“In order to defeat the Demon King, it is necessary to have the three main classes”

“A fighter, a mage, and a cleric.”

“Based on historical books and the knowledge the court wizards have gathered, it is theorized that when the Demon King awakens to its second form, it will create a sturdy shell that no blade can pierce. This is why a blunt weapon, the Sacred Cudgel, is necessary to shatter it.”

“Should its sturdy shell get shattered, the Demon King will enter it’s Unleashed form. His true form, the Dark Spirit, is impervious to physical attacks.”

“This is where the mage comes in. Magical elemental attacks are the only way to damage the Demon King’s dark spirit. It is said that the previous Hero failed to defeat the Demon King because he is incapable of using magic.” 

“Lastly, the cleric is responsible for keeping the party members alive with miracle blessings to buff the party member’s attack and defense and healing miracles to restore their vitality. Although I have knowledge of the healing miracles, I can only perform light healing to restore light wounds.”

The young cleric carefully explained.

“With you sir, being the fighter, and me being the cleric…”

“So we need a mage, right?”

“Yes, but that’s the problem…” The young cleric looks worried.

“Why, what do you mean?” The farmer looks confused.

“Well…” The young cleric couldn’t really explain it as she lacks information regarding the problem with mages, all she knows is that recruiting a mage will be problematic.

“Sorry but, currently there are no Mage adventurers available that I can introduce to you.” The Clerk at the adventurer’s guild stated.

“What? Why?” The farmer looks frustratingly confused. Of course he’d be frustrated, they spent a few days traveling and camping in the forest just to get to the city; and the city isn’t even along the road to the Demon King’s territory. 

“Most mages nowadays prefer to work as research assistants or scholars, away from the danger associated with most Adventurer work. And so, there has been a shortage of Mage registered in the Adventurer’s guild.” The clerk explained. This made the young cleric feel even more guilty about not saving their mage companion. 

“I guess he really is an admirable guy.” She muttered to herself.

“Wait, don’t we have that other guy? The one who always goes solo?” Another guild clerk who happens to have overheard their conversation approaches them.

“Hm? Ah right! But he’s on a quest right now so…”

“If you guys are willing to wait, we can introduce you to him as soon as he gets back.” The first clerk said to the farmer.

“Is it okay if we know the details of his quest? We’re kind of in a hurry.” The farmer said, pulling out the necklace with the King’s insignia underneath his cloak.

“Ah! Of course… please wait a moment” The clerk said before starting to look for what the farmer was asking for. 

“Huh?” The clerk uttered in a very surprised tone before whispering something to the other clerk.

“What?” The farmer curiously asked as he looked at the other clerk entering the back room.

“It’s uhmm…” The clerk leaned towards the farmer and the young cleric.

“Strictly confidential, so I had my colleague call our supervisor so he can discuss it with you.” The clerk explained as quietly as possible. A few moments later, a thin well-dressed man with a dead serious expression on his face came out from the back room while being accompanied by the other clerk.

“Please follow me.” The supervisor said, guiding the farmer and the young cleric to the backroom. It is a nerve-wracking experience for the young cleric as the supervisor never utters a word as he leads them to another room, as if they were unwanted guests.

He stops in front of a room at the end of the hallway, stands up straight then fixes his clothes, making sure that there are no wrinkled spots, then knocks two times.

“Come in.” A gruff voice of an old man came out from the other side of the door. The supervisor pauses for a moment before letting himself and the hero party in. Inside was a well-built old man sitting behind a desk filled with stacks of documents.

“Sir, these are the emissaries of the king. They’re requesting our assistance.” The supervisor introduced.

“I see.” The old man utters as he puts down the document he is reading. He removes his reading glasses then holds his head back, letting out a heavy sigh before standing up to introduce himself to the visitors.

“I am the guildmaster, how may we be of assistance?” He introduced, standing upright with utmost respect over the insignia of the King.

“We are looking for this mage for our quest to defeat the Demon King but the Clerk said that he’s on a quest right now…” The young cleric replied, her voice showed hints of nervousness. The guildmaster looks at her, waiting for her to finish the rest of the sentence, the farmer notices this and quickly steps in.

“Uhhh, if possible, can we check the details of his quest?” The farmer requested with a casual tone, as if talking to any ordinary citizen.

“Watch your tone!” The supervisor scolded, reprimanding the farmer for the way he interacts with the highest person in the building. The guildmaster holds up his hand, stopping the supervisor from saying any further.

“I understand.” The supervisor quickly regains his composure, returning to a stone faced expression.

“This might take a while, so let’s sit for now.” The guildmaster extends his arm towards the couches in front of his desk.

“Would you like some tea? Or coffee perhaps?” The guildmaster offers as the farmer and young cleric walk towards one of the couches.

“Uhmm yes, please… thank you” The young cleric replied.

“Coffee black, for me.” the farmer replied, still remaining as casual as ever.

