Chapter 107: To the Principality of Vadenhaag, part 6
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Translator: Denryuu; Editor: Ryunakama
After dealing with the ants, we returned to the eating-house to let the owner know the good news.
「Ah… by her Highness herself?」, he asked, wide-eyed.
「Yeah! I got rid of them!」, said Meiri, puffing herself up.
「Meiri…her Highness has received special training in the past, so she had the skill to deal with those monsters」, I added.
Since she’s so close to her people, I wondered if we could use her as a selling point. In other words, we’ll present her as a representative of the ‘organisation that will solve your problems for you’.
「There’s an old three-story building in the central district. If there’s anything else weighing on your mind, don’t hesitate to drop by the adventurers’ guild located there.」
「Eh? Oh, that’s convenient. What does ‘anything else’ encompass?」
「We offer open consultations for most purposes. While those are free, there will be some cost involved if you wish to go ahead with the transaction.」
「Cost… you’re not a charity, eh? Then, how much do I have to…?」
「The request was made on our end this time, so it’s free of charge. If it had been a normal request, however, the temporary solution we provided would have cost around fifty to eighty thousand rin. A permanent solution will cost around twice of that.」
Had we gone through the formal process, the quest rank would have been around C or D.
Looking at the ceiling, the owner paused to think for a while.
「Wait… it might actually be a better idea to solve the problem once and for all instead of continuing to import the oranges at a premium…」
We had already installed a box for requests in one corner of the store, along with a few pens and some paper.
「We’ll come back to check on the box once in a while and sort out any requests we receive.」
「And her Highness will solve those problems for us?」
He glanced at Meiri, who glanced at me.
「It depends on the nature of the request. Some may be too dangerous, or even unsuitable for the nature of our work.」
I see, said the owner. Meiri puffed her cheeks up again.
「Don’t worry! It won’t be too dangerous. I’m an adventurer after all!」
「Of course」, I said, patting her on the head.
Everyone tends to get a little ahead of themselves after succeeding in their first fight. Meiri’s also an F-rank adventurer, which means that she would not have been allowed to take up combat-related quests without being in my presence.
Anyway, I felt that Meiri and the eating-house would be good publicity for us. We’ll look at the contents of the box, invite the requesters to the guild and offer our services free-of-charge for first time customers…
Hmm.
It’s not something I can decide alone, so I’ll have to ask Iris about it later on. At any rate, Vadenhaag’s guild will be constantly fine-tuning its practices.
We spotted Iris walking along a temple-lined street accompanied by my other colleagues, and took the chance to tell them about the request box and my plans for publicity.
「I see… these are good ideas. Simply using the term ‘adventurer’ will make them none the wiser.」
「Nice idea, Roland-san! We can’t get the ball rolling without any quests!」
And with that, my ideas were approved. At the same time, adventurers belonging to the mortifyingly-named ‘Roland Group’ were starting to trickle in, making no secret of their affiliation.
In the few days that followed, adventurers I was acquainted with came to say hi to me at guild headquarters.
「Aniki!」, went the loudest of them all. 「It’s your star pupil, your favourite disciple, Neil — reporting for duty!」
「I don’t see, and have never seen, you as my disciple. Also, quiet down or you’ll disturb the others present.」
「You’re as unwelcoming as always…」
「Senpai is happy to be of service to you, Aniki」, said his bosom friend Roger, smiling bitterly.
Being the person in charge of the large-scale quest, I finally briefed them on the details.
「To formalise it to you two, you’re part of a special quest — a large-scale quest formally named ‘establishing and operating a guild system’. Thus, you will receive the dividends accordingly at the end.」
As the owner with unfinished ant-related business had mentioned, the guild isn’t a charity organisation, so the commissions we receive will be channeled into operating costs.
「I will decide how the rewards are split. For that purpose, I’ll be keeping a close eye on everyone, so please give it your all.」
Raring to go, the dynamic duo produced a war cry and promised to come again in the future.
The next group to visit was the Pretty Girls’ Squad.
「Roland-sama! We got news of this from our leader and rushed over!」, said Hire, who had become a powerful mage since the last time I saw her.
「By your leader, you mean… Neil?」
Lyan, the demi-human, moved her ears as she spoke.
「Yes! He gathered everyone and droned on and on about ‘Aniki having a favour to ask of him’. That was annoying, but at least his face was interesting to look at — I’ve never seen him like that before!」
「…It was a long journey, but we did it for Roland-sama」, said the taciturn Sans.
「These kids were so excited to come, saying something about ‘repaying their debt’…」
The other three stared daggers at Sue, the dwarf, who shrugged.
「Roland-sama, did you know that Sue was the most excited out of all of us?」
「…Hey hey, none of that matters now!」
「Sue always tries to act cool in front of Roland-sama.」
「(ﾟｪﾟ(｡_｡(ﾟｪﾟ(｡_｡*)」
「Hmph…」
Embarrassed, Sue looked away. By now, they had already risen to C-rank by going on various quests as a squad. They might even be promoted to B-rank soon.
