147 - Worse Than Zain
After arriving in Beime, I visited the guild alone to report.
Planning to sell the monster materials and magic stones tomorrow, I headed to the bathhouse inside the guild to shower and wash off the sweat and mud.
After taking a lukewarm shower with weak pressure, I braced myself and headed for the guild reception.
If possible, Tanya-san would be preferable, but if she wasn't there, I wanted a staff member who seemed experienced. In Beime, I hadn't thought much about which line to stand in, but today I checked who was at the counter before joining a queue.
Around me, I could hear rumors today as well.
"Did you hear? Apparently, a fair number of mercenary groups have sided with Zain."
"Zain has allowed looting since way back. There are rumors that the Princess of Rolfis is quite stiff."
"Wasn't the story that she just wasn't interested?"
"It seems Alette is going around reaching out to influential mercenary groups."
"The knights have it rough."
The adventurers were laughing.
Considering Alette-san, it wasn't a pleasant feeling for me. However, I shouldn't expect that much camaraderie from adventurers.
Besides, the parties Alette-san usually associates with are adventurers strong in labyrinths rather than mercenary groups.
When it comes to a battlefield, things will surely be different.
From within the Jewel Orb, the voice of The Sixth spoke.
"Gathering manpower, are they? If she hasn't returned yet, that's convenient. Liel, shall we try to make contact? Of course, we'll keep the matter of Aura and the others a secret."
At this point, I didn't know how Alette-san would react.
From Rolfis's perspective, it was a troublesome country that attacked based on false accusations.
As I gripped the Jewel Orb, the line I was in began to move.
"...There are fewer people than usual."
While thinking that as I looked around, different adventurers were talking.
"Hey, the people from the Southern Branch reached out to me. What are you guys doing?"
"Mercenary groups gathering people temporarily? It's starting to get serious."
"Zain's side is the advantageous one, right? Then they should just say they'll participate if it's Zain's side."
"Idiot. If they do that, Rolfis will hire mercenary groups even if they have to borrow money. The treatment will be better at Rolfis, so wait until then."
The voice of The Seventh spoke. A voice laden with anger.
"This is why adventurers cannot be trusted!"
I let out a light sigh, feeling the sign that war was approaching.
When my turn came at the reception, I sat in the chair and handed the documents to Tanya-san.
As usual. After handing over the guild card to Tanya-san, who had received the documents, she processed the paperwork and we spoke for a bit.
"A stable Rank B evaluation. As expected, Liel-kun and your group are excellent. Come to think of it, I heard you purchased that haunted house, is everything alright?"
Hearing "haunted house," I tilted my head.
Tanya-san said things like "You just got back, so you don't know," and directed a sympathetic gaze toward me.
Having finished the procedures, I spoke while receiving the documents and guild card.
"Tanya-san, actually, there's something I'd like to talk about."
Seeing my serious expression and hearing my voice, Tanya-san's expression changed from a smile to a serious one.
"...This doesn't seem like a good place. Very well. Supporting excellent adventurers is also part of a staff member's job. I'll have someone take over the reception, so could you wait on the second floor?"
When I nodded, Tanya-san called out to a staff member who was checking documents in the back of the reception.
"Rieue, I'll leave this to you. Something has come up."
"Eh, wait, Senpai!"
Perhaps because she stood up hurriedly, documents fell to the floor, and the rookie guild staff member panicked. I left the line and headed to the second floor.
She hadn't said where on the second floor to wait, but Tanya-san came up shortly after.
The way she walked, and her atmosphere... perhaps Tanya-san had been an adventurer in the past as well.
I was told to enter one of the conference rooms on the second floor, and I entered as instructed.
(It's been a while since the training I took when I first came to Beime.)
While thinking about that, I sat in a random chair and Tanya-san sat in front of me. She directed a smile toward me, but her atmosphere was somehow sharp.
"Now then, since I called you here, I assume it's a conversation of some significance. If it's a confession, please stop. I'm on the clock."
"Is it okay if it's off the clock? ...I'm joking."
I apologized to Tanya-san, whose gaze grew sharp despite her smile, and then I broached the subject.
"I have a consultation. Alette-san is still in Beime, right?"
"...I cannot say."
When Tanya-san said that, I nodded. I could go see her regardless, so that wasn't the problem.
While gripping the Jewel Orb...
"On the way back from completing the request, I actually helped some people. Since I've personally accepted a guard request, it seems I won't be able to take guild requests for a while."
