3.10.

"Nothing."

"The best we could find is a quest for finding illegal slave traders."

"That's a problem."

"If we remove the criteria for killing people, we'd be able to find a few quests that meet the other standards.."

"Hm.." Sequencee hummed in contemplation.

'I actually have one or two quests that caught my eye. But those really just aren't suitable for a party like this.'

"How about we just split up. I'm dragging everyone down, so maybe I'll return to working alone," Sequencee said.

"What! No way," Nynim denied.

"At this rate we wouldn't find any suitable quests."

"He's right," Dorry said.

"But then.. Leticia would leave wouldn't she?"

"Um.."

"How about this? I mean, we got to spend a lot of time with Leticia at the dorm so isn't it fine to let her go with him? She'll return eventually. We'd just be bothers if we continue this," Daizo reasoned.

"Make sense," Quora concurred.

"Ugh.. Leticia you come here," Nynim slugged her hand over her shoulders and pulled her to one side.

"There they go again," Quora shook her head.

"Sequencee, take care of Leticia alright? I'm not sure why she's never had a guild record but.. you have to guide her properly."

"I will," Sequencee replied.

"Let's do this then. Leticia and I will join Sequencee's party, you four form your own!" Nynim declared after a one-sided discussion with the twitching Leticia.

A deadpan expression appeared on everyone's face.

"Dorry."

"I don't mind."

"Then we'll go with your arrangement then.."

"Nynim, don't overdo it,"

Saying that last warning, the three of them turned around and began to walk away.

"W-Wait?! What's up with that reaction!?" Nynim exclaimed.

"Sequencee," just as Nynim was about to chase the rest, a robust voice rang out.

Sequencee and Leticia turned around.

"Sir Procto."

"Do you have a moment? I have some news to pass to you regarding yesterday's incident."

"How are you feeling? Are you.. alright?"

Procto wasn't wearing his gaudy armor today. Just the regular style of clothes to blend in with the crowd. His eyes also no longer had that hazy look to them.

"The effects wore off in a few hours. I apologize for my oversight."

"Okay.. Leticia, can you tell the others that I have somewhere to go for a bit?"

"Um, what is this supposed to be?" Leticia asked.

"It's confidential," Procto said.

"I.. see.."

"Excuse us."

'His eyes don't look off.. I assume it's alright? But I can't be too sure. Lowar is nowhere to be found.'

Procto led Sequencee to the upper floors, and into one of the guild administrator's offices.

The scent of wood and brandy struck Sequencee the moment he walked in. There were antique items displayed on the shelves to the right, sofas surrounding a low glass table in the center, with freshly cut flowers prepared in the vase. The light leaking in from the windows opposite of the entrance casted shadows over the silhouettes of the arm chair and desk.

The guild administrator was sitting opposite Lowar and Yousuff, the crew cut swordsman who had been brainwashed yesterday. They were having a light chat when Procto entered with Sequencee.

Due to the scale of the public guild, it was not possible for the guildmaster alone to handle every unique incident like the one. As such, the guild administrator's role was formed. This role was one step below the guild master's position. They had rights to manage and coordinate special quests, issue emergency quests or coordinate secret missions with clients.

"Guild administrator, he's the one I spoke of," Procto announced.

"Please take a seat," the administrator's voice wasn't loud, but his low authoritative voice made people naturally obey.

"It's an honor to meet you sir," Sequencee lowered his head in respect.

Prodded by the mood, Sequencee then took a seat beside Yousuff.

"You okay?" Sequencee asked in a whisper.

"I'm good. Thanks for saving Karl. You?"

"I'm fine."

"Sequencee, please listen," Procto took a seat and began, "This is at most a suspicion, but it's likely you're being targeted."

"Hah?"

"From what Yousuff and I concluded, it's likely that the cardinal takes an interest in you."

"Uh.."

'Bullshit. So what?'

"Though the effects have subsided, the command the both of us were given was to slaughter everyone except you."

'So the cardinal's gift temporarily brainwashes someone? Or maybe that's just the surface level of her skill. After all, the siblings yesterday…'

"So what has that to do with me being targeted?"

"It's presumptive, but there was an emotion of covet found within the message."

"The ability that women use doesn't work through words. It's like, it alters your mind directly. You know how you feel when you're drunk? It's like that, but you feel like you're having a drink with a pal. That's the best way I can put it," Yousuff explained.

"Okay? So what is this about? I'm under threat, so?"

"Are you not concerned?" Lowar, the female holy knight currently wearing office clothes asked.

"It might be weird to say this but no. Assassination attempts should be something mercenaries should be on guard against, always," Sequencee exaplained.

"As expected. If that's the attitude you've taken, then it should be alright. We shall proceed to the real meat of the matter," with an expectant smile Procto tapped on the table twice and spun a document to Sequencee. "Your next mission."

Sequenccee picked up the document which details the request in length. The message was direct and concise, the reward is also a considerable sum considering the danger of the mission.

Everything summed into a sentence would be–

"I'm a meat shield?"

'They made me think that my life is in danger so that it would increase the likelihood of me accepting the request. That's sly.'

Sequencee was the church's best bet at stalling the cardinal. That was the conclusion Lowar and Procto came to after seeing his performance yesterday.

"If that is how you would like to summarize it, I don't see how the conjecture is wrong," said Procto.

"It's a rare opportunity that benefits both parties. For your safety, it is important that we take down the cardinal at once. Otherwise, you may one day fall into the cult," reasoned Lowar.

"Sequencee, trust me, you don't want to be the one on the puppet strings," Yousuff said with a regretful expression.

"Then I have one condition.. no, two conditions. First, give me priority to kill the cultists."

"Why? Standing in the front lines means you're more likely to become targeted from different fronts."

