9 Adventurers Guild (2/2)
”A ten-year-old capable of instantly stopping a fight between C-rank adventurers is something I find very interesting... wait, bandits? Did one of them have a scar across his face?” Her question seemed rather urgent.
”Yes, there was one like that. Not that it matters anymore. All of that bandit crew have been turned into ash several hours down the road.”
”They're dead? They've just been given a B-rank bounty two days ago. Against that group, I'd have to go all out... How did you defeat them?”
”Does it matter? I killed them all myself. The area is better off now. I can't say the same for poor Fenmore. He just lost his parents to them yesterday.” Seran looked over at the odd-eyed child, who was helping Etienne regain his bearings. Storm remained perched on the little boy's shoulder like a vigilant guard.
The guild master's expression softened upon hearing of Fenmore's circumstances as she looked at the boy. When she spotted the man he was helping, her eyes widened slightly as she flatly said, ”Is that Etienne Greenwood I see?”
Seran was about to answer, again, when Etienne quickly responded, ”Of course. Are you that surprised to see me, June?”
”Very surprised. After all, the last time you were here, old Theodore had to kick you out after you kept trying to hit on me for a week straight.”
Attempting to derail the direction of the conversation, the chief said, ”Right, what happened to old Theodore? I can understand how you became the guild master, so I don't need an answer for that.”
June frowned a little, ”A year ago, an A-grade catastrophe came up to the south. We don't have many A-ranks in the kingdom, and with Theodore being the only one we had here, he had to respond to the emergency summons. We got word not long afterward that the catastrophe was stopped via sealing. Several A-rank responders died, and quite a few disappeared during the chaotic battle. According to the survivors, Theodore and three other A-rank mages were casting a sealing spell while several others kept the catastrophe occupied. After the battle ended, the survivors came back to see what happened. The seal had been cast completely, with the entire area of the battle between and around the four mages being sealed off. Within the seal, everything was frozen, including the catastrophe's magic spells.”
Etienne blanked for a moment, ”Seal spell that freezes time within... isn't that the forbidden spell 'Four Skies Demon Seal'? Nobody should be able to use it! Let alone Theodore, even an Archmage wouldn't be able to cast that!”
”You'd be correct if not for one thing: of the four mages, two weren't human. One was an elf while another was a half-demon.” Seeing Etienne's dumbfounded expression, June continued, ”The elf was the one who knew the spell and how to replace the single caster problem with four separate casters. The half-demon had enough mana to make up for the missing mana they needed for the spell. So, technically, there isn't anyone that can castle it alone. Still, it means that Theodore is sealed as well. After we got the news, we had to decide on a new leader. As I was already the vice last year, I was almost unanimously chosen. I only became an A-rank six months ago.”
”Well, congratulations are in order, despite the circumstances... Anyway, let me introduce these three. This little one beside me is Fenmore Rhodes. The bird on his shoulder is our village's avian defender, Storm. The white-haired genius in front of you is Seran, who I'm reasonably sure is the strongest human in the village.” Etienne's last sentence earned June's astonishment as she looked at Seran, who shrugged casually. ”I'm almost 100% sure that he's already at the peak of C-rank, maybe even early B-rank.”
June had trouble pinning such capabilities on a small boy like Seran, but she had seen his reaction earlier so Etienne likely wasn't lying. ”I'd like to see what this genius can do, then.”
The white-haired boy grinned widely, ”I'll do my best!”