The Third Guests — Diamond-Rank Party (2)
“The Adventurers’ Guild is spread all across the world. And within the guild, adventurers are ranked according to their abilities and achievements: Wood, Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond.”
And of those who visited the inn today, three were Diamond-rank adventurers.
“How did you figure that out?”
“They were carrying adventurer identification plates. I checked them—aside from the nun, all three are Diamond-rank.”
“Then what about the nun?”
“She’s not an adventurer. Even so, if she ever became one, she has more than enough skill to climb to Platinum without much trouble.”
That was what Rain garnet said.
So, in other words…
“You’re saying those three, excluding the nun, are top-tier even among adventurers?”
“Not quite. An adventurer’s rank tends to rise more from results than pure ability.”
Just think of it as them having diligently done their jobs.
“Hmm.”
Then, changing the subject—
“That story the nun told earlier… is it true?”
The part about the churches taking turns protecting Transferees.
It was information I couldn’t verify with the knowledge I’d gained from Grace and Rain garnet.
“Well… it’s news to me as well, but it’s a fairly convincing story.”
If the nun was right, it would explain why, for all the long years we’d lived, we’d either never seen a Transferee or could count them on one hand.
“They must have hidden the Transferees away carefully to protect them from outside threats.”
“Then at least they’d be safe from those threats.”
Rain garnet shook her head at my words.
“Churches have factions too. An outsider who doesn’t know about a Transferee is one thing, but inside the same church there might well have been wars over a Transferee’s knowledge and power.”
That was possible.
In that case, not following the nun was still the wiser choice.
I had no desire to get swept up in something like that, and I didn’t want to lose my ability either.
Clang!
Ching!
While I was talking with Rain garnet, the sound of metal striking metal drifted from the back of the inn.
I cracked a window open for a look and found the warrior and the thief sparring.
“Rain garnet. I’m a complete amateur when it comes to this, so I’ll ask—those two aren’t fighting for real, are they?”
“It’s a spar. Every strike is aimed at a vital point, but they aren’t using mana.”
Aiming live steel at vitals still seemed dangerous to me, but if Rain garnet said it was fine, it probably was.
“Hrah!”
Boom!
“Hmph.”
Still—that was pure physical ability without mana?
The warrior was swinging a sword that looked heavy even at a glance as if it weighed nothing.
And every time the thief moved, afterimages seemed to trail behind her.
“You need to be at least that strong to cross Dragon Canyon.”
Rain garnet was saying that when a voice came from behind me.
“Transferee.”
While I watched the warrior and thief spar, the nun approached.
“Have you given any thought to the offer I made earlier?”
“Yes. I’ve decided to stay right here.”
I answered on reflex.
No matter what she said to persuade me, I had already made up my mind not to go to the church.
“I see. I expected as much.”
Her reaction was a little strange, though.
Hadn’t she been trying to convince me somehow just a moment ago?
“This inn itself is your ability, isn’t it?”
Ah. She’d figured that out.
“That’s right.”
“Then there’s no real reason for you to come to the church.”
She had realized why I refused to leave this place and had given up.
“This might actually be better.”
She gave up more easily than I expected.
As if she’d read that thought, the nun spoke again.
“To be honest, even I think staying here would be more comfortable and safer for you than living at our church.”
As she said it, she held out something made of metal.
“By the way… is this the will of the gods? That I, a nun who serves Restwin, the God of Repose, should come to someone whose very ability is an inn.”
Restwin, God of Repose.
I turned the name over in my mind as I looked at the metal object she had given me.
A carving that seemed to depict a door and a small lantern.
“It’s the symbol of Restwin. The faithful of our church often place it by their bedside when they sleep.”
“You should accept it, Master. Restwin is the god most inns revere, and he’s rather gentle. If you’re lucky, you might even receive a name from him.”
“…A name. Ah—right. Transferees lose their names when they cross over.”
But then…
The nun looked at Rain garnet, who had been offering advice at my side.
“Restwin is gentle, yes, but calling a god’s name so casually is still unwise. The gods are sensitive about such things.”
Rain garnet clicked her tongue softly and turned her head away.
…Were gods and dragons on bad terms, perhaps?
“In any case, I’ll leave Restwin’s symbol with you. In an emergency you can use it to contact the church, so if you ever need anything, reach out anytime.”
A god’s symbol had a function like that…?
“An ordinary symbol wouldn’t, but one given by a nun skilled enough to enter Dragon Canyon would have that kind of power.”
That was Rain garnet’s assessment.
So not every symbol worked that way.
Which meant the nun standing in front of me was someone of considerable standing even within the church?
“Beyond considerable… she might even be at the very pinnacle of the church that serves Restwin.”
“……”
At Rain garnet’s words the nun fell silent.
Could it actually be true…?
“To see through that much… just what are you?”
“Do I need to tell you?”
