episode_0064

Although they said it was from Thursday, that doesn’t mean they actually made me start working as soon as I arrived on Thursday.

We had a day yesterday to take a leisurely look around the place we would be staying. After lunch yesterday, we walked around the station area for a few dozen minutes, then regrouped and went to Winterfield Castle with Jennifer. We then walked around and got to know each other. It would be easier to get to know the residents if something happened later.

Perhaps because fifteen noble students gathered together and were guided by a teacher who was also a noble, no locals approached us the whole time we were walking around. Well, the teacher walking in the front was the second, and even the students walking behind were all wearing coats.

The inner uniform had some parts that looked like a school uniform, so it felt like a somewhat light outfit, but the coat was almost the same as an officer’s coat, so to the residents who didn’t have detailed knowledge about the military, it would have only seemed like officers swarming around.

Alice, Charlotte, and I went into the room in the afternoon and rested until the next day, but the other children seemed to have been running around diligently in their own way. Even their mother, Mia Crowfield, was one of those students who ran around.

“… … Ugh, it’s cold to go out at dawn.”

Alice came out and muttered, shivering.

It’s already May, but it’s still cold. The North is truly the North. Is this because the production company drew the continent so precisely that it feels cold, or is it because they just recreated the atmosphere of a fantasy continent so accurately that the image of ‘the North is cold’ was created?

Well, the reason doesn’t really matter.

No matter what, the weather was so cold that I ended up wearing the coat that I had been wearing like a cloak.

By the way, I had already put on thick, black stockings on my legs. Even if Jennifer hadn’t told me, the moment I got off the train at that strangely cold place, I thought to myself that I should live my life to the fullest.

And my actions must have seemed desperate to my friends, because they all silently bought winter gear right next to me.

Perhaps it is thanks to that that we were able to come out at this time.

“But the request office is still open. Look.”

Claire said, pointing to the commission office right near Winterfield Castle.

The surrounding shops and restaurants had all their lights turned off. The gas streetlights were still on, but they couldn’t completely dispel the desolate atmosphere of the street. At least this was inside the walls of Winterfield Castle, so it wasn’t as gloomy. If it had been near the station, the forest at the end of the line of sight would have looked incredibly gloomy.

The Empire’s security system is surprisingly modern, with the military and police being divided. The Imperial Army is in charge of military affairs, and the Imperial Police is in charge of security.

However, the scope of the Imperial Police’s activities is almost exclusively the direct territory of the Emperor. No matter how centralized the empire was and how private armies were abolished, the lords desired at least a minimum of autonomy. Therefore, the territories that could operate a police force with only their own taxes had their own police force.

They cannot ‘militaryize’ themselves because they have to keep an eye on the emperor’s mood, but they have enough troops to protect themselves to some extent in case the emperor attacks.

The military has also abolished ‘ordinary’ private soldiers, but in places where public security is somewhat unstable due to external factors, such as the Counts of Margrave or the Duke of Winterfield who have to defend against external enemies, private soldiers can be operated as ‘auxiliary forces of the Imperial Army’ as an exception. However, the final command authority for military personnel and above lies with the Emperor.

If the Emperor judges that the army falls outside the ‘exceptions’ and orders it to disband, then it must be done. Otherwise, the Imperial Army will come rushing in and wipe it out.

Well, I’m not sure if Duke Winterfield can do that. Even though this area is an Imperial area, they are very loyal to their local commander, Winterfield.

Anyway, because of this ‘stifling’ by the royal family, the local lords who had a certain reputation were thinking about how to create something similar to a private army, and the result was this ‘request office operated by the territory’.

To put it bluntly, it is a mercenary group directly hired by the territory.

The request offices in each region were established decades ago under the pretext of resolving the petitions of the beasts of the road, the security of the undeveloped territory, or the residents of the territory who needed a little force…

And in order to keep those commission offices in check, the empire sends students under the name of ‘dispatch’ to complete a certain number of commissions registered at the commission office. As a result, the commission office became linked to the academy and was placed under a certain degree of surveillance by the Imperial Academy.

“… … If we stay like this, I might freeze to death, so let’s go inside quickly.”

Everyone nodded at Charlotte’s words. Even Mia Crowfield, who had a slightly sleepy expression, and Jake, who had a languid expression after eating, looked as if they had come to their senses.

… … But, do you really intend to carry out the request in this weather and darkness?

Are your eyes as sharp as a bird of prey?

… … And after thinking about it for a while, I came to the conclusion that these guys’ eyes could really be at the level of birds of prey, and I was devastated.

It’s only natural that there would be such words in a world where words like “black spirit,” “meditation,” and “blackness” come out so casually.

I think I might have to turn back time dozens of times today.

I was thankful that there was always a steam pipe passing hot steam underground, so that the stone road the carriage had to travel on was not covered in snow, and I quickly followed the main characters walking in front of me.

*

“Aaang!?”

bang!

“hic.”

