Chapter 51
It was November. Today was a half-day off, and I had the afternoon free.
"Heading out?"
As I ate lunch, Rikkerel, the head footman, called out to me. We were in the servants' dining hall on the first floor. He must have noticed I was wearing my regular clothes instead of my usual footman's uniform. These clothes had been provided for me, too, and they were quite nice.
"Yes. I was thinking of going into town."
"I see. In that case..."
He went on to tell me all sorts of things. As expected of the head footman. There didn't seem to be a strict curfew, but if I came back too late, the butler would apparently call me in. The general rule was to be home sometime between nine p.m. and midnight. I was relieved that I didn't have to be back by nine sharp.
When Rikkerel finished work at five in the afternoon, he headed to a tavern in town. He went out two or three times a week. Sometimes he snuck out around three, and the butler apparently gave him a terrible scolding. He told me these things like they were some kind of heroic exploits. He told me everything.
He told me to always carry House Granvelle's crest with me. I said I would, then left the dining hall. I was going straight outside from the first floor.
(Maybe I'll check out the Adventurers' Guild today.)
Whenever I had errands to run, I'd stopped by places along the way. But unlike the market near the center of town, some places were on the other side of the noble quarter and hard to visit unless I had time off.
I passed a man wearing armor with a gigantic greatsword slung across his back.
In this world, there were people called adventurers who made their living hunting monsters. I often saw people who looked like adventurers when I went shopping. Rikkerel had told me that this other world had an organization for adventurers called the Adventurers' Guild. The lord sometimes put in requests with the guild to have monsters hunted, too.
I'd heard that the Adventurers' Guild was near the South Gate, opposite the North Gate where the noble quarter was, out of the city's four gates. It was a long way from one end of the domain capital to the other. It was too far to stop by while running errands for Cecil, so I decided to visit the guild during my half-day off. There was something I wanted to look into.
It took two hours to walk to the market in the center of town. It could take four hours on foot to reach the other side of town. I might be late getting back, so I ran there.
(Oh! There are more adventurers around now. I see swords, spears, and even staves.)
The South Gate loomed large straight ahead. Beside the main street stood the Adventurers' Guild. This big building, with adventurers streaming in and out, had to be the guild. There seemed to be a lot of taverns and inns in the area.
Allen went inside.
(Hmm, there are a few adventurers around. It's pretty quiet.)
It was just before three in the afternoon. The guild might not be very crowded at this time of day. As I looked around, I noticed quite a few people staring at me. Maybe it was my hair color. Maybe it was because I was eight. I was glad it wasn't too crowded.
(Adventurers, huh? Could I become one, too?)
Even the receptionist was staring at me. She was a beautiful young woman.
"Excuse me."
"Yes, what is it?"
"Can someone like me become an adventurer?"
"Hmm, how old are you?"
"I'm eight."
"You have to be twelve to become an adventurer."
She apologized to me.
(I see. I can't become one.)
Allen had become a footman.
He was thinking of staying a footman for the time being, since he had become one as a reward for Rodan's contribution to the village's development. But he had no intention of spending his entire life in the restricted life of a footman.
Since he was only eight, he planned to work as a footman for a few years. After that, he thought he might become an adventurer. But apparently, he couldn't become one until he was twelve.
When he eventually quit being a footman, he planned to tell Rodan that he'd tried it for a few years, but it just wasn't right for him.
Today, there was something else he wanted to find out besides whether he could become an adventurer.
"I see. I'd like to learn about the monsters around town. Do you have any reference materials or anything like that?"
"I'm sorry, but you're not allowed in the reference room for adventurers."
It seemed she wasn't going to tell him anything. He said, "I see," and stepped away from the counter. He'd come to find out what kinds of monsters lived around the town and where they could be found. It would be a waste to go home without learning anything, so he wanted to gather as much information as he could. He looked around the building.
(Oh? These are flyers for monster subjugation requests.)
Parchment notices that looked like subjugation requests were plastered across one section of the wall. They listed monster names and what seemed to be the reward for defeating them. They were written in Japanese, so I could read them without any trouble.
(Hmm, there are gaps between the notices. Do you take a request by tearing one down?)
Allen understood that you accepted requests by pulling down the notices. The empty spaces where notices had been removed must have been for requests someone had taken. Ragged scraps of paper were still stuck to the wall.
