I'm an Adventurer! ~Musou Skill is Plane Magic~ (web version) - Episode 82

　The New Year’s visit was super crowded. There are a lot of people related to the gods of law and business. I heard that even farmers and fishermen come to this temple to pray to their respective gods.

　To be honest, I was a bit fed up with the scene, but I enjoyed the stalls that lined the streets. Because of the God of Law and Commerce, there were quite a lot of stalls. There was also a wide variety of items for sale, some of which were peach-like fruits that were imported from the current warring jerkin. Is that okay? It was sold in broad daylight. Well, it was delicious. As it looks, it tasted like a peach. It was a bit hard, though.

　Vincent also had a stall selling Dantes Roast. It was pretty busy, so I could only wave to him from a distance. Come to think of it, I’m no longer a slave, so I don’t get any share of those grilled skewers, no matter how much they sell. It’s a bit of a shame.

　It is said that the Head Temple of this God is located near the royal capital, and its bustle is far greater than this. In the vast grounds of the temple, there are not only stalls, but also tents for performing troupes, attractions, and even a slave market. I don’t like crowds of people because it makes it hard to use my sense of presence, but if the place is that crowded, it would be good to go and see them, I guess.

◇

　I came to the guild after the prayers.

　While everyone else is going through the formalities of depositing money, I’m gathering information. It’s also called chatting with Tamara, who is almost exclusively my receptionist. Or rather, the other staff members are too scared to talk to me. I wonder how long this situation will continue. Could it be Joe’s curse? Should I have had an exorcism at the temple?

“Oh right. There are no bandits or pirates these days.“

　Her prolonged, sleepy way of speaking may be annoying to people who aren’t used to it, but I think she has a good character. Maybe it’s because she still has a Kansai-ness to her, but I like that. The seasoning is light, but the character is strong. That’s what Kansai people like. Except for the powdered food. The use of a thick sauce is justice.

“Do you know how the war is going? They were the pointman, too.”

“The western front seems to be at a standstill. It seems that Dantes has pushed the enemy back to the border. Now they’re facing each other across the river at the border.“

　Hmm, the village chief seems to be doing well. But if they’re facing each other across the river, the stalemate is likely to continue for a while. I’m sure it would be difficult to carry out a river crossing strategy.

“It’s not so good in the north. They are used to the Lute Sea, so they can repel us, but not invade us.“

　It means that they can intercept us, but they can’t attack us from there. In this case, I can’t help but think that they should attack from land and drop their bases, but I’m sure there are reasons why they can’t do that. For example, there’s a demonic domain or something like that.

“Hmmm, how long was that information? A horse or boat would take more than 10 days, right?“

“Two days ago. The guild has a magic tool for communication. It consumes a lot of magic stones, so it can only be used for regular contact and emergencies once every five days.“

　I don’t know that there is such a magical tool. By the way, I remember they had a quick exchange with the Bordersetts on the salt case. I’m not sure if that’s because of that magic tool.

“Awesome, that magic tool! Can I buy that?”

“Unfortunately, that’s not possible. The production is controlled by the royal family, but it’s only sold to the adventurers’ guild and the high-ranking nobles. And it’s very expensive.“

　Mmm, too bad. When it comes to high-ranking nobles, it’s a fiefdom owner. And if it’s quite expensive, it means you actually have to be an earl or higher to buy it. I’m not going to be able to get my hands on them if I’m a poor lord, even if I raise my adventurer’s rank to become a viscount. It’s a pretty high hurdle to overcome, even though it seems so convenient. Ugh.

“It’s finished, Beat-sama. Thank you for your patience.“

　While we were talking about this, Cristella and the rest of the group came over, having finished their deposit. Well, I guess we should go home now. I don’t even want to take a request early in the New Year.

“Then, Tamara-san, see you again!”

“Ah, wait, Beat-kun ~.”

　I was just about to say goodbye and leave when Tamara stopped me. What is it, a nomination request?

“Actually, it’ s not so urgent, but I have a request for you to take. It’s not a nomination request, but it’s a request for intermediate adventurers. The only intermediate adventurers in town right now are Anna and her friends aside from Beat, but it’s not a job suitable for them.“

　Anna and her friends earn their stars mainly by escorting, which is three stars, they said. Procurement is two stars and the Subjugation was finally two stars by fighting off bandits with us. Is it a request that they can’t ask for, or is it a Subjugation type?

“To tell you the truth, we’ve been having a lot of urgent communications lately, and we don’t have enough magical stones. The magic stone must be at least 1.5 cm in size, so the only monster that has it is from the Great Forest. We can’t ask Anna and the others to do it, so will you take it?”

　I see, it’s a procurement type request that needs to be defeated. It’s a difficult request for Anna and her friends, who are not good at either. I’m a 5-star at Subjugation, so I’m a good candidate for this kind of request. This is the request I should take.

　Besides, if I don’t take it, Anna and her friends will have to do it. If something happens to Anna and her friends due to an unfamiliar request, I’m sure I will regret it. I have to take this request.

