"Now then, Lion. Before I hear what the Guild Master has to say, I'd like to ask about those adventurers from earlier."
"Well, those guys were... you see..."
Once we were escorted to the VIP room at the back of the guild, I waited until everyone had taken their seats before asking Lion about what had just happened. Lion looked like he was struggling to figure out how to answer, and he couldn't seem to bring himself to respond.
"You mean the adventurers who were glaring at you at the reception desk earlier, Tenma-sama? They're associates of the soldiers who were disciplined over the Kukuri Village incident. They're not close relatives, but more like distant relatives or close friends."
"Hey!"
"It's perfectly fine, Lion-sama. The Margrave family bears complete responsibility for that incident. All they did was properly punish those who could be called the actual perpetrators. If they want to hold a grudge against the Margrave family for that, that's one thing, but blaming Tenma-sama, the victim, is entirely misguided. And should those people ever attempt to harm Tenma-sama over this, I, as the head of the Shellheid Adventurer's Guild, will have their heads removed. That is not a figure of speech — I mean it in the literal sense."
Even so, Lion briefly stood up with a startled expression at the Guild Master's blunt declaration that he would discard an adventurer without a second thought, but he quickly sat back down in his chair.
"Have you forgotten, Lion-sama? Because of those people's relatives and friends, this guild nearly went bankrupt. Honestly, it's a miracle we were able to rebuild. And yet, if they're going to try to send this guild down the path to ruin once more, then taking preemptive action is only natural."
That way of thinking was probably par for the course for someone at the top. The Guild Master wasn't taking my side or anything — he was simply choosing whichever outcome would benefit the guild.
"So you're saying you had me display part of the Wyvern there because you needed to advertise to the other adventurers who were present? Did you predict that I'd bring out the head?"
"Yes. There was a possibility it could have been the wings or the torso, but considering how easy it would be to display and how it would look, I figured it would almost certainly have to be the head. Anyone who sees a Wyvern's head there will end up talking about it at various places when they visit other guilds. Information from a third party carries more credibility than if we were to advertise it ourselves."
"That's the same as the real client's objective for this commission, isn't it?"
"Indeed."
This Guild Master thought more like a merchant than an adventurer, it seemed.
"Just so you know, I don't think I'll have much reason to use this guild."
"Even so, your 'one time,' Tenma-sama, and their 'number of completions past and future' aren't even remotely comparable."
I thought it was a bit much for him to say that to his own guild's adventurers, but from my perspective, the bluntness made it easier to understand and there didn't seem to be any lingering resentment, so I was grateful for it. Well, I didn't plan on using this guild multiple times anyway.
"Well then, now that we've finished discussing that, here is your reward for this commission. Two million G from the completion bonus, plus eighteen million G from the delivery of the other parts, for a total of twenty million G. Please verify the amount."
The Guild Master had two bags containing the reward brought over, and he placed them in front of me while explaining the breakdown.
"That's considerably higher than market price, isn't it?"
"It also includes the fee for using you as advertising."
Satisfied with that answer, I stuffed the bills into my Magic Bag without bothering to count them, which prompted the Guild Master to let out a brief sound of admiration.
"Hey, Tenma. What's the difference between your 'one completion' and their 'future number of completions'? And what's this fee for using you as advertising?"
Once we were outside and a short distance away from the Guild Master's gaze, Jeanne immediately started asking questions like that.
"Probably, my 'one completion' means something along the lines of 'made peace with the Margrave's family' for other adventurers to hear, and their 'number of completions past and future' refers to the possibility of adventurers who used to be in the Margrave's territory returning now that I've reconciled with them. Even if those people end up dissatisfied with the Margrave's family and leave the territory in the future, I imagine they figure it's fine as long as veterans come back. They've probably already leaked the news that I'm coming to old acquaintances and whatnot. As for the advertising fee, I think that refers to mentioning my name at that time, telling other guilds that I took commissions in the Margrave's territory and delivered entire Wyverns whole, that sort of thing."
"Indeed, that's about right. And I suppose there's also 'information that's somewhat convenient for both the Margrave's family and the Guild, but turn a blind eye to it.'"
"They're awfully calculating for... more of a merchant than an Adventurer Guild Master, honestly."
"Pretty shrewd, huh."
"Mhm!"
After listening to my conversation with Grandpa, Jeanne seemed to arrive at roughly the same impression I had, but Aura and Amour were probably just nodding along without really understanding. That's because both of them had somehow acquired skewers in their hands, and there was grease from the skewers around their mouths.
