Volume 6 Chapter 15 Reward
After the frontier expedition, there were no major issues. Although it was a few days late, the Barbarian village was cleared, and a campsite with fences and watchtowers was established for a new settlement, marking it as a success. On the way back, Naresh was celebrated as a hero by the knights of the Viscount Lester family, even though he was young.
The day after returning, Al received a call in the evening from the head of the Levy merchant guild. While he was cleaning his tools, he went to the guild and was taken to the reception room, where he met the guild leader and his daughter, Ruella.
"Al, sorry for calling you out of the blue."
As he entered the room with a bow, Guildmaster Levy gestured for Al to take a seat across from him.
"I received a message from Lord Radyard. It's about the job you're working on. Sir Naresh and Lord Radyard suddenly have to go to the border city of Parker, and I've been told to pause the work for now. Normally, Lord Radyard, as the employer, should contact you properly, but it seems this is a really urgent matter. I got the message through my intermediary. This is a letter from Sir Naresh."
Yesterday, Al said goodbye to Naresh, who plans to stay in the border city of Lester for about a week before returning to the capital, Rain. It was scheduled to have tea with Patricia in the morning and a meeting about the Goblin Slaughter battle in the afternoon.
Al received a letter that contained an apology for not explaining things well and a note saying he had to go to the border city of Parker instead. He learned this from his father after returning from an expedition, and it seems he will leave early this morning with Lord Radyard and others. Al is curious about why the plans changed so suddenly.
"Um, has Guildmaster Levy heard anything?"
Al has other things he wants to do, so he wouldn't be troubled if he didn't have work, but going to the border city of Parker probably has something to do with the Tempest Kingdom.
"It seems they have officially decided to accept the people from the Tempest Kingdom who have taken refuge in the border city of Parker. Most of the refugees are related to Count Senety. So, Sir Naresh is likely going to comfort them. A few days ago, Viscount Lester received a message about this."
Al tilted his head, confused at first. Count Senet was the noble who had territory connected to the Margrave Rain area, which included the border city of Lester under the Tempest Kingdom. As Al thought about it, he realized something. Right, Naresh's mother is Count Senet's daughter. This means that while Naresh doesn't have the blood of the Tempest royal family like Patricia, he is still a grandson of Count Senet.
"Does officially accepting this mean war with the Tempest Kingdom?"
Al asked a bit too quickly. Normally, movement of people between countries is restricted, except for trade and other exchanges. Accepting this could lead to war. Guildmaster Levy shook his head, looking a bit troubled.
"From what I've heard, the current situation in the Tempest Kingdom doesn't have the strength to oppose this, so it probably won't lead to war. But honestly, I can't be sure. Prices for food and other goods have already started to rise."
If there were a war, Al's father or brother might be called to serve. Maybe he should go see them soon. Speaking of which...
"Um, what about Lady Patricia?"
"About that, they said it's still being kept secret. However, if there are people related to Count Senet among those who have taken refuge in Parker, they might bring them here. Lady Patricia is still 13 years old. It would be reassuring if she has someone she knows."
Al nodded. During the tea party, she had acted as if Al was her only support. If there was someone to help, it might ease her worries a bit.
"Father...?"
Ruella said this and looked at Guildmaster Levy's face. She probably had something to say. Guildmaster Levy lightly murmured, "Ah," and encouraged Ruella to speak.
"Alfred, while you were away on the expedition, I attended Lady Patricia's tea party in your place. I thought about it, and her heart seems quite unstable. With Sir Naresh gone, you won't have a reason to go to the lord's mansion anymore, and I think that's something she can't accept right now."
Al sighed. He had a feeling it was like that. Knight Joanna was faithfully protecting her, but she probably wasn't a friend from the start. She was alone.
"If, like what Father said earlier, there's someone from the Count Senet family that Lady Patricia can trust, I hope they survived. If so, the situation might improve. But if not, it seems like it will be very hard for her to live normally. It might take a year or 2. It might be impossible to do it forever, but Alfred, could you help her?"
Ruella stared at Al. Al also looked into her eyes. In those eyes, he remembered Patricia's round, earnest gaze. Naresh and Patricia were cousins, and as someone who was supposed to marry Naresh, she couldn't just leave Patricia alone. Al thought for a moment.
"I understand. But I have work, so I can't do it every day like before the expedition. Also, there might be times when I have to be away for a long time, like this border expedition. If that's okay..."
Ruella smiled brightly.
"Thank you, Alfred. I'll ask my father to think of something for the day you come..."
Guildmaster Levy exclaimed, "Huh?" but Ruella smiled as if she didn't notice. Seeing this, Guildmaster Levy gave a slight wry smile.
"Okay... How about I pay you one silver coin for your daily wage? But in return, I want you to come dressed properly."
Dressed properly... Does that mean clothes suitable for meeting nobles? Al dones't have such clothes, but if he's getting paid, he has no choice. He nodded reluctantly.
"Now, let me give you your reward for this time. First, the daily wage from the Viscount family is 160 silver coins for 16 days. But since it's a sudden end, I added a little extra, making it 200 silver coins. So that's 2 gold coins. Separately, I have a reward from me. I've heard that thanks to you, Sir Naresh achieved a great feat. I'm feeling generous and giving you 15 gold coins. In total, that's 17 gold coins."
Al happily accepted the leather pouch filled with gold coins. It's still a bit short, but this brings him closer to the 'Fly' spell. He'll count it when he gets home. It might be a good idea to stop by a shop on the way to check if the price has gone down.
"Well then, can you come tomorrow or the day after? Lady Patricia is really worried that Sir Al hasn't returned yet."
When Al was about to go home, Ruella asked. In this era, clothes are either custom-made or second-hand. He wonders if there are any second-hand clothes that would be okay to meet with nobles...
"If this outfit is good enough..."
Guildmaster Levy frowned slightly and shook his head. With this outfit, he probably won't get paid for the day... Ruella next to him looked like she noticed something.
"Hey, Father, can we give some of brother's old clothes to him?"
Ruella had one older brother. Al heard his name was Edmund. He had seen him visit Ruella a few times at the middle school in the capital. He was a tall, lanky young man with the same chestnut hair as Ruella.
"Ah, it might be okay if it's clothes from when he was a kid. You should ask Mother."
"Thank you. Ms. Ruella, that would really help."
Maybe Al won't have to buy clothes after all. He doesn't know how much custom-made clothes cost since he has never bought any, but it seems like it would be quite expensive, so this is a big relief.
"Just wait a moment."
Ruella left the reception room. Seeing Al's carefree smile, Guildmaster Levy murmured to himself, "I see, he must be having a hard time..."
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Donate me
Support Me with USDC
(ERC20)
Support Me with XLM
(Stellar Lumens)