Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 35: Special Request
Mirei spoke first.
“If this concerns the incident at the magic-tool workshops, the knights have already begun their investigation—”
“I know. I simply want to investigate it myself as well. I want the matter handled under my own direction, where I can act freely.”
“Then I have no objections, nya. I should go to the guild as Your Highness’s representative and post the request, correct?”
“Of course, you must conceal my name.”
“I understand, nya. I was thinking of using the name of a trading company under Your Highness’s influence and posting it as a special request.”
“Do that. Since the company also suffered a theft, describe it as an investigation into the incident.”
“So you want any information we can obtain, no matter how small?”
“Yes. Whatever I decide to do, I’ll need both information and capable hands.”
Mirei agreed to arrange everything exactly as Radius wished.
Her tail swayed as she continued in the familiar, teasing tone she often used with him.
“Won’t Your Highness solve the entire case by yourself before long anyway, nya?”
“If I do, that’s fine. If someone discovers something I overlooked, so much the better.”
“Hmm… Understood, nya.”
She had no reason to oppose him.
“I’ll begin making preparations immediately, nya.”
Mirei turned her back as though to leave Radius’s room, but almost at once she looked back.
“Oh, Your Highness. I heard that the system for mass-producing the potion you developed last year is finally ready. It’ll be released throughout the country in stages, nya.”
“That’s good news. Tell me if you hear anything else.”
“Yes, nya! Then I really will be going now!”
After Mirei left, Radius leaned against the balcony railing.
The ground lay far below. A fall from this height would certainly be fatal, yet he gazed across the Imperial Capital without the slightest fear.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
Two days later, Ren left the mansion early in the morning and headed for the Adventurers’ Guild.
It wasn’t because a knight at the Lion’s Holy Office had mentioned guild promotion to him.
Rather, Ren had recently realized that he needed to earn more money.
There were the Imperial Military Academy’s examination fees, then tuition and other expenses if he passed.
It wasn’t that Ren had failed to save money. He had simply continued sending much of what he earned back to his village, just as he always had.
Because he intended to keep supporting the village, he decided that he should hunt from time to time.
The Adventurers’ Guild in Elendil differed greatly from the branch in Clausel.
The building itself was several times larger, and the adventurers who came and went were generally stronger. Their equipment alone made that obvious.
Powerful monsters rarely appeared near the city, but adventurers could travel elsewhere by magic ship or magic train.
For that reason, guilds in major cities made convenient bases of operation.
(Hmm…)
Ren thought as he walked through the building.
Like the Clausel branch, this guild contained a tavern and dining area. Even at this hour, it bustled with adventurers.
Surprisingly, Ren didn’t stand out very much.
Unlike in Clausel, many boys and girls close to his age used this branch.
Some were probably looking for simple jobs to earn spending money, while others might have been helping support their households.
Ren made his way through the crowd toward the board covered in request notices. He had no particular reason; he simply felt like taking a look.
One notice appeared newly posted.
Ren leaned closer to read it.
(A special request?)
Only a few days had passed since the subject of special requests came up at the Lion’s Holy Office.
The client was listed as the Arnevelde Trading Company. A workshop belonging to one of its magic-tool craftsmen had been robbed, and the company wanted information about the thieves.
The notice stated that even the smallest lead would be welcome.
“Does that request interest you?”
A female guild employee had approached beside him.
“Um… a little.”
“Wonderful! Please come to the counter and allow me to explain it!”
“Eh? Wait—what?”
She seized Ren’s arm and pulled him straight toward the counter.
Her behavior was forceful, but Ren didn’t resist.
The moment she took her place opposite him, she began speaking as though determined not to let him escape.
“The compensation includes an advance payment, a fee for any information supplied, an additional reward for especially valuable intelligence, and—”
“Please wait! This is much too sudden!”
Ren finally interrupted her momentum.
Perhaps he was already too late, he thought with a sigh.
“What’s going on? You dragged me here without warning, and now you’re trying to sell me on the request before I even understand it.”
“I-I sincerely apologize! There are circumstances involved. We would very much like you to accept it. Between us, the guild can even add a little to the reward!”
(I don’t like the sound of this…)
The situation felt extremely suspicious.
It was already unusual for her to approach him so aggressively. The guild offering extra money on its own made matters worse.
Ren instinctively took half a step back.
“P-Please wait! There really is a reason!”
“…I’ll at least hear it.”
Another sigh escaped him.
