The Otherworlder closed his eyes and waited for the receptionist to come back. He had seen the wanted poster outside the guild a while back and chased after the necromancer.

The bounty wasn't big enough for him to consider it dangerous, and well, he found these things in a pile of trash! Just how could a big shot necromancer be dead in a random alleyway? Yes. It must not be anything big. The receptionist must just be surprised that he, out of everyone, was the one to get the necromancer. Though she wasn't wrong in assuming he didn't, it made him want to give her an earful.

Soon, the brunette receptionist returned to the desk with a muscular man. The man's imposing physique and thick beard intimidated the others, as they all excitedly anticipated what would happen next.

The branch manager had showed up. There was no way it would be a small matter, was there?

"Sir Iatra," the man called out. "Are you truly the one to have killed Necromancer Shil? Does that mean you were Andata?"

Now, to figure out what had happened.

The Otherworlder gathered his thoughts and gathered every little clue he could find in his head. Necromancer, highly wounded zombie knight, such a overblown reaction from everyone…

"No," he replied.

Sighs were released and breaths were held back at the Otherworlder's words. The destroyer couldn't kill necromancer Shil? Then, who did, and why did he have his badge?

"I did not finish him." The Otherworlder tapped on the tome and the badge as he continued. He certainly didn't kill the necromancer, he didn't even know if he was dead. Furthermore, the strangely powerful zombie was badly wounded before he had seen it for the first time. He had a theory in mind.

"So, you are implying that you wounded him enough to get his tome and the necromancer guilds' badge, but didn't finish him?"

More sighs leaked out at the manager's words. Didn't that mean the Otherworlder had completely stomped on the necromancer, enough to loot him, and decided it was beneath him the necromancer?

The Otherworlder merely nodded at the guild manager instead of answering with words. At times like these, it was best to retain as much information as possible and let the people jump to conclusions. He himself couldn't imagine how many times he had gotten out of important events by calling in and saying he wouldn't be able to attend. The others always came up with a narrative.

"Then, Sir Iatra. There must be no need for me to mention how dangerous necromancer Shil was. Sir, did you get a chance to meet the country's chosen hero when you went up against him?"

There it was. The last bit of information he needed.

A picture was painted in the Otherworlder's head, all the clues gathered like pieces of a puzzle. He had heard of the hero appointed two months back by the country. It was no secret that the hero was in need of raking up achievements, so they set him after the necromancer and discouraged other people from interfering by vastly lowering the bounty.

The person who actually killed the necromancer must have been the hero. It also explained the presence of that girl who was good at following orders.

The Imperial Knights.

And he had helped one of those very imperial knights out of her situation. She shouldn't be more than an apprentice, or maybe a lower-ranked knight, considering the way she acted. But there was no doubt she knew of his movements.

Lying would be extremely fatal.

"The hero… to be frank, it is quite an urgent situation, Sir Iatra…"

Urgent. Hero. Two more keywords had flowed into the scene.

No matter how he looked at this, the manager had clearly implied something happened to the hero.

"I didn't meet him." The Otherworlder pulled his chin up and spoke in a low voice. Though he was unsettled and confused, he wasn't a fool. These people had some strange thoughts about him and there was absolutely no reason he wouldn't use that.

"But I met a young girl with black hair and crimson eyes. I believe… she must know something."

The manager stared into the Otherworlder's eyes for a few seconds before sighing and nodding. "I understand, Sir Iatra."

That did it. There were two reasons the Otherworlder mentioned the girl. First, he would have clearly been treated as a suspect if he brushed it off, same was the case right now, but at least with some information, the eyes looking at him would soften considering he was being cooperative.

And second, was to shut that girl up. The pause and the 'she must know something' made the Otherworlder proud of himself. The delivery was just perfect to make it seem as if the girl was suspicious. She who knew of his movements could be a factor to make him more suspicious. It was truly a game of who blamed the other first. He just had to hope that her description of him hadn't gone beyond 'A person who saved her' to everyone that asked.

The manager pulled out a bag filled with gold coins and placed it on the desk. "Then, Sir Iatra, here is the bounty placed on Necromancer Shil. Congratulations on amazing feat—"

"—Yeah," The Otherworlder interrupted. He picked up the pouch of coins and slid it into his coat before turning away from the reception. Since he was here, he wanted to look at the quests and maybe get a drink in.

Near the pub, the Otherworlder went to the quest board. The magic item displayed the quests and their information available for the branch. There wasn't exactly a shortage of space as, with a simple tap, one could swap out the current quests with other available ones.

Such strangely familiar tools. The Otherworlder wondered just how many people had come to this world. The Otherworlder was given another path at the quest board, which he made full use of. Scrolling through the quests, there wasn't anything that particularly caught his eyes.

'Is it time? Should I go there?' The Otherworlder thought to himself. He certainly was different from when he just came here. He should go there at least once to test himself.

Hiding a sigh, the Otherworlder picked out of the many quests on the board went towards the reception. Murmurs and sighs began again as they all saw the paper in the Otherworlder's hands. Before he reached the reception, a voice called out to him.

"Sir Iatra!"

The Otherworlder turned around and saw a boy in his late teens call him out. The boy wearing the white robes of a cleric was grabbed and pulled back by his other party members. An axe warrior, a scout, a wizard.

"What is it?" the Otherworlder asked.

"Uh… um…! If you are going to the dungeon, could you join us?!" The cleric-clothed healer was once again pulled back and shushed by his other party members when he asked a preposterous question to that Iatra.

Though his party members acted out, all of their eyes were filled with anticipation.

'Join a party… Since I have never been to a dungeon, being in a party will be more than just helpful. There's no need to even think about it.'

"No." The Otherworlder replied without missing a beat.

"A-ah… g-got it. I am sorry." The healer apologized with a disheartened face.

The Otherworlder simply nodded and went back up to the receptionist. The branch manager hadn't left, but had taken a back seat and was observing the Otherworlder with some other veteran adventurers. Ignoring the man, the Otherworlder placed the paper down on the desk.

"You heard them. I am going to the dungeon."

"Uh, understood, but…" the receptionist nervously swayed her eyes around. Her professional face had failed twice in front of one person, truly a shame. "Um.. You will have to get your Spirit Badge updated to go to the dungeon."

Goddamn it.