Chapter 142: Leave the Trouble to the Chancellor
I went to Count Arkwright’s residence and informed him that the seven fools had been arrested, as well as explaining the situation with the Mariens Trading Company in Zandra.
“So they assaulted Lord Leon and even drew their swords? Those men will be interrogated thoroughly. I’ll also report the Mariens Trading Company to the Chancellor.”
“I’ll report it to Chancellor Brighton myself.”
“Report it?”
“Yes. Ever since I supplied Shams and Golden Goats through the Adventurers’ Guild in Lynas, a large number of people have been submitting what they call designated requests. I kept refusing them by showing Duke Barland’s identification card. However, the men this time didn’t believe it was genuine and resorted to violence. I plan to ask the Chancellor to take measures so that people stop coming directly to my house with these so-called designated requests.”
After asking that the captured men not be released until I returned, I flew toward the royal capital.
* * * * *
I didn’t know where the royal castle’s service gate was, and the only noble residence I knew was Duke Barland’s mansion in the noble district. I therefore landed near the capital’s west gate and headed for the adventurers’ passage.
When I joined the queue, someone behind me kicked me and shouted, “You’re not supposed to line up here!”
Then I realized why: I had forgotten that I was wearing ordinary town clothes. After I rejoined the line, however, guards surrounded me as the suspicious man who had descended from the sky.
Since arguing was troublesome, I showed them my kingdom identification card. That only caused a larger commotion, so I finally shouted that if they couldn’t verify it, they should call their superior.
The man who arrived checked my identification, then saluted and said, “Please proceed.”
As I passed, he added, “Next time, please use the noble passage.”
Even in town clothes, walking through the nobles’ entrance felt awkward. I therefore hired a waiting carriage and headed to the castle’s service gate.
* * * * *
The royal castle’s service gate was crowded because it was used by people other than nobles. Since almost no one arrived in a hired carriage, people stared at me curiously. Their attitude changed immediately once I showed my identification card.
“How may we assist you?”
“I would like to meet Chancellor Brighton or his chief aide, Marginus. Please contact them.”
“Understood. Please wait a moment.”
The crisp reply and precise movements surprised me.
Even more surprising were the people waiting in line—they were all staring at me in shock.
The carriage was guided to a waiting area, and after a short while a man who looked every bit like a castle servant came to greet me.
“The Chancellor is expecting you. Please follow me.”
He bowed deeply.
I was sincerely glad I hadn’t come dressed as an adventurer.
After walking through long corridors, turning many corners, climbing stairs, and walking some more, we finally arrived at what seemed to be a large waiting room.
The servant spoke quietly with the man beside an inner door. Shortly afterward, Chief Aide Marginus came out to greet me.
“Lord Leon, the Chancellor is waiting for you.”
As I entered the room, the people who had been waiting a long time glared at me resentfully.
“Lord Leon, has something happened?” the Chancellor asked.
“Recently, I brought some prey to the Adventurers’ Guild in Lynas. Since then, I have received many designated requests. I had no intention of accepting them, so I ignored them. Now more and more people are coming directly to my house, and some even try to force me to obey.”
Oh—even the Chancellor raised an eyebrow.
“Yesterday, a man claiming to be a messenger from the Mariens Trading Company in Zandra was particularly troublesome. I intend to refuse the company directly. However, since Zandra belongs to the royal demesne, I thought it best to report the matter first in case a disturbance occurs.”
“Wait a moment… This isn’t going to turn into another Warrens Trading Company incident, is it?”
Ah, he brought that up.
“The Warrens Trading Company invited me into its underground torture chamber. The men from the Mariens Trading Company weren’t much better.”
When I tilted my head slightly, the Chancellor and his aide exchanged glances.
“Well… why not leave the Mariens Trading Company to me? If the people visiting you’re messengers from nobles or merchants, I’ll issue a notice ordering them not to approach you. Could you wait a little?”
If the kingdom would deal with the trouble, that sounded fine to me.
“Are you sure I may leave it to you, Chancellor?”
“Yes. A disturbance would be troublesome. Did you not consult Count Arkwright?”
“I told him the men who came yesterday were arrested after they caused trouble and were handed to the guards. But I thought it would be best to settle things quickly before my family is inconvenienced.”
“In that case, I’ll instruct Count Arkwright to send those men here. Would you deliver the directive?”
Then he turned to his aide.
“Marginus, contact the royal magistrate of Zandra and have the chairman of the Mariens Trading Company summoned here.”
Oh—an immediate decision. If he was going to clean up the mess, I’d gladly leave it to him.
I was asked to wait in the waiting room while the directive was prepared.
