"So this is the place."
The location Miranda brought me to wasn't on Baim's main street.
It looked like it might get lively once night fell, but during the day there was hardly any foot traffic and not a trace of vitality.
Following behind Miranda, I entered a building where a young girl greeted us.
"Welcome! Oh, Miranda—is your sister not with you today?"
She was a cute girl, but there was a composed, almost mature quality to her.
(A gnome, probably.)
As I was thinking that, Miranda spoke up.
"My lover. We're dating with marriage in mind."
I nearly choked, and the gnome girl had both hands pressed to her cheeks, hiding her face.
I hurried to explain that there had been a misunderstanding, but—
"So this person is a threat to women? You seem much gentler than I expected. Oh, Rauno is in the back room."
Miranda nodded, then confirmed the payment with the girl.
"Thank you, Innis. So, how much is the fee?"
The gnome girl called Innis quoted Miranda the commission for this job.
"It's just a rumor check, after all. Only confirmed information, and these are recent rumors, so—how about something like this?"
When she named the amount, it struck me as rather steep. The successive heads inside the Jewel seemed to agree, as the Fourth Generation—
"Even if she's skilled, if her work doesn't justify the price, there's no need for her here. Besides, this place clearly doesn't have many people."
Rauno and Innis made two, but it certainly didn't look like they had many hands on staff.
However, Miranda looked satisfied.
"Fine. I'll hand it to Innis on the way out."
At that, Innis's face lit up with a smile. She looked genuinely happy.
"Thank you so much. Now I can pay rent."
The latter half of that was obviously a worrying thing to hear, and I started to doubt whether this information broker Miranda had vouched for was really reliable.
(Is she actually going to be okay?)
Following Miranda, I headed toward the room in the back.
When I stepped inside, there was a man lying on the sofa under a blanket. And he reeked of alcohol.
Liquor and snacks sat on the table, and despite it being well into the day, he was still asleep. I looked over at Miranda.
"His skills are solid. He meets his deadlines, and aside from his personality, he's quite competent."
Then, perhaps reacting to Miranda's voice—
"Sorry my personality's such a problem. What's this? You bring a guy along today?"
The man who sat up, yawning and stretching his back— that had to be Rauno. When I greeted him, he roughly cleared the table and told me to sit down.
Innis opened the door and came in, quickly wiping down the table and preparing tea.
Meanwhile, Rauno went and brought over a document.
Miranda accepted it, but then handed it to me.
"You don't need to look at what's inside?"
"Laiel can read it after I've had a look. You go first."
When I opened the document as instructed, Rauno sat on the sofa looking half-asleep, glancing back and forth between me and Miranda.
And then—
"So the adventurer in question is our guest?"
Miranda narrowed her eyes, crossing her legs as she looked at Rauno.
"Got a problem with that?"
"No, no problem at all. Good-paying customers are important. Ideally, though, they'd pay the commission to me instead of Innis—that'd be a real help."
Miranda tilted her head with a smile.
"Too bad. I said I'm handing it to Innis."
"I see."
As Rauno looked slightly disappointed, I skimmed through the documents and nodded.
(They've laid out the accurate information. Unconfirmed details are listed separately, good.)
From within the Jewel, the Fifth Generation spoke to me through the documents.
"Rolfis and Zayin are both pretty small. Actually, they're smaller than the domains in my era?"
The Sixth Generation added.
"Mobilizing ten thousand troops on this scale would be... quite difficult, wouldn't it? Is there some groundbreaking method we're not seeing?"
I looked through the documents myself, but I couldn't see how a domain this size could field an army of ten thousand. A total mobilization—gathering every able-bodied man—might make it technically possible, but that would create its own set of problems.
(Zayin is larger than Rolfis, but it doesn't look like it could support ten thousand troops either.)
The documents also covered information about other nations.
Every country in Baim's vicinity was smaller compared to Banseim. It seemed to be a situation where small nations had been skirmishing with one another for hundreds of years.
Then the Third Generation spoke.
"Oh—I see. It's because of Baim. The City of Adventurers—having it there means that mercenaries and adventurers are constantly present in large numbers. If anything comes up, mercenary groups and adventurers pour in from Baim."
The Seventh Generation, upon hearing this—
"There's also a possibility that the Guild is pulling strings behind the scenes and managing things rather skillfully. And perhaps the surrounding nations aren't just sitting idly by when any one country grows too large."
