Ch.16Chapter 16 – Guild, Association, Union, Magic Tower

After changing guard duty and getting a good night’s sleep, time passed.

During that time, our journey toward the Mikea Kingdom continued as we passed through several villages.

Between the New Kingdom and the Mikea Kingdom, there were about two small countries that we needed to pass through.

Fortunately, it seemed these countries didn’t restrict passage for those simply passing through. When Eve identified herself as our representative and presented our travel permits, the guards would let us pass without issue.

There also didn’t seem to be any immediate pursuit from the Emiris Order.

We were traveling peacefully, feeling like we could finally catch our breath.

-Tap tap.

The sound came from Eve, who was riding on Moo’s back.

She appeared to be calculating something with what looked like an abacus.

“Hmm.”

Eve seemed to do some more calculations in her head before setting down the abacus with a slight smile.

“Even assuming our expenses doubled, we’d still make an enormous profit.”

“You seem to be in a very good mood.”

“Of course I am. We’ve made a huge profit.”

Eve said while stroking Moo’s back, which she was riding. She always rode sideways at an angle, and it was fascinating how she maintained that position.

“I’m a merchant, not a volunteer. Now I need to think about what to do with this money.”

After saying that, Eve began swinging her legs.

Seeing her humming softly, she definitely seemed to be in a good mood.

I decided to leave her be and not disturb her.

“Mr. Haven, how much longer until we reach the Mikea Kingdom?”

“Probably about ten more days of walking.”

That’s what Haven said.

“It’s ten days because the road is well-paved and relatively safe, but it could take longer if something happens.”

“I see.”

At that point, Ravi jumped into the conversation.

“Kay, this is your first time going to the Mikea Kingdom, right?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm, come to think of it, what are you planning to do when we get to the kingdom?”

To tell the truth, I hadn’t really thought about it properly.

I had been focusing all my attention on escaping from that place, that country, and had only recently reached safety.

After that, my only thought had been how to get back home, but I didn’t have any good ideas.

Above all, since I didn’t know how I got here in the first place, my thoughts couldn’t progress.

“…First, I’ll need to find a job.”

I need to make a living.

Even if I wanted to escape this world and return home, it wouldn’t happen in a day or two, so I needed to be able to support myself first.

As I was thinking this, Haven spoke up with a strangely bright expression.

“Then, how about joining the Adventurers’ Guild in the Mikea Kingdom?”

Seeing that bright face, I had a feeling.

If I join, Haven gets something out of it.

That’s for sure.

“Kay, you’re confident in your fighting skills, right? Honestly, I think you might be stronger than me.”

“Not to that extent.”

In truth, I think I would win.

Let me gauge myself against those black robes as a standard.

Haven won with my help drawing attention, and the remaining three barely held out against one black robe until Haven joined them.

Haven is slightly below the level of a black robe, and the three are below that level.

On my side, with Eve’s occasional help, I can handle two black robes simultaneously, so I’m worth more than one and a half black robes.

With a difference of about half a black robe, I would win.

When I think about it this way, those black robes seem like quite good combat power measuring sticks.

“The Guild always welcomes skilled people. Despite appearances, I have a fairly high rank, so with my introduction, you’ll get some preferential treatment for quest assignments even at low rank.”

“And since it’s easy for foreigners to join too, it would be perfect for Kay.”

Seeing Ravi join in, it seemed she would get something out of it too.

No, it looks like something would benefit the whole party. All of Haven’s party members had gathered around.

“I’ll testify that you took down a troll with a single strike, so please consider joining positively, big brother.”

“With your skills, you’ll rise in rank quickly.”

They’re urging me to join to a frightening degree.

This makes me nervous.

Perhaps not joining the Adventurers’ Guild is the right answer?

Let me think about this.

What kind of job is an adventurer?

Looking at Haven and the others, it involves escorting clients, fighting monsters or bandits, and doing various odd jobs.

That means people probably get injured or die quite frequently.

Would such a place have decent worker welfare?

Maybe there’s a severe shortage of manpower because many adventurers proudly joined only to realize the harsh reality and flee?

