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14 people.

Humans with entirely different appearances and atmospheres, completely incompatible.

They were looking at us.

The first glance was exploratory, the next was evaluative, and the last was tinged with satisfaction and disappointment.

A mix of emotions swirled, making my head spin. Attention from others is burdensome and perilous when it’s not time to perform.

Skylar spoke first.

How can you initiate conversation in such a heavy atmosphere? …I felt a bit jealous.

“Does everyone have experience with large-scale hunts?”

“…Is the slowest one really the first to start with questions?”

“I apologize for my rudeness, but when it comes to large-scale hunts, the experience of the leader, sub-leader, and manager is generally the most important. If you lack experience, frankly, I want to back out.”

Jumping straight into an argument without even introducing themselves.

Those wizards are all socially awkward individuals, so the adventurers caught in the argument reacted as if to say, ‘Well, here it comes.’

Rather than getting angry, they maintained a nonchalant attitude. In short, they were indifferent.

Parties with wizards seemed to engage in such scenery and conversations as if they were nothing but daily occurrences. Even prideful adventurers moderated their feelings in front of wizards.

‘…I’m not sure if they want to adjust their feelings.’

The 16 members needed for the quest had already been filled, and with only a day left until departure, could we release a wizard and find another one?

Naturally, the answer was ‘we can.’

The reason was simple. This city had a Mage Tower, and many wizards were interested in the magic bound to the Witch of the West.

If they wanted to, they could easily expel Skylar from this raid and replace her with another wizard within a day.

Yet why did Skylar initiate an argument the moment they encountered each other?

The answer is just as simple.

‘Because I’m here.’

Look at me. The only proper armament I had was a dagger, and what was usable were just my looks and voice. But… one can see an instrument on my back.

In other words, I was a bard beyond any doubt.

Here’s a question.

How rare is a profession that engages in ‘dangerous missions’ enough to earn a silver badge, can draw against a silver badge adventurer solo, and possesses the ability to support or heal others?

‘…If you don’t know, remember. Healers are nobility.’

It’s not a figurative expression. Healers are literally nobility.

Abilities for support and healing are exceedingly rare.

Magic fundamentally focuses on altering, transforming, or utilizing objects. Conversely, divinity and recovery, support revert objects themselves.

If magic is roughly imitated, regeneration might be possible, but the consumption of magical power is entirely different. To put it simply, the fuel efficiency isn’t good.

So one might think, why not just ask a clergy member?

‘But… clergy members generally don’t dive into dangerous jobs, and a consecrated priest is treated the same as a noble’s junior knight.’

Is it common for a younger sibling from a minor noble family to risk their life as an adventurer? Of course not.

Well… if it’s a monk, they’re treated like a freeman, so that’s a different story, but once those individuals accumulate experience after their pilgrimage and receive formal ordination, they become priests just the same.

There’s no need to delve into risky endeavors.

‘In other words, since I, one of Skylar’s party, looks like a healer or supporter, they cannot expel us.’

While it’s possible to obtain one wizard from the Mage Tower, finding a supporter and healer capable of providing healing, buffs, and debuffs might take quite some time.

Skylar had informed me that for a party of 16, 4 support jobs were essential.

A moment of silence passed, and conversation resumed.

“If we’re talking about experience with large-scale quests, then we all have it. What about you?”

“I’ve done it about four times, and the fellow next to me is doing it for the first time.”

“…Your party member is a bard, huh?”

“For now, yes.”

“What’s the extent of your capabilities?”

“Just a moment.”

Skylar approached me and whispered in my ear.

It felt a bit ticklish, and for some reason, my face flushed red.

I bent my knees slightly to match his height, yet somehow, I felt like a child while he felt like an adult.

Taking a deep breath, I focused on his voice.

“How much can you do?”

“…How much would it enhance if I used roughly a third of my magical power?”

“The melody may not be very efficient, but it’s definitely better than magic… Simply put, it can enhance about 25%. What’s the range?”

