Ch.7Chapter 7 – Meeting the Branch Manager of the Black Feather Information Broker Organization (3)

Obtaining information about how to reach Glesius Academy from the Sky Wind Tavern was an incredible gain.

According to the tavern keeper, this village was called Oak Village.

It was a three-day walk to the city of Belsalem, which was a necessary stop on the way to Glesius Academy.

Looking at the note the tavern keeper had given me, there were about five days left until the next caravan departed.

If I missed this caravan, I would have to wait for the next one.

The merchant group that arrived in Belsalem traveled to Glesius Academy once every two weeks.

A week could be 10 days or a month, but based on the information in the tavern keeper’s note, two weeks was roughly 14-15 days.

So one week was calculated to be about 7 days.

The fact that this world also used the concept of weeks suggested that their time and date concepts weren’t much different from Earth’s.

Anyway, to get from Oak Village to Belsalem, I would need to walk for three days and nights.

‘Can I safely travel to Belsalem alone?’

After thinking about whether I could safely travel to Belsalem by myself, I concluded that I couldn’t.

This village was about a three-day walk from a city large enough for merchants who supplied goods to the Academy to visit.

So why would such a village need to be surrounded by a thick wooden palisade for protection?

It was likely that dangerous monsters lived near this village, or there might be bandits who specialized in raiding villages.

So the conclusion I came to was…

“Um, excuse me.”

“What is it this time?”

I decided to return to the Sky Wind Tavern to get information about where I could hire mercenaries in this village.

No matter how much I thought about it, with my knowledge, getting information here was the only solution I could come up with.

“Is there anywhere in this village where I can hire mercenaries?”

“…Mercenaries, you say.”

The tavern keeper showed a troubled expression at my question and hesitated to answer.

Perhaps it was difficult for him to tell me without some compensation?

If that was the case, I had no choice but to use my secret weapon.

I carefully took out a silver coin from my pocket and placed it on the counter.

“…”

The tavern keeper looked at the silver coin I had placed on the counter, sighed deeply, and picked it up.

“Since I’ve received payment, I should provide the information. There are three inns in Oak Village, and the largest one is a two-story building called the Whirlwind Inn.”

“Are you saying I can hire mercenaries if I go to the Whirlwind Inn?”

I could hire mercenaries at the Whirlwind Inn.

But where exactly was the Whirlwind Inn?

Wait a minute. Wasn’t the inn where I stayed definitely a two-story building?

So I could have hired mercenaries at the inn where I was staying?

Well, this really shows the huge difference between knowing and not knowing information.

“That’s right. The Whirlwind Inn has mercenaries staying long-term looking for work. They’re there precisely for people like you who need escorts for long journeys alone.”

“I see.”

How much would it cost to hire a mercenary? The daily rate for staying at the inn was about ten copper coins, so would two silver coins be enough to hire a mercenary?

“Thank you for the information. Who should I speak to at the inn to hire a mercenary?”

“At the Whirlwind Inn, there will be female staff. Look for one with freckles and slightly dull blonde hair, and tell her this: say you came on Justin of the Black Feather’s recommendation.”

The tavern keeper was surprisingly sweet despite his appearance.

He was even using his connections to help someone like me easily find a mercenary.

“I understand. Justin of the Black Feather. I’ll remember that.”

“What is your name, sir?”

Just as I was about to go find a mercenary, the tavern keeper, Justin, asked for my name.

Why was he suddenly asking for my name? Then I realized we hadn’t even properly introduced ourselves.

Ugh. They say when people meet, the first thing they should do is exchange names as a courtesy, but I had been impolite from the beginning.

But what name should I give?

My name from Earth?

Or a name I would use in this world?

But was there really a reason to agonize over which one to choose?

The me who lived on Earth was dead, and now this world was my home.

So it would be right to use a name that would allow me to remember that I came from Earth, while also fitting in with this world.

Then what name would suit me well?

The name my parents gave me on Earth was Park Dongsik.

The pronunciation was a bit strange, but it used the character for “rainbow” (蝀) and the character for “adorn” (飾), meaning “to adorn with a rainbow.”

