PART 1

Jeremias, the chief-executive reigning over all the adventurers guild within the Empire, was a forty-eight year old tiger-man. Being an extraordinary existence, his career history was nothing short of impressive.

He was conscripted at a young age of fifteen along with his friends from the village, where he achieved his first feat. He was officially appointed as a Knight. By the age of twenty-two, he had risen up the ranks to become the deputy chief of the strongest Knight Order within the Empire.

Later, he helped in the creation of the adventurers guild under the guidance of the current Emperor, and eventually acclaimed the seat of the President of the guild.

Jeremias "the violent tiger" was a name well-known throughout the Empire, and outside the country he was hailed as equal to a General of Army or the Chief Sorcerer.

In spite of his accolades, there was nothing he despised more than the seat he currently sat on.

"Argh, I hate it. Who would want authority, it"s all d.a.m.n paperwork," Jeremias groaned, plucking at his brown hair as he glared on the mountains of paper with contempt hidden in his orange pupils.

"Why didn"t you realize this sooner? Weren"t you the deputy chief of Zweirad before?" Amelie, his secretary, a tiger-woman, asked.

Zweirad. The second Knights Order corps.

Deputy chief of such a position wasn"t freely given to just anyone. Only an elite of elites was eligible for such a seat. And for Jeremias to have achieved that showed his competence. Or at least it should have.

"In the Corps you can just a.s.sign all the paperwork to a trusted adjutant. And it wasn"t all paperwork all the time," Jeremias lamented.

In truth, the chief of Zweirad had taken into consideration Jeremias" personality and fighting prowess, and worked behind the scenes to make sure he didn"t die of paperwork.

Although not an idiot, Jeremias couldn"t think past the face values, and didn"t realize this fact.

Amelie noticed the fact very easily, but still the situation wouldn"t change.

"Something big is about to happen. I can feel it."

"Feel, huh. I don"t intend to laugh, but you can"t increase the budget based on that."

Amelie"s comments p.r.i.c.k at Jeremias" ears.

The budget allotted to the Adventurers Guild came at the bureaucrat"s decision. And he wasn"t someone to agree with ambiguous emotions.

"If I were to return to the battlefield, it"ll be easier for me to grab hold of evidence that even they can"t object," Jeremias said, his eyelids heavy and laden with regret

There may be some First-Ranked adventurers who could easily work in his place, but being in the position they are, their pride wouldn"t allow them to accept a menial job even if it was from the Guild President. Meanwhile, the obedient folk might be lacking in power. Frustrating this situation was to Jeremias.

"If you"re going as far as to say that, why not appoint someone to represent the Guild President? If you do it, I doubt anyone would object that…" Amelie said.

Many among the upper echelons of the Empire felt it was wrong for one of the strongest a.r.s.enals of the Empire to be tied to paperwork, of all things.

As such, so long as he could find personnel to fill his gap, there wouldn"t be a strong objection to his wishes.

But there was a problem. There was none to fit the bill.

"So, can you think of someone. Someone who can beat some sense in the adventurers, and shut those filthy mouthed n.o.bles with a glare? If there is make plans for us to meet," Jeremias said, furrowing his brows.

"…If you add the ability to do paperwork, I can surely think of one. Like…Wellhe Mina from the Laevateinn."

"Keep dreaming!" Jeremias shouted, rejecting her proposal with a stern glare from his orange eye.

"She can take control of the adventurers, and keep the n.o.bles in check, and also do the paperwork. But, nope, not her!"

"Why is that so?" Amelie asked, befuddled at his rejection.

I see. So she doesn"t know, Jeremias realized.

Only a few people noticed the falseness of her loyalty to the Empire or even the Imperial Family.

Her respect and loyalty are solely for one person and one person only–Bartolomeus.

She never pretended to hide that fact, and such was not a trustworthy person in the eyes of Jeremias.

Her position as the Laevateinn was given to her due to her unshakeable faith in the Emperor and Bartolomeus.

Jeremias was loyal to his land and the Emperor, almost to an extreme extent to make up for his wild appearance and rude att.i.tude.

As such, he couldn"t possibly have any positive emotions regarding an Elf who looked down upon the imperial family.

