At the corner of the adventurers' guild hall, five individuals had gathered, sitting around a table, for a goblin slaying quest.
"Once again, please introduce yourself, everyone. Ah~ But keep it to a bare minimum like name and class, so we don't waste that much time."
'Is that her way of saying that we are just a waste of her time?' With that thought on everyone else's minds, the introduction began.
Following Lynn's instruction, the leader of their adventurers' party gave his introduction.
"I'm Alex, a mage knight adventurer."
A mage knight or mage swordmaster is a combined class of a warrior and a mage. Basically, it is a warrior capable of fighting not only with skills of combat arts but also with spells of mystic arts.
'Since he refers to himself as a mage knight rather than a mage swordmaster, he might be a noble by blood or earn the title of a knight from a noble.' Arezu thought as he continued to evaluate Alex.
Alex has light blonde hair that complements his handsome face. He is around the same height as Arezu, around 185 centimeters tall. As for his equipment, he has two swords sheathed on his back, indicating that he is a dual wielder. His gear only includes a black leather armor over his clothes, a long black coat, and a pair of black arm guards and knee guards.
"I'm Liz, a valkyrie adventurer."
The girl sitting next to Alex introduced herself next.
Liz has long reddish brown hair fixed in a braided bun hairstyle so as not to get in her way while fighting. Though she's a little bit smaller than Alex, her equipment looks much bulkier and heavier. Her gear includes a gray dress combined with silver metal armor that protects her vitals, and her weapon is a shield and a longsword.
After Liz's introduction came the turn of another girl sitting next to Liz.
"I'm Hannah, a priestess adventurer."
Hannah's appearance, with her shoulder-length blue hair and white vestment, along with her calm and composed demeanor, definitely gives off a priestess look. Even the black mace that is her weapon doesn't look out of place with her clergy image.
Mage knight and valkyrie are both rare classes, something that Arezu has only heard from the adventurers he once worked with, who aspire to be honored by a noble and become one. However, a priest and a priestess are something Arezu would occasionally see at every town.
'A confident mage knight, a serious valkyrie, and a reliable priestess... It is not the usual lineup as far as the story goes, but it gives the vibes of a unique adventurers' party.' It was the argument running on Arezu's mind while spacing out without noticing that everyone is looking at him, waiting for his introduction.
"Ahem!"
"Eh?"
Upon getting his attention back on track, thanks to Lynn's effort, Arezu timidly introduced himself.
"I'm Arezu, a copper-rank warrior adventurer."
Not sure what else to tell about himself, Arezu's introduction ended with those few words. Thus, Lynn's turn to introduce herself came once again.
"I'm an iron-rank mage adventurer. You lower-ranking doofus should bow down to me with your knees, hands, and head on the ground. Entertain me with your meaningless squabbles as you struggle with your lives."
Arezu has an astonished look on his face after hearing Lynn's introduction, while the others have a resigned look as if they have given up and just accepted Lynn's self-esteem behavior.
Arrogant and confident, or rather, someone who thinks highly of herself while looking down and making fun of others. At least that is what Arezu thought of Lynn until she suddenly burst out laughing and sarcastically apologized for her rude introduction.
Lynn claimed to be a mage, as her looks implied, but her weapons of choice, a dagger sheathed on her left and a crossbow and quiver strapped on her right belt, say otherwise.
"Aren't mages usually equipped with an enchanted staff?" Lynn's weapons stand in contrast with her supposed class, which is why Arezu ended up voicing out his opinion and questioning what he initially thought of her when they were standing in front of the notice board.
"Tell me, Mr. Arezu, how can I openly spread my arms to my followers and receive their offerings if I'm holding something as annoying as a staff?"
'What the heck does that mean?' Arezu thought.
"That's the third time already."
Lynn responds to Arezu 's question with a sneer, then ignores him to continue with her introduction.
She claims that she has received teaching from the church of Isleen at a young age, so she can use the blessings of divine arts aside from spells of mystic arts. Including her ability to use some skills of combat arts, she can take the role of both a mage, a priestess, and a scout. Though Arezu has a hard time believing all of that.
"Fourth! Don't look at me with such doubtful eyes, Mr. Arezu!"
'It is your fault for starting with that weird introduction.' Arezu looks at everyone else in their group, asking for confirmation of everything that Lynn said about herself.
Even though they feel reluctant to praise Lynn's capability, everyone honestly confirms the truth of her words.
"Now you know why someone like me has a higher ranking than you. So feel free to worship me and leave your offering. I'm fine with silver and gold, but I prefer relic and artifact."
Just like Arezu, Alex, Ellie, and Hannah are all copper-rank adventurers. They are a party of three to begin with and have met Lynn a few days ago. They might be new to adventuring, but Arezu can at least tell that each of them has enough experience regarding their class. After all, a knight and a valkyrie won't receive their title without their fighting capability being acknowledged by their peers, and a priestess won't be allowed to work outside the church without approval from the church as well.
After their brief introduction, the discussion of the details and strategy for the goblin slaying quest begins.
The location of the goblin slaying quest is at Mead village, a village located west and a day far by carriage from the capital of Eileen kingdom which where they are.
As to why a small village is asking assistance from the adventurers' guild on the capital of their kingdom rather than from those of closer towns, it is because the Mead village is under the governance of the capital. Thus, the village can ask the capital for assistance regarding the reward of the goblin slaying quest.
The goblins' nest is assumed to be located in the forest near the village. Its size and number are unconfirmed, but the fact that a small village mostly populated by farmers and a few guards withstood the goblins' attack with only a few casualties means that the nest isn't that big yet.
Regarding about their strategy, Alex and Liz will take the position in front as vanguard with Hannah and Lynn in the middle as support, and Arezu in the back as rearguard.
Usually, Arezu's position is an attacker or a vanguard in front. But since he doesn't know how Alex and Liz fight, he might hinder their teamwork if he were to be paired with either of the two. That is why Lynn put Arezu's position as rearguard to protect her and Hannah and intercept any enemies that would sneak up on their backs.
The information about the quest, their position and strategy, even all the required necessities and the schedule for when they would leave for tomorrow, everything they discussed was handled by Lynn rather than the leader, Alex.
'So she can act seriously when it needs to.' Arezu thought as he glance at Lynn and gave his approval to her plans. On the other hand, Lynn returns Arezu's glance with a pleased smile.