They'd most likely purchased them from a stall that had been set up near the Guild, and the fact that they'd bought food immediately after leaving and were eating as if nothing had happened meant they were perfectly shrewd in their own way.
"Well then, I'll be heading off on my own now."
Grandpa planned to go off separately after the Adventurer's Guild, just as expected.
"Got it. Make sure you're back by dinner time."
"Mhm. And Tenma, make sure you don't take Jeanne and the others to any strange places."
"I wouldn't mind going to one."
Amour said something, but I pretended not to hear it and shot a glare at Grandpa for running his mouth. Grandpa paid no attention to my glare and wandered off with a chuckle, peeking into shopfronts as he went.
"Alright, let's go. Just take me to wherever— one of Lion's recommended spots. Just not one of those 'adult establishments' that Lion's into."
"Yeah, I'm not taking you to any place like that."
"That's right, Tenma. If you went to that sort of place in Shellheid, Edilia would definitely find out about it. Even Lion, whose mental faculties leave a fair bit to be desired, surely wouldn't go that far... right? You're okay with this, Lion?"
"Even I'm not that stupid!"
"Well, Lion's main stage is the Royal Capital anyway. So how about we start by strolling down the main street and grabbing a meal at whatever catches our eye?"
Agreeing with this proposal (everyone except Lion and Cain), we set off down the main street with Albert, the proposer, leading the way. Cain had thrown off Lion's pace, and Lion grumbled things like "This is my home turf..." but he couldn't top Albert's suggestion, so he obediently followed along behind.
Shellheid was the largest town in the frontier barony, but the bustle was about on par with or slightly above that of Gunjou City. Well, according to Lion, it had become much livelier compared to after the Kukuri Village incident, but it was still only about half of its peak.
"It all depends on how much the bustle can be restored with Tenma's Wyverns. If even half of the skilled adventurers who used to be here—or no, even a third—came back, the requests within the territory would become so much easier."
Currently, in the Haust Frontier Barony, even when they tried to assign high-difficulty requests and jobs to adventurers, there simply weren't enough of the appropriate level, and they often had to put out requests to adventurers active in the Royal Capital and elsewhere.
"Like me this time?"
"Exactly. Well, facing a whole flock of Wyverns is rare, but a single one or a pair showing up near town happens several times a year. You can't exactly dispatch the military each time, but you can't just ignore it either. So you need adventurers who can handle the situation at that moment, but..."
"So it's not always the case that the right adventurers are conveniently available to deal with that sort of situation..."
"Right. That's why I want veterans who used to operate in the frontier barony—who know the terrain well and can train newcomers—to come back. Well, things probably won't work out that favorably, so at the very least, I'd like to see more adventurers who can handle Wyverns as a small group."
"Adventurers are fundamentally free, so once they leave, they might not come back. Even I, although it wasn't official, moved from
Haust Frontier Barony
to
Duke Sanga's Territory,
and now I mainly operate around the Royal Capital and Seigen."
Among the adventurers who had left the frontier barony, some would no doubt come back out of nostalgia for the old days, but others would have settled into their new location and become unable to move from the surrounding area.
"So rather than trying to get the old adventurers to come back, it might be faster to recruit new ones and help them put down roots."
"But the skilled adventurers the frontier barony wants are obviously ones other regions don't want to let go of either. It's a difficult problem."
Albert and Cain joined in on my conversation with Lion. The two of them would eventually have to manage their own family's territories, and someday they might face the same dilemma as Lion—so they couldn't treat it as someone else's problem.
"Why don't you try implementing an adventurer incentive policy for the entire frontier barony? Like, if they operate within the frontier barony, you could exempt them from taxes for a certain period?"
"But wouldn't they just leave once that period ends?"
"Well, for that, you could offer buildings at discounted rates for rent or sale once they come to the frontier barony... you know, make it easier for them to settle down."
"Hmm... I guess I could bring it up with my old man at least."
The idea I'd just floated to Lion was an amateur's brainchild, so I didn't expect it to go smoothly. Lion probably felt the same way, which was why he was hesitant—but there was no cost in just suggesting it, and the final decision would be the frontier baron's, so it was more of a "might as well mention it" kind of thing.
"Tenma, Lord Lion. I hate to interrupt your conversation, but... everyone else is just wandering around doing whatever they want."
"Huh?"
When I turned around at Jeanne's words, I realized that at some point, everyone besides me, Lion, and Jeanne had scattered off on their own.
"Those guys too..."
"Well, we're the ones who got carried away talking. It's almost lunchtime anyway—shall we go eat? Hey, Amour, Aura! If you keep eating like that, even though Lion said he'd treat us, there won't be any room in your stomachs!"
