Iska ②
The port city of Iska
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After finishing refilling the barrels, Johan received a signature on his request slip and returned to the guild. Upon entering, he noticed he walked into a noisy scene. When he looked, he saw an unfamiliar boy urgently trying to get the attention of the old man receptionist.
"Please! My sister, my sister...!"
The receptionist looked like he had just been told that he would have his salary cut in half if he couldn't solve a jigsaw puzzle made up of only white-colored pieces in under 15 minutes. In other words, he looked completely at a loss.
Johan looked at the scene and thought to himself:
(I'm not sure exactly what's happening, but it seems like his family member is in some kind of serious crisis. It looks like a tough situation.)
Although the adventurers around him were showing mixed expressions on their faces, they didn't offer to help the boy.
(Basically, it means that there wouldn’t be a decent reward in proportion to how difficult the request would be)
Johan, who had no obligation to get involved, walked past the boy without a second glance. He handed over the signed request slip to the old man and said,
"The request is complete. I welcome requests like that, so if there are more, I'll take them on."
With that, he received the reward and started to exit the guild. However, a small hand grabbed the hem of Johan's jacket.
"P-Please, my sister..Help my sister… please…”
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Johan's attitude towards the boy was cold. He didn't go so far as to shake off the hand that grabbed his coat; he only told him to let go, causing tears to well up as the boy stared at Johan.
Johan let out a sigh and returned to the guild's counter. Seeing this, the boy's expression brightened briefly, but then quickly darkened again.
"The act of soliciting personal contracts between individuals within the guild is a violation. Hurry up and go through the proper request mediation procedures, or forget it."
The old man looked at Johan with a pained expression as if he had just bitten into something bitter. He knew that Johan was speaking the truth without any openings for counter-arguments.
He knew...he knew it all too well. He then fell silent, and after a few moments finally began to open his mouth.
"Johan... as someone who just arrived in Iska, I may not have the right to ask for such a thing, but I want you to take on this request," he said with his continued painful expression. If there was really a drink called “Bitterness”, it looked as if he had just chugged it.
Johan listened with a serious expression and asked him about the details of the job and the reward.
"There is a village called Azura located about two days by carriage north of Iska. A girl from that village, the older sister of that boy, has contracted a seriously terrible illness that’s been spreading recently. The cure for this disease is a flower that blooms deep in the Black Forest, which is located near Azura. I want you to collect the flower and deliver it to the village pharmacist in Azura. The reward is... five copper coins. Also, I may feel a personal debt to you, and I may be able to do you some favors in the future. However, if you refuse... I may not consider you a sensible adventurer.”
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Rudolf, the tough old man who worked as the receptionist at the guild, was a man with a kind heart. He was a former sailor who had lost his ship in a storm and had barely survived. As a result, he had become afraid of the sea. However, he obviously couldn't make a living without working.
One day, a friend suggested that Rudolf become an adventurer. Rudolf was strong, as one might expect from a former sailor, and he was durable. If he was strong and durable, he could make enough money as an adventurer to get by.
So Rudolf did just that.
Rudolf, who surprisingly showed great potential, became a successful mid-level adventurer in the blink of an eye. After that, Rudolf retired as an adventurer and became a guild staff member.
The guild welcomed Rudolf, who had been honest and reliable as an adventurer and had earned the respect of the townspeople as an older brother type of figure.
Being an adventurer comes with great danger, but working as a guild staff member is not nearly as dangerous. Perhaps Rudolf's desire for safety and avoidance of danger was influenced by his marriage. It could have also been influenced by the fact that his wife gave birth to their child.
In any case, Rudolf, who became a guild staff member, worked fairly and justly in his own way. At least until today.
The difficult request that suddenly appeared from the boy was beyond Rudolf's standards. Difficult requests come with high rewards- It's only natural.
The problem is that the boy cannot provide the expected reward, which is only five copper coins. While this might be a considerable amount for a child, it does not justify or explain the difficulty of the request.
Facing such a request, normally one would refuse. However, for the compassionate Rudolf, it was impossible to do so. He has a son and a daughter and they were more valuable to him than his own life. The boy who came with the request reminded him of them.
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Johan let out a snorting chuckle. It was because the conversation was completely meaningless.
He knows about Azura and knows about the Black Forest as well. He also knows about the flower that is said to have healing properties. However, many monkeys that have turned into demons appear in the Black Forest. Monkeys already have physical abilities that surpass those of humans. There are even some species where even the small ones have grip strength that can crush an adult man’s hand. If such creatures were to become demons, the old man receptionist should know how much of a threat they would pose.
"For five copper coins you think I'm stupid enough to jump into danger just because you tried to appeal to my emotions? Do you think you can just disrespect me like that? A newcomer who just arrived in Iska from Ubris- His previous party had a decent reputation, and it seems like he has the ability to complete the request. Are you hoping to use his novice status to exploit him and make him say yes to every difficult future task the guild has? I understand it's difficult to rely on adventurers who have been active in Iska for a long time. Did you try to force a threatening request onto me because you thought I would leave Iska soon based on my history? By the way, I have someone in my family, a foul-mouthed girl named Vili... she's a bratty girl, but she told me that if someone disrespects me, I should kill them. I agree with her. Hey, don’t you have anything else to offer me? Something that's worth me accepting your request, not just your gratitude. If not..."
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As a mid-tier adventurer, Rudolf's survival instincts sounded a loud alarm. He realized that answering incorrectly could mean death. The surrounding adventurers were unlikely to be of any help.
"......! I cannot increase the reward! According to guild regulations, staff cannot personally offer money. However, if you accept this request under such unfavorable conditions and make every effort to save the boy’s sister, you can be recommended as a reliable adventurer and a licensed adventurer of Iska!"
Upon hearing this, Johan suppressed his intent to kill and looked in Rudolf’s eyes with an expression full of thought. After a moment, he nodded once and simply said "I'll take it."
A licensed adventurer.
In short, this means that the town guarantees the integrity of this adventurer. Usually, those who have worked diligently as adventurers for many years are recommended. Recommendations are not always a sure thing, but they usually go through if the person recommending them is trustworthy.
This is not just a mere honorary title. For example, if a licensed adventurer needs to borrow money, the amount he could borrow would be 5 times more than usual because of the social trust he’d gain. At any rate, doubling the reward for this request wouldn’t even reach the value of having the title of licensed adventurer. Whether it's two times, five times, or ten times, it's all the same.
That's why Johan accepted Rudolf's offer. Rather, he judged that it would be highly valuable for him to accept it.
About Johan, a certain magician in his "family" at the Alliance said, "Of all the wizards in the Alliance, he is the most simple-minded and vulgar, and the person you most want to avoid making an enemy out of.”
