Ch.79Minor Misfortunes and Simple Joys

When we visited the sheriff’s office to report clearing out the Desperado organization and turn in their weapons, the sheriff was arguing with an old woman who had fled there screaming.

The old woman, apparently not expecting us to follow her to the sheriff’s office, hid behind the sheriff with a pale face and demanded that Seti be arrested or shot dead.

The sheriff and I tried to calm her down by showing that Seti was a legitimate adventurer with a Frontier License, but the old woman’s attitude only grew more vicious.

“How can the world come to this! A license for a cat-folk monster girl! She should be hanged immediately!”

Eventually, the commotion ended when guards arrived and escorted away the old woman who had thrown herself on the floor in a fit of rage.

Seti was deeply hurt by the incident, and the rest of us were in a foul mood as well.

Seeming to understand our feelings, the middle-aged sheriff with graying hair shook his head and let out a deep sigh.

“I apologize. That old lady has always been a bit mentally unstable… I hope you can understand.”

“Aren’t you going to throw her in a cell for obstructing official duties?”

“Please cut her some slack. I can’t just throw someone in jail for questioning a sheriff’s judgment, and given her circumstances, if rumors spread that she was arrested for being harsh to a cat-folk, it’s more likely that you folks would face public criticism.”

“Her circumstances… could it be…”

“She lost her husband and son to the cat-folk at the Fourth Riverside Front. Since then, she’s been living half out of her mind for years before becoming an extreme racist who incites other bereaved families.”

The armed conflicts with the Aqua-folk after the establishment of the Fourth Western City occurred multiple times, and in the later stages of those battles, Seti’s tribe, the cat-folk, participated as allies of the Aqua-folk.

There was only one battle between the cat-folk and the pioneers.

Even in that brief encounter, people were injured and killed.

“Well, don’t take it too seriously. Most Riverside residents don’t hate the cat-folk like that old woman does. Anyway, what brings you folks here?”

“Ah, actually, while passing through the forest to the east—”

We explained to the sheriff about the gunfight in the forest and presented the recovered firearms as evidence. The sheriff began comparing our description of the outlaws with the wanted posters hanging on the office wall.

“Hmm… if it was a seven-member Desperado group, it sounds like the Johnstone Family who disappeared near the Sixth Western City.”

“Is there a bounty on them?”

“There’s a total bounty of 8,500 gold, but did you happen to cut off their heads or take photographs?”

“No, we only recovered their guns.”

“In that case, I’m afraid the chances of confirming the kills are very low. Anyway, please submit the firearms. You’ll receive a reward of 50 gold per gun for recovering lost weapons.”

“Disappointing, but can’t be helped.”

So the substantial sum of 8,500 gold has vanished into thin air.

Since we might encounter outlaws or Desperados in the future, I should buy some basilisk poison or a camera in Riverside.

Although we had the misfortune of meeting a cat-folk hater and missing out on a large bounty as soon as we entered the city, there was also some good news.

“License promotion?”

“Yes. Jessica Walter, William J. Kim, and Elem Lu Seti—the three of you are virtually guaranteed promotions unless the review of your survey report comes back negative.”

When we visited the Pioneer Project branch building to submit our ancient ruins survey data, a bespectacled beautiful receptionist delivered the news of our pending promotions.

“The review of your survey data will take about two days, so if possible, we’d like you to stay in Riverside until tomorrow.”

“Is there any penalty if we leave Riverside before then?”

“No, there’s no penalty. However, the Riverside Adventurers’ Guild currently has a quest requesting adventurers with License Class C or higher, so if you, Ms. Jessica Walter, get promoted, you’ll be able to accept that quest.”

“What kind of quest is it?”

“I’m not sure. The details will be explained directly by the client to adventurers who respond to the recruitment.”

“Hmm…”

A request requiring Frontier License Class C or higher without disclosing specific details.

It’s not as suspicious as the Dungeon of Disease and Demons, but something smells fishy.

“If it requires Class C or higher, then only Jessica would be eligible to respond.”

“Well, class-specific quests sometimes require all party members to meet the qualification, or sometimes it’s fine as long as at least one person in the party qualifies. We can’t say for sure without checking.”