‘This doesn’t bode well.’

It’s bad enough that all four of them are pressuring me.

Even one person would be suspicious, but all four are urging me to “consider it positively.”

It was very ominous.

As I was wondering how to calm these zealous recruiters, Eve approached.

It seemed she had finished her pleasant daydreaming and dismounted from Moo.

“Are you considering job options, Kay?”

“Yes, I suppose so.”

Come to think of it, she’s still my employer.

Eve thought for a moment before finally speaking.

“For my part, I’d also recommend joining the Adventurers’ Guild.”

Et tu, Eve?

“…Why is everyone recommending this?”

“Well, for one thing, it’s easy for foreigners to join.”

Eve began to explain.

“Also, the Guild in the Mikea Kingdom is quite large, so there are many quests and affiliated organizations.”

“That’s right, the Merchants’ Association that the lady belongs to is affiliated with it, so there are lots of quests.”

“The Association, the Magic Tower, and the Academy also request a lot.”

Does having a lot of work mean income is pretty much guaranteed?

Still, my trust was significantly diminished due to the four people recommending membership with suspicious enthusiasm.

“Since we’re on the topic, when I hired Haven’s party, I asked the Merchants’ Association to recommend a party through the Guild. Association guidelines prohibit merchants from hiring personal guards exclusively for their caravans.”

I had been wondering why she hired adventurers despite having plenty of money, and now the mystery was solved.

“Hmm? Then what about me?”

“Since you were urgently recruited from abroad, it’s more of a gray area. But you still can’t be hired exclusively by a caravan once we arrive.”

“Is it to prevent merchants from fighting each other with force?”

“My, that’s exactly right.”

It seems they prohibit merchants from having armed forces in the form of exclusive guards to prevent them from hiring strong people to attack other merchants.

“And by partnering with the Guild, they also provide adventurers with a stable supply of quests.”

Haven added an explanation.

“That way, adventurers can also form connections with the Association, the Society, the Magic Tower, and so on. It would be very helpful for a foreigner like you, Kay.”

Eve said this and looked at me.

“If I put in a request specifically for you, would you accept it, Kay?”

“Ah, yes.”

I haven’t agreed to join yet.

By the way, something Eve just said caught my attention.

“What is this ‘Society’?”

“It refers to the Alchemists’ Society.”

Eve explained.

“The Adventurers’ Guild is called ‘the Guild,’ the Alchemists’ Society is ‘the Society,’ and the Merchants’ Association is ‘the Association.’ That’s how they’re usually abbreviated.”

They all mean essentially the same thing, but somehow their official names don’t overlap.

“Could you explain more about the Magic Tower and the Society?”

I decided to ask about the two places I still didn’t know about.

“Oh, Kay, can you use magic by any chance?”

“No, I can’t.”

If I could use such things…

I don’t think I could do much anyway.

Since I don’t know what’s possible.

“I’m just curious because my knowledge is limited.”

I genuinely don’t know what kind of organizations they are.

I’m not even sure if the Magic Tower is what I imagine it to be.

Hearing this, Haven thought for a moment before speaking.

“The Society is where alchemists gather to take various association requests, sell medicines or special metals, conduct various experiments… that’s what I’ve heard anyway.”

Haven was silent for a moment, as if searching his memory.

Soon, as if remembering, he began to supplement his explanation.

“And they sell their experimental results to the Magic Tower, I hear.”

“They also present offerings to the kingdom sometimes.”

Experiments, huh.

I think there was some mention of the Society when escaping from that island, when the priests were talking.

The things they used to experiment on this body probably came from that Society.

Anyway, it doesn’t seem like a place where I’d gain any benefit from making contact.

If anything…

“Come to think of it, the Society might have medicine that would be good for Kay’s burns.”

That was Eve’s comment.

They would certainly handle medicine for burns.

“But first, you should go to a church and ask if healing is possible, Kay. With luck, it might be easily cured. If they demand a large donation, then look into medicine from the Alchemists’ Society.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

As Haven is saying now, it would be best to first check if healing magic can fix it, but if there are only churches like the Emiris Order, contact might be difficult.