But, how do I explain this to her, Jeremias contemplated, wondering how to get rid of Amelie"s confusion.

Wellhe Mina was popular among the ma.s.ses. Her overwhelming strength and beauty were the ideals of many women within the country.

As such, she was popular among men as well.

There were many who couldn"t control their arousal at her cold stare and her beauty.

If a popularity contest were to be held in the country, without a doubt the first seat would be a compet.i.tion for the Emperor and Bartolomeus, but the second would undoubtedly go to Wellhe Mina.

If he were to say anything unworthy about the Elven girl, he was sure he would lose all the fame and popularity.

Unreasonable, though, it may be that is the way of the world.

"If a Laevateinn were to be tormented with paperwork, won"t it be a bigger loss for the country than me? Especially since Lady Wellhe Mina is the strongest force in our country right after Lord Bartolomeus," Jeremias said, his head aching to think up the words.

"That is correct," Amelie said.

Fortunately, his words were taken at face value. Jeremias knew Amelie felt vexed, but he also knew her respect for the Laevateinn far exceeded her own temporary emotions.

Jeremias, in the past, had requested a bout with all eight of the Laevateinn, and was rejected by all. He had come to understand that no matter how good he was, there was someone above me.

"Your hand has stopped moving."

Jeremias groaned at Amelie"s observation and moved his hands again.

At that time, a human-raced woman clad in the clothes of a receptionist arrived in the room.

"P, President, you have a guest," she said, her voice quivering and her face frozen stiff with nervousness.

Jeremias, and Amelie, guessed a bigshot among n.o.bles had come to visit him.

"Who is it?"

"I, it"s Lord Bartolomeus "the War G.o.d of Light." H, he"s requesting a meeting with you."

PART 2

"Ah, let him in."

Contrary to the stiff expressions of the young woman, Jeremias responded in a relaxed manner.

"Y, yes," the woman said, glancing to Amelie on his right. As expected, she had also tensed up a bit.

"Is it that nerve-wracking?"

"A, after all, it"s the War G.o.d of Light," Amelie said, her voice quivering.

Jeremias thought it would be mean to ask anything of her right now, but she was the only person he could rely on at the moment. "I see. Prepare two cups of tea for us."

"Y, yes. Understood," Amelie said, rushing out in movements unbecoming of her usual self.

Well, can"t be helped.

Bartolomeus "the War G.o.d of Light" was a member of Laevateinn, and hailed as the strongest amongst them all. His strength and mysteriousness always put him in the spotlight, and his popularity was easily comparable to that of the Emperor.

There were many young women fascinated with him.

But why"d he come here?

It was usual for him to come without notifying, but Jeremias couldn"t understand the reason for his visit today. There were too many reasons, and Jeremias couldn"t wring out the correct one, to be honest.

"P, President. Lord Bartolomeus has arrived," the receptionist said. Behind her almost-fainting self stood a tall person covered in black mantle, hood and a white mask.

"Excuse me," an inhuman, high-pitched voice came from behind the mask. The sorcery item had changed the voice, but Jeremias knew it was a man behind the mask.

"Welcome." Jeremias stood up, walking up to the door and welcomed the "War G.o.d of Light" with the most boring of the words. "Back off. I"d like to talk with Lord Bartolomeus in private."

Amelie, who had returned to the room just now, felt relieved at Jeremias" words. It attested to the fact how big of an existence the "War G.o.d of Light" meant for her.

When everyone had left the room, Bar took out a black bell from his pocket. A slight sound reverberated, covering the entire room with magical energy. It was a soundproofing item.

"Is it the Chief"s product?"

"No, Mina made it on her own," Bar replied, taking off his mask.

Jeremias had known Bar"s true ident.i.ty.

"Living with you as her priority, as usual," the Guild President smiled a wry smile. As far as he knew, Wellhe Mina had never created a sorcery item for anyone except Bartolomeus. Bar sucked at sorcery. He could barely use it well enough to work.

"I wish she"d be kind to others as well," Bar grumbled.

The Elves were a prideful, arrogant race, but that characteristic only seems to create unnecessary enemies along the way.