"Hey, wait!"
"I'm fine! I've only had my first stomachful!"
"I can still go too!"
"I can eat anytime!"
"My stomach is already prepared!"
Lion was pushing back against the four of them—Amour and Aura with their enthusiasm, and Albert and Cain who had jumped on the bandwagon—when,
"Then I suppose there's no helping it. I'll cover the bill instead."
"Oh! I'll chip in too!"
"Yo! Big spender! Ladies' man!"
"As expected of the future duke and a marquis! The class is on a whole different level!"
The four of them started putting on a little show. Albert and Cain were reading their lines a bit stiffly, while Amur and Aura kept glancing at Lion as they exaggeratedly praised the pair. Thinking that even Lion wouldn't fall for such a small bit of theater,
"I get it! I'll pay!"
he said, falling for it completely. And in the next moment,
"Thank you very much!"
all four bowed their heads in unison.
Lion had been completely set up, but once the words were out, he couldn't exactly take them back. He checked the position and thickness of his wallet, then sighed and started walking with slumped shoulders.
"Phew... satisfied!"
"The prices were generally on the cheaper side, but the food was good, wasn't it?"
"Well, the low cost of living probably plays a part, but even so, considering the effort involved, they're doing quite an impressive job."
"When there's this much, you can order all sorts of different things, so it's fun! Right, Jeanne?"
"Aura, you really should try to restrain yourself a little... If word of this gets back to Aina, who knows what will happen."
"Ugh!"
Led by a very satisfied Amur, they started walking down the main street again, chatting about their impressions of the various shops. The five of them, seemingly still having room for dessert, kept stopping at stalls selling fruit and sweets, making several impromptu purchases along the way.
"Eating without a shred of restraint..."
"Thanks for the meal."
Contrary to the satisfied lead group, Lion clutched his now paper-thin wallet and grumbled to himself.
His wallet had been reasonably thick when they entered the eatery, but after paying, it retained almost no thickness beyond its own material. Lion currently couldn't even afford a small sweet from a stall, so he glared at Albert and Cain.
"Speaking of which, Lion. Have you noticed?"
"Noticed what?"
I asked if he'd noticed the people who'd been following us for a while, but he seemed completely oblivious.
"There've been people tailing us since we left the dining hall. Well, they're just following us, so it's not a major problem... but they sure look like they know what they're doing."
"No way! Ouch!"
Lion panicked and started to look around, so I elbowed him to stop before the tailers could notice.
"They'll spot you, you idiot... Lion, go rejoin the group like nothing happened. I'm going to duck into that side street up ahead and try to get behind them. Don't tell anyone else that—"
"anyone's"
"following us."
If it had been Albert or Cain, they probably would've asked "Why keep it secret?" but Lion didn't overthink it — he just nodded and headed toward the others.
I pretended to overtake Lion at the side street I'd been aiming for, then slipped in behind his body and ducked into the alley. From there, I quickly moved across the rooftops and circled around behind our pursuers. And then,
"Don't move. If you make any suspicious moves or even look this way, I'll cut your heads off."
I threatened, pressing
two
wooden sticks I'd picked up from the rooftop against their necks. But then,
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't move either."
Another man appeared behind me, pointing a blade at my back.
"Before that blade reaches me, I can definitely take these two's heads off... What'll it be?"
After we'd been frozen like that for a moment,
"Fine, I surrender. But with those sticks, there's no way you could take both their heads at once."
the man said, tossing his sword aside and raising both hands. In response, I said,
"That's right. In fact,
Ranitan"
"that your head's the only thing left?"
I tossed the stick aside and replied.
"No, really, it's Ranitan! Tenma-sama, don't joke around too! Also, I was terrified thinking you didn't even notice it was me!"
Following us were Lani-san, a tanuki beastkin, along with another male and female tanuki beastkin.
"Reni's been completely frozen with shock since a while ago. Dad also disappeared without us noticing."
"That's just because you two are inexperienced. I sensed Tenma-sama was heading this way ahead of time and quietly slipped away."
I was indeed surprised he'd vanished without my noticing, but I'd figured he must be nearby, so I deliberately ignored the man called Dad. It seemed Lani-san and the woman called Reni hadn't noticed my approach or the man's retreat, which was why they were so startled to be taken from behind.
"First of all, you're said to be one of the southern region's top spies, yet here you were sitting on your heels. While tailing someone, you failed to pay attention to your surroundings. It's your fault, and poor Reni became a victim of your negligence... By the way, Reni isn't dead, right?"