It was thought that these neighboring nations each had their own set of circumstances like this.
(So then, is the next war just a sham too?)
As I thought about that while looking over the documents, my head started to hurt.
The contents described were far worse than I had imagined.
Seeing my expression, Rauno looked amused.
"What's the matter? Disappointed because you learned the inside story of Zayin? The world is full of stories like that."
I shifted my gaze from the documents to Rauno.
"If it were only Zayin, that would be one thing. But if Rolfis is just as bad, then Selva among the surrounding nations looks suspicious too. Galleria, home to that remarkable woman, and Rusworth as well... it seems like every last one of them is nothing but war."
Rauno laughed.
"Coming from the heir of a former count's family in the great nation of Banseim, this probably looks like mere skirmishes. But well, great nations have their own different set of circumstances. Besides, this is a city of adventurers and merchants. The fact that plenty of people rise to power through war just means there's plenty of war to go around."
While thinking I'd heard something unpleasant, I handed the documents over to Miranda. Miranda checked their contents, but her expression didn't change.
She didn't seem to be shocked at all.
However, inside the Jewel, the successive Heads had all started raising a commotion at once.
"What is this... this is awful."
"More than awful — what are they even doing?"
"Even consolidating one or two of these wouldn't be enough to beat Banseim. In fact, they don't even have the scale to put up a fight."
"Even if they did consolidate, how many troops could they field... acquiring one territory and pacifying the surrounding area would take considerable time."
"If they're going to do it, they'd need to take it all at once. But even that wouldn't be enough, would it... It really does seem we'd need the surrounding nations of Banseim to act as well."
It was true that Banseim was a great nation, but compared to my family's home, it was smaller and far less developed.
They were constantly at war, which slowed their development.
Also, Rauno had made a remark that suggested he knew my situation rather well.
I looked at Miranda, but she shook her head.
(I wonder if he's looked into me?)
Famous adventurer. That's what he called us. It was safe to assume a fair amount of information about us was already circulating.
The Seventh Generation had said:
'His personality is problematic, but his skills aren't bad. It might not hurt to maintain a connection.'
After pondering for a moment...
"...Could you also look into Zayin and Rolfis for me?"
Rauno's expression turned serious.
"What do you want to know? Anything beyond that would require me to infiltrate directly. And the commission fee would be steep."
Miranda was next to me, but offered no opinion. She intended to leave everything to me.
(He must be an information broker good enough to warrant that level of trust. It seems he has the capability not just to gather information, but to go after it himself.)
"Infiltrate yourself?"
When I asked that, Rauno shrugged as if making a joke.
"Since there's only me and Innis here. Well, if you give me the time and the money, I can dig up some decent intel."
From inside the Jewel, I relayed what I wanted him to investigate.
As I listened to that, I said to Rauno:
"Then, could you confirm Zayin's objectives, their stockpiles, the scale of their military forces, and whether any adventurers are involved with the mercenary groups participating? At the same time, the same for Rolfis. Also, could you look into the situation in the surrounding nations?"
Rauno opened his mouth, and after a moment, shook his head.
"Hey, are you planning on participating in a war? It's not impossible, but I'll be demanding a pretty hefty sum. I mean, even if you joined as a mercenary, the commission fee would end up higher than the reward itself."
The quality of the information, and the sheer quantity... that alone justified the cost.
"Is that not possible?"
When I asked, Rauno scratched his head.
"How long is the timeframe?"
"For now, I plan to fulfill commissions through the Guild. I'll be leaving people here, but how much can you find out in one month?"
Hearing "one month," Rauno made a difficult face. It was physically impossible, but I also wanted to know how much he could achieve in that time.
From inside the Jewel, the Sixth Generation's voice reached my ears.
'Rael, I think you understand... don't trust this guy. Don't forget to gather information from other intelligence brokers as well.'
As I gripped the Jewel, Rauno opened his mouth.
"Stockpiles and the domestic situation—I can investigate those. But mercenary groups and adventurer gatherings change quickly. Even if I look into them, by the time I report back, some might have increased while others decreased. As for the surrounding nations' situation, that's beyond my reach."
I nodded and asked to confirm the commission fee.
Travel expenses, lodging, food—necessary costs were listed, followed by the reward Rauno proposed.
The Fourth Generation spoke.
'Hmm, it does seem a bit expensive after all. But his skills look good; we just can't tell how good.'
