Anatacio Monastery (2)
The meals at Anatacio Monastery were excellent.
There was goulash, rich and savory, the kind that stuck to your ribs. There was pea soup, steaming hot. Bacon and sausages were laid out as if anyone was welcome to take as much as they liked. Even smoked roast meat, sending up a mouthwatering aroma.
For breakfast at a mere monastery, it was an absurdly lavish spread.
Was it because they had so many believers that the finances were so healthy?
It was beyond comparison with Saint Dominic Monastery, where a single loaf of rye bread had to tame hunger.
Lawrence loaded his plate with a generous portion of food and took milk as well.
If breakfast was this good, there was hardly any need to go outside.
Just as he was lifting his spoon in a pleasant mood, someone sat down across from him.
When he glanced up slightly, he saw a familiar nun’s habit.
The veil she should have been wearing was nowhere in sight.
Bright golden hair swayed at her shoulders.
It was Angela, the woman who had come to his room yesterday.
“Good morning, Lawrence.”
“……”
“Why do you sigh the moment you see my face?”
“If you don’t know why, then I have nothing to say.”
She was shameless beyond belief.
She looked as though she had already forgotten everything from yesterday.
“Can you even eat all that first thing in the morning?”
“I was actually about to ask you the same.”
Lawrence looked at her plate.
A glass of milk and a bowl of pea soup that looked as if a few spoonfuls would finish it off.
Even for breakfast, the portion was tiny.
It probably wouldn’t even settle her stomach, let alone fill her.
“Breakfast is breakfast. If you eat something this greasy first thing, your stomach will feel off all day.”
“It’s better to eat when you can.”
“Forcing yourself to eat is worse than not eating at all. And it’s better than throwing it away, isn’t it?”
Angela pointed toward the nuns leaving the dining hall.
They were discarding nearly half the food still left on their trays.
“……”
Lawrence was speechless at the unbelievable sight.
He had memories of not being able to eat because there was nothing to eat.
But he had never once had enough food left over to throw away.
What was even more astonishing was how calmly the household staff took it.
“I should tell you, since you don’t seem to know Lawrence that well. This is normal here at our monastery.”
“Is the monastery’s budget really that comfortable?”
“Well, you could say that. There are plenty of nobles who try to get on the Order’s good side somehow, so they make donations under one pretext or another. Thanks to that, we live rather comfortably, though it probably feels very different from the monastery you know.”
Come to think of it, he had forgotten.
A nun and a sister were not the same thing.
Like the song Miriam had told him about Sister Margit.
They were probably born into noble houses, lived in luxury, and then were exiled here as if they had been quietly locked away in a monastery.
“It’s not my place to say this, but that’s a terribly narrow-minded way of looking at it.”
Angela shook her head after hearing about Margit.
“Not every nun who comes to a monastery has been abandoned by her family. A song is just a song. Minstrels always take liberties and adapt things to make the situation more dramatic.”
After wetting her throat with milk, Angela continued.
“For some people, it can even be used as a refuge, somewhere to slip away under the shadow of the Order. And there are women who come to monasteries to learn proper conduct before their marriage training. In our monastery’s case, it’s obviously more the latter.”
“So this place is full of ladies from distinguished families.”
Now that he thought about it, Angela herself was clearly a lady from some wealthy house.
Was that why she had acted so freely, doing as she pleased?
“You could put it that way.”
Without meaning to, a dry laugh escaped him.
No wonder the atmosphere here was so different from an ordinary monastery.
“To think you didn’t even know that. Lawrence, you’ve probably only ever wandered around the fringes of the world.”
“The holy places are always accompanied by the Goddess’s trials.”
“There’s no need for clergy to walk the road of hardship if they don’t want to. But I do respect pilgrims who choose to walk it. They’re proving the sincerity of their faith by overcoming so many temptations and trials.”
Her tone was serious enough that it didn’t sound like flattery.
“So when are you free today?”
“Free?”
“You promised yesterday that you’d tell me about the outside world.”
“I don’t remember making such a promise.”
“So you tricked me?”
“I never tricked you. You simply misunderstood.”
