Manpower Agency and Lucky Charm
Manpower Agency and Lucky Charm
***
After conversing with Felix, Elbridge fell into thought.
'The first thing to pay attention to in the current situation is, naturally, the demon.'
However, all variables related to the demon were out of Elbridge's hands.
No one could know when the demon would begin its activities in earnest.
The timing of when the story about the incident in the Viscountcy of Dickens and its connection to the demon would become known to the public depended on the decision of the Order of the Golden Tray. After all, it was the Order of the Golden Tray that had received the Baron of Riverford's letter.
However, the biggest problem lay elsewhere.
Even if a demon were to appear right now, there was not much Elbridge could do with his current capabilities.
Demons and magical beasts were on different levels.
Even the strong paladins, knights, priests, and mages of the old days prepared themselves for death when facing a demon. Of course, it was the same for Elbridge.
If it was like that even in those days, how would it be now?
In the end, what Elbridge had to do was clear.
'Raise my skills as much as possible until the demon surfaces.'
He did not even hope to surpass his former skills before the demon appeared.
But he had to at least approach the level of those days to be able to take the initiative in resolving the situation.
The only fortunate thing was that through his conversation with Felix, he had caught a clue on how to raise his skills.
'Hunting magical beasts.'
If he hunted magical beasts like the Order of the God of the Bloody Spear, the Order of the Rusted Shield would also be able to gather followers little by little. Naturally, the power the Goddess could arrange for Elbridge would also increase little by little.
While at it, he could also accumulate holy power through the fragments of the Evil God contained in the magical beasts. Hadn't he seen at least a little effect just by being covered in the magical beast's blood in the last battle?
'But hunting a magical beast by myself carries too great a risk.'
He needed comrades.
And Elbridge knew a place where he might be able to find comrades.
<><><>
Elbridge stayed at the temple and silently did what he had to do. Since the temple had been empty for so long, there was an overflowing amount of work to do.
In between, he also conversed with the Goddess.
- The God of the Bloody Spear acknowledged that his paladin had committed a wrong, but said he had no intention of punishing his paladin. He did not even seem to have any intention of giving an oracle to prevent a similar situation from happening again. It is truly a deplorable matter.
"The day the Goddess's seats surpass those of the God of the Bloody Spear in the future, the God of the Bloody Spear will reflect on his past actions."
- It would be good if that happened. But Elbridge. It is fine even if such a moment does not come. Your Goddess wishes that her only paladin does not get swept up in dangerous matters. Even if you do not unnecessarily brave danger, time will resolve many things.
While conversing about this and that, the Goddess's oracle naturally cut off.
Elbridge let time pass without calling the Rusted Shield Goddess.
When quite some time had passed like that, Elbridge whispered quietly.
"My Goddess."
There was no answer. Elbridge whispered once more.
"My Goddess. Are you listening?"
There was no answer this time either.
'The Goddess's gaze has fallen away.'
A follower is a window through which a god looks at the world. A god's eyes do not reach a place where there are no followers.
However, just because there are followers in a place, it does not mean a god can grasp everything.
Just as one adult cannot look after a hundred children at the same time, as the number of followers increases, it becomes difficult for a god to pay attention to each individual follower.
In the past, that was the most Elbridge knew about the 'gaze of a god'.
But thanks to the order suddenly falling into ruin, Elbridge came to know one more fact. Namely, that a god does not watch their followers all day long.
Come to think of it, it was a natural thing. Surely, the celestial gods would need rest too. They would also need time to interact with each other.
The reason Elbridge had waited for the Goddess's gaze to fall away was to enter the temple of the God of the Bloody Spear while avoiding the Goddess's sight.
Because the Rusted Shield Goddess was reluctant for Elbridge to go to the temple of the God of the Bloody Spear.
'Still, I have to go.'
The day Felix visited the temple of the Rusted Shield a while ago, Felix had suggested to Elbridge, 'Let's have a cup of tea sometime.'
Elbridge intended to use that offer as an excuse to visit the temple of the God of the Bloody Spear and then look for a paladin to hunt magical beasts with.
Since ancient times, the paladins of the Bloody Spear had been of a decent caliber, so they would surely be a great help in hunting magical beasts.
As Elbridge was looking around the inside of the temple of the God of the Bloody Spear, a young priest jumped up from his seat and approached Elbridge.
"Welcome to the temple! You are someone I am seeing for the first time... By any chance, do you wish to join the order?"
Because his attitude was burdensomely bright and affable, Elbridge immediately waved his hand in denial.