Because she wasn't moving at all, the man was poking her cheek to check. Come to think of it, Reni was supposed to be Lani-san's younger sister who was even more skilled... but whether she was truly better than Lani-san was still questionable as far as I was concerned.
"Haah! I was so shocked I thought my heart had stopped..."
While the man was poking her, Reni seemed to regain consciousness. She looked at the man, Lani-san, and then me, appearing to understand what had happened.
"Brother, please be careful! I'm not good at handling situations like this, so you have to stay alert! Tenma-san... is that okay? Tenma-san, too, please don't scare a fragile woman like that!"
She protested to both me and Lani-san.
We then introduced ourselves properly, and it turned out Reni-san was indeed Lani-san's younger sister whom Amour had mentioned, and the man was their father, Doni.
"Feel free to call me 'Doni-tan'!"
"I'm okay with 'Reni-tan' too."
Unlike Lani-san, these two seemed quite fond of the nicknames Amour had given them.
"So, why were all three of you following us?"
"About that. We were actually following the young lady. Well, the young lady was with everyone, so tailing all of you was correct, but..."
According to Reni-san's explanation, what had originally brought them to the Hausuto Margraviate was that Amour had gotten word about going there, and Hana-san had...
A certain source.
She said that she had obtained orders to check on Amour's condition while gathering information about the Hausuto Margraviate, since the intelligence had come from that particular channel.
"Well, Father and my brother's main mission is information gathering, but I'm a little different..."
Apparently, Reni-san didn't normally participate in this kind of intelligence collection about foreign territories, but Hana-san had asked her a favor related to Amour, so she had tagged along with the two of them.
"Anyway, shall we go meet up with Amour and the others? There's no problem with that, right?"
"Now that Master Tenma has found us out, and we've already obtained the information we wanted about the young lady, there's no issue at all!"
With Doni-san's approval secured, the four of them headed toward Amour and her group, who had already advanced quite a bit ahead. Incidentally, Doni-san's manner of speaking was apparently his standard form when addressing people outside the family—within the family alone, he used a somewhat more refined tone.
"Oh, young la—dy~!"
"Hm... Renitan!"
As soon as Reni-san caught sight of Amour, she broke into a full sprint. Amour spotted Reni-san in turn and came running toward her. Then the two embraced.
"Young lady, it's been a while since I last saw you... and you've gotten ugly."
"!!!"
Amour was stunned by the casually venomous remark from Reni-san. The rest of us, who had been watching the two of them, were equally taken aback by Reni-san's sudden barb.
"Young lady... I heard all sorts of things from Hana-san and couldn't believe it, but seeing you with my own eyes now, I understand that it was all true."
Hearing Reni-san's words, Amour wore a look that said she had no idea what was being talked about. And honestly, neither Doni-san nor Rani-san—who had been traveling with her—nor even the rest of us could make sense of it.
"Hold on, Reni. I don't think the young lady has changed at all from before?"
"Her outward appearance not changing is understandable—everyone grows at a different pace. But her personality has become absolutely hideous! She wasn't like this before!"
Rani-san kicked Reni-san's remark into the gutter, then cupped Amour's face between both hands.
"When she was little, the young lady was such an honest, adorable, wonderful girl... But now she's become ravenous, ravenous—throwing herself hungrily at both the opposite sex and food alike..."
"Reni-hyan, that hyurts..."
Then Reni began pulling at Amour's cheeks while tears streamed down her face. Reni's grip seemed quite strong — Amour was half-crying, trying in vain to pry her fingers away. But she couldn't free herself at all; if anything, the force was increasing, and gradually Amour's body began to lift off the ground.
"That's enough!"
Just as Amour's cheeks were reaching critical mass, Doni clapped his hands in front of Reni, snapping her back to her senses.
"Reni, you've gone too far. My lady Amour, I'm terribly sorry."
The moment Doni apologized to Amour, Reni's gaze briefly shifted away from Amour and toward Doni. Seizing the opening, Amour tried to bolt toward us like a startled rabbit, but —
"My lady. We're not finished talking yet!"
"Higyu!"
Her clothes were grabbed, and with a strange sound, she was captured.
Amour looked to us, still pleading for help, but we were all too intimidated by Reni and averted our eyes in unison. Even Doni, who had stepped in earlier, and Rani, who had been kicked, did the same.
Amour had no allies. It was right at that moment that the person everyone had forgotten about finally showed up.
"Oh, there you are. I couldn't find you anywhere — I was starting to think we'd passed each other and I should go back."