Tanya-san looked at my face, rested both elbows on the desk, and clasped her hands. In front of her face. She brought her clasped hands to a position that hid her mouth.
"...Taking a personal request is the freedom of an adventurer. Well, it's true I would have preferred it to go through the guild. Personally, I hope you complete it safely and return to taking guild requests. I do hope that... now, is that all?"
Did he call me here for just this? Even though her mouth wasn't visible, Tanya-san's attitude indicated that she was likely smiling with that sort of feeling.
I couldn't help but give a wry smile.
Tanya-san's gaze shifted slightly, so I apologized.
"Excuse me. This is where the main topic begins, or rather, I'm in a bit of a bind."
"A bind?"
Looking at Tanya-san, I said with a smile.
"I helped the High Priest of Zain, a former Saint, and a former Saint Candidate who is in conflict with the current Saint. The content of the request is to 'return Zain to the hands of those who truly deserve it.' But I don't have enough hands on my own. So, would you be willing to give me some advice?"
Tanya-san's cheek twitched at my smile. She was hiding her mouth with her clasped hands, but I could tell by the movement of her cheek.
Then, Tanya-san released her clasped hands, moved her elbows off the desk, straightened her posture, let out a sigh, and looked at my face.
"I see, this is beyond my capabilities. Well, it was a fitting reason to call you here, and I'm glad you didn't say it at the reception. However..."
"However?"
Tanya-san spoke matter-of-factly.
"The guild does not provide assistance to either side. Whether it's Zain or Rolfis, the guild simply responds when a request comes in. It's unthinkable to cooperate with one side. You shouldn't talk about this too much elsewhere, Liel-kun."
Hearing Tanya-san's opinion, The Fifth spoke within the Jewel Orb.
"In other words, the guild wants to make money while letting both sides fight. Well, it is a city of merchants, so that's how it would go."
The city of merchants and adventurers—that is Beime. Because there is war, many merchants make a profit, and when war breaks out, supplies sell like hotcakes.
The guild would likely dislike siding with one party to end it. After all, it's a city ruled by merchants.
I didn't think the guild could go against the merchants. No, the guild itself could also be called merchants who handle magic stones.
However.
"I'm relieved to hear that. In other words, the guild is impartial."
"...It may be unwilling, but that's how it is."
Thinking that I had said something ironic, Tanya-san tried to stand up. But I called out to her and asked her to wait.
"The conversation isn't over yet."
"Are you asking me to keep quiet?"
Even if I told her to keep quiet, there was no guarantee she wouldn't report it. After all, I was holding the spark of war.
(This is far beyond the level of mithril.)
For Zain, which starts wars based on false accusations, the spark I held would be something they couldn't ignore.
"No. I won't ask you to keep quiet. I just thought it was good that the guild is impartial."
From within the Jewel Orb, I heard the happy voice of The Third.
"Really, it's great that they're impartial. Though it wouldn't matter if they weren't!"
The voice of The Fourth also spoke.
"Well, when it comes to gathering manpower, we'll have to rely on the guild after all."
I told Tanya-san.
"I want to make a named request. I want to place a request for Crate Benini's party."
Tanya-san seemed to understand what I was thinking, and she pressed her forehead with her left hand, looking at me with annoyance.
"Should I say 'the right person for the right place' again... it's a request he'd likely enjoy."
"Right?"
I descended to the first floor with Tanya-san and carried out the procedures to place the request.
—"Tanya" was reporting about Liel in her superior's room.
The superior listened to Tanya's report while processing work.
"I see. You picked up a former Saint, did you? I don't admire picking up just anything, but you've picked up another big fish."
The superior was laughing, but Tanya was not.
"Shall I report to headquarters?"
At that, the superior tilted his head.
"Why? It's not like it'll stop the war. Rather, depending on how they move, the war might expand. Oops, in that case, would it be bad not to report it? Yeah, let's just convey the information. Though they probably won't do anything."
Tanya's superior finished writing a document and waited for the ink to dry.
He leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath.
"Phew~ today's work isn't decreasing at all. I'm troubled by how busy I am."
Tanya—that was her name during her time as a Sweeper.
If she had been ordered to kidnap or kill the former Saints Liel had secured, she would have moved immediately.
But the superior was different.
"It's not as if they've sought protection from us. As for offering cooperation... will they? Well, if it's a request, let's process it appropriately."