Angela frowned at the corner of her mouth.
“Then let’s do this. Since I just told you about the monastery, Lawrence should tell me something about the outside world in return.”
“So you want one thing in exchange for one thing.”
“Yes. That’s fair, isn’t it?”
Lawrence paused with his spoon in midair and looked at her.
Angela did have a tendency to do as she pleased, but compared with the other nuns, she at least knew moderation.
The chance to sit face-to-face and speak with a noblewoman didn’t come around very often.
More than anything, what had happened at the Magic Tower still troubled him.
Even though he had only spent a few days with Emily, he had still been unable to understand noble society.
If he could catch even a glimpse of what that world was like through Angela, it wouldn’t be a bad thing.
“All right. Conversation benefits both sides. So shall we start now?”
“What are you talking about? I have to go now. I told you, I’m not exactly swimming in free time either.”
Angela raised a hand as if to indicate the surrounding room.
The dining hall, which had been bustling moments ago, was already nearly empty.
He had simply been so absorbed in talking that he hadn’t noticed.
Everyone else seemed to have gone up to start their day’s duties.
“How about tonight? Around the same time I came to find you yesterday.”
“Tonight may be a little difficult.”
“Why? You’re a pilgrim. It’s not like you have anything to do anyway, right?”
“That was rather rude. I have someone I need to meet at the Mistra Merchant Guild.”
“Someone from the Merchant Guild? That doesn’t make any sense…”
Angela stared blankly at Lawrence.
But as soon as she realized he wasn’t lying, she spoke again.
“Fine. Then when would be good?”
“How about four days from now? By then I think I’ll have finished most of what I need to do.”
“Four days is too far away. Tonight, I’ll accept because you said you had an appointment with someone from the Merchant Guild. How about tomorrow evening?”
“Hmm… All right. I don’t see why not.”
“You promised. Don’t go changing your mind later.”
“Of course. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t forget either.”
Angela drained the rest of her milk in one gulp.
“Then see you then, Lawrence.”
After returning her empty dishes, she headed back to the serving line.
She piled a new tray with more food, took milk again, and left the dining hall behind.
Of course that alone could never have been enough for her.
Lawrence, who had been eating in silence, also rose from his seat.
* * *
After leaving the monastery, Lawrence headed for the mercenary guild.
Finding the Mistra branch of the Mercenary Guild was not difficult.
The place before the guild was so crowded that it was hard to believe that this many people had gathered there all at once.
“I’d appreciate it if people could at least keep the appointment time.”
“Sorry. It’s not like I wanted to be late, but, well, the booze I drank last night turned out to be a problem.”
“The client really does get to relax, doesn’t he? Mercenaries like us are always careful because our reputations are on the line.”
“Come now, don’t be like that. If you look at what I brought as an apology, I’m sure you’ll feel better.”
“Wait—don’t tell me that’s all alcohol?”
“My treat. Let’s have a light drink and then set out.”
The mercenaries met their clients and exchanged greetings.
They checked the faces of the companions they would be working with on this request.
Of course, not everything was friendly conversation.
Some mercenaries were practically snarling at one another, as though they had a lifelong grudge.
And sometimes a client, displeased with a mercenary, would cancel the request on the spot.
“Let’s just pretend this request never happened.”
What kept it from turning into a full-blown uproar was the watchful patrol of guards in the area.
There were even mercenaries who looked as though they had been hired directly by the guild, standing their ground and keeping order. There were no foolhardy hotheads here reckless enough to start a scene in front of them.
Lawrence stepped inside the mercenary guild.
A calm atmosphere flowed through the interior.
As in any mercenary guild, countless mercenaries were gathered before the request board, scanning the notices.
And there was more than one board—there were four.
Apparently the requests were divided by type.
The mercenaries gathered in front of each board were dressed a little differently as well.
Lawrence listened in on their conversations.
Where people gathered, information moved.
Since he had been staying at the Magic Tower until recently, he had no idea how the surrounding situation was unfolding.
“I hear the frontier regions are on the verge of war. Baron Ilios is gathering mercenaries from everywhere he can.”
