The Next Day at the Caladon Commercial Guild Headquarters
As soon as the sun rose, Braham came to find him.
Joseph had been planning to visit the Caladon Commercial Guild Headquarters and had requested his assistance.
Although it had only been a day since returning from the extermination, Joseph wanted to handle Rophen's matter as quickly as possible.
After all, not only the people in the estate knew about Rophen's existence.
All the veteran mercenaries who had participated in the extermination knew about Rophen.
It wasn't just that they knew of the existence of the 'white beast'.
They knew exactly that Rophen had hunted a low-grade demonic beast on the outskirts of the forest single-handedly.
'Word must have already spread in the mercenary guild.'
It's impossible to stop people's mouths.
Joseph had given a warning to be careful with his words, but that was just a temporary measure like plugging a hole in a leaking pipe with a stone.
Eventually, the water would leak out, and the rumors would spread.
'If the rumors are going to spread anyway, it would be better to get certification from the Commercial Guild before it becomes a bigger commotion.'
That way, even if they become more noticeable later, they could quickly calm the situation.
That's why he was moving a bit hastily.
“Dofnik is busy with the guild business, so I came alone.”
Thinking about the scale of the Silver Ice Merchant Guild, it would have been nice if Dofnik had come along too, but since it was a time when ice was selling like crazy, it seemed difficult to spare time.
“It's fine. Thanks to you, I'm a bit more at ease than going alone.”
“Oh, don't say that. It's not like anyone else. It's because of Joseph-nim's request.”
Braham shook his drooping cheek fat and smiled awkwardly.
'...... This guy has been changing his speech patterns lately.'
Since starting to sell ice artifacts, Braham had been developing a strangely peddler-like way of speaking.
It seemed he wasn't particularly bothered by it, but thinking about their first meeting, it was hard to believe it was the same person.
“You probably shouldn't follow.”
Joseph's gaze turned toward Rophen.
Rophen had followed Joseph into the reception room and quietly sat down nearby.
However, he wasn't doing anything particular, just shifting to a comfortable spot.
“Hmm, I think the same. After all, he looks so intense...”
When entering the city, he had been in Joseph's carriage, so he hadn't been noticeable.
But this time, he had to roam around the city properly, and it wasn't easy to keep worrying about Rophen every time.
If he was spotted by people, it would definitely cause a commotion.
“Rophen, can you wait at home?”
Joseph said after a moment of hesitation.
In fact, he was still somewhat skeptical if Rophen could properly understand words.
“......”
Rophen showed no reaction.
No, if anything, he slightly wagged his tail when his name was called.
“......”
“......”
Joseph and Braham looked at each other and stood up from their seats.
Then, Rophen finally opened his eyes slightly.
“...... I'll be back before evening, so wait at home.”
Grung-
'I wonder if he understood or not...'
Joseph immediately called for Derrick.
Derrick, who had been preparing to follow Joseph, froze his face as soon as he entered the reception room.
“Um, perhaps...”
“Yes, today, take care of him a bit. Make sure he doesn't cause any trouble.”
“.........”
At those words, Derrick's face turned pale in an instant.
How was he supposed to take care of a guy who hunts monsters alone?
But since he couldn't refuse Joseph's order, he awkwardly nodded his head.
“Please take good care of him. If there's any incident, send someone right away.”
“Understood...”
Joseph patted Derrick's shoulder and left the reception room.
Fortunately, Rophen was still staring blankly at Derrick from the spot.
“...... Goodbye.”
“......”
Derrick left alone let out a small sigh.
'It's fortunate that he's wearing armor.'
After all, the armor would be torn apart in one hit if he tried, but it seemed a bit psychologically comforting.
***
Joseph headed to the Caladon Commercial Guild Headquarters with Braham and two soldiers.
Auk and Jiren, who had heard about Derrick, looked disappointed.
“Poor guy.”
“It'll be fine. Yesterday, he gave him food.”
“Yeah, what can you do.”
They were both feeling sorry for Derrick, but on the other hand, they thought it was a bit fortunate that they themselves weren't left behind.
Joseph listened to their conversation inside the carriage and let out a dry laugh.
Then, he asked Braham, who was also smiling wryly.
“What kind of place is the Caladon Commercial Guild Headquarters?”
He had heard that the Commercial Guild received protection fees or mediated disputes between guilds, but he didn't know the details.
Fundamentally, Joseph had only been handing over completed artifacts to the guilds, and the rest he had left entirely to Braham and Dofnik.
“It seems like some kind of alliance of guilds.”
At those words, Braham nodded.
“Correct. Fundamentally, it's a place where the large guilds of Caladon gathered to operate the city.”
Braham seemed to choose his words for a moment and continued.
“Caladon pays taxes to the royal family, and in return, the merchants directly operate the city, right? You can think of the Commercial Guild as the place where the heads of the large guilds gather their opinions.”
“Then, is there no one who can be considered a representative?”
“Yes. The guild represents Caladon's position, but no one has been seen as a representative.”
Braham didn't seem to know the detailed internal affairs well, but Joseph didn't care much.
After all, the important thing was that Caladon's laws were decided by the Commercial Guild.
And among those laws, there was one about managing beasts like Rohen.
“Well, it's not that grand. It's just to set the responsibility in advance.”
Hearing that, it seemed that among those who boarded ships occasionally, there were cases where they brought rare beasts.
Because of that, when problems arose, it was more like a custom of creating a person to claim compensation rather than a clear responsible party.
