Only Novem and I showed our faces at the Eastern Branch Guild.
This was because there was a necessity to receive quests at the reception counter.
However, at Baim, accepting a quest didn't mean you immediately started working.
There was a set period, and you had to complete the quest within that timeframe.
Since the Eastern Branch was a dispatch-style Guild, most people who weren't part of a party about to depart tended to head to the Guild in casual attire.
If a party's credibility was high, they could also accept multiple quests efficiently.
That said, we had just arrived in Baim and had no credibility here. Or rather, because of the trouble we'd gotten into, we were starting from a negative position.
Upon arriving at the Guild, I was able to spot people in casual attire among the adventurers preparing to depart.
They wore robes and had weapons slung at their waists. But that was it.
They didn't give the impression of being about to head to work. Some were cheerfully chatting with the Guild receptionist, others were seriously checking the conditions.
And there were those protesting, dissatisfied with the contents.
The reason I'd made my way to the Eastern Branch early in the morning was to accept quests. To earn the Guild's trust, a high number of completed quests was necessary.
And if our reputation in Baim rose, we'd be allowed to challenge the Dungeon.
The idea was to start building that foundation from the usual, so we could get into the Dungeon sooner.
Among them, the receptionist assigned to me was Tahnia.
(So many receptionists, and it's this one again.)
Black-haired bob cut. And the slender Tahnia was also slender in the chest.
"...You're not thinking anything rude, are you, Laiel-kun?"
"O-of course not. Not at all..."
Your eyes were on my chest. Sorry it's so flat, huh? Want me to assign you some grueling work?"
Novem apologized to Tahnia with a guilty expression.
"I'm sorry. Laiel-sama didn't mean any harm... I think."
I certainly couldn't say "Sorry, I actually did," so I simply offered Tahnia an apologetic smile in lieu of a proper apology.
She seemed to be smiling a little, not particularly bothered by it.
"Well, if I let things like that bother me, I wouldn't be working reception at an adventurer's guild. Anyway, as for your party, Laiel-kun — since this will be your first job in Fonbeau, I'll have to test you a little."
A single document was slid across the reception desk, which was divided into sections by a very long counter.
I took the commission sheet and checked its contents.
"...Subjugation of Monsters?"
Tahnia nodded and explained the current commission.
"It's a request from a village three days' travel from Fonbeau. Grey Wolves have apparently been spotted nearby. You need to report back to reception within twenty-five days once the job is done. The numbers may have grown, so be prepared for ten or more."
Grey Wolves were wolf-like Monsters. The only significant difference between them and actual wolves was whether or not they had a Magic Stone when you killed them.
However, they attacked in packs, were larger than wolves, and prioritized targeting humans.
"The village is still intact, right?"
When I asked for confirmation, Tahnia shrugged her shoulders.
"One of Fonbeau's weaknesses is its food self-sufficiency rate. We make sure to protect the nearby villages. That's why we even build walls for the smaller ones."
Because their territory was truly so small, achieving food self-sufficiency was practically impossible.
However, they purchased food from surrounding areas using funds earned through trade, Magic Stones, materials, treasures, and rare metals.
But at the same time, this was also Fonbeau's weakness.
"Just buying food isn't enough, is it?"
As if on cue, the Seventh Generation's voice came from within the Jewel.
"Just because your self-sufficiency rate is low doesn't mean you can afford to do nothing, Lyle. They'll look down on you for it, and you'd want to show the surrounding nations that you can at least provide for yourselves to some degree."
Hearing that, I had to stop myself from nodding. Tahnia gave a much the same answer as the Seventh Generation. What differed was the latter half.
"If you do nothing, they'll take advantage of you. You'll be forced to buy food at inflated prices. Besides, many of the villages around Baim are home to former adventurers. It's also a place that supports retired adventurers in their second lives. For that reason, they won't easily be wiped out by Monsters."
Hearing that, I thought those people might just be able to handle it. Reading my expression, Tahnia seemed to understand and went on to explain.
"So you're thinking, 'Then there's no need to put out a request,' aren't you?"
"No, well..."
"They will fight when things get dire. But most of them are retired. If they wanted to fight for the thrill of it, they'd still be adventurers. In other words, they won't be eager to take up arms. Well, I've heard there are other reasons too... There are all sorts of things. All sorts."
I was curious about what those "sorts of things" were, but it didn't sound like a pleasant story, so I decided not to ask.
Then, I looked at the request document.
"I wouldn't call it easy, but it's a request we can take on."
Novem nodded as well.
