Chapter 3

It had been almost two weeks since Thomas had last entered the Steel Hammer guild room. Unlike the previous time, this time Thomas pocketed more than enough money to be able to register as a guild member.

The past few days the tan-skinned teenager had worked hard enough. He used the notice board in the guild building to find job vacancies. Thomas couldn't take and get a job directly from the guild, but he could still find someone who posted the job there. Sounds unfair, but isn't that what Mirina wanted at the time?

Indeed, not all were willing to accept his offer of assistance without a specific recommendation from the guild. Of the thirteen employers, only five are willing to use his workforce. The pay he received was even less than what they offered to the guild member.

Madam Rootbit is willing to give her a job looking for ingredients for various healing potions that she sold in her apotechary. The old lady was very thorough and disciplined. Thomas had to get up early before sunrise to pick some dittany leaves, ginger root and alden berries. If the materials were harvested when the sun had risen they would all be trash.

Carson the junk shop keeper gave him the job of rearranging his shop and doing a full cleaning. Thomas found many interesting items there. He even got some items for free, such as a storage ring, a fairly rusty short sword, and some used glass bottles.

His most time-consuming job was working as a librarian from afternoon until midnight. The interesting side of the job was that Thomas could read books for free. In addition there were several noble children who wanted to learn how to read and write and the brunette teenager was more than happy to teach them. The pay was also decent. There's nothing more fun than doing your hobby and getting paid.

The other two jobs are just temporary jobs like looking for a lost cat and cleaning a noble's yard. His wages were not much, but at least he could earn some extra money.

With two hundred gold coins in his storage ring Thomas stepped steadily into the Steel Hammer guild building. Finally he was able to officially register as a member of the guild bearing the steel hammer symbol.

As before, Thomas went straight to the reception desk where Mirina was sitting. His steps stopped slightly when he saw the slightly gloomy expression on Mirina's face.

"Hey Mirina! Everything is fine?" Thomas asked when he reached Mirina's desk.

"Oh… Ah Thomas! Welcome! Long time no see, are you well?" Mirina quickly put on a cheerful face that seemed empty according to Thomas.

"You haven't answered my question, you know." Thomas looked at Mirina intently.

Mirina tilted her head and put on a puzzled face.

"That's enough. Today I want to register as a guild member." said Thomas changing the subject.

"Is that true?" Mirina's cheerful voice was heard again. "I'll have the form ready right away!" Mirina immediately went to a cabinet behind her, rummaging through its contents for a moment, but for some reason she seemed to pause what she was doing. It's like there's some magic that stops time for a while. A few seconds later the short blonde haired girl shook her head and immediately returned to the reception desk. That didn't go unnoticed by Thomas at all.

"Are you really okay?" Thomas asked as soon as Mirina sat herself in the receptionist's chair.

"Fill out the form here and after that you have to pay twenty gold coins as collateral." Mirina seemed to ignore Thomas's question.

Thomas looked at his friend for a few moments until he cought her gloomy expression. Uncomfortably looking at the girl in front of him, Thomas immediately grabbed a quill and filled out the form in front of him.

It didn't take long for the eighteen-year-old to fill out the guild registration form. For the most part, it is required that he just give his general identity. The rest was that he must sign an agreement that the guild will not be responsible for criminal acts and any unlawful activities carried out by members.

After repeatedly checking the form and feeling that there was nothing wrong he handed the parchment to Mirina.

"Wait a minute I'll write you a ticket." Mirina said.

"Ticket?" Thomas put on a questioning face.

"With this ticket you can collect your ID tomorrow. Here's your ticket." Mirina handed Thomas a small piece of parchment. But it wasn't the parchment that Thomas took but Mirina's wrist.

"Honestly Mirina! What's bothering you?" Thomas stared intently at Mirina's blue pupils. The academy student sensed that someone had cast a freezing and soundproof spell. No movement, no sound.

Mirina who was surprised at her junior's attitude seemed to freeze. Her hands were shaking. Thomas, feeling guilty for going too far, let go of his grip.

"Sor..."

"Actually a few days ago there was a group of teenage guild members who took on the task of hunting wild boars in the Alps. They just applied and asked for a job of the ceramic rank. It turned out that the employer didn't need their help, they ended up taking steel rank jobs."

"Isn't there a chance they might have come back and reported when you weren't here?" asked Thomas. He was a little surprised to hear the explanation of the girl in front of him. Indirectly the cause of this incident was the result of his selfish actions.

"I've checked the registration book many times every day and there's no name on the report." Mirina's voice started to tremble like she was holding back tears. There seemed to be something bigger than just the missing guild members.

"That group member…."

"One of them is my little brother." This time Mirina could no longer hold back her tears. The blonde haired girl sat in her chair and burst into tears.

Seeing his friend experiencing such emotional stress made Thomas' heart melt. However, he had a hand in this incident. He also feels guilty towards the guild for taking the job without being noticed.

"I will help you Mirina." Thomas said firmly. "I'll help you and the guild to find them."

Mirina was shocked to hear Thomas' statement. "But ..."

"I'm now officially a member of this guild, right? So it wouldn't hurt if I helped." Thomas put on a big smile to reassure his friend.

"Thomas you don't have enough skills to take this job! Apart from that there are no funds to finance it."

"Don't worry Mirina. I don't take paymet to help a friend."

Mirina, who saw Thomas' determination, didn't realize that her tears were falling again. "Thank you, Thomas!" Mirina bowed her head. "I will never forget your help."

"Then treat me to a meal sometime, okay?" Thomas gave a thumbs up. "I will prepare my equipment and immediately set off for the slopes of the Alps. See you again!"

Thomas stepped out of the guild building with a fairly heavy weight resting on his shoulders. The boys had not returned until now because he had selfishly taken jobs from the guild without permission. They ended up choosing hunting jobs even though their rankings weren't sufficient.

But regretting it now was pointless. He had to immediately prepare some equipment for tracking and hunting. If he could hurry, Thomas could reach the slopes of the Alps before dusk.

'Hold on kids. I'll help you right away'