CH 113

Chapter 113 - Royal Capital's Recruitment

After saying goodbye and leaving the Doga’s workshop, the weapons smith, Souya went to a quiet plaza somewhat far from the center of town.

He had an appointment to meet up with Shamil, who had gone separately last night to accompany Emily, a Lingen orphan left in Louise’s care.

Unlike the noisy and bustling central plaza, this plaza, which I had found on a stroll during a previous vacation, was almost empty of people and was usually a perfect place for rest and relaxation.

“It’s Souya, isn’t it? The Demon Slayer.”

The morning’s silence was broken not by Shamil, who was waiting for me, but by the voice of a man I did not recognize.

Souya, who had been sitting in a chair when his name was suddenly called, looked up to see a stranger in front of him, a man of mature age. Next to him, a petite woman, her face clad in a hooded cloak, steps back and waits.

(Adventurer? …… No, it’s not.)

The man is slightly taller than the woman, with short-cropped black hair and sharp eyes. Judging from his face, he appears to be in his 30s, younger than himself. Through a gap in his brown cloak, which appeared to be of good quality, he revealed a shining silver breastplate and the sheath of a familiar saber.

“Yes, I’m that Souya. And you?”

“My name is Lucas …… you seem to have a lot of free time on your hands right now.”

“Free? ……. I don’t remember seeing you before. What makes you think that?”

Souya implicitly condemned him for his words, which could be considered rude even though they had never met before.

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I’m sure he wasn’t just trying to make fun of the fact that I was sitting there looking free. It was early in the morning in a deserted plaza. It was unlikely that they had met by chance.

“…… That was rude of me. I heard you had just finished your adventure. I’m just checking to see if you’re free. I’m sure you’ll understand that I’m not trying to stir things up or anything like that.”

“…… Lucas-kun. Let’s hear what you have to say.”　

Lucas then picked up a leather bag hanging from his leather belt and handed it to Souya.

From the faint metallic sound that could be heard, the leather bag apparently contained currency.

When Souya opened his mouth, he found that it was full of unfamiliar coins with a dull and elegant luster different from silver coins.

(White gold coins …… there’s a good number of them.)

Souya looked up to see Lucas giving him a sharp look. He feels intimidated, but his expression has not changed since earlier, so it may just be his original facial features and sharp eyes.

“I have prepared 200 white gold coins. Let’s get straight to the point. With this, I want to hire the Demon Slayer.”

One white gold coin is equivalent to 10 gold coins. In other words, if Lucas was correct, they wanted to hire him with 2000 gold coins.

The first thing that came to Souya’s mind was a sense of disbelief when he saw the amount of money, which was incomparably larger than his previous requests. First of all, he had to question the nature of the offer, since it was not from the Adventurers’ Guild, but from an individual.

“That’s quite a lot of money …… Lucas-kun. I am an adventurer. I’m going to need you to go through the Adventurers’ Guild. I’m still tired from my adventures, but if it’s a request for an appointment, I’ll discuss it with my colleagues and see what we can come up with.”

Lucas shook his head in denial of Souya’s somewhat bewildered advice.

“I’m not here for you as an adventurer. The master I work for is recruiting talented people. The white gold coin is in lieu of a contract. If you are going to be parting ways with your friends, I’ll throw you some as a parting gift. I’ll make up for what you spent to some extent.”

Souya was uncomfortable with the phrase “throw”, but Lucas continued without concern.

“We guarantee you a stable life in a house with servants. We have connections to the Magician’s Guild too. And an environment where you can put your knowledge to use …… I hope you won’t have to grind your talents in such a shabby countryside.”

Apparently, his goal is to appoint Souya. And to some extent, he has done his homework on Souya. He wants me to retire from being an adventurer and serve his master.

It was a one-sided statement, but if this and the terms of the contract are true, he is buying Souya quite a bit. In this world, it is not unusual for an adventurer to be appointed to a high position in the family of a high-ranking person as the ultimate goal of an adventurer, armed with the prestige he has earned.

