62 – Meruru, Disappearing
Everything finally returned to its rightful place.
We would leave early in the morning for the guild, check the request board, and take on daily quests.
In the evening, we would receive the rewards for completed quests and indulge in delicious food on the streets.
It was an ordinary but truly missed lifestyle.
The guild had finished its building repairs and was completely back to normal, attracting even more adventurers than before.
There were also many adventurers who transferred here after hearing the rumor that the guild master had changed in other areas.
It was quite surprising that the reason for their transfer was not for the management but because of the popularity of the guild master, Algot.
Even Tina, whose expression was so exhausted that it could tire anyone, seemed brighter with each passing day.
The dark circles under her eyes, which could have turned her into a raccoon if they got any darker, had lightened significantly.
Freed from the hellish paperwork, Tina was gradually regaining the appearance of the saintly figure she once was.
One day, as soon as I entered the guild, Tina called out to me.
“Miss Yunoa! Something big has happened!”
She seemed unusually anxious.
“What’s going on?”
“Meruru hasn’t shown up for work!”
“What do you mean?”
“She’s never done this before, she didn’t come to work and she disappeared somewhere. Have you seen her?”
“No, I haven’t…”
Tina was visibly disturbed and genuinely concerned.
Meruru.
She is a merfolk who came from the Helvetika Island to the continent in search of her sister.
She seemed too innocent to survive on her own, so she asked Tina for help and got a job as a receptionist.
Taking advantage of her merfolk status, she became the guild’s representative for dealing with different races, and she had become quite popular, like a mascot for the guild.
But it was definitely worrying that she suddenly didn’t show up for work and disappeared.
Although she was part of the guild, being a rare merfolk meant that if she strayed too far from Kubel, she could become a target for slave traders.
“Where does Meruru usually stay?”
“She rented a small room nearby and lives there. I introduced her to it. But it seems like she’s not there, and she didn’t come to the guild either. I asked everyone who came to the guild, but no one has seen her.”
“Is there any clue at all?”
In response to my question, Tina thought hard and then spoke.
“As you know, I gather information about merfolk related to the guild separately for Meruru. Recently, there have been rumors that merfolk surrounded by monsters have been spotted somewhere…”
“The Sirens surrounded by demons?”
“It’s an uncertain account. It’s like a rumor that someone saw a human with a tail being chased by demons in one place, or saw a human with ears being surrounded by demons in another place.”
The reason Meruru came to the continent was to find her sister.
The guild was providing Meruru with information about the Sirens, starting from the goodwill of helping her find her sister.
But if Meruru had disappeared, there was only one possibility I could think of.
“Did she go to find her sister after hearing that rumor?”
But Tina shook her head.
“There have been many rumors like this about the Sirens before. But later, they turned out to be false. It was either accounts of demons resembling Sirens, or misperceptions of shadows. This rumor is also of that level. But it doesn’t seem like she suddenly disappeared without saying anything to find her sister.”
“Hmm….”
If Tina’s words were true, it was definitely strange that Meruru had suddenly disappeared.
She was a simple but somewhat peculiar person, so her actions were not easily predictable.
“What’s going on since this morning?”
At that moment, Algot appeared as the door behind the counter opened.
“Oh, Master, are you here?”
“I’m always in my office.”
So the guild had an office where the Master worked.
It was different from someone who had gone crazy with potion distillation.
“Meruru didn’t come to work today. She’s not at home either.”
Tina said to Algot with an anxious expression.
“Is it an unauthorized absence?”
Algot narrowed his eyes and spoke in a low voice.
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Tina’s expression instantly changed to a surprised one.
“The reason we kept the exclusive counter for the different race was because Meruru would help with the guild’s reputation. It would be difficult for me if it suddenly disappeared.”
“Well…”
It felt as if a subordinate was witnessing a scene where the superior was scolded right before their eyes.
Just as the uncomfortable atmosphere was starting to be felt, Algot spoke again.
“If she’s not at home, is she missing? Any idea where she might have gone? Have you asked all her acquaintances?”
“I’m currently looking into it, but no one has seen her,” Tina answered, slightly bowing her head.
“If there’s no news by lunchtime, put out a request in the afternoon. I’ll be the client. Set the reward at 30 gold.”
“What?”
“You didn’t hear me? I’m telling you to put out a request to find and safely bring back Meruru. Make it a continuous request, not a one-time thing.”
“Oh, yes. Understood.”
Algot gave Tina an indifferent look and swiftly went back into his office, closing the door behind him.
Thinking that he was creating a slightly uncomfortable atmosphere by bluntly asking about unauthorized absence, I thought he was planning to get rid of Meruru.
Tina seemed a little surprised too, as she rested her hand on her chest and took a deep breath.
“Is Algot always at the guild?”
I asked Tina in a low voice.
“Yes, ever since his office was completed, he’s always at the guild. He even takes his meals there.”
“I was surprised earlier. I thought Meruru was going to be fired.”
