It was two days after Chrissy's death and Justin was arrested. Even the court judged her to be guilty since she admitted to the crime. Her motive was that her mother used to be a friend of Chrissy's. Back when they were still young, her mother once had an idea for a book and shared it to her friend.
However, Chrissy plagiarized her idea and published her book before her. This betrayal led her mother to commit suicide. Justin planned Chrissy's murder for many years already and even worked under her just to kill her.
When she was asked why she committed a murder when Chrissy would have two detective guests, she answered that she wanted to test out her mother's murder trick if it could fool them. She said she used the very trick her mother thought of when taking Chrissy's life and challenged the detectives to see through it. Justin said she had no regrets in life and was more than happy to bring justice to her mother.
"Poor girl. I can understand why she wanted to do it", I said.
"You do? Well. I don't", Amelia replied.
"Really? It's really understandable for her to try and bring justice for her mother."
"No. I'll never understand the reason that drives someone to murder except for self-defense. And I don't think I want to."
"But it's for her mother. She wanted to bring justice."
"Is "justice" putting an innocent man to prison? If it weren't for me, Rex Talyonis would be the one who'll be facing the trial while she would continue living a free life. The moment she tried to bring an innocent person to jail, she's not a herald of justice. She's just a dirty criminal who only ruins lives."
We walked out of the courthouse and strolled the streets of Westa. I was given a day off since I had to participate in Justin's trial. The trial ended quite quickly since Justin didn't bother defending herself. That was why Amelia and I were now walking around aimlessly.
"What are your plans for today, Mikage?" Amelia asked.
"I don't know... I'm considering going back to the barracks and continuing working despite having the day off. How about you? What are your plans?"
"I'm not in the mood to do detective work. I'll spend the rest of the day in the library. Maybe Rosalyn has new recommendations. See you back home."
Amelia left me behind as she headed to the library. Now then... What could I possibly do? Should I really go back to the barracks and work? Was I really going to become a workaholic?
"Oh! It's Mikage! Just the person that I need!" a voice said behind me.
I turned around and saw a dark-skinned man grinning.
"Hey there, Oga."
"You're a knight, right?"
"Yeah. What do you need a knight for?"
"Let's have a nice and long talk, shall we?"
He placed his arm on my shoulders and started dragging me away. A few moments later, we arrived at ROBEL.
"... You know what? I'm not going to tell you to come in during opening hours. You won't listen anyway", Roberu grumbled.
"I'm glad you're getting used to me!" Oga laughed.
"So... Why do you need my help?" I asked him.
He showed me a piece of paper.
Quest: Investigate the Moryo Mountains Dungeon
Rank: SS
Details: A new dungeon appeared in the Moryo Mountains. Countless adventurers have tried to clear it but only one returned. Powerful creatures such as minotaurs, basilisks, and others were reported to be seen thus we have to increase its rank. Destroy the dungeon core.
I see... This was a quest from the Adventurer's Guild.
In this world, there was a profession known as adventurers. They were tasked to do odd jobs from protecting a caravan, to finding an item, and to even hunting monsters. Unlike knights who were tasked to protect normal citizens, adventurers were more of a mercenary who could do many things.
I looked at the reward and my jaws dropped. It was more than fifty times my monthly salary.
"O-Oga... What do you need my help for?" I asked.
"You see... Here's the problem. This quest is SS ranked. That means there must be at least 3 S-ranked adventurers who will form a party and clear it. However, I don't know other S-ranked adventurers since they are pretty busy doing whatever they want. My trusted partner is only an A-ranked adventurer so we were in a bind."
"But what does that have to do with me?"
"There's a way out of this mess. If someone from the knight order would accompany a group of adventurers, they can take whatever quests they want without checking for the rank", Roberu answered.
"Not to mention that if they clear it, they would immediately be promoted into higher ranks. Not that it matters for me since I'm already S-ranked but my friend could use a boost", Oga added.
"In other words, I have to come along with you in this dangerous quest."
"Don't worry! You won't die. I fought you and I'm pretty sure you're as strong as an A-ranked adventurer. If you use Synchronicity, you can even be as strong as an S-rank. What do you say? Will you help me out?"
"What do I have to do?"
"First you have to go to your captain and convince her to dispatch you. Then you'll get the paperwork and show it to the Adventurer's Guild. After that, we'll head out!"
"... How many days would this take? I don't know if I would want to be away for long."
"Don't worry! The Moryo Mountains are pretty close. If we leave at dawn, we can arrive there in the afternoon on horseback. Then we spend the entire night clearing the dungeon and go back home the next day!"
I think you should take the offer, Mikage, Anya's voice echoed in my mind.
My kris sword glowed and turned into a brown-haired girl.
"This is a good chance for you to find out if you've become stronger", she said.
"Yep. You can try using Synchronicity in real combat. Not to mention we'll split the reward money equally. I'm pretty sure you want to earn quick cash", Oga grinned.
"I'm not really hoping to buy anything expensive anytime soon. But I guess I should save up in case there's an emergency", I said.
"Alright! Let's go to your barracks and start the paperwork!" Oga cheered.
"Yeah yeah. Let's hope Captain Noel would agree."
And so I had to go on my first quest in this world.
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A/N: Mikage goes on a regular quest with Oga... Nothing bad will happen... Probably
