Information gathered suggests that Ryujeen is a Dragon Slayer capable of conquering dungeons alone.
While it's common to find such claims of superhuman abilities unbelievable, the combined information points to that conclusion. There might be some exaggeration in the details, which needs further investigation. However, we must accept that he possesses exceptional abilities.
There are adventurers who, despite initially being low-level, suddenly break through their limitations and become exceptional.
We cannot let such a promising adventurer slip away. We must regain his trust and bring him back. It's no exaggeration to say that the revival of the Adventurer's Guild depends on this.
How can we do it...?
Should we give him a rank upgrade?
No, that has already been rejected. As a formality, we sent a free staff member to inform him about the rank upgrade, but Ryu's response was "Not interested."
If this continues, the next time Ryu comes to the Adventurer's Guild, it could be to go through the withdrawal process. We need to do something before that...
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Catherine decided to go see Ryu herself.
She should have done it from the beginning.
As Ryu is also an adventurer, it was natural for him to visit the Adventurer's Guild. Catherine assumed she would meet him eventually, but she finally realized that was arrogance. She shouldn't expect him to be a guild-affiliated adventurer anymore.
Catherine instructed the receptionist, Layla, to guide her to Ryu's house. Layla seemed close to Ryu. Catherine thought that having Layla accompany her might help persuade him.
However, Layla was not that close to Ryu. She didn't even know where he lived.
In the end, they had to find his address from the adventurer registration information kept by the guild. However, Catherine, being new to the city, was unfamiliar with the geography. Layla ended up being the one to guide her.
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Ryu lived in a single room of an apartment complex located on the edge of this city, close to the slums.
It was a dilapidated building with countless narrow rooms crammed inside, where the poor huddled together.
The room was small, stuffy like a steam room in summer, and freezing in winter due to drafts. The walls were thin, offering no privacy.
It was like living in a communal setting with other residents of the apartment, far from comfortable. However, Ryu had been living in this apartment for years since being thrown out onto the streets, and he had become accustomed to it.
Once you get used to it, the proximity to your neighbors, the heat, and the cold become numbed. You don't even feel uncomfortable anymore. In fact, you might even find it comfortable.
Ryu was making a lot of money lately - the dragon materials sold for an amount that would allow him to live without working for the rest of his life - so he could move out of the rundown apartment if he wanted to. But he didn't feel uncomfortable and the thought of leaving didn't occur to him.
Ryu had no particular plans for the day and slept until the afternoon. He hadn't been accepting many requests from the Merchant's Guild recently. He hadn't even been showing his face at the Adventurer's Guild.
After waking up, Ryu went to the communal well behind the apartment to draw water and wash himself. He then headed to the church nearby.
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It was a poor church located near the slums.
It housed poor orphans who had fallen into the slums and also served as an orphanage.
There were also magnificent churches in the city center, close to the Noble District, adorned with luxurious decorations. But those churches only catered to nobles and the wealthy.
However, the sister of this church, despite her own poverty, wanted to save the poor. She lived near the slums and took in children who had lost their parents.
Ryu was left alone in this city, robbed of his money by bandits. He was lost and desperate. That's when the sister of this church saved him.
He wanted to repay her kindness and donated a significant sum of money from the sale of the dragon materials to the sister.
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The amount Ryu donated to the church was more than a slum dweller would see in a lifetime.
But Sister Anne accepted the money without hesitation or reservation.
Did Sister Anne not understand the amount? No, that couldn't be possible. Anne was a capable person.
Many people change when they get their hands on a large sum of money. Perhaps Anne might change too. The possibility was small, but not zero, Ryu thought.
But Ryu was okay with that.
It was Sister Anne who saved Ryu, penniless and gravely injured after being attacked by bandits. It was also true that she had saved many unfortunate children in the past.
If giving her the money caused Anne to change and stop running the church and orphanage, Ryu would be fine with it if it meant Anne could be personally happy.
If that happened, Ryu thought he could continue the orphanage in a different form. He had prepared himself for that possibility...
But Sister Anne didn't change at all.
She didn't spend the money she received. Instead, she kept it hidden and used it little by little, very slowly, for the orphans.
Anne told Ryu:
"With this amount of money, we can continue to live frugally as we have been for the next few decades. Therefore, I don't need any more donations. Ryu, you should live freely. Go wherever you want."
Ryu had become the adventurer he yearned to be. He would eventually leave the city. Sister Anne wanted him to know he didn't need to worry about the church (orphanage) when he left. She wanted him to follow his own path.
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However, Ryu didn't have immediate plans to leave.
Neither did the Sister want to push him out right away.
When Ryu had free time, he would visit the orphanage and bring gifts. He would also have tea with Sister Anne.
Thinking back, Ryu had encountered many terrible people since coming to this world. He had met some good people, but not many.
Ryu realized that meeting Sister Anne in this city was a stroke of luck.