“As long as the melody can be heard, I think there won’t be any problems. I’m not certain, but that’s the feeling I have.”

“I’ll trust you. Does recovery consume a similar amount?”

“Probably, yes.”

I wasn’t entirely sure. I was merely trusting my instincts.

Ever since I received this lute… perhaps from the moment I played in front of the Adventurer’s Guild table… or when I listened to the music I created alone in my room.

I felt as though I already knew.

I play along as my body leads me and speak as my mouth tells me to.

I’ve said it dramatically, but it’s just a poorly laid-out reasoning that seems like it might work—whether it would actually proceed as planned in the field remains uncertain.

Skylar stepped back from my ear and continued his explanation.

“The range applies to all of us, and the enhancement allows 2 boosts; recovery can be done a maximum of 3 times.”

“That sounds good.”

“Well, the quest grade is what it is. A silver badge means those who have surpassed beginner status, right?”

“More than half of those who go about calling themselves adventurers bear a silver badge. It’s better to have fewer ruffians.”

“So, what about the time to join and the strategy? The location of the quest is indicated. Are they moving as a group?”

“Here’s a simplified map and plan. Take it.”

“Okay.”

“Review it, and we’ll depart at the same time tomorrow.”

Skylar accepted two sheets of paper and then took my hand.

I was pulled along as he tugged, and just like that, we went upstairs to the second floor of the guild.

*

The second floor of the guild was serene. Compared to the number of people congregated on the first floor, it was surprisingly quiet. Did they perhaps rent the entire building for a large-scale quest?

More importantly, it seemed Skylar had forgotten something crucial.

“We didn’t rent our room.”

“That’s okay.”

“Huh?”

Skylar roughly pulled me along. I could have resisted if I wanted to, but it didn’t feel necessary, so I trailed behind him in quick steps.

The stride of a child is relatively short, so even at a quick pace, our feet were close enough to bump into each other after just a few steps.

Thanks to that, when I was following closely, I sometimes had to slow down a bit or stop for a moment to match his pace.

For some reason, it felt a bit… strange. My ears felt warm.

My heart thudded. This isn’t… it’s not just a strange feeling. I was actually feeling my body temperature rise. My chest started to ache.

I thought it might be good to rest a bit once I got into the room. And I need to find a way to ensure my clumsiness or narcolepsy doesn’t activate during the quest tomorrow…

—Thud.

And just like that, consciousness was cut off.

Skylar turned around.

I saw Selina, with her eyes closed, about to collapse to the floor, and Skylar hurriedly moved behind her to support her waist with both hands and steady her body.

Even the first time we met, she had suddenly collapsed like this.

‘Once she collapses, she won’t wake up for about 1 to 3 hours regardless of what happens.’

It might be best to postpone explaining the details of the hunt until she regains consciousness.

In the first place, it seemed like she wasn’t even fully aware of the extent of her abilities as a bard, so preparing a magic supplement and using it for testing might not be a bad idea.

Since we still had a grace period of 24 hours before the hunt began, there was plenty of time.

I needed to replenish the scrolls, so it would be fine to buy the supplements while going to the Mage Tower.

‘I hope she won’t collapse during the quest…?’

Considering she hasn’t acted unexpectedly or shown signs of narcolepsy in genuinely life-threatening situations thus far, it’s clear that whoever cursed her put significant effort into watching over her.

That organization that had likely used her as a test subject was probably planning to observe her for quite a while while keeping her alive.

However, one point did bother me… this troublesome method isn’t typical of the Mage Tower, Church, Empire, or even the Mad King.

‘In any case, I need to test the performance and efficiency of my music once she wakes up.’

Causing trouble during a large-scale quest doesn’t just end in failure; it leads to a name being posted on the notice board.

I must avoid that.

In any case, Skylar had another purpose in mind.

A belated family reunion goal.

The goal of finding a body to replace his heart.

Even if it meant facing a past he wished to avoid, there were things he needed to do.