The Adventurer's Guild
The spacious conference room felt heavy with formality. Father sat at the head of the table with his usual stern expression, listening intently. Beside him were me and my older brother Aidan.
“And as scheduled, the recruitment of soldiers is proceeding smoothly.”
“Mm.”
One might wonder—if nobles possessed such overwhelming power, why would soldiers even be necessary? That thought was perfectly normal. I’d asked the same thing myself.
In truth, actual warfare in this world wasn’t all that different from the wars of my previous life. Soldiers formed the frontline to hold the enemy, while knights delivered the decisive blows. If the infantry were the foot soldiers, then knights served as armored divisions, artillery, and even anti-air support all in one. And nobles? They waited in the wings—like strategic nuclear weapons.
Especially the direct descendants who carried the family name. Their power, with only slight exaggeration, could be considered nuclear-level by this world’s standards. If a war turned unfavorable and a noble stepped forward, it gave the other side legitimate justification to deploy their own full strength. Moreover, if civilian casualties occurred during such conflicts, responsibility fell squarely on the first noble house to intervene. Even the royal family had no authority to stop it. Violating that principle was seen as infringing on noble rights, giving other noble houses grounds to interfere.
There were probably many other reasons as well, but it wasn’t my concern. After all, I wasn’t going to war. Who in their right mind would join the military? Though, to be fair, I wouldn’t be starting as a private.
“The next agenda is additional…”
But my biggest worry right now wasn’t any of that. It was sexual desire. Under the guise of sex education, I was currently being tortured. Starting with Charlotte and going all the way to Neria. We’d had several intimate encounters already, yet I still hadn’t even taken off my pants. Lena had forbidden it.
“Absolutely not.”
The look in Lena’s eyes as she said that was an impenetrable wall. Since Father had granted her full authority over this matter, I couldn’t defy her. So from the day before yesterday until now, I felt like I was being tested like some ascetic monk.
I’d even considered handling it myself in secret.
“Masturbation is also prohibited. Wasting the young master’s seed would be a disgrace to the nobility.”
“You’ve got to be kidding…!”
Was she telling me to just die, then?
In the end, I had endured until today without any release. My days consisted of basic education, learning my official duties, and then receiving nightly sex education. Even though it had only been a few days, it felt like pure hell.
“Then, as previously discussed, several matters will be entrusted to my second son, Leoric. See that they are carried out properly.”
“Yes, my lord.”
The meeting had concluded. I felt everyone’s eyes turn toward me and naturally rose from my seat at Father’s words. The retainers’ gazes fell upon me. When I calmly lowered my eyes, they all bowed at the waist.
Never forget this, Leoric. Nobles are the absolute superiors, and those called retainers are ultimately nothing more than tools.
The office was of moderate size. At first glance, the antique desk and chair were clearly of the highest quality. The surrounding bookshelves still held only a few items.
“I’ll need to fill these up.”
It felt too empty to use as my regular workspace for the time being. Well, Father probably hadn’t expected me to use it exactly as it was when he prepared it.
When I turned around, I saw two people waiting near the entrance. It was Charlotte and Neria.
“Charlotte.”
“Yes, young master.”
After that day, Charlotte and Neria had officially become my personal attendants. Even if they were “personal,” they still did the same chores as before. Since that day, they had followed me everywhere, attending to my needs. Now that I had an office, they would likely wait here whenever I had no other tasks.
“Have the servants move the books from my study here.”
“Yes, understood.”
“And Neria.”
“Yes.”
I scanned the room once more. Then I opened the door by the window, revealing the garden beyond. The sunlight at this hour, the south-facing balcony, the bright scenery—it was perfect.
“Find a table that suits this spot, and prepare a tea set as well.”
“Yes, understood.”
Once I finished speaking, both of them bowed and withdrew. As soon as they left the room, they hurried off with quick steps. Their fluttering skirts. The legs wrapped in stockings beneath. The sight of their naked bodies that I had seen so often at night recently flashed through my mind.
“Ugh, my head is full of nothing but filthy thoughts.”
Until now, I had held back because I didn’t want to clash with my brother. But now there was no need to restrain myself. After the education I’d received these past few days, my healthy young body was on the verge of exploding. I could practically feel the sperm writhing and multiplying in my lower half. If this continued, I’d probably start having wet dreams. Damn it.
“Young master.”
“Hm?”
Somehow, while I was lost in thought, a table and chair had been set up near the window. And the tea I always drank had been brewed at the perfect temperature and prepared for me.
“Thank you, Neria.”
“You’re very welcome, young master.”
I sat in the balcony chair while Neria finished setting out the tea and snacks. This was apparently quite the skill. Once Neria finished her maid duties, she’d probably be considered prime marriage material among the people below the castle. She might even become the wife of a high-ranking knight or a wealthy merchant.
