Danmachi: A Despicable Stranger

Chapter 38: Reasons for being lazy at work

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Arriving at the Adventurer's Guild Hall, Izzy squeezed through the bustling crowd, taking in the lively chatter and flurry of activity. Instead of heading straight to the guild counter to consult middle-level intelligence, he made his way to the bulletin board.

At the very top, the most prominent notice immediately caught his eye:

[Request to search for adventurers missing in the middle level. Specific floor: __. Number of individuals: __. Appearance details are as follows...]

Despite its prominence, everyone in the hall understood the grim reality behind such requests.

Though officially labeled as "missing," when an adventurer vanished in the dungeon, the likelihood of their survival was vanishingly slim. The posting of such commissions was less about practical recovery and more a symbolic gesture—a way for comrades or families to cling to a sliver of hope.

Izzy bypassed the missing person notice, his attention shifting to the various other commissions pinned to the board. These requests came from adventurers and Familia alike, covering an array of tasks:

Procuring specific dropped items.

Venturing to certain floors to gather rare resources.

Investigating the causes behind unusual dungeon phenomena.

The diversity of tasks was staggering—requests covered nearly every conceivable aspect of adventuring.

At the bottom of the bulletin board, however, were some seemingly incoherent postings. These weren't formal commissions, nor did they indicate compensation or even the identity of whoever posted them. They seemed to exist purely as conversation starters, oddities to spark curiosity over a drink.

[Occasional beautiful singing has been heard in the dungeon's lower areas. It may be a rare sub-human monster of an unconfirmed species.]

[An unexplored area has been discovered in the middle level. Directions are as follows. Interested parties may contribute additional findings.]

[An abnormal event resembling that of the upper levels has been observed. Reports include star-like brilliance and intense vibrations. Fellow adventurers, please take note.]

"Huh?"

One notice stood out to Izzy, drawing his attention with an odd mix of curiosity and guilt.

"Abnormal event resembling the upper levels... star-like brilliance... strong vibrations?"

Izzy awkwardly scratched his nose and looked away, suppressing a cough.

"Why does this feel like it's about me?"

He knew why. Over the past few days, he'd been testing out his newly developed magic like a kid playing with firecrackers. Spells with names like Starfall and Heaven Moves Everything probably weren't subtle...

Cough, cough... Anyway!

His eyes moved on to another peculiar notice.

"The song in the lower levels? Hmm, that's probably the singing bird from the xenos."

He was fairly certain of this. The xenos—intelligent monsters that defied the dungeon's norms—were now hiding safely in the lower levels under the protection of the guild's chief god Ouranos and the sage Fels.

Notices like this, though strange, were often laughed off by most adventurers.

With a slow, methodical scan of the board, Yize sifted through information irrelevant to his immediate concerns. Eventually, a specific commission caught his attention:

[A rare monster, a pterosaur, has been sighted on the 15th floor of the middle level. It is suspected to be an strengthen species. Senior adventurers are needed to subjugate it.]

The dungeon's middle levels spanned floors thirteen to twenty-four, a dangerous stretch for all but experienced adventurers.

And the term "Strengthen species" piqued Izzy's interest.

An Strengthen species referred to one of the dungeon's many anomalies. Occasionally, the dungeon would spawn unique monsters with a peculiar ability:

The power to devour magic stones to grow stronger.

The magic stone—a core harvested by adventurers and integral to a monster's life—was what these creatures fed upon to increase their strength. This made them not only a threat to adventurers but also a predator to other monsters.

Such creatures were feared and known as strengthen species.

These special monsters are of uncertain origin, and their only defining trait is whether or not they possess the talent to devour magic stones and grow stronger.

But without exception, on the same floor, they all possess unrivaled strength. The longer they survive, the more terrifying their strength will become.

"An Strengthen species? This is really lucky…"

Before, Izzy had been contemplating how to upgrade himself. He didn't expect such an opportunity to deliver itself to him so conveniently.

As the saying goes, when you're feeling sleepy, someone brings you a pillow.

The initiator of this crusade commission was the Adventurer's Guild Headquarters, so the authenticity of the information could be trusted. The notice had just been posted yesterday.

This meant the pterosaur, suspected to be an strengthen species, must have appeared very recently, and its strength had not yet fully matured. Otherwise, the adventurer who encountered it would most likely not have made it back alive to deliver the news.

After carefully examining the details of the expedition commission, which were not fully disclosed, pterosaur already had a clear plan in mind for his next course of action.

---

"Wow—Eina! Today's work is so exhausting. Why do these adventurers always have so many annoying questions? It's such a pain dealing with them!"

"Hey, I'm at work right now, so don't chat with me."

Eina, who was seated on a chair by the window, gave a calm but pointed reminder to the human girl, Misha, who was whispering beside her.

Although Eina couldn't deny that Misha had a point, this sort of thing wasn't something you said openly while working.

There were plenty of adventurers who often loitered in the guild hall, blatantly flirting with the clerks in broad daylight as if it were perfectly normal. But openly complaining about it during work hours? That was asking for trouble.

What if someone overheard you? Wouldn't you be worried about them using it against you?

Don't you know that trouble stems from the tongue?

"Honestly, Eina, if you keep being so serious all the time, you'll never get a boyfriend in the future…" Misha sighed dramatically, as though her concern was heartfelt.

Eina adjusted her glasses in response, the corners of her lips curling into a faint smile. Her gaze was soft, almost maternal, as though she were looking at a misbehaving child.

"So, is this your excuse for being lazy at work? Be careful, or you might end up with a salary deduction~"

"…"

That single retort was enough to silence Misha, whose expression turned bitter as she reluctantly got back to work.

Watching Misha's begrudging compliance, Eina turned her attention back to her own tasks. However, she couldn't help but sigh inwardly to comfort herself.

It's okay, she thought. Misha is only seventeen—still very young. She has plenty of time to find a boyfriend.

And if it were Eina, her ideal partner would probably be someone younger, someone she could look after in daily life, and naturally, someone handsome…

After all, what girl hasn't fantasized about her dream partner?

Even if she didn't usually show it, Eina wasn't immune to these thoughts.

She was still a young woman, after all.

---

"Hey! Eina! I just saw a super handsome guy—"

"Huh?"

Hearing Misha's drawn-out exclamation, Eina instinctively looked up.

Seeing her friend's excitement, she couldn't help but feel curious and followed her gaze.

A young blond adventurer was strolling through the guild hall, likely searching for the staff member responsible for him.

But why did he look so familiar?

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