A Certain Receptionist Elf's Secret Weapon

"A royal client…"

The Elf Receptionist gulped.

A named request from royalty. Taken on its own, that would have been fine. Just process it like any other request, just do the job like any other job.

But the designated recipients happened to be, of all people, the three "Spirit-Possessed"――and that fact alone sent the difficulty of this job through the roof.

…Royal requests. Refusing one required a suitable reason.

Let's run through some examples.

"I'm gravely injured and can't take this on"――even that, as a rule, wasn't a valid refusal.

In such a case, a healer would be arranged, and the adventurer would be made to accept anyway.

Unless they were already dead, or so badly mutilated that even a healer couldn't patch them back together, refusal wasn't permitted.

Because, after all, the client was royalty.

Sure, various expenses got tacked onto the quest fee, but paying that much was trivial for royalty.

"I already have another quest lined up"――not a valid refusal either.

Another adventurer would be assigned to that job, and the lost reward would even be compensated.

"They're already out in some secluded region we can't even contact"――even then, adventurers would be hired to relay the message and sort things out.

Because, after all, the client was royalty.

Sure, various expenses got tacked onto the quest fee, but paying that much was trivial for royalty.

"My friend's wedding is that day"――obviously not a valid refusal either.

They'd smooth things over with every single guest. With a smile. Mind if we take precedence on this one? Or are you saying you outrank royalty?

In exchange, of course, an even grander wedding venue would be arranged, and all expenses covered on top of that. So this one actually tended to be welcomed.

Because, after all, the client was royalty.

Sure, various expenses got tacked onto the quest fee, but paying that much was trivial for royalty.

Of course, there were limits, and sometimes royalty was willing to bend a little. Waiting two or three days was fine, or if the adventurer flatly refused, they'd move on to someone else instead. That sort of thing would be communicated in advance.

This royal case, too, had come with a full month of grace before acceptance was required. Because the targets were Spirit-Possessed, the maximum possible consideration had been granted.

Or so it should have been.

"Not an SP Quest. Pass, yo."

"Yeah. SP Quests are pretty much the only thing we're in the mood for right now."

"…I-I see. Um, well, please feel free to call on us anytime you change your mind."

But the Spirit-Possessed. Yes, the Spirit-Possessed would scoff at a royal request and leave it sitting there without a second thought.

And when would they feel like picking it up? That was entirely at the Spirit-Possessed's whim.

SP Quests were mysterious requests that just slipped into the listings out of nowhere. Technically, they followed the Adventurer Guild's quest template, so the paperwork got processed, but by the time anyone noticed, they had vanished again. Truly bizarre things. And lately, the girls had been taking nothing but those.

Ah, if only the royals had offered SP as the reward, they would've accepted in a heartbeat…

"Sounds like a main scenario quest though, so maybe we'll pick it up whenever."

"Stuff like this tends to just sit there until you accept it anyway."

At those words, the Elf Receptionist gave a small start. She remembered. The magic words for getting the Spirit-Possessed to take the bait.

The trump-card keyword written down around page 103 of the manual!

But would it actually work? Timidly, she raised her hand a little, and spoke the words.

"…U-Um. This one's a 'limited-time event,' so the acceptance window is, ah, limited."

"Hm!? Limited-time, you say!"

"The tide has turned. Let's hear it."

"That it has. So, how long do we have before it actually becomes a problem?"

Th-They really took the bait!?

The manual was right! She felt a twinge of genuine emotion welling up.

Actually, most regular quests were time-limited to begin with. The only exceptions were standing quests and stale ones where the client had half-given up on anyone ever taking them.

Originally, a quest was issued precisely because something needed doing by such-and-such a date, so… they were inherently limited-time, but… for whatever inscrutable reason, the manual was right. It really was right.

But then, for some reason, the conversation shifted to only one of them heading to the Royal Capital.

The remaining two enthusiastically set to powering through the guild's regular quests.

P-Please, forget about all that and take the royal client's request!! she wanted to scream. But having even one of them accept was already a blessing, and the guild's regular quests getting cleared was a huge help, so she couldn't say anything… no, since it was a royal matter, she really ought to say something… but then they started gleefully snapping up and clearing requests no one else had been willing to touch…

W-Well, surely… this had to be the Spirit-Possessed's judgment that one of them was enough. I've done what I can. I'll just punt the whole thing to the Guild Master. If further persuasion is needed, surely he'll handle it… ah, but even if he fails, please don't let any harm come to the town. Seriously. Please don't go provoking them carelessly, all right? Seriously!

And so the Elf Receptionist resolved to pin the responsibility squarely on the Guild Master.