For a few hours, the receptionist and the archer remained inside the office. Talking about what had happened during their expedition to the dungeon. That they didn't violate any rules, the new cave area appeared, and the death of Riyu.
"I see… That… I can't blame you for anything that has happened down there." Thankfully, even Clarissa knows that the kid wasn't really at fault here. The dungeon exists to not be taken lightly, and every single adventurer must always proceed with caution.
They just got unlucky, that's all.
"Yet, you look so guilty," Clarissa added, his eyes… it wasn't like that before. So much guilt and regret, she had seen this type of expression before. To the point that she had enough of it and just stopped looking at people's eyes.
But this is a kid. Barely an adult.
"Kid, go to school. You are not needed here. You're too young to be exploring this… hellhole."
He lifted his face, looking at her with such a depressing expression. She could tell that this kid wanted to cry, but doing his very best not to.
Suddenly, she grabbed his head and pulled him towards her chest. Clarissa has chosen to hug him, to comfort him using her warmth.
"I…This isn't what I usually do. But for now, you get lucky." Her voice turned soft, gentle, and kind. The warmth of her body and the sound of her heart beating made him realize that… he was alive.
Tears fell out of his glands. He is crying again, but not making any noise at all. The office went silent, only the cries of a silent man could be heard.
<••••••••••••••••••••••••••>
After 20 minutes of crying, he finally stabilized and went out of the office with the guild receptionist. They went towards the clinic and found the two adventurers lying on a bed. Riyu is in another room.
Enrid is currently on the bed, with a bandage wrapped around his head and being treated by a cleric. Esther is being treated by a mage, who is currently transferring mana onto her veins so that she won't die out of mana exhaustion.
Cliff couldn't look at them at all. From his perspective, he dragged these people down to their demise.
"Don't look down, brother.. You didn't do anything wrong," Enrid reassured the red-haired teenager, lifting his hand for a thumbs up.
"B-but…"
Before he could even reply, he got cut off by a certain female who shouldn't be even conscious and started talking.
"We're adventurers… We knew what we were doing when we entered that place. It was just a matter of when and who will go first…'' It was Esther, the mage who held out and battled against the knight of flowers. She had severely weakened its bodily function, granting Cliff the advantage he had during his battle against the Knight of Flowers.
Suddenly, Clarissa declared. With a scroll in her hand, she read it out loud to everyone.
"Esther and Enrid, from the orders of the guild leader… I hereby declare the two retired from service and have the crimes you two have committed to be pardoned. You are now free."
The two injured adventurers stared at her in shock. Their pupils widened.
Then, they just laughed. The entire room was filled with laughter, then soon came the tears. They are now free.
Then, it became silent.
"I have to thank brother Riyu for this… He never gave us any gift yet… the first and the last gift he gave us is our freedom…" His face was covered by his broad shoulder, hiding away his crying expression.
"...What a t-tsundere, god…" She couldn't even move her body, her voice shaky and trembling. It's a mixed emotion for both of them.
Clarissa put her hand on Cliff's shoulder and patted it before exiting the room, leaving the three of them alone.
"...Cliff, how did you defeat the knight?" Esther asked. She passed out and only woke up now, there's a lot she missed out on. Enrid nodded, he was also curious.
They deserve to know the truth. They saved me, after all.
"I…received a blessing from the Divine Phoenix." A sudden shocking reveal, at least that's what Cliff expected yet they looked at him as if it was nothing surprising.
"I mean, you are from the Carmesi lineage, after all, it makes sense…" Esther replied, while Enrid just put his fingers underneath his chin.
"W-wait, what do you mean? How is my family connected to this???" His face contorted out of confusion, and his eyebrow lifted.
"What do you mean 'how'? The Carmesi Lineage is known for its heirs being connected with the Divine Phoenix. Aren't you the heir?" Enrid explained. Despite looking like a muscle brain, he knows the history. After all, he doesn't want to offend royalty or they'll cut off his head.
"What?" Taken by surprise, he stepped backward out of shock. His knees grew weak and he sat down out of dizziness.
What is going on…? This isn't the knowledge that I know… Infinite Dungeon never had a proper storyline. It was all about your character exploring the depths of the dungeon until you reached the deepest floor and ended the game by killing the final boss… Even though I never got to the ending, the people I knew told me about the ending…
"C-can you guys tell me everything? I feel like I've been f-far too sheltered…" Cliff chuckled in shock, he couldn't believe any of it. So, the most logical thing to do is to just ask them. But, there's a problem.
"Aren't you the heir though? How come you don't know anything?" Esther wondered, she's a mage so she knows stuff about magic and the history of it. Her knowledge is valuable.
I must answer this one carefully. If they suspect me of stealing a royal's identity, that could be considered a crime. I am an imposter, but not that kind of imposter!
"...I've been cursed as a child, by a witch."
"A witch?!" They both shouted the same word.
Witches are one of the paths that
[ Mages ] can take after leveling up to level 50. They can either stay being a mage or go through a class upgrade. Witches are evil-oriented mages that are powerful enough to inflict massive debuffs and deadly spells onto an enemy.
A curse is one of them. However, those are mostly temporary. But since this is the realistic mode of Infinite Dungeon, it became permanent.
"The curse made me unable to use my mana at all…" Cliff fiddles with his fingers, embarrassed and shy to share any of his private details with people. But if it's with them, it's fine. They can keep a secret.
"It halves my mana pool, making me unable to cast any spells. If I force myself, I'll immediately…undergo what Esther is currently feeling right now." He looked at Esther, who is currently recovering and cannot move her body at all.
Technically, I can't learn it because I do not have the required amount of INT for it. But they don't need to know that fact.
She looked silly, looking at the ceiling while talking.
"Hm… I have a suggestion." Esther stated.
Cliff's ears perked up like he was a cat or something. Her response made him interested in what was on her mind.
"Since Me and Enrid are retired now. How about we train you?"
Train? I can understand Enrid training my body and endurance, but Esther? How?
"You must be thinking as to how, right?"
There they go again, am I that see-through? She's not even looking at me.
"Tell me." He leaned forward, clasping his hands together. He got his hopes up, and he doesn't want it to disappoint him. After all, magic is one of the most essential tools and weapons you can ever have.
"However– Pay us first~ We're gonna be your mentors so–"
Suddenly, Cliff threw a small bag towards Enrid. Fortunately, he caught it before it could hit his arm or face. He was pretty accurate with the throw. The warrior pulls the cloth that closes the bag and reveals a mountain of gold coins.
"30 Gold, would that be enough?"
It seems that Cliff already made up his mind, and so are they.
"Laddie, don't you think you should buy new boots? You're pretty barefoot right now." Enrid mentioned. His eyes kept drifting to the lad's foot. Finally, Cliff took a look and found out that his [ Goblin's Footwear ] had been destroyed.
"What the–"
Oh right. I turned off all notifications from the system, and it didn't notify me of breaking my armor.
Great. Fucking hell–!