"I am not interested in joining."
At that, the priest's tone became strangely indifferent.
"Then what brings you here?"
"I came to see Sir Felix."
"Oh my. Sir Felix is currently out."
The timing was bad of all times. Elbridge asked just in case.
"Could you tell me when Sir Felix might return?"
"It will take at least a few days. A mobilization order was issued this morning."
"A mobilization order?"
"A mobilization for the subjugation of magical beasts. Recently, reports of magical beast appearances have suddenly increased, so all the paladins have left the temple."
Elbridge could not hide his feeling of regret.
"That is a pity. It would have been good for both of us if I had come just a little earlier."
"Do you have urgent business?"
Elbridge pondered an excuse for a moment, then decided to just be honest.
"That's not it. I was thinking of helping Sir Felix if an occasion to hunt a magical beast arose."
"Ah, you were a mercenary."
"I am not a mercenary, but a paladin."
The priest looked Elbridge up and down and then made a highly suspicious expression. It must have been quite unconvincing for someone without even armor to claim to be a paladin.
Therefore, Elbridge added a word.
"...I belong to the Order of the Rusted Shield. I believe you know the temple right next door."
"Ah..."
The priest instantly withdrew his suspicion. Instead, sympathy filled the place where suspicion had been.
Elbridge thought it was a relief that the Goddess could not see that priest's eyes. If the Goddess had seen those eyes, she would have been wounded deep in her heart.
However, the situation flowed in quite a positive direction.
Because the priest, feeling sorry for Elbridge, actively proposed a solution.
"If you are interested in hunting magical beasts, how about going to the lower town?"
"The lower town?"
"Yes. The Solenion branch of the mercenary guild is in the lower town."
"As I said, I am not a mercenary."
"It does not matter. The paladins of small orders often visit the mercenary guild as well. Paladins also have the desire to be of help to their order's finances."
"..."
This, too, was a story that it was a relief the Goddess did not hear. If the Goddess had heard this remark, she would have spent three days and nights in tears.
However, Elbridge recalled the story he had heard from the mercenary Marcus on the way to Solenion.
"My goal is hunting magical beasts, not money. And I heard that mercenaries do not fight magical beasts. That they are not held responsible even if they abandon their clients and run away when a magical beast appears... I don't think requests related to magical beasts would come to the mercenary guild."
"That is a matter that depends on the contents of the contract. Besides, requests related to magical beasts are not entrusted solely to mercenaries. It is standard for knights and paladins to subjugate magical beasts, and mercenaries are only hired to the extent of one or two when there is a shortage of personnel."
Ah, so that was how it was.
As Elbridge nodded, the priest added to his story.
"Moreover, the money earned from hunting magical beasts is not the only money. Taking on miscellaneous requests, including escort missions, is much better than not doing them at all, isn't it? It will all be a help to the order's finances."
The priest seemed to want to help Elbridge by whatever means possible.
'...Does our order really look that destitute?'
Elbridge became a little gloomy.
<><><>
Elbridge left the temple of the God of the Bloody Spear right away and arrived at the mercenary guild.
He had never thought the mercenary guild would be cheerful and neat. However, the atmosphere of the mercenary guild was a little more shabby than Elbridge had expected.
The people waiting in the mercenary guild were sitting still on uncomfortable-looking chairs, or pointlessly getting up and slouching around.
In one corner of the office, the cheapest tea and hot water were prepared, and people exhausted from waiting would make and drink tea themselves.
'Such a gloomy atmosphere...'
Elbridge approached the receptionist of the mercenary guild and asked.
"Hello."
The female receptionist responded in a so-called professional tone, reasonably friendly yet maintaining an appropriate distance.
"Is this your first time here?"
"Yes. That's right. I'm wondering if there are any procedures I must follow first to take on a request."
"Are you a mercenary?"
"I am a paladin."
He thought she naturally wouldn't believe him, but the receptionist did not doubt Elbridge.
"Yes. Please tell me your order and name."
"I am Paladin Elbridge of the Order of the Rusted Shield."
"Please sit on a chair and wait."
"...Do you believe that I am a paladin?"
"People have their own circumstances, after all. Not all orders are wealthy... Oh, right. The commission is received from the client, so there is nothing in particular you need to worry about."
While Elbridge was sitting among the people and waiting, a familiar person approached Elbridge and greeted him.
"Oh, hello. Sir Elbridge."
It was the mercenary, Marcus, who had accompanied him on the way to Solenion.