"I think it's achievable. But what did you mean by 'testing us'?"
Tahnia broke into a bright smile, then said:
"To see your actual abilities, of course."
Novem looked like she was about to say something, but stopped halfway and looked at me, then nodded.
"We'll take it. We can decide the departure date ourselves, right?"
Tahnia nodded and asked me to sign the document. Once I did, she took it back.
"How you achieve it on your end doesn't matter to us. Of course, if you resort to criminal methods, the Guild will have to step in and take disciplinary action. But these kinds of requests are also meant to help you learn how things are done in Baim."
So the idea was to have us ease into things with a simple request and learn the Baim way of handling work.
I accepted the paper detailing the request from Tahnia, along with the document to hand over to the client, and left the reception desk.
On the walk back.
I talked with Novem.
"So, three days round trip… but this feels like it could be done with horses, right?"
As I murmured while looking at the map, Novem nodded.
"Yes. If we go on foot, we might need to leave tomorrow to be safe."
From what the request form said, traveling on the twenty-fifth would eat up most of the time just for the journey.
Even if we reached the target village, we'd probably only have a few days to complete the request and return—that would be tight.
"Twenty days round trip on foot? The period we can use for the request, including preparation, is two to three days… Normally, this would be impossible."
Novem nodded again.
"They did say they wanted to test us. Not having confirmed our means of travel on our end might count against us from their perspective."
I gave a wry smile.
I'd thought it was impossible on foot, but at the same time, I sensed it would be doable if we weren't walking.
Looking at the amount on the request form, I could see that if we rented a horse-drawn carriage or something for preparation, we'd barely have any profit left.
Novem was chuckling softly.
"You purposely didn't ask about that, didn't you?"
"Well, I had plenty of room to spare. There was no need to ask."
With twenty-five days, we could comfortably make it back. Just for preparation, even one day would suffice.
The Third Generation's voice came through.
"Hmm, Rael… Let's take on this request with a little breathing room, shall we?"
When I touched the Jewel, the Third Generation explained with a look of amusement. He really did seem to enjoy outsmarting people.
What a personality.
'Well, it's probably a test of sorts — not strength, but something more important. Mobility, you could call it? They're checking how quickly someone can travel from point A to point B.'
The Fifth Generation seemed to agree.
'Since they said it's a dispatch-style Guild, that would be a critical issue. If someone's strong but slow on the move, they'd be hard to send on jobs. There are probably other things they're evaluating too, but... maybe former adventurers have a hand in this as well.'
The Seventh Generation spoke with distaste.
'What a despicable bunch. This is exactly why I hate adventurers!'
The Fourth Generation looked exasperated by the Seventh.
'Since when does that matter? We've done the same things, haven't we? No... there were times we did even worse.'
The Seventh Generation's hatred of adventurers ran deep, so this was purely emotional.
Besides, there was a Guild operating within House Walt's territory as well.
The Seventh had made use of adventurers too. So while they weren't exactly accepting of it, they at least understood.
The Sixth Generation wrapped things up.
'So that means the Guild might be testing their attitude as well over there. Against Grey Wolves, even retired adventurers living in a village could probably manage... so maybe that's it.'
The Third Generation was having a great time.
'There's no need to show them our top speed. Let's travel with some breathing room, and handle things with plenty of margin. Once they figure out what we can do, they'll come asking us for jobs. They just need to think, "These are adventurers who can actually pull their weight." That should be enough.'
I gripped the Jewel and turned my gaze toward Novem, who was walking beside me. But Novem had been looking at the Jewel — no, at my hand.
"Lord Rael, you've been doing that quite a bit lately. Isn't it becoming a habit?"
She probably wasn't accusing me of anything, but Novem was watching my actions closely.
Maybe it had been bothering her for a while now.
"R-Really? No, it's just because you're reliable, so I end up gripping it. Maybe it's become a habit? Well, it's not a weird habit or anything, so what's the problem?"
Novem said with a smile.
"That's true. I do sometimes roll it between my fingertips too, but is there something different about that?"
Feeling like she was being unusually pushy today, I vaguely deflected.
"I wasn't worried about it... More importantly, the timing is a bit awkward. It's too early for lunch — how about we take a break somewhere?"
Looking around, I could see rows of cafés.
Among the shops used by adventurers and the residents of Baim, some had "Opening Soon" signs displayed.
Inside others, adventurers were already eating meals.
(Is my sense of time off? No, I heard that coming out of the Dungeon can throw off your internal clock.)
Clara had taught me about that, but we have Monica.
