Chapter 109: Introduction
On the third day, when I returned to the dome, Jake and the rest of the Earth Shield were waiting.
“Hey, is it really okay to set up a dome in a place like this?”
“It’d be a pain to meet up if it were somewhere hard to find.”
“That’s true, but… the guards are staring this way.”
“Think they’ll try to hassle us?”
“It’s fine. Once I showed them my ID, their attitude changed.”
“You actually tested it? Unbelievable.”
“Well, Leon would do something like that. Anyway, are we going now?”
“I don’t know the way to the duke’s mansion, so tomorrow morning we’ll hire a carriage. For today, make a dome next to this one and get some rest.”
“Lindy, make it a bit bigger. Walking all day in this cold is rough.”
“Hey, I wanna moisten my throat with that special stuff.”
“Yeah, Leon’s brew really warms you up.”
Inside the dome made with earth magic, we ended up drinking around a campfire, but going tomorrow with a hangover would be bad, so I only gave them a single bottle.
★ ★ ★
We took two hired carriages waiting behind the city gate and headed for the duke’s residence, but when the guards saw us arrive, they immediately became wary.
I showed the duke’s identification card and requested an audience with Nilbert-sama, and we were promptly escorted to a waiting room.
After some time, we were guided into Nilbert-sama’s office. He greeted us pleasantly with, “Leon-dono, these are members of which party?”
His tone was completely different from when it was just me, which annoyed me a bit, but I introduced everyone politely like a responsible adult.
“These seven are the Earth Shield based in Rosenne. This is their leader, Jake, and their mage, Lindy.”
Jake bowed awkwardly, followed by Lindy politely stating her name. Then I introduced Bulls, Kinkel, Orphan, Geric, and Kreutz.
“From what Sir Leon has told you, Jake here and the mage Lindy will receive identification equal to a captain of the guard. The other five will receive IDs equivalent to squad leaders. Any questions?”
“Leon told us: as long as we don’t cause trouble, we’re free, and we can return the ID anytime—is that correct?”
“Yes. That is the arrangement made between the Duke Berlant and Leon-dono. The IDs indicate that you are under the duke’s authority—not household servants. Meaning nobles, wealthy merchants, or even foreigners cannot recruit you away. We may request your help on occasion, but you’re free to decline. However, committing crimes and disgracing the duke is absolutely unacceptable.”
“Understood.”
Jake bowed, and the others followed.
After everyone received an ID and registered with a drop of blood, I noticed that mine and Jake’s seemed slightly different. When I pulled mine from the magic bag to compare—
“Leon-dono’s is equivalent to a Knight Commander.”
“Huh? Didn’t you say it was for the head maid?”
“Indeed. Our head maid, who commands all maids and many other servants, holds authority equal to a Knight Commander.”
“I thought you were the one managing the mansion, Nilbert-sama?”
“I assist in governing the four towns. Aside from security personnel, internal affairs of the estate are handled by the head maid. By the way, your ID allows access through noble-only corridors.”
Hmm… My royal ID was written as equivalent to a baron, but I returned that with the royal banner. Maybe this is its replacement.
Either way, I can return it anytime. It may even serve as a charm against trouble, so I might as well keep it.
Since we still hadn’t met the remaining two parties, I said we’d bring them once we got their agreement, and we left the mansion.
★ ★ ★
Back at the market with the hired carriage, everyone was exhausted, so we bought food and returned to the dome to rest.
Lindy immediately compared her ID to mine, tilting her head.
“What’s the difference?”
“Hmm… The flaming ring, crossed spears, the howling wolf… hmm…”
“Our badges and Jake’s… no idea.”
“I think the difference is in the breaks in the horizontal lines under the crest, but as long as the guards understand it, that’s all that matters.”
“Oh yeah, there is a break.”
“Whoa, ours has the most lines, and Leon’s has the fewest.”
“So this means no one’s gonna mess with us anymore?”
“Never thought we’d be entrusted with the duke’s ID.”
“As long as annoying people stay away, that’s perfect.”
“Knight-commander class… that’s insane.”
“For a guy who spins dragons around like toys and hands them off, it’s fitting.”
“Seriously. He flies in the sky, treats dragons and armored buffalo like goblins, and his magic lessons are top-class.”
After resting, I said I’d go to the guild to process the birds, and since most of them had only ever visited the neighboring town, they all wanted to come along and sightsee.
