I knew something like this would happen eventually.


    "Wow! Big bro, never thought I''d see ya here again. Sure surprised me!"


    But I hadn''t expected this.


    The Blue Beast spoke in a dialect that this Seoul country boy couldn''t understand or place. He instantly made me his "hum" and enthusiastically shook my hand in greeting.


    From his behavior, he seemed to know "Roland," son of House Bretagne, personally rather than knowing "Sir Roland, the Tragic Genius Knight." Fair enough since Roland was a noble son from the Empire - he''d naturally have connections.


    Even if his domain had fallen to monster waves, he could have friendships with knights from neighboring domains, social circles, or lance tournaments.


    "...What''s with that speech?"


    "Hah, there ya go pickin'' on my way of talkin'' again. When ya hang with folks down here, yeah? The way ya talk gets all mixed up."


    Though I commented on his strange dialect since I didn''t know their relationship, Jacob just laughed it off. He seemed quite natural joking about it, as if we''d discussed his speech before.


    No one would suspect anything since they''d assume awkwardness after meeting an old acquaintance after nearly 12 years rather than Roland having amnesia. Neither Jacob himself nor our companions trying to dig into my past with interested faces paid attention to my awkward reactions, all focused on Jacob instead.


    The conversation flowed naturally thanks to Jacob''s casual attitude and chattiness. Even when I acted awkward and kept my words brief, he just laughed loudly as if understanding and started telling his own story.


    "Ah, this here''s my daughter. Hehe, ain''t she cute?"


    "Are you daddy''s friend?"


    "That''s right. Say ''hello'' now."


    Jacob''s young daughter became an unexpected conversation lubricant. None of us sociopaths could dislike the small, bright-eyed child bowing with her hands on her belly.


    "So when daddy was young-"


    Being at the Adventurer''s Guild, Jacob was naturally an adventurer. What made him unique was his complete focus on being a pure adventurer - dealing with monster waves and exploring outside human territories through the Adventurer''s Guild rather than mercenary work.


    Thanks to steadily building achievements, Jacob became an executive at the Adventurer''s Guild and was becoming a specialist adventurer who freely traveled east, west and north from his base in the archipelago handling monster waves.


    That''s how he met Roland of Bretagne while wandering the Empire fighting monster waves.


    "Really surprised me back then. Dad thought he was the strongest among his peers."


    "Did daddy lose?"


    "That''s why I called him ''hum''."


    "Wooow...!"


    With overwhelming innate 5★ stats, matching huge build, and adventuring expertise built since youth - Jacob had been confident with all that until he met the natural 6★ genius knight.


    -Who was that knight friend in the Kingdom? Don''t remember male characters lol


    -That weird guy who ran instead of taking a carriage during the orc quest


    -Come to think of it, Roland knew lots of people when everyone gathered at the Adventurer''s Guild


    -There''s that ponytail spear lady and Rebecca, pretty solid connections when you think about it


    -Knowing knight orders, mercenaries, adventurer guilds and nobles, there might be something to this


    Even I had to admit it made sense as I awkwardly avoided Jacob''s gaze while eavesdropping on Han Se-ah''s stream.


    The beloved youngest princess of the Kingdom


    The empress with everything in the Empire at her feet


    And the tragic knight whose family all died


    Naturally, characters released together in Heroines Chronicle traditionally shared some commonalities. Like paladins paired with saints, or kunoichi with shrine maidens, the natural 6★ series should have something in common too.


    Looking at their roles as princess, empress and knight, that commonality might lie in character backgrounds I hadn''t read. Maybe Roland''s spreading connections somehow tied the three together. Thinking about it that way, Han Se-ah''s words made sense.


    "Hahah, I talked too long. Anyway big bro, ya came to the Adventurer''s Guild for somethin'' right? I may not look it but I''m a guild veteran here. I''m the archipelago branch chief so just ask away!"


    While I was lost in thought, Jacob proudly puffed out his chest. Seems he''d gone from guild executive to archipelago guild master. Though small in size, that was just about the building - the Adventurer''s Guild itself hadn''t declined, so it counted as a promotion.


    After the tragic day when Roland silently disappeared, he apparently became a high-ranking guild official and created a truly family-like guild rather than just calling it that. Guild Master Jacob of the archipelago branch, his daughter as receptionist, his wife as clerk... Given the actual small size, his family had basically swallowed the archipelago branch whole.


    "By the way, ya got some kinda request, hum?"


    "Yes. As branch chief you might have heard... monsters leaked out of the tower."


    After long chatter that inevitably led to bragging about his wife and daughter, the doting Jacob pounded his chest promising to help despite our connection being over a decade old. It was somewhat reassuring, if only he''d stop rambling about stories I didn''t know.


    "Yes. So we need to gather information from across the Empire. About strange occurrences with monster waves and such."


    "So ya need news from all over the Empire. Gotta gather everyone up after so long."


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    Han Se-ah carried the conversation for me as I acted - or rather genuinely felt - awkward. When she explained exactly as we had at the Mercenary''s Guild without changing a word, Jacob nodded.


    He muttered to himself, seemingly calculating something, and listening closely revealed he was listing positions and names.


    ...Looks like I might end up meeting a bunch of people who one-sidedly know me.


    Enjoy the chappy!