By the time we arrived back in the port city of Reblos, it was already evening. The entrance to the city seemed noisier than usual. Looking closely, a group wearing matching uniforms could be seen.

“I wonder what that is.”

Though I had a guess, I asked Rio, who was walking beside me.

“It might be the Imperial Army.”

“I figured. I just hope they can actually do something against the Sea Emperor Turtle.”

They had banners, but I didn’t recognize the Imperial flag.

“But the turtle is still far away, right? Are they planning to take a ship out to sea and attack from there?”

“There’s supposed to be a military facility at the port. Maybe they have some impressive warships.”

“That might be the case… but I won’t get my hopes up.”

“Should we stop by the guild?”

From land, the Sea Emperor Turtle still looked small, but there was no doubt it was getting closer. There was still time for the people to decide whether to stay and believe in a successful defense or flee before it was too late.

For that reason, the city didn’t seem to be losing many people just yet.

The presumed Imperial Army bypassed the city and headed toward the port. They likely had a separate route leading to the military facility to avoid causing a commotion in the city.

We made our way to the Adventurers’ Guild. Maybe because of the time, it wasn’t as crowded as it was in the morning.

“There are a lot of requests related to the Sea Emperor Turtle.”

Since it wasn’t packed, I casually checked the first-floor request board.

“Yeah. There are a lot of hunting requests for the eastern forest too… On the other hand, escort requests for ships have decreased.”

“Makes sense. With that thing out there, no one knows what might happen.”

“Alright, let’s head up to the second floor.”

As we were about to go up the stairs, I spotted Lowell coming down.

“Huh? Lowell?”

“Ah, perfect timing. We’ve been waiting for you.”

It seemed he had something for us. Meanwhile, a female adventurer nearby was looking at Nir with twitching hands. If she wanted to pet him, she was welcome to.

“Did something happen?”

“Yes. This isn’t the place to discuss it, though. Please, come to the third floor.”

Following Lowell, we bypassed the second floor and entered the usual meeting room on the third. This time, the guild master was present, sipping tea from his seat.

“Ah, good timing.”

“Hello.”

He raised a hand in greeting, so I nodded slightly and took a seat. Tea had already been prepared for us, and as soon as Lowell picked up his pen, the discussion began.

“I’ll get straight to the point. I want you two to take on this request.”

The request form placed before me called for adventurers to participate in the assault on the Sea Emperor Turtle.

“We don’t mind accepting, but…”

“Yeah… But are you sure about this?”

The listed requirements were for B-rank or higher adventurers with ranged attack capabilities. Since we were only C-rank, we technically didn’t qualify.

“That’s not an issue. I’ll be submitting it as a designated request from me.”

“I see… That’s going to make us stand out.”

“It can’t be helped. Kant specifically recommended you two.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

I didn’t see why a C-rank adventurer like Kant would be involved in a request meant for B-rank and higher.

“Oh, that. I asked Kant if there were any C-rank or lower adventurers who could match B-ranks.”

After hearing the details, I understood. Since Kant could use Appraisal, he had been asked to check if there were any capable lower-ranked adventurers.

“So that’s how our names came up.”

“Exactly.”

“Were there any other candidates?”

“Unfortunately, no. I had hoped there would be more, but…”

Ah, well, tough luck. There might be someone else out there, but I didn’t say anything.

“It is what it is. Adding weak members won’t help.”

“That’s true.”

“If the requirement is B-rank or higher, does that mean there will be S-rank adventurers participating?”

Rio asked a question I had also been wondering about. The only high-ranked adventurers we’d met so far were the B-rank group Fang of the Heavenly Wolf and the former A-rank guild master.

“Yes. There are two S-rank adventurers currently in the Empire, but we couldn’t reach one of them. Only one will be joining.”

Hmm. Still, we’d get to meet an S-rank adventurer.

“There will also be two A-rank adventurers and five B-rank adventurers.”

“And we’ll be part of that group?”

“That’s right.”

The plan was to split into two ships and flank the Sea Emperor Turtle. Even if an attack missed and sailed past the turtle, there was no land nearby, so we were told to go all out.

“If our attacks push it off course, that’s ideal. If it changes course toward us, that’s fine too.”

“Uh… Isn’t that bad for us?”

The guild master was casually saying some scary things. Rio and I could fly, but what about the others?

“No worries. If needed, they can abandon the ship. B-rank adventurers should be able to manage on their own.”

“Well, we’ll be fine, but I don’t know about the others.”

I shrugged, but the guild master didn’t seem concerned. Not my problem, so I let it go.

“By the way, can your familiar use ranged attacks?”

His gaze shifted to Nir, who was napping in the corner.

“Hard to say. He supposedly can use magic, but I’ve never seen him do it.”

“Yeah, I haven’t either.”

His stats were more physical-oriented, so I doubted he was skilled in magic.

“I see. That’s unfortunate, but it can’t be helped.”

He didn’t seem too disappointed and quickly regained focus.

“The operation is set for tomorrow afternoon. There will be a briefing in the morning, so be at the guild by then. I’m counting on you.”

“Understood.”

After receiving the designated request form, we left the guild to prepare for tomorrow.