"We need to seek help." Adam said after arranging the tasks, "This town is large, and with that person constantly hiding in the shadows, it will be very difficult to find them."
Even with the 〔Perception〕 skill, in this large, unusual town, he still couldn't locate Hans's exact position.
Kazuma pinched his chin and began to think carefully, "Indeed, we'll have to rely on this town's Adventurer's Guild."
"Eh...?" Hearing his words, Adam was stunned for a moment and asked, "Does this town actually have an Adventurer's Guild?"
"Eh? Isn't that obvious?" Kazuma looked at him with confusion.
Forgive him for not knowing!
Who would have thought that in Arcanletia, the headquarters of the Axis Cult, there would actually be an Adventurer's Guild?!
"Well then... Aqua, we'll rely on your talents that never seem to be useful. Using Kazuma's description, draw that Devil King's Army member, can you do that?"
"What do you mean 'talents that never seem to be useful'?!" Aqua complained indignantly, but she still accepted the task, "This time, my talents are being put to good use, right?"
"Kazuma-san, please do your best to describe him clearly so Aqua can draw him."
"Okay, I got it." Kazuma closed his eyes and began to recall carefully. After a while, he suddenly said, "Um... sorry, right now I can only remember that voluptuous big sister. I seem to have forgotten what that man looked like."
"Hey—!!!" x6
This man was unbelievably vulgar. Did he only remember that beautiful big sister and her ample chest?!
Oh, more than ample? Well, that's fine then.
"...Kazuma-san, if you can't remember, we'll be in trouble. For us to successfully catch them, you must try harder to remember."
Actually, Adam could describe him too.
But... First, he had 'never seen' that Devil King's Army member, and second, he didn't know if Hans, being a slime, would change his appearance.
"Hmm... hmm... hmm..." Kazuma thought carefully and seriously, finally digging out Hans's appearance from the corner of his brain, "Let me think... hmm, he should be a middle-aged man with coarse brownish-gray hair and fierce-looking eyes..."
As he described, Hans's appearance gradually took shape under Aqua's pen.
Half an hour later, she put down her drawing pen.
"Finished!" She first handed the drawing to Kazuma, "Here, Kazuma, see if this is the person."
"...Hmm, that's right, it's him!"
After looking at it, Kazuma's forgotten impression of the man came rushing back with the reminder of this drawing.
"I must say, you're incompetent as a Goddess and high priestess, but you're a master at this kind of art."
"Stupid Kazuma, I am a genuine Goddess!" She snatched back her lifelike drawing and handed it to Adam.
"Hmm, this should be it." Looking at the image that matched his impression exactly, Adam knew that Hans's appearance hadn't changed, "Well then, let's go to the Adventurer's Guild first."
Under his lead, everyone hurriedly ran to the Adventurer's Guild in town.
Although it was getting late, just like the custom in every Adventurer's Guild, this place was still incredibly noisy at night. At the counter, a rather cute girl with glasses worked as the receptionist.
"Excuse me, I have something I'd like to request from you."
"...Ah, yes!"
The distracted receptionist startled awake at Adam's voice. She wiped drool from her mouth, adjusted her glasses, and put on a professional expression.
Hmm... She looked like an airhead — not very reliable.
"Hello, I don't know what request or matter you have, but before that, please fill out this questionnaire."
"Questionnaire?"
"Yes! It's something our guild specially prepared to prevent troublemakers from this town!"
"...That must be tough for you."
It was understandable — the people in this town were all Axis Cult members with questionable mentality. Having this questionnaire could prevent them from causing trouble and save a lot of time.
In no time at all, he completed the questionnaire.
Meanwhile, Adam took out Hans's portrait and said to the receptionist, who was energetic a moment ago but now seemed drowsy again, "We hope the guild can put out a wanted notice for this man."
"Eh...? Please wait a moment." The receptionist forced herself to be alert, looked at the drawing, then at Adam, "I'm sorry, but we cannot accept such a sudden request from strangers. To claim he's a member of the Devil King's Army based solely on a portrait... it's impossible to issue a wanted notice with such biased reasoning.
However, if it were a long-standing adventurer with good reputation in this town, that would be different. But unfortunately, we are not familiar with any of you, and we can't simply believe your claims unconditionally. Without concrete evidence, we..."
Although she didn't finish, Adam understood her meaning.
However... Her practiced diplomatic response seemed like she was brushing them off. The target of her dismissal was definitely the town's residents (Axis Cult members), who always used the Devil King's Army to scaremonger and lure people into joining their cult.
At this moment, Aqua suddenly leaned close to the receptionist. She pointed at her fair face, her large blue eyes wide open.
"Hey—! Since you live in this town, aren't you also a member of the Axis Cult? Look carefully at my face! Don't you feel like you've seen me somewhere?"
Aqua was trying to pull rank. She still hadn't given up on her identity as a Goddess, even when everyone denied it, she never gave up.
"Huh...? Um... I'm really sorry, but I'm not a member of the Axis Cult. But now that you mention it, I do feel like I've seen this face somewhere...?! Ah! You're the second-highest courtesan at that establishment in the red-light district!"
"I am not! Beware of divine punishment!" Aqua suddenly reached out, pinching the confused receptionist's face, and angrily invoked a divine curse, "I've never worked in that kind of vulgar establishment! And why the second-highest?! With my looks, shouldn't I naturally be ranked first?!"
That's what you're focused on?!
Adam quickly pulled her away while scolding the receptionist, "Hey, that's going too far!"
"I'm sorry!...Huh?" The receptionist apologized remorsefully, recognizing her mistake.
But when she raised her head again, her expression changed as she looked at Adam.
"You... Are you... Could you possibly be the Hero Adam Carter—?!"
"...Huh—?"
What was going on?
She hadn't recognized him before, but suddenly... Oh, now he understood.
The drowsy receptionist must have been awakened by Aqua's vicious pinching. After becoming clear-headed and taking a proper look at Adam, she remembered who he was.
How ironic... In this town that worshipped the water Goddess Aqua, Aqua herself failed to pull rank, but instead, the 『 Hero 』 Adam succeeded...
It seemed like Aqua's pride had been wounded a bit.
However, it was fortunate that the receptionist recognized him.
"Hello, let me reintroduce myself. I am Adam Carter, the leader of the Hero Party." After introducing himself, Adam pointed at the man in the portrait and said to her with a serious face, "This man, we suspect he is from the Devil King's Army, and possibly even a high-ranking officer! So..."
"Yes, I understand what you mean!" The receptionist's eyes sparkled with admiration as she snatched the portrait from his hand, "You are the kingdom's hero, a powerful warrior who fights against the Devil King's Army, and also a well-known figure in the guild. We will definitely help you resolve this matter!"
"...Ah, then I'll leave it to you."
"Yes! If we find any information, we'll contact you immediately!"
And just like that, the wanted notice was successfully processed.
✧✧✧
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