I nodded, then formally commissioned Rauno. After paying the advance and completing the paperwork, Miranda and I paid Innis her reward, then left the building.
Inside the Jewel.
Summoned by the Sixth Generation, I was handed a battle axe—a halberd.
"Um, my weapon is a Saber, you know?"
Seeing me look troubled as I said that, the Sixth Generation regarded me with a look of exasperation.
"Are you an idiot? You planning to keep using a Saber on the battlefield? No, knowing you, you probably could... but you'll need a weapon that actually shines on the battlefield too."
Shining on the battlefield. In other words, I'd have to pull off a fight worth remembering.
Against an opponent clad head to toe in full metal plate armor, there'd be times my mass-produced Saber just wouldn't cut it.
"I'll just fall back to the First Generation's greatsword or the Second Generation's bow, then."
The Sixth Generation said "Not bad," but still urged me toward the battle axe.
"The First Generation's greatsword isn't bad either, but the mana consumption on that thing is absurd. And the Second Generation's bow... well, let's just say it's not exactly the star of the battlefield."
"Yeah, fair point."
Bows and magic can do well on the battlefield, but the enemy naturally comes prepared with countermeasures. And when you really shine, the thing that stands out most is fighting up close with a weapon in hand.
Taking down five with arrows doesn't stick in anyone's memory nearly as well as cutting down five with a sword or spear.
"Doesn't hurt to have more options in your arsenal. You know the basics of how to handle it?"
"I've been taught the fundamentals already."
I took my stance, and the Sixth Generation studied my posture, resting a hand on his chin.
"You look the part. All right, show me a thrust."
I thrust with the halberd just as instructed, then followed up with a chopping motion using the axe head.
The Sixth Generation watched my other movements too. When I'd gone through everything, he spoke.
"Not bad. But there's no breathing room in it. You're just going through the motions. Well, put in some experience and you'll probably get there."
When I heard the word "experience," I couldn't help making a face.
"You're not seriously expecting me to fight like I normally do, are you? No pulling punches?"
With a Saber in hand, maybe I could manage. But with a halberd, I was genuinely nervous.
The Sixth Generation laughed.
"What's this, are you nervous? A polearm isn't bad. It's got reach, after all. Besides, a halberd can thrust and cut. You can even use it from horseback."
I took my stance, and the Sixth Generation did the same.
Holding a halberd and getting into position felt awkward, so different from my usual Saber. When the Sixth Generation thrust his forward, I deflected it to block. But in the next instant, the axe head was bearing down on my abdomen.
A horizontal flash.
I dodged backward, but he closed the distance, leaving me purely on the defensive.
"What's wrong! Try wielding it as dexterously as you would a Saber!"
"Well, I can't just do that from the start—"
The Sixth Generation's memory room. It was the mansion's garden. As the Sixth Generation kicked off the ground, dirt flew into my face.
Blinded, I took distance, and sensing the fountain behind me with the Second Generation's Skill [All], I stopped.
Then, without a moment's hesitation, the Sixth Generation swung the halberd directly at my face.
—When I opened my eyes, the spear point of the halberd was right in front of me.
The Sixth Generation grinned.
"You've still got a ways to go, Laiel."
He pulled the halberd back, holding it with one hand and slinging it over his shoulder. He looked pleased.
(Was he enjoying teaching me his preferred halberd? Come to think of it, the Seventh Generation's weapon was a gun.)
I'd been riddled with holes countless times, but the Seventh Generation favored using a gun, despite very few people employing one.
(Actually, why does House Walt have such a long line of Successive Heads where the weapon changes each time? I use a Saber too.)
Under my father's influence, I used a Saber, but from the First Generation to the Seventh, the weapon was freely chosen. There was no fighting style passed down through the generations.
The First Generation had used a greatsword.
The Second Generation had used a bow.
The Third Generation naturally went with a sword.
The Fourth Generation dual-wielded short swords.
The Fifth Generation used a serpent blade.
The Sixth Generation wielded a halberd.
The Seventh Generation used a gun.
Quite the variety.
'Done already?'
When the Sixth Generation asked me that, I leveled my halberd.
"Not yet. I'm taking at least one point off the Sixth Generation."
I said with a smile, and the Sixth Generation was startled at first, then burst into hearty laughter and raised his halberd into a ready stance.
'Now that's the spirit! I'll keep you company until you've had enough!'
I thrust my halberd toward the Sixth Generation.