Marcus sat next to Elbridge and made a fuss.
"You've put on some flesh in the meantime. You look much better."
"Have you been well, Mister Marcus?"
"I've been great. I got something to boast about for the rest of my life... By the way, what brings Sir Elbridge to the mercenary guild?"
"I..."
At that moment, a man entered the mercenary guild and shouted in a loud voice as soon as he came in.
"Escort mission to Haynel! Five people with more than three years of experience! The schedule is expected to be ten days. The pay is four silver coins! Those interested, get on the carriage!"
A few people staggered up from their seats and headed for the carriage.
However, Elbridge paid no attention to that request.
Since Elbridge had come to the mercenary guild expecting a magical beast hunting request, there was no reason to be distracted by irrelevant requests.
Following that, other clients shouted out their conditions.
"One person confident in their fists. Even if you don't take the request, you must not leak the contents of the request. Penalties may follow if you violate the condition. The duration is roughly five days! The pay is from ten to fifteen silver coins depending on the performance!"
After that, all sorts of people appeared and looked for people to take on their requests. There were requests that looked somewhat suspicious, and requests that looked perfectly fine.
However, a client related to a magical beast rarely appeared.
Elbridge, exhausted from waiting, fell into thought again.
'Felix said that the Order of the God of the Laurel Wreath is also quite active in hunting magical beasts... Should I have gone to the Order of the God of the Laurel Wreath instead of coming here? No. Since magical beasts have increased, that order's temple might be empty too.'
'...Still, I should go and check.'
Elbridge looked at Marcus and said.
"Mister Marcus. It was nice to meet you."
"Oh, are you leaving?"
"Yes. A place I need to go just came to mind."
Just as Elbridge was about to stand up from his seat, the door of the mercenary guild burst open again.
This time, there was not just one client. Moreover, their appearance was vastly different from the previous clients.
'...Paladins.'
And paladins wearing quite expensive-looking armor at that.
However, the atmosphere of those paladins was different from any paladin Elbridge had ever seen.
There was not a single scratch on those paladins' armor, and there were barely any calluses on the backs of their hands or fingers.
There was even a person so fat that it was hard to believe he was a paladin. It was as if they had just put armor on someone who was not a paladin.
'...Don't tell me.'
Elbridge scanned their armor here and there. And he discovered the symbol of the God of the Golden Tray engraved on their gauntlets.
The fat paladin shouted.
"The time required is four days or less. The pay is five gold coins!"
The mercenary guild murmured.
The pay for a not-so-dangerous request was about one silver coin for two or three days.
Even for a fairly dangerous or difficult request, it was rare to promise a pay of more than three or four silver coins a day.
But the pay offered now was five gold coins.
Since one gold coin was worth twenty silver coins, it was an exorbitant pay that amounted to at least five times to at most a hundred times that of an ordinary request.
The paladin of the Order of the Golden Tray said.
"Those who have experience encountering a magical beast, raise your hands!"
People blinded by money scrambled to raise their hands. Whether they actually had experience encountering a magical beast or not did not seem important.
The atmosphere of the mercenary guild, which had been sluggish, heated up fiercely.
At that, the fat paladin clicked his tongue, 'Tsk,' and added a word.
"The Order of the Golden Tray is looking for people to help hunt a magical beast. Those who ran away without fighting when they encountered a magical beast in the past, lower your hands. Oh, and the pay is after the job is done."
People hastily lowered their hands.
Even if the offered pay was large, no one wanted to fight a magical beast and die.
Of course, Elbridge was an exception. It was a situation where he had to follow them even if they didn't give him money, so there was no reason to refuse when they were even giving him money.
And there was one more person who had not yet lowered his hand. It was Marcus.
As Elbridge glanced at Marcus with a disapproving expression, Marcus mumbled and made an excuse.
"I didn't run away, and I watched from close by until the magical beast died. I clearly played a part too... Doesn't that mean I fought too?"
"Hmm..."
At first, he thought Marcus might become a burden.
But thinking about it carefully, accompanying Marcus was actually a good thing.
Marcus followed the God of Sunshowers.
Since the God of Sunshowers symbolized luck, if he accompanied Marcus, Elbridge might also be able to benefit.
In fact, Marcus had shown considerable strong luck in the last request.
"What did I say? I firmly believe in Mister Marcus. Aren't we comrades who fought a magical beast together?"
The important thing was one thing. To keep Marcus close enough to share in his good fortune.
Elbridge felt strangely pleased.