c12 (1/2)

A few days had passed since Reiji and the others had left Traveling alone, and having already confirmed his plans for the day, Suimei left Camelia Palace

When the others had left the palace, their departure had been reat fanfare and been accompanied by a parade; Suimei’s only coh Before he’d left, he’d said his farewells to Aster’s King, King Al his way to the capital of Mehter

“I never thought he’d providethe pouch in his hands The sound ofshook As Suimei had prepared to leave the castle, Chancellor Gress had handed him this pouch, within which some 20-odd coins were stored

This had happened just before he’d set out The chancellor had infor for his generosity, open disdain in his eyes After a long-winded andhad been forced into his hands like a divorce settlement and he’d been speedily driven from the palace

Judging from the chancellor’s words, Sui’s idea, and that he had ordered the chancellor here in secret

At this unexpected turn of events, Suimei could only scratch his head weakly

I was pretty explicit about not needing anything Isn’t this just the King putting me in his debt…

Despite his having protested quite ada their discussion in the audience room, he’d nonetheless had some idea that they’d try to assist hi was concerned, this wasn’t likely part of a scheood will Be that as it may, when it came to the “debt” he’d incurred with this favor, Suimei would have preferred to do without It had not made him happy

When it caave you the right to call in a favor when you needed help This had forcefully created a tie between hih he’d never say it out loud, that it had been a fairly underhanded thing to do was indisputable

The goal had been to take advantage of his goodwill and conscience, to ensure that future dealings with hi went, favors aren’t done for others, they’re done for yourself

“Ha… What a nasty trick Then again, I guess if he couldn’t do thisof a nation…”

Suiift on the spot, but the King had foreseen this, knowing that if he did not show himself, but rather entrusted the task to one of his officials, then Suimei would find it hard to do so Indeed, if he’d rejected the King’s gift to the face of that chancellor with the parted hair, then there would definitely be grave consequences once he’d left the safety of the palace His desire was to remain as low-key as possible, and depart from the palace in peace For that reason, he’d had no choice but to quietly accept the gift

Of course, if the purse had cos attached, he’d have had a reason to decline As it categorically had not, however, finding a reason to say no had been hard, all the reat deal of in the days ahead

Froical components to food, s The more money he had, the better In his current situation, that was indisputably a hed the pros and cons, he had, in the end, taken the money

In any event, an owed favor was still far froation The other party would, in the end, have to rely on his willingness to repay the favor out of good conscience No matter ere to happen or ere to be asked, if he really didn’t want to do it, then that would be the end of it

The only proble so cold and calculating

…Suiaze fell upon the letter that had come with the pouch On the top-quality paper ritten the King’s hopes that, no oodwill, words that surprised hihed

After this, or rather, because of this, he’d have to show his gratitude for the King Turning to face the palace, now off in the distance, he bowed his head once more in respect

“You old fox”

Although, as expected, that wasn’t nearly enough to dispel his poor mood entirely

“…Alright, I should look pretty normal with this now”

After leaving the palace, Sui that he’d successfully passed for a member of the populace, he finally relaxed

His thoughts had been straightforward

In this Medieval-era European-like city, his school unifor that had occurred to hi foot in the city, but rather a necessity he’d foreseen ahead of ti was al like the symbol of their status as heroes, for Suimei, who desired to live from today on as a normal member of society, his school uniform was far too conspicuous While the need for hiht later arise, for the purposes of daily life, it was better not to do so

And so the acquisition of nor had beco store Although he’d successfully ht froold coins he’d received fro them to silver

He hadn’t bothered concerning hi up in the sa in his current appearance Ashe’d purchased did not fit hi, not to mention the material was considerably stiffer It was probably i that would fit him that well here

That aside, thanks to his new change of clothes, he didn’t have to worry about standing out too much anymore

“Right then Next up is the adventurer’s guild…”

Verifying the feel of his sleeves, he set off for the adventurer’s guild

The reason the adventurer’s guild fell next in priority after the clothing store was because he’d decided that the need for proper identification was iuild, he’d be able to obtain an adventurer’s status, soiven his current circumstances

Although he thought nothing of leaving the palace and surviving by his lonesouest in the palace to that of a vagabond

He was, after all, froh he could pretend to be a traveler from abroad, he would nonetheless be suspicious to those around him as a person of unclear identity That could be very inconvenient for hi were the best examples When it came to the role identification played in daily life, this fantasy world was no different froht without a valid forible way to verify solance – it was possible that situations erous than they would in his world

Of course Suiic that could allow hihup lies one on top of another could land hi unfortunate and unforeseen occur

Alternatively, it was possible to obtain government ID from the nearby municipal office for a s in the area, he had rejected such an option out of hand

Even though he’d already decided to leave Aster, and thus acquiring ID wasn’t an i he’d need noone as soon as possible was still the wiser decision

Additionally, were he to join the adventurer’s guild here in Aster, given the relationshi+p between Aster and Nelferia, his guild membershi+p would automatically be valid in Nelferia as well

Finally, aleaned from the books in the palace library, he’d learned that the adventurer’s guild was a rather unique existence auilds – they accepted anyone and everyone

When it cauilds – the uild, for example, which existed to preserve commodity prices and establish trade routes – created by those who belonged to a specific craft, commissions dealt with the provision of needed materials Most of these thus had entrance require either prior experience in the field or a guarantor

The adventurer’s guild, however, operated by different rules Stated rather bluntly, even someone without so uild; as long as you could handle the work, nothing else mattered

That notwithstanding, the adventurer’s guild was not to be taken lightly either What uild co or frontier exploration, trust had to be earned before one would be entrusted with coht be expected of such a place, noruild unless they had requests of such a nature to make For this reason, those without couild ranks

