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I felt like I hadn’t seen a Collegium request board in a long time. It made me feel like a bad adventurer to admit this, but in truth, this was the first time I had acted like a proper adventurer since my time in the border town of the Fraus Kingdom.

But now, in the capital, I felt more like a secret agent than an adventurer.

The good thing about the Collegium, from the highest to the lowest ranks, was that the requests available weren’t restricted by adventurer rank. If you had the money, you could take whatever you wanted. In the end, it was all about money. I wasn’t sure what use money would have in a world on the brink of collapse, but it would remain valuable until the very end.

It would be interesting to see just how long it would take before it lost its value. I doubted that a hunk of gold would be of much use right before everything fell apart. There would certainly be more demand for food than for gold. If someone bought up all the food now, they could become very rich in a few years.

As for me, I did not need money.

I took a quick look around and found one ridiculously profitable request. It was obviously a trap, but for me, it felt too good to pass up. As I mentioned before, I didn’t need money, but when presented with numbers like these, I always leaned toward the most efficient option. I remembered how, in RPGs, I would always find the most efficient way to earn money on the spot and immediately buy the most powerful equipment available.

I wasn’t sure if that was truly efficient, but that was just the kind of person I was. I was at an age where I wanted to defeat, overkill, or one-hit-kill the final boss with nothing but a normal attack.

So, this request, offering 10 large gold coins the equivalent of 100 million yen if converted, was too interesting to ignore. The fact that the task itself seemed easy (for me) was a bonus. And so, I took it.

◇◇◇

“As you can see, this is an S Rank quest. Considering you’re only a D Grade adventurer, Miss Fi, you will fail if you take this. Do you even have the money to take on an S Rank request in the first place?”

I handed over the request, and for some reason, the receptionist scolded me with a smile. After all, as she had just pointed out, I was about to accept a request far beyond my grade. And the required reception fee of one large gold coin was probably another reason most people hesitated to take it.

But, well, I had the money. So, I placed a large gold coin on the counter. The receptionist saw this and clutched her head as if she were about to faint.

“Are you insane?”
“I’m quite sane. I believe I can complete this request, which is why I brought it to you.”
“There are rumors that an ancient dragon exists in this area, but no one has seen it. Can you bring back the scales of such a legendary creature?”
“I didn’t want to disclose this, but I found something that proves its existence. So, if I can’t bring the scales, I’ll just give up.”

“I understand. Just don’t push yourself too hard. It’s always heartbreaking when someone as young as you dies.”
“I have no intention of dying, so don’t worry. More importantly, please keep it a secret that I accepted this request. I didn’t see the ancient dragon myself, and it would be troublesome if others found out I was only carrying its scales.”
“That’s… I won’t tell anyone.”
“Do you promise¹?”
“I do.”

After the receptionist gave me her word, I left the Collegium. I’d soundproofed our conversation, ensuring that no one around us overheard. The receptionist’s hesitation likely came from the fear that someone might have already caught wind of it, but there was no need to worry over that.

And if someone happened to overhear and was planning on interfering, then I was going to handle them as necessary.

“Well then, let’s go!”

With a quick wave, Lullus and I set off toward the ancient dragon.

◇◇◇

“That’s the case, so please give me a scale.”
“There are some that have fallen off over there.”
“I’ll help myself then.”

And just like that, my task was complete. It felt like one of those simple fetch quests in games. I doubted that anyone besides me had ever seen the ancient dragon looking so bewildered.

“I’m surprised to see that you’re still here,” I remarked.
“This is one of those quiet places that I can use until the world collapses.”
“I see your point. Normal people wouldn’t be able to come here in the first place.”
“I’m not planning on staying here until the end either… but I have to admit, it’s peaceful.”

The ancient dragon said, gazing off into the distance.

(Did something sad happen?)

I thought, but then decided it was best not to pry.

“I wasn’t planning on coming here, but you should be glad it was me this time. By the way, Mister Ancient Dragon, are you the kind of weak dragon that would die just from being caught in a volcanic eruption?”
“You sure know how to stir things up… But no, my attribute is fire. A puny volcano can’t harm me.”
“Then that’s great. This place might erupt soon. Or rather, it will erupt soon.”
“Maybe it’s because of you, but while I hold a grudge against them, I’m starting to pity the humans slightly.”
“I’m honored to hear that. Well, then, I suppose this is our last meeting. Stay well until our final day.”

With that, I bid farewell to the ancient dragon and leapt back into the sea of magma².

1. Robinxen: Everyone knows promises are legally binding and have absolute authority – actually no wait technically they do here, never mind me forgetting which story I am reading.
2. Robinxen: I don’t know what my brain was on but I read this sentence and thought it said she ended her zoom call with the dragon, some weird stuff is happening inside my head man.

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