"As long as they meet the procurement standards I listed earlier, we can sign a long-term contract."
Martha nodded with a pained expression. She knew it was a miserable assignment, but for the guild's sake, she could only grit her teeth and take it on.
By the time all the follow-up supply plans and personnel transfers had been properly arranged, the clock on the wall was already pointing to two in the morning.
Necros waved his hand wearily.
"All right, go get some rest."
Martha looked as though she had been granted a pardon and turned to leave the office.
After Homan gathered the documents from the table, he had just reached the door when a voice behind him stopped him.
"Homan, wait a moment."
Necros sat in his broad high-backed chair, his entire body shrouded in shadow.
"Bring me all the detailed battle reports submitted by the vanguard today."
Homan froze for a moment, then nodded and headed for the archive room next door.
A moment later, a thick stack of parchment was delivered to Necros's desk.
The old man was now alone in the office.
He did not immediately look through the battle reports. Instead, he opened a drawer and took out an exquisitely sealed document.
It was the list of interns sent by Violet Academy.
Necros sat back down and carefully read through it page by page under the light of a magic lamp.
Every page recorded the students' information in detail: their names, backgrounds, favored schools of magic, and the training recommendations given by their mentors.
His fingers passed over those illustrious surnames, and his expression grew particularly grave.
This was not merely a list. It was a collection of bombs that would explode if handled carelessly.
Before these young masters and young ladies arrived, he needed to find the most reliable internship teams for them based on their abilities and temperaments.
He had to ensure their safety while also making them feel the internship had been well worth their time.
Among all the headache-inducing names on the intern list, the one that troubled Necros most lay quietly at the very top of the stack.
Necros raised a finger and tapped heavily on that name.
Cecilia Rosenthal.
The only daughter of the Rosenthal family, a wealthy clan from White River Province, and a genius girl praised by the outside world as the Violet Pearl.
Gideon's purpose regarding this girl was very clear.
He wanted the clue Necros possessed about that special spellcasting Class to serve as the foundation for the girl's initial Class.
But beneath the materials, in the section titled "Mentor's Training Recommendations," Gideon had densely filled the page with advice for cultivating his beloved student.
The old man's painstaking concern was evident between every line.
He sincerely hoped Cecilia would be transformed through this internship and learn the survival wisdom she could never encounter within an ivory tower.
"That old bastard really knows how to give me a difficult problem."
Necros stroked his chin, his white beard swaying slightly with the motion.
Since his old friend had entrusted her to him, he truly had to choose her instructor carefully.
This joint clearing mission had another purpose as well: to screen for the adventurer teams best suited to guiding newcomers.
Necros picked up a battle report at hand, glanced over the team's composition, and shook his head.
"This one won't do..."
It was a veteran team with an extremely mature setup.
But precisely because it was too mature, its tactical system had already become rigid.
A newcomer like Cecilia would never find her place in it. She could only become a mascot everyone protected.
More importantly, once those people learned of her wealthy family background, they would absolutely put her on a pedestal.
That kind of excessive protection and fawning was completely at odds with his old friend's expectations.
He gave the team a large mental cross, casually tossed the report aside, and picked up the next one.
"This one won't do either."
This team's tactical style pursued efficiency and monetary returns to an extreme degree.
While that was indeed the truest rule of survival for adventurers, for Cecilia, the sole heir destined to inherit an enormous family fortune, such a profit-driven outlook was not a good starting point.
The first team an adventurer joined had a decisive impact on their future way of doing things.
Just like himself and Gideon back then.
If they had not encountered that upright and wise old captain to guide them, the two of them would likely have died somewhere in a dark corner of a dungeon long ago, all because of their youthful recklessness.
So this first guide had to be chosen with great care.
"The focus of her studies here isn't killing monsters..."
Necros muttered to himself.
Perhaps he should not limit himself to established adventurer teams. Perhaps he should broaden his sights and look at those independent adventurers who worked alone?
But most independent adventurers were solitary and eccentric, and the risks were too great. They did not seem suitable for a young lady like Cecilia either.
Necros sighed and continued reviewing the battle reports submitted that day with growing irritation.
Then his gaze settled on a special report.
It had been personally written and submitted by Gareth, a dungeon Class holder, and was accompanied by several corroborating accounts from other adventurers.
The report's subject had only one codename.
Raven.
"Interesting."
After reading the report, Necros wore the expression of someone who had discovered something intriguing.
He stood up, went to the archive room next door, and skillfully searched through the shelves before pulling out the adventurer file marked with the codename "Raven."
As he read through the past mission records page by page, a clear image of the man gradually took shape in Necros's mind.
Once he had finished, he had only one thought.
This was a man who was terrified of dying.
He clearly possessed the strength to slaughter an entire Goblin squad by himself, yet when Necros examined his past mission records—
Every single one was a gathering commission.
There was not a single combat-related extermination mission among them.
"No... It wouldn't be right to simply call him afraid of death."
Necros reexamined the mission records.
This person was remarkably capable of suppressing his own greed.
Though he clearly had the ability to accept high-bounty clearing missions, he would rather earn this kind of safe, steady small money.
This absolute control over his own desires was precisely the quality most lacking in young adventurers.
And judging by today's battle report, he was not truly cowardly.
Gareth had specifically mentioned in his report that this man had voluntarily rushed against the flow into the most dangerous battle line to rescue a friend from another team.
Otherwise, with his ability to remain hidden, perhaps no one would ever have discovered his true strength.
That showed that while remaining rational, this man also possessed a commendable sense of loyalty deep in his bones.
When it mattered, he could shoulder responsibility.
If something truly went wrong, a man like this would never abandon Cecilia as a burden and run away on his own.
Better still...
Before you continue