A lot of the adventurers looked shocked for a moment before returning to their discussions but if one were to pay attention they would notice that at least one from every table still had their eye on him. Should a person look through the Adventurer’s Guild roster they would see the people that were eyeing Ajax were in fact the party leaders and the parties were some of the long established ones. This didn’t mean that they were all that much stronger, just more experienced and plugged in.
“Sorry about that, the branch manager here told me he would like a few words with you when you came in.” she said and waved for him to follow her.
Ajax was a bit apprehensive at this, but considering that the branch manager even for a backwater area had to be at least as strong as a commander of the guards choosing to dodge the meeting might very well be the worst move he can make.
The receptionist led him down the corridor behind the reception desk, past the few offices that anchored them on either side and to the big door that said branch manager. The receptionist went ahead and knocked on the door then waited.
“Come in.” a rather soft voice answered from the other side.of the door.
Entering after the receptionist Ajax saw a woman that looked to have been in her mid thirties back on Earth sitting behind a neat desk that had quite a few paper stacks on it. Her clothing looked casual but the staff leaning against her chair let Ajax know that she might very well be stronger than commander Grievous, making her the strongest permanent resident in the city.
“What is it?” The tone of her voice somehow conveyed both happiness at something disrupting the boring monotone work she had been doing but also annoyance at having been interrupted.
“Young Mr. Ajax has come to register, you asked to have him come meet you when he came in.” the receptionist answered.
The branch manager's face scrunched up in confusion for a second before recognition crossed her features and she smiled. “ Ah yes, thank you Sophie you can leave us.”
“Have a seat Mr. Ajax.” she offered him with a wave towards one of the two chairs on the other side of the desk.
“Could I ask why I’m here?” he said as he cautiously took a seat.
“You don’t know?” She seemed surprised at that. “Then again they did say you left right away, I guess news didn’t trickle down.”
Ajax was starting to get more and more nervous, who was keeping track of him and why? Did he give himself away when he used his magic so publicly at the end to help Tom? All these questions were swirling around in his mind as he looked at the branch manager.
“In that case I’ll try to give you a broad explanation of what happened.” She nodded to herself. “First some context, as you are clearly aware from the fact that you’ve kept your mana skills so well hidden the noble families have been extra dedicated to finding talented personnel as of late, mana being an especially valued ability but not the only one.”
“What you may not know is that for every landed Baron in the kingdom there are anywhere between three and five unlanded barrons that live in the same area, the idea for this being healthy competition to improve the life of the common people and adhere to laws as replacing which family is landed can happen quite easily unlike removing the noble title.”
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Ajax did find this interesting, he also thought that while such a system might be quite good at keeping the nobles in check it could also lead to tragedy depending on how far some families might go to take over. What he didn’t understand was how this applied to him.
“How does this affect you?” the branch manager smiled as his reaction told him she guessed his question correctly. “ As you well know the skirmish was led by the current landed baron’s heir, the heir of another landed baron with whom he is on friendly terms as well as the daughter of one of the archdukes. What you might not be aware of is that all the other baron families in this territory have sent people to scout during this little war in hopes of finding talents to draw into their own families.”
Ajax didn’t like the way the conversation was going. Hatchet had told him that usually branch managers were appointed with their neutrality and loyalty to the guild’s law in mind but it had happened that some were corrupted afterwards, especially in backwater regions such as this one.
“Considering the amount of time that passed since the last skirmish, the pool of talents was deeper than it had been for a few decades. Talents who show themselves in battle are often harder to polish but more valuable than those who excel in training and get picked up that way.”
“You were up there yourself for your infiltration and hunting skills, at your age there was going to be a battle for who could recruit you. But then you showed magic on the last day right after you were discharged. This moved you from high priority to a must have in the eyes of all the local barons.”
“Is that why I’m here?” he asked with a bit of trepidation sneaking into his voice.
“No. Your little show at the end also happened to attract the attention of the archduke’s daughter and her friend. A short questioning of your brother and his commander gave them a more clearer picture of what you’ve been up to the past few years. With the recommendation of the commander they acted to tip the scales.”
“How so?” Ajax was starting to calm down a little once he heard that a recommendation from the commander had affected the action of the two noble girls.
“They made it very clear that none of the nobles in the area are to interfere with your freedom to join the Adventurer’s Guild. They also decided to take this a step further in order to help you start, which is where we have a small problem.” she said.
“A problem?” ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝✶𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮✶𝓷𝓮𝓽
“Yes, you see they tried to get me to waive your entry examination. This is something that will not be happening as I take pride in knowing that every adventurer passed by my branch has the bare minimum according to their allotted rank.”
Ajax relaxed at hearing the situation was much more favorable than he expected, he almost regretted avoiding the two noble girls for the few months they were part of the same army, almost. “I have no problem earning my own spot.” Ajax said with conviction.
“No you probably won’t, Grievous already told me that. The issue comes with what the two girls did when I told them I wouldn’t be waiving your examination.” she waved her head as she felt the headache return from a few days ago.
“You see, in order to help you for all the help you gave them they left a small incentive for whatever party you decide to join for your first few entries into the dungeon.” her smile wavered as her eyes unfocused thinking of the aftermath of that incentive. “ As you can imagine the favorable impression of two important families in the capital caused quite a stir in our little town which means that nearly all the teams are going to be trying to recruit you.”
Ajax wasn’t sure what to say about the little gift he had been given. On the one hand he felt a bit resentful of the fact that he wouldn’t be recruited for his skill. On the other hand, this gave him an opportunity to join a good group with which he can push himself to start growing with the explosive rates all adventurers have when they first start delving.
“Okay, but why are you telling me all this?” Ajax couldn’t see any reason for this little sit down.
“This was a suggestion of the commander, according to him you are paranoid enough that having every team trying to recruit you as soon as you join would cause you to distrust them. This in turn would lead to a huge mess with all the teams trying to recruit you regardless of your stance, a mess I would have to clean up. Being upfront about all this is just the best way to go.”
“Is there a team you would suggest I join?” Ajax asked, he did want to see what the manager's opinion would be even if he wouldn’t follow it blindly.
“Oh no. First of all as the branch manager I am to be neutral in all aspects affecting the guild, and the decision you make definitely will affect the guild at least locally. Second, while you may be qualified you have to pass both the questioning and the test before you are officially a member.” As she was speaking Ajax felt her mana fluctuate and pass into a device on the desk.
As soon as she was done a short knock came from the door, this time the receptionist didn’t wait for an answer before she opened the door and entered. She must have called her in and that means this meeting is at an end.
“Sophie if you could take Mr Ajax to start the application process please.” she waved them off but spoke again as Ajax reached the door. “While I cannot give you suggestions on which team to join, other staff members are under no such restrictions. Good luck Mr Ajax.”