104 - - 102. Gathering information?

Good morning.

It's a nice morning for a vacation.

Though before ten o'clock is not generally called morning!

Let's make ochazuke today. I bought the ingredients yesterday on my way home from work, but it was too much trouble so I made it simple.

Wasabi chazuke with seaweed, sesame seeds, and one pickled plum. It may be a bit lackluster, but it's early in the morning and it will soon be lunchtime.

There is also salmon, but it is a hassle to clean up after grilling. I grill it with foil at noon. The good thing about roasting with foil is that you can just throw away the foil and it's all gone.

We get in and head for the Adventurers' Guild.

We had a good breakfast at the inn, and both the hostess and the innkeeper seem to have improved their skills. This is the morning, and the best part is that the inn is not for adventurers, so there are no meals served after hours.

Even though it is morning, there are many people on the street, and those who come and go seem to be busy. Some of them seem to be returning from the morning market. Entering the Adventurer's Guild is a cautious decision. It seems that Emel's button jumps when I approach the guild, so be careful.

The receptionist's job is basically behind the counter, but sometimes she comes out to the lobby to post requests and notices on the bulletin board.

After the early morning wave of requests has subsided, it's time for a little slower chores and a break.

Except for urgent requests, there is usually a fixed time to put up the bulletin board.

If we post them one after another in the empty spaces, there will be a lot of people waiting for a good request to appear.

New adventurers often come early in the morning in order to get a good number of requests or to get the best ones first. Late comers take the less expensive, but quicker requests and leave, hoping to finish one of them rather than waiting for the next one to be posted.

After that, D- and C-rank adventurers come to take on slightly more difficult but still time-sensitive requests. By then, new votes are put up on the bulletin boards vacated by early-morning requests, requests for gathering and defeating at places of higher ranks, although they are requests for F and E ranks, and - although they are requests for F and E ranks, they can be received at places that are a little far or something like that. Mix in a request that is notably unpopular, out of proportion to the sil.

Normally, it is a matter of white eyes for C-rank and above to take on F- and E-rank requests for newcomers, but only for the requests that appear at this time of the day, nothing is said, and in fact, they are welcomed.

The C-rank requests are for "do something about the overabundance of demons! and a race against time! There is no particular complaint if a high ranking person accepts such a request.

Then again, a new request for F/E is posted in the afternoon.

It's tough being a resident adventurer.

As I head for the stairs to the reference room, I see a red-haired receptionist walking carefully from the cafeteria with a tray of coffee cups in her hand.

"Kya!"

I step forward and hold out my hand, and a red ponytail falls into my arms.

My arm is a little too close to my chest, but that's forgivable, it's a force majeure. I was busy with the tray of coffee. The tray is about 20 centimeters off the ground, but I gently put < on the tray and successfully retrieve it without spilling any coffee.

"Oh, wow!"

"I envy you, I envy you, I envy you, I envy you."

"Geeaaaahhhh ！！！！"

"Nanaaaaahhhhhhhhh!"

"I wish I could have supported you!"

The receptionist's chaperone is at work today.

What a play, Emel skipping buttons and Nana tripping over nothing and falling down in front of me. Is this a part of Asha's "flirtatious instructor"?　Maybe if you don't hold out your hand you'll see a pantie.

By the way, Plum plays that I bump into him when I turn a corner, only he bumps into me because I don't fall down. Maybe if I fall down, he will put his hand on my chest or face or something.

That's just not cool.

"I'm sorry!"

The reason for the gasps and groans was apparently that I had shifted my position and my skirt had become slightly disheveled, exposing my thighs to the point where they would normally not be visible. I turned bright red and adjusted my skirt as I hurriedly moved away.

It didn't go all the way down to her pants, but it was a glimpse of her thighs.

"No, be careful."

After making sure he has calmed down, he hands over the tray and heads for the stairs.

Sorry, sorry, it's my fault. The stares from the gallery are painful, so I quickly leave.

They often say to be considerate and take time off from the busy time, but in my case, it might be right to come quietly and go up to the reference room during the busy time when the receptionist can't move from the counter.

The Guild's receptionists are early in the morning, but they have longer breaks. They are busy like a battlefield during the time when the request forms are posted, but after that the counter is not so busy, so they take turns to have a long break. It is early in the morning at the workshop, and it is normal to live with the sun in this area.

Hello.

"Hi."

"Brought you something."

Thank you."

I enter the reference room and greet Al.

"I'll make you some tea, shall we move?"

Eating and drinking are not allowed in the reference room, but more and more often I am invited to Al's private room, or the archives room, in the reference room. Eating and drinking are allowed here, and Al's meals are brought from the cafeteria (below) and eaten here.