If I’m thinking about fixing my face, I should consider meeting an alchemist.

“It’s a bit difficult for me to explain the Magic Tower itself in detail.”

That’s what Eve said.

“The Magic Tower only allows entry to magicians.”

“The Academy is for magic apprentices learning magic, so the situation is similar.”

“Without knowing someone inside, they won’t even let you through the entrance.”

It seems like quite a closed-off place.

Or perhaps they’re protecting valuable talents?

“So you don’t really know much about it?”

“Insiders would know best, I suppose.”

Eve said lightly.

Afterwards, it seemed Eve had one more thing to add.

“Hmm… the Magic Tower itself claims to be a neutral organization.”

“A neutral organization?”

“Based on the logic that countries and politics are trivial and unnecessary for researching magic. While the Magic Tower is built on Mikea Kingdom land, even if the king makes requests, the Tower Masters don’t listen.”

“Well, since one spell could literally spread disaster, the king can’t act recklessly either.”

Haven supplemented.

In other words, since the Masters are powerful magicians that even the state can’t easily control, they claim neutrality and live freely.

“Still, since it’s where people live, I’d think they can’t completely escape from politics and such.”

When I spoke what came to mind, Eve nodded in agreement.

“That’s true. They do receive money in the name of support funds or development funds for the Academy, individual Masters, or their subordinates.”

Even powerful magicians are weak in the face of money.

Money is truly great.

“Well, with that money, they do various research, accept and handle magic-related requests for payment, and perform various appraisals and such. The Magic Tower, that is.”

“And they have branches in various countries, so magicians in other countries can also research, receive help, or accept requests.”

After saying that much, Eve fell silent for a moment.

It seemed she had no more information to share.

“That’s about all I know about the Magic Tower.”

Haven also nodded at Eve’s explanation.

He too seemed to know only that much.

And after a moment, Haven spoke again.

“In fact, you could say the kingdom runs because of the Adventurers’ Guild, the Merchants’ Association, the Alchemists’ Society, and that Magic Tower.”

“That’s right. Because those powerful organizations exist, they enjoy some freedom from kingdom interference.”

“But the kingdom benefits from it too. Large organizations like the Guild, Association, and Society gather around the Magic Tower.”

“It’s a country that can’t do whatever it wants because of the Magic Tower, but also benefits greatly from it.”

After saying that, Eve looked at me.

“Anyway, if you’re going to join the Adventurers’ Guild, it’s best to join the one in the Mikea Kingdom.”

“There’s lots of work, and the treatment is better compared to other countries.”

The Magic Tower that even the king can’t control easily.

It seems there are mutual benefits as well.

After their explanation ended, I thought about it.

I organized the thoughts I had earlier.

‘If there’s magic, there might be a way to escape.’

Logically, if there’s a method to summon me here, there should be a way to send me back.

Of course, the place that kidnapped me was the Emiris Order.

The most reliable place to find a method would be that order.

However, I felt that making contact with that order wouldn’t be a good choice.

In that sense, looking into magic was the next best option.

The method that brought me here might not be magic, but it’s probably the most likely possibility?

‘Even if not, there might be another way back.’

Thinking this far, it seemed like exploring such magic would be the best idea.

However, they said that without being a magician, one wouldn’t know much about internal affairs, and I wouldn’t know much about magic either.

‘I can’t become a magician either.’

Anyway, I don’t have any good options right now, and I lack information.

‘I need to ask around places that might know.’

If you don’t know, you have to ask.

It might even be a common method within the Magic Tower.

Methods of handling and moving between dimensions, that is.

Come to think of it, Eve had recommended becoming an adventurer because it would allow me to build various connections.

It seems difficult for me to find a way to contact a magician from the Magic Tower right now.

If I become an adventurer, wouldn’t there be at least a small chance of forming connections with magicians from the Magic Tower?

‘I need to figure out how to make a living first.’

There are immediate practical issues too.

I organized the tasks I needed to do in my head.

After organizing, my goal became clear.

‘Find a way to escape this world.’

I walked toward the Mikea Kingdom, casually responding to the conversations around me.