Chapter 28

As Lapis had said before, the inn that the guild prepared was indeed high quality .

Loren couldnt help but feel uncomfortable spending someone elses money, but Lapis didnt seem to mind at all and enjoyed all the inn had to offer until she was satisfied .

Youre pretty bold, you know that?

Youll miss out on a lot of stuff if you dont have fun when you can, you know?

As Loren was wondering if that was the case, their bliss time came to end .

The adventurers guild had contacted them that the girl they had rescued had regained consciousness .

Two days had gone by since they had stayed at the inn .

They were summoned to the adventurers guild, so Loren pulled out Lapis, who didnt want to leave, and headed towards the guilds front desk .

They were immediately pa . s . sed inside .

Thank you for coming . I will now tell you the results .

The lady that started talking as soon as they sat down was the employee that talked to them two days ago .

Her lips were tightened, determined not to let the two of them say anything until she was done . Loren didnt know that she felt so bullied, and put his hand on the back of his head awkwardly .

The employee didnt notice Lorens apology and continued with a serious expression, telling them exactly what she was told to tell them .

There are no problems concerning the two of you, so well take off the restrictions we put on you . Youre free to go now .

Loren was surprised at the anticlimactic conclusion, but Lapis didnt seem satisfied with what the employee told them .

Is that it? Is there no explanation of the situation for us?

Do you need one?

Yes, of course . Im not sure why you thought we didnt need one .

Lapis tilted her head, looking confused, and the employee went silent, with a difficult expression .

Loren didnt want to poke his head into trouble, but since he had promised Lapis that he would stay with her, he couldnt just leave her and go on his own .

The following information has been shared only to adventurers iron rank and above that the guild has chosen .

Loren guessed that since they were limiting information, there was something to the girl which made them act secretive .

Even among mercenaries, there was information that only the leaders knew and normal mercenaries often didnt know or were required to act like they didnt know about it .

Due to these experiences, Loren was satisfied with the employees words, but Lapis wasnt one to back off without all the information she could get .

But the ones who brought her here was us, right? I dont know what the situation is, but dont you think there should be some sort of explanation for us?

Lapis beaming eyes met the employees glare .

Loren thought he saw sparks erupting from between them and looked away at the ceiling .

As the information was for iron rank and above, the employee had no reason to tell them anything and she probably wanted them to understand that and leave, but Lapis didnt want to miss a chance to get her hands on information that she shouldnt be able to get normally .

Loren knew that this stalemate would last until one of them was too tired to go on, so he patted Lapis back and drew her attention .

Loren?

Sorry but my partner is a priestess of the Knowledge G . o . d . If you try to keep things from her she cant help but try to find out what it is .

WellIve heard that thats the case most of the time . But this is something that the guild has decided, so

Yeah, I know . You cant talk about it . I wont force you to .

Wait, Loren!?

Lapis, who thought Loren was going to wrap things up, raised her voice slightly, but Loren patted her on the head with a bit of strength in his hand .

The strokes not only make her head shake, but caused her neck to sway as well, so Lapis couldnt help but go silent . Then Loren faced the employee and casually asked her .

By the way, is the information already out? You can at least tell us this, right?

Thatsyes, we have already selected adventurers and told them everything .

Since it wasnt related directly to the information, she replied to his question .

As soon as he heard her reply, Loren lowered his hand from Lapis head and took her arm, then stood up . Although Loren had stopped patting her on the head, her head was still shaking inertly .

I see . Then since were innocent, well be taking our leave here . Well check out of the rooms by the end of today as well .

That would be very helpful . Thank you so much for your cooperation, mister Loren .

Weve been treated pretty well for the past few days . Dont worry about it .

He used his free hand to wave back, dragging Lapis out with his other hand . After being dragged for a while, Lapis whispered to him .

Youve got a plan, right?

Yeah . Theyve got strict confidentiality so you wouldnt have gotten anywhere . If she did tell you, then that itself would be a whole different problem right there .

If the employees were people who would share information that they werent supposed to with a slight push, then he couldnt trust the guild at all .

From that perspective, the fact that the employee refused to tell them the information, even though Lapis was in a bad mood, raised Lorens view and evaluation of the guild .

Thats true, but

Trying to force someone to talk is too bothersome . What we have to do is just find someone that can .

