The New Gate

Book 20: Chapter 1 (3)

“Since we are meeting in person like this, we have no choice but to report it to the kingdom.” 

Barlux said in a way that somewhat implicitly told them not to be straightforward and not just go to the royal castle.

“…It’s not like I’m being summoned, right?”

“That’s right. I was told to contact them, but I was never told to keep you in custody until the princess came, or to give you the orders to come to the castle. Even if they did, I wouldn’t obey them unless you’re a criminal. The Adventurers’ Guild is not a subordinate organization of the country. Of course, as long as we are active in this country, there is no doubt that we are in a cooperative relationship and willing to be flexible. But in a case like this, it is up to you to decide what to do. Well, if you haven’t committed a crime, you’re usually willing to go. I can’t say there isn’t a chance that, perhaps, if you asked, they would let you read the documents on the spot.”

It would be a problem for the guild to lose talented people, but their lives would be more stable if they served the country. Barlux said many adventurers would be tempted to leave the guild and work with the government, considering their future prospects.

Gadras, the leader of the knights in Bayreuth Kingdom, was also a former adventurer. 

However, in this world, neither was the correct answer.

If one served a country, they would have to take the lead in fighting when a crisis approached their country. There were battles with monsters and wars between people. When the time came, one would have to fight for their country even if they knew they would die.

“Right now, I have no intention of serving the country, so I’ll just hide and get by. The documents are expected to arrive tomorrow anyway.”

If he were to use 【Hiding】, he could stay undetected. Since he had no intention of staying here too long, he shouldn’t get involved. If the documents were not loaned to the guild, he might have gone to the royal castle and negotiated with them.

“Hahaha, I knew you would say that. When I heard the story in Balmel, I thought that you were heading to the aid as a subordinate of Lady Rionne, but your movements after that were clearly different from those of a man serving his country.”

A soldier from the Bayreuth Kingdom would never go to the trouble of surveying the sea of a faraway place.

Barlux, being a guild master, seemed to have a detailed grasp of this information, and Shin and the others were listening to the report with half question and half curiosity.

“Actually, your name has spread quite a lot among Adventurer Guilds. It is rare to find someone who can work on the sea as well as on land. In fact, we have received requests for your services from the Adventurer Guilds of sea-facing cities and merchant associations engaged in the shipping business.”

Barlux then took out a small bell and rang it twice.

A moment later, there was a knock at the door, and Celica’s twin sister, Cilica, brought a list of nomination requests addressed to Shin.

Many adventurers did not stay in one place, and it seemed that the requests were sent to all guilds.

As Shin flipped through the list, he saw a few familiar names.

“That old man didn’t give up, did he?”

Shin smiled, remembering the dwarf who had snorted when he saw the ship Shin took out from the item box in Barbatos.

There were a few other requests here and there, such as oceanographic surveys and escorts for transport ships, and some of them – though not quite on par with the Golden Company – were big enough to be called major.

The contents were, as one might expect, related to the sea.

The fact that they had entered those waters and returned without a scratch, even if it was to search for the 2nd Assault Ship Celciutos, Cook’s guild house, was apparently quite appealing to those working in the shipping industry.

“I would take it if I had free time, but it’s not possible right now. I don’t know when I’ll be free, so please let me decline.”

“I see. I have a suggestion, how about refusing only those jobs that are close to the deadline? We don’t want you to forget that you have a nomination request when you are free in the future.”

There were two types of requests: those that were as urgent as possible and those that could be done at any time within a certain period.

It seemed that refusing to accept anything immediately could damage one’s reputation. Of course, there were parties that didn’t accept nomination requests at all, but they were not viewed favorably.

While Shin didn’t care much about his reputation as an adventurer, there was no need to go out of his way to damage it.

With Barlux’s advice, “That reputation can help you,” he decided to hold off on responding to the request, which had a deadline to meet, and would consider whether or not to accept it later. Although he believed that personalities were the most important thing, reputations were not to be underestimated either.

Shin and his party left the guild after making a promise to meet Barlux tomorrow at 2 p.m. If they had not had their watches with them, the appointment would have been more vague.

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After leaving the guild, the group headed for Bear Point Pavilion, the inn where Shin was first accommodated in the early days. Due to the trouble of being teleported to Balmel, he didn’t have the chance to say goodbye to the inn. 

They could have left the gate and put up the Moon Shrine, but the next day they would be back in Bayreuth again. It would be somewhat suspicious behavior for those who did not know this. And since it was a good opportunity, he decided to stay at the inn again.

The bustling noise leaked in through the entrance door.

Shin opened the door with a nostalgic feeling.

Bear Point Pavilion was thriving as usual. Perhaps because it was almost dinner time, there were men who looked like adventurers, a group of merchant-like people, and other people who looked like ordinary people at the table.

“Welcome to…Ahh!!”

It was Tsugumi, the daughter of the owner of this inn, who called out to Shin.

Tsugumi, who had been staring at Shin’s face for a moment after greeting him as a waitress, suddenly shouted out loud.

From this reaction, Shin thought she remembered him, but then he reconsidered and thought that Schnee and Tiera were more likely to make an impression on her than him. They had not spent a long time together either.

“Um, it’s been a while. Do you remember me?”

“It’s not been a long time! I heard you went to the castle, but the person you were with suddenly said she didn’t need change and left a bunch of gold Jul coins behind. My whole family was wondering what to do!”

It seemed like she remembered them well. Apparently, the amount of money left on the table far exceeded the cost of the stay.

“I had a little trouble. And she was in a hurry, so it wasn’t that bad. Right, Schnee?”

Schnee must have been a bit distracted because it was right after Shin had been teleported away to Balmel at the time. Though it was better than not having enough.

“Yes, I had to hurry at that time. I apologize for the inconvenience.”

Tsugumi’s momentum was halted when Schnee bowed to her. She noticed that a customer sitting nearby was watching her, so she lowered her volume and continued.

“Ah, no, I’m not complaining. It’s fine because we were trying to make money. It was a bit of an amount that I was reluctant to receive at once. I mean, there’s a limit to how much you can receive. If you all stay the night, you don’t need to pay for half a year.”

“Half a year…”

Shin chuckled as he wondered how much money she had put down. The number of people in the party had doubled compared to that time.

“For now, let’s end this conversation. This time, we’ll stay here like other regular customers, so I’ll pay you normally.”

“No, I don’t need it! You are giving me too much! Here, write down the name of the representative. How will we allocate the rooms? We only have single or double rooms.”

Having said that, Shin felt reluctant to use six single rooms.

“Three double rooms are fine, right?”

When Shin suggested a room for two, she had no objections. 

The rooms were divided into combinations of Shin and Shibaid, Schnee and Tiera, and Filma and Sety. When they stay at the inn, they basically have one room for two men, and the rest of the women are appropriately paired up. Since no one had a particular dislike for anyone, the decision was made easily. 

“Here is the key to your room. What about food? We can have it sent to your room right away.”

“I’ll go down to eat.”

Shin enjoyed eating local food. But he had not been able to enjoy them much because of all the commotion. 

The foods at Bear Point Pavilion were as tasty as ever and different from Schnee’s home-cooked meals. Shin and his party were the center of attention, but no one bothered them, and they were able to rest quietly for the day. 

By the way, Tsugumi excitedly asked Shin how he gathered such a beautiful group of people later.

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