"I can"t imagine Wellhe Mina being that skillful. Although she is very skilled in war," Jeremias said, not wasting time to slam the elven girl"s fame.

"You"re right," Bar heaved a deep sigh.

There weren"t many people Bar could interact with such frankness. As such, Jeremias was an important existence to him.

"So, why have you come here today?" Jeremias asked. "You can"t possibly be here to show off your new item, or to kvetch?"

If that were the case, this conversation would turn to either boasting about himself or grumbling the whole day. Jeremias would definitely had punched Bar, but he knew Bar wasn"t such a guy.

"Well, yeah. Since you"re busy as well, let"s cut to the point," Bar grabbed the teacup on the table and took a sip.

"Do you know the monsters have been acting strange lately?"

"Yeah. The sub-division reported about that. It"s the reason I"m busy, as well," Jeremias heaved a sigh.

"Must be tough being the President."

"Truly. If I can find someone competent, I"d throw my seat to him."

Bar chuckled, "Hmm, I suppose General Weinberger would be apt for this job."

"That person can"t possibly be the Guild President," Jeremias said, chuckling in response to Bar. "As for someone else…I suppose it"d be you, Bartolomeus." Jeremias stopped laughing as he stared intently at the face of the man in front of him.

"Oh come on. You"re a better man than me," Bar replied, seemingly perplexed.

"Well, you can just be the Guild President in name, and then throw all the paperwork to someone else. If it"s you, I know of a person who will gladly do the menial tasks."

"You"re tired, aren"t you?" Bar said, sympathizing with Jeremias" pa.s.sion.

"…Sorry."

Jeremias apologized, regaining his senses as he made an awkward expression.

"Well thinking clearly, it"s impossible to ask this of you. A Laevateinn becoming the Guild President would be truly impactful…," Jeremias said.

"The Laevateinn are deployed in times of emergency. As such we can"t possibly be appointed as government officials," Bar explained.

Just as he had said, Jeremias had completely forgotten that fact.

"I know some wonder if there would ever be a situation that would need all of us, but it"d be too late to panic if that situation occurred."

"I understand," Jeremas nodded with a heavy head.

"To deal with after the situation occurred is an inferior"s work, but to stop the situation from occurring in the first is the superior"s work."

Jeremias remained silent. He recalled when he first heard those words he was left speechless. This applied to adventurers, as well.

The Emperor had verbalized the vague feeling he always had in his mind.

"And, that is why I"ve come to you. Tell me what kind of places I should go," Bar stated.

"I see. To be frank, there"s no place that would require your help," Jeremias said, grimacing. He was no optimist. Just because no situation required Bartolomeus didn"t mean everything was in order.

"That"s why, you can go wherever you want to go. Do you have any concerning information?"

"Well," Bar paused for a beat. "I don"t know if this. .h.i.ts the mark, but I"ve been feeling something big is going to occur in the entire country."

"I agree," Jeremias said, frowning his brows as he crossed his arms.

PART 3

"It"s either a natural phenomenon, or someone is instigating this change at such a scale. Regardless, it"s troublesome to deal with."

"If it"s a natural phenomenon?" Bar asked.

"Most likely something happened outside the country. Maybe some dangerous monster started populating, forcing the others to relocate."

"So they started leaving their territory after sensing danger coming their way."

"Most likely," Jeremias said. Bar thought his opinion was on the point.

"And what if someone is instigating something?" Bar asked again.

Jeremias faltered for a moment. "Terrorism against the Empire. Someone is controlling the monsters with intention of slaughter."

Bar couldn"t laugh at that possibility. "I won"t say that"s impossible, but there"s been no sightings of anyone suspicious."

"You"re right. However, n.o.body else is thinking so deeply about the situation. And the patrol too wouldn"t notice those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds unless they walk around with plaques stating they are suspicious," Jeremias said.

"I suppose you"re right." Bar said, shrugging his shoulders. "The population"s big, and all races come and go everyday."

Unreasonable, it would be, to monitor the movements of all people and sniff out the evil b.a.s.t.a.r.ds.

"I"ve put up an investigation quest, but nothing much so far," Jeremias said, frowning.