“I feel the same way. But I never thought they would directly request to find Meruru…”
“But what does ‘Standing Request’ mean?”
Earlier, Alcott had told me to put in a standing request instead of a regular one.
There must be something different about it.
“Ah, it means a request that is carried out without a specific commission. You know that the master is from the Pippenelle Capital, right? They use this method a lot over there. It’s like a bounty, if you will.”
“So, all we have to do is find Meruru without taking any commissions?”
“That’s right.”
Indeed, it’s a good method for finding a missing person.
With a regular request, once an adventurer takes it, no other adventurer can take the same request at the same time.
But with the standing request method that Tina mentioned, every adventurer who visits the guild can participate.
Of course, it may lack the expertise and focus compared to a regular request, but in the current situation where we don’t know where Meruru is, it’s the most optimal.
And on top of that, the guild master personally put up 30 gold for the request.
I wonder if Alcott is unexpectedly fond of his employees.
“Tina, I have a favor to ask.”
“Please, go ahead.”
“Can you tell me all the rumors about the merfolk that Meruru mentioned?”
Meruru’s disappearance is bothering me too.
Not only am I personally worried, but if it becomes a guild request, there’s no reason for me not to go and search for her.
Tina denied that Meruru had gone to find her sister, but no matter how much I think about it, there didn’t seem to be any other reason for her to disappear.
First, it seemed more likely to gather as much information as possible about the merfolk that Meruru had consistently been in contact with, and search for clues, rather than aimlessly wandering around.
“I can tell you, but… I think I need some time to organize my thoughts.”
“I’m sorry to bother you when you’re busy, but can I ask you for a favor?”
“These days, I can’t really say I’m busier than before. I’ll finish quickly and let you know.”
Tina immediately took out a blank piece of paper from the nearby shelf and started writing something down quickly.
* * *
Meruru didn’t return to the guild until lunchtime.
A constant request to find Meruru, as instructed by Algot, was posted on the bulletin board.
The reception desk exclusively for this species was temporarily closed.
From now on, the adventurers of this species who Meruru used to handle had to go to the general reception desk for their tasks, just like before.
The faces of the adventurers of this species entering the guild showed a noticeable expression of disappointment.
Is this how it feels when an attractive part-time job suddenly quits?
Seeing that, it seemed clear that Meruru’s presence had quietly been helping with the guild’s operations.
I carefully read through the information about the aquatic species that Tina had given me.
Since it was not official information, but a compilation of rumors circulating among people, there were many strange things.
“A shadow resembling a giant aquatic creature flew across the sky and disappeared to the north on a night when the full moon was out? What is this….”
-I saw a peculiar species with nine tails glowing and hiding in the grass.
-While cutting trees in the forest, I heard a meowing sound from the sky and saw a shadow resembling a cat-human passing by.
-After drinking alcohol and returning home, my wife had ears and a tail, but they disappeared the next day.
“There are all sorts of bizarre rumors.”
There must have been a reason why Tina denied that Meruru went to find her sister.
No matter how foolish Meruru may be, she wouldn’t be stupid enough to hear such a ridiculous rumor and go out looking for her sister.
It seems that the old information is meaningless….
I looked through the most recent information about the Merfolk that Tina had organized and handed to me.
-While resting on the western 3rd Trade Road, Sangdan almost got attacked by demons, but when he turned around to escape, he saw that the demons were chasing after a different target. According to witnesses, the creatures being chased had ears and tails and were a strange species that ran on all fours.
And another rumor around the same time.
-While hunting in the southwest Halberry Forest, I saw the demons gathering in a circle as if performing a ritual. It was getting dark, so I couldn’t get close and had to sneak away, but in the midst of the demons’ circle, there was the shadow of a human with large ears. I couldn’t see it clearly from a distance.
At least it’s a rumor worth considering.
However, the information is too scarce, and the two rumors contradict each other, so the credibility is low.
Should I exclude the possibility of going out to find my sister, as Tina suggested?
“The guild receives all sorts of strange rumors.
Most of the rumors related to the Merfolk that are floating around are false rumors.
But the last two rumors that Yunoa confirmed were actually witnessed events.”
At that moment, the narration confirmed the truth of the rumors.
If they are the last two rumors… the incident on the 3rd Trade Road and the rumor in the Halberry Forest.
But can’t the contents of the two rumors coexist?
One says that the Merfolk are being chased by demons, and the other says that the demons are gathering around the Merfolk as if in a ritual.
If both rumors are true, then could one of them have seen it wrong?
Furthermore, there was no evidence that the witnessed Merfolk were Meruru’s sister, let alone the same species.
Even I, who confirmed the truth of the rumors through the narration, had doubts about whether this was the Merfolk.
Meruru didn’t seem like she would suddenly act upon hearing such rumors.
“Senior? What are you doing here?”
As I sat on a chair near the guild, lost in thought, I heard a familiar voice from behind.
When I turned around, Selphee had her eyes wide open, looking at me.
* * *