“At first I assumed you were simply a being bound to this inn—the Transferee’s ability.”
That was correct, actually.
Rain garnet was registered as an employee of the inn.
“But a being created by a Transferee’s skill only knows what the Transferee knows. With that in mind, it’s strange that you know information the Transferee himself doesn’t.”
You’re deliberately approaching the Transferee and plotting something, aren’t you?
“…Ha!”
Rain garnet looked at the nun as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
Even so, she seemed at a loss for words.
Well, the reason Rain garnet first came to this inn was to kill me and seize the Dragon Vein…
This nun was oddly on the mark.
After staring at her in silence, Rain garnet finally seemed to make up her mind and told the truth.
“Ha… fine. I did come here with ulterior motives. But I got the short end of the stick instead and ended up working as an employee. Happy now?”
“Got the short end of the stick…?”
Puzzled by the odd phrasing, the nun thought for a moment, then seemed to reach a conclusion and spoke to me.
“It appears you possess some ability to fight after all.”
“I can’t fight at all, actually.”
“This woman you’ve taken as an employee… she clearly has considerable skill, and you’ve even bound her with your ability… yet you mustn’t let your guard down. A contract made by mutual agreement can’t be broken unless both sides agree, but a forced subjugation through ability can come undone. Remember that this woman could free herself and betray you at any time.”
“So a proper contract would be fine, then.”
“Once I return, I’ll select holy knights to guard you. No—establishing a branch right here might even be better…”
“Hold on. Who decided that on their own?”
The nun, having decided things entirely by herself, ignored me and kept muttering.
Watching her, Rain garnet let out a snicker.
“That’s how the high-ranking clergy are. The more firmly they believe their god is right, the more power they receive from that god—so they don’t listen to anyone else.”
Generally, someone at the level of a church’s pope considers it only natural that they and their flock should sacrifice themselves for their god.
If necessary, they think nothing of burning a few small villages.
“When you see the heroes influenced by people like that, you understand what I mean—they’re not normal either.”
“Isn’t that just fanaticism?”
“Church people are all like that. Still, this nun is on the milder side. Usually once someone reaches pope, forcing their faith on others is the baseline. She’s basically just making a suggestion and leaving.”
…Just what kind of organization were the churches of this world?
The next day.
The party packed their bags early, drank stew for breakfast, and left the inn.
The warrior and the thief looked refreshed, saying it was the first good sleep they’d had in days.
However…
The archer looked exhausted…
She seemed so tired I wondered whether she’d slept properly at all.
Had the bed been uncomfortable?
I’d been told it was quite good by the standards of ordinary inns in this world.
And as for the nun…
While I was thinking about her, Rain garnet snickered.
“It’s going to get lively around here. Isn’t that a good thing? You’ve been whining about how bored you were.”
“……”
Apparently the nun had received a revelation from Restwin the previous night.
A revelation to build a branch of Restwin’s church inside the grounds of this inn…
I still didn’t understand why she would decide that without even asking the landowner’s permission.
Not that I’m the landowner.
Still, as Rain garnet said, more people would at least ease the boredom.
“…Shall we have breakfast too?”
“Sure.”
Trading those words, Rain garnet and I brought out the wyvern-tail meat we’d roasted that morning and ate it in the kitchen.
The wyvern-tail meat was running low as well.
Even if it ran out completely, we could always just have someone catch a wyvern from the cliffs and donate it.
“Drinking first thing in the morning?”
“Normally if I try to drink in the morning Grace nags me, so I have to do it while she’s gone! Don’t worry—I can’t get drunk because of the command.”
Rain garnet said that as she downed her beer.
Fine. Do whatever you want.
If there had been guests I would have stopped her, but there weren’t any.
“Ahh…! Hm?”
After polishing off a cool mug of beer in one go and reaching to pour another, Rain garnet looked toward the inn’s entrance.
Thud!
Thud!
Right after that, something heavy landed twice.
It was the exact sound Grace or Rain garnet made when they landed in front of the inn in dragon form.
The problem was that it had sounded twice.
Grace… or not?
Had some dragon who learned that Grace or Rain garnet had become employees of this inn come to attack?
“I’m back.”
My worries proved groundless—the one who opened the inn door was Grace.
“I bought three slave women. I had more money left than expected, so I also picked up a few books good for learning letters.”
“Oh, right. But…”
I looked at the three people who had followed Grace in.
Two golden-haired women staring blankly into empty air.
And one with silver hair that shone even brighter than the other two, looking straight at me—
“…A dragon?”
I recognized that the silver-haired woman was a dragon.
“She became a slave during some amusement. Since I was buying anyway, I figured a strong slave would be useful. And don’t drink first thing in the morning.”
Grace said that as she snatched the mug from Rain garnet’s hand.
Rain garnet’s face crumpled into a pout.