—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The next day.
As soon as morning broke, we headed to the adventurer’s guild in Hamburg.
The adventurer’s guild was a for-profit organization with branches in every city, spread throughout the entire Oz Kingdom.
It was a place where anyone, not just local adventurers, could post and accept quests, and thus saw a lot of foot traffic.
“Oh, they’ve decorated it quite nicely.”
Dorothea said, looking around the building.
Most adventurer’s guilds also served simple food and drinks, so the first floor was set up like a tavern.
It was still morning, so no one was drinking, but there were plenty of people having a quick meal.
Most of them were rugged adventurers, and the atmosphere was somewhat drab. The neatly dressed Dorothea and Vanessa stood out.
To avoid any trouble, I led them to the counter.
An employee at the counter greeted us with a friendly smile.
“Hello, how may I help you?”
I pulled out my Emerald Tower medal and showed it to him.
The gold medal, given only to mages of the fourth tier or higher, made his expression change.
“I’m looking for a caravan heading to the capital. I’d like to join them.”
“J-Just a moment, please.”
The employee quickly pulled out a worn-out book from under the counter.
He flipped through the pages and then showed me a memo that seemed to have been recently added.
“The Baltimore Merchant Company is heading to the capital in two days and has requested guards from the guild. A fourth-tier mage like yourself would be a welcome addition.”
It seemed our timing was perfect.
The employee, excitedly explaining the quest, suddenly hesitated.
“But the reward is only 20 silver. Is that alright?”
20 silver. It was a pittance.
Hiring a fourth-tier mage as a guard would normally cost at least a few gold coins.
But our goal was to reach the capital, so the money didn’t matter.
I nodded, and the employee, pleased, said he would inform the merchant company and asked for my name.
“Patrasche.”
The employee paused, then glanced at me and muttered, “What an unusual name.”
Well, it was a name more suited for a dog than a person.
“I get that a lot.”
I waved my hand dismissively, and the employee tore off the quest form and handed it to me.
“Please go to the east gate of the city in two days.”
“Thank you.”
I nodded and returned to Dorothea and Vanessa, who were waiting.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The easiest way to travel long distances was to join a well-established merchant caravan.
And since we had no connections, accepting a quest was the best way to do so.
“Can’t we just go by ourselves?”
I shrugged at Dorothea’s reasonable question.
“We’ll be stopped at the capital’s checkpoint.”
Our identities were… ambiguous.
We might be able to get by in a remote place like Hamburg, but we wouldn’t be able to enter the capital of Oz with forged documents.
We had to be stealthy, as our mission was to assassinate the king, so we couldn’t attract any attention. Joining a merchant company was a good way to avoid scrutiny.
It would give us a double layer of verification: the adventurer’s guild and the Baltimore Merchant Company.
And since most merchant companies bribed the guards to avoid a lengthy inspection process, we would likely pass through the gates without any trouble.
It was a win-win situation: a comfortable journey and an easy passage through the checkpoint.
Dorothea, finally understanding, nodded and nonchalantly chewed on her bagel.
While Dorothea was calmly eating, Vanessa, who had rarely been to a human city, was looking around the adventurer’s guild with curiosity.
I had a bad feeling that she might cause trouble if I left her alone. I told Dorothea I’d be right back and stood up.
“What are you doing?”
I asked, approaching Vanessa, who was staring at the party recruitment board.
She turned to me.
“There are some interesting things written here.”
“What things?”
I looked at the poster she had been reading.
[Skilled thief available. Will arrive within 10 minutes of being summoned. Holds the kingdom record for fastest bandage wrapping.]
“Ah.”
So that’s what it was.
“There seem to be a lot of posts from thieves on the recruitment board.”
Vanessa said, pointing to a few more posters from thieves, all desperately trying to advertise their skills.
I shrugged and explained,
“There’s a surplus of thieves and not enough demand. They have to be aggressive in their self-promotion, or they’ll never get into a party.”
Thieves were in an awkward position among the adventurer classes.
They were useful for miscellaneous tasks like setting and disarming traps, exploring dungeons, and picking locks, but in combat, they were neither here nor there.
They were outclassed by rangers in scouting and lacked the combat prowess of warriors or mages.
While they had been more popular in the early days of the adventurer’s guild, they had become an obsolete class in the current meta of damage dealers and tanks.
“That’s why they say thieves are only good for wrapping bandages.”
“Ah…”
Vanessa nodded in understanding.
I led her back to our table, still looking around with a curious expression.
She whined about wanting to explore more, but I silenced her with a piece of bread.
She had said she ate for pleasure, but she never missed a meal.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Two days later, we headed to the east gate of the city, as instructed.
Normally, merchant caravans hired a large number of guards for long journeys.
When we arrived, a group of adventurers, who had likely accepted the same quest, were gathered at the gate, chatting amongst themselves.
“Adventurers for the escort quest, line up over here!”
I heard a man, who appeared to be a company employee, shout and went to him.
“Show me your quest form and tell me the number of people in your party.”
“Three.”
“Classes?”
“Two mages and a warrior.”
The employee looked at me in surprise when I said “mage.”
What are you looking at? Never seen a handsome man before?
I waited, a smug expression on my face, and the man, with a skeptical look, wrote our names in his ledger.
“Your group will be in the rear of the caravan. Don’t even think about slacking off. There are company employees everywhere.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
I nodded and turned to find Dorothea and Vanessa.
Huh?
They were arguing with a strange man.
I approached them, and Dorothea, seeing me, exclaimed,
“Patrasche!”
While I had told her to use my alias in public, it still sounded strange.
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
Dorothea clung to my arm and whined,
“This guy keeps bothering us, asking to join our party.”
I looked at the man, who had his eyes closed in a thin line, and he smiled awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.
“Hello.”
“Forget hello. What’s your business with my companions?”
The man looked at me with a troubled expression.
“You seem to be a party of three. I was wondering if I could join you. The employee is trying to kick me out because I’m alone.”
I stared at him, trying to read his intentions.
Men with their eyes closed were always suspicious.
They were either hiding their true strength or had a sinister motive.
While he didn’t seem dangerous at the moment, I couldn’t be sure when he would show his true colors. I decided to refuse his request.
“Sorry, but we’re not looking for any more members.”
“But!”
He looked at me with a pleading expression, but I had made up my mind.
“Find someone else.”
I waved him away, and the man, his shoulders slumped in disappointment, went to find another party.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