It was easy to guess that Lucas was a man with that kind of power.

(I remember that I have been in this situation in the past before. But I’ve never seen it so blatantly obvious.)

Where did this man, Lucas came from and what was his background? Souya decided to put his own guesses to the test.

“– Lucas-kun, you are a knight of the royal city of Doldberg, aren’t you?”

Souya told Lucas what he had guessed in a straightforward manner.

“Well ……Why did you think so?”

Lucas did not change his gaze or facial expression, but returned his words to Souya in a nonchalant manner.

“I have an approximate idea of what you mean from the conditions you have presented, but there are three pieces of information that add up to that. First, these white gold coins are almost never in circulation in Ilstadt. And, you even called this place “a shabby countryside”. I can imagine that you’re from the capital.”

Souya makes the number one with his index finger and continues.

“Next, the sheath of the saber you carry at your waist looks familiar. Isn’t it the favorite weapon of the Royal Knights? This is the second one.”

Continue with index and middle fingers, the number two.

Souya had once used a saber confiscated from a thief, and he had heard from the master of the arms shop that it was a military item of the Royal Knights Order.

“–And a high-handed attitude of condescension toward the adventurers and Illstadt. That’s why I thought you have a good identity ……That’s three. I just thought of one more as I was saying that, but I think that’s enough.”

As soon as he finished, Souya thrust the bag full of white gold coins back at Lucas. Lucas looked stunned, but after a while, he sneered.

“…… It looks like you have more than just brawn. That’s exactly what my master wants.”

“I have some attachment to this city. I don’t want people to make fun of it …… So, if you want to hear my response, I’ll tell you.”

“…… No. Let’s hit something else. Souya, if you change your mind, you are always welcome. Tell about me to the master of the Silver Star Pavilion in Doldberg.”

Lucas turned away and left the square. The small woman behind him, her face hidden by the hood of her cloak, followed. Her quiet gait suggested that she had been trained as a bandit or a spy. Since she did not identify herself, I can only guess what kind of relationship she had with Lucas, but I can guess that she was a handy follower.

(I wouldn’t say “headhunt”. I’m based in Illstadt, but I don’t work for anyone.)

The fact that he was able to hit the others suggests that he was not focusing on just one target, Souya. Souya determined that his mission was to promote human resources in Ilstadt.

Although he had nothing to say about this, it was not illegal in itself, and he was not in a position to condemn it. It is a fact of life that people tend to go to the side that offers the most favorable conditions.

(─ ─ Even if a crisis comes to Illstadt, the Knights of the Royal Capital are not likely to move. Some would even consider it more expedient to weaken.)

Souya sighed and touched his fingers to his dark glasses.

With all the commotion about the Red Horn, it seemed best not to think about seeking cooperation with the Royal Capital. It was unclear what kind of decision would be made, but at the very least, it would be impossible to ask for help for free.

“…… Shamil, there you are. Why don’t you come out?”

Souya spoke to the empty space. This was because a humanoid being appeared in the dark glasses, a magic item that he had just touched his finger to.

Then Shamil, who had been hidden by the spirit art of invisibility, appeared.

“…… I’m sorry. I lost my timing to come out. I was nervous to see what would happen since it seemed to be a scout with favorable conditions.”

“Shamil, what did you think of them?”

“I must say, they are very rude to the Master whom they have never met before. They are not nice people. I was a little concerned about the woman next to him. I think we should be on the lookout, just in case.”

“Shamil. If you’ve never met him before, you’re not so bad yourself.”

In response to the indignant Shamil, Souya pointed out with a dumbfounded look on his face, and his eyes began to swim, perhaps remembering his pompous attitude when they first met at the mountain lodge.

“…… Do you still hold a grudge against me for interrupting your restful time with Miss Mia at the stormy mountain lodge?” 

“I am not. I’m thankful that you were at the lodge …… Anyway, I’m going to need a little help with something now.”

At Souya’s words, Shamil breathed a sigh of relief, but also showed an indescribable expression of anxiety about what he was asking for.