Chapter 9. It Was Procedure.
I decided to stay in Dejong until the rcenary tag was issued.
I couldn't relax, not knowing when the hand chasing Luke Ivers might reach out again, but since a major search had just passed, there was a high probability things would be quiet for a while.
If I could solidify the identity of 'rcenary Ben' during that ti, I couldn't ask for more.
The day after selling the Hond Wolf horn.
I took a deep breath and opened the rcenary Guild door.
“Oh, Green.”
As soon as she saw my face, a rcenary greeted .
This pale-faced woman was one of the rcenaries who had been here yesterday too.
Doesn't this person ever take requests?
Why is she always here?
“Look. I'm not green.”
I flapped my newly bought clothes.
The color was the most important factor when buying the clothes.
Dyes were scarce here, so most clothes were dull yellow or brown.
On top of that, they often had faint green mixed in, which could have further cented the nickna 'Green'.
So I found this bright red armor.
It was overly flashy and expensive, but it was a worthwhile investnt to erase the unfortunate nickna 'Green' acquired from being soaked in goblin blood.
“But you are Green. The Green acknowledged by Thorn Shield, the Guild Master. Be proud of your nickna.”
The woman chuckled and waved her hand.
Damn it. Why Green, of all things?
There's red, black, and many other colors.
Colors that are sowhat aningful and cool.
But Green, definitely not Green.
The grass covering the roads is green, stagnant puddles are green, and flying insects are green.
Most importantly, goblins were green.
“Green. The Guild Master wants to see you.”
A man with a dirty face, sprawled out half-drunk inside the guild, spoke.
“Why?”
My brow furrowed reflexively at the ntion of the Guild Master.
It was the Guild Master who gifted the dishonorable nickna 'Green'.
Why was he calling after doing that?
“How should I know? He just asked to pass the ssage when you ca, so I'm just passing it on.”
The man, mumbling with slurred pronunciation, slumped down limply.
It was impressive he had stayed awake this long in that state.
“Hmm.”
Since the Guild Master seed to like , it was unlikely that calling separately would be bad news.
It could be related to the issuance of the rcenary tag.
“I hope it's sothing that pays well……”
Thanks to buying unnecessarily expensive clothes, my pockets were worse off than before I took the request.
It wouldn't be greedy to hope the Guild Master, the culprit behind this situation, would compensate .
* * *
The structure of the rcenary Guild building was simple.
A wide hall where rcenaries gathered and waited, and further inside, a reception desk where guild staff waited.
Connected by stairs, the second floor housed warehouses storing various monster materials and data, along with the Guild Master's room.
“Coming in.”
I skipped knocking and went straight into the Guild Master's room.
“Welco, Green Ben.”
The Guild Master greeted with a wide grin.
“You got the nickna Green, so why wear red clothes?”
“What does color matter? Function cos first for clothes.”
I couldn't bring myself to say it was because I hated being called Green.
“A good attitude. These days, rcenaries are all about appearances, fussing over color and shape even when buying equipnt.”
The Guild Master nodded repeatedly.
My la excuse had actually gained the Guild Master's favor.
What a tireso person.
“Why did you want to see ?”
Looking at the Guild Master's face made feel like swearing, so I lowered my gaze.
“Ah, right. There's a request I want to entrust to you.”
The Guild Master answered while rummaging through the scattered docunts on his desk.
“Pardon?”
I raised my head at the unexpected words.
“It's a request perfectly suited for you. Of course, you won't be handling it alone; other rcenaries will be performing it together.”
The Guild Master, having apparently found the docunt he was looking for, fluttered the paper in front of my eyes.
“Why ?”
Requests handled by the rcenary Guild were broadly divided into two types.
One, like Nilia's, where the client directly hires rcenaries.
The guild's role is rely to gather rcenaries.
The guild's inco cos mainly from commissions on loot transactions, usually not very profitable requests.
The other type is where the client entrusts the entire handling to the guild.
The guild guarantees completion, takes a portion of the reward, and this serves as the guild's main source of inco.
Since it's directly linked to the guild's credibility, the guild is careful in selecting rcenaries to carry out these requests.
The Guild Master delivering it ant it was the latter type.
It was strange for him to connect —who had only arrived in Dejong and set foot in the rcenary Guild barely three days ago—to such a request.
“It's a simple test for issuing the rcenary tag.”
The Guild Master's answer was unhesitating.
“A test?”
“What do you think is the most important part of running a rcenary Guild?”
The Guild Master answered my question with a question.
“Well. Sales ability to bring in profitable requests?”
I answered with whatever ca to mind.
Running a guild?
How would I know about that?
“Sales ability is necessary, of course. But what's more important is accurately assessing the abilities of the rcenaries in this region.”
