Chapter 108: Goal Achieved

The guards who had been going wild against the shelter were now being scolded harshly by the sub-master, who had rushed over, and the captain of the guard unit who had noticed the commotion.
They were told the incident would be reported to the magistrate, so they should be prepared for heavy punishment. They were bowing and apologizing desperately—but honestly, they were apologizing to the wrong person.

Among the gathering crowd of onlookers, I spotted Jake and the others, so I waved to them.

“What the heck are you doing?”

“Perfect timing… or rather, you’re back unusually early.”

“We earned plenty today, so we were out testing our newly bought weapons.”
“You flew off before seeing it, but things got pretty rough for a while, you know.”
“Well, even now people won’t stop trying to recruit us.”
“More importantly, Olga and the others were angry that you ran off, Leon.”

“About that… Once the forced mobilization was lifted, I got flooded with separate requests I couldn’t turn down. It was a mess. But thanks to that, I managed to get something useful for chasing away annoying people.”

“…When you say that with that face, it definitely means something’s up.”

I let them glimpse the duke’s identification badge, and predictably, they latched onto it with interest.

“Hey, let me see that properly!”
“That crest looked similar to the kingdom’s emblem…”
“Don’t tell me—you’ve sworn service to the kingdom?”

“Keep your voice down. I can’t talk about it here. I’ll explain tonight.”

“R-Right… Tell us slowly over a drink, then.”
“Your stories are usually worth hearing anyway.”
“Why wait till night? We could head out now—”

“Before that, where are Olga and the others?”

“They said the hassle of dealing with people was annoying, so they’re relaxing in the forest.”

“Since monster prices are still low, they said they’d focus on farmed beast hunting for lower-ranked income.”

“We really over-hunted. Even the armored buffalos were sold directly to the guild, and apparently they sold like crazy.”
“People are buying them up, figuring they might as well eat plenty of good meat while it’s cheap.”
“There aren’t many magic-bag owners who can store food long-term, so anyone with dimensional storage is in high demand.”
“The best storage users are already employed by nobles or wealthy merchants as walking food storerooms, so the remaining ones can’t store large amounts—meaning it’s their chance to profit.”

So even the rental fees for long-term dimensional storage were going up…

“Oh, and Olga’s group hired an earth mage.”

“They hired one? You mean they added the mage to their party?”

“No, they said winter in Bold’s ice dome is too cold, so they hired someone who can make camping domes.”
“The thorn hut and ice dome are too cold in winter, so it’s a seasonal hire. Not as safe as Lindy’s, but they’re strong enough to manage.”
“Anyway, let’s head outside. If we set up a dome near the entrance, Olga’s group will see it and stop by.”

Waiting in the guild doing nothing was pointless, so we decided to go outside—if Lindy’s dome was visible, the others would definitely come.

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We made a dome facing away from the road, and while they urged me to break out the booze, I decided to talk before everyone got drunk.

“If you’re carrying around a duke’s identification, there must be a real reason for it.”

“The duke approached me with a proposal. I accepted—but only after negotiating my own conditions.”

“Sounds interesting. Spill it.”

The Bulls and the others fiddled with my badge, eyes gleaming with curiosity, so I explained what had happened with the duke.

“Huh… You think we’re worth that much?”

“They said Lindy’s earth-dome magic and lightning spells are top-class, even compared to the duke’s mage battalion. And after all, you did take down that armored dragon.”

“He gives out a badge just for that?”

“Well, having a top mage makes it easier to boast at magic tournaments.”

“The duke’s logic makes sense. Losing the three parties—Earth Shield, Strongarm, and Kreis’s Flame & Shield—would be a huge loss for the Sutherlands. Worse if we defected to an enemy nation.”

“So that badge is basically to keep you from being stolen away, huh?”

“We’re supposed to get one too, but… what rank is it?”

“Equivalent to a squad leader in the guard corps, he said.”

“And yours?”

“Yours can’t be the same as ours.”

“Same as the head maid.”

Everyone made a weird face, and Jake burst out:

“Pff—y-you’re a head maid?!”

Then everyone else cracked up.

Well… I get it.

Though later Nilbert-san corrected it, saying the head servant rank was actually below mine.

