In a large room adorned with multiple trophies and the head of what appeared to be a griffon, a girl ran in, seeing the master reclining in his chair while looking at a floating screen in the center of the room.
The master was a gray-haired, stalwart man, for despite his advanced age, he had a better body than many young adventurers. The master looked away from the screen and saw the young woman giving him a slight smile.
"Is something wrong, my child?" the master asked with an affectionate suffix, as he usually did with everyone in the guild, seeing the girl's agitation.
"Master Rohan, it's Darwin and Finn, they're back!" the girl exclaimed.
"Oh, I see. Did something happen to them, or why are you so agitated?" the master asked.
"No, they're fine, just a few injuries," the girl said, causing Rohan to nod. "That's what they discovered that made me run all the way here!"
"Oh, since they discovered it? Did they discover an ancient mural?" the guild master asked jokingly, as he hadn't known it could be so important.
"We think so!" the girl revealed, surprising the guild master. "Amelia and the other receptionists are reviewing the photos right now on the first floor!"
"Take me there immediately," said Master Rohan, standing up from his chair, showing off his incredible height. He was so tall that he even had to duck when passing through doors.
Master Rohan followed the girl to the first floor where he saw Amelia and the other receptionists looking at the photos of the mural. He then turned to see Finn and Darwin sleeping, just to make sure they were okay.
"Amelia, my dear, what have you discovered?" Master Rohan asked.
"We believe it's a creation story about three monsters: goblins, harpies, and man-horses," Amelia said, handing the bracelet with the card to the master so he could examine the images. "We also believe they discovered the reason for the goblins' strange behavior. They took several photos of some goblins who had the ability to use magic."
"I understand…" the master said, looking at the images and then seeing Finn and Darwin asleep. "Take them to the medical room, make sure they are treated as quickly as possible… If this really is an ancient mural, we'll have to wake them up so they can take me there immediately."
The receptionists nodded quickly, taking Darwin and Finn downstairs to the medical room, while the master examined the images on Darwin's card.
…
Four hours had passed. The guild master had examined every last detail of the images on the mural and the camps. Beside him, Amelia and another receptionist were patiently waiting for orders.
"They took down seven bases, each containing goblins, hobgoblins, and ogres; two horse-women, a minotaur, and not to mention the seven magic-using goblins, one at each base. It's no wonder they haven't returned in three weeks; they've been very busy solving the goblin mystery," said Master Rohan thoughtfully.
"They took the trouble to investigate very literally," Amelia added, still looking at the images.
"How are they doing?" Master Rohan asked about Finn and Darwin's condition.
"The healing potions have already cured them completely. They just need to recover the lost sleep and the magic they spent," said the receptionist.
"...that's good. Let them rest for today. Grab some equipment from the storage room and leave it on their beds. Tomorrow morning we'll leave to see that mural," said Master Rohan, getting up from the table.
"Actually, Master, there's something else..." Amelia said, unsure how to approach the subject.
"Something else? What could it be this time?" Master Rohan asked.
"It's Finn... it seems he can talk now," Amelia said, surprising Master Rohan.
"Talk!? Didn't Merlin say he was cursed or something?" The teacher asked.
"No, if I remember correctly, Wizard Merlin said that Finn had lost most of his soul in a demon attack, but he never said anything about not being able to get it back," the receptionist said.
The teacher scratched his head in confusion, but in the end, he decided not to pay too much attention to the matter and simply accept that Finn could now speak. After all, this was better for him.
"Anyway, I have things to get ready. Make sure Darwin and Finn are okay for tomorrow morning," the teacher said goodbye, leaving Amelia and the receptionist sighing from exhaustion.
—
"So you just woke up and magically became conscious and could talk?" Amelia asked, raising an eyebrow and displaying her typical bored look as she served Finn breakfast.
"Yeah, that's exactly how it happened," Finn replied, eating an omelet.
"According to Finn, he doesn't remember much of the time he couldn't speak, but he still remembers the requests and, in some cases, the places where he went on missions. Which makes me wonder... does he remember the chocolate mission? I hope not," Amelia thought, blushing slightly.
Amelia sat right next to him and began asking him all sorts of questions about what he did on the mission and the places he explored. This lasted until Darwin arrived at the table, where Amelia scolded him for having a photo of her and for not having bought the magazine instead, so he could have helped her financially. The three of them talked for a few more minutes, where Amelia occasionally scolded them for things they had done wrong on the mission, such as recklessly entering a cave.
After an hour of talking among themselves, the guildmaster appeared at the guild doors wearing light armor and a backpack.
"I see you're already feeling energetic, hahaha," said Master Rohan, approaching quickly. "I don't think we've formally introduced ourselves, son. I am Rohan Stronghold, your guildmaster," said the guildmaster, patting Finn lightly, shaking him all over.
"Is it time, Master?" Amelia asked.
"That's right, we're leaving now. The sooner we get there, the better," the master said seriously.
"Leave? But if we only arrived yesterday, don't you think we need more rest?" Darwin asked quickly.
"HAHAHA, don't be stupid, son. Adventurers don't rest," the master said, grabbing Finn and Darwin and putting them over his shoulder so they wouldn't escape. "Okay, Amelia, we're leaving."
"We'll wait for you here, master," Amelia said politely. "Cristel will be angry when he arrives tomorrow," she thought, but after a few seconds, she simply shrugged.
—
The next day, the guild doors opened, revealing the figure of Cristel along with another group that had requested her help. They had just finished their mission and decided to return quickly because a member of the group had been injured in a fight against a wild boar.
"Take him to the infirmary. He just needs to rest for a while," Cristel ordered, without even looking at them, as she walked toward Amelia, who was recording the quests of other adventurers who were about to go out on a mission.
"Hey Amelia, how are you? Have you received any information from Finn and Darwin?" Cristel greeted, approaching casually.
"Oh, Cristel, it's great to see you! In fact, I do have some information about them," Amelia said, finishing recording the quest.
"Really? What is it? Where are they now?" Cristel asked.
"Well, they went out again… with the guild master," Amelia said, surprising Cristel.
"With Grandpa!? Why?" Cristel asked.
"Well..."
Amelia proceeded to tell her everything that had happened in the last few days, leaving Cristel stunned. She gradually grew angry because her grandfather didn't wait for her to go see the ancestral mural together. But she eventually regained her temper and rejoiced at Finn and Darwin's discovery.
'I knew my intuition was right about them. They're undoubtedly true adventurers. They're only Class D, but they've already managed to bring glory to the guild, not only by discovering the reason behind the goblins' behavior, but also by uncovering an ancient mural,' Cristel thought proudly. 'If only the others were this passionate.'
"It shouldn't take them more than a week to go there and back, according to what Darwin said, since this time it's a direct trip without monsters in between," Amelia said.
'I see. Finn and Darwin knew the master would want to see the ancient mural, so they decided to clean the area as much as possible. They're very considerate,' Cristel thought, getting all kinds of misconceptions.