I headed to the Guild today with Novem in tow.
We'd already decided to gather our companions and take on a request, but there was always the chance another party had claimed it by now.
That said, I couldn't keep bouncing ideas off my companions and deliberating forever. I had a few candidates in mind—which request to take, and what to fall back on if it didn't work out—but if none of those panned out, or if a new request caught my eye, I'd consult with Novem.
(With Aria, I can't really trust her judgment on these things.)
I wasn't saying Aria was useless—she was still just about managing her own affairs, and didn't have the bandwidth to think about anyone else's. So when it came to making these kinds of decisions, Novem or Miranda were really the ones suited for it.
After them, maybe Clara?
As usual the place was a madhouse, but it was still early in the morning, so the crowd was on the lighter side.
Looking around, I spotted some of the adventurers we'd worked with on dungeon raids. Among them were a few I could've done without seeing.
"Ugh! The tomboy!"
The one glaring at me with a look of pure disgust was Erhard, heading off to work. He wasn't carrying his greatsword today, but the tank top was the same as ever.
(It's still cold out, isn't it?)
Bemused, I gave him a casual wave anyway. Novem offered a polite bow as well.
"Harsh. You look like you're doing alright, though."
At those words, Erhard puffed out his chest proudly.
"You bet! I've finally gotten to the point where I can clear a B-rank evaluation. Once I save up enough cash to upgrade my gear, I'm heading straight into the dungeon and leaving you in the dust!"
I watched Erhard's back as he headed out with his party in tow, and somehow the sight of his growth made me genuinely happy.
"He's actually taking his work seriously for once… He could just buy a jacket, though."
At that, Novem gave a wry smile.
"There must be something he can't bring himself to give up. On the other hand, all those metallic pieces around his waist really do stand out."
Erhard's equipment, which usually looked unbalanced between upper and lower body, wasn't visible this time. Normally he wore metallic armor around his waist and legs.
"Guess it's not needed for errand work. But he seems to be handling things well."
I felt somewhat relieved.
If anything went wrong, I'd have a miserable rest of the day.
(Marianne did ask me to look after him, after all.)
Just as I was thinking that, I ran into an overly friendly acquaintance first thing in the morning with a bright, refreshing smile. It was Crate.
"Good morning, Laiel!"
This time I was the one about to go "Gah!" but Novem greeted Crate instead.
"It's been a while."
"Hey, Novem. You're bringing a different woman along every day, aren't you?"
Crate probably meant no harm with his cheerful smile, but the people around us didn't see it that way. Envious glances and pitying stares stabbed into me from all directions.
From within the Jewel came the Fourth Generation's voice.
"*This kind of guy with no bad intentions is actually the worst kind, you know?*"
The Third Generation laughed.
"*If he could pull it all off deliberately, he'd be a real piece of work. But he doesn't seem that calculating, so he's probably a good guy. Keep your distance and stay on friendly terms — he might make a solid ally.*"
When I greeted Crate too, I noticed he was dressed casually. "Casually," though — maybe it was just his personality, but even so his outfit was remarkably neat.
His collar was properly buttoned, and his clothes had almost no wrinkles.
"I always think this, but you really are put-together, aren't you? You don't look much like an adventurer."
At that, Crate smiled.
"Is that so? I'm not sure whether to be happy or sad about that. But our ultimate goal is to enter government service, after all."
Come to think of it, I felt like I'd heard something like that before.
"To enter government service?"
When I said that, Crate puffed out his chest and rapped it with his right hand.
"That's right! We're a party that gathered together to become knights! Until the day we meet the lord we're meant to serve, we're honing ourselves!"
I thought he was a pretty intense guy, but I suppose he had a purpose and was keeping himself disciplined. It did feel like he was going a bit overboard, though.
Just then, Crate glanced at the clock inside the Guild.
"Oh no, I need to get going! Well then, if you'll excuse me, Rael!"
Watching Crate leave with a smile on his face, I found myself waving goodbye.
The Seventh Generation, upon seeing Crate, remarked:
"I can respect the spirit, but why become an adventurer...?"
The Seventh Generation despised adventurers. He rarely said the right thing in moments like these, so I ignored him.
Just then, Novem called out to me.
"Rael-sama, it's your turn."
Looking ahead as she said that, I saw the adventurers who had been talking at the counter stepping away.
(So Tahnia's handling reception today.)
With her short-cropped hair and glasses, she came across as a capable, no-nonsense woman, and her work was just as meticulous and swift as her appearance suggested.
I headed to the counter with my documents in hand, greeting Tahnia as I arrived.
"Hi there. It's been a while."
"Yes, it has been quite some time. What brings you in today?"
"I'm looking to take on a commission. Would you accept something like this?"