Park Dongsik, Park Dongsik, Park Dongsi, Park Dosi, Batosi, Patosi, Patos, Patos? Patos?

Patos? That sounds like a good name? Alright, from today my name is Patos.

“Patos. My name is Patos.”

“Patos, eh? I’ll remember that name. Well then, take care on your way back.”

With Justin’s polite farewell, I was able to leave the Sky Wind Tavern.

‘By the way, Justin. Black Feather? That sounds familiar somehow.’

Well, I’d probably find out later. For now, I needed to go to the Whirlwind Inn and hire a mercenary.

After all, my current goal was to head to Glesius Academy.

◈◇◈◇◈◇◈◇◈◇◈

Justin, the branch manager of the Black Feather Belsalem branch.

He ended up meeting again, within just a few minutes, someone he thought he would never see again.

“Um, excuse me.”

“What is it this time?”

When the unidentifiable expert who had only extracted information from him without giving any in return appeared again at his hideout, Justin’s words came out rather curtly.

Fortunately, however, the mysterious expert didn’t take issue with this.

Realizing this belatedly, Justin had to breathe a sigh of relief.

If that being, who had directly withstood his intimidation, had taken offense at his tone just now, something terrible might have happened.

So he was grateful that the unidentifiable expert who had opened the door to his hideout didn’t make an issue of his tone, and he stared intently at the man’s mouth, waiting to hear what he would say.

“Is there anywhere in this village where I can hire mercenaries?”

“…Mercenaries, you say.”

Justin was secretly impressed by the question about where to hire mercenaries.

Someone skilled enough to withstand his intimidation could probably subdue an entire bandit group with a single strike, not just a lone bandit.

Seeing him pretend to be weak as if it were true, Justin thought that only those who maintain their facade even after their act has been discovered can truly be called masters.

Of course, this was Justin’s clear misunderstanding.

However, thanks to that misunderstanding, things began to flow in a positive direction for Park Dongsik, the person from Earth.

When Park Dongsik offered a silver coin, his misunderstanding deepened even further.

‘A silver coin as payment for obtaining information. Seeing that he pays for information, pretending to be weak must indeed be an eccentricity commonly seen among the strong.’

For Park Dongsik, it was just a gesture of courtesy because he felt bad about getting information about Glesius Academy for free, but Justin interpreted it differently.

Justin had no desire to antagonize a strong person who had overcome his intimidation, and since he had received payment for the information, he intended to tell him what he wanted to know.

After providing information about where to hire mercenaries, Justin decided to place a small debt on Park Dongsik.

He told him to mention his affiliation and name when hiring mercenaries.

Since everyone in this village knew him, this would allow the man to hire mercenaries at a lower cost.

It was an action taken by Justin, who knew well that placing a debt, big or small, on a strong person would later return as a great benefit.

“I understand. Justin of the Black Feather. I’ll remember that.”

“What is your name, sir?”

All that remained was to learn the name of this strong person.

“Patos. My name is Patos.”

“Patos, eh? I’ll remember that name. Well then, take care on your way back.”

When Park Dongsik gave the name Patos, which he had come up with on the spot, Justin firmly imprinted it in his mind.

A man who had enough skill to overcome his intimidation yet pretended to be weak so convincingly that even he was fooled.

His name, Patos.

Pleased with having learned the name of this new, unidentifiable strong person, Justin pushed aside a liquor cabinet.

This revealed a secret space filled with cages containing carrier pigeons.

Justin approached a cage containing a carrier pigeon wearing a necklace labeled “Whirlwind Inn” and took it out.

He then wrote something, tied it to the pigeon’s leg, and released it through the window.

What he had tied to the pigeon’s leg was information about Patos, the man who would be visiting the Whirlwind Inn.

The carrier pigeon immediately flew to the Whirlwind Inn and perched on a second-floor window.

A woman standing near the window untied the note from the pigeon’s leg and checked its contents.

“Message received. You may return.”

After confirming the contents of the note, the woman patted the pigeon’s head, and it flew back to the Sky Wind Tavern.

On the woman’s lips, as she watched the pigeon fly away through the window, was a smile of anticipation.