It was Chris. Whether she'd gotten enough sleep or not, she was noticeably more energetic than that morning.
"Chris, help!"
"Umm... what exactly is the situation here?"
Seeing three strangers she didn't know, with one of them holding Amour captive while no one else was lifting a finger to help, Chris tried to get a handle on what was going on first.
So I stepped forward as representative and explained, whereupon —
"Hmm... So you're Reni. I've heard about you from Hana-san."
"And you must be Chris. I've heard about you from Hana-sama as well."
The two seemed to at least be aware of each other's existence, and they stared each other down for a moment. Watching this exchange, Amour looked at Chris with hopeful eyes, as if thinking she might finally be saved. And then —
"Nice to meet you!"
"Let's do our best!"
The two of them shook hands firmly.
The sight of it nearly sent us toppling over. Doni and Rani looked just as stunned, wearing bewildered expressions like they had no idea what had just happened. Amour alone had noticed the moment those two shook hands — her enemies had multiplied — and she struggled once more to break free from Reni.
"Amour, stop squirming!"
"My lady. It's dangerous, so please stay still."
Reni joined in, and even Chris grabbed Amour's arm to pin her in place. Together, the two of them began dragging her off somewhere.
"Hey, Chris. Where are you taking Amour?"
"Come to think of it, where are we taking her, I wonder?"
"I'm thinking of taking her straight to the inn where I'm staying. There, I'd like to have her undergo re-education as a lady."
It seemed like Chris had simply started walking on a whim — it was Reni who answered my question.
"In that case, I'll be taking custody of my lady for a while. And my lady — should you try to run, I will forcibly escort you back to the South, so I trust you won't be entertaining any funny ideas."
Saying that, Reni produced a letter and unfolded it before Amour's eyes. After reading it, Amour ceased all resistance, and even when Reni and Chris released their grip, she made no attempt to flee.
Curious about what was written, I asked Amour and Reni for permission to read the letter myself. What had made Amour give up was, to put it simply, an
ORDER FROM THE HEAD OF THE VISCOUNT'S HOUSEHOLD
The contents directed Amour to learn proper ladylike conduct from Reni. If she tried to flee or refused, she would be forcibly sent back to the South. To collect her, the letter specified, Branca along with other high-ranking officials from the South would be dispatched simultaneously... That was the gist of it. The fact that it mentioned deploying not just Branca but other high-ranking officials as well conveyed just how serious Hana was about this.
Realizing that the South's entire upper echelon would descend upon her with no way to fight back, Amour had apparently resigned herself to her fate. She meekly allowed Reni and Chris to haul her away.
"Amour's situation is the Southern viscount household's problem, and it's not really my place to interfere... But setting that aside — you came here to gather intelligence, and yet here you are, standing in front of the marquis household's
Heir Apparent
?"
"It's no problem at all! We're not plotting anything, and we've got nothing to hide! Well, I was thinking of making a little money on the side while gathering intel... As long as we don't go overboard, it'll be fine! Probably."
Chapter — Heir Apparent
After gathering information at Shellhide, it seemed the two of them — Doni and Rani — planned to head toward a fortress near the border and do a bit of business there.
"That is why, if possible, we would like to obtain permission from the Margrave's household, which is how we ended up appearing before you like this!"
It turned out there was also a reason they had shown up in front of Lion. Specifically, it seemed they believed they could easily get permission from her.
"Well, if it's Lion, we could at least get a conversation going if we mentioned we're acquaintances of Tenma and Amour, right?"
"And if you butter her up a little, she'd probably hand over permission without much fuss."
Just as Cain and Albert said, Lion might very well hand over permission that easily.
If the business itself posed no problem, they could apply to the vice-commander at the fortress and get approval, but if they could get it directly from the Margrave's household, they'd have an edge over competing merchants, so the value would certainly be higher.
"Well, it's the sort of thing where we figured it couldn't hurt to try," Rani said, but she seemed to believe they stood a very good chance.
"Well, if they're acquaintances of Tenma and Amour, I'd like to hear them out... but having heard what I have, I'm taking this matter to the old man."
That was what Lion said, but for the two of them, that was more than enough.
Lion then asked which inn Doni and the others were staying at, and promised that as soon as she received the Margrave's response, she would have someone from the household come and let them know.
Some distance away from Lion,
"She should've asked what kind of business those two are planning first, and *then* informed the Margrave."
"Yeah. The way she did it, she's going to end up doing double or triple the work... It's going to be entertaining, though, so I'm not saying anything."
Albert and Cain were giving their critique.