Nozomanu Fushi no Boukensha (LN) - Volume 9 - Chapter 5

Chapter 5: A Request from the Guild

“I suppose it’s time I get back to my actual job,” I said about three days after the incident at the carriage stop.

I’d been involved in the recent city-wide stir—now jokingly called the Great Maaltesian Riot or the Maaltesian Dungeon Affair—so for the past few days, I’d been recovering from the emotional exhaustion after all that ruckus. Physically, I felt fine. I still wasn’t sure how my body worked, but because I was undead, I never felt all that tired. Even so, I wanted to rest a little, which was why I’d been spending some time slacking off.

The thing was, I’d always been hardworking. Even when I was human, I never took any real vacations. So these three days of idleness were making me want to go out and do something. Not to mention, I was starting to feel weirdly guilty for not doing anything, even though no one was egging me on. Maybe I was just a workaholic. That was better than not working at all, right?

It wasn’t like I hadn’t done anything over the last three days. I had trained a little with Rina. I mean, active adventurers had to exercise some. If you didn’t do anything at all, it would take a few days for your body to readjust to fighting. Then again, did I really need to do that when I wasn’t human anymore? I honestly wasn’t sure whether my body had any human aspects like that left. Maybe I needed to test that out at some point.

“Your actual job? I’d say you did plenty of adventuring work during the recent events, so there isn’t any need for you to push yourself,” Lorraine said as she reached for her breakfast.

I supposed she was right. Since the guild was treating that whole incident as an emergency job, I technically was working the whole time.

“True, but the people from the Tower arrived yesterday, right? I want to check in and see what things are like at the guild. After all, I’m sure the people from the Tower intend to go dungeon diving.”

“Ah, true. People from the Tower will go to the guild looking for adventurers, like those from the Academy did. I’ve heard that things have been pretty hard there since the Academy arrived. Best to be cautious.”

“You think so?” I asked.

“Yes. The Academy’s entourage is primarily made up of students, so their focus is on keeping the students safe. They probably won’t be much of a concern, but the Tower is a different story. No matter what country they’re from, they focus on their research and nothing else. Not that I can criticize them for that. I’m not any different. But I’m sure there will be friction between them and adventurers.”

I had been worried about the same thing and had been thinking of visiting the guild. Both sides were made up of grown adults, so they wouldn’t just randomly fight. But hoping for no conflict at all was asking a bit much considering how different researchers and adventurers were.

Adventurers were generally rough and tumble sorts that had worked their way up the hierarchy through grit and sheer force. People from the Tower were, for better or for worse, the selected few who weren’t exactly used to dealing with ordinary society. That wasn’t true of everyone, but people did often conform to stereotypes. I was almost afraid to imagine what things were like at the guild right now.

“They won’t be dueling to the death or anything. Relax. It won’t be all that bad,” Lorraine said with a chuckle.

◆◇◆◇◆

“What the hell?! You wanna repeat that?!”

“I shall say it as many times as necessary! You adventurers are at fault for our failed expedition yesterday! The guild told us you were dependable, but to end up like this? Our contract is terminated! Terminated!”

Angry shouts rang through the guild hall. It seemed a deadly brawl was about to break out at any second.

“This is...worse than expected,” I murmured almost as soon as I walked in the door.

Sheila noticed my arrival and wandered over.

“Not much to do about it. It’s been like this since the Tower people arrived. The ones yelling over there are equally at fault, so they’ll calm down eventually.”

“Are you sure we don’t need to stop them?” I asked, even though it was still just a verbal spat.

“Mostly...” Sheila said without much conviction.

We watched the argument for a while, and slowly the shouting match reached its conclusion.

“No, my apologies. I went too far. I was irate because we didn’t make much progress in our investigations. You did fine yesterday.”

“I went too far as well. It was our fault that one of you got hurt. Is he better now?”

“Yes. He’s received healing magic, so he should be fine after a day’s rest.”

Fortunately, the argument ended amicably.

“But if it’s like this every day,” I said, “it’s gotta be hard to deal with, right?”

Sheila nodded. “The guildmaster, in particular, has been rubbing his temples all week.”

“Wolf? Really?”

Running the guild in its current state would give anyone a headache. Not only did the employees have to deal with the various dungeon-related jobs, but they also had to handle all the requests from both the Tower and the Academy. As guildmaster, Wolf must have been working nonstop since I last saw him. He might work himself to death. Then he’d end up in the same boat as me. Maybe I could teach him how to handle being dead.

I caught sight of Wolf muttering to himself as he came down the stairs.

“Okay, so this...goes here, while this...”

He was holding countless sheets of paper and parchment and looked to be sorting through them as he walked. I wanted to tell him to go back to his desk to do that, but I figured he was so busy that he didn’t want the time he spent walking to go to waste.

Wolf suddenly turned his head from side to side, stretching his neck. His gaze settled on me. His eyes lit up...and I got a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.

◆◇◆◇◆

“Yo, Rentt. It’s only been a few days since I last saw you, but it feels like weeks.”

Wolf was walking toward me with a smile on his face. He looked like a guildmaster who, despite his authority and importance, was taking time to ask after a lowly Bronze-class adventurer. However, under that facade, he was a predator that had finally found its prey. An air of intimidation emanated from him.

“I need to get back to work,” Sheila said and left.

Evidently, she’d also noticed Wolf’s predatory aura and immediately shuffled off to the safety of her own desk. I wanted to complain about how heartlessly she had abandoned me, but given that Wolf was her boss, she’d probably figured that if she stayed, she’d be forced to try and persuade me as well. If that was her reason for leaving, then perhaps she was being wise rather than heartless. No, she couldn’t have been thinking that deeply about it.

“Maybe you’re feeling that way because you’ve been staring at paperwork for so long,” I suggested as I glanced at the huge stack of papers in Wolf’s arms. “Still, you seem really busy.”

“Yeah, well, the Tower and the Academy seem to think that the guild is their lackey. I’ve got a mountain of work towering over my desk as a result.”

While local governments—the country or the regional lords—supervised the adventurer’s guilds, they weren’t government agencies. They were more like independent entities. Guilds had the potential to function as an armed organization operating on a global scale. That was why the local governments regulated them, to avoid that outcome. So while the guilds were supposed to be part of the same network, information was rarely shared internationally.

For example, if I were to take my adventurer’s card to one of the adventurer’s guilds in the empire, the most that they would know about me would be what was written on my card. I was grateful for that since I had a lot of secrets, but no doubt it was a bother for the people running the guilds.

Wolf’s complaint, in essence, was that they were treating him like some government employee when his organization wasn’t even part of the government.

“Sorry about monopolizing you when you’re so busy, oh great guildmaster. I’d hate to add to your load here, so I guess I’ll go home for the day...”

I tried to turn and head for the exit, but a powerful arm grabbed me by the wrist. Its grip was so strong that not even I, with my monstrous physical strength, could easily resist. I was almost certain that Wolf had been lying about not being able to work as an adventurer anymore.

