Chapter 2 - The Beginning of the Plan
The orphanage where we live is in a town called Nakanohara, in the Kingdom of Sertoria, which rules part of an island called the White Island, located a short distance from the continent.
As of January this year, the population is said to be around five thousand. Someone appointed in the Royal Capital has come to take up the post of Mayor.
It originally flourished quite well as a commercial town and is apparently regarded as fairly important for a regional city within the country.
The Demon Lord, who had been a threat to the people, was defeated thirty years ago, and peaceful days were supposed to have continued... but it was humans, not monsters, who shattered that peace.
It seems a war involving the entire island began fifteen years ago. That happens to be the year I was born. I heard that my parents' deaths were also caused by that war.
Since I was small and in the orphanage, I didn't know the details. I just vaguely understood that we were fighting fiercely with the Kingdom of Engrio, which shares a border in the southern forest.
The war lasted for ten years before finally ending.
And then, a year ago, the Demon Lord was resurrected.
Of all places, within our Kingdom of Sertoria.
It is said that the Demon Lord, who claims to be the king of monsters, will be resurrected somewhere on the island every few decades or centuries even if defeated. Even within the scope of the Church's records, this has apparently been repeated for thousands of years.
It is not well known whether it is the same monster before and after resurrection.
However, there seems to be no record of one appearing in the same country for two generations in a row.
The newly enthroned King reacted immediately to the reports of the Demon Lord's resurrection and the reorganization of the Demon Lord's army.
As soon as the busy farming season ended, he additionally conscripted not only the Kingdom's standing army but also reservists and even healthy adult males under sixty who volunteered from all over Sertoria, and further mobilized half of the town and village guards.
Since the war between nations had dragged on, everyone knew how to fight. The rest was likely a matter of sheer numbers.
The plan succeeded brilliantly, defeating the Demon Lord's executive armies in various regions. Finally, they were able to advance their troops near the forest where the Demon Lord was holed up.
Having done that, they added support forces from various countries, fought a decisive battle in the field, and won a magnificent victory.
Pushing the Demon Lord into the forest where his lair was located was fine, but from there, it was difficult. This was because the Demon Lord, who had built forts throughout the forest and fortified its center, launched a war of attrition with small units on the forest's outskirts.
And then, one more thing: in the vast primeval forest region spreading across the northeastern part of the country, a portion of the scattered executive armies gathered and raised their spirits to act as a diversion. Apparently, they had planned to flee here from the beginning.
Nearly two months have already passed since the front lines fell into a stalemate after the decisive battle. And the domestic army's expedition has lasted nearly half a year.
Maintaining public order in towns and villages has become difficult.
"The guard's quota is a hundred people, excluding the Captain and Vice-Captain, but half went on the expedition to the Demon Lord subjugation army, so only fifty remain now. Since neither the Captain nor the Vice-Captain is here, Hans-san, the eldest among the ten remaining squad leaders, is serving as the Acting Captain. Since we come under the Mayor's command when something happens, he seems to be managing the squad assignments for daily duties. To be honest, we're short-handed, so I think it's tough."
These are the words of Beowulf from the town guard; they carry the weight of truth.
"I hear pickpocketing and theft have been increasing lately."
Beatrix is likely sensitive to such talk, being a clerk at a magic tool shop.
"That's right. It's probably because the number of guards patrolling the streets has decreased."
"There are many people from foreign countries in this town, too. Since there are many strangers even when walking through town, you can't tell who's a pickpocket."
"That's true, and more than anything, there's a shortage of guards for the carriages connecting towns that merchants use. There are rumors that damage from bandits and the like is occurring on mountain passes, and if this continues, even food prices might rise."
That's serious. I'm already being treated as a stray and having my future worried over; if food prices rise, I'll suddenly be unable to make a living.
"I heard this from a customer who came to the shop today. You know the communal cemetery? Apparently, someone strange is there sometimes in the middle of the night."
"What's that? I haven't heard of it."
Beowulf leans forward. As part of the guard, she probably can't ignore it.
"Supposedly, it's an old man wearing a robe pulled so low you can't see his face, and you faint the moment you see him."
"Hah? What's that?"
Even Beowulf is exasperated.
"It sounds like a poorly made ghost story. Then, you wouldn't know if you were made to faint or if you fainted on your own. If you faint the moment you see him, why would you know he's an old man when you couldn't even see his face properly in the middle of the night?"
"Well, it just means public order has worsened enough for such rumors to start."
"I'm sorry, but we might not be able to assign people at night just for that."
Beowulf says she'll mention it to her superiors, but if they're already short-handed, they probably won't go as far as patrolling.
"More importantly, how is the monster extermination side of things?"
As for me, I'm more worried about that.
"To be honest, monster extermination isn't very popular in the guard. We don't get reward money even if we participate, and if we're unlucky, we get injured. I hear the number of kills becomes a record and is used for next year's salary evaluation, but the evaluation is higher when there's an emergency call. Besides, it's becoming difficult just to crack down on criminals in town and along the highways."
"And that's where I come in!"
Beatrix, who is shorter than me, puffed out her chest, swaying things that were incomparable to mine.
"I've settled things with the Mayor."
The proposal Beatrix made to the Mayor was this:
Have them officially recognize us as deputies for monster extermination among the guard's duties, and have Beowulf of the guard participate under the title of supervisor.
If we exterminate monsters, have them provide appropriate rewards.
And, enter into a formal contract regarding this.
We are trying to do this within the town's budget by making the deputization of guard duties include a supervisor. Since the burden on the guard should also decrease, they'll be able to spare manpower for town patrols and carriage escorts.
The Mayor replied to Beatrix in a letter.