So when it comes to time, she tells us accurately, which means our sense of time never gets thrown off even after spending days in the dark Dungeon.
As for Novem—
"More importantly, we need to let them know we've accepted the commission. They'll definitely be waiting."
I nodded and started walking toward the inn.
"Hey, Novem."
"Yes?"
What I asked Novem about while we walked was the matter of Miranda and the others.
Ever since Novem had confessed everything at Fonbeau's estate, the party's atmosphere had been somewhat tense.
No, rather than tense, it felt more... businesslike.
Miranda didn't seem to be doing anything behind the scenes, either. It could just be that I hadn't noticed, but even when I checked carefully with my Skills, there was nothing.
Right. There was nothing.
In the current party, there was hardly any conversation.
Novem was always together with Eva.
Miranda, with Shannon.
Clara was basically on her own, though she sometimes tagged along with Novem or Miranda.
Aria was often bickering with Monica, but for the most part, she stayed with Miranda.
Monica, on the other hand... showed interest in no one but me, pretty much. She looked after everyone, sure, but there was a clear difference in warmth when it came to me.
"Think you can get along?"
I didn't ask with what.
Novem smiled and nodded.
"Don't worry. I can get along with Baim just fine. With Lord Lyle's abilities, you'll without a doubt become a first-rate adventurer."
I scratched my head.
"...Is that so."
So Novem planned to keep things with Miranda as they were. If they both stuck to a policy of non-interference, that was far better than picking fights.
Still—
(Is this really okay, though?)
Shouldn't I be doing something about their relationship? That was what I thought.
Night.
I was inside the Jewel.
In the Fifth Generation's memory room, I lay collapsed on the ground, staring up at the ceiling. My breathing was ragged, I was drenched in sweat and covered in blood... Even after that subsided, I couldn't get up.
The Fifth Generation was holding a single-edged sword in his right hand, but the blade was riddled with cracks.
A serpent sword.
Its wielder, the Fifth Generation, was looking down at me without even breathing hard.
"Your movements are worse than before. You fall for feints too easily. On top of that, you're not putting any real power into your strikes. Your concentration was all over the place."
Having summarized my shortcomings, I dismissed the serpent sword from my right hand. The saber that had been embedded in the ground nearby also vanished.
"...Are you still hung up about what happened this morning?"
The Fifth Generation, perhaps sensing what I was feeling, sat down and spoke to me.
"It's not that I'm interested in harems or anything, but we're all party members. I was wondering if there was some way we could all just get along..."
When I sat up, the Fifth Generation pressed his palm to his forehead and shook his head in exasperation.
The Fifth Generation could certainly be called a harem expert himself, so I decided to ask if he had any advice.
"Is there any kind of solution? Should I have them all sit down and talk it out?"
I directed the question at the Fifth Generation.
"You're asking me? I feel like you've got the wrong person for this... but I guess I'm the only one here."
From what I'd heard, the Sixth Generation had kept concubines too. But the Seventh Generation had said something about it being terribly difficult.
After all, the Seventh Generation had seen what a harem looked like and had apparently decided he wanted only one wife.
"Did the Sixth Generation fail?"
When I asked, the Fifth Generation waved his left hand dismissively.
"You idiot. There's no way that could ever work out. Think about it from the opposite direction. How would you feel if Novem had other men? What if she told you she liked you just as much and wanted to live together with them too?"
When I shook my head as hard as I could, the Fifth Generation nodded.
"If there were five or six men around Novem, could you really love only her?"
That gave me some pause, but I flatly rejected it anyway.
Because I couldn't be satisfied with that reasoning.
"I still think a harem is out of the question. Honestly, just Novem is enough for me... but I understand that's not really an option right now. Still, a harem is a bit..."
"Can't do it. At best, maybe a mistress or two? With political marriages, it's pretty common for both sides to take lovers after producing heirs. I'm not in a position to meddle in that sort of thing, but... the Walt family was indeed pretty distant from all that. Still, in your case the problem is that those girls' objective is you, so it's trickier. If they gave up on you, they wouldn't follow you around."
Considering the reason the First Generation had joined the expeditionary force, it was downright heartwarming — he'd wanted to measure up to the person he loved.
But in my case, setting Eva aside as a special case, the rest were after me specifically.
The Fifth Generation had been worried about that too.
"What should I do, then?"
The Fifth Generation told me plainly.
"Don't do anything. Listen — as long as things don't get worse, absolutely do not interfere in the relationship between those two."
His answer, to my surprise, was to do nothing.