The lord's request was to register as an adventurer in Bymark, a town in Sindral Territory, if he was planning on registering anyway. The town's adventurer's guild had a training program for newbies, and he wanted Ryu to participate as a newbie and assess the instructors.

Near Bymark was the Wairago dungeon, a high-difficulty dungeon where many newbies had died trying to enter.

So the lord and the adventurer's guild had collaborated to create a training program to rapidly train skilled adventurers. Thanks to that, the number of adventurers was gradually increasing, and the Bymark guildmaster had reported that things were going well.

However, after three years, there were reports that "the training instructors were too strict, and no one could graduate." It seemed that the bad reputation had spread from adventurers who failed the Bymark training. Complaints and petitions had started reaching the lord directly.

But even when he inquired with the guildmaster, he only received reports that there were no problems. The instructors had been introduced by the guildmaster himself. He probably couldn't admit there were any issues.

So when Ryu happened to mention he was thinking about re-registering as an adventurer, the lord asked him to infiltrate the training program and report on any problems with the instructors.

The lord knew Ryu was skilled, having witnessed his fight with the bandits. He thought Ryu was perfect for an undercover investigation.

And Ryu accepted the request.

...

He had quit being an adventurer once, but Ryu had also come to think it might be nice to re-register as an adventurer.

The reason was that after traveling a bit, he realized that having only a Commercial Guild ID was quite disadvantageous and inconvenient.

For example:

• Entering a city cost money.
• He was often suspected and questioned.
• He needed to use honorifics.
• He was often underestimated.
• He couldn't enter dungeons.

Many cities waived the entrance fee for adventurers, but Ryu, only having a Commercial Guild ID, was considered a merchant, so he had to pay. (He didn't need to save money, he wasn't short of cash.)

It's also unnatural for someone who doesn't look like they're in business to claim to be a merchant, so they are often viewed with suspicion.

Ryu could say he was a "wholesale merchant" who sold monster materials from his subspace storage to the Commercial Guild, but that made him sound more like an adventurer than a merchant.

Also, adventurers generally don't use honorifics (to avoid revealing the command structure to enemies during battle), but merchants are typically humble. To act like a merchant, Ryu would need to use honorifics.

Ryu almost never used honorifics, so just speaking made him seem suspicious and not like a merchant.

And probably because they're humble, merchants are often underestimated and treated condescendingly. Since there are merchants who would fawn over customers in this world, there were people who mistakenly believed that regular customers were superior.

The situation varied from country to country, but in this Fermar Kingdom, dungeons were often managed by the Adventurer's Guild (not managed dungeons), and only adventurers were usually allowed to enter. (Ryu could easily enter, but there was a chance he would be discovered by the Adventurer's Guild if he bought materials.)

So due to various circumstances, Ryu thought it would be nice to have an Adventurer's Guild ID again.

...

...

He listed all these reasons, but...

That was just a surface-level explanation...

The truth was...maybe he wanted a "reset."

He didn't have good memories in the Garyza Kingdom. Mirmul, where he had been starting to feel at home, had been destroyed. He'd lost all his friends and acquaintances.

He had also participated in the war, killing many people.

He wanted to forget the sad, terrible memories and start over. That feeling was somewhere inside him.

That's why he had decided to accept the Sindral lord's request to re-register as an adventurer and pretend to be a newbie.

(This also meant that his memories of his past life in Japan were gradually being overshadowed by his memories of his experiences in this world.)

He actually wanted to register as a brand new adventurer, but he remembered that Adventurer's Guild registrations were shared across countries. If he tried to register as an inexperienced adventurer and his experience was discovered, he might become suspicious. So he decided to honestly say he was an experienced adventurer re-registering.

But the information about his registration in Mirmul seemed to have been lost, so it didn't matter...

"I'm sorry, I didn't distrust you. But I'd received reports of suspicions of corruption among guild staff. I investigated further and found some suspicious activity...it seems the assassination attempt on me was connected."

The word "assassination" startled everyone. Ryu knew about the lord's ambush, but the information hadn't been released to the public.

But when they heard that the lord had been targeted for assassination, everyone understood why he had sent an undercover investigator.

The lord's men, who had gone to pursue Ash, returned.

"Lord Ordelian, I apologize, we lost him!"

Ryu wasn't an adventurer, a member of the secret service, nor a subordinate of the lord. His mission from the lord was over. He was going to leave the rest to the lord's men, but...

"Well, I could catch Ash."

"Oh, you can?"

"I can't, but Silver Mask probably can. I could ask him to do it."

The lord grinned. It turned out that the silver mask was from the lord's house. A lightweight mask made of mithril, the kind used at masquerade balls. But Ryu had been looking at it and smiling mischievously, (that's when he thought of using a mask to hide his identity), and the lord told him that if he liked it, he could have it.

"Right, Silver Mask probably can. Please, I'm asking you. I'll discuss your reward later."

Ryu nodded and left immediately.

"Did Lord Sindral know about Silver Mask?"

"Yes, I know him. A skilled warrior. The mask is a magic tool from an ancient ruin. Wearing it supposedly allows you to demonstrate superhuman abilities...

...That's the setting, right?"

"...The lord was in on it...boys like that sort of thing no matter their age..."

Nerina looked at the lord with a knowing look.

Ryu left the Adventurer's Guild and went to the outdoor training ground. (He wore the silver mask, of course.) He located the fleeing Ash with the Divine Eye and brought him back to the outdoor training ground using spatial transfer.

But he dropped Ash from ten meters in the air.

Ash hit the ground hard, groaning, but seemed unharmed and got to his feet unsteadily. People in this world were really tough. He had probably used magic to strengthen his body before hitting the ground. For an agent, it was only natural.

Ryu transferred Ash into the air again, this time twenty meters. Ash fell to the ground again. This time he didn't get up right away. But even though he was hurt, his body seemed intact.

He transferred him again. Thirty meters this time.

"Please stop! I'll confess! I won't run away anymore...ugh."

Ash, once again crashing into the ground, seemed to have lost consciousness. It looks like his limbs are twisted, but the lord could deal with the treatment.

The lord probably wanted to question him, but his subordinates could do that, Ryu could easily find out everything with the Divine Eye, but there was no need for him to go to such lengths, he wasn't part of the secret service nor a subordinate of the lord. (And the fact that he could read minds was a secret from the lord. He wouldn't tell anyone.)

Back inside, Ryu handed Ash over to the lord's men.

"...He was hiding in the training ground."

"Well, it's not exactly like that, but whatever. Goodbye!"

Ryu quickly left and returned without the mask.

Nerina looked at him with a warm look...but the lord's men looked at him with respect.

"That's Silver Mask. He captured the fugitive in an instant, and he's as skilled as the rumors say." "I heard he killed the Catochrists instantly."

...It seemed they believed him. Easy. Ryu felt anxious that the lord's men would believe them, but perhaps they had simply been instructed by the lord to go along with it.

...

The training curriculum was revised, and the rest was left to the guild staff to supervise the independent training. It couldn't be helped, given the arrest of the instructor. The guildmaster and instructors needed to urgently review the training content.

"Iraira, about the training, I don't think everything is okay. Even though I said you passed."

"Y...Yes. I do need to rethink this, a little. A lot, actually. To be honest, I'm not cut out to be a leader. I'm quitting as an instructor..."

"Let's discuss this in a more private setting."

Ryu was asked for his input on the future curriculum and was taken to the guildmaster's office.

Next Episode

The secret to Anastasia and Leonora's progress!

Stay tuned!