Brass Lantern Base

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

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

"Help! I'll never finish copying the quest list!"

And so, on what had originally been his planned day off, Lance was forced into even more frantic overtime.

Amid a morning so busy he nearly snapped his quill, Lance finally understood why the guild was so overcrowded today.

It was all thanks to the overly clever president of the Grayrock Town branch.

The shrewd old man had seen the guild's business revenue plummet over the past few months, and the previous dungeon rampage had also drastically altered the distribution of mana in the surrounding area.

A group of low-level monsters dwelling in the heart of Copper Creek Forest had fled toward its outskirts as if startled, directly causing frequent monster disturbances in nearby villages.

Slimes clogged irrigation channels in farmland, goblins robbed passersby in packs, and some villagers had even reported seeing bands of gnolls at the edge of the forest.

Using this as justification, the branch president had specifically applied to the guild in the nearest superior city for a "Special Subsidy Order."

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

The additional amount would be fully subsidized by funds from the superior guild.

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

Nia and Lance spent the entire morning buried in endless registration paperwork and quest copying.

"Ah! Morning is finally over!"

As the wall clock struck twelve, Nia let out a long sigh of relief and stretched hard.

The bright midday sunlight streamed unreservedly through the stained-glass side window onto Nia's long brown hair, casting it in a golden halo.

Today, she had deliberately worn a forest-green velvet headband adorned with several delicate 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 lovely, lively curves of the young woman. She looked truly beautiful.

Lance found himself staring.

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

Nia leaned backward, crossed her long legs, lightly hooked her toes around the cabinet in front of her, and smoothly slid the sheet onto the small table before Lance.

"Mr. Copyist, if you've finished looking, remember to help me file this list."

Nia playfully blinked, a teasing smile curling across her lips.

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

As she spoke, she even pushed her luck and blew Lance a perfunctory kiss.

Yet just as she tried to pull her hand back,

a warm, powerful hand suddenly reached out and seized her wrist.

Nia jumped, two rosy clouds instantly blooming across her fair face.

Before she could react, a quill and a fresh sheet of parchment were forcibly stuffed 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 entire body suddenly went stiff, and the blush rapidly drained from her face.

It was replaced by utter astonishment.

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

Nia's large eyes brimmed with confusion as she looked Lance up and down in disbelief.

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

By the common sense she had gained as an experienced receptionist, the fastest a normal person could train to pass the examination and become an official adventurer was half a year.

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

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

Lance had long expected her to ask that.

Without changing expression, he brought out his foolproof shield.

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

Lance explained with an air of mystery.

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

As he said this, his gaze at Nia became exceptionally sincere, even carrying a hint of gratitude.

"It's all thanks to you helping me rent that private training room. That let me break through my bottleneck without distractions over the past half month and raise my swordsmanship to Proficient Level."

Under such earnest scrutiny, Nia felt her heart skip a beat. She hurriedly averted her eyes, not daring to meet his gaze.

"Am... am I really that important?"

Nia unconsciously twisted her sleeve between her fingers, her voice as quiet as a mosquito's buzz.

Only after several seconds did she raise her head again and try to recover her usual professional efficiency, though the tips of her ears remained 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 trace of coquettish reproach.

"Even if we know each other, rules are rules."

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

The noise in the hall gradually faded. Most employees behind the counters either went off together to find food or looked for somewhere to take a nap.

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

The warehouse was quiet at this time, with only the sound of their footsteps echoing through it.

"It should be down here..."

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

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

To reach something deep inside the cabinet, she had no choice but to kneel on the floor, with her upper body almost entirely inside it.

The position was rather ungraceful.

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

Standing nearby, Lance felt his throat go dry.

He quickly looked away and stared at the spiderwebs on the ceiling, counting how many strands they had.

"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 aged brass lantern base, its workmanship ancient and crude. At the center of the base was set a dull gray, inconspicuous translucent ore.

Put a glass cover over it, and it really would look like an utterly ordinary lantern.