When I turned to look, it was Wolf holding my wrist. The paperwork he’d been cradling was now discarded on the floor. I could see the despair in the guild employees’ faces as they appeared out of nowhere to gather and reorganize the jumbled pile. I wasn’t sure if their expressions were from a resigned acceptance of Wolf’s behavior or from the impact of their current schedule. It was probably both.

Wolf lips quirked into a frightening smile. “You’re not expecting to enjoy a day off in these circumstances, are you, Rentt? Excuse me, guild employee Rentt Vivie.”

He didn’t need to explain why he had corrected himself. It was obvious. I figured it was pointless to resist, but I decided to try anyway.

“You’re the one who promised I could turn you down when it was too much for me to handle,” I reminded him. The reason I’d even agreed to become a guild employee was because Wolf had said he wouldn’t force work on me.

Wolf briefly glanced at the guild employees around him before turning back to me. “Look at how overworked your coworkers are. Isn’t this the time to show your mettle and volunteer to help out?”

When I looked around, all the employees looked at me either on the verge of tears or with a pleading expression. They were so in sync that I wanted to ask if they were an acting troupe. They were making it very hard to say no.

“It’s because you’re so busy that you wouldn’t want someone like me, who’s not used to office work, coming in and disrupting your rhythm, right?”

I’d tossed that out with a hope and a prayer, but Wolf just smiled and said, “I see. Then I just need to give you a job you’re already used to doing. And I have just the job in mind.”

“How do you already have a job ready?”

“Oh no, it’s not that I had it waiting for you. It’s just something I’m having trouble with. If you can just take care of that, it’d make my life a whole lot easier. Think of it as helping out an old friend. Please?”

Wolf really did look like he was struggling with something. Not even I couldn’t bring myself to decline after that much pleading. Besides, I wasn’t all that busy, which was why I was here in the first place.

That wasn’t to say I had nothing to do at all. I needed to go to Vistelya at some point. I’d been waiting until everything had settled down a bit, but given the state of the city, I was sure that the longer I waited, the fewer opportunities I’d have. Lorraine and I would be fine if the trip was delayed, but it would be a big problem for Augurey, who was waiting there. Or maybe he was already dealing with complications from my absence.

I decided to leave that for later and said, “All right, all right. What do you need me to do?”

“Ah! That’s the spirit, Rentt. This isn’t the place to talk details, so come with me.”

Wolf’s expression changed in the blink of an eye, and he proceeded toward his office. So was all of that from earlier just an act? I was still stuck on that little detail and wanted to argue the point, but since I’d already accepted the job, I followed along in Wolf’s wake.

◆◇◆◇◆

The moment we entered Wolf’s office, I immediately cut to the chase.

“What’s this special job of yours, exactly?”

I wanted to hear the details to put myself at ease. Since the job hadn’t been made with me in mind, I didn’t need to be guarded, but even if Wolf had been jesting, he had noted that it was perfectly suited for me. It was easy to deduce that it was an unpleasant job.

“Oh, don’t be so impatient. First, you’re aware of the guild’s current state?”

“Yeah, it’s obvious from a glance at the lobby.”

“I figured. The reason things are like that down there is because we’re connecting adventurers to the Tower and Academy people. Appearances aside, things are going pretty smoothly. They get the forces and guards they need for their expeditions, and we get to take money from the well-heeled capital snobs.”

“You sound like a bandit,” I commented.

Though he’d phrased it like that, it was safe to say that the Tower and the Academy were paying a lot better than a typical guild job. City folks could be arrogant and proud, so it required patience to work with them, but even their arrogance was bearable when you knew it was filling your wallet.

Since the cost of living was a lot higher in Vistelya, people were used to paying higher prices for things. They would hire adventurers at rates that felt average or low to them, but they were high to adventurers. The guild did explain to them that they were offering more than what was normal in Maalt, but the hiring parties didn’t lower their rates.

The Tower and the Academy were both state-run institutions. Their budgets came from state coffers, and if they were to scrimp and save on costs, next year’s budget might be reduced. That was part of the reason they still paid Vistelya prices even in Maalt. Furthermore, Maalt was short on manpower. It took relatively high rates to get adventurers to even consider taking a job.

All in all, thanks to the new dungeon, Maalt’s economy was doing well. It would have been better if it had never appeared and no one had died in the aftermath, but it was a silver lining of sorts. Besides, Maaltesians didn’t just take their lumps as they came; they always found some benefit from their hardships. To survive in this harsh world, you had to continually look forward. People on the frontier were usually better at that than those from the core areas of the kingdom.

“We were able to find adventurers for most of the Tower and Academy requests,” Wolf explained, “but since we’re a lot busier than normal, we still don’t have enough people to go around. So we’re processing a handful of requests using guild employees.”

It was uncommon for guild employees to take requests, but it had been done in the past, usually when there wasn’t enough manpower to cover all the demand. The basic jobs like herb gathering went on the back burner when things got busy like they were now. Everyone wanted the higher pay while it was on the table.

Once people had finished with the higher-paying jobs, they’d eventually take care of the low-priority jobs. The guild would just leave those jobs for later, but if doing so would have unwanted side effects down the road, the guild would send its personnel to take care of them. How far the guild went to handle those matters depended on the guildmaster and the guild branch itself. Wolf was the type to monitor that sort of thing and make sure it was taken care of.

By this point, I had a good idea of what Wolf was going to ask me to do.

“So you want me to handle the jobs left hanging? I mean, I don’t mind, since I’m good at those sorts of tasks.”

Before I became undead, I prioritized jobs like that. Once you were used to them, they were actually fairly profitable relative to the amount of effort they required. Since I’d spent ten years doing them, I could deal with them much faster than the average adventurer. Besides, even the simplest errands and odd jobs brought in silver pieces.

I sometimes wondered why no one else worked that way, but anyone who had been adventuring for that long would have already moved on to better-paying jobs. Taking those kinds of jobs was only useful to adventurers like me who weren’t able to improve despite years of practice.

Wolf nodded and said, “Well there’s that too.”

“Too?” I asked.

So that wasn’t the job he wanted me to take. That made sense. Wolf did say he had a particular job he was having trouble with. He wouldn’t have phrased it that way if he just wanted me to take care of the backlog of errands.

“We’d appreciate it if you could also crunch through those errand jobs when you have the time, but what I really need from you is something else. I told you that I had guild employees taking care of some jobs, yeah? Well, as a result, we’ve been running behind on the usual tasks that those employees are supposed to do. We’re at a point where we can’t handle any more work. And unfortunately, the last person we wanted knowing about the new dungeon has found out about it. So now I need someone to go pick up a new visitor.”

It was someone that Wolf, the guildmaster here in Maalt, needed to welcome personally. They were important then. But in that case...

“So you can just go yourself, right, Wolf?”

Wolf quickly shook his head. “You wanna take a look through this paperwork and say that again?” The vein on his forehead twitched.