・The contract for monster extermination will be entered into with an organization, not an individual. An organization wishing to contract must submit the organization's name and a roster of those belonging to that organization to the Mayor. If judged that there are no problems, the Mayor will approve the organization and permit monster extermination.
・When heading out for monster extermination, a notification must be submitted to the guard in advance. When requesting a supervisor from the guard, permission must be obtained from the Guard Captain or his deputy in advance.
・If monster extermination is successful, Nakanohara Town will provide a reward corresponding to that monster. Payment of the reward shall be made by the Guard Captain or his deputy who received the report, and shall be billed to the town at a later date.
This was the gist of the letter Beatrix proudly pulled from her bosom. At the very bottom, the Mayor's signature could be discerned.
"What does 'no problems' mean?"
"He said it's fine as long as there's a guarantee of identity."
It's quite vague. Do we, who originally came from an orphanage, even have a guarantee of identity?
"Jeanne is the safest. After all, you're a priest. Next is Beowulf. She's in the guard. I, a mere clerk, was the most at risk."
Beatrix says with a laugh, perhaps having caught the doubtful expression on my face.
"Is that so? I'm being treated as a stray by my teachers, though."
"The Church guarantees your identity. As long as you aren't excommunicated, you'll be fine wherever you go. You have your priest appointment certificate, right?"
Come to think of it, I did receive it.
"It's fine, it's fine. The signature on the appointment certificate is the Headmistress's, right? Since it's the signature of Hero Catherine, it's more reassuring than the King's signature."
"You're going to get hauled away eventually."
In any case, it's no use saying this or that now.
I did the mental math I had done many times before.
Beowulf of the guard won't receive a reward, but for our purposes, we'll count her as a person, so what I receive will be one-third.
Assuming we do monster extermination three times a week, since it's rewards for three people, we'll divide it into three.
If ten copper coins are needed for one day's living expenses, that's seventy coins for a week. Three times that is two hundred and ten coins. Since monsters around here seem to be ten copper coins each, I just need to defeat twenty-two? In other words, if we defeat seven or eight in one go, we can live.
According to Beowulf, if you patrol places where they often appear for half a day, you'll encounter nearly ten.
All that's left is to defeat them. It'll work out... probably. No, I'll make it work.
"Alright, let's do our best!"
The two of them smiled as if relieved.
After seeing off Beowulf, who was returning to her guard duties because her break was ending, Beatrix and I left the tavern and headed for the Town Hall on the town's main street.
It was to get permission for monster extermination.
When we explained the situation to the friendly receptionist lady, she already knew. We were guided straight to the Mayor's office, and there was a familiar face.
One rarely sees cake at the orphanage.
However, starting ten years ago, two days a year were established where everyone could definitely eat cake. This is because someone appeared who always provides cake on the King's birthday and the Goddess's festival day.
That person is Adolf-san, the Mayor.
Besides cake, Adolf-san brought some kind of gift at least once a month.
Combined with his kind personality, he has become popular as 'Adolf-san of the Cakes.'
At Adolf-san's invitation, I sat on a high-quality-looking sofa, and mead and sweets were brought out.
Beatrix is snacking on the sweets without hesitation, saying "Thanks!"
The way she seems strangely used to this is somehow scary, though.
"Now then, today is the application for monster extermination, right?"
"Yeah. I wrote it just as I was told."
Beatrix placed the application she had just finished writing at the tavern on the table.
"The organization name is 'Class of 175,' huh?"
The Class of 175 refers to a group formed by the eight children of the same age who are graduating from the orphanage within the year.
Since we were born in the year 175 of the Kingdom of Sertoria calendar, we adopted it as is.
All of us are girls.
Our bond is firm, and we have sworn to remain companions even after graduation.
Adolf-san knows about the Class of 175 because I explained it when the Headmistress brought it up to me when he brought cake for the Goddess's festival last year.
"Does that mean the number of people will increase in the future?"
"Probably. We can just update the roster then, right?"
"That's right. I'll have you do that."
Adolf-san set two conditions for the permission. One is to spend two weeks only exterminating rats, and to judge whether to touch other monsters based on those results. The second is to properly report the results during that time to the Mayor as well. When we both agreed, he easily approved the application. Then, he handed a piece of paper to Beatrix. It's likely the certificate officially approving monster extermination.
"It hasn't changed from the draft you showed me before, right?"
"That's right. Just the date and my signature have been added."
When Beatrix finished checking and said "It's fine," the Mayor turned back to me.
"Come to think of it, I'm late. Happy birthday, Jeanne. Since I'm a public official here, I'm sorry it's only words."
"It's the proof of our memorable first step," Beatrix said as she handed me the paper labeled 'Permit,' and at the same time, the Mayor offered his words of celebration. The date on the permit is today. My birthday.
"You keep it. I might lose it."
Before I could thank the Mayor, Beatrix said with a smirk.
Ah, I wonder if this is perhaps a substitute for a birthday present.
I might be a little happy.
"Jeanne. Don't be shy, eat the sweets."
"Ah, yes. Thank you for everything. I'll help myself."
"To me, you all are like grandchildren. It would make me happier as an old man if you spoke a bit more casually, though."
"That's right, Jeanne. You should show some grandfatherly devotion too."
You've got a lot of nerve saying that.
The Mayor just kept laughing as he looked at Beatrix.
At any rate, we've cleared the first stage of our plan.
I will explain the currency settings.
1 Gold Coin (approx. 100,000 yen) = 20 Silver Coins (1 coin approx. 5,000 yen) = 400 Copper Coins (1 coin approx. 250 yen)
In addition, there are Medium Copper Coins (1 coin approx. 125 yen) and Small Copper Coins (1 coin approx. 62.5 yen).
I will accept objections regarding the price settings.