After Leon left the office, Chancellor Brighton remembered Duke Barland mentioning that the Shams and Golden Goats had been gifts from Leon.
Those creatures were high-quality beasts that nobles and wealthy merchants desperately fought over at auctions. Yet he hadn’t known that people had been causing trouble trying to hire Leon to obtain them.
He again ordered Marginus to tell Count Arkwright to pay closer attention to Leon’s safety.
“Chancellor, if people are appearing at his house, perhaps we should allow him to display the royal magistrate’s crest at his residence.”
“The royal magistrate’s crest… A good idea, but that crest is permitted only for those His Majesty has entrusted with governing territory. We can’t grant it to an adventurer who doesn’t belong to the kingdom. Still, the suggestion has merit. Instruct Count Arkwright to provide him with the House Arkwright crest instead.”
The next day, I delivered the directive from Chancellor Brighton to Count Arkwright’s residence.
Handing it directly to the count or to his butler Eugen seemed troublesome, so I gave it to the guard at the service gate and fled.
“Oh, you’re back early. What happened to those men?” Ted asked.
“A big shot said he’d settle the matter, so I left it to him.”
Ted seemed to think I meant Duke Barland, but I kept quiet.
“My lord, it appears Lord Leon delivered a letter from Chancellor Brighton.”
So Leon still maintained close ties with the kingdom—and with Chancellor Brighton himself.
Thinking this, Count Arkwright accepted the letter from Eugen and opened it.
It was a directive concerning Leon’s protection. After reading it, the count realized his own oversight, though he was relieved that the letter didn’t blame him.
He had already instructed the captain of the guards to be careful, but guards alone could hardly deal with messengers from nobles and wealthy merchants.
Following the Chancellor’s instructions would likely be more effective than merely sending guards on patrol.
“Eugen, arrange for the House Arkwright crest to be displayed at Lord Leon’s residence.”
“The crest, sir?”
“Yes. It’s the Chancellor’s instruction, intended to prevent another incident like this.”
“However, we have no spare crests. Even if we order one, it’ll take about two weeks.”
“That’s fine. Deliver it as soon as it’s ready.”
About ten days after I returned home, the stream of visitors suddenly stopped. It seemed the Chancellor’s notice had taken effect.
Then, one evening, Eugen visited.
“Lord Leon, my master asked that you display these at your entrances. They should prevent unnecessary visitors.”
He handed me something wrapped in a beautiful cloth.
When I opened it, I found the House Arkwright crest: two black wolves howling at the sky within a ring of flames.
Is it really all right for an adventurer like me to display the House Arkwright crest?
Still, since they had brought it, I decided to make grateful use of it.
Seeing how far the Chancellor’s order had spread, I realized that explaining it to Mother would probably be a hassle.
Attaching the crests to the iron gate at the entrance would be too conspicuous, so I decided to place one beside the front door at the top of the stairs and the other beside the back door.
Evan and Land helped adjust their height and install them.
Even though the crests were small, having them on both sides of the front door looked pretty impressive.
The one on the back door was visible from the street, though, which was a little embarrassing.
When I went to see my sister, who was preparing the shop, she said my timing was perfect and dragged me out shopping.
We hired a carriage near Carinfos Market and bought various tools—potion containers, storage jars, and other equipment.
“I never thought buying all the tools and equipment from scratch would be this hard. Even when I think we have enough, we quickly run out of storage jars and tools.”
“Do you have enough money?”
“I saved my salary planning to become independent, but you’ve helped me quite a lot.”
“What about the herbs?”
“The fresh herbs are stored in my Magic Pouch, and those that need drying are hanging in the storage room—but it’s still nowhere near enough.”
“Well, you’re preparing everything from scratch. It can’t be helped. I would tell you to buy herbs through the Adventurers’ Guild, but I only know those found around Lynas. You don’t have any samples, do you?”
“Of course not. Even if I did, they’d be completely dried up.”
“Then perhaps I’ll ask Claudins to show me some samples.”
“Claudins? You mean the guildmaster in Korché?”
“You know him?”
“Of course. Claudins of Korché is famous for his skill as an apothecary. How do you know him?”
“At first, I knew him as a customer. Later, Elder Kristinka of Faranka asked me to deliver herbs to him. Claudins also had a spirit with him.”
“…What?”
“He already had it when I met him. By the way, did you find someone to watch the shop?”
“It looks like Land’s daughter may help.”
“When I have some free time, I’ll visit Claudins and ask to see his herb samples.”
“Are you really close enough for that?”
“I helped him learn to see the spirit accompanying him. If that isn’t enough, I’ll simply visit Faranka.”