Chapter 286: Hangover

The next day, in the underground training hall of the house gifted by Aurum...

"This is your last chance, are none of you really going to change your party names?"

Aurelia asked as she sat at a table with documents scattered in front of her.

In front of her, the leader of the four other parties stood with a straight posture, wearing a black-red uniform that made them look both elegant and combat-ready.

The captain of Vanta, Vanessa; The captain of Exemplar, Zild; The captain of Gotun, Lesfera; and the captain of Equilla, Marzana.

Due to the changes brought about by the establishment of the Sanguine Order, they were now parties under one adventurer corporation.

And so, a series of administrative tasks had to be completed to instill a sense of unity among the members.

One such example would be the organization of the party names and other matters.

For uniformity, only Regis was to be addressed as Leader, as he was the leader of the Sanguine Order itself.

As for the other parties, they were to be referred to as squadrons, with each squad leader being addressed as Captain.

Aside from these, there were also other changes—both minor and major—that were implemented for the betterment of the adventurer corporation they had newly established.

Aurelia, who was wearing black-framed glasses that made her look more mature and nerdy, scribbled onto the various documents in front of her.

"So the only one who’ll be confirming the party name change will be us... I’ll now be submitting the final names of the founding parties to the Adventurer Guild after I sign these papers..."

She then glanced at Killian and Pandora, who were standing beside her, "By the way, where’s Regis? Had he not woken up yet?"

Pandora shook her head, while Killian had a wry smile on his face, "We don’t know what happened with those high-ranking members of society last night, so let’s just give him some time for now."

The sarcastic tone when he mentioned the words ’high-ranking members of society’ was especially thick.

Aurelia slightly smiled, "Right, he’s been too busy these past few days..."

Last night, aside from Regis sharing a drink with Aurum and the other important people, they did not know what had happened.

As the one in charge of administrative and other desk affairs, Aurelia spoke, her eyes glancing over to all the members of the Sanguine Order.

"Many requests have been submitted to us by various organizations. However, the majority of them specifically indicated that Regis must perform their quests, so I suggest that we wait for the leader first."

Aurelia cleared her throat and continued, "Of course, this only concerns the large-scale quests we must complete as a corporation. As for smaller-scale quests, the captains can decide at their own discretion."

"Still, the special communication devices we had requested are still currently in process. The funds we have accumulated throughout the years of operating separately are also almost exhausted for the uniforms, the communication devices, the headquarters building, and other matters..."

Aurelia had a wry smile, "In short terms, we’re broke. So I suggest that you all accept some quests for now to stabilize our financial situation. Of course, the profits from the quest will still be divided according to contract rates, so rest assured..."

As for asking Aurum for money? The thought never crossed their mind.

Even though he was their sponsor, they refused to rely on him.

This was also something Regis had made apparent: that, as much as possible, he wanted their corporation to stand on its own two feet.

At this moment, Zild raised his hand, "The Exemplars do not mind if you take all the profit from our quests—"

"No." Aurelia replied firmly, "I know your respect for Regis, but do you think he’ll be happy if you do that? No, in fact, he’ll be happier if you’re all able to enjoy your lives with your own money..."

"Sniff... Sniff..."

Hearing the ever-so-familiar sniffing sounds, Aurelia could not help but facepalm, "Here we go again..."

"Don’t cry..." She said towards the Zild and the other members of Exemplar, as well as Lesfera and the members of Gotun.

"Pfft..." Killian could not help but chuckle, though he was able to stop it under Pandora’s sharp gaze.

"I’m sorry, I just coughed..." He lied with a straight face as he avoided making eye contact with anyone.

Aurelia rolled her eyes at him and announced, "That will be all for today. You’re all free to do your own thing. Meeting adjourned."

"I wonder where Brother Regis is?"

"Maybe he got too tired yesterday?"

"Let’s just let him rest for now..."

...

Seeing the members of the Sanguine Order dispersing while talking among themselves, Aurelia could not help but lean back on her chair with a deep sigh.

Killian and Pandora also sat beside her, both still feeling drained from last night’s party.

"Excuse me..."

The three looked up and saw Marzana with the members of the Equilla squad behind her.

Aurelia fixed her glasses and asked, "What is it?"

"We’re planning to look for a suitable quest, but may we know if we can accept ones outside Harmonia?"

The elven girl asked with a calm voice.

Aurelia shook her head, "I’m sorry, but at least until Regisappears, please avoid quests outside Harmonia or those that have a long duration."

"Understood. "

Marzana nodded with an understanding expression.

After a few small talks, they bid farewell as they left to look for a quest at the Adventurer Guild.

***

Meanwhile, inside a simply furnished room...

"Fuck, I shouldn’t have controlled my Perfect Adaptation last night..."

Regis cursed out loud as he stared at the ceiling with a dazed expression.

As time passed by and as he got stronger, the control of his gift of Perfect Adaptation had also exponentially increased.

If it could be described as a passive ability in the past, he could now will it freely.

This was also precisely why Regis had slept until past noon.

"Is this what they call a hangover?"

The splitting pain in his mind made him decide on one thing.

"I’ll never drink alcohol again..."

Regis promised himself as he prevented the activation of his gift, wanting to relish in this feeling to make sure that he would not make the same mistake again.