"It's almost evening…"

  She whispers, eyes closed with a soft sigh.

  I slammed the sack down on the counter—firmly.

  "AH—what the hell!"

  She flinched, face scrunching before narrowing her eyes at me.

  "Hello, Sir Pax…"

  She sighed again.

  "It's pretty rude to just slam it, you know…"

  "I understand you're a grumpy old man and all…"

  She added with mockery as she opened the sack.

  "Sir Pax."

  She leaned back in her chair.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  "I didn’t see you take a quest from the board a second time."

  She scoffed.

  "I'm going to fine you for this, you know."

  "That's not the problem here, Ellis."

  I said calmly.

  "Yes, I did take the quest. I didn’t grab the quest paper."

  "But the board listed it as a Stannum rank—two Natum Maws."

  "And in the sack—"

  "Mimic Maws," she finished.

  …

  "It’s a mistake on the guild’s part."

  "We always confirm quests before pinning them."

  "We never post false information."

  She stood, walking out from behind the counter toward the board. I followed.

  “We have special pins. Only used by the guild.”

  “Of course, we don’t tell hunters that. We make them look ordinary—easy to overlook.”

  She pointed at the quest I had completed.

  “That pin is different. Not one of ours.”

  “Ours are plain. Functional.”

  “This one’s darker. Looks hand-crafted.”

  …

  "I apologize for not noticing."

  “My seat’s too far to catch the detail."

  She stared at the board, eyes narrowing slightly.

  "I’ll be more cautious next time…"

  …

  "Thank you for bringing this to us."

  "And for surviving."

  "Yes, you broke two rules: taking a quest without confirmation and one above your rank…"

  …

  "But had you not…"

  "A Stannum rank—or higher—might have died."

  “So thank you, Pax.”

  She sighed, then gently patted my shoulder.

  "…I’ll excuse you again. But I can’t give you the reward."

  She tore the quest off the board.

  "I understand, Ellis."

  I bowed my head.

  "Again, Sir Pax… Please stick to your current rank—Lapis."

  She smiled warmly before returning to her counter.

  …

  Now, I don’t know what path to take.