Duty and Pride

"Can I really join this party?"

Shien's question made Vivian and the others pause slightly.

"What?" Vivian seemed a little puzzled. "Do you have any concerns?"

For a moment, Shien wanted to answer honestly—he did.

But if he really answered that way, he would be too much of an asshole.

So, Shien brought it up more tactfully.

"Everyone in this party seems to be a female adventurer. It would probably be inconvenient for a male adventurer like me to suddenly join, wouldn't it?"

What Shien meant was that, regardless of whether he had any concerns, Vivian and the others should have some of their own.

Vivian and the others had not expected Shien to bring up that matter himself.

At once, Vivian smiled.

"It might have some effect, I suppose?" Rather than brushing him off, Vivian answered candidly. "But don't let appearances fool you. We've been through this same situation many times before. Besides, this time it was arranged by the guild. Whether out of duty or the pride of being senior adventurers, we should spare no effort in training newcomers."

"Duty and pride?" Shien raised his brows.

"That's right." Vivian watched Shien with a kind smile. "We were once newcomers struggling along the path of adventurers too. Back then, we were also able to come this far thanks to the guild's thoughtful arrangements and the guidance of our seniors. The guild and adventurers have always contributed to the adventuring profession in this way, allowing adventurers and the Adventurer's Guild to grow into what they are today, a thousand years later."

The fact that adventurers and the Adventurer's Guild had developed to this point, becoming a major force spread throughout the world with such complete systems in every respect, was easy enough to imagine.

Even if, on the surface, adventurers and the Adventurer's Guild merely had a mutually beneficial relationship—one side used the Adventurer's Guild as a platform to accept all kinds of commissions, earn rewards, and grow stronger, while the other side expanded through acting as an intermediary between adventurers and clients—the guild had indeed established many restrictions and proper management measures to further improve the adventuring profession.

For example, if novice adventurers were allowed to venture out on their own without any training or assessment, then leaving aside how well they completed commissions, their chances of encountering danger and losing their lives would rise drastically.

Therefore, both emotionally and logically, the guild needed to provide newly joined adventurers with a certain degree of instruction and assessment. On one hand, this allowed them to complete commissions more effectively. On the other, it prevented people unsuited for this kind of adventuring from putting themselves in danger.

Thus, having senior adventurers lead newcomers became a necessity.

For a thousand years, the guild had continued training newcomers through this system, allowing the adventuring profession to grow ever stronger.

Vivian and the others had once been newcomers too, and they had received the care of their seniors. Since they had benefited from that kindness, they naturally needed to repay it with gratitude.

"Is that so?"

Shien nodded, but he was muttering to himself inwardly.

As someone from Another World, Shien knew very well that even if the logic was sound, very few people could truly put it into practice.

In his previous life, countless people had accepted others' kindness while doing ungrateful things for their own benefit.

Even if no one wanted to be an ungrateful wretch, how many simply accepted kindness as their due? How many truly felt grateful and eventually repaid the favor?

Perhaps training newcomers was an inescapable duty for veteran adventurers here, but whether everyone would willingly fulfill that duty was another matter entirely.

After all, once they became adventurers in the same party, they would need to act together, go on adventures together, and perhaps even face life and death together. The strength of every party member would directly determine the level of adventures that party could undertake afterward.

If the members were strong enough, they could naturally accept more dangerous commissions and take on more profitable work.

If the members were weak, they had to consider safety, which meant the party could not casually accept more dangerous commissions. Their future adventures would inevitably become much more troublesome.

In other words, a newcomer joining an established adventuring party was unexpectedly burdensome.

With such an impact involved, there were surely very few adventuring parties that genuinely wanted to lead newcomers.

And Vivian's party was made entirely of beautiful female adventurers. A male adventurer joining them would undoubtedly have an even greater impact.

Even so, they could still call it an inescapable duty. At the very least, Shien had to admire that sentiment.

What was more, Vivian said this.

"It'll only be a month at most. Our party has been quite active lately, and we haven't had a proper rest in a long time. We'll treat this as a chance to relax and take a break. That's the shared opinion of everyone in the party, so you don't need to worry."

That was what Vivian said.

Hearing that, Shien thought for a moment, then lowered his head toward Vivian and the others.

"Then please take care of me over the next month."

Shien had accepted the situation for what it was.

"Good." Only then did Vivian smile brightly before suggesting, "No time like the present. Today, let's take on a few simple commissions first, so you can familiarize yourself with an adventurer's work."

Naturally, Shien had no reason to refuse that suggestion.

No matter what, Shien wanted to learn about an adventurer's work as soon as possible so he could steadily improve his strength afterward.

The others voiced no objections either. Together with Shien and Vivian, they left the private room and headed for the guild's first-floor hall.

"—"

When Shien and the others came down from the second floor and entered the first-floor hall, the previously noisy hall suddenly fell silent.

Vivian, Tier, Lumya, and Merika said nothing about it. They exchanged glances and walked toward the notice board.

Shien, who was accompanying the four of them, felt his expression shift as he silently sighed inwardly once more.

Things really were getting troublesome.

The adventurers in the guild hall were first drawn to Vivian and the others, then all their gazes gathered on Shien.

Clearly, whether he wanted it or not, Shien would attract enormous attention by acting together with Vivian and the others.

Shien noticed the scene, but his face remained indifferent.

After all, he had already expected this situation.

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