　The truth is, however, I’m already quite enthusiastic about it. After all, it’s a request to defeat monsters. It is the main business of an adventurer. I’ve been dealing with bandits, pirates, soldiers, people-slaying jobs for a while now, and I thought it was boring. I’m not a cop. The last time I fought a monster, it was when hunting food for Woo-chan. It’s not that big of a deal, and the magical stones weren’t that big.

　Besides, it’s good for everyone’s training. Even though they have learned to strengthen their bodies from magic manipulation, only Cristella has a decent amount of experience fighting the monsters of the Great Forest. I want to make sure that they can use it in actual combat. And I’m planning to go exploring deep into the countryside sooner or later. It would be a good opportunity to familiarize themselves with the monsters of the Great Forest.

　Luka and Samantha haven’t learned to use magic manipulation yet, but it would be a good learning experience just to get a feel for the atmosphere of fighting monsters.

“Okay. Well, can you tell me more about the request?“

　Phew, I can’t stop being excited about my first adventurer-like request in a long time!

◇

　The request is to procure magical stones. The deadline is within the next month, and the number of stones must be 10 or more. However, the size of the magic stones must be more than half a Sue (1.5 cm). The reward is a piece-rate system. 7 gold coins per one magic stone. However, for items that exceed 1 Sue, 2 large gold coins per item. The request will be completed when 10 magic stones are delivered, but the purchase will continue until the end of next month, up to 30 magic stones.

　These are the details of the request. That means I’ll have to deliver 30 pieces to complete the task. Even if seven people accept the request, each of them will earn at least three large gold coins. That’s more than 1.5 large gold coins or about 1.5 million yen per person per month. This is delicious.

“It’s cunning that it’s not a nomination request.“

　Cristella spilled while looking at the copy of the request form. Oh, well, as expected of Cristella, she noticed that.

　The place has already been moved to the living room of the home. Everyone is sitting around the table, and the bean tea brewed by Luka is placed in front of everyone. Unfortunately, only Woo-chan is water on the floor.

“What do you mean?”

“To begin with, this request is not for intermediate level, but for advanced level.“

　Requests from the Adventurer’s Guild are ranked in terms of difficulty. There are three levels: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. However, this is a guideline, not a limitation. A beginner can take an advanced level request, and an advanced adventurer can take a beginner level request. If the advanced adventurer can only take advanced requests, there will be no more advanced adventurers in town as soon as the few advanced requests are gone. Without work, they can’t live. However, since beginner level requests are cheap, advanced adventurers are unlikely to bother with them.

　And this copy of the request form also has an advanced stamp on it. In other words, it’s not for intermediate adventurers. The monsters of the Great Forest, even the village chief, who is considered a hero, is too much for him. There is no way they are intermediate. It’s no surprise to me.

“A nomination request is sent out at the guild’s discretion, which means that the guild has determined that the person has the ability to ensure that the request will be fulfilled.”

　When a nomination request fails, the guild is suspected of lacking management skills. The guild will be seen as not having a good grasp of the adventurer’s abilities. If that happens, managers will be subject to assessment, and at best, they will be given a pay cut, and at worst, they could be demoted. Tamara will not be affected because she is a receptionist, but Imelda will be subject to assessment.

　　I’m not sure how many requests for nominations Imelda-san made for me when I was just starting out, but I can say that she has a lot of guts. Well, each request was quite urgent, so I guess she was clutching at straws. In fact, that’s what she said at the time concerning the salt.

　This time the request is quite difficult and less urgent. There is a high possibility of failure for an average intermediate adventurer. That’s why it’s a normal request. The guild doesn’t have to take responsibility for failure. The guild is just trying to protect itself.

　I don’t mean to call this unfair. I’m sure that the source of this request is probably the royal family. It’s the royal family that holds everything related to the magic tools of communication. The adventurer’s guild is a national organization, so the notice from the royal family, the highest level of the state, is absolute. Even if they don’t have the manpower, they have no choice but to accept this request. So this normal request was the guild’s way of protecting itself as best it could. The bureaucracy must be having a hard time.

　When I explained that much, everyone except for Cristella rolled their eyes and came to stare at me. Cristella is like, ” Fufu,” and she’s all pompous. What’s up with that?

“You can read that much from a single request form…“

“I am not very smart, but I know Boochan is a very clever.”

“I didn’t understand it because it was so difficult mya! My boss knows the difficult stuff and it’s awesomya!”

“… after all, being with Waka is the right choice.”

“Ohohohoho! Of course! Because he is Beat-sama!”

　Oh, shoot, I’m only seven years old, or maybe I just turned eight. I should act like a little kid. It might be too late for that, though.

“Well, let’s take the third day off and relax for a couple of days to unwind and then we’ll go get them.“

　In a hurry to fool them, but I guess they’re not fooled.

　What was it like to be a child? Too far in the past for the old man to remember. Comeback! My memory!

　Huh? Overwritten and erased? Is that so? This is why digital is!