Chapter 257
「It’s finally come, it seems . 」
It had been a few days since the events with Axe of the Thunder God . Rei murmured to himself after seeing the new request on the guild board .
The request was for the recruitment of mercenaries for the war . The war with the Bestir Empire hand’t started yet, but no one was surprised as they all understood that it was only a matter of time before the war began .
E rank adventurers or lower were not permitted to take the request and the basic daily payment was 1 silver coin . If you had a higher rank, past achievements or some sort of special ability, additional rewards would be given .
In addition, their employer, Margrave Rowlocks in this case, would take care of everything including clothing, food and shelter during the request period . Military blacksmiths would take care of weapon maintenance and repairs . As a result, the 1 silver coin earned was basically 1 silver coin of profit .
However, the amount of alcohol distributed at meals was only a few cups and the food was ordinary . If you wanted to eat or drink any more, you would have to pay for it .
The adventurers around Rei were also discussing whether or not to accept the request .
「Hey, what do you plan to do? There were rumors that the war would start after winter……」
「I will join . Can you stand the Kingdom being trampled over by those guys from the Empire! With the rewards being that great, I’ll do everything I can . 」
「Well, what should I do? Aside from monsters, I don’t really like killing people . 」
「……My rank isn’t high enough, so I’m automatically rejected . 」
「Why not E ranks! I’m confident that I can beat a D rank adventurer with my skill . 」
「I’ll stay behind . I can’t let the city’s protection be weakened if everyone leaves for the war . 」
「With my arrows, I’ll put a hole into the heads of those Empire invaders . Their heads will become more ventilated after I knock out their brains . 」
As Rei listened to those adventurers talk between their friends and party members, he suddenly felt a pull on his Dragon Robe and turned to take a look .
Turning around, Rei saw Kenny, the guild’s catkin receptionist .
But, instead of her usual curious eyes, she looked somewhat anxious .
「What’s wrong?」
「Rei-kun, you have a nominated request . That is, about this war . 」
「……I see . 」
As for Rei, he had been expecting a nominated request as his ability was much higher than his rank . Rather, even if he hadn’t received a nominated request, having a score to settle with the Bestir Empire, he would have taken up the request anyway .
(Elena should also be participating as a leader of the nobles . And……)
The next thing that passed through his mind was a murderer who found pleasure in killing people . A traitor who revealed his true nature at the very end while serving as one of Elena’s bodyguards .
(Vel Sails……I’m the reason why we couldn’t finish him off . This time, his head……)
「Rei-kun?」
「No, it’s nothing . A nominated request you said?」
Looking at Rei with a somewhat worried expression, Kenny replied as per her duties as a guild employee .
「Yes . You have a nominated request from Margrave Rowlocks . He’d like you to go to the Lord’s residence to receive it……what will you do?」
You shouldn’t accept it if you don’t need to . Kenny spoke with such an expression . But Rei nodded with determined eyes even though he understood her concern .
「No problem . Of course I’ll accept . 」
「……Are you sure? This is a request for the war, isn’t it? Unlike before, you’ll be dealing with people instead of monsters you know?」
「Ah, I know . But, I’ve killed bandits before . I’m not going to say I can’t kill others because they’re also people . In the first place, if you can’t deal with that, you shouldn’t become and adventurer in the first place . 」
In fact, Rei had killed many people since coming to Elgin . Of course, he didn’t love to kill people, unlike Vel, who had the habit of taking pleasure in murder . However, he was the one who chose to be an adventurer in the first place . The world wasn’t such a kind place that he could survive by showing kindness and compassion to those who fought against him……the frontier wasn’t such a wonderful place .
「Is that so . I understand, I will let the Lord’s residence know……when do you plan to go to hear out the request?」
「I’m fine anytime . I can go whenever it’s convenient for you . 」
「Then, you can head there now . 」
「……Are you serious?」
As the other party was a noble and the lord of this region, Rei had thought that it would take a few days to before he could get a face to face meeting . Kenny’s words surprised him .
「Ahahaha . It’s the first time I’ve seen Rei-kun have that expression . But the other party requested you to hurry as fast as you could . Well, I can guess why . 」
「My item box, right?」
「Yes . Correct . 」
Kenny’s words weren’t to surprising for Rei . Especially in this case, he knew that the Mireana Kindgom would be in a full scale war, so naturally no one cared about factions anymore . No, rather, if they were still concerned about factions, it would be impossible for them to win against the Bestir Empire .
Rei judged the situation to be so, knowing about the Bestir Empire’s Demon Soldiers and magic items they could create from alchemy .
However, while that was true, it was also not true . As the saying went, seeing is believing, many people who hadn’t seen the power of the Bestir Empire didn’t believe the reports and considered it to all be nonsense .
「This time, a lot of power will come from the Neutral faction as well . Many adventurers in Gilm have taken up this request . Naturally……」
「They’ll need food, spare weapons, tents for the night and all sorts of other supplies . 」
「Correct . And, of course, the number of carriages required to carry the supplies will increase . But, if there is an item box……」
「There is no need to worry about the transportation of goods . And finally, the speed at which they can leave the city will also increase greatly . 」
「That’s the way it is . Depending on whether or not Rei-kun accepts the nominated request, the speed at which troops can depart the city will change considerably, so it’s natural to sort that out as soon as possible . Besides, if Rei-kun accepts the reqeust, they won’t have to worry about the quality and quantity of supplies . 」
「I guess . ……I understand . Then I’ll head for the Lord’s residence . 」
「Yes, please . ……Rei-kun . 」
Kenny called out to Rei again as he turned around was about to leave the guild .