He seemed uninterested. Rather, he seemed to think there would be no great impact.
"Is that alright? In case the matter becomes large, or does not benefit the guild."
"It won't. Besides, even the Southern Branch, which has mercenaries, receives plenty of requests normally. Moreover, Zain and Rolfis aren't the only places to make money. The mercenaries are already moving. Skirmishes are likely to start soon at the border. Supplies are selling well. It seems some people even made a profit by selling rare metals they had stockpiled. Honestly, what are adventurers doing?"
The man who was the superior seemed to dislike adventurers acting like merchants.
(Albano and the others, perhaps. I heard before that they discovered iron that had become a rare metal in a labyrinth.)
To the contemplating Tanya, the superior told her that overall there were no major problems.
"Tanya, we are people of the East Branch. The guild's profit is important, but let's look closer at our own feet. If the adventurers don't return soon, our guild is going to burst from the requests. Even if a labyrinth is found, we won't be able to send adventurers. That would be bad, wouldn't it? And you know, the guild only thrives by earning magic stones."
The superior sighed, saying that not many magic stones are earned in war.
Tanya felt relieved inwardly that it seemed she wouldn't have to take action against Liel and the others.
The superior said.
"Rather, I want to put them in our debt. I want the war to end quickly. Otherwise, the other branches will probably say I'm not working again."
Facing the joking superior, Tanya finished her report and tried to leave the room. But she was called back.
"Tanya, if you can put them in our debt, do it. We don't want to let go of excellent adventurers. Well, as long as it doesn't cause a disadvantage to the guild."
Looking at the testing superior, Tanya bowed and left the room.
(Is he testing me?)
Returning to being Tanya, she felt that outside the room—.
At the mansion Novembres and the others had found, I received a report from the information broker Rauno-san.
Since he didn't have a scruffy beard and hadn't been drinking, he looked like a different person.
"Now then, this is the situation in Zain that I've investigated."
As I looked through the report, I nodded.
(It's almost the same as the reports from Gastone-san and Selma-san.)
Now that Rauno-san's skill had been proven, I gave the next request.
"I'll read the report slowly later. Also, here is the next request."
"...Next? I've already told Miranda-chan about the current situation in Rolfis."
Rolfis. They were holding a bomb more than I had imagined, and I hesitated to utilize it. In a word, it was terrible.
Worse than Zain.
It was so terrible that it made sense why Alette-san had a constitution for hardship. Unbelievable.
"No, next, I want you to gather information in Selva."
"Selva? I think they're the ones with the least movement. They're in a posture of quiet observation. Well, if you say it's too eerie, it is eerie."
Rauno-san also seemed to think it was suspicious.
The voice of The Fourth spoke from within the Jewel Orb.
"The Princess of Rolfis is actually the only one, right? There's a prince engaged to that girl, so why isn't he trying to help... Besides, according to Gastone's story, the current Saint is from Selva. With this, the faces of the participants this time are all gathered!"
The voice of The Fifth was heard.
"Rolfis, Zain, and Selva... I wonder what they're thinking. For my part, I want to push the theory that Selva is the mastermind."
The Seventh laughed.
"No, no, there's also the possibility that Zain's Saint is influencing Selva."
The Sixth said.
"It might be a staged performance by the two countries. They might beat down Rolfis to lift them up, while Selva pretends to enter the country for rescue and then attempts a takeover."
The Third said.
"Eh~ if that's the case, it would end if they just sent in the engaged prince without doing anything. For me, the theory that the guild is the mastermind seems interesting. All the wars around here were the guild acting in the shadows!"
To the Third, who spoke with a serious voice, the successive heads responded.
"Hahaha, that's good."
"Well, since it's profitable, they'd probably pull some strings in the background."
"Fifth Generation, that's a merchant. The guild should be different."
"It's pretty much the same. They're merchants who handle magic stones. But, well..."
The opinions of the successive heads converged.
Regarding that opinion, I also wanted to agree.
The Third spoke for everyone's inner thoughts.
"Only the Princess of Rolfis is not a candidate for the mastermind theory."
I let out a sigh, and Rauno-san looked at my face.
"What's wrong? I don't think the content is more of a headache than Rolfis."
"No, the point of comparison is too low. Zain is already a sufficiently strange country."
When I said that, The Third laughed.
"Liel is an idiot. There's no such thing as a normal country in this world. Everyone is strange somewhere."
Hearing that, the successive heads were laughing.
(My head really hurts...)