[Vol. 7] Chapter 72: Is There Something Wrong with My Luck?
“A large-scale case of missing people?”
In the guild’s private lounge, the priestess leaned lazily against the sofa, tilting her head.
“Do I have some kind of disaster-attracting constitution? I feel like I'm an MC in a novel, the kind where the MC attracts trouble wherever they go. Maybe I should get an exorcism for myself…”
“Huh? Miss Violet, what did you just say?”
“Nothing, nothing…”
Alright, back to the main topic.
Although adventurers weren’t obligated to follow the orders of the Adventurers’ Guild, since she was already here and had nothing urgent to do, there was no need to immediately turn down their request.
The newcomers' registration had been approved with her as their guarantor, so there was no problem there. Leaving the three girls outside to complete their paperwork, Violet followed [Tree Bow] Enrique and [Tree Wall] Sophie into the inner chamber to hear them out.
She hadn't expected the situation to be this serious.
Still… it didn’t seem quite interesting enough yet.
The black-haired priestess yawned lazily and asked, “So how big is this case, exactly? How many people have gone missing? Does it really require a Legendary Adventurer to step in?”
The legendary level Lingmu Tribe man, who introduced himself as Enrique, nodded slightly. He sat across from her, hands cradling a wooden cup filled with tea, but he wasn’t drinking. It looked like he was thinking about how to explain the situation.
“To be honest, we don’t have exact numbers. The disappearances aren’t just happening inside Layla City. They’ve spread across multiple southeastern provinces of the empire. The worst-hit areas are actually the more remote and isolated villages and towns where information is harder to track.”
“Layla City is the most prosperous port city on the southeastern coast of the Austre Empire, the economic and trade hub of this region. That also makes this Adventurers’ Guild branch one of the largest in the empire.”
“Because there are so many high-ranking adventurers here, including Sophie and myself, guilds from smaller cities often send requests here when they can’t handle a problem on their own.”
"At first, it was just a few isolated cases of missing people."
"The local guilds took on the requests, sent people to investigate, and filed the cases here for record-keeping. But over time, things started getting out of control."
"Instead of slowing down, the disappearances only increased in scale. More and more areas were reporting similar incidents. Adventurers sent to investigate either came back empty-handed or worse, went missing themselves, never reporting back to the guild."
"Realizing something was seriously wrong, we immediately dispatched high-ranking adventurers to the most affected regions. At the same time, we reached out to other major cities and guilds farther away. Only to discover that this wasn’t just happening around Layla City. They, too, had been experiencing large-scale disappearances, mainly in remote villages and towns."
"When the adventurers returned from their missions, they finally brought back some useful information. In some isolated mountain villages, entire communities, hundreds of people, had vanished without a trace. In bigger cities, the disappearances were more scattered, mainly targeting defenseless children."
"Through relentless investigation, we found traces of what seemed to be cult activity at some crime scenes. But every time we were on the verge of a major breakthrough, key people either disappeared or turned up dead, making it impossible for the guild to pursue the case further. It’s been a real nightmare."
"A cult causing mass disappearances, huh? That’s not exactly unheard of..."
The two Legendary Adventurers exchanged glances. Then, Enrique turned his gaze to the black-haired priestess, who had merely muttered to herself without much reaction.
"Miss [Priest]..."
"No need to be so formal. We’re all colleagues here, just call me Violet."
"Alright, Miss Violet. Given how strange this situation is, we suspect it involves some sort of dark, malevolent force. According to the guild records, your profession specializes in holy magic, making you particularly effective against evil creatures and cult rituals."
"Originally, we planned to ask the temple for a senior cleric to assist in the investigation. But as an adventurer, you’d be much better suited for this kind of mission. So, Miss Violet, would you be willing to join us?"
Heh… now that’s a straightforward invitation.
Well, that made sense. At this point, dragging things out would just be a waste of time.
Resting her chin on her hand, Miss Priestess smirked slightly and said,
“So, is this an official guild commission? If you’re forming a team specifically for this investigation, do you already have all the necessary members? How will the rewards be distributed? And finally, what’s your plan for the investigation?”
Violet fired off three sharp questions in a row, but Enrique seemed well-prepared and answered immediately.
“Of course, this is an official commission. And not just any mission, but a high-tier Legendary quest. The reward is funded directly by the imperial government of the coastal city, with a total bounty of 30 million Quarks, to be evenly split among the members who solve the case.”
“I have the authority to offer you a full one-third of the total reward, Miss Violet. Even for a Legendary level adventurer, that’s quite a substantial payout. In addition, the guild will provide extra incentives, such as rare materials, combat techniques, magic scrolls, and spell manuals.”
“A full ten million Quarks, huh...”
For an adventurer, that was an exceptionally generous reward. Quarks, being the highest-value currency issued by the Austre Empire, had an exchange rate comparable to Holy Light Coins. If spent wisely, that kind of money could easily buy a full set of high-tier Legendary purple-grade gear.
Of course, in the Austre Empire, adventurers didn’t typically place much importance on wealth. If someone only wanted to make money, they could simply join a large, profit-driven mercenary group. While that would come with some restrictions, it would also be far more lucrative and much safer.
So, to put it romantically, adventurers in Austre Empire often chose this path to pursue their own sense of justice.
The two people in front of her were clearly that type. Not exactly selfless saints, but definitely the kind who wouldn’t hesitate to help an old lady who fell on the street or a lost child wandering alone.
So, tasks taken on by people like them usually ended up being way harder than the rewards justified.
Seeing that the black-haired girl was silently observing them without giving any response, Enrique felt a bit uneasy. He hesitated for a moment but then forced himself to continue.
“As for our investigation plan, since the disappearances outside the city are scattered and unpredictable, we’re planning to start with the missing children cases in Layla City first. We’ll try to pick up any clues and then expand from there...”
“Ohh~~”
Miss Priestess deliberately dragged out the sound, then bluntly pointed out the obvious with zero tact.
“So basically, you guys have made no progress at all?”
“Uh...”
Enrique awkwardly turned his head away, but his sister, Sophie Lingwood, immediately shot back in frustration.
“Well, what do you expect?! Ever since the disappearances started in Layla City, there’s been an overwhelming flood of high-priority missions! One moment, some noble’s son gets kidnapped and needs rescuing, the next, a pack of sea monsters shows up near the coast and has to be dealt with. It’s been nonstop!”
“You remember that sea battle we had a while ago? That was me and Priscilla helping the Imperial Navy fight off a group of Tier 5 Sea Giants that suddenly started attacking ships for no reason. We spent days fighting those things, barely got back alive, and now we’re still stuck dealing with all this chaos! It’s not like we haven’t been trying, okay?!”
“Hmm? What did you just say?”
The high-tier commissions... started piling up only after the disappearances in Layla City began?
Miss Priestess raised an eyebrow. Enrique thought his sister’s outburst might have annoyed their guest, so he was about to smooth things over—
BANG BANG BANG BANG!!!
Before he could say anything, there was a loud, frantic pounding on the door!
And before anyone inside could respond, a certain thief’s voice shouted across the hall in complete panic.
“Boss! Boss, we’ve got a HUGE problem! That little child you’ve been taking care of... s-she’s missing!!!”
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