“Well, we can confirm that after the promotion actually happens. Anyway, we’re done here for today, so next…”

“Let’s go eat lunch! I barely ate breakfast because I was saving room for something delicious in the city.”

“Actually, I did the same.”

“I was thinking about finding lodging, but I guess we’d better eat first before Seti and Mina collapse from hunger.”

After saying goodbye to the staff at the reception desk, we left the Pioneer Project branch building and stopped at a suitable restaurant to order lunch.

While waiting for our food, Jessica explained the benefits associated with different license grades.

Grade F signifies initial registration as an adult citizen and comes with a support fund of 200 gold and a high-quality leather wallet.

Basically, only legal citizens with Grade F licenses can own houses within city districts.

Grade E is the starting grade for graduates of mage education programs and is also a requirement for accessing magic-related facilities in libraries operated by the Pioneer Project branch or academies.

In other words, a mage demoted from Grade E to F loses access to city facilities for editing grimoires or improving staffs.

For those running businesses, certain industries require at least an E-grade license to open shop.

From Grade D, one gains the right to build and own private housing outside city districts, making it more significant for people in regular occupations than for adventurers.

This means the shack in the forest where we had the gunfight with the Desperados was owned by a legal citizen with Grade D or higher.

When an adventurer with Grade C becomes a party leader, they gain the authority to register their party as a “Guild-certified Party.”

Guild-certified parties not only receive preferential rates for material purchases and request fees but also gain access to exclusive requests. They also receive priority participation rights in large-scale survey activities organized by the New Continent Pioneer Project Headquarters, increasing opportunities to build reputation and contributions.

Even for non-adventurer pioneers, there are benefits such as tax reductions and loan interest discounts. Additionally, reaching certain positions in public office requires possession of a Grade C or higher license.

“From Grade B and above, benefits become too detailed to summarize easily, varying by profession and career. For example, mages qualify to work as instructors at academies, while merchants gain the right to establish businesses on the main streets of newly built western cities.”

“That sounds like upper class. By the way, if Jessica becomes Grade C, are we planning to register our party as guild-certified?”

“I need to think about it. While there are advantages to official registration, it also creates an obligation to accept designated requests.”

“Designated requests?”

“When someone specifically requests our party for a job. The Adventurers’ Guild reviews whether the content and compensation are appropriate, but if it passes their review, we can’t arbitrarily refuse the request even if we don’t like the client or the content.”

“What happens if we refuse?”

“The evaluation of the entire party decreases, eventually leading to demotion. Of course, considering the possibility that there might be issues the guild didn’t catch, the party leader is given a chance to argue their case.”

Refusing a designated request transmitted through the guild without a convincing reason leads to a reputation decline for the entire party.

In other words, situations may arise where fulfilling designated requests takes priority over the party’s action plans or goals.

For example, what if an irrefusable designated request comes in just as you’re about to compete for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in a newly discovered dungeon?

Considering that the biggest reason adventurers travel west is for the chance at striking it rich, the existence of designated requests could become an obstacle that trips them up at unexpected times.

In fact, because of this perception, less than 30% of existing adventurers with Grade C or higher are registered as guild-certified.

“That’s definitely something to think carefully about.”

“Yes. Our party consists of members from diverse backgrounds and races. Even if the guild deems a request appropriate, it might be difficult for some of us to accept.”

“Like infiltrating a black market wearing a short skirt that exposes bare legs?”

“Heh, if they approved such a designated request knowing we have a female elf member, we’d have to question the competence of the Adventurers’ Guild.”

“Three grilled fish and two fish cutlets, here you go~”

Our food arrived while we were discussing whether to register as a certified party.

“Wow! This is much more generous than I expected!”

“This is my first time having fried fish. It looks delicious.”

Mina and Seti’s interests had already shifted from guild-certified parties to the golden-brown fish cutlets.

“Let’s put the party registration discussion on hold and eat first. We don’t have to register immediately after becoming Grade C anyway.”

“OK, after we eat, let’s find lodging and then discuss our future plans.”

There’s plenty to do and see in this city.

As they say, the secret to a successful life is to eat good food and stay energized, so let’s first fill our stomachs with delicious food and then enjoy everything the city of Riverside has to offer.