Immediately after they left, the young, shovel-wielding Zepetto arrived. Although he had failed the formal test at another branch, he was nevertheless let through when they learnt of his skill.
「Employee-san. It’s been a while –!」
「It has indeed. You’ve grown taller, and your physique is developing well, too.」
Once a frail, willowy boy who thought only of his mother, his current physique showed that his days of physical weakness were long past. Sticking out of his enormous rucksack were three of what looked like shovel handles. He had also added a spear to his repertoire of weapons, which he gripped in one hand.
I exchanged a firm handshake with the now B-rank rookie.
「I received a bunch of invitations from the construction guild, which I rejected. Until I heard that employee-san was at the heart of it all, that is.」
「Thank you for joining us. I see that you’re an established military engineer now. You even picked up the spear again?」
「Ehehe. Yeah. Being good at digging holes allowed me to join different parties where I learnt a lot, including how to fight. It also became easier to go solo after a while. Not only that, I could go digging around for ores in the mountains and forests for long periods of time… and all that is thanks to you, employee-san.」
「No, it’s simply the fruit of your labour. You tried to use the sword at first, too.」
「Ahaha, don’t bring that up now. Back then, I thought that adventuring was nothing more than fighting. Man, it really feels like a lifetime ago.」
「It hasn’t even been a year.」
Really, laughed Zepetto. I could tell that his life as an adventurer had been thoroughly fulfilling.
「Out of all the rising stars of their respective professions, including Candy-san and Zepetto-san, half of them are part of the ‘Roland Group’」, said Milia at the side.
「They’re making it a force to be reckoned with, that’s for sure.」
「Possibly.」
「Right?」
Even if that force grows to be unstoppable, I’ll never approve of it for as long as they don’t get a better name.
Afterwards, Meiri came to me while hanging around at the guild, and Lyla followed the two of us back to the eating-house.
「How is it? Are there a lot of requests?」, I asked, pointing at the box.
The owner smiled.
「Have a look yourself.」
Meiri grabbed the box and opened the lid.
「Fwaaa…! Roland! It’s bursting!」
She tilted the box for me to have a look, and I saw the volume of requests for myself. The various requesters had also diligently included their name and contact details on their respective requests.
「And it’s only been about a week…」
「You said that anything goes, so that’s what I told them. Everyone found it convenient to write something, and the number of slips in there increased every day」, said the owner.
「It seems like they understand the idea of someone being able to solve their problems for them. We’re sorry to trouble you again, manager, but could you give them directions to the guild in the future?」
「Ho. I’ll do it.」
「Roland, am I doing all this myself?」, asked Meiri, hopping around like a little rabbit.
「It’ll be split among everyone」, I said, calming her down.
Our internal systems had been established, and we had no lack of quests nor adventurers. We returned to the guild, where a few employees were transcribing their notes onto formal quest slips and assigning ranks to each one.
「Roland-sama, what are you having for lunch…?」, inquired Hire of the Pretty Girls’ Squad upon returning.
「I’ll be glad if you can join me!」
「True, true.」
「Are you hungry? If so, then –」
I handed Hire four quest slips.
「Here, split these with the rest.」
「Oh… official business, huh… right…」
Her spirits sank as low as her shoulders, and she left with the others.
「Roland, what about my quest!?」
「Here’s yours, Meiri.」
「’Babysitting’… i-is this even an adventure!?」, she exclaimed, shocked.
The eldest of the four children was Meiri’s age, the youngest of which was a baby. Figuring that an adult would find it harder than actual fighting, I expected that Meiri would have little trouble mingling with her peers.
「If all you can do is fight, then you’re not an adventurer」, I said, grabbing Lyla who was sleeping with her legs curled up. 「Here… she will be your sidekick for this quest. A cat who only eats, sleeps and complains.」
I handed Lyla over to the little princess.
「Unyaa…?」
Meiri hugged her tightly.
「Ugyaaaa!? Ow! Loosen your grip, loosen your grip!」
「Lyla-chan, you’re going on a quest with me!」
「Fumu? Fine, whatever. I was bored anyway.」
At any rate, Lyla doesn’t come as a standalone package. The elf who had been staring at us from outside finally barged in.
「I heard everything!! If Lylael-sama is going, then it’s inexcusable for me not to go! Come on, Meiri.」
I decided that Rodje’s presence eliminated the need for an escort. From now on, I’ll get ‘Meiri, Rodje&Cat’ to operate as a unit.
As more and more familiar faces showed up at the guild, I assigned them their respective quests as well.
Before we knew it, the adventurers’ guild of the Principality of Vadenhaag was in full swing.
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