“Are you sure? I heard that was just a rumor.”
“No, apparently not. Word is that Baron Ilios recently made a fortune off the lumber mill. They say he used that capital to raise an army.”
“You’re talking about Horos Village, then. I heard they’ve already wiped out every Forest Spider in the Spider Forest. Sounds like that left them with some breathing room.”
“Then an estate war might start soon. Who’s the opponent?”
“I heard it’s Baron Derby, who rules Redantus Village.”
Lawrence was startled.
An estate war?
And between Redantus Village and Horos Village, no less.
“Think carefully before you pick a side. If you back the wrong horse, the only people who die are us. No noble is going to pay a mercenary’s ransom.”
It was a comparison of acorns to acorns.
Against Rombamel or even Mistra, neither of them could truly be called cities.
He didn’t know how much money Baron Derby and Baron Ilios had at their disposal, but Redantus Village didn’t have a clear source of income like Horos Village did.
No, he wasn’t really sure that was true.
Still, from the way the mercenaries were talking, that seemed to be the case.
“Then Baron Ilios would be the better employer.”
“That’s why I hear mercenaries are flocking to Horos Village.”
“Tch. Then there won’t be much money in it for us, either. And getting there is already a pain. If the pay’s low, there’s no reason to go.”
“No, that’s not all. You’d be left with a pretty impressive achievement. You took part in an estate war—and won, even. That gives you a nice reputation to boast about when taking other requests, doesn’t it?”
“Hmm… I suppose that’s true.”
“Of course, if you leave now, you’re guaranteed to be late.”
“Damn it…”
How long had he been listening to the mercenaries speak?
Before he knew it, it was Lawrence’s turn.
A neatly dressed receptionist sat at the counter.
“Welcome to the Mistra branch of the Mercenary Guild.”
She greeted Lawrence in a bright voice.
“How may I help you?”
“Thank you for your trouble. I came to obtain some information.”
“Understood. You’d like to view guild information, then. First, may I see your mercenary plate?”
“Here you are.”
Lawrence handed it over.
“Thank you. Holy Cross Order. Bronze Plate Mercenary Lawrence?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“By any chance, are you the Shadow Mage?”
“I’ve been called that as well.”
The receptionist, who had recognized him, looked surprised.
“Oh my. I’d heard you’d visited us not long ago. It’s a pleasure to meet the rumored Shadow Mage.”
“It’s been nearly half a year since I visited the Mistra branch. I suppose someone remembered.”
“Our Dorothea likes the Shadow Mage very much. She said if you had come to her instead, she would have introduced you to much better requests. She was sorry she couldn’t do that.”
“It’s not really something worth boasting about.”
“Boasting? Isn’t it a loss in every sense to be denied the treatment you ought to receive?”
She smiled softly with her eyes.
“So what information are you looking for? Your rank is Bronze Plate, Lawrence. But I’d like to give you the same treatment as a Silver Plate mercenary in recognition of your achievements.”
That was an unexpected answer.
In other words, he might be only a Bronze Plate mercenary in name.
But they could still treat him like a Silver Plate mercenary.
“I’d like information about the northern regions.”
“By the north, you mean Winterglen.”
“That’s right.”
“Are you looking for monsters that appear in the north? Or requests related to Winterglen?”
He realized his question had been too vague.
“I’d like everything you have on the monsters that mainly appear in the northern regions, and anything I should be careful of when traveling there.”
“Everything, then… So you’re planning to head north.”
Lawrence nodded.
The receptionist asked him to wait a moment, then got up from her seat.
When she returned to the counter, she was carrying a thick bundle of documents and books.
“It’s best to get the most accurate information from the Winterglen branch, but the Mistra branch also has a great deal of useful information on the north. To hand over every last bit of it here would honestly be too much, so for now, this is everything left behind by mercenaries who worked in Winterglen.”
The stack of papers she set on the counter was almost tower-like in size.
The amount of material was so immense that it nearly hid the receptionist’s face, and Lawrence clicked his tongue.
How was he supposed to check all of this?
It seemed he would have to ask only about the information he absolutely needed.