My first impression of this office had been that it was where people who hated paperwork were damned to after they died. The reason Wolf’s eye was bloodshot wasn’t because he was angry, but because he was just not getting enough sleep. The fact that this man, the very epitome of physical strength, was this close to snapping... I had to admit I felt sorry for him.

“It’s fine. Don’t look at me with pity,” Wolf said, waving his hand around dismissively. “If you’re going to do that, then take the job I’m offering you.”

He wasn’t asking anything too terrible, so I nodded, figuring it wasn’t that big of a deal.

“All right, fine. I don’t mind going to pick someone up. So who is it?”

Wolf sighed, looking like he’d eaten something sour. “The grand guildmaster of the Kingdom of Yaaran.”

◆◇◆◇◆

“The grand guildmaster? Wait, aren’t they in charge of all the adventurers in Yaaran? Are you sure I’m the right man for the job?”

Since Wolf was telling me to go welcome them, I’d assumed it was someone important, but this was beyond what I’d expected. I immediately wondered if he should have asked someone else instead of a nobody like me.

“I’m not telling you to go fight, or propose major reforms to the guild or whatever, so that won’t be an issue, will it? All you have to do is meet him and bring him here. Is that so much to ask?” Wolf said as though he were asking me to run to the corner store.

Maybe he was right. If anything, the job might be perfectly suited for a lowly underling like me.

“I get what you’re trying to say,” Wolf added. “The grand guildmaster is an almost mythical figure for an ordinary adventurer. But like I said earlier, I have this mountain of paperwork to deal with. Besides, I’ve got other work too, so I can’t just leave Maalt. You get that right? Unless... If you’ve decided to accept my offer and become my successor, then I’d be happy to teach you the basics and leave the guild in your hands as I go off to pick up the grand guildmaster. Would you rather do that?”

That was a terrifying proposal. I was sure he was joking, but when I looked closely, he had a scary little smile on his face. His expression was hard to read. Was he being serious or just messing with me? I knew that if I answered the wrong way he might very well put that plan into motion.

“No, I respectfully decline,” I answered immediately. “I’ll go. I’ll go pick him up. But the grand guildmaster is in the capital, right?”

There was no way such an important person would be working out of some random village in the middle of nowhere. The man in charge of all of the adventurers in Yaaran had to be in the capital, right?

“Yes, so you’ll have to make a quick trip to Vistelya. I get it’s not exactly ‘quick,’ but I’m not telling you to cross a border or anything. On a fast mount, you’d get there within a week or so. On the whole, it’d be about a two-week commitment. I’ll make sure you get paid well. It’s technically an employee job, but you’re technically a temp, so I intend to pay you for your work.”

That was good to hear. But the capital, huh? If I used the teleportation circle at the Ancient Kingdom, I’d get there in less than a day. That wasn’t an option, though. I couldn’t take the grand guildmaster to that place. I’d never met him, and I didn’t know how much I could trust him. I’d heard that Wolf held him in high esteem, but you had to interact with people yourself to get a sense of their character. We’d have to travel using normal methods.

It was kind of a hassle, but it might not be such a bad thing to go to Vistelya. I had an errand I needed to run there anyway. I needed to go see the people I’d saved the last time I went to Vistelya. I’d told them that I would visit them within a few days, but I’d also told them I was an adventurer, so hopefully they would cut me a little slack. If not, I hoped Augurey had dealt with any inquiries. Still, I supposed I should come up with an excuse while I could. A new dungeon appearing in Maalt would make a good excuse.

“As an adventurer! I just had to see the newly formed dungeon! Please forgive me for putting that first!”

Could I really get away with that? Probably not. I’d just have to rely on their kindness.

I said to Wolf, “I’ll head out tomorrow. I need to make arrangements for a carriage.”

“Oh, so you’ll take the job? You’re a lifesaver.”

Wolf sounded relieved. Perhaps he didn’t want to disrespect the grand guildmaster despite how busy he was. Based on the rumors I’d heard, the grand guildmaster was the one who’d assigned Wolf to his current position after he was so badly injured he couldn’t continue as an adventurer. I’m sure Wolf felt indebted to the grand guildmaster.

“Oh, we’ll arrange a carriage for you, so just go and get packing. Also, I’ll make sure the paperwork you need is ready for you before you leave.”

“You’re going out of your way despite how busy you are, aren’t you?”

He was putting in an awful lot of work for someone so short on people that he was willing to conscript a walking corpse. Something felt a little off, but maybe I was being paranoid.

“It’s not like the grand guildmaster’s got the time to meet a random adventurer from Maalt. You’ll need some letters of introduction to see him. That’s something only I can prepare, so I can’t use the fact I’m busy as an excuse. As for the carriage, that’s about the most we can help this time. Think of it as a token of thanks. Besides, you’re taking a job you have no real obligation to take.”

It was just like Wolf to care about the details that concerned me, even though it looked like he was forcing me to do him a favor. I took his words at face value.

“In that case, I’ll gratefully accept the help. All right, I need to go get ready.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

We went over a few minor administrative matters and then I left Wolf’s office.

◆◇◆◇◆

The door to the guildmaster’s office closed with a click. Wolf sighed in relief. He then made sure Rentt’s presence had completely disappeared from beyond the door.

“Phew. I was worried there for a second, but I somehow managed to push it on him. He can be sharp, so I was worried that he’d figure it out at some point. But it seems he interpreted everything in the best possible light. Thank the gods.”

Wolf’s words sounded ominous as he murmured to himself.

“Good luck, Rentt. I wouldn’t want to go even if I had the time to spare.”

Wolf placed the pile of paperwork he’d been carrying on top of his desk and resumed his work.

◆◇◆◇◆

“Let’s see. My main longsword, a dagger for skinning, changes of clothes, dried meat, salt... They’re all here, right? Good, good.”

I nodded to myself as I spread out my belongings. That wasn’t everything in my magic bag, but it was everything I’d need for the journey I was about to set off on in the morning.

Because my magic bag was so large, there were a lot of unnecessary things inside it, things like random shiny rocks that I’d picked up somewhere and cool-looking pieces of driftwood. I honestly wasn’t sure why I was carrying them, but I could just toss them if I ended up needing more room.

“I hate to interrupt you, as you’re so excited about your trip, but doesn’t it strike you as odd?” Lorraine said as she leaned against the doorway.

“Yeah. A lot. I know.”

“Then why did you accept his request and come straight home?”

While Lorraine looked faintly exasperated, she also seemed resigned because she knew it was just like me to do something like this.

“I need to go to the capital anyway. I have business there. Besides, I’ve caused Wolf a lot of trouble, so it won’t hurt to do a favor for him every once in a while.”

“I’m pretty sure you’ve been doing him plenty of favors, not just ‘once in a while.’”

“You think?”

Lorraine was probably right. But people needed to support each other to survive. And having Wolf owe me a favor might come in handy, so it was like sowing seeds for the future.

