Since Eriri, Darkness, and Eris hadn't participated in the war or slain any members of the Demon King's Army, their adventurer cards naturally weren't eligible for processing.
Before Eriri could say anything, Megumin, Elina, and Lilian had already taken the initiative to present their adventurer cards.
"Hehe, we've taken down so many of the Demon King's troops! I wonder if your guild even has enough Eris to pay us," Megumin boasted proudly, handing her card to the receptionist.
"Don't worry," the receptionist replied with a polite smile, accepting the card. "This is the royal capital's Adventurers Guild. We always have sufficient Eris reserves."
She didn't take Megumin's words too seriously, assuming she was just a rookie adventurer bragging after a few kills.
After all, Megumin looked far too young. How strong could someone her age possibly be?
Moreover, the news from the frontlines hadn't yet reached the guild. The receptionist had no idea that the Demon King's Army had already been completely routed.
However, when she glanced over Megumin's battle record, her expression instantly froze, her eyes widening in disbelief as though she had just witnessed something impossible.
"T-this… this many Demon King's Army soldiers—and even a Demon King's Army officer?!"
Seeing the stunned look on the receptionist's face, Megumin couldn't help bursting into triumphant laughter.
"Hahaha! See? I wasn't exaggerating! So, how much Eris do I get for all that?"
"R-right away, Lady Megumin. Please give me a moment," the receptionist stammered, her previous casual tone replaced by respectful deference.
Since adventurer cards displayed their owner's name, she already knew who Megumin was, even without an introduction.
The bounty for slaying an ordinary Demon King's Army soldier ranged from 100,000 to 1,000,000 Eris depending on their strength tier, while killing a commanding officer granted a staggering reward of 300 million Eris.
But no adventurer had ever slain a Demon King's officer before. That figure had always been theoretical—a placeholder reward that no one expected to ever be claimed.
This was the first time the receptionist had ever seen an adventurer card record the defeat of an actual Demon King's officer.
In truth, Megumin hadn't slain an officer during the recent battle—the entry referred to the Headless Knight she had defeated outside Axel long ago. Eriri's party hadn't reported that incident to the guild, so this was the first time anyone learned of Megumin's earlier accomplishment.
Now, with the card officially scanned, that long-hidden feat was finally revealed.
After tallying Megumin's records, the receptionist's hands trembled slightly as she read out the result.
"Lady Megumin, you have slain a total of 12,782 members of the Demon King's Army, including 76 high-level and 635 mid-level demons. Your total reward for these kills amounts to 1.606 billion Eris. Additionally, the slaying of one Demon King's officer grants an extra 300 million Eris."
"In total, you are entitled to receive 1.906 billion Eris."
As she spoke the number aloud, the receptionist swallowed hard.
Though such an amount was nothing to a kingdom, as a personal mission reward, it was beyond comprehension.
In all her years working at the guild, she had never seen anyone claim such an astronomical bounty at once.
Upon hearing it, Megumin's entire body tensed with excitement, her breathing quickening as she nearly fainted from joy.
Even though she was already a "small-time millionaire" with tens of millions of Eris, this near-two-billion fortune was enough to make her dizzy.
Next, the receptionist accepted Elina's and Lilian's adventurer cards. But when she checked their records, she gasped once again in shock.
Although the number of demons they had slain wasn't as high as Megumin's—who had annihilated armies with her repeated Explosions—the quality of their kills was another matter entirely…
Most of the demons Elina and Lilian had slain were mid- to high-ranking members of the Demon King's Army.
So although each of them earned less individually than Megumin, their combined total actually surpassed hers—amounting to an incredible 2.7 billion Eris each.
Including Elina's slaying of a Demon King's Army officer, the total combined reward for the three of them reached an astonishing fifty billion Eris.
"Please wait just a moment, honored guests. I'll go prepare your rewards right away," the receptionist said respectfully, bowing slightly before hurrying off to make arrangements.
By this point, only a few minutes had passed since Eriri's group had entered the Adventurers Guild, yet reports from the frontlines had already begun to reach the capital.
A few minutes later, the receptionist returned from the back office carrying a tray and approached Eriri's group.
"Honored guests, here is a fifty-billion Eris check, along with twenty-seven million, eight hundred and twenty thousand Eris in coin."
She extended the tray toward them, upon which lay a single large check and a gleaming pile of gold coins.
"Megumin, go ahead and take the money," Eriri said casually.
As usual, Eriri intended to entrust all their funds—both the check and the coins—to Megumin for safekeeping.
Although more than half of that fifty billion technically belonged to Elina and Lilian, neither of them objected to Eriri's arrangement.
After all, when they went shopping, they always stuck together anyway. Anything they wanted to buy could just be handled by Megumin—it even saved them the trouble of paying directly.
"Mhm!" Megumin nodded excitedly, accepting the tray without hesitation. She then promptly stored everything away without the slightest restraint.
A few days earlier, Eriri had already given Megumin a storage ring. Otherwise, carrying around so many coins would have been quite the ordeal.
After collecting their rewards, Eriri and the others decided not to leave the guild immediately. Instead, they chose to have lunch there.
It was their first time visiting the capital's Adventurers Guild, so of course they wanted to try the local cuisine.