After finishing her preparations, Neria stepped back and stood quietly.
“Neria. Could you hand me the documents on the desk?”
“Ah, um…”
At my request, Neria hesitated for a moment, glancing at me nervously. She probably thought it wasn’t proper work for a maid. And she wasn’t wrong—documents like these weren’t usually handled by maids.
“Mm. As you know, Neria, I’ve officially started working, but I don’t have anyone to assist me for the time being.”
“Understood.”
It was amusing to see Neria’s slightly troubled expression, but after I repeated myself, she eventually brought over the documents. Come to think of it, could Neria even read?
“Can you read?”
“Pardon? Ah, yes. If it’s in the Brahms language.”
Brahms language. It was the language of this country, but because the region had long been a melting pot of various influences, the language itself was a chaotic mix. The southern region had been under Brahms rule for a very long time, so it was relatively better here.
“I see. Got it.”
“Yes.”
I gave a small smile to Neria as she bowed and returned to her original spot, then began looking through the documents.
…There wasn’t actually much I had to do. Important matters would be handled by Father anyway, and even if he left his post during the war, the system was designed to keep running. My job was simply to take over a few of the tasks my brother had been managing.
One of the most notable was managing public security within the city. Among them, a few things stood out.
“The Adventurer’s Guild, huh.”
So we’ve arrived at the classic fantasy trope after all?
“Adventurers, my lord?”
The civil official who had come to assist me had short, blue hair. He looked to be in his late twenties.
“Yes. Adventurers. What exactly do these guys do?”
“I see. Well then…”
What was his name again? Che, Che… Cheko? The blue-haired young man thought for a moment before his thoughts seemed to organize, and he began to explain.
“Well, if we’re talking about what they actually do, they’re basically errand runners.”
“Errand runners? They’re called adventurers, but that sounds boring.”
“Haha.”
Cheko gave a bitter smile, apparently sensing my disappointment.
“Of course, I’ve heard there are some who live up to the name of adventurer.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Exploring the Great Mountain Range is a rather famous tale. There have even been adventurers who succeeded. However, except for a very small minority, most of them are little better than swindlers.”
Well, that made sense. Wasn’t Earth pretty much the same?
“When you say adventurer, you’re mostly talking about ruffians. Still, they aren’t completely useless.”
For example, as escorts, guards, monster subjugation forces, and wartime mercenaries. Other territories sometimes hired them as scouts when manpower was short, but that never happened in the Franz County.
“Monster subjugation, you say.”
“It can’t even compare to the work we do.”
“Is that so?”
Cheko spoke with a rather firm expression. There was clear pride in his voice.
“At best, they only deal with small monsters. The magic power adventurers possess doesn’t even reach the toes of our knights.”
In this world, the basic requirement for becoming an adventurer was also magic power. Even if it was only a tiny amount, the difference between having it and not having it was enormous, so even the lowest-ranked adventurers possessed some. Still, as Cheko said, it didn’t even come close to the level of knights, let alone nobles.
Even first-rate adventurers were difficult to compare to knights. It wasn’t impossible, but only the most famous adventurers reached knight-level strength.
“I’m displeased that they don’t fulfill the duty of those who possess magic power, but given their level, they aren’t really needed anyway. On top of that, their handling of it is incredibly crude.”
A sneer formed on Cheko’s lips. Damn, that was harsh.
This was a world where discrimination based on magic power was the fundamental worldview. Well, since the class system itself was built upon that foundation, it was only natural.
“Then what exactly did my brother do in managing the Adventurer’s Guild?”
“Ah, that part is quite simple.”
They were still people who possessed magic power. Even if knights could quickly suppress them if they ran wild, the damage to commoners and regular soldiers would be severe. One of the methods created to prevent that was the Adventurer’s Guild.
“We do inspect people at the city gates, but it’s difficult to check every little detail. That’s why the guild manages them.”
“Hmm. The guild isn’t only in Franz, right?”
“Correct. Strictly speaking, the guild itself exists across the entire continent, but…”
According to Cheko, while guilds existed throughout the continent, they weren’t particularly connected to one another. To be precise, the guild in each territory was under the control of that territory’s ruling noble.
“So they only share the name ‘guild,’ but aren’t actually linked together.”
“Yes. They only share information regarding adventurer credentials and their personal records.”
And even that information exchange mostly only happened within the same region. Since there was no internet, it couldn’t be helped.
And the person who had been managing that guild was my brother. There were other guilds as well, but… areas requiring specialized knowledge like commerce were ultimately only reviewed by him at the final stage.
“Then let’s go take a look.”
“Pardon?”
“I said, let’s go visit the Adventurer’s Guild.”
I was curious. An adventurer’s guild in a fantasy world—what could be more classic than that?