“Of course,” Lorraine answered. “But the grand guildmaster, huh? I’ve met the Imperial grand guildmaster, but I’ve yet to meet the Yaaran one.”

“Huh, really? I figured as a Silver-class adventurer, you’d have at least seen him once.”

“I don’t know how it is in Yaaran, but the only adventurers the empire’s grand guildmaster meets are Gold-class and above. The only reason I’ve met the Imperial grand guildmaster was because I met him as a scholar. And if I recall, his bodyguards were all Gold-class adventurers.”

“I see.”

The grand guildmaster was over all the adventurers in the kingdom. Maybe it would make more sense to use even Platinum- or Mithril-class adventurers as bodyguards. But adventurers of that rank were so rare and valuable that it was hard to determine if they or the guildmaster were more important.

While many guildmasters were former adventurers like Wolf, they were still only the administrative heads of the guild. It was rare for them to be heroes or notable personalities. Furthermore, many of the Platinum- and Mithril-class adventurers were...eccentric. They wouldn’t necessarily listen to orders from a guildmaster, and the guildmaster wouldn’t have any way to make them listen. Nive Maris was still a Gold-class adventurer, but she’d eventually reach Platinum-class. That was what Platinum- and Mithril-class adventurers were like.

Wait, what was it that I so admired about Mithril-class adventurers? I couldn’t help but wonder. There were some wonderful, admirable people who were Mithril-class. Yes, those were the people that I wanted to be like. Right.

“Just for my own edification, what do you find suspicious about Wolf’s request?” I asked Lorraine. I wasn’t going to turn down the request after hearing her reasoning, but it was still useful to get her perspective.

“There are several things. First, I’m not sure why the grand guildmaster doesn’t just come here. He could take a fancy carriage with some Gold-class bodyguards, for example.”

Every once in a while, nobles came from the capital, and that was how they usually traveled.

“Wolf said that he wanted to send a report to headquarters from the Maalt branch. He regularly sends reports by mail, but he thought it’d be easier for someone who was familiar with the situation to explain the details. I’m supposed to ask the grand guildmaster to come to Maalt because there might be various problems with the new dungeon.”

“So it’s a matter of form?” Lorraine asked.

“That’s what Wolf was saying. Someone as important as the grand guildmaster has a lot of commitments, so he can’t just up and leave the capital. He needs a reason that’s easy to present to the public.”

“That makes some sense, but it still seems a bit thin...”

I thought I’d offered a reasonable explanation, but Lorraine still had her doubts. Maybe I should have been a little annoyed at how picky she was being, but the truth was I felt the same.

“Right? It feels kind of forced,” I replied.

“So you think there’s some other reason?”

“Just a hunch, but yeah. I don’t have any clue what it might be, though. Maybe I’m just being paranoid, or maybe it’s something to worry about. Honestly, I can’t know either way until I go.”

I was going to learn the truth anyway whether I liked it or not once I got to the capital. Since I’d already decided I was going, then I’d basically accepted whatever would be coming my way.

When I explained that to Lorraine, she said, “If you’re fine with it, then I’ll give it a pass. The only thing now is the promise you have to keep in the capital.”

“From when we saved that princess, right? Augurey and I can go to the palace by ourselves, but if we did, they’d ask why you weren’t there and tell us to bring you along as well. I think it’d be best if you came with us, Lorraine. What do you think?”

“I don’t mind traveling again, but what about Rina?”

◆◇◆◇◆

Lorraine was concerned about leaving the newly undead Rina by herself.

“We’re not going to be gone that long. We could ask Isaac to watch out for her,” I suggested.

Though Rina wasn’t exactly a vampire, she was close enough, and Isaac was a vampire. She could go to him if she needed to. Laura was currently asleep, she was the power behind the scenes.

Wait, that sounded like I was part of an evil organization or something. Laura and Isaac were technically monsters, but they weren’t evil at heart. They were kind of like the old man who used to be a menace to society, but was now an upstanding member of the community. Something like that. Isaac was once allied with Shumini, so he was a much bigger menace than a young man joining a random gang, but it was similar, right?

At any rate, Laura and Isaac were no longer in the business of randomly attacking people for no reason. They did attack people if they had a reason, though. They were vampires, so some of that was just unavoidable. But evidently they didn’t need that much blood, and there weren’t any strings of disappearances in the city. There had been some incidents over the years, like the disappearances related to Shumini, but Isaac and Laura had been here for decades, even centuries, so they hadn’t been involved with any of those. We were comfortable leaving Rina in their care.

“That will do for Rina, but what about Alize?” Lorraine asked.

Alize was a child from the orphanage. Lorraine was teaching her magic, and I was teaching her adventuring skills. That could wait, however. She didn’t need to become an adventurer or mage in the next few days or anything.

“Why don’t we leave it to Rina?” I suggested.

Rina was an adventurer herself. With her increased physical abilities and her supernatural powers, she was rapidly improving and was one of the promising young stars of... Maybe that was overstating it. Still, in terms of magic and skills, she was much further along than Alize.

Lorraine was quite amused by the idea. “Oh, yes, that might be a good idea. Rina looked like she wanted a protégé of her own.”

When exactly had Rina looked that way? Lately, Rina had been exploring the Water Moon Dungeon alone, or rather, with my familiar Edel. Rina had her own party to adventure with, but they hadn’t yet recovered enough to return. She was using this opportunity to train. She usually went at night, so while she was technically staying at Lorraine’s house, she wasn’t there at dinner time. She was always around in the morning. Like me, she needed very little sleep now. An ordinary human couldn’t and shouldn’t try the same thing.

Though Lorraine and I were teaching her things, in the end, adventurers learned best through actual adventuring. There were things that you could only learn by engaging in mortal combat with monsters. That was why Rina was going adventuring on her own. In addition, she needed to make a living as an adventurer. Given her current physical abilities, she could make decent money just by attacking things with brute force, but there was an art to efficiently dealing with tasks.

As an adventurer, you needed skills so you could avoid going broke in the event you lost your usual sources of income. It wasn’t just about combat skill either. You needed to know how to dissect a monster and identify the most profitable parts. The best way to learn those skills was to put in time inside a dungeon.

I was a bit too concerned to send Rina in completely alone, so I’d asked Edel to go along with her as a chaperone, a temporary party member. Rina and Edel were both my familiars, so I figured they’d get along well. And, in fact, they’d been dungeon diving without any trouble.

Because Edel had seniority as my familiar and because he had always been a monster, he was a bit better at manipulating mana than Rina. Consequently, he treated her like an apprentice, not a party member. Whenever she returned from the dungeon, she would talk about how Edel had taken over and how she hoped she’d have a protégé of her own someday...or something to that effect. But she always looked at me while she was saying that, a hopeful glint in her eye. I had to admit, I didn’t want those expectations on my shoulders. She was like a child who wanted a younger sibling. I couldn’t just make familiars willy-nilly. She always looked crestfallen when I said that, though. I wasn’t doing anything bad, but I couldn’t help but feel guilty.