「……Don’t die, okay?」
「Ah, leave it to me . Regardless, I’m the adventurer who reached C rank in the fastest period of time since I registered with the guild right? And that was in Gilm . Besides, I also have Set . I’m not planning to get caught out, so I won’t die so easily . 」
Rei responded to Kenny in a light tone .
In actual fact, he would likely have to fight Demon Soliders, who could be considered the Empire’s trump card . And with magic items made from the Empire’s high level of alchemy, there was no situation where he was defintely safe . However, he didn’t want Kenny to worry any more than she already was .
「That’s true . Yes . Rei-kun will be fine . Rei-kun’s strength is unfair after all . 」
「When you say that, I can’t really agree completely……well, don’t worry, I’ll be back soon after the war . And even if I do go to war, there’s still some time . If you’re so worried now, your body won’t be able to hold up later . 」
Rei walked out of the guild with a smile as he said that to Kenny, who waved her arms at him as she pretended to be angry .
「I’m Rei, a C rank adventurer . I would like to meet with Daska-sama regarding a nominated request . 」
「Ah, I heard about that . Wait a moment . 」
Perhaps the guild had already contacted them, when Rei called out to the gatekeeper in front of the Lord’s residence, he was immediately allowed in .
As Rei watched the gatekeeper leave, the other gatekeeper, who had already become familiar with Rei, called out to him .
「Have you come this time regarding the war?」
「They seem to have given me a nominated request . 」
「Ah, your item box . 」
The gatekeeper understood what kind of request it was without Rei needing to say any more .
「……You know about this quite well . 」
「Why do I know that? I’ve heard many of the knights from logistics fervently appealing to Daska-sama about it . 」
「To go that far……」
「Gururu~?」
Hearing Rei’s words, Set tilted his head slightly to ask what was wrong .
「No, the more supplies they have, the slower their travel . It’s not like moving with just you and me Set . 」
It would take about half a day to get to Abuero, the nearest city, by carriage . And, it would take more than a day to get from Abuero to Sabrusta . If the supply wagons had to travel with the infantry, the travel time would only increase and not decrease .
As Rei and Set talked with the gatekeeper, the one that had left earlier returned .
「Daska-sama will meet with you . The maid will guide you . 」
「I understand . Set, same as usual . 」
「Guru~」
At Rei’s words, Set gave a cry before heading for the stables in the Lord’s residence .
After seeing Set leave, Rei was guided through the Lord’s residence by the maid and evenutally arrived at a door that looked like a piece of art .
(This door feels overwhelming every time I see it . )
As he thought about that, the maid knocked on the familiar door .
「Master, I’ve brought Rei-sama . 」
「Ah, come in . 」
Hearing the reply, the maid turned to look at Rei .
Asking if he was ready with her eyes, Rei replied with a small nod .
With that, the door was opened……
「Oh! Thank you very much for coming Rei!」
Daska Rowlocks, the lord of this region and a central figure in the Neutral faction, Margrave Rowlocks, welcomed Rei with a bright smile as he stopped reading the papers on his desk .
(As usual, he doesn’t look like a lord . )
Looking at Daska’s strict face, Rei thought that to himself, but he didn’t reveal his thoughts as he bowed his head .
「Daska-sama, long time no see . I heard that you have a nominated request for me . 」
「Ah . I’ll tell you more about it, so take a seat for now . Hey, bring me something to drink and some light snacks . And call Keo . 」
「Yes, right away . 」
The maid who had brought Rei here gave a bow before leaving .
As he heard the sound of the door closing, Rei also gave a light bow before sitting down .
「So, I’ve heard that the nominateed requested was about transporting things using my item box . Is that correct?」
「That’s right . The only way to carry supplies is to use carriages, which takes too much time . We haven’t decided how many adventurers we’ll hire, but if we add in the soldiers and knights we will dispatch, the amount of supplies needed will be quite large . If you pack the carriages into your item box, it should be a lot easier to move around . 」
「……My item box can’t store living things, so what about the horses?」
「It’s nothing to move then as they will be carrying my men . Ah, in this case, I’m refering to general soldiers and not knights . The knights all have their horses and servants . 」
「I see . In that case, they’ll be able to reserve their physical strength to some extent and will also be able to move faster . 」
Of course, not everyone leaving Gilm will be able to ride a horse, so their speed will have to match the infantry . However, if you look at it as a whole, their speed should definitely increase .
「That’s that . Then there’s Keo……we’ll have a detailed discussion after the person in charge of this supply plan arrives, but there’s a possiblity that you won’t just be carrying military supplies . Please be aware that you may also have to carry supplies for nobles belonging to the Neutral faction and possibly the Noble and Royal factions as well . 」
「……The other factions as well?」
Rei’s eyes widened unconciously at Daska’s unexpected words .
Despite the power struggles, they would still assist with the hard work .
Perhaps he read Rei’s question from his expression, Daska held a bitter look but noddedly silently without withdrawing his previous statement .
「That’s right . This war, the Bestir Empire will likely be pouring in considerable strength . In this situation, if we still have faction infighting, the disadvantageous situation would become even more disadvantageous . In that situation, the least influential of the factions, the Neutrals, will have to act as a go between for the Noble and Royal factions and do something about it . ……All for the Mireana Kingdom to survive . 」
It was a decision Daska had made after seeing Gilm, the place he governed, be the location of several attempts of the Bestir Empire to cause trouble . He had a sense that this war would be different from the past ones .