On that note, ould Suiuild instead? Well, understanding that requires an understanding of what ic and swordsether the twin pillars of ic is a treasured weapon when nation ith nation, and subsequently, the ral part of each nation’s military

More specifically, uild were only allowed to wield their powers on behalf of their host nation

When it ca that he would only ever wield on behalf of the Magician’s Society which shared his ideals He would never give a anization, and so the ht as an option

Moreover, in order to avoid leaks of intel, when uild crossed international borders, they did so under heavy restrictions and per specific procedures which would prove an unneeded hindrance to Suioals

Siuilds in that it was under the direct e’s guild siht of that fact

Froathered of what he’d heard froe, this world had no notion ofthey employed rather recklessly Of course, there was always the possibility this was si which concerned hi a propitious encounter, he would likely never have the opportunity to find out the truth

Collecting his thoughts as he walked, he soon arrived at the adventurer’s guild

The building was, like those around it, a two-story, wooden structure

Erected before the building itself was a sign with a na one the feeling that they were standing before a restaurant or a bar of souards in plate mail

Structurally, the building didn’t really look that different frohted, it would only be that the space it occupied was vast indeed

Cities in this world – Mehter not being alone in this – hadthem to prevent attack from both invaders and monsters Thus, the amount of space allotted a city was fixed and consequently buildings were small and thin, and typically two or three stories tall

With this in uild was definitely an exception Not only did it stand in a conspicuous location, but it took up far s If this was allotted by the govern – and that which it housed – was self-evident

If one were to look further, one other drastic difference would soon beco individuals There were those who looked like characters fro incredible armor There were also slie robes Some of the men carried enormous claymores on their backs, while others hefted vicious maces that looked like they could smash human heads like watermelons

Were such individuals to be found in modern day society, they’d have been arrested inthe Firearulations here In this world, weapons could be said to be a vital tool of everyday life, whether that be for self-defense or for hunting Regardless of whatever weapon type a personits use was unlikely to exist

That, however,Siuild y

For Sui was decidedly fresh

Suiht Pavilion, taking in the excite at the front door e doorway, he paused, wondering if he was in the right place; the guards, after all, had not said a word Seeave hiht wave, and he entered

Inside, it was laid outaround, it was clear that it had, at one point, served as a tavern Taverns froes were unlike the bars of eneral stores and a ether resulted in the adventurer’s guild, which gave off an ihly equivalent to an old tavern

There’s no way it’s really just like this, right? Suiht to hiht Pavilion, and realized that the ie in his hed

At the front of the large hall was a reception here staff received clients Before the , a number of benches had been laid side-by-side A sazines Next to it stood a request board which advertised available commissions

The majority of the space within was consumed by what appeared to be a bar Nus were piled like small mountains Restless, red-faced individuals poured wine and ale down their gullets, coht out

This scene would have been quite a shock to anyone from modern society

As Suimei took in the scene before hih whether it was a sigh or a gasp of surprise he wasn’t sure

On the benches, a nu their turn Sui a seat at the tail end of the line

As he took his seat, he noticed a wo one at that

Unconsciously, he sighed at her beautiful appearance

She had brilliant crinified face with two piercing vermilion eyes, and a cal Her ar red, hid a soft and slender figure At her waist, she wore a decidedly unlady-like longsword Her posture was refined and yet sturdy as a rock In all, she radiated calm poise If he were to describe her, she was like a still blade

Even with his er ability in swordss Simply put, this was soed that she was siot fro but

Were he the irl by his side, but he kept his actions to a light sigh Because of his line of work, someone as full of secrets as Sui thoughts crossed his ht, even as he reirls he was acquainted with, who all seemed to be troublesoht now

As Sui about trivial irl spoke to him

“—Excuse ht Pavilion?”

A surprisingly gentle voice

Her tone had been neither hesitant nor rude, but was instead ree

Taken aback by the fact that she would speak to him, Suimei almost reflexively replied in his nor that that would be inappropriate, however, he answered her with the same polite manner hich she had spoken to him

“Oh, no, not at all To be honest, this is my first time here”

“What a coincidence, this is also ht line for guild applicants”

“I believe it is If you look at those other s, they see commissions”

As he spoke, he pointed in the direction of the alcohol-serving area More reception s like the one before theuild staff

“Are you an adventurer as well?”

“Yes I’ht This see”

The girl lightly tapped her sword as she mocked herself in a lively voice As expected, she was so by her appearance, she was either a warrior or a knight, so this was natural

The girl suddenly offered her name

“My name is Lefille Grakis If it’s not inconvenient, would youme your name as well?”

“Huh?”

What did she say? Did she just ask soe of introductions, and Suimei unconsciously voiced his shock

Her polite , this turn of events was really too sudden They were just neighbors standing in line, ere they suddenly introducing themselves?

Lefille looked apologetic

“Sorry Suddenly asking for your name must have come as quite a surprise, but there’s a reason for it”

“…And ould that be?”

“There’s no need to be so guarded When I visited the Church of Salvation earlier this , I received an oracle froe na

It looked like it wasn’t just the person being questioned as confused; the one asking the question was similarly bothered

The Church of Salvation was the largest church in this world, one which worshi+pped the Goddess Arshuna Back in the audience room, when they’d heard about the Maou, apparently intel on his existence and movements had siirl like this had been given an oracle as well?

“Why would she ask you to do that?”

“I don’t really know myself The priest in Mehter told me that the oracle from Arshuna meant that someone near me today would eventually become someone important to me”