A muscular woman with a ‘screaming sound’ that sounded like something straight out of a Japanese manga slammed the information desk, causing Mia Crowfield to scream in fear.

“Are you ordering me around at this hour!?”

This woman with a very angry expression had several large cuts on her arms, as if she had only used her fingers when she was young. She was wearing tight short sleeves as if she was bragging, and she was showing off her scars that looked like they had been in a bloody fight with a bear. To be honest, this person didn’t seem like just any guide.

Shudder.

Alice’s one eyebrow moved slightly. It seemed that she did not like the attitude of the person in front of her.

But still, he didn’t say anything. There was a high probability that this person and Jennifer had already talked about it.

“Oh, but the door is open… … Haven’t you started work yet?”

oh.

I know Leo’s confident line. In the original, it was the line that appeared when you chose the option ‘Don’t be afraid and answer straight’. Additional point 1.

I don’t know if that point has any significance here.

… … In the original, it only seemed like they were just acting up after the sun rose, but now… … it felt a little like a legitimate protest. Well, if it were really working hours, it wouldn’t be normal to be angry.

“Huh?”

And the tour guide’s reaction was just as I had seen it. I knew it because I had seen it several times while moving the options.

Since there wasn’t much facial expression data in the game, it’s probably a timing where the person would still be angry in this situation, but the expression on the receptionist’s face that I saw just now was like, ‘See this guy?’ The line would have been “… … .”.

“Sorry for the early hour. But… …We came knowing that it was work hours… ….”

Leo asked that, a little cautiously.

“Well, that’s true.”

The receptionist still had an annoyed expression on her face, but she shrugged her shoulders and pointed to the right wall with her index finger as she spoke.

“There are a lot of them over there, so choose the one that suits you best. If you fail and give up, I’ll hit you on the head with a honey chestnut, so be prepared and choose carefully. Choose the one you can. ”

I glanced down at the guide’s hand.

… … It was so big that if I spread my hands wide, my face would fit inside.

Could that punch really be the kind that can be described as a ‘honey punch’?

Well, I don’t think you’ll ever fail if you’re with these guys, so don’t worry.

The expression on the tour guide’s face as she scratched her orange hair that was sticking out in all directions with her fingers was oozing venom. Well, if I had to get angry so early in the morning, I would lose my temper quickly.

Leaving the yawning guide behind, we walked up to a cork board so large it filled the entire wall.

“… … There are a lot.”

“Okay.”

Leo answered Claire’s muttering.

In the game, there were only three or four things that appeared at a time, but the number of requests that were unfolding before our eyes was so many that we couldn’t even count them at a glance.

Well, realistically speaking, it’s understandable that there would be this many students, and the hired mercenaries would have to handle other requests as well.

“Um… … .”

“How about this?”

While Claire was lost in thought, Charlotte pointed to one of the letters of request with her finger.

[Request – Elemental Bear“Red Claw”Processing.

No need to capture him alive. We will dispose of the body upon contact.

Commission fee of 5 pounds. Additional fee is available if the body is intact. Other details have been provided to the receptionist.]

5 pounds for one request is pretty salty. If we convert it to the old fashioned way, it’s a little over 500,000 won. If we convert the value of the pound in the 1900s to yen, and make it easy for players to calculate, they set a formula where 1 pound = 10,000 yen, so it’ll probably be around that much. Well, if the yen drops, it might end up being under 500,000 won.

If five people work together to handle it, it’ll be 1 pound per person. It’s more than enough to live off of for a day. Well, if you were selling the corpses directly, it might be a different story, but the people who make the requests aren’t fools. People who handle these things have connections of their own, so if a hunter tries to sell them directly, they won’t sell unless they sell them for a very low price.

Besides, since Marmaros needed a lot of acquaintances to handle the magical processing and other things.

I nodded my head at Charlotte’s words. Even if it would be impossible to catch a bear alone, it would be worth a try with so many of us.

I picked a few more quests besides the ones Charlotte had chosen. In addition to catching the Elemental Bear, there were four others in total, and fortunately, they were all subquests I knew about.

“Huh? Elemental Bear?”

The receptionist who saw the request took a quick look at us, and soon her gaze was fixed on Leo’s hair. Then she looked at the hair color of Claire next to her, and as if she had finally noticed, she let out a sound like “Ah.”.

“Are you guys Grace’s little ones?”

It was a bit nerve-wracking to have the male writers recognize the princess next to them, but well, it was like that in the original too.

“Oh, yes, that’s right.”

“I see. Then I guess I can trust you with this.”

… … And then again, when I saw Princess Alice and I looking at each other, I thought I recognized her.

“Okay. I’ll give you a document with detailed information.”

The contents of the request often contain information that is difficult to take away from others. Therefore, if the person receiving the request is not someone trustworthy, the details are kept hidden and not disclosed.

“Thank you!”

Claire smiled happily as she accepted the not-so-thick stack of documents.

“I’ll take care of it right away!”

“Okay, don’t die.”

The guide smiled brightly as if he felt better upon seeing Claire’s lively expression.