“Not having to obey orders is the real perk.”

“And being able to return the badge anytime—pretty generous.”

“We’ll still get requests, but whether we accept will depend on the moment.”

“That’s like designated quests—we can take or leave them. I’d accept, honestly.”

“If Leon has one, then it’s trustworthy enough.”

“And flashing it makes it easy to reject nobles and merchants who nag us—very useful.”

“I agree. I’m sick of pushy recruiters.”

“Then… will you guys head to Kreis?”

“Aren’t you coming too?”

“I’ll go ahead and wait near the gate with a dome.”

“Hold on—are you flying there alone?”

“I need to find Flame & Shield anyway. Delivering the duke’s message to all three parties is the job.”

“What about Strongarm?”
“Just leave a message with the guild.”
“Right. Leon can pass messages from the air, and we can take our time sightseeing in Kreis.”
“You really are going to get used like crazy now that you can fly.”

Lindy didn’t need to say it—I was already being used plenty.
But the money was good, so no complaints for now.

We left the message for Strongarm with Jake’s group, and I flew ahead to Kreis.

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When I landed near the gate, the guards rushed over, shouting:

“You there! Suspicious individual—!”

But once I showed the duke’s badge, their attitude changed instantly.
They inspected it carefully, then spoke politely. They even offered to let me use the noble lane, but I declined.

Special treatment just invites jealousy and opportunists.

I headed straight to the Adventurers’ Guild and asked the dismantlers’ foreman for permission to enter the back area.

“Hey, Breeze-boy! Prices are low today… though your birds are always welcome. And I’ve heard you’re quite the big shot now.”

“Are the Flame & Shield guys—Dale’s group—in town right now?”

“Them? Haven’t seen them much lately. They’re screaming busy these days.”

“I want to meet them. Could you just tell them I’ll be sleeping outside the west gate?”

“That’s all?”

“I’ll be there this evening. They’ll know the landmark.”

I left the guild, but adventurers kept staring and whispering:

“That’s him, isn’t it?”
“I heard he knows Dale’s team.”
“He’s also the one who clashed with the Warrens Company.”

Even now people still remembered that?
The sub-master and the guards basically made it official, so I guess it won’t be forgotten anytime soon.

I headed to the market for food, grabbed a carriage, and went to the Commerce Guild.
I was stopped at the entrance—adventurer gear isn’t exactly welcome—but I showed my guild card and went to accounting.

After requesting a balance statement, the clerks started whispering:

“Look! That amount is insane!”
“No way… he’s an adventurer!”
“Huge deposits from the local lord and the kingdom too!”

Even though I wasn’t using magic, their excited voices carried perfectly.

The combined payments from the duke and kingdom alone totaled 50,000,000 Dara.
I figured I should deposit the gold coins I’d stripped from Count Fleming as well.

The clerk froze when she realized I’d overheard her, then stiffly handed me the statement.

Including the Adventurers’ Guild balance, I had 303,280,000 Dara.
Add the 10,000,000 from the kingdom and 40,000,000 from the duke…

Total: 353,280,000 Dara — goal achieved.

Then I placed three bags on the counter—each containing about 200 gold coins.

“These should total around 600. Please deposit them as well.”

“Um… where did these come from?”

“Do I need to explain?” I asked, tapping the balance sheet.

She shook her head violently and tried lifting the bags—only to nearly collapse under the weight.

That brought my Commerce Guild balance to 413,280,000 Dara.
Enough to buy a very nice house and still have money left over.

I re-boarded the waiting carriage and headed to the brewery with the best ale.
Good wine is nice, but nothing beats a smooth ale. Maybe I overdid it.

At Horintzen Brewery, I exchanged my old barrel for two new ones, paid four gold coins, and stored them in my magic bag.
Apparently the ale barrels are standardized across cities, since they didn’t charge for the barrel itself.

Guild ale has its charm, but drinking quietly on your own hits differently.

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While waiting for Lindy and the others, I decided to pass time by hunting some birds nearby.
I had asked the dismantler to pass on my message—so a “gift” to stay on their good side was necessary.

Even with low monster prices, birds are a special case, since few people bring them in.

I wandered leisurely through the shallow forest—first stroll-hunt I’d had in a while, and it felt great.