Volume 2 Chapter 5 Adventurer's Guild
Next, Al arrived at the Adventurer's Guild. The building was a large 2-story stone structure, surrounded by many taverns. Inside, it was quite spacious, with a long counter at the front where about 20 staff members, both men and women, were busy with reception and office work. Since it was just before noon, there weren't many adventurers looking for work. Looking around, Al noticed several wooden boards hanging from the walls on both sides, each about the size of a palm, displaying job postings just like the ones at the capital's Adventurer's Guild.
Al glanced at a larger wooden board hanging prominently near the entrance. It was nailed down, indicating it was a permanent request. It listed a reward of 3 silver coins for each goblin defeated and 7 silver coins for each lizardman. Next to it, there was also a note saying that a complete lizardman's gill part was worth 5 silver coins. In the capital, the reward for goblin hunting was one silver coin, and for lizardmen, it was 3 silver coins, which was more than double the amount here. Al thought it made sense that spellbooks could sell for a higher price when he heard someone approaching from behind.
"Hey, Al! How's it going?"
It was Barbara. Although she had a sword at her waist, she wasn't wearing armor today. Instead, she was dressed in a practical outfit similar to what a man would wear, making it easy to move around. Her voice was loud and echoed around, but the staff and other adventurers seemed used to her volume and didn't pay much attention.
"Ms. Barbara, hello! I just came to register for some work. I heard the rewards for defeating barbarians and magic beasts were high, but this is completely different!"
"Ah, that's right. For adventurers who take on monster hunting jobs, it's a helpful story. But you know, in other places, the rule is to take the monster parts and bury them afterward. Here, though, you have to carry the corpses to the processing facility near the city entrance to get your reward, so be careful."
Al was even more surprised. Carrying a corpse is quite a hassle. It's one thing if it's a goblin's corpse, but a lizardman is about the same size as an adult human male. It's not something you can easily carry. Why is it like this...?
"When this city was first built, it seems there were many people who just tossed the corpses into the big river flowing to the south. Then, lizardmen started to appear in large numbers, and it became a big problem. Since then, this rule has been in place. If you're doing monster hunting jobs, it's good to hire a cart or porters near the south or west gates in the morning. There are also people pulling hand carts. Everyone hates carrying the corpses. Especially goblins; they're the worst. The smell doesn't go away for days. Ugh, no thanks."
Barbara seemed to understand Al's question. She answered ahead of him. I see, if that's the case, the Carrier spell might be useful. He can understand why the shopkeeper recommended it.
"There are also frontier villages around this city, right? Are there hunting jobs there too?"
According to the request board, there seemed to be several frontier villages even further south than the border city of Lester.
"No, if it's near the village, you don't have to bring it back to the city. You can take it to the village, and they'll pick it up and pay you the reward. However, it will be a bit cheaper than in Lester."
"Thank you very much. I'll be careful. There aren't any jobs related to ruins, right?"
Al's question made Barbara tilt her head.
"Ruins, huh... I've heard that small ruins are sometimes found, but I've never heard of it being a job. I think if someone finds one, they probably keep it a secret and investigate it with their own people."
"That makes sense. For now, I'll register at the reception and look for work while I search."
"Yeah, I think that's a good idea. Good luck!"
Barbara waved her hand as she left the adventurer guild. After watching her go, Al approached one of the empty counters. There, an older woman was sitting with a friendly smile.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Al. I just moved here, so I'd like to register. I have about 3 years of scout experience at the capital's adventurer guild. Here's my letter of introduction, and this is my registration tag from the capital."
The woman took the rolled-up parchment and the tag that Al offered and began to check them. She nodded lightly.
"Nice to meet you. Thank you for being so polite. Mr. Al, your full name is Alfred. It seems you were quite trusted in the capital. I'll hold onto this letter for about a week and return it to you. It says here you can use magic, but would you like to register as a magician? Or as a scout?"
"For now, I'd like to register as a scout until I get settled in."
The Adventurer's Guild isn't just for warriors or scouts; it also connects people to jobs like retail workers, restaurant staff, carriers, and construction workers. It has a lot of elements like a job placement agency. While commercial guilds and craft guilds protect the interests of their members, the Adventurer's Guild focuses on protecting the interests of registered workers. Al registered mainly to have someone to mediate if problems came up. Of course, if they remember his name, he might get jobs prioritized for him.
"I understand. Can you start working right away?"
"Yes. But there might be sudden tasks for about a week, so please no long-term or overnight jobs."
"Got it. My name is Quinta. If you need anything, feel free to ask. I heard you talking with Barbara earlier. Are you two acquaintances?"
The receptionist, who introduced herself as Quinta, stared at Al's face while asking. He smiled lightly.
"I met her on the way here."
On the way here, huh... She murmured that and seemed to think for a moment, but then it looked like she came up with something.
"Is it about the Bloody Bandit Gang? Oh, it's fine. I know all about it, so you don't have to hide anything."
Al wonder how much people know about the story of Naresh, the lord's second son, being attacked by the Bloody Bandit Gang. Is she trying to trick me, or...? Al thought it was best to play dumb and smiled again.
"I don't know the details, but I helped a little."
Seeing this, Quinta gave a slight wry smile but quickly changed her expression to a bright smile.
"Well, being careful is a good thing. I understand. I'll ask Barbara about it. Sorry, but there aren't any good jobs right now. There are always requests to hunt down the barbarians, and there are regular jobs too, so you should check the wooden boards on the wall. You know how it works since it's the same as in the capital, right? If you're short on money, I can get you a job at the processing plant. Want to give it a try?"
"The processing plant sounds really tough."
Quinta looked a bit disappointed to realize that Al seemed to know about the processing plant. If Al hadn't asked Barbara, he might have taken the job for the money.
"Yeah, it's an important job where we turn goblin corpses and other useless stuff into feed for livestock or fertilizer. But it smells terrible. Still, it's a safe job with regular pay. It's a good job, really."
She emphasized that it was a good job. It seemed like they were really short on people.
"I guess that means there are a lot of improvements needed. I'll ask again when I'm really in need of money. For now, I'll just check the wooden boards..."
Quinta chuckled at Al's reaction.
"Got it. I think the same way. If you ever need money, just let me know. Well then, adventurer Al, welcome to Lester. Nice to meet you."
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