Alize might be a solution to that problem. She wasn’t a familiar, just a human child, but since she was eventually going to become an adventurer and a mage, she could be a protégé to Rina.

“You’re thinking that Rina will stop looking at you like she wants a younger sibling, right?” Lorraine said with a chuckle.

“Yeah, that’s part of it,” I confessed.

“It’s not a bad proposal. Rina has much to learn as an adventurer, but Alize won’t be going to the dungeon with her. I’m sure Rina would be happy to train Alize if we tell her she’d be coming here a few days a week to teach her as a mentor.”

“Yeah, probably. So, since we got all that out of the way, will you be coming with me, Lorraine?”

“Yes, I’ll accompany you. Besides, in an emergency, I can instantly return from the capital.”

She was referring to the teleportation circles, but that was only for an extreme emergency. There was little chance it’d be necessary, and we’d return home by carriage.

◆◇◆◇◆

“Are you ready?” Lorraine calmly asked Rina, who was seated across from her. Lorraine was referring to whether Rina was ready to meet her new protégé.

Last night, a messenger from the guild came to inform us that they’d secured a carriage for our trip. Fortunately, they had arranged for us to depart later in the afternoon, which gave us more time to wrap up our business here. I suspected that Wolf had gone out of his way to accommodate me. He probably thought that since he’d sprung the request on me without warning, I would need time to take care of things first. Wolf had guessed right, and since we weren’t leaving until at least noon, I was grateful for the extra time.

The first thing we had to do was introduce Rina and Alize to each other. Then we’d discuss Rina teaching Alize while we were away. Though we called it a discussion, we had already decided on the basic details. However, if it turned out that neither Rina nor Alize wanted to deal with the other, we were going to scrap the plan entirely. And if so, we’d have to put Alize’s training on hold for two weeks. I would feel guilty for making her wait, but we’d deal with that if it happened. We didn’t have a set lesson plan or anything anyway.

“Y-Yes, I’m ready. All set!” Rina stammered. It didn’t sound like she was ready at all.

We were currently at Maalt’s Second Orphanage, waiting for Alize to return. According to Lillian, the head of the orphanage, Alize was out shopping and would be back shortly, so we’d decided to wait. We had helped Rina prepare to meet Alize, but she was still anxious. She didn’t need to be so nervous about it, but Alize would be her first protégé, so I could understand her anxiety.

As I was wondering how things would go, I heard a knock on the door.

“Come in,” I called. I’d meant to sound self-assured, but the truth was I didn’t have any authority in my voice.

As I was sulking about my lack of gravitas, Alize appeared from the other side of the door and greeted everyone. She relaxed when she saw Lorraine and me, but then she noticed the unfamiliar face in the room. Her brows furrowed, and she grimaced.

“Hello Rentt and Professor Lorraine. I heard guests were here to see me, so I was a little nervous.”

Though she’d said that, Alize didn’t look all that nervous. She was just trying to be on her best behavior. I guessed Lillian hadn’t mentioned who was waiting for her. That, or she’d sent one of the other children to give Alize the message.

As the head of the orphanage, Lillian stayed busy. She most likely didn’t have the time to wait for Alize just to give her a short message. Plus, it was just us. I’d already told Lillian that she needn’t treat us with any special care, and Alize already knew us very well.

I told Alize, “We’re technically guests, but you don’t have to address us with titles.”

“I add a title for Professor Lorraine because she’s a great mage. But Rentt...you’re just Rentt.”

That was kind of insulting if I thought about it, but Alize was only being frank because she felt comfortable with us, so I wasn’t about to chastise her for it.

Lorraine had often told Alize that she didn’t need to add a title to her name, but unlike me, Lorraine had a certain amount of gravitas. She couldn’t seem to get rid of it. The fact that she was a scholar only reinforced her authority. By contrast, I was just a simple adventurer. Hardly anyone addressed me by a title, so it was fine.

“What exactly are you implying?” I asked Alize. “I mean, not that it matters.”

“It’s nothing bad, really, but uh... Who is that?”

Alize seemed really curious about Rina. She was being casual with us, but perhaps she was trying to calm herself because there was someone in the room she’d never met.

“Oh, that’s right. This is Rina. And Rina, this is Alize,” Lorraine stated laconically.

She was being a little too laconic, if you asked me. But it wasn’t out of disrespect or rudeness.

Rina practically hopped out of her seat to introduce herself. “I’m Rina Rupaage. I’m an Iron-class adventurer, and I’m a disciple of Miss Lorraine and Rentt.”

Alize chuckled softly and said, “I’m Alize. I’m one of the children of this orphanage, and I’m learning adventuring and magic from Rentt and Professor Lorraine.”

Ah, so Lorraine had kept her introduction short so that Rina and Alize could describe themselves in their own words.

“Basically, you two are both our students,” Lorraine explained after they’d finished their introductions. “As for who has seniority, that’s a little bit tricky.”

Lorraine had a point. If we went by how long they’d studied, then Alize would be the senior of the two. But if we went by who was more skilled, then it would be Rina. Also, Rina was older and more thoroughly involved in our affairs.

“There’s no need to worry about that,” I said.

“Yes. We came here today to introduce you to each other,” Lorraine added.

Alize tilted her head.

“Lorraine and I are going away for a bit,” I explained to Alize. “It’s only for about two weeks, but we won’t be able to teach you during that time. So we thought that you could train with Rina while we’re gone.”

“Huh? Where are you going?” Alize asked.

“Vistelya, the royal capital. Would you like us to bring you back any souvenirs?”

“The capital? Maybe something tasty...for everyone here.”

The fact that Alize was thinking of the kids at the orphanage just showed how kind she was. She took her role as the big sister seriously.

“All right,” I agreed. “So what do you think about what I just said? It’s just a suggestion, so you don’t have to if you don’t want to, but...”

“Hmm... Can I talk to her alone for a little bit?”

Lorraine and I exchanged glances. Then I turned to Rina. “I guess we’ll leave the room for a little bit. Is that okay with you, Rina?”

“Yeah, I don’t mind at all. Alize, are you okay with that too?”

“Yes.”

Lorraine and I left the two of them alone in the waiting room.

◆◇◆◇◆

“Oh, why are you standing out here? I thought you were talking with Alize.”

Lillian, who’d just left her office, came over to talk to us. She had been ill and confined to bed up until recently, but there appeared to be no lingering effects. I was relieved to see her looking rosy and plump.

“Oh, as for that,” Lorraine started, then explained the situation.

“Ah, I see,” Lillian said. “Personal chemistry is important in such matters.”

“How does it look to you, Lady Lillian?” Lorraine asked. “Do you think they will mesh well?”

Lorraine wasn’t expecting a complete answer; she’d just been making conversation. Today was the first time Lillian had met Rina, and their conversation had been brief. She wouldn’t have gotten a good sense of Rina’s personality just from that.