The notices listed the monster's rank, its name, and the reward for defeating it.
• E Rank: Horned Rabbit — 1 copper coin
• D Rank: Goblin — 5 copper coins
• D Rank: Big Toad — 8 copper coins
• C Rank: Orc — 3 silver coins
• C Rank: Armored Ant — 3 silver coins
He recorded them in his grimoire. There were quite a few different kinds of monsters.
(Oh, there are all sorts of monsters. But the notices don't say where they appear. Does that mean they can be found anywhere?)
The ranks seemed to rise gradually from one end of the wall to the other.
"Hey, now, what are you doing with a kid in a place like this? Listen, kid, this isn't somewhere you should be."
Allen had been so engrossed in his research that he hadn't noticed someone speaking behind him. He turned around.
An adventurer with a sword at their waist had called out to him. They looked to be in their early twenties, with countless scars on their arms and cheeks.
"Sorry, I'm leaving now. By the way, why don't these notices say where the monsters can be found?"
It seemed he shouldn't stay there much longer. He didn't want any trouble with an adventurer, so he was going to leave. But before he did, he asked the adventurer who had spoken to him, hoping they might be able to answer.
"Huh? Well, these guys are all over the place."
The adventurer answered as if it were a bother. They said that the higher-ranked the monster, the closer it tended to be to the White Dragon Mountains.
(Hmm, aren't the White Dragon Mountains beyond Krena Village? Do they stretch all the way near the city?)
He'd never seen a world map or a map of the domain. There was probably a map somewhere in the mansion, but he couldn't enter the mansion's library. As a footman, there were restrictions on where he could go.
According to the adventurer, the monsters' ranks increased the farther you traveled from town. Allen carefully recorded what he heard.
• Around town: E-rank monsters
• One day's walk: E- and D-rank monsters
• Three days' walk: D- and C-rank monsters
• Seven days' walk: C- and B-rank monsters
"No one's taking a request to hunt this Murder Garsh?"
The adventurer was answering his questions, so Allen asked one thing after another. A high-paying request to hunt a Murder Garsh was still posted. It seemed no one had taken it.
• B Rank: Murder Garsh — Ramba Village — 200 gold coins
(So it's around Ramba Village now. A reward of 200 gold coins is a huge jump.)
Apparently, even if you accepted the request and went to hunt it, it was likely to have moved somewhere else by then, making the trip a waste. It was also extremely powerful, even for a B-rank monster, which was another reason no one accepted the request. Since adventurers wouldn't take it, the knights often had to deal with the Murder Garsh themselves.
"Then does no one take a request for this White Dragon?"
The parchment notice at the very end of the row had faded. It looked as though it had been there for decades.
"Hey, how long are you going to keep asking questions?"
"This is my last one."
Allen pressed on with his questions, saying, "Come on, just one more."
• A Rank: White Dragon — White Dragon Mountains — 1,000 gold coins
The reward was so enormous that it made all the others pale in comparison.
"All right, already," the adventurer said, and answered him. Maybe they were actually a nice person. Allen wondered if they'd spoken up because they were worried that having a child in the Adventurers' Guild might lead to trouble.
The White Dragon in the White Dragon Mountains was so powerful that no one accepted the request. They were offering 1,000 gold coins because they desperately wanted it killed. The White Dragon Mountains were home to a mithril deposit, but they couldn't mine it with the White Dragon there.
(Oh, I see. The deposit must be worth enough to pay out 1,000 gold coins for killing the White Dragon and still have money left over.)
"Raveeen! I'm done reporting the request! What are you doing? We finished early, so let's go!"
Someone called out to the adventurer who'd been talking with Allen. Apparently, she was one of the adventurer's companions. She wore an outfit that showed her navel and carried a dagger. Behind her was a hooded woman holding a staff. They looked like female adventurers in their late teens and early twenties.
When she said they were going for a drink, Raven answered that he understood.
"Hm? What's with the kid?"
The female adventurer with the dagger noticed Allen.
"I was just asking about monsters. Thank you, Raven-san."
He'd learned what he wanted to know, so he thanked the adventurer politely and left the Adventurers' Guild.
(Hmm, so there are only low-ranked monsters near town. That means I have to travel farther to find monsters that give a lot of experience.)
Allen had gathered valuable information at the Adventurers' Guild. Now he knew what he was going to do next.