84 A boy kidnapped by a harpy (1/2)

Sisyphe

Lady Ishtia's cult is the second largest organization after the Freedom Fighters Association, the largest force in the Free City of Thessia.

Its temple is very impressive, and such a structure is not often seen even in the Republic of Ariadia.

The members of the Order are mainly women who do not have citizenship.

Most of them are refugees from other areas or their daughters.

Since the cult, which is dedicated to the goddess of love and beauty, Ishtia, expresses its commitment to the protection of women and children, it shelters these women, who have nowhere to go as refugees, and introduces them to jobs.

However, many of the jobs introduced to them are prostitutes.

This is incompatible with the doctrine of Lady Feria, the goddess of marriage, who does not recognize prostitutes.

Although Lady Feria's cult also expresses protection of women, it seems that they have their hands full just solving the problems of civilian women, and they can't seem to protect even non-citizen women.

So many non-citizen women become followers of Lord Ishta to protect themselves.

Also, in the doctrine of Lord Ishtia, a prostitute who gives love to many men is sacred and rather revered.

And those who mistreat them are considered enemies of the Order.

If you do something bad to a woman, it is widely rumored that you will be cursed with the curse of impossibility or assassinated.

Therefore, the men of Thessia treat prostitutes with affection and reverence.

Perhaps this is why some women willingly become prostitutes.

As a follower of Lord Feria, I don't understand it.

And now I am facing a woman in one of the rooms of Lord Ishtia's temple. Because I have a job offer.

I'm a follower of Lord Feria, but I've been doing a lot for the Order.

That's why the people in that congregation sometimes ask me to do a favor for them.

'Please, War Maiden Sizfe-sama. Please send my son to ....... Please help Phineas.

The woman facing me, Ms. Salmura, bows to me.

Ms. Salmura is a prostitute belonging to the Order of Ishtia.

And Phineas is Ms. Salmura's son. I've heard that he is a forgotten memento of her now lost husband. That means Mrs. Salmura must have been married in the past.

There is no marriage in Lord Ishta's doctrine. Therefore, it follows that Mrs. Salmula was not a follower of Lord Ishtia in the past.

He did not know why he became a follower of Lord Ishtia. But it would be unwise to ask. There must be a deeper reason.

Phineas is twelve years old. A child raised in the temple must leave the temple and become independent when he is old enough to do so.

Apparently, Phineas joined a certain warrior group in order to become a freedom fighter.

Well, that's a reasonable decision. The only decent job for a non-citizen boy is as a freedom fighter.

But the risk to his life is high. There may be other safe jobs out there, but to get those jobs, you'd have to have connections or a great deal of talent.

So many boys raised in the temple become freedom fighters.

It seems that Phineas had become a warrior apprentice, helping to slay demons in various places.

And it was when a group of warriors with Phineas came to the foothills of the Central Mountains on business.

It was said that the little Pheneas had been attacked by a harpy and taken away.

The warriors who were with him were unable to help him because of the sudden arrival of the harpy from the sky.

The Harpies are a race of women only, with human bodies and eagle wings and eagle legs on their hands and feet. They kidnap human males to breed.

Since they do not take them for food, the abducted men often live for a while.

There have been rescued men in the past. So there is a high probability that Phineas is also alive.

However, actual rescues are rare.

Harpies are dangerous demons; they don't sacrifice someone else to save one person.

That's why they don't go out of their way to help unless they're very important.

Besides, even though Phineas is an apprentice, he is a freedom fighter. It's natural to lose your life to a demon.

Even Phineas has to be prepared for that.

The warrior group that Phineas belonged to also seemed to have decided that, and there was not much searching done.

This is the normal thinking of a freedom fighter. Just telling Phineas' mother of his death was a conscientious action.

However, there are those who are not convinced of the idea.

His own mother, Miss Salmura.

Ms. Salmura has asked the warband to rescue Phineas, who may still be alive.

However, the group refused to undertake this time-consuming and dangerous search.

At a loss, Salmula heard rumors of me coming and going in the temple.

And with the title of War Maiden, she feels that I can save Phineas, and she is desperate to ask me to rescue him.

But from what I've heard, this is a very difficult request.

First of all, they must find the place where Phineas was taken.

And since he's a harpy, he'll be taken out to a secluded place. It's going to be hard to get there.

That's why the warrior group refused to rescue him.

And even if they were lucky enough to find him, there was a good chance he would be in a battle with a harpy.

And there's another problem as well.

''Um, just in case you want to ask: ....... How much are you willing to pay?

I hear about rewards that matter.

This one is for life. The question of compensation is an absolute must.

And given the difficulty of the task, it would be hard to justify such a large sum without a modicum of reward. And I also need to pay for the trip to the Central Mountains.

But it doesn't look like Mr. Salmura has much money.

As expected, Mr. Salmura looks sad.

'I'm sorry, sir, but I only have a few copper and silver coins from Vita. Will this not do?'

I almost sigh when I hear that.

If possible, I'd like to receive my reward in Tewkam Coins.

The Tucum Coins are issued by the government of the Republic of Ariadia. The weight of gold, silver and copper is uniform, and the number of pieces of gold, silver and copper need only be counted, and there is no need to weigh them.

The taxes of the Republic of Ariadia are sometimes obligated to be paid in Tucumnes. Violation of this obligation could lead to suspicion of tax evasion.

Vita is a generic term for coins that are worse than Tewkam money.

They are smaller than Tewkam's gold, silver or copper coins, or contain other low-value metals.

If such a vitae was taken to a money changer, he would assess its gold, silver or copper content and exchange it for the appropriate Tewkam coin.