I set down the documents and pointed at one, and Tahnia was already poring over the papers in front of her, lost in thought.
"There's already a party that's taken that one. Want to see something new? Also, if you could take on this commission, it would really help me out right now."
The one Tahnia wanted them to take on was something that would take a lot of time but offered low pay.
"That's a little rough, isn't it?"
When I said that, Tahnia seemed to already understand that much.
"We feel the same way, honestly, but we're in a bit of a bind if no one takes it. And if you do accept, the Magic Stones you obtain from subjugations along the way—we'll buy those back at a slightly premium price."
When I heard that and stopped to think, Novem asked about the buyback price.
"How much are we talking? And does this commission count toward evaluation?"
Tahnia had a troubled expression.
"Even ten percent above market rate is fine, depending on the volume. But as for evaluation... would it be a problem if only my personal rating went up?"
Tahnia tilted her head slightly with a smile, and Novem replied.
"That's not going to work."
At that, Tahnia gave a wry laugh.
"Fair enough. Even I would turn that down."
I was honestly surprised that Tahnia had tried to push something like that on them. But I was glad I'd brought Novem along.
I might have just accepted it myself.
Novem continued talking with Tahnia.
"So then—is it possible to take on both of these at the same time?"
"It is, but... if so, it would really help if you could handle this one on your way back."
When Novem turned her gaze toward me, I checked over the details.
(In terms of a quota, that's a bit much. Handling two would be more than enough. Besides, if I took on a third, I'd be scraping by this month)
I...
"Taking on that many would really stretch me thin this month. Running that low on breathing room isn't great either."
When I said that, Tahnia gave a slight shrug.
"That's the thing—I expect this situation to persist for a while."
"Huh?"
When I looked at Tahnia's expression, it was dead serious. She told me that requests would be increasing for the foreseeable future—or rather, that the number of adventurers taking on requests was about to drop.
"I can't say for certain, but the nation of Zayin and the nation of Rolfis have entered a state of tension. I don't think either side will move immediately, but both factions are already rallying manpower. If things go south, we could be looking at armies clashing in the tens of thousands."
Hearing that, Novem—
"That was Alette's homeland, wasn't it?"
Tahnia nodded and continued her explanation.
"I don't know whether Laiel and the others will join in, but at that scale, adventurers will be flooding in. The number of requests will go up too, but since the number of adventurers available to take them will drop correspondingly, the Guild has to process all of it—"
To process it all, they'd be raising the quota.
(Damn. So requests are going to keep piling up for a while.)
Hearing that, Novem appeared deep in thought as well.
However, from within the Jewel, a cheerful voice chimed in.
The Third Generation spoke.
*"Oh my—a war involving tens of thousands?"*
The Fourth Generation added.
*"The preparations would be grueling. If we're going to have Laiel participate, we'll need intelligence too."*
The Fifth Generation too.
*"Ride the winning horse, or turn the tide from a disadvantage... If it's the latter, we could use Laiel's objective to gather allies."*
The Sixth Generation disagreed.
*"Winning and spreading one's name has its merits as well. That would make it easier to draw people in. Besides, Laiel has no experience with large-scale battles. Turning a disadvantage around would be difficult, I think."*
The Seventh Generation spoke up.
*"This is an opportunity. Let's go with proactive intervention. That said, we can't do anything without information."*
Among the Successive Heads, the consensus was gradually forming around having me participate.
*(...And what about my opinion?)*
When Novem and I returned to the inn, we explained everything we'd heard at the Guild to the whole group.
Everyone had gathered in my room, so it felt cramped.
Monica prepared tea for everyone, and we held our discussion over cups.
Shannon said,
"...So the number of requests we take on is going to increase? Can't we just refuse?"
If that were possible, it would be easy, but the Guild was in trouble precisely because there weren't enough adventurers to take on the requests.
We couldn't simply say "business as usual" here—the other side wouldn't accept that.
Besides, I was actually planning to accept a reasonable number of them, since I wanted to build up some goodwill.
Miranda turned to Shannon.
"That's exactly why we're having this discussion, isn't it? Say we take on the low-paying requests this time—what about next time? If we only take on Guild requests, our income is going to be tight."
Normally, our income came from quest rewards and the Magic Stones and materials we gathered on the way there and back.
Unlike dungeon subjugation, the reward amounts were significantly lower.
If we took on enough of them, we could make a decent income from the quest fees alone, but I had another idea as well.
"Incidentally, regarding the upcoming war between Rolfis and Zayin... we're going to participate."
When Eva heard this, she seemed a little interested. As expected, as a Bard, she couldn't help but feel drawn to the battlefield.
I didn't think it would be anything enjoyable to watch, but it was true that hero ballads were popular among many people.
"It's in poor taste, but I am interested."
