Winter

Although I didn't like Engrim's reaction, I decided to just let it slide for now.

There was still plenty left to hear. There would be a penalty for ignoring the guild's recommendation and dealing with Dantel, and no matter how skilled I was, the fact that they wanted to rush my promotion this abruptly suggested there was some other reason behind it.

Ah, come to think of it, among those I swept away with Dantel, there was one who used aura, wasn't there? The sudden memory made me feel like I was beginning to see a clue about the promotion Engrim mentioned.

"But apart from understanding the formalities and procedures... I can't shake the feeling that this is quite sudden. I thought the first topic we'd discuss would be about Dantel."

The fact that he used someone like that as an errand boy meant there was probably at least one stronger guy among those who died in the building, even if he went down to a single needle. There was no way the boss himself would have bothered with such a hassle just to nab someone, not without a good reason.

Even if they were just a bunch of inferiority complexes born from being dumped by a woman, the fact that they were adventurers remained unchanged, so from the guild's perspective it must have felt like a whole batch of decent muscle got wiped out overnight.

So in that situation, a promotion. My eyes narrowed involuntarily, but I didn't bother managing my expression. Yet even at my attitude, Engrim just gave a friendly-looking smile.

"I understand. But ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I'm not trying to force anything or impose a request. If I had to put it... even this could be called just going through the motions."

"My promotion?"

"Yes. A blue-rank adventurer can't accept red-rank requests."

"Ah."

Every winter, the guild imposed movement restrictions on adventurers, but there was no way to restrict incidents from occurring. Even monsters that were unproductive, surviving on nothing but raids and hunting, became more relentless in targeting human settlements this time of year, so emergency requests came up more often. The movement restrictions were a measure to prevent freezing to death during winter, and at the same time a policy to handle emergency requests that cropped up in the area in time.

Normally they too would stockpile food and make their own preparations for winter, but just as some bears wander in search of food instead of hibernating, most low-intelligence monsters reached winter without proper preparations. Those creatures then tried to invade human settlements. They had learned perfectly well that human settlements, unlike their own circumstances, were well supplied and that most humans were weak.

The problem was that their raids were attempts to survive by braving the winter cold, so they were more desperate than usual.

The quintessential example, the punching bag of the fantasy world and the nightmare of newbies, goblins, would outright occupy a weak village with the intention of spending winter there, so their numbers more than doubled. Raids that used to be ten would swell to twenty, sometimes even thirty, and with sheer numbers being king, the difficulty spike went without saying.

Because of this, every winter, requests that would normally be yellow-rank rose to blue-rank, and problems a blue-rank party could handle escalated to red-rank with remarkable frequency. It was common enough that smaller city guilds were said to subsidize lodging just to keep purple-rank or higher adventurers in town.

"...How many red-rankers did I kill?"

"Five."

Even as he answered, Engrim still smiled. But to my eyes now, it no longer looked like a relaxed smile, but the serene smile of someone who'd given up on everything.

You could say it was only five red-rankers, but in the cases of those quests I mentioned, often just sending one or two competent red-rankers with some blue ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ones was enough to handle them. Of course, from my perspective, I couldn't help but be skeptical about whether the guys I ground up were that capable... but in theory, I'd wasted muscle that could simultaneously handle five emergency quests.

Once I thought that far, I did feel the tiniest bit sorry. When you got down to it, Engrim was a victim too. He didn't personally select adventurers, and managing the bastards who just showed up and became adventurers on a whim was hardly as easy as it sounded, right?

I had no qualms about giving a shitty attitude to those who treated me shitty, but my conscience was too tender to act shamelessly when I unintentionally caused trouble for someone who'd made a decent impression.

"Ahem, well, I'll stop by from time to time, so if anything urgent comes up, just drop me a hint. I'll help you wholeheartedly."

"Actually, there was something I wanted to ask you regarding that, to wrap up matters related to Dantel."

As if grateful that I'd brought it up first, Engrim's face genuinely ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠brightened, and his explanation was a kind of alibi.

I was undergoing a red-rank review thanks to successfully completing the abandoned dungeon quest with the Gaendal party, and after that, a series of events led to much debate over my qualifications, but just when I'd been recognized for my skill and was about to be notified of my promotion, the Dantel incident blew up. Afterward, I had a personal meeting with the guild and took some time to lie low, but then an emergency request came up and they looked for someone with the right skills, and ended up bringing me back a bit hastily...