While the reference room is well organized and efficient, we have to proceed carefully not to destroy the piles of papers and books on the floor.

"I haven't had breakfast yet.

He happily makes me a cup of tea.

"Something sweet so early in the morning. You want a sandwich?"

"I'm glad you're here."

My gift is a pastry, as it is supposed to be handed out to the receptionist as well.

I have a friend who eats bread for breakfast, or a lot of jam!　I'd rather not. I mean, I was once invited to stay over after a drinking party, but after he served me a piece of toast with Nutella spread on the whole surface of the toast about 5mm thick for breakfast, it became a no-no for me.

I can eat a sweet pastry or two, depending on its size, so the fact that I can't eat sweet pastries or sweet meals is completely a reaction to that experience. By the way, Nutella is a kind of hazelnut paste mixed with chocolate, sugar and condensed milk.

"This sandwich is also delicious, I don't like sandwiches because they make the bread soggy, but this one doesn't."

"Thank you?"

So?　What do you want to hear?"

I'm glad you're so perceptive.

"What about the rights of islands that people don't know about that are far away from the continent?"

"The sea is basically a free zone without borders, but there is an unspoken understanding that the area visible from the island to ordinary fishing boats in the sea is under the jurisdiction of that country."

"I see."

There is no agreement on territorial waters, except for straits visible from both countries.

"Any island discovered in the visible area belongs to the state, and the discoverer will receive a reward of some kind. For other islands, the owner is the one who has effective control over the island.

He swallows his sandwich and moves on.

"I've built a house in the nearest country," he says, "and I think it belongs to that person. These cucumbers are delicious. It's not my favorite vegetable, but it's so delicious even though it's just a sandwich.

There are three types of sandwiches: fresh cucumber slices that are taut enough to snap with a little effort, a BLT-style sandwich where the filling is thicker than the bread, and an egg sandwich.

"If you're close enough, it can be used as a trade stop and practically taken away," he says. If you venture too far out, you'll have a hard time finding it. In the past, mages have built towers on islands in the open sea. The problem is getting to and from the island, which is difficult without that ability, and there are demons."

I wonder if the supply points will be taken up by countries or traders, but it's not going to be pretty everywhere.

"And can a dragonut enter a human city?"

"A dragonut is another unusual name. They are treated differently from tribe to tribe because they have different personalities. For the time being, they should be registered with the guild so that the guild will know exactly which tribe they belong to. Even for the less aggressive tribes, if you are not registered with the guild, you are only allowed to stay in town for one night. I hear that fire dragons and black dragons lose their temper and are indiscriminate even when talking normally.

During this period, the residents must be tagged in a visible place as a sign that the guild is aware of their belongings.

This also applies to some tribes of beastmen.

"Oh, so if you want them to live in this city, you can just bring them here?"

Al, who was about to drink his tea, looked as if he had swallowed a stick.

"You know, Dragonutes are pretty rare. Because of their high abilities, they usually look down on people and generally don't go near human towns. Because of their proximity to dragons, they prefer to sleep in forests, caves, and other places with strong outside attributes. You don't see that very often."

The strong-attribute places are often far away from human cities, and since the number of dragonutes themselves is small and they are in such places, they have not been seen in cities for the past hundred years, if ever. Another reason for the lack of sightings may be the fact that most of the adults live solo.

"I see. So, even if they are supposed to work together, would it be better for the Dragonut to leave them alone at night to go wherever they want?

"There are tribal differences, so it's hard to say. You're at ......, aren't you?　Dragonut."

I had to take him on a field trip.

You're pretty weird yourself, aren't you?

"Normal, normal."

I get a look of dismay from the other side of the cup.

"Oh, and this."

What is it?

"Give them to the three receptionists with the pastries, one for the trouble."

Five accessories.

One for Al, one for the receptionist, and one for someone else at Al's discretion, probably Gilmas. Reno helped me with the mining, so I have some time to spare.

"An accessory with anti-possession feature, for a bit of extra luck".

"Minor ability."

"When the seal of the evil god is loosened, that kind of thing will be popular."

"Ahead of the curve?"

"Yes."

A moment of silence.

"If I don't name names, can I tell my superiors?"

"No problem."

He turns his back on Al and leaves the reference room with his hand fluttering in the air. I'm glad to see you're so perceptive.

The guild is now OK for the time being.

You are free to believe or not to believe, to respond or not to respond.

They will probably start gathering information on their own, and if they see any signs, that is.

Next we will go to the temple to meet the two vendors.

"Homura Hall."

At the bottom of the stairs, I was approached by a voice.

I turned my head toward the counter and saw Cal.