Do you have an idea of someone who would?

Yeah, so help me find him . I know his name and what he looks like, so it wont take that long .

Lapis didnt know who Loren was trying to look for, but if it meant finding out what the guild was keeping from them, there was no reason for her to refuse . She pulled out her arm from Lorens grasp and put her arms around Lorens .

Hey, seriously

I dont know where were going, so please escort me, Loren . Come on, lets go .

Loren knew that she wouldnt let go even if he told her to, so with Lapis still clinging to his arm, he walked about the bar and started talking to an adventurer .

After talking to a few of them and going around a few stores, Loren and Lapis reached a bar located at the edge of the city .

Loren heard that the person he was looking for was here, so he stepped in with Lapis still clinging to his arm and looked around .

It was late in the evening and the sun was going down .

The candles were turned on and there was some light shining inside, but there wasnt enough to light up the whole place, so it was still quite dark, making it hard to see .

Loren found who he was looking for sitting at a table in the corner, and walked over to him with Lapis .

It hasnt been that long, so I guess long time no see isnt the most proper . You mind if I sit down?

When Loren said that, the man, who was sitting with a gla . s . s of ale and a plate of sliced cheese, looked up towards him, surprised .

Oh, its you guys . Howd you know I was here?

I asked around .

The tip cost around thirty copper coins, but Ill see it as necessary expenses and pay for it . Its been a while, Mister Jack .

The person that Lapis bowed her head to as she sat across from him along with Loren was Jack, the silver rank thief they had met on their previous quest .

When Loren and Lapis sat down, a waitress came to take their orders .

Loren tried to dismiss her, but Jack had already put in two additional orders .

Come on, let me buy you a drink . I owe you one .

I dont think I did something that great thoughI ruined your quest if anything, so

Dont be stupid . Its true that we didnt make as much, but that couldnt be helped in that kind of situation . Were lucky to have gotten out with our lives . It would be a lie if I said I didnt have any complaints, but its all in the past now . Dont worry about it .

Sorry .

Hey, I said dont worry about so its fine . Anyway, you didnt come all the way here to find me just to say that, right?

The waitress brought two cups of ale and placed it on the table .

Jack pushed the cups in front of Loren, who was trying to decide how to start, and Lapis, who was sitting silently next to Loren .

Drink up . We can talk afterwards .

Loren didnt want to refuse what was given to him, so he took the cup and felt the refreshing sensation of carbonated liquid go down his throat .

Next to him, Lapis picked up the cup with both hands and started sipping the drink .

So, what brings you here?

As Jack pushed the plate of cheese towards him, Loren told him the reason why they were looking for him .

The thing is, we picked up a girl in a nearby forest two days ago,

Huh? You guys were behind that? They said that the quest was only for iron ranks and above . Is that what you want to talk about?

Loren glanced at Lapis, who started reaching for the cheese as she continued to sip her drink, and Jack sat back in his seat, understanding what Loren was trying to say .

I understand your situation, but Im a silver rank, you know? Do I look like I would just tell you everything you want?

Not at all . But I couldnt think of anyone else that might sell us the information we want .

Still sitting back, Jack crossed his arms and stared at Loren in the face for a while .

Loren had no intention of saying anything until Jack said something, so he continued drinking his ale .

Just saying . An adventurer who leaks information on a job is third rate . No one like that can become silver rank .

That was exactly what Loren thought .

There was no way anyone would trust that kind of person, and Loren didnt think that someone like that would be able to become a high-ranking adventurer .

Despite knowing that, he had still hoped that with the right price, Jack would leak them the information, but apparently Jack was a lot more bound to obligation than he thought .

Loren decided that this wasnt going to work and was about to give up, but Jack leaned forward across the table and whispered .

But then again, I owe you one for saving Nim . If you promise that you dont tell anyone that I told you this, my mouth might just slip .

Jack remembered that Loren had saved Nim, a female elf that they met along with Jack, from being a . s . saulted by a goblin .

Thats why Jack told them that hell bend the adventurers code if they kept the fact that he was the one who told them a secret .

I promise that we wont cause you any trouble .

Same for me .

As both Loren and Lapis agreed to his terms, Jack looked at both of their faces . He then told them that it was their choice whether to believe the information he told them was true or not, and started talking in a hushed voice .