Guild Master

As soon as I arrived at the Adventurer's Guild, I was immediately escorted to the Guild Master. The staff member knocked on the door of the Guild Master's office.

"Guild Master, Zeros is here."

"Please, come in."

With permission granted, I opened the door and stepped inside. To my surprise, the person waiting for me was unexpected.

The first impression was that of a beautiful woman. She had blonde hair, close to a chestnut color, neatly tied at the nape of her neck, exuding a calm demeanor. She appeared to be in her mid-twenties, which seemed quite young for a Guild Master.

She gracefully stood up, turning to me with a soft smile. There was an air of elegance about her, almost like that of a noble.

"Nice to meet you, Zeros. I am Alisa, the Guild Master of the Sylphid branch of the Adventurer's Guild."

Her voice was clear and pleasant to the ear. Her gently narrowed eyes shone with intelligence.

Alisa slowly walked over to me and bowed deeply.

"I apologize for the trouble caused by the adventurers affiliated with our guild."

Her apology was sincere. Though it wasn't her fault, it felt a bit awkward to have her apologize.

"Please, raise your head. I know it wasn't your fault."

"...Thank you, Zeros."

Alisa smiled softly and expressed her gratitude before quickly adopting a serious expression.

"The ones you apprehended were found to have additional crimes. They have been handed over to the lord as criminals. They will face grueling labor that will make them wish they were dead."

After saying this, Alisa took a bag of gold coins from her desk drawer and handed it to me. It seemed to contain quite a lot.

"This is your reward."

"I appreciate it, but isn't this too much as a reward?"

When I asked, Alisa began to explain.

"A while ago, Il came by and refused his share of the reward, saying he hadn't done anything. He asked that his portion be given to you."

"...I see."

So that's how it was. It seemed Il had been considerate.

"Well, in that case, I'll gladly accept it."

"Yes, that would help us as well."

I took the heavy bag of gold coins from Alisa. With this amount, I could significantly upgrade my equipment and supplies, having managed without any financial support from my family until now.

As I was contemplating, Alisa spoke up.

"By the way, Zeros, are you not registered as an adventurer here? I checked, but I couldn't find your name."

There was a glint of curiosity in Alisa's eyes, her expression brightening as if she had discovered new talent.

"Ah, I haven't been affiliated with any guild. But since I'm here, I was thinking of registering today."

"Really!? That would be great! Having another skilled adventurer is a huge help for the guild!"

Alisa's smile grew even brighter. With graceful movements, she took out the registration documents and handed them to me.

"If there are no issues, please fill these out."

"Got it."

I took the registration documents and quickly scanned through them. The rules and guidelines seemed fine.

The required information included my name, level, and crest. Name and crest were mandatory, while the level was optional. There was no need to hide my level.

The only thing I preferred to keep private was my family name. Being recognized as a noble, especially the son of a lord, could lead to unnecessary complications. I wanted to avoid revealing my family background as much as possible.

(...I'll just leave out the family name.)

As I started filling out the form, Alisa tried to keep the conversation going to avoid silence.

"By the way, during the interrogation, the apprehended adventurers mentioned something strange."

"Something strange?"

When I looked up, I saw curiosity gleaming in Alisa's eyes.

"Yes. They claimed that despite having the [Crest of Null], you overpowered them. They even said you used skills... Haha, that's quite absurd, isn't it?"

"........."

It seemed Il's concerns had come true. Fortunately, it was taken as a joke, so there was no real issue.

I finished filling out the form.

"Here, I've completed it."

"Thank you… Wait, it's true that you have the [Crest of Null]?"

Alisa's voice was tinged with surprise and intrigue.

"Does that mean I can't register?"

The [Crest of Null] was considered a mark of incompetence in this world, so I asked just in case.

Alisa immediately shook her head.

"No, there's no problem. I was just surprised. Defeating those adventurers without any skills must mean you are incredibly talented."

For some reason, Alisa suddenly froze. What could be the issue?

After a moment, she slowly turned to me, her face a mix of surprise and confusion.

"Um, it says here your level is 16…"

"Yes, that's correct."

Nodding, Alisa stood up abruptly.

"Wait a moment! The adventurers you captured were part of an E-rank party with an average level above 20! How could a level 16 with the [Crest of Null] defeat them alone? Are you sure you're not a seasoned warrior?"

"......."

A seasoned warrior? In the era of Creon, maybe, but not now. I decided to be honest.

"No, I'm not. I only received my crest three days ago."

"Wha!?"

Reaching her limit, Alisa fell silent. Her expression froze, almost like a work of art.

...Was it that shocking? This was normal in Creon. In fact, I was quite slow due to focusing on skill acquisition.

"........."

Still in shock, Alisa didn't seem to be returning to reality anytime soon.

Watching her reaction, I realized the gap between the common sense of this world and my own experiences. I needed to be more careful moving forward.