For this reason, vitae are circulated as money outside the Republic of Ariadia, in the outer cities, and in this free city of Thessesia.

However, since each vitae is different in size and contains different amounts of gold, silver, and copper, you have to make a selection when you receive it. This is quite difficult to do.

Besides, it is a hassle to exchange money. Also, depending on the assessment, it may not be possible to exchange money.

That's why Vita doesn't want to take a job for compensation as much as possible.

But Mr. Salmura says that's all he has.

If it's something that involves the entire cult's problems, the cult might be willing to pay for it, but for this case, it's indeed impossible.

''Please, War Maiden-sama!　Please help Phineas!

Mr. Salmula bows to me again.

I looked up to the heavens.

◆Continue, Sizfe.

There are not many people in the large cafeteria near the Freedom Fighters Association headquarters, probably because it's off-peak time.

This makes it easy for us to take a seat.

The cafeteria is one of the facilities built by the Freedom Fighters' Association to cater to those with limited income.

Anyone who becomes a member of the Freedom Fighters Association can use it.

In this cafeteria, you can eat cheaper than in other restaurants.

However, most of the foodstuffs are things that were supposed to be discarded in the Republic of Ariadia.

The price is cheap, but they only serve food that is good for your stomach.

The porridge that Keina's sister in front of me is eating is just a pot with all the ingredients you can find and boiled in it.

However, I think it's good to be able to eat on a daily basis.

The Freedom Fighters Association also provides cheap housing for its members.

That's why there are so many freedom fighters who become members of the Freedom Fighters Association.

However, Maddy the magician says that this is a policy of the Republic of Ariadia to prevent freedom fighters from committing crimes.

She also says that they can manage the freedom fighters by having them register with the association.

I think it's a clever way to do it.

If they commit crimes, they would be kicked out of the freedom fighter association. If they do, they won't be able to get cheap food and lodging.

”So you ended up taking the job, Sisyphe?

My sister Kayna, sitting at the end of the cafeteria, facing me, gives me a dumbfounded look.

'Yeah ....... Sorry. Sister Kayna.

I apologize to my sister Kayna.

'Lady War Maiden would have an easier and more lucrative request. It's like the other day, ....... Why are you bringing me such an unworthy request again, Sizfe?

My sister Kayna was right.

It was 10 days ago. We had a request from the Freedom Warrior Association.

After all, it seems that the client had appointed me, a war maiden, by name.

The content of the request was just an escort. It's a simple job to accompany a nobleman's daughter who is marrying into another country to protect her.

I was able to send her off safely without incident on the way. Frankly speaking, it's a job that anyone can do. However, it seems to be a good omen for the other nobleman to marry off his daughter-in-law while being protected by a warrior maiden, and when I sent her off safely, she was so impressed with me that she not only offered me a reward, but also invited me to the wedding.

At that time, she asked me, the maiden of the war, to congratulate her.

I had no choice but to congratulate her, and she added more rewards.

My sister Kayna was happy to receive a lot of money, but I felt rather sorry for it.

And there are other requests that have come to us with high rewards for being so easy.

Apparently, the title of War Maiden is quite something. It's surprising that our income has doubled compared to before.

Also, by becoming a war maiden, I received the citizenship of the Republic of Ariadia.

If I showed my citizenship card, I was guaranteed entry to any country that was a member of the Ariad Alliance.

They would not be charged an entry fee as before. This makes it easier for us to operate. There may be more income in the future.

But is that enough?

'There are certainly easier requests, though. I don't think Lady Raina gave me her blessing to give me an easy job.

I say what I'm thinking.

Lord Raina didn't give me blessings to get money.

Lord Raina must have given me power to help people.

It would not be right to use it for money-making purposes.

”Besides, ......

I continue with more words.

And?

'I want to do everything I can for Ms. Salmula. If I were in her shoes, I wouldn't give up on someone I care about just because they're a freedom fighter. ......

My sister Kayna lets out a sigh as she says this.

I think about my dead father. He became a freedom fighter and was lost to a demon.

I was very sad when he died.

If your father was kidnapped by a demon and was still alive, you would have wanted to save him at all costs.

That's why I can somehow understand how Mr. Salmura feels.

''Well, I don't know. If Sisyphe says so, I can't help but go.

Sister Kayna shook her head, ”Oh dear.

'Thank you, sister Kayna.'

But there's no guarantee you'll get help. Did you tell him that?

'Yes. Of course I told Mr. Salmura that. I'll do what I can, but I'm not sure I can help.

It's not surprising. It's not something I like to think about, but it could be dead. And it's also possible that they don't find him.

Well, then how do you know where to find him, Sisyphe?

Yeah. Just in case. I think we can ask the flying ones about the flying ones.

?

My sister Kayna gives me a strange look when I say that.

I'm sure she does, too. She doesn't know her, and she doesn't know Kayna. She and Kayna don't know her.

If we don't recognize her, we'll give up.

So I think we'll be okay on that front.

'Yeah, well, if Siszfe says it's okay. I'll have to contact Maddie, Leiria and Nora. Maddie might disagree, but I'm sure Leiria and Nora will come.

I nodded at my sister Kayna's words.

Rational Maddy doesn't like requests that aren't worth it. But still, she'll come for what it is.

Laylia-san and Nora-san will come. These two people don't care about the reward.

Rather, Mr. Leiria is willing to save lives.

I know where the three of them are. Maddy is at the Association of Magicians of the Republic of Ariadia. Leiria-san is at Lady Raina's temple. Nora is supposed to be at the inn. We'll have to contact them.

Yeah. I'll have to inform the others. But first, I'll get something to eat as well, sister Kayna.