Yeah, it was Cal. The guy who was chasing the bounty hunter in the slammer, forgive me if I don't remember his name!　If push comes to shove, I'll let you quietly appraise it.

He comes up to me, saying hello to Plum, who was handling the case, as if he was reporting a request.

"Hey, you became an adventurer after all?

"I've only been registered for a while. Thanks to my injury, I can only accept simple requests, but it allows me to use the guild's cot. Thank you for your help.

"I didn't do much. Isn't it hard to live like that when you're wounded?"

Fortunately, the weather is very nice."

He had just received the request form first thing in the morning and came to report. Because of his injury, it is difficult for him to travel long distances, so he is only working on requests within the city or within a very short distance. He laughs, "It started hurting in less than half a minute.

He is a man who does not seem to be in a bad mood in spite of his situation. Hmm.

"Can you subdue and neutralize three or four of them?"

"It depends on who you're dealing with. But if it's in a place where it doesn't take too long, I can manage.

"Do you have any resistance to non-human species?"

Not particularly.

"I'm opening a grocery store, would you like to move in upstairs?　In exchange, I'd like you to watch the store for an afternoon."

If you don't have a place to stay, it's a good idea to do a simple request at the guild, and if you're free in the morning, you can do that at the same time.

Storekeeper?

I guess you could say that they are the two bouncers who watch the store. Usually they're just there to help me out.

"I wish I could, but I've only seen you twice, can you trust me?"

"I'll be fine."

I answer Cal, who seems to be hesitating while worrying about us.

The receptionist's reaction to Plum was not bad.

And most importantly, we don't have any freelance acquaintances. Unless Reno says he prefers to stay outside, I'm going to ask him to live on the second floor of the store.

"I'm just going to meet the two store keepers now, do you want to go with me?　I'm sure we'll be compatible, and you can get back to me after we meet."

That's what happened.

We boarded a horse-drawn carriage from the plaza bound for the temple and talked about our plans.

The store is open only in the afternoon and closes when the goods are sold out or at sunset.

There are two rooms on the second floor of the general store and I can offer one of them as a private room. There is a bath on the same floor, but it will be shared with Dragoneut, who may enter the other room on the second floor.

The store is manned by two children of the beast.

The facilities of the commercial guild make it look like a normal handover, and the exchange of money between the storage and item pouch through the counter function is unlikely to cause any financial problems, but I would like you to deal with someone who is insulted by the idea of being a child.

That I and Dragonut are on the road and may not be in the store most of the time.

The salary will be negotiated after seeing the sales of the store, for the time being, it will start from two early morning requests per day, three meals with snacks, and so on.

Compared to living on a cot in the guild, he is not so bad, but he seems to be worried about it. But I don't know how much it will sell for, so I'd like to wait until I get the results before I make any further offers.

"Thank you, Mr. Homura. But there is a possibility that I could be in the line of fire.

Oops.

What's the charge?

Fornicating with the king's wife. I don't remember, of course, but I received the king's orders through the queen, so we often met alone."

"Was it right for you to divulge it?"

"I only met him twice, and he trusted me."

Apparently, he was not worried about the treatment or the environment, but was worried for fear of getting himself into trouble.

"Is there any possibility that the debaters could get others involved without question?"

"No, I don't think so. If there is to be a pursuer, it will be from among my fellow knights, who are proud and fair. They have their place.

"Then it's easy. Then it's easy. I'll pretend I didn't know. And by the way, the general store is a convenient place to escape.

Well, I feel like it wouldn't matter if I just gave you one of my .

"...... accepts. Thank you.

In the carriage, they bowed to me, law-abiding.

The rest is just small talk.

I'm just chatting.

"I came here because of a rumor that Lady Ekaterina is in Zias, but a stranger from nowhere couldn't meet her.

"Ekaterina ......, are you a fan?"

If it's anything like some guild leader, I'll have to think twice about hiring you.

"I used to be a big fan of labyrinthine slayers when I was a boy. But the reason I wanted to meet you is because of this wound. You have the skill to heal old wounds in no time at all.

He slaps his foot, which seems to be where the wound is, and says, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

"Sacred magic?"

If she has [Fal's favor] and is a priestess, it's not surprising that Ekaterina has [sacred magic]. And she's probably not as old as I am, so she's at a pretty high level.

"No."

"No?"

"Homura-sama is a Gentile, then you don't know him. In her prime, Yekaterina was known as the ......"

"Wait."

Bludgeoning goddess?

"Is something wrong?"

"Did you just now mix up a few strange words?"

What is it?

Huh?

He replied in all seriousness, but am I the only one who thinks that's strange?

Huh?