“First, are you familiar with the Arnevelde Trading Company?”
“Yes. They’re involved in land and sea trade, and they have developed new potions, antidotes, and other medicines unlike anything previously sold.”
Among the empire’s newer trading companies, Arnevelde was undoubtedly the most energetic and successful.
Ren himself had relied on its potions while playing Legend of the Seven Heroes.
“My, you know quite a lot about them.”
“Thank you. So what’s the problem involving the Arnevelde Trading Company?”
“Well…”
According to the employee, only two adventurers had accepted the request since it was posted.
Admittedly, it hadn’t been available for long. Even so, the number was unusually low.
The guild had received only a handful of inquiries, although requests like this normally attracted much more attention.
The Arnevelde Trading Company hadn’t limited the number of participants, so the guild interpreted that as a desire for as many investigators as possible.
“Our Elendil branch has received considerable support from the Arnevelde Trading Company.”
The company gave the guild favorable treatment when supplying potions and had also assisted with other trade goods the guild sold.
Naturally, the Elendil branch wanted to answer its client’s expectations.
With only two people participating, however, the guild feared it would lose face.
(I should give her a vague answer and escape.)
Ren understood the guild’s circumstances, but he still had no intention of accepting a special request.
Regretting that his first response had sounded noncommittal, he said, “I think you would be better off asking an adult instead of a child like me.”
The guild employee smiled.
“—The Steel-Eating Gargoyle.”
Ren’s eyebrows rose.
“When you visited this branch recently, you asked us several questions. At that time, information concerning your achievements reached us as well, Ren-sama.”
“…I see. So that’s why.”
“Yes. We hoped you might take an interest in the request. That’s why I approached you so quickly.”
Now that he understood, refusing merely because the work sounded troublesome felt wrong.
He wasn’t surrendering yet, but Ren straightened in his seat and listened more seriously.
“As I’m sure you know, I’m the son of a knight serving House Clausel.”
“Yes. We won’t ask anything that compromises your position. As members of the politically neutral Adventurers’ Guild, we give you our word.”
“Then please continue.”
“Certainly. The Arnevelde Trading Company has provided the following information.”
The thieves ignored money and valuables. They stole documents and then disappeared.
Recovering those documents was the company’s primary objective, and it wanted the adventurers accepting the request to investigate the thieves.
At present, no one knew where the group had fled.
However, traces at the affected workshops convinced Arnevelde that the crime involved anywhere from several people to more than a dozen.
“How can they be certain of the number?” Ren asked.
“Because of the evidence. The workshops had powerful defensive equipment, so the investigators believe several people skilled in theft must have participated.”
“Couldn’t it have been one exceptionally skilled person instead?”
“Probably not. Workshops owned by other trading companies were robbed at almost exactly the same time.”
The employee implied that the estimated group size had been calculated from the number of simultaneous break-ins.
“Then the most important question is where we should begin looking for information about them.”
Without even a general area to investigate, the request would be extraordinarily difficult.
Ren expected there to be at least one lead.
The guild employee shook her head.
Ren nearly slumped over the counter.
“…If I discover nothing, the Arnevelde Trading Company won’t blame me, will it?”
“Absolutely not! There’s no penalty for failing this request. Even the Arnevelde Trading Company would never create trouble over a matter handled through the guild.”
“That’s reassuring…”
Accepting a request so casually might be unwise, but something concerned Ren more than the reward.
(There’s no harm in learning about an incident like this.)
He now lived in Elendil. Investigating a threat connected to the region could only benefit him, especially if failure carried no penalty.
“One last question. Why have so few people accepted?”
“The work is too difficult for beginners, while experienced adventurers can earn more elsewhere.”
“So the stronger adventurers would make more money by hunting.”
“Exactly. Requests centered on investigation tend to have this problem.”
“I understand the situation now.”
Ren shrugged after hearing her answer.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
In the end, Ren accepted the special request.
The reward wasn’t his main reason. He wanted the opportunity to investigate the incident for himself.
After the Demon King cult’s activity in the Baldor Mountains, it would have been impossible for him not to feel concerned.
That was why Ren found himself walking along a mountain path while thinking about the request.
As a precaution, he had also consulted Lessard.
Because the client was a major trading company and Ren’s father was a knight serving House Clausel, he didn’t want to become involved without first informing the baron.
Lessard trusted him and freely gave his permission.
“There’s no problem,” he had said with a smile. “Do as you think best.”