Chapter 29: Magician’s Guild
ㅤ”Hmm. So, this is the hair of the magician, huh?”
ㅤ
ㅤShizu-san said with a serious expression.
ㅤIn her hand was the hair of the female magician that I had brought back from the dungeon.
ㅤ
ㅤ”Yes. I heard that her party members were alive, so I thought I should give it to them.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”That is…… what should we do? Even for those who abandoned her, this incident must have left a scar on their hearts. I wonder if they will accept it readily.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”That is……”
ㅤ
ㅤCertainly, that might be the case.
ㅤEven though they had no choice but to abandon her, they must feel guilty.
ㅤI wondered if it was right to do something that might stir up those feelings……
ㅤ
ㅤ”We should consult the Magician’s Guild. They should take care of the funeral rites for their guild members.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Then, I’ll ask Shizu-san to—”
ㅤ
ㅤShizu-san shook her head as I started to speak.
ㅤ
ㅤ”No, I can’t take that on, unfortunately.
ㅤI understand you don’t want to stand out, but you’ll need to explain where the hair came from and the circumstances of her death. So, you’ll have to go directly.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Ahaha…… I, I see.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”You really laugh at strange times, Minato……
ㅤI’m a little worried, but this is the responsibility of the person who brought it back.
ㅤOf course, if you really don’t want to do it, you can pretend the hair never existed. No one will blame you. Including me, of course.”
ㅤ
ㅤI let out a small sigh at Shizu-san’s words.
ㅤ
ㅤ”Uu…… I don’t want to do that.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Then, you’ll have to do it. It’s alright. I’ll write a letter of introduction to the person in charge of the Magician’s Guild outpost…….Or, should I accompany you?”
ㅤ
ㅤ”I think that would be too conspicuous, so I’ll go alone…… Please give me the letter of introduction.”
ㅤ
ㅤAnd so, it was decided that I would visit the Magician’s Guild outpost.
ㅤ
ㅤI was nervous because of the nature of the matter……
ㅤ
ㅤ（Uu…… what if I start laughing?）
ㅤ
ㅤThinking about it made me want to laugh even more.
ㅤ
ㅤUsing the late hour as an excuse, I put off going to the Magician’s Guild tent until tomorrow and ran away to bed.
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ㅤ
ㅤ”Ahaha…… um, is Marianne-san here?”
ㅤ
ㅤThe next morning, I resolved myself and visited the tent of the Magician’s Guild outpost.
ㅤ
ㅤThe plaza in front of the dungeon wasn’t that large.
ㅤMoreover, the Magician’s Guild’s tent was completely black, so there was no way I could get lost.
ㅤ
ㅤWhen I entered through the open entrance of the tent, there was a counter right there.
ㅤIt wasn’t particularly different from the tents of the other guilds.
ㅤ
ㅤI called out to a girl in a flax-colored robe who was stifling a yawn at the counter.
ㅤ
ㅤ（Is she the receptionist?）
ㅤ
ㅤI thought, but,
ㅤ
ㅤ”Huh? That would be me?”
ㅤ
ㅤThe girl looked at me doubtfully.
ㅤ
ㅤIt seemed she was the person I was looking for.
ㅤ
ㅤ（She’s quite young, isn’t she?）
ㅤ
ㅤI’m often seen as younger than I am, but the girl in the robe in front of me was clearly younger than me.
ㅤProbably around 12 or 13 years old.
ㅤHer light pink-tinted blonde hair was styled in twintails.
ㅤHer eyes were a clear blue, and her face was more cute than beautiful.
ㅤ
ㅤBut, what caught my eye the most was,
ㅤ
ㅤ”Elf ears……”
ㅤ
ㅤI muttered without thinking and hurriedly covered my mouth.
ㅤ
ㅤ”Oh, my ears? Don’t worry about it too much. Everyone looks at them first.”
ㅤ
ㅤThe girl waved her hand, unconcerned.
ㅤ
ㅤ”As you can see, I’m an elf, so I’m older than I look. At least older than you…… probably.”
ㅤ
ㅤProbably?
ㅤ
ㅤ”Ahaha, um, are you Marianne-san?”
ㅤ
ㅤ”That’s what I’ve been saying, right? I’m Marianne Sy Alviss. I’m a magician belonging to the Magician’s Guild, in charge of this outpost. You can call me Arne.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Th-then, this……”
ㅤ
ㅤI handed her the letter of introduction from Shizu-san.
ㅤ
ㅤ”What’s this, from Shizu? I hear she’s been making a lot of money recently from auctioning drop items.”
ㅤ
ㅤMarianne-san read through the letter of introduction.
ㅤ
ㅤ（Her eyes move quickly.）
ㅤ
ㅤShe must be someone who reads a lot of books.
ㅤ
ㅤ”……I see. Her hair, huh?”
ㅤ
ㅤMarianne-san looked up and I handed her the hair of the female magician.
ㅤ
ㅤ”Yes, yes. This was her hairstyle. She was still young, but she was said to be a promising magician. She was a bit reckless, though. But she didn’t deserve to end up like this……”
ㅤ
ㅤMarianne-san said, looking down as she stroked the hair.
ㅤ
ㅤ”……Do you know how she died?”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Y-yes. But……”
ㅤ
ㅤ”It’s alright. Tell me. It will be a memorial for her.”
ㅤ
ㅤHesitantly, I explained to Marianne-san the state of the body when I found it.