Having calmly explained that, Engrim took a sip of tea to catch his breath and continued.

"Apart from the promotion, what we wanted to ask of you... is a reasonable excuse. Since the timing has worked out well in many ways, I thought it was an opportunity to neatly wrap things up, so I really hoped you'd agree."

Based on the content alone, there was no reason not to agree, but the problem was my current physical condition and the request I absolutely had to take for that excuse to be valid.

Seneran had told me it was like body aches, but since the Magic Organ allowed me to do more than I normally could with Magic Power, there was a definite backlash. Of course, compared to the wide-area throat-slitting, playing around with an Archdemon-grade piece of trash's neck twice and continuing into a fight, it was a mere drop in the bucket... but unfamiliar pain always made things tough. To put it bluntly, if another demon bastard showed up right now, the best I could do was slit its throat once.

Of course, there was no way a request that required that level of me would be among those a red-ranker could handle, but since my life was a constant series of things that should never happen, I couldn't let my guard down.

"So what's the request I have to take for that excuse to work?"

But since I had no intention of spreading word that I wasn't in top shape, I stroked Laika for no reason, pretending to ponder, then slowly broached the subject. Engrim pulled out a request form he'd prepared in advance and handed it to me, saying.

"It's a support request from Raviel. The state of the guild there right now is a complete mess."

"...Did something happen?"

"The guild master and a city notable did a lot... a lot of things. It's a noisy situation inside and outside the city."

That narrow-minded pig bastard, I knew it. Engrim probably knew everything and said it that way, so I clicked my tongue openly as I took the request form, and he just gave a bitter smile. But unlike him, who could still manage a bitter smile, I felt my expression sour again as I examined the request.

"...Guard duty for a village being newly built by refugees? At this time of year?"

What immediately flashed through my mind were the survivors I'd escorted with the Gaendal party so they could go to Raviel. How long had it been since then? A month or two? Considering all the administrative processes, if it was a project being implemented, they'd have started proper work a month ago at best.

"Since the port attack last time, whether the Demonfolk adjusted their tactics or not, they've been moving in small groups, breaking through the front, hitting small towns or villages, and then pulling out. Thanks to that, even people leaving perfectly intact cities to flee have been increasing."

The bastard who'd gifted me a knuckle sandwich seemed to have been a harbinger of many things. Since the content on the request form itself was simple, I had no choice but to ask for the details directly.

"I understand that there's no room in the city for such people, so they're trying to build a village. But... it also looks like you're telling me to go to a place that'll be used as a discard pile, and risk my life to save the faces of some high and mighty."

It was now the dead of winter. Even if they'd returned to the site Envelde's mercenary corps had once ravaged and prepared for village construction, it was by no means an easy environment. A flimsy barricade, lots of people, food and materials to be consumed—that was the perfect condition for the monsters I'd mentioned earlier to target.

Above all, with hazard pay and all that, it was a job that would cost money and eat up time, and I had a hard time believing 'that' Raviel would provide proper support.

"Luckily, you don't need to worry about that. Because the royal family took direct action. If they fail to provide proper support... I can guarantee they'll meet a very unpleasant end."

Ah, so the fire was at their feet because it was a perfect situation to get tangled up in treason, huh? It seemed the city notable who'd played around with the guild master held quite a high post. Thanks to that, I was convinced in an instant and my expression relaxed. Sensing his moment, Engrim added further explanation.

"The request items written on the form can be adjusted to our convenience as much as needed, so we can fix any parts that might be a burden. I think it's not a bad deal. The compensation is negotiable too."

It certainly wasn't bad. Normally this kind of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thing was a long-term quest, but given the scale of the work, even if I only worked short-term, they'd be desperate for even one person. It wasn't like some winter field training sleeping in tents; since it was already somewhat underway, the lodgings at least would be decent, so there wouldn't be much discomfort.

The guard force was large, so I wouldn't have to bear everything myself, which I also liked. It was a good environment to move my body while gradually restoring my Magic Organ.

Asilie might well ask if I was following trouble around again, but... I was curious how those refugees from back then were doing, so I decided to accept the request.

Still, since it was obvious I'd get chewed out if I just up and said I'd go alone, I first gave Engrim a hint about the possibility of forming a party.