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The Paper User: Exiled for a ‘Trash Skill,’ Awakens True Power and Rises with Two Unique Skills - Chapter 22

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 Chapter 22 : A Dangerous Request 2

"Recently, a new dungeon was discovered in the western forest."

Almine spread a map of the area surrounding Tansa across the table in the center of the room.

"The location is... somewhere around here. Apparently, it's quite expansive inside."

"And we've been asked to explore that dungeon?"

In response to my question, Almine shook her head.

"The exploration is being handled by a research team from the Kingdom of Leste... or rather, they were handling it."

"Were?"

"Yeah. They're currently missing. Our job is to rescue them."

Saying that, Almine took a sip of the tea in her white cup.

"Mmm. Delicious. I knew the quality of the tea leaves would show."

"Forget the tea and get on with the story."

Kinako gave her a sharp glare.

"Sorry, sorry. Anyway, the research team had thirty members. Plus, a party of ten adventurers as escorts."

"All forty people went missing?"

"Seems like it."

For a moment, it felt like the air in the room turned cold.

"Either some sort of accident happened, or they ran into a dangerous monster..."

Kinako's white whiskers twitched stiffly on both sides of his face.

"But even so, isn’t it strange that our party alone is being asked to handle a missing-persons case on that scale?"

"No, it’s not just us. Two other guilds will be joining."

"Two guilds?"

"One of them is the Moonlight Guild. It’s the strongest guild in Tansa."

"Isn’t that the one led by the S-Rank High Elf?"

"Yes—'Silvermoon Sylphiel' of the Twelve Heroes. Her strength is known even in other countries, and there are tons of songs about her sung by bards."

Sylphiel of the Twelve Heroes...

The Twelve Heroes were said to be the most powerful among all S-Rank adventurers—twelve humans who had fought against disaster-class monsters and demon armies, saving countless lives. Thanks to their deeds, they became known as the Twelve Heroes. Their strength was said to be equivalent to a thousand armed soldiers.

"And the other guild is..."

Almine turned her gaze toward me.

"The Holy Sword Guild."

"Eh? The Holy Sword Guild?"

I couldn’t help but stand up from my chair.

"Though it seems their leader, Kilsas, won’t be participating."

"I... see."

Images of the Holy Sword Guild members floated into my mind.

The guild had over eighty members. Most of them were D-Rank, but among the officers, three were A-Rank and seven were B-Rank. Given how dangerous this request seemed, they'd probably send a C-Rank-and-above team.

"Still, why were we chosen for this request? We're just a party, not a guild."

"Budget issues," Almine answered.

"After hiring the Moonlight and Holy Sword guilds, there was a small amount of budget left. So they figured it would be better to hire a party with an A-Rank member to slightly increase the odds of a successful rescue."

"So basically, we’re just filler."

Kinako let out a sigh.

"Doesn’t sound like they’re expecting much from us."

"True. But if we perform well here, we’ll build up our reputation. That means more requests, higher rewards, and the ability to gather rare materials. That, in turn, will make my magic stronger. I’ll be able to support everyone even more."

"Not a bad deal."

"Right. Especially for the day we face Zeldia of the Six Demon Stars."

"...The day we face Zeldia."

Kinako’s golden pupils narrowed into vertical slits.

"Then I’ll get in touch with Pirun. We depart in two days."

Almine pointed at the ochre-colored plate slotted into my belt.

"Make sure you're ready, Mr. Newly Promoted E-Rank Yakumo."

"Yeah. I’ll start stocking up on all kinds of paper types now."

With a tight expression, I pressed my right hand to the chest pocket over my heart.

Translator’s Note (TN):

  • Twelve Heroes (十二英雄, Jūni Eiyū): A recurring trope in Japanese fantasy. The number twelve carries symbolic weight—think of the Twelve Apostles or Twelve Olympians. Here, it represents an elite group of S-Rank adventurers whose powers are legendary, akin to mythic heroes.

  • Moonlight Guild and Silvermoon Sylphiel: The use of moon imagery and elven characters often represents ethereal beauty and ancient power in Japanese fantasy. Bards composing songs about a hero is a Western RPG trope that appears frequently in light novels to signal fame and legend status.

  • Ochre Plate: Japanese RPG-style stories often use color-coded ranks for adventurer progression, similar to belt colors in martial arts. Ochre (黄土色) marks Yakumo’s promotion to E-Rank—his first step up in recognition.

  • Budget Motive for Hiring: A subtle commentary on bureaucratic limitations even in fantasy worlds—common in Japanese adventure stories that blend realism (logistics, money) with heroics.

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