May, however, being a divine beast, couldn't seem to comprehend it.
"So they're killing members of their own kind? I don't understand that. Well, I guess with such large populations, it's just an extension of a territorial dispute."
It was essentially nothing more than a territorial dispute.
Clara spoke up.
"At our scale, we wouldn't count as much of a fighting force. Even if our quality is good, mercenary companies still value numbers above all else. There's no guarantee we'd profit from participating."
We had no know-how when it came to joining a mercenary company and earning money that way. However, I did know people who were well-versed in such matters.
The Fourth Generation offered me advice.
"Laiel says he wants to gather intelligence. We'll also split up between quests to stockpile whatever supplies we need along the way."
I opened my mouth.
"Our participation is decided. However, for the time being, we'll prioritize intelligence gathering. Depending on what we find, we may decide to sit this one out. Our policy should be to collect information while taking on quests."
When I relayed my decision, Aria looked a bit uncertain.
"But that means... if we participate, we'd be fighting against other people, right?"
As Aria looked around at the group, Miranda spoke.
"If it's something we'll eventually have to experience, it might be worth getting a feel for the atmosphere at least once. But I won't accept a pointless death. If I think it's reckless, I'll object."
Rather than objecting herself, she seemed to be worried that I might do something reckless. As I nodded, Novem opened her mouth.
"Alette said she'd write an introduction letter for Lord Lyle, though she might have been in a hurry. Since Alette would be returning to her homeland of Rolfis, if we side with Zayin, we'd be enemies."
When everyone thought of Alette, they couldn't help but have mixed feelings — she was a hard person to hate. Besides, Alette was undoubtedly skilled.
If we met on the battlefield, it wasn't guaranteed we could win unscathed. No, for newcomers like us, we'd make perfect targets.
Monica spoke.
"Hmm, this is a bit troublesome. If only we'd had a little more time, she could have been of great help… Well, with me here, a one-against-a-thousand performance is guaranteed! After all, I'm a maid!"
I snorted derisively.
"With ten thousand enemies out there, what good does one person do you? Even if you took on a thousand by yourself, how many would still be left? And why does being a maid make it any safer?"
In response to my question, Monica spun around once, let her twin tails sway, pinched her skirt with her fingers to lift it, and gave a perfect curtsy.
"That's just what maids do. Besides, I'm the full-option version now! Things I couldn't do before are now possible!"
All I'd ever seen were the useful little gadgets she'd added for cleaning and cooking.
I gave a vague reply and looked at everyone.
"Nobody opposes participating… good. Then going forward, we'll focus on accepting quests. However, I'd like to leave some members behind in Baim to continue gathering information."
With nine of us, it should be possible to split off a few and still complete quests.
At that, Miranda raised her hand.
"Something on your mind, Miranda?"
"That's right. I've hired a few information brokers in Baim before. I got to know a good one back then. I'll introduce them to Lyle."
She said this with a smile, but hearing her words jogged my memory.
(She mentioned having someone monitor Novem. So she'd already been looking into information brokers.)
Miranda added, almost as an afterthought.
"I've also had them look into the surrounding countries. Including Banseim. It might be worth hearing what they've found before we take action."
I looked at Miranda. There were plenty of things I wanted to say, but having just made that accepting statement, I couldn't very well criticize her for acting independently.
(And besides, this is actually for my benefit.)
If it were something that would hold me back, I would have warned her, but—
"Understood. Let's meet. Also, I should thank you. From next time on, though, it would help if you consulted me first."
As I said that, the Fourth Generation spoke up.
"Lyle, why don't you pay Miranda her fee? She's probably spent quite a handsome amount. You should be the one covering it."
I gripped a Jewel and handed it to Miranda.
"While we're at it, tell me the total expenses. I'll pay."
Miranda brushed her hair back from her ear as she replied.
"Oh my, then maybe I should say a hundred gold coins or two hundred."
She said it as a joke.
"Fine. If that's how much was spent, I'll pay."
At that, Miranda's expression turned serious.
"I'm kidding. But I do want you to handle these things properly. I'm glad you trust me, but being careless won't do."
Thinking to myself that she was remarkably principled, I nodded and confirmed the expenses Miranda had incurred.
The Sixth Generation spoke.
"As expected of Miranda! That saves us the trouble of finding an information broker."
Then the Fifth Generation chimed in.
"Are you an idiot? There might be better information brokers out there. Besides, we're going to need even more information from now on. Can one or two people really cover it?"
Having secured everyone's agreement, I stood up and decided to begin taking action.
(Well, I wonder what kind of situation we're dealing with)
Not everything would necessarily be in my favor, but right now, I had to use whatever I could to take down Ceres.
(I can't afford to be idealistic about this)
That was what I thought.