They found a quiet table tucked away in a corner and settled down to eat.
...
As time passed, the number of adventurers inside the guild steadily increased. Most of them had just returned from the frontlines.
The first thing these adventurers did upon arriving was head to the counter to claim their bounties for slaying members of the Demon King's Army, quickly turning the once-quiet hall into a bustling scene.
Long lines formed in front of several counters, and the guild filled with lively chatter.
Everyone was talking about the same thing—the Demon King's Army's defeat, and the emergence of a new hero party.
Eriri and her group paid the commotion no mind, instead relaxing at their table and savoring the dishes piled high before them.
Although they had chosen a secluded corner, they couldn't escape the watchful eyes of other adventurers.
Many who had returned from the frontlines immediately recognized them. Word spread quickly, and soon, everyone in the guild knew that the group sitting quietly in the corner was none other than the hero party responsible for defeating the Demon King's Army.
Even before, Eriri's presence had always drawn attention. Now, knowing who she truly was, the stares she received were even more fervent.
Eventually, one particularly bold adventurer party finally mustered the courage to approach.
"Excuse me," said a voice. "Would you mind if we spoke for a bit? Everyone's been curious about the hero party that defeated the Demon King's Army~"
The speaker was a girl with long, straight black hair, dressed like a swordswoman. Her party consisted of three men and two women.
Eriri looked up at the black-haired girl and smiled softly.
"Of course, I don't mind. What would you like to talk about?"
Eriri was always generous toward cute girls. If the one speaking had been a man, her attitude might have been quite different.
Her gentle smile carried a dangerous charm—enough to make the swordswoman freeze in place, momentarily lost in a daze.
When she came back to her senses, the black-haired swordswoman suddenly found herself unable to meet Eriri's eyes directly.
Taking a deep breath, she steadied herself and said with conviction, "If I'm not mistaken, you must be the leader of your adventurer party, right?"
Even though Eriri hadn't fought on the frontlines, in the girl's view, Eriri's strength was definitely not inferior to Megumin or the others.
"You guessed right," Eriri replied with a nod.
"I knew it! Um… if it's not too presumptuous, may I ask—what's your adventurer rank? With such incredible power, it must be quite high, right?"
The swordswoman looked at Eriri with eager curiosity, and her teammates, along with several nearby adventurers who overheard, also turned their attention toward them.
Everyone wanted to know just how powerful this newly emerged hero party truly was.
Seeing the expectant expression on the swordswoman's face, Eriri's smile faded slightly, replaced by a calm and serious look.
"Since you know it's presumptuous," she said evenly, "then why ask?"
The swordswoman froze in place, caught off guard. A wave of awkwardness and embarrassment rushed through her as she fumbled for words.
"Uh… I just…"
Just as the girl was about to retreat, Eriri suddenly broke into a gentle laugh.
"Relax, I'm teasing you. Don't be so nervous~ Our strength doesn't really correlate with adventurer rank—it's not much of a reference point."
Eriri playfully winked at her, and that adorable expression struck the swordswoman like a direct hit, making her heart race wildly.
It took her quite some time to recover from the impact of Eriri's charm.
"Geez, you nearly scared me to death," the swordswoman said with a pout, rolling her eyes while patting her ample chest in mock frustration.
Perhaps it was Eriri's lighthearted attitude that eased her tension; the swordswoman suddenly felt much more comfortable talking with her.
"By the way," she said, "I heard from the receptionist that you came from Axel, right?"
"That's right," Eriri replied with a faint smile. "You must have spent some time there yourself, haven't you?"
"Yes, actually. Wait—how did you know that?" the swordswoman asked curiously.
Eriri simply smiled without answering.
The truth was, she had recognized the girl as a transmigrator at first glance. And for adventurers who'd been reincarnated or transported into this world, their first stop was almost always the beginner's town of Axel.
The swordswoman didn't press further, continuing to chat with Eriri about various Axel-related topics. As the conversation went on, her nerves gradually eased.
...
Half an hour passed quickly.
By then, Eriri had finished her conversation with the swordswoman, and their lunch was nearly over.
Since that swordswoman had successfully struck up a conversation with Eriri, several other adventurer teams had tried to follow her lead afterward.
However, after Eriri turned away a few of them with an expressionless look, the rest wisely gave up on their attempts, resigning themselves to silent admiration.
Just then, a commotion arose outside the Adventurers Guild. The doors opened, and several armored knights entered, led by a blonde female knight.
The woman scanned the hall briefly, and upon spotting Eriri and her group, her eyes lit up. She immediately strode toward them.
Reaching their table, the knight stopped and bowed deeply, performing a formal knight's salute.
"Honored guests, forgive us for disturbing your meal."
"Is something the matter?" Eriri asked casually, glancing up at the blonde knight.
Darkness, being the noble daughter of the prestigious Dustiness family of Kingdom of Belzerg, instantly recognized their attire.
"You're members of the Royal Knights, aren't you?"
"That's correct," the blonde knight confirmed with a respectful nod before continuing.
"This evening, a grand celebration banquet will be held at the royal palace. His Majesty the King wishes to invite all of you to attend as honored guests."
Hearing her words, Darkness, Megumin, and the others turned to look at Eriri, silently waiting for her response.
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