"Well it"d imply that the country is suspicious about the interference from outside forces. I wouldn"t recommend moving with the quest until the country conjures up a policy in relation to the situation."

"What did the Emperor say?"

The tiger-man"s eyes gleamed. He knew of the meetings between the Emperor and the Laevateinn.

"We"re ordered to gather information."

"…Even you were ordered to gather info. Maybe…"

Jeremias" expression changed at once, as though he couldn"t believe what he had heard.

"Pretty much," Bar said, his face relaxed.

"…To use the strongest fighters in such a way…," Jeremias said, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Well, who cares," Bar replied without a care.

"I mean…you see…well, I don"t know what to say."

"It"s better than letting the problem fester to the point of incurability."

Jeremias nodded. "In theory. It"s great you"re part of the Laevateinn."

"Stop exaggerating," Bar laughed.

"You say it so easily, but depending on how easy it is to mobilize the a.r.s.enals, the safety of the country suffers," Jeremias stated, his expression stern.

Bar contemplated for a while. "You"re right. Don"t worry, I"m still keeping a tight rein over Mina."

"Yeah…I"m sorry to have you say that, but I can"t get rid of the anxiety."

Bar took great heed to his warning. "I"ll keep that in mind. It"s idiotic to spark a fire without a cause. And if you can feel anxiety, then there are many others who feel the same way."

"You"re saying as if my b.a.l.l.s are made of steel, or something," Jeremias said, laughing.

"Am I wrong," Bar replied, laughing in response.

"I"ll take it as a compliment," Jeremias said as he sipped his tea.

"I did compliment you," Bar said. "Anyhow, seems it"s safer to just observe the situation for now."

Jeremias shrugged his shoulders at Bar"s words. "Can"t do much about it. Sometimes it"s better to have patience."

"Exactly. In that case, I"ll keep on being the Seventh Ranked adventurer for a while, then."

"Ah, that shtick," Jeremias said. As the Guild President, he knew of Bar"s secret.

"You"re a strange guy. To pretend to be an ordinary adventurer."

"I doubt that," Bar smiled wryly. "There"s fun in protecting rookies, and watching them grow. There"s places to go, food to eat, and things to do that I would be restricted to do as a Laevateinn."

"Is that so? Then at least move up from the lowest rank. Why still be stuck to it?" Jeremias asked, curious.

To watch rookies grow, to eat tasty food, and to do whatever Bar wanted, he wouldn"t have a need to be shackled to the Seventh Rank. Rather, an upper ranked adventurer is given more freedom to do whatever they wanted.

"Well, the higher I go up the ladder, the more I"d be fettered. I"d have to meet with n.o.bles and also go on expeditions."

"And you find it troublesome? Can"t agree more," Jeremias nodded vehemently.

He himself felt such high ranks not as honour but places of bindings that would restrict a person"s freedom.

"And a higher ranked adventurer is obliged to help during an emergency situation. There"s even times when they cooperate with the Laevateinn to purge a problem."

"If you"re absent during that time, you"ll get a bad reputation," Jeremias said, unable to laugh at Bar"s concerns.

As the Guild President who ordered adventurers, he was also concerned about the same points.

But, there still was a problem.

"If I"m ordered to go a place where all the Laevateinn have a.s.sembled, can you really expect me to be split in two?"

"Touche," Jeremias laughed out loud.

"When I deem it necessary, I"ll move up to the Sixth or Fifth rank," Bar said. His statement would incur a lot of sarcastic comments at his character by other ordinary people. But to Jeremias it was as natural as a person unfolding an umbrella in the rain–completely natural.

"Let"s see what excuse you can up with then," Jeremias said, smiling gleefully.

Bar scoffed, "I"ll just have you give me special exception. Have fun dealing with the troubles."

"d.a.m.n, don"t you dare."

Jeremias put his hand to his forehead and let out a laugh. Contagious as his laughs were, Bar also laughed back. The sound of laughter resounded throughout the room for a while before the two regained their calm.

"Well then, I"ll call it a day. Excuse me, Jeremias."

"Yeah, see you later."

Bar whipped out a sorcery item, teleported to his house, and returned to being a dowdy mister.