Chapter 70

After that, the expedition to the frontier did not encounter any major upheavals. Although it was a few days late compared to the plan, the barbarian village was eradicated, and a fence and a watchtower, which would serve as the foundation of a new settlement, were set up where the camp had been, so it could be considered a success. On the return journey, Nares had already been treated like a hero among the young knights of the Viscount Lester's knightly order, despite his youth, for his exceptional skills.

The day after returning from the expedition, Al, who was on leave, was summoned by the chairman of the Revi Company in the evening. Al, who had been maintaining the tools he had used, responded to the summons and showed up at the Revi Company, where he was led to the reception room. There, the chairman of the Revi Company, along with his daughter Luella, was waiting.

"Al, I'm sorry to call you so suddenly."

As Al bowed and entered the room, the chairman of Revi gestured for him to sit in the opposite seat.

"I received a message from Sir Radyard. It's about the job we're currently working on. Lord Nares and Sir Radyard have to go to the border city of Parker suddenly, and they want to end the job for now. Ideally, they should have contacted you directly, but it seems to be a very sudden matter. The message came to me as the intermediary. This is a letter from Lord Nares."

When they parted yesterday, Nares had said he would stay in the frontier city of Lester for another week to ten days before returning to the capital city of Rain. They had planned to have tea with Patricia in the morning and a post-battle reflection meeting with the Goblin Slayer in the afternoon starting from tomorrow. Al took the letter, confirmed it, and opened it. It contained an apology for not having the time to explain properly and an explanation that he had received an urgent order to go to the border city of Parker. He had been informed by his father the night before they returned from the expedition, and he was to set off early in the morning with Sir Radyard. Why had the plans changed so suddenly?

"Um, has Chairman Revi heard anything?"

Al wasn't particularly troubled by the loss of work since he had other things to do, but going to the border city of Parker suggested it might be related to the Kingdom of Tempest.

"It seems they have officially decided to accept the people from the Kingdom of Tempest who have taken refuge in the border city of Parker. Most of the refugees are related to the Count Sennet's territory. So, Lord Nares is going there to console them. The Viscount Lester had already been informed a few days ago."

Al tilted his head in confusion at first. Count Sennet was a count under the Kingdom of Tempest, and his territory bordered the Rain March, which included the frontier city of Lester. Count Sennet... Al realized. Right, Nares' mother was Count Sennet's daughter. That means Nares, while not a direct descendant of the Tempest royal family like Patricia, is still a grandson of Count Sennet.

"Does accepting them officially mean war with the Kingdom of Tempest?"

Al asked a bit hastily. The movement of citizens between countries is generally restricted except for trade and other exchanges. Accepting them could lead to war. Chairman Revi frowned slightly and shook his head.

"From the information I have, the current state of the Kingdom of Tempest doesn't have the power to blame us, so it probably won't lead to war. But, to be honest, I can't be sure. The prices of food and other goods have already started to rise."

If it came to war, Al's father or brother might be called up. He should probably visit them soon. Speaking of which...

"Um, what about Lady Patricia?"

"Regarding that, it's been decided to keep it under wraps for now. However, if there are people from the Count Sennet's family among the refugees in Parker, they might bring them here. Lady Patricia is only 13. Having familiar faces around would be a comfort."

Al nodded. At the tea parties, she had always acted as if Al was her only support. If there were survivors who could comfort her, it might help.

"Father...?"

Luella looked at Chairman Revi, who seemed to have something to say. He murmured, "Ah," and gestured for her to speak.

"Alfred, while you were on the expedition, I attended Lady Patricia's tea parties in your place. I noticed that her mind is quite unstable. If Lord Nares leaves, you won't have a reason to visit the manor, but I think that's something she can't accept right now."

Al sighed. He had a feeling this might be the case. Knight Joanna was faithfully protecting her, but they probably weren't friends from the start. She was alone.

"I also hope that if there are survivors from the Count Sennet's family who can comfort her, the situation might improve. But if not, it might take a lot of effort for her to return to a normal life. It might take a year or two. It might be too much to ask you to help her all the time, but, Alfred, could you help her?"

Luella looked at Al intently. Al met her gaze. In her eyes, he saw the memory of Patricia's earnest, wide-eyed stare. Nares and Patricia were cousins, and even if she intended to marry Nares, she couldn't just leave her alone. Al thought for a moment.

"Alright. But I have work, so I can't come every day like before the expedition. And there might be times when I have to go on long trips like this frontier expedition. If that's okay..."

Luella smiled warmly.

"Thank you, Alfred. I'll talk to Father about giving you something when you come."

Chairman Revi exclaimed, "What?" but Luella smiled as if she hadn't noticed. Chairman Revi chuckled slightly at her expression.

"Alright... How about 1 silver coin per day? In return, I want you to dress appropriately."

Appropriate attire... meaning something suitable for meeting nobles. Al didn't have such clothes, but if he was getting paid, he supposed it couldn't be helped. He reluctantly nodded.

"Also, I'll give you your payment for this job. First, the daily wage from the viscount's family, 160 silver coins for 16 days. But since it was cut short suddenly, I managed to get it increased to 200 silver coins, which is 2 gold coins. As a separate reward from me, I've heard that thanks to you, Lord Nares was able to achieve a great feat. I'll give you 15 gold coins. That's 17 gold coins in total."

Al happily accepted the leather bag containing the gold coins. It was still a bit short, but with this, he was almost there for the flying spell. He would count them when he got home. It might be a good idea to stop by a store on the way to check if the prices had dropped.

"Can you come by tomorrow or the day after? Lady Patricia is very worried that you haven't returned yet."

As Al was about to leave, Luella asked. In this era, clothes were either custom-made or second-hand. Were there any second-hand clothes suitable for meeting nobles?

"These clothes are fine..."

Chairman Revi frowned and shook his head. If he wore these clothes, he might not get paid... Luella seemed to notice something.

"Hey, Father, can I give Alfred some of my brother's old clothes?"

Luella had an older brother named Edmund, whom Al had seen a few times when he visited the middle school in the capital. He was a tall, slender young man with chestnut hair like Luella.

"Ah, his childhood clothes might be fine. Ask Mother."

"Thank you. Luella, that would be a great help."

Maybe he wouldn't have to buy clothes after all. Al didn't know how much custom-made clothes cost, but they were likely very expensive, so this would be a big help.

"Wait a moment."

Luella left the reception room. Seeing Al's carefree smile, Chairman Revi murmured, "So, you're struggling, huh..."

That's the end of this story. The next one will be a new story.

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Today, I will add the characters from Chapter 6 at 11:00, one hour later.

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Al is casually talking, but I checked the prices of high-quality tunics in medieval Europe, and they are incredibly expensive (around $7,000 or 1,000,000 yen). I want to keep the prices somewhat realistic, so custom-made clothes in this world might cost around 10 gold coins. Clothes are expensive, and commoners mostly wear second-hand clothes, which they carefully patch and mend. Chairman Revi initially thought Al, being the son of a knight, would have such clothes. Luella noticed he didn't have them and quickly offered her brother's hand-me-downs. The leather armor Al is wearing now was made with connections and materials, costing 12 gold coins, which might have been a bit too cheap.

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