I walked down the corridor, heading toward the branch chief’s office located at the back of the Adventurers’ Guild.

Not just anyone could enter, but I’d visited many times before and was already familiar with the place, so nothing seemed particularly new to me.

“Everyone seems busy… Did something happen?”

I asked the receptionist what was going on.

Today, I was on an errand for Seriana, heading to see the branch chief, but there was an unusual amount of hustle and bustle.

The front hall was as calm as ever, but once I stepped into the back…

“Yesterday, Captain Alexio and his team brought back a large number of dungeon monsters, right? The merchants from the Commercial Guild caught wind of it, and they’ve been swarming us with business negotiations since last night.”

“Oh, I see…”

The receptionist turned toward me as she spoke.

I figured that if a large batch of dungeon monsters was being supplied, it would be highly sought after.

That meant the Commercial Guild’s alchemists were probably being summoned as we spoke, scrambling to handle the situation.

Unlike the usual cases where adventurers brought in materials, this time, it was the Knight Order making the delivery. That meant they couldn’t prioritize the big-name merchants like they sometimes did.

To ensure fair distribution, the Adventurers’ Guild had been working non-stop since last night.

While it was good that everyone had a chance to get in on the action, the extra workload had clearly taken its toll here.

Since she mainly handled front-desk duties, the receptionist wasn’t affected too much beyond the increased number of business negotiation requests. However, the staff working behind the scenes were dealing with a complete mess.

After chatting about that for a while, I finally arrived at the branch chief’s office.

◇

“Branch Chief, excuse me. I’ve brought Vice Captain Sera with me.”

When the door opened and I stepped inside, I saw the branch chief and several burly men buried in stacks of documents.

Every time I entered this room, the scene was almost always the same.

“Oh… What’s the matter?”

Peeking out from behind a pile of paperwork, the branch chief looked exhausted, dark circles under his eyes.

…Did he pull an all-nighter?

Looking around, I saw that the others were in a similar state.

Maybe I should cast 【Prayer】 on them later.

“Yeah. I’ve got a letter from Seria-sama for you.”

I handed him the letter, and as soon as he received it, his expression twisted for a moment.

He was already swamped with work—did he assume this was yet another difficult request?

“…Is the response urgent?”

“It shouldn’t be delayed too much, but it’s not that pressing. The details are in the letter, but she wants you to compile information on female adventurers within the domain.”

After what happened yesterday, Seriana had been thinking about second-career options for female adventurers operating in the region.

In the end, though, she hadn’t come up with anything concrete.

For male adventurers, retirement or switching to another profession was common. Whether it succeeded or not, at least they had options.

But for female adventurers, there were almost no career paths where they could apply their experience.

If a job required physical strength, hiring male adventurers was simply more efficient.

There was an option to become a female soldier, but so far, only those from the capital had been recruited, and the available positions were very limited.

While male adventurers could typically handle dungeon exploration and monster subjugation, there were still situations where female adventurers were necessary.

That’s why Seriana wanted to ensure there was always a certain number of female adventurers in the region.

One might think increasing the number of female soldiers would be a simple solution, but mobilizing the military for everything wasn’t ideal.

It was a difficult issue to tackle.

She wasn’t looking to solve it in just a year or two, but rather taking a long-term approach.

And to start, she needed information on both active and retired female adventurers within the domain.

“I see… Understood. We should be able to compile a report within a few days, so you can let her know.”

Hearing that, the branch chief let out a small sigh of relief before opening the letter to read it.

Although it was a tedious task, the guild’s records were well-organized, so it wasn’t impossible.

Still, getting it done in just a few days… That was much faster than I’d expected.

“Well then, I’ve finished my errand, so I’ll be taking my leave. …There!”

I cast 【Prayer】 into the room.

It wouldn’t be much, but at least it’d provide some minor healing.

“Thanks… By the way, judging from your outfit, are you heading into the dungeon today?”

The branch chief, lifting his eyes from the letter, finally seemed to notice what I was wearing.

“Yeah. I spent over ten days working as a server there, so I figured they’ve recognized my face by now, and I finally got permission.”

I was dressed in a thick one-piece dress, a Demon King Type jacket with a belt, and a pouch packed with various items at my waist.

Even though I’d be going in solo, and I had the wind and shield to protect me, I had been out of the dungeon for a while—so I’d geared up properly, just in case.

“I see… More people are starting to hunt in the upper layers. If you’re going in, stick to the middle floors.”

The middle floors… I could kite monsters there!

“Adventurers sure are energetic… Got it. I’ll complete the registration at the front desk.”

With my errand done, it was finally time to return to the dungeon.

Let’s go!

——————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Sera ・【Hideout】+1 【Prayer】 【Mira’s Blessing】 【Wind Cloak】 ・【Floating Orb】+1 【Shadow Sword】 【Scarlet Bee Needle】 【Fairy’s Eye】 【Dragon’s Lung】 【Amber Sword】 【Danrem’s Thread】 【Serpent’s Tail】 【Ankle Bracelet】 【Amber Shield】 【Purple Wings】 ・15 cards

Seriana ・【Area Identification】 ・【】 ・28 cards

Elena ・【】 ・【Green Fang】 【Amber Sword】 ・4 cards

Alec ・【Strong Strike】 ・【Red Shield】 【Fierce Horned Trumpet】 ・8 cards