server couldn't help asking, “Miss, do you want any more food?”
“Yes.”
“We're out of the Silver Scale Soup.”
“What else do you have? I'm not a picky eater.”
“Would you like some steak?”
“I'd love some.”
“How many portions?”
“Let's start with three.”
“...”
The server didn't go fetch it immediately. Instead, she shared a look with the chef sweating profusely in the back kitchen.
Deep despair shone in the chef's eyes.
Cecia watched the whole thing from start to finish. She couldn't gauge the girl's strength clearly, but she was certain the girl was no ordinary person.
After silently offering a prayer of condolence for the chef, Cecia stepped forward.
She naturally displayed her emerald-green adventurer's badge and inquired about commissions regarding marine magical beasts.
“Priest Robert at the church to the west posted a commission,” the receptionist at the Adventurers Guild said smoothly. “He intends to gather a group of adventurers to go crusade against magical beasts.”
Such occurrences were quite common in Tide Town, as infestations of magical beasts happened every year.
Occasionally, situations arose where recruiting adventurers became necessary.
It wasn't any sort of taboo topic.
Cecia ordered a portion of tomato beef stew and sat down beside the girl who was eating and drinking voraciously.
“Excuse me, do you know how this Tide Town of ours came to be?” Cecia asked the receptionist.
“Tide Town's history? There's nothing secretive about that. Though the surroundings of Tide Town look desolate, there are vast treasures beneath the tide—rare fish, ocean crystals, and all sorts of marine minerals. The nobles of the Empire established Tide Town to make mining easier. But rare resources come with risks. Beneath the waters of Tide Town lies a massive mana network, which breeds magical beasts even as it generates resources.”
“Which is why the town needs adventurers to clean out the magical beasts periodically,” the receptionist explained.
There was plenty of useful information in those words. At the very least, Cecia now knew she was currently in the Imperial Era.
The exact year was still unclear.
It should be somewhere between Year 224 and Year 700 of the Old Calendar.
That was the duration of the era of peace during the Empire's reign.
“Doesn't the town have resident adventurers? Why are they recruiting extra adventurers this time?” Cecia pressed further.
“I'm not at liberty to disclose the specifics. You can head west to find Priest Robert. He's the client, so he can tell you the details.”
It seemed she still had to go to the church for valuable information.
Cecia looked out through the window. Sure enough, there was a white spire in the center of town.
“Is that the church?”
“That's right, that's it,” the Adventurers Guild server replied.
Since things had come to this, she decided to enjoy her bowl of tomato beef stew first.
Cecia bent down to take a taste. It was sweet and sour, and the town's sea salt imparted a unique flavor.
Perhaps it was because mana was particularly abundant here.
“What's the payout?”
“Calculated per slain magical beast. One beast goes for anywhere between fifty silver coins and one gold coin.”
Cecia didn't care about the reward at all. Without special methods, items in the Spirit Realm couldn't be brought back into reality anyway.
“I'll take this commission.”
With that, the Adventurers Guild receptionist pulled out paper and pen and said, “Alright, let me make a quick record.”
“Name?”
“Nightingale.”
“Is that a code name?”
“Yes.”
The Adventurers Guild receptionist didn't find this unusual at all. It wasn't unheard of for transient adventurers to dislike revealing their real names.
Cecia's part was recorded quickly. Beside her, the pretty girl with white gauze over her eyes leaned over as well.
She seemed to have had her fill.
Raising a hand above her head, she waved it back and forth.
“I want to sign up too.”
“Do you have an adventurer's badge?”
“Yes.”
The girl then produced a black badge.
“Name?”
“Just call me Poteto.”
“Alright then, Miss Potato, what's your class?”
“Mage.”
“Rank?”
“Rank Zero.”
“What tricks do you specialize in?”
“Shadow element.”
The Adventurers Guild receptionist lowered her head and scribbled a few lines on the paper.
【Name: Potato.】
【Class: Mage.】
【Rank: Rank Zero.】
【Specialty: Shadow Tricks.】
Even though the girl's eyes were covered in white gauze, she suddenly leaned her face close as if she could see perfectly well.
“It's not Potato, it's Poteto.”
“...”
“The first letter wasn't capitalized.”
Having no choice, the receptionist rewrote the name.
Only then did Miss “Potato” nod in satisfaction and sit back in her seat.
The receptionist glanced over both of their information once more.
“A Rank Zero Mage...”
“Even though there's no issue with either of your capabilities, I still must give you a word of warning: this isn't one of those ordinary commissions. Since Priest Robert is calling for volunteers from the Adventurers Guild, the actual situation might be much more dangerous.”
“Oh,” Potato replied.
“If you encounter danger, you can retreat first.”
“Oh.”
“It's best if you don't act alone.”
“Oh.”
Potato answered every one of the receptionist's remarks, though whether she actually absorbed any of it was another matter entirely.
“Anyway, once you reach the church, Priest Robert will inform you of the details of the mission.”
“Understood.”
Cecia nodded.
Just then, Potato suddenly stood up.
“Thank you for the feast.”
The girl paused.
“I'd like to pay the bill.”
The price of this meal came out to two gold coins and twenty-four silver coins—judging by the payout for this commission, she had essentially eaten two magical beasts' worth of food.
The girl didn't hesitate either. She rummaged through her pockets, and with a loud clatter, a small heap of coins spilled onto the table.
Seeing the girl pay so generously, the chef in the back kitchen finally let out a sigh of relief.
Excellent.
Eating well was a blessing.
Cecia looked at those deep pockets and couldn't help marveling at how nice it must be to be rich.
“Thanks for the meal. I'm off to the church first.”
“Take care, Miss ‘Potato.’”
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