"It's to do with my system."

"We can't guarantee your safety if that's what you choose.."

"I understand. The responsibility will be on me if I die. There's no guarantee if we'll find any cultists left anyways."

"That's true."

"And second, without increasing the commission rate, I can bring whoever I want to aid me in this mission. Which means I can share this information with someone else."

"We.. can't guarantee their safety."

"What private quest doesn't risk a mercenary's safety?"

"That's a valid argument," Lowar nodded.

"Then I'll approve it. We'll be set off tomorrow morning, the equipment will also be ready then. The venue is where we met last time."

"Understood."

Slip–

"This is the reward from the previous day together with the down payment for this request."

Procto handed Sequencee a check he had been keeping inside his pocket.

===

"..."

"Don't give me that."

"I don't think I'll be attacked tonight."

"Weren't you the one who said that one should always be prepared for an assassination attempt?"

'Seriously..? Do they need to go so far just to protect their meat shield?'

Procto was assigned to act as Sequencee's guardian for today.

"Sequencee– sir," Leticia bowed again.

"Oh dear oh me. Who may you be?" Nynim greeted flirtatiously.

"Holy Knight of the Church, Procto."

"Procto? Um, sorry to ask, but are you done with your business with Sequencee?" Leticia asked.

"I will be acting by his side from today onwards."

"Huh?" Leticia tilted her head.

"Sir, I don't think you need to go so far. I can handle myself until tomorrow morning at least," Sequencee sighed.

"It's part of the contract."

'Damn it..'

"A quest perhaps?" Nynim asked.

"What quest did you take?"

"Yeah. It's about.."

"Sir Sequencee," Procto admonished.

"What?" Sequencee raised his brows at him. He shook his head.

'Didn't I add the condition that I can tell others?'

"Bleh, that's stupid. Why do you get a unique quest while we don't," Quora quipped.

"It's appropriate for an A-rank mercenary to receive an issue like this," Procto said.

"""Huh..?"""

"So.. sorry, I'll be acting separately from everyone else," Sequencee lowered his head.

"W-W-Wait. S-Since when were you an A-rank?! If you're an A-rank why the hell did you need to join the academy?!" Quora exclaimed.

"A-Ah.. Leticia, looks like you still have some hope," Nynim joked.

"Shut up," the half-elf retorted.

"What a surprise," Dorry said.

"That kind of makes sense.. dude, you should've just done mercenary work while you waited for Leticia to complete her studies," Daizo suggested.

"Can't be helped."

'If I had better sense, maybe I would've gone straight to the capital to find Her Highness Evelyn after my home was destroyed..'

Sequencee sighed at his stupidity. Really, emotions cloud reason.

"So what now?" Quora gumbled, "Can't we join him? A subjugation request? Assassination request? Or something else?"

"Confidential," Procto repeated.

"Uh.."

"Since it has come to this, we just have to act separately then. Oh yeah, Sequencee, how long do you think that quest of your's would take?" Daizo asked.

"It should be done in a few days.. but it depends. It won't take more than two weeks, probably."

"Then we can take one quest first and then come back to complete another quest with Sequencee once he's done."

"A sound idea. We're not losing any members then," Quora said.

"I pity Leticia," Nynyim chuckled.

"..."

"I'm free until tonight so it's not like I can't hang out with you guys.. so.." it wasn't like Sequencee had anything to do today, so going around with them would be a nice way to kill time.

"Makes sense. Okay, let's pick a quest and then we'll talk about where to go," Quora said.

"Wait for us Sequencee," Leticia said.

===

"It's a mystery how this elf's metabolism works," Procto said, sipping on his beer.

"You can say that again."

"Oh Leticia, can you kiss my cheeks? I miss my daughter a lot–" Nynim danced around the table, slowly inching her way towards her.

Leticia turned to Sequencee's with eyes wishing for help.

Nynim bumped into an invisible barrier Sequencee created and rubbed her sore spot.

"Eh? What did you just do?" Nynim turned to Sequencee.

"Looks like I can do remote activation. That's new."

"W-What?"

"Did you do something?" Procto asked.

"I did. A spell to sober up someone."

"Isn't that equivalent to an advanced healing spell?"

"Maybe it's similar to 'cure'? I'm not sure. I used some of the principles of that spell to create my own."

Procto nodded in confusion.

"Sequencee, do you want some?" Leticia asked, pointing to her plate of mochi.

"It's alright if you want it."

"I insist," Leticia picked up the plate and slid the round rice cake into his plate.

"Thank you then."

Leticia watched as Sequencee toss the entire thing in his mouth.

'I wonder what kind of quest he took up this time..'

"Sir Procto, does this mean you'll be staying together with Sequencee through the night?" she asked.

"Advisably."

"You really don't need to go so far.. it's not like I booked a double bedded room," Sequence complained.

"We've reserved a suite."

"..."

"What kind of quest provides an entire suite for the commissioner, huh?" Nynim quipped.

"Mercenaries do just know how to complain, do they?" Procto responded.

"Complain? You consider something small a complaint?" Nynim raised an eyebrow.

"If that's how you take it, I have nothing to add."

"You're annoying," Nynim quipped.

Leticia turned to Quora and the rest. They had dubious expressions on their faces. So far, Procto has been nothing but a drag throughout the day. Despite his staunch attitude, his temperament didn't mesh well with the party.

"Sir, I'll tell them the details about the quest later in the evening. But they'll not be directly involved." Seuquencee said softly, twirling his glass of ice.

"If they're not directly involved, I don't recommend it."

"In case something happens, they know to act. Otherwise, well, it might cause a lot of problems for me later."

Procto looked over the merry group.

"I'll assume you know what you need to do."