Manuke FPS

way – some also aren’t able to attend, so I’ll add your name on the same list.”

“I see.
Thanks then.”

If I was on the Duke’s watch list, the subjugation of the Wolves’ Labyrinth would be delayed further.
Since we’re making money on the magic water, it’ll be best if I remained unnoticed.
I don’t want to be the center of attention here.
I just don’t like it. 

Afterward, I caught up with Barold-san.
I could hear the cheers of the crowd outside, followed by a speech.
This voice belonged to Duke Barga himself.
The speech’s held praises for the Barga Knights, Sasanqua, and most importantly, his daughter Laptilica-sama.

More cheers followed afterward.

“– It’s closing?”

Barold-san muttered.

I couldn’t witness the moment myself, but one labyrinth had finally closed.
Not only did the cheering not stop, but it also got louder.
How do the people in this world feel about it? I thought as I listened.

◆◆◇◆◆◇◆◆

The Kurtmerga Kingdom was in the middle of celebrating the new year now.
People here didn’t know what “New Year” was, but they had the custom to celebrate the coming of the new year.
now that I mentioned it, they also didn’t have Christmas, or New Year’s Eve either. 

I was in the Marida Company’s Reception room in the Fort City of Barga.
It was January 14th, and up until yesterday, I’ve been exploring the Wolves’ Labyrinth.
To be more precise, I took a break on the 3rd because it was New Year’s holiday.
During it, I went out with Ashley-san to eat.
I also checked on the sales of the magic water.
To be honest, it was a busy day.

Inside the Wolves’ Labyrinth, I drove the M978 around.
As I mapped the floor, I was collecting the water in the process.
The magic water was being sold to the Magician and Alchemist Guilds ended up at 20% less than the price of a regular magic recovery potion.
Malta-san appeared to know ahead of time, but it was still a rip-off… 

Furthermore, we apparently brought too much.
The Guilds couldn’t buy it all at once, for the time being; we had to content ourselves with signing a contract to split the purchase.
The share between Malta-san and I was set at a 6:4 ratio

“Not many adventurers could get their hands on a platinum coin (10,000,000 ol) in their lifetime.”. 

Malta-san joked.

Since the value of things was different compared to my world,m I had to estimate 1 ol was equal to 1 yen.
Our supply would increase after this trip as well.
We’ve also decided to take small orders to avoid tanking the price.
Also, I’d only the water to the Marida Company.

“Schwartz-san, sorry to call you all of a sudden.”

“No, it’s okay.
Is it an urgent matter?”

“Yes, it’s the Rot Poison Dagger.
I’ve found a buyer.”

“Ah, that’s good, but why is it urgent?”

“No, that’s not the only thing.
Apart from the dagger, have you heard about the cases of the ambushes around the Capital? The buyer also wanted to make a short term escort request and specifically asked for Shaft-sama.”

“… So that’s why.”

After I registered myself as Shaft at the Mercenary Guild, I’ve been in and out of Barga.
However, if someone checked with the guild, they may have found that Malta-san was my last employer.
Thus, they decided to contact him on my whereabouts.

“I’ve heard that you received a recommendation to raise to C-Rank recently; is there a similar system in the Mercenary Guild?”

“No, only the General Guild uses that rank system.
The Mercenary Guild merely acts as a middle-man to hire their members.”

Mercenary, simply put, was a sub-profession.
While guilds, like General Guild and Blacksmith’s guild, could be considered as a main-profession.
The Mercenary and Research Guilds were sub-professions.
Production-based guilds are different from an adventurer in terms of their ranking.
Their ranks were grades, divided by their specialty, such as Black Smith rank-3, or Leather Craftsman rank, etc.

“Shouldn’t they hire an adventurer with a higher rank than Shaft instead?”

“Normally, it’d be sensible to do so.
Any adventurer can receive a request to escort a merchant without being affiliated with the Mercenary Guild.
But they won’t be allowed to access special places without being a member of said guild.”

“What do you mean by ‘special places’?”

“Banquet held within a noble’s mansion or the Royal Palace.”

As if I wanted to go there.

“Who is the client anyways?” 

“… His Excellency, Duke Franklin Barga.”

So he’s the client… I couldn’t help but feel that this was a bad idea.