Brass Lantern Base

Unfortunately, the moment Lance stepped through the Adventurers' Guild doors the next day, before he could even say the words he had rehearsed all night—"I want to register"—

Nia, her face full of anxiety, grabbed him and urgently dragged him behind the counter.

"Help! I can't finish copying the quest list!"

Thus, on what had originally been a day he planned to take off, Lance was forced into even more frenzied overtime.

Amid a morning so busy he nearly snapped his quill, Lance finally figured out why the guild was so packed today.

It was all thanks to the Grayrock Town branch president, whose cleverness had gone a little too far.

That shrewd old man had watched business revenue plummet over the past few months, just as the previous dungeon rampage had caused a drastic shift in the distribution of magical power nearby.

A group of low-level monsters living in the central Copper Creek Forest had migrated to the Outer Region as if startled, directly causing frequent monster disturbances in nearby villages.

Slimes clogged irrigation channels in farmland, Goblins traveled in gangs to rob passersby, and some villagers had even reported seeing packs of Gnolls at the forest's edge.

Using that as justification, the president had specifically applied to the guild in the nearest higher-ranking city for a "Special Subsidy Order."

For any quests registered or completed in Grayrock Town, rewards would be increased by twenty percent.

The extra portion was fully covered by subsidies from the higher-ranking guild.

As a result, low-level adventurers from several nearby towns had come flooding in with merchant caravans like sharks smelling blood.

Nia and Lance spent the entire morning in an endless cycle of registration paperwork and copying quest notices.

"Ah! Morning is finally over!"

As the wall clock struck twelve, Nia let out a long sigh of relief and stretched with all her might.

The bright noon sunlight streamed unreservedly through the stained-glass window to the side, casting a golden halo over Nia's long brown hair.

Today, she had deliberately worn a deep forest-green velvet headband adorned with several exquisite roses folded from white lace.

As she stretched her arms, the dark green double-breasted, fitted guild vest clung tightly to her body, outlining the girl's lovely, lively curves. She looked exceptionally beautiful.

Lance found himself staring.

In her raised right hand was the final completed registration list.

Nia leaned her whole body back, crossed her long legs, lightly hooked her toes around the cabinet in front of her, and slid the sheet onto the small desk before Lance.

"Mr. Copyist, if you've stared long enough, remember to file this list for me."

Nia winked playfully, a teasing smile curling at the corner of her lips.

"I'm going to have a delicious lunch."

As she spoke, she even brazenly blew Lance a perfunctory kiss.

However, just as she tried to withdraw her hand—

A warm, powerful hand suddenly reached out and gripped her wrist.

Nia jumped, and two clouds of crimson instantly bloomed across her fair little face.

Before she could react, she felt a quill and a fresh sheet of parchment forcibly pressed into her hand.

Lance raised his head and looked at her with blazing eyes.

"Nia, do me a favor."

"I want to register as an adventurer too."

Nia froze for a moment, then puffed out her cheeks in apparent disappointment and muttered softly.

"Hmph. I thought you were going to invite me to lunch."

But she quickly understood what Lance meant. Her whole body suddenly went stiff, and the blush on her face rapidly faded.

It was replaced by utter astonishment.

"What did you say? You want to register as an adventurer?"

Nia's large eyes were full of confusion as she looked Lance up and down in disbelief.

"But... haven't you only trained for half a month?"

Based on her experience as a veteran receptionist, the fastest training record for an Ordinary person to pass the assessment and become an official adventurer was half a year.

And that was at a place like the guild, which had a complete training system. She had never heard of anyone mastering it in half a month.

Well, the chosen heroes in bard novels did not count. The protagonists in those stories were all monsters.

Lance had expected her to ask.

Without changing expression, he brought out his tried-and-true excuse.

"You know my dad is a retired soldier, right?"

Lance explained in a deliberately mysterious tone.

"Actually, I've been undergoing his hellish training since I was little. My foundation was laid long ago; I just needed this final push."

As he said this, the look in his eyes as he gazed at Nia became especially sincere, even carrying a hint of gratitude.

"And it's all thanks to you renting that private training room for me. That let me focus completely on breaking through my bottleneck these past two weeks and raise my swordsmanship to Proficient Level."

Under that earnest gaze, Nia felt as though her heart skipped a beat. Somewhat flustered, she looked away, unable to meet his eyes.

"I... I'm that important?"

Nia unconsciously twisted her fingers into her sleeve, her voice as quiet as a mosquito's hum.

Several seconds passed before she raised her head again, trying hard to recover her usual professional competence, though the tips of her ears were still burning red.

"All right, then. I'll process your registration."

"But let me make this clear first: you still can't skip the test."

Nia picked up the quill and waved it at Lance, her tone carrying a hint of coquettish reproach.

"Even if we're friends, rules are rules."

The two hours at noon were the Adventurers' Guild's inviolable rest period.

The clamor in the hall gradually subsided. Most employees behind the counters either went out in groups to find food or found somewhere to nap.

Taking advantage of this rare lull, Nia led Lance into the supply department's warehouse.

The warehouse was silent at this time, with only the two of their footsteps echoing inside.

"It should be down here..."

Nia muttered as she crouched before that row of old display cabinets.

She was wearing a dark brown skirt that fell below her knees today, along with a pair of snug leather boots.

To reach the item deep inside the cabinet, she had no choice but to kneel on the floor and stick nearly her entire upper body into it.

The position was rather improper.

The taut fabric outlined the startlingly rounded curve of the girl's waist and hips, trembling slightly with her movements.

Standing beside her, Lance felt his throat grow a little dry.

He swiftly averted his gaze and stared at the cobwebs on the ceiling, counting the strands of silk.

"Found it!"

Nia's excited voice soon rang out.

She backed out of the cabinet, holding a dust-covered object in her hands.

It was an old-looking brass lantern base, crudely and simply made, with a dull, inconspicuous translucent ore set into the center.

If someone put a glass cover over it, it really would look like an utterly ordinary lantern.