While the two were conversing, the carriage moved toward the center of Caladon along the main road.
As they passed the market, the buildings seemed to grow larger.
“It seems we've arrived.”
Soon, Jiren, who was on the driver's seat, reported.
By slightly poking the wooden window, one could see a building that stood out at a glance.
It was a place built of gray stones, giving a strangely heavy impression.
On the front of the building, large and small shield-shaped engravings were densely carved, probably the emblems symbolizing the large guilds of Caladon.
In the center, the emblem of the Caladon Commercial Guild Headquarters, a ship with sails and a scale, was prominently placed.
'Seeing it like this, it really is different from ordinary guild buildings.'
He had passed by the city before, but this was the first time entering inside.
“Many people.”
“Yes. We might have to wait a bit.”
Through the window, there were more people coming and going than expected.
Since it was hard to expect a reservation system like in his previous life, it seemed they would have to wait in line.
***
“It's done.”
“Already?”
At the clerk's words, Joseph was startled.
Contrary to their expectations, Rohen's matter was resolved in a hurry.
As Joseph and Braham entered the interior of the Commercial Guild, people who noticed Rohen and his staff made way for them.
While they were bewildered by the sudden situation, the clerk who noticed them came forward holding the prepared documents and leash.
Then, after confirming Joseph's name again, he immediately carved Joseph's name into the leash with a small knife.
It was over within ten minutes.
“Probably, they had already heard the news.”
Receiving a gaze mixed with curiosity and fear, as they left the guild in a daze, Braham muttered.
“Even so, it's too fast, isn't it?”
“I was surprised too, but thinking about it, it's not necessarily so. Joseph-nim is famous in Caladon, right?”
Joseph knew that he had started to become known within the city.
After all, he had seen the residents avoiding his carriage when he first left the extermination.
“In the Commercial Guild's perspective, they would try to accommodate Joseph-nim as much as possible.”
Joseph was mass-producing high-value products like ice artifacts and recently even fire artifacts.
Moreover, he had gone to the Harbert Forest twice, and there was no death among his companions.
Even that was once with a Pavidea noble.
If they had heard about Rohen from the mercenaries in the meantime...
Unless they were fools, they couldn't help but pay attention to Joseph.
“Well... I'm glad the matter was easily resolved thanks to you.”
Joseph nodded, but on the other hand, he felt a strange feeling.
It was good to be accommodated, but it was also evidence that they were receiving too much attention from the people of Caladon.
'...... I hope I don't get entangled in some troublesome matter just because of this.'
The good thing was that unlike when he was in Valois Territory, Joseph now had the confidence to reject unreasonable demands smoothly.
***
Fortunately, contrary to Joseph's expectation, the Commercial Guild did not show any attempt to contact him directly.
Instead, another type of people started to pay attention to Joseph.
“Want to rob the mage's house?”
“Lower your voice, you bastard.”
They were street beggars from the back alley right behind.
They were all people with no future: orphans, dismissed mercenaries from guilds, escaped slaves from slave traders, etc.
Joseph's existence was news that could make their eyes light up in a life of begging while flipping through dirty rags most of the day.
“...... Ah, no, did you hear? That person is a combat mage, right? He's really gone crazy?”
Of course, these guys weren't simple fools, as they didn't know anything about Joseph.
There were those who had seen him pulling a luxurious carriage out of the city.
But Pan, the leader of the beggars, sneered at the surroundings.
“Who said anything about fighting a mage? Just quietly go home and take out the money-making things.”
“Then that's why it's not possible. You know that the guards are veteran mercenaries, right...”
The people guarding Joseph's house were the veteran mercenaries hired by Braham.
Of course, after starting transactions with the Silver Ice Merchant Guild, they weren't all veterans anymore, but among them, there were famous ones that even beggars recognized their faces.
“Ah, you bastard. Yeah, no wonder. Those who don't know anything can't know about us two.”
Pan revealed his broken front teeth and laughed, causing the other guys around to wrinkle their brows.
If there was something only he knew, it was Pan who would spout difficult words and pretend to know.
Still, among them, he was the most skilled, so he was treated well, but it was a fact that it was annoying.
“Hey!”
Pan immediately called one of the men who had been a bit apart.
“...... It's Bafoi, right.”
Bafoi was the one who had flowed into the back alley missing one wrist.
“You know that this bastard was a carpenter before, right? Now, the mage who lives in the house had it built by this guy.”
At those words, the beggars opened their eyes wide and looked at Bafoi.
Exactly, it wasn't that he built the building, but he participated as a carpenter when building the structure, but that wasn't important.
“Since this guy knows the house structure, let's go and rough it up.”
Pan patted Bafoi's shoulder and laughed.
Bafoi hit the hand with his left hand, or rather, his wrist.
“Take your hand away.”
“You bastard, you're so picky.”
“No, what good is knowing the internal structure? You can't even get inside because of the guards.”
“...... Is that what it says?”
Pan turned his gaze to Bafoi and shrugged his shoulders.
Bafoi glared at Pan who had dumped the explanation on him, then picked up a small branch with his remaining good right hand.
Then, he started drawing a small picture on the floor.
It was a blueprint of Joseph's house.
Bafoi soon pointed at a corner of the blueprint with the branch.
“There is one empty space between the house and the warehouse. It doesn't seem like the guards are watching that far.”
“...... No way, was the reason it wasn't visible recently because this guy was wandering around there?”