Lillian took a second to think, then said, “Miss Rina seems like a very honest and pure young woman, so I think she would get along well with Alize. Alize is less straightforward than her, but she’s a gentle child at heart. I think she could be herself around someone like Miss Rina, rather than someone who was overly serious or stern.”

Lady Lillian’s observations were so thorough that even Lorraine and I nodded along to her explanation.

“Your reasoning makes a lot of sense,” Lorraine acknowledged, “but you only met Rina today. I’m impressed by how much you can tell from such a short acquaintance.”

Lillian smiled gently. “I’ve been the head of this orphanage for a long time. I’ve learned to assess a young person’s personality with only a brief interaction. Of course, there are plenty of times I can’t get a clear sense of a child that quickly. I also believe it’s best not to prejudge. But Miss Rina seems very honest and straightforward, and I’ve known Alize for a long time.”

Lillian’s experience must have taught her how to ascertain a person’s character with just a short introduction. I wished she’d teach me how to do that. My social abilities were sorely lacking. Given that I’d always lurked in dark dungeons by myself, I hadn’t picked up that sort of knowledge.

As for Lorraine, her social skills were surprisingly good. That hadn’t been the case when she first came to Maalt—she’d seemed like a typical sheltered scholar then—but her social graces had improved tremendously in the ten years she’d been here. I didn’t know how she did it, but maybe it came down to intelligence. She was just able to pick up and absorb things like social cues and mannerisms better than me.

“It’s a relief to hear you say that, Lady Lillian,” I said.

“Really? If I had a concern, it would be that they might squabble over relatively minor things.”

Just as I noted that things would be fine, Lillian threw in an additional observation with a mischievous smile. That was part of her charm, though.

A moment later, Lillian tilted her head as though something had just occurred to her. “Oh, that reminds me. You two are going to the capital, right?”

She sounded serious, so we straightened our backs and looked directly at her.

“Yes, that’s true,” Lorraine confirmed. “Is there something...?”

Lillian waved her arms, looking embarrassed. “Oh, no, no. It’s not important, so you don’t have to look so solemn. But if you have time while you’re in the capital, I would appreciate it if you could deliver a letter to the Church of the Eastern Sky for me. I’ll happily pay you the going rate for that service.”

Since this was a job, we listened intently. Compared to hunting monsters or guarding someone, her request was a bit less stressful because we wouldn’t need to risk our lives. Still, that didn’t mean it was completely safe. After all, it was a long way from Maalt to the capital. There was always a chance you’d run into bandits or monsters on the way. However, we’d already factored those risks into our journey, so her request wouldn’t expose us to any additional dangers.

I was prepared to take the job, but I figured I should still check with Lorraine. “Do you think we’ll have the time?” I asked her.

“The Church of the Eastern Sky’s main facility is in the capital. The Great Cathedral isn’t that far from the guild, so it shouldn’t be too much trouble. Even if it took an entire day to deliver the letter, Wolf’s request isn’t that urgent.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Even including travel time, we’ve got one or two extra days built into our schedule in case of trouble. It’s not a problem.”

“And since I’m not involved in the guild job, I can always deliver the letter by myself. There’s not much to worry about on the whole.”

“Oh, right. Good point.”

The guild had asked me to take the job, so Lorraine could deliver the letter while I was busy doing that.

Lorraine turned back to Lillian and said, “Since Rentt has a job from the guild, I don’t know if he’ll have the time, but if you’re okay with me delivering the letter, then I would happily accept your request. There’s no time to register it with the guild, so it will be a personal contract. Is that all right?”

Lorraine had mentioned that I might not have the time as a precaution. Chances were that I’d be able to fit it in, but I couldn’t say that with any certainty. Lorraine, on the other hand, could definitely do it.

“That’s more than fine,” Lillian said. “You’ve done so much for Alize, Miss Lorraine, so I trust you. I’ll have the letter ready before you depart, so could you stop by my office before you leave?”

“Yes, of course,” Lorraine replied.

◆◇◆◇◆

“Oh, there they are.”

After we finished our conversation with Lillian, Lorraine and I had decided to wait in the orphanage’s chapel. Before long, we heard voices coming from the entrance. When we turned to see who it was, we found Alize and Rina standing there.

“Seems they’ve finished their chat,” Lorraine remarked.

“Yes, it does.”

I exchanged glances with Lorraine, and we stood up from the pew. When we approached Alize and Rina, we noticed that they both looked happy, so it was easy to imagine that their conversation had gone relatively well.

“Are you two done?” Lorraine asked them.

They both nodded.

“Yes!” Rina exclaimed with a radiant smile. “We’ve decided we’ll work hard on our training together!”

I thought Rina would be teaching Alize, not training alongside her, but Alize would technically still be learning. Plus, Rina had been training hard up to this point, and she’d studiously worked on the lessons Lorraine and I had taught her, so she was clearly up to the task.

“I see. So what did you end up talking about?” Lorraine asked them.

Alize put her index finger to her lips. “That’s...a secret.”

Lorraine tilted her head. “Why?”

Alize briefly glanced at me, and Lorraine, who was keen enough to catch the hint, then shooed me away with her hand. I quietly obeyed and sat in a pew in the corner of the chapel.

I felt strangely left out. I watched as the three of them began to talk quietly. My ears had gotten keener, so I thought that maybe I could hear them even from this distance, but when I actually tried to listen in, I couldn’t hear a thing. I knew it wasn’t that my ears had gotten worse, because I couldn’t even hear the rustle of their clothes.

When I looked more closely, I saw that Lorraine was using magic. It was a wind spell that muffled any sound coming from a particular location. Since they were discussing something secret, it made sense Lorraine would do that.

That said, I felt even more isolated than I had earlier. I lightly hugged my knees to my chest. I was this odd presence, lurking in the corner of a chapel, garbed in a black robe, wearing a skull mask, and hugging my knees. I was like a demon or a malign spirit of some sort. But I had divinity, so maybe I was closer to an angel.

After a while, I heard Lorraine say, “Rentt, we’re done.”

I raised my head. There was no trace of the wind magic left, so they must have finished their conversation. I didn’t say anything and approached them in silence.

“Don’t be so pouty,” Lorraine quipped, looking a tad exasperated. “Though, I’m sorry we left you out like that. But there are topics that women can’t discuss in the company of men. You know that, right?”

When I read between the lines, I knew she was saying that I needed to be less oblivious.

“No, it’s fine. I was just a little lonely,” I admitted.

I hadn’t really minded all that much. After spending ten years adventuring in dungeons, I’d mastered the art of being alone. I wasn’t going to be all that upset by a few minutes more. I was just playing anyway, or at least putting on an act. Besides, I already knew what they’d talked about. It had to be about me. I didn’t know what they’d said, though.

“Then that’s fine,” Lorraine stated. “At any rate, we don’t have to worry about Rina and Alize. It looks like we can leave without any lingering concerns.”

“Yeah, true. We don’t exactly have time to dawdle, so why don’t we get going?” I suggested.