The Guild Master lowered his voice as if imparting a secret technique.
“Most rcenaries don't end well. Running a rcenary Guild ans endlessly witnessing rcenary bastards dying.”
Their job is to fight, risking their lives.
In combat, full of variables, one cannot always win.
Defeat usually leads to death.
“Among those, the worst is connecting them to a request beyond their capabilities, leading to failure and death. When that happens, the guild's credibility takes a hit, and it feels like I killed them myself, leading to bad dreams.”
The Guild Master clicked his tongue as if recalling a bad mory.
Accurately knowing the rcenaries' level allows connecting them to suitable requests.
Through this, they avoid the worst outco of request failure and rcenary death.
That was this person's, Thorn Shield's, Guild Master's way of running the guild.
“Well, that's just from the guild's perspective, of course. rcenaries probably think it's all the sa however they kick the bucket.”
The Guild Master muttered complainingly.
True to his words, rcenaries on the verge of death likely wouldn't care about the guild's circumstances.
My assessnt of the Guild Master improved slightly.
Even if it was for the guild's sake, considering the rcenaries' safety ant he wasn't entirely a bad person.
If only his catastrophic naming sense could be fixed.
“Anyway, that's how it is. You proved your ability to so extent by hunting the Hond Wolf, but that's only against monsters. We don't know what other abilities you possess. This request is ant to ascertain your level.”
The Guild Master looked at as if asking if the explanation was sufficient.
“I understand, roughly.”
Abilities other than monster hunting.
This request seed to involve dealing with people.
“But, wasn't it better to keep the test a secret?”
While it was a verification process for safety from the guild's perspective, rcenaries could interpret it differently.
It was certain that so would try to cheat to receive an evaluation beyond their actual abilities.
Even without that, many rcenaries are eccentric.
Realizing they were being tested could lead to fierce backlash.
“I don't really like secrets.”
The Guild Master chuckled.
What was so funny, I couldn't understand.
“Understood. Please tell what the request is first. I'll decide whether to accept it after that.”
My eyes followed the paper the Guild Master was holding.
But because he kept waving the paper around like a toy, I couldn't read the letters.
“You think you can refuse the test? Doing so might prevent the rcenary tag from being issued, you know?”
The Guild Master narrowed his eyes.
“So what?”
I bluffed.
To prevent him from wielding the rcenary tag as leverage like this, I needed to act as if I wasn't obsessed with it.
“Friend, the more I see you, the more I like you. A rcenary ought to have that much guts. Where did such a fine gemstone roll in from?”
I didn't know how the Guild Master interpreted the aning of my words, but he seed quite pleased.
“Alright. I'll explain the request details.”
The Guild Master slowly read aloud the paper he had been waving around annoyingly.
I briefly considered revealing I could read and asking to read it myself, but decided against it.
I was supposed to be from the countryside.
Being able to read would only arouse suspicion.
For now, let's pretend to be illiterate.
* * *
The dawn air was cold.
Atop the massive city wall protecting the city, I watched the sun rising far away.
The request the Guild Master gave was city guard duty.
Apparently, after the Emperor's death, many people were acting up here and there, necessitating increased security personnel.
However, the city, unwilling to augnt the guard force for a temporary phenonon, ca up with the idea of hiring rcenaries to fill the security manpower gap—a cheerful story.
“I am 'Little Eye' Pinis, and this is 'Green' Ben.”
The rcenary who ca with introduced as well, leaving nothing to do but nod.
“All familiar faces.”
The guard handling the handover smiled with satisfaction.
Damn Bill was here again.
How many guards were there in this city, yet why did I keep getting involved with Bill? I couldn't understand.
“We'll continue handling the gate checkpoint. You guys just need to patrol the top of the wall every hour. If you see anyone trying to climb the wall, deal with them.”
Bill made a throat-slitting gesture with his thumb.
Seems like killing them was fine.
I wondered if such a crude thod was right, but then it occurred to that anyone bypassing the gate to climb the wall couldn't possibly be normal.
They must have attempted it prepared for death, so fulfilling their wish would be common decency, right?
“Are there really idiots who think they can get over here without being caught?”
Pinis, assigned with , asked with a disbelieving chuckle.
The wall wasn't particularly high, but it wasn't low either.
Climbing several ters offered no place to hide, making it easy to get caught.
“I'm saying it because it happens.”
Bill shook his head as if thoroughly fed up.
“Anyway, I'm counting on you.”
Getting paid for such simple work, this was a much better request than I thought.
“Shall we go then?”
Pinis took the lead.
There was almost no room for things to go wrong with this job.
Unless, by so chance, soone who knew Luke Ivers tried to climb the wall.
Nah, no way.
I shook my head, dispelling the ominous thought.
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