Leading a whole group of wide-eyed newcomers to the guild was… a little embarrassing.
★ ★ ★
On the evening of the fourth day, Dale and the others arrived. While we were talking, Jake and his group returned, so I introduced everyone, which turned into a flurry of greetings.
Both sides had female mages, both could use earth magic, and both had fought dragons, so they hit it off and talked late into the night. Jake’s group explained the ID system for me, which helped a lot.
Since Earth Shield had accepted theirs, Dale said, “If it’s that convenient and we’re still free, why not,” and they decided to receive their IDs as well.
“We like this town. No reason to go to another country.”
“I’m sick of rich merchants trying to recruit us anyway. This is perfect.”
“The duke’s manor, huh? Never seen a noble’s mansion before.”
“Oh, you’ll only see the waiting room for business visitors and Nilbert-sama’s office.”
“Ah, so no fancy rooms?”
“The third son is managing things while the family’s home, so no chance. Even if they weren’t there, we wouldn’t get to see them anyway.”
“You seem awfully used to noble estates, Leon.”
“I was summoned to the lord’s mansion in Lynas… but he yelled, ‘Kneel!’ the moment I stepped into the office, so I spent most of the time staring at the floor.”
With Berna’s lord, I was almost always in the basement, and when I did see the office, I ended up breaking it…
★ ★ ★
We headed to the duke’s mansion again with Dale’s group. On the second time, even the gatekeepers were used to us, and everything went smoothly.
Dale and Farana received the upper-rank IDs; the other six got the squad-leader class, same as Jake’s group.
Once I introduced the eight of them, everything proceeded the same as with Jake’s group and ended quickly.
The only ones left were Olga and her Strong Arm party, but two trips to Rosenne yielded no luck. I told Nilbert-sama that we’d likely meet them soon and returned to the dome.
★ ★ ★
“Your Majesty, we’ve received a report from the steward of Duke Berlant: identification was issued to an adventurer named Leon.”
“Were you able to request his help?”
“Unfortunately, as an adventurer, his whereabouts are unstable, and he is said to be in contact with a dragon-slaying party he knows.”
“Was he not given a royal ID?”
“He returned that when Duke Berlant met him in Blange. Since Count Arclight ranked below the duke, Leon returned the royal banner and magic pouch as well. His sole condition was that he must be able to abandon the assignment at any time. The same applies to the duke’s ID. He has no desire to serve the kingdom or any noble, and even accepting a request requires convincing him.”
“Has the Holtland army fully withdrawn?”
“Some remain, but tight security prevents gathering details.”
“So only someone who can fly could scout them…”
“Yes. And it takes four days by express horse from Narsie to Holtland’s capital, Frangre. Communication is difficult.”
“Even though we drove them back, leaving things as they are might start another war. We need at least ceasefire negotiations. We can’t keep Duke Berlant stationed in Emilia forever.”
“We could use those negotiations as leverage. If we send a letter to the Holtland envoy’s residence and… employ Leon as a courier—”
“They may not even have left the residence intact after we struck first, thinking the troop placement was a threat.”
“Then should we wait for Holtland to make contact? They can send orders from Frangre to Narsie in four days, but we need eleven—twelve days to send orders from here to Emilia. That’s a disadvantage.”
“If we need him as a courier, where is Leon now?”
“Likely in Kreis, part of Duke Berlant’s domain. We’ll contact the duke’s steward.”
★ ★ ★
After several trips between Kreis and Rosenne, on the fifth attempt we finally found Olga and his group.
“Leon, what’s up?”
“Jake’s Earth Shield and I have accepted IDs from Duke Berlant. The duke asked me to invite you too.”
“Jake accepted?”
“Yes. Once I explained the conditions, they said it was great for keeping pests away.”
“Conditions?”
I explained the agreement I had with the duke. Being able to return it anytime appealed to them, and they said they’d accept as well.
They said dealing with pushy recruiters without a patron was troublesome, and if a single ID could scare them off, that was perfect.
However, when I explained what Jake had already told them—that earth mages don’t qualify for IDs directly from the duke—he said, “Naturally,” but his attitude toward me felt distant.
Well, we didn’t know each other, and I was only a temporary hire, so it didn’t matter.
We traveled to Kreis together, but during camping, when he saw the dome the men made, he looked disappointed.