Lorraine nodded. Then we left the chapel, stopped at Lillian’s office to get her letter, and departed the orphanage.

Alize had wanted to come see us off at the carriage stop, but as one of the older children at the orphanage, she had a fair number of chores to do. It wasn’t like we were never going to see each other again, so we said our goodbyes at the orphanage’s entrance.

As we made our way to the carriage stop, I warned Rina about various things to be careful of while we were gone.

“First, make sure to prioritize your safety. Also, if anything happens, go to Isaac for help. Not that I expect anything to happen, but...”

Rina cheerfully said, “Yes, I understand! Oh, also, I’m looking forward to your souvenirs!”

Unlike Alize, there was no modesty or hesitation in Rina’s words. Her frankness and honesty were part of her charm. Alize often acted more mature than her age. I supposed that was because she’d grown up in an orphanage and had learned to save things for other children. She was starting to lose that hesitation with us, but she was still too deferential when it came to her own desires. But we weren’t going to force her to ask for things.

“Rina, you grew up in the capital, didn’t you?” asked Lorraine. “Wouldn’t you have already seen anything we could bring back?”

Rina was now a pseudo-vampire understudy and an adventurer in the backwater city of Maalt, but she was the daughter of a knight family and originally from the capital. She’d perhaps had a big allowance for luxuries while she was growing up. Souvenirs wouldn’t be all that exciting.

I expressed as much, but Rina hurriedly corrected us. “I wasn’t really the girl from a nice family! Though I’m part of a knight family, a noble family, we weren’t that well off. There are a lot of noble families like that, but my parents were pretty stern. Though, we did have a big house.”

I’d been joking, since I figured that was the case. It was true that the higher the noble title, the more money the family had, but it also wasn’t rare for families lower on the social hierarchy to have more money than those higher than them. For example, there were commoners who were richer than the highest-ranking dukes. Rich merchants were another good example.

“Then I guess you’ll want us to bring you some gifts,” Lorraine noted. “What would you like? If you leave it to Rentt, he’ll buy you something strange.”

Rina took something out of her pocket. “Here. If you could select from this list,” she said with a smile.

The object she’d handed me was a small notebook made of cheap, rough paper. It was one of the notebooks that Lorraine generously let Rina and I use as much as we liked. Lorraine even had a magic item that would tear the paper into pieces and reform it if we made a mistake, so we used them liberally. Though low-quality paper was inexpensive, it wasn’t so cheap that we could use it so casually without that.

Lorraine looked over my shoulder. “Ah, this is a map of the capital. And listed are store names and their well-known products.”

Rina nodded enthusiastically. “I stayed up late last night making it! It’s a perfect tour guide for the capital!”

When we’d told Rina last night that we were going to the capital, she had dashed off to her room. I’d wondered what she was doing, but it seemed she’d been busily working on this little guidebook.

◆◇◆◇◆

“But we’re not going sightseeing,” I murmured to myself.

Rina balled her hand into a fist. “But there are lots of fun places in the capital! There’s no harm in seeing them!” she declared with conviction.

Compared to Maalt, Vistelya was an enormous metropolis. Maalt was a relatively large city, but it was still on the outskirts of the country. It couldn’t compare to Vistelya, the capital of the Kingdom of Yaaran. Even elevators, of which Maalt only had a handful, were a common sight in the capital. I was sure that the Tower and the Academy had them, and they were installed in various buildings around the city as well.

Wait, was there one in the guild headquarters? I’d gone there once before, but since I’d been in such a hurry at the time, I’d only seen the first floor. It was a really big building, though, so it probably had one. Not that I was going to the capital to look at all the elevators. They were just extremely rare in Maalt, but common in the capital.

“If we have time,” I said. “Don’t expect too much in the way of gifts.”

I’d have a fair amount of time, but there was no guarantee. Wolf had left this job in my care. I couldn’t help feeling there was some sort of danger lurking on the other side. I had no idea what could be so dangerous about picking someone up, but there was no harm in being cautious.

“Oh, if you don’t have much time, there’s a souvenir shop near the entrance of the capital where you can buy all of those things in a single place.”

Rina really wasn’t giving up on this. Since she’d grown up in the capital, she must have had a certain fondness for it. She wasn’t homesick, but I supposed there were some things she missed.

When I asked Rina that, she tilted her head and looked blankly at me. Her expression basically said that my question had caught her off guard and that the thought had never occurred to her.

“She might feel that way deep in her subconscious,” Lorraine interjected, “but she’s not really aware of it. Rina can be a bit oblivious, and she’s not the sort to get caught up thinking about something.”

Rina had been like that since the day we met. An ordinary person who ran into a talking undead would see death approaching and either run or do everything they could to kill it. They wouldn’t think that it might be safe to talk to.

Furthermore, most people would intensely panic if they became undead themselves. Rina wasn’t unfazed by the fact that she’d become one, but she didn’t seem all that bothered by it either. I wasn’t one to talk, but I did spend a lot of nights thinking about it. However, I was similar to Rina in that I’d avoided reflecting on unpleasant realities during the ten years I’d spent stuck as a Bronze-class adventurer. In that sense, I was still the same person as I’d always been.

I supposed that people who took such concerns too seriously weren’t suited to life—or unlife—as an undead creature. Maybe that sort of person would’ve eventually turned into a monster like Shumini. I couldn’t imagine Rina or myself ever becoming anything like that. Even if we gave up on becoming human, the most we’d do was sing jauntily in the graveyard.

“I guess it’s fine as long as Rina’s not feeling particularly homesick,” I said.

“On the surface, at least,” Lorraine replied. “I’m sure deep down there’s a part of her that misses the capital, so the least we can do is bring back a few souvenirs. If you’re too busy, I’ll make the time to go shopping.”

“Your to-do list keeps growing, doesn’t it?” I said apologetically.

Lorraine’s lips widened into a confident grin. “It still might be easier than what’s waiting for you, Rentt.”

What an ominous thing to say. Of course, she was trying to say that I needed to be on my toes because we had no idea what might happen when we got to the capital.

“I really hope there aren’t any odd events lurking in my future,” I commented.

“Your body’s just a magnet for trouble as of late. Don’t you think it’s time to make peace with that?”

I glanced down at the ground, crestfallen, but she was right. I resigned myself to that fate, and we headed toward the carriage stop.

◆◇◆◇◆

“Took you a while to get here.”

When we arrived at the carriage stop, we saw Wolf waiting for us.

“What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be busy?” I blurted out without thinking.

“I am busy. I was working while I was waiting for you.”

Wolf showed me some papers, which had a record of deliveries from the capital written on it. The fact that the guildmaster himself had to deal with such a trivial administrative task meant that the manpower shortage at the guild was just that serious.

Wolf must have guessed what I was thinking, because he added, “There were things among the delivery that I needed to sign off on directly. I ordinarily wouldn’t do this, but... Anyway, here’s the promised documents.”