“Haha! I like your tone, like a true adventurer.” The guildmaster comments at the farmer. Though the guildmaster finds him a bit rude, the farmer reminds him of when he was still a young adventurer; brazen and full of energy.

“About the mage you’re asking for, I’m assuming the one who prefers going solo right?” The guildmaster asked as he rummaged through the documents piled on his desk.

“Uhmm, yes I think.” The young cleric replied.

“I see… I see…” The guildmaster mutters, scanning through the documents he’s holding as he walks toward the couches. 

“Right!” It is as if the guildmaster is reminded of something.

“Just to clarify something, what will you do if I give you the details of his quest right now?” The guildmaster asked with a curious tone.

“If possible, we would like to recruit him to join our quest on subjugating the Demon King.” The young cleric replied.

“Ah, I thought so…” The guildmaster looks disappointed.

“Unfortunately, he’s on an important quest at behest of the guild.” The guildmaster reluctantly continued.

“But, subjugating the Demon King is important as well, and it should be treated as top priority right?” The young cleric replied with emotion but the guildmaster remained stoic.

“Okay, then, how ‘bout we help him finish this quest so we can recruit him as soon as possible?” The farmer suggests. The guildmaster pauses for a moment, thinking very carefully at the farmer’s offer.

“Well, I’m sure you don’t have anything to do with it anyway…” The guildmaster mutters.

“Okay, but you have to keep the information you are about to hear confidential.” He continued as the farmer and the young cleric nod.

“A few of my adventurers have gone missing during a quest, most of them are just new. Supposedly, it shouldn’t be strange as dying during a quest is nothing new to the business.” The guildmaster explains.

“Naturally, the guild ranks the quest depending on the difficulty of the mission to ensure the survivability of the adventurers, but if adventurers kept dying during a quest then either my people are doing a bad job at ranking the quests or that something bad is happening that we should stop giving out quests.” He continues as he takes a sip from his cup of coffee.

“Ok so, his quest is to investigate the disappearances of the adventurers?” The farmer impatiently replied.

“Basically, yes.” The guildmaster replied.

“While he is a mage, this kind of thing is his specialty.” He continued.

“So, do you still think that you can be of some use to him to finish his quest faster?” The guildmaster challenges as he finishes his cup of coffee.

The farmer finishes his cup of coffee before giving his reply.

“It wouldn’t hurt to try.” 

“Besides, it’s better than just waiting for him to finish.” He said with a face full of determination.

“Hahaha! I like you!” The guildmaster laughs.

“Have you considered becoming a full time adventurer?” He continues.

The two men continue to chat as the young cleric awkwardly finishes her cup of tea.

“I’ll have some people find his location. In the meantime, you may rest at one of the guild supported inns and we’ll have someone come to you as soon as we find him.” The guildmaster bids his farewell as the farmer and the young cleric head towards the inn the Clerk directs them to. 

“What? There’s only one room left?” The young cleric uttered in a shocked voice.

“I’m sorry, but there’s nothing we can do about it.” The inn clerk apologized.

“Don’t worry about it, we’ll take it.” The farmer said, taking the key to the room then giving the clerk the payment. The two make their way towards the rented room with the young cleric worrying over the possibility that the farmer might suggest that she take the room for herself as he camps outside town.

The young cleric felt a little sense of relief as soon as she finds out that the room isn’t as cramped as she might’ve thought it would be; the room may not be big but it’s big enough for one bed and one sofa on the corner, with a table and two chairs in the middle.

“Maybe I should take the sofa, he’d often let me use the camping bag whenever we’re out camping anyway.” The young cleric said to herself.

“Uhmmm, I–” Before the young cleric could express her thoughts, the farmer interrupted her.

“Okay, I’ll be back by morning.” The farmer said while he removes the knot on his cloak then retying it with a different knot.

“W-what do you mean?” The young cleric replied.

“Well, I’m a bit worried about my farm so I’ll be heading there for a bit.” The farmer explained.

“What?! How?! It took us almost a week to get here from the farm.” The young cleric confusedly asked. 

“Well, I have this, the Cloak of returning.” The farmer replied while holding his still-wearing cloak up.

“Cloak of what?” The young cleric looks at him with bewilderment.

“Uhh, it’s a magical item that lets me return to my farm whenever I want. Anyway, I’ll be back in this exact spot by sunrise so… Make sure to lock the doors okay?” The farmer bids farewell as he removes the knot of the cloak. After a few seconds, the rune insignia carved on a small block of wood, attached to the lock of the cloak holding it together, gives a radiant glow as the farmer vanishes just as the light fades away.

The young cleric is dumbfounded as this is her first time seeing such magic in front of her. Though she has prior knowledge of some magical artifacts, seeing it up close is another different experience for her.

Even with a warm bed, four walls and a room to protect her from the atmosphere, and in the middle of a town with guards to protect her from wild monsters, she can’t bring herself to fall asleep.

“Wait! What happens if he returns and I’m still asleep?” The young cleric embarrassingly thinks as she covers herself with a blanket.