Wolf handed me a leather bag with a sheaf of papers inside. It was quite a collection of forms, and when I peeked inside, I saw that they were packed in tightly. I couldn’t bring myself to check each sheet, though I knew I had to at some point.

“I’ll trust you, Wolf, and just look at them in the carriage.”

It wasn’t that I couldn’t be bothered. Probably not anyway.

“Yeah, do that. Not like there’d be any mistakes, since I did the work myself. Also, this is the carriage you’ll be taking this time. Nice, right?”

Wolf pointed to a carriage hooked up to a giant reptile known as a creeping lizard. It was similar to a gecko or a newt, but much larger. I supposed this one looked more like a newt. Not only were they extremely fast, but they could also stay submerged in water. They could even pull ships in a pinch, making them an extremely flexible and valuable draft animal. Due to its appearance, they weren’t very popular among women, but they were widely used in the transportation industry. Securing a carriage pulled by one would have required a fair amount of money and effort.

“I’m impressed you found one of these in Maalt,” Lorraine said with a touch of admiration.

You didn’t see these animals very often here. If I remembered correctly, it was because its breeding grounds were really far from here.

“It was mostly a coincidence,” Wolf added. “I just got lucky. But this should get you to the capital a bit more quickly. I’m counting on you.”

We nodded to Wolf and boarded the carriage.

◆◇◆◇◆

“We’re nearing the royal capital of Vistelya. Please ready your identification and any other necessary documents,” the driver announced.

Five days after we set off from Maalt, we finally arrived. When I peeked outside the carriage, I saw that we were in line, waiting to be admitted into the city.

The driver was someone Wolf had found. He was evidently someone who could keep his mouth shut when necessary. Normally, I’d still question whether I could trust him, but I’m sure Wolf didn’t want my secret getting out. He would have picked someone discreet, which meant that this driver was trustworthy. Not to mention, Lorraine and I swore we’d seen this driver’s face before. We hadn’t mentioned anything in front of Wolf, though.

“There are numerous barriers and defensive installations in the capital, particularly from the noble quarter onward. Please, please be careful,” the driver pleaded, his tone completely different from earlier. He sounded nothing like a carriage driver from somewhere like Maalt. He sounded more like a well-trained butler.

I nodded at him. “Yeah. But so long as we have this, it’s safe to assume we won’t set them off, right?” I opened up my robe and pointed to a button sewed onto my linen shirt.

“Yes,” the driver confirmed after looking. “Nevertheless, we have no way of knowing what could happen if you remove it. You might be okay in the noble district, but in the palace... I was also told that it was highly unlikely that they would react to your presence, Master Rentt.”

Lorraine noted, “We’ve already tested various detection devices on Rentt. Based on those results, I’d also say he wouldn’t trigger any of those devices, but there’s nothing wrong with taking additional precautions. I’d also considered several measures on my end, but I’m grateful to have the help of the Latuule family and their extensive collection of specialized magic items. But are you sure Isaac won’t draw Lady Laura’s ire later when she wakes up?”

Yes, this driver was one of the Latuule family’s retainers. Obviously, he wasn’t human. He was a lesser vampire and one of Laura and Isaac’s underlings. I didn’t know whose familiar he was, but either way, he wouldn’t leak my secret. Or rather, if we were ever in a situation where he did divulge my secret, we’d already be screwed. I couldn’t beat Laura or Isaac, not in combat, authority, or financial power. That was why it was better to not suspect anything and just rely on their help.

“Lady Laura has always been fond of you, Master Rentt, even before she entered her sleep. I doubt she’d chastise anyone for lending you aid. Lady Laura is rarely angered by anything anyway. Something as minor as this, even if it went against her wishes... She would likely smile and forgive the offense.”

This driver had a pretty loose relationship with his master. Then again, he hadn’t been insubordinate in any way. I supposed it was a sort of trust. That, or Laura was the type to laugh and forgive even complete insubordination. I was starting to feel that it might be the latter.

I didn’t know if it was true, but there was a common urban legend that vampires hated boredom more than anything else. If that was true, then it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that vampires like Laura might be okay if her subordinates acted against her wishes as long as it kept her entertained. That was scary to think about. It could very well mean that Isaac and this lesser vampire were entirely untrustworthy.

Well, there was no point in worrying about that. As I’d said earlier, there was nothing I could do about it, so it was best to trust them. If my worst predictions came true, the most we could do was run like hell. Fortunately, we had access to teleportation circles, and we could leave the capital, get to the Ancient City, and escape to somewhere so far away that it’d be hard to catch us.

“It’s our turn. I believe the gate guard will pull up the flap and check, so please show your identification papers at that time.”

Our driver, the lesser vampire, turned to the front and drove the carriage onward.

◆◇◆◇◆

“Two passengers, hm?”

After a while, as the lesser vampire had said, the guard opened the flap to the carriage and peered in. Lorraine and I smiled vaguely in his direction. My smile had no effect, but Lorraine’s smile seemed to have some influence on the guard. He relaxed a little.

He hadn’t fallen in love with her at first sight or anything, nor was he stunned by her beauty. Passengers in carriages were usually exhausted after a long journey, and most didn’t bother smiling. Many of them looked blank, even sullen. Some people would smile at the guards, but most of them were merchants or the like, people who wanted to avoid the guard’s suspicion.

It was rare for a youngish woman like Lorraine, who wasn’t a merchant, to smile at them. Young women usually feared guards—in a lot of ways. While those who lived in the capital might look at them with some respect, a young woman visiting from outside the city who was willing to smile at a guard was a rare find.

“And you, in the mask?”

He hadn’t let his guard down with me. I knew that I looked suspicious, so I needed to explain my situation.

I held out my adventurer card to the guard and replied, “I have a serious wound on my face. I’m currently saving up to have it treated.”

The guard’s face softened, but he still said, “Do you mind showing me your face anyway? Just for a moment.” He sounded faintly apologetic.

“I can’t take it off. I think it’s cursed.”

“What?”

The guard looked at me skeptically, so I leaned toward him and asked him to pull it as hard as he could. Though he looked perplexed, he agreed to do so. He pulled with all his might, then accepted my explanation and agreed that there was nothing to be done.

“Well, I would prefer to see your face, but it seems your adventurer card is real. I suppose it’s fine. Now, what brings you to the capital?”

“We’re here to give a report to the grand guildmaster on behalf of Maalt’s adventurer’s guild. I’ll be going to the guild headquarters later, so you can confirm it with them.”

The guild headquarters must have been highly respected here, because the guard said, “I see. All right, I’ll confirm with them later. But let me be clear. If it turns out that you were lying to me, it will end very badly for you. You understand?”

He had sounded faintly intimidating, and perhaps I was supposed to cower a bit, but since I wasn’t lying in the slightest, I nodded without hesitation.

“Yes, that’s fine.”

After the guard checked Lorraine’s